The Tide is Turning

Title: The Tide is Turning
Author: Roisin Dubh
Pairing: Snape/??
Disclaimer: HP and charries owned by JKR. Story is mine. No profit made.
Thanks: Thanks to underlucius and Tabi for the superb beta\'s

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The tide is turning, come and see it.

For a long time now it has seemed that the Death Eaters and the dark creatures, and through them Voldemort, would win the war. The Ministry was had been in disarray, for they had been the first hit after the start of the war. An easy target while the new Minister was restructuring and regaining control over the infrastructure of the ministry. The order had arrived in the middle of the battle, wands blazing, and had pushed the dark forces back along side the Aurors and any others who were left standing. There weren’t many that were left standing though, not at that point. The attack had been too organised.

But now, almost a year later, the massed forces for the side of ‘good’ had come together, and the side of good was winning. And it wasn’t just witches and wizards from all the walks of life, either. The Merpeople protected the lakes they lived in and the rivers that fed these lakes, the Centaurs had joined us after extensive talks with both Hagrid and Dumbledore, and the Unicorns now stood and fought with us after Voldemort had ordered a mass slaughter of their kind, all because he couldn’t stand their purity and their goodness. Even the House Elves fought for us of their own free will, though I suspected that Dobby was the ringleader of that little group.

I too had shown my true colours now to the world. No longer did I play the role of a double agent. In the second great battle at the ministry I had managed to hang back, without my reluctance to fight not being noticed, while I looked for an opportunity to get away. Then you landed at my feet, blasted off the ground and in my direction by Lucius Malfoy. He had approached me, expecting me to finish the job, or to finish it him self. I\'d had to make my choice quickly as to whether or not to expose myself, or I would have been dead and the choice would have been made for me.

I had stepped over your prone, but breathing, form then, my wand pointed at Lucius while my free hand swept my mask and hood off, and I stood there in the light.

“You, Snape? All this time you were the turn coat, the informer, the Spy?” Lucius hissed at me.

“Naturally.” I responded coolly to him. “Who better? And to think, I had you all chasing your tails trying to work out who it truly was, each thinking that it was the other.”

I smiled maliciously and a fraction of a second later I had killed Lucius and was thinking of a way to get us both out of there alive. Suddenly it stuck me as I looked upon my discarded disguise. I could use my mask as a Portkey, how perfectly ironic that would be. The mask of the enemy used to aid the forces of good. Before anyone else could arrive I created the Portkey straight into Hogwarts hospital wing and got us out of the ministry.

With your wounds taken care of I was given the job of caring for you while you recovered, as I wouldn’t be able to step outside of the castle for a while with my true nature now known. This created a situation we both hated at first, it then became tolerable when we got used to the idea, interesting as we got to know each other and amusing when we reached the stage where we could admit that we were now friends. Fortunately, due to the fact we were in the same space for a while, this process happened swiftly.

After seven months had passed us by in varying shades of peace and quiet we both had to return to the war and our individual units within the ranks. Up until today we had hardly had seven minutes to talk, and now I’m telling you all of this because I want you to know that you’re the only real friend I’ve ever had. The only person, other than Albus Dumbledore, that I feel I could trust with my life. Blast you Gryffindors for being all noble and courageous, it\'s starting to rub off onto me, and how can I possibly go about teaching again when this is all over if I lose my Slytherin edge?

So we’re stood shoulder to shoulder when you suddenly turn to me, your lips parting softly to allow you to speak.

“Severus, I…”

And I turn to you now, my face on a level with you, though I never remember being the same height as you, and you kiss me. That was a very brave and unexpected move for you, and the same applies to me as I kiss you back.

“I think I may be starting to fall in live with you, now that I know you for you.” You finished after we broke silently apart.

I don’t speak as we turn back to the battle, my mind a whirl of Technicolor thoughts and images that don’t pause for long enough for me to pick them out. Before us, on the playing field of the war, the last stand, we can see Voldemort facing down one lone warrior. I knew immediately who it was, and what the outcome would be. So did you, it seemed, for as one we both turned and all but ran back to the camp to sound the alarm. You grabbed my arm just as we got there and spoke again.

“Stay safe, Severus.”

I looked at you through my solid black eyes. “You too.” There was even a hint of warmth in my voice.

Our assigned units marched together until we reached the place of the two combatants, so involved with each other that they didn’t even notice the circle of armed wizards and witches that surrounded them. We were all ordered to help in what ever way we could. I don’t think many of the gathered troops realised the full impact of this command, for it could mean that we would have to deliver the mercy blow to the would be hero.

Just before we parted to follow our assigned units I turned and grabbed your arm, holding you back to listen to me speak.

“I think I may be beginning to love you too, Remus Lupin.”

As I said these words, true but lacking in any coherent form of sentimentality, Voldemort fell under the wand of Harry Potter, and the small part of me that admitted that Harry wasn’t his father felt proud of the strong young man, proud that he had become the Hero everyone had taken him for.

All about us a cheer went up and the tired soldiers that fought under the banner of good took heart from this victory and put vigour back into their fighting. We once again had hope. I didn’t join in the cheering, it wasn’t my nature, and you just smiled quietly, placing a hand over mine that was still on my arm, and as I squeezed your arm in joy you squeezed my hand to express the same. We didn’t speak as we went out to help end the war, we would see each other again soon. I was sure of it.