(Part Four)
Title:
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Relationships: Snape/Ron, Harry/Hermione/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Content Notes: PTSD, past non-con, torture, AU from book 5 onward.
Summary: In the end, Hogwarts wasn't the place of safety they all thought it was. Dumbledore was defeated in the castle before Harry and his friends could complete their fifth year, and the rest of the wizarding world is in chaos. Those not sworn to the Dark Lord by fervent belief have taken the Dark Mark to protect those they love. England is a wizarding battleground and the entire country is a shadow of what it once was. But not all hope is lost.
The Order of the Phoenix is still fighting. Under Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the Order strives to find a way to weaken the Dark Lord and end his reign. When the Order gets word from an agent inside the Dark Lord's ranks, they think they might get the break they've been waiting for. Instead, they find one of their own, thought dead year before. Ron Weasley was tortured and used as a Death Eater play thing and only the quick thinking of Severus Snape kept him alive. While Harry and Hermione try to heal their broken friend, they find out that Ron isn't as broken as they thought and that he just might be the break they were looking for after all.
The visits with the Weasley family became more regular. In the three months since their first visit Ron had become as used to them as he had Hermione and Harry. Draco became more comfortable around them as well but Ron could see the way he avoided any intimate contact with Hermione and Harry when his family was there.
It wasn’t that Draco worried they would think less of him; rather he feared the Weasleys would think less of Harry and Hermione if they were forced to face it too often. Ron couldn’t care less what his family thought but Hermione had snapped when he voiced his opinions, reminding him that just because he didn’t remember them enough to want their approval didn’t mean no one else did. Ron understood then. Hermione and Harry supported Draco’s distance but neither wanted it. Ron also saw in that small admission that Draco feared far worse than the Weasley family’s disapproval.
Ron knew Draco’s family - far more intimately than he would ever admit - and he knew there was fear of them as well. If anyone knew of Draco’s fondness for Hermione and Harry they would become targets against him. Hermione and Harry might laugh at that - Harry already topped Voldemort’s wanted list and Hermione was near it - but it would make Draco’s conscience more clouded. Harry and Hermione held their tongues to assuage his guilt and allow him to protect them the only way he could.
Ron watched them, Harry and Hermione on one side of the table with Draco hovering behind as the Order spoke of the coming days. There was no release from the horrors of the Death Eaters and their list of allies was growing shorter. The Ministry of Magic was useless; a front for Voldemort though they proclaimed to remain strong in the fight against him. Some of the wizarding world believed them; too afraid of the truth of the end times they lived in to see past the lies.
“We are still no closer to finding a way to kill him,” Sirius complained. “It’s all useless unless we can stop Voldemort.”
“Tell me how and I will,” Harry demanded. The argument was heated between them and Ron watched it with a certain degree of amusement. As hot headed as the two were, they never got so far that they would hurt one another. Godfather and Godson shared a bond that even the stress of these times couldn’t sunder. “I’m the Chosen one aren’t I?”
“For the love of Merlin, stop that,” Remus sighed. He was usually the calm one but he was at the end of his patience tonight. Arthur and Molly had come as Percy had been leaving and the Weasley parents had been almost livid at finding him there.
Remus had tried to keep their arguments from reaching Ron’s ears but he’d heard it anyway. He’d ended the fight effectively by walking in and telling Percy he’d see him soon. When his parents balked at the idea he reminded them that Percy was his brother too. Ron has a right to know him and it wasn’t their choice.
Molly had been quick to anger ever since and it was obvious Remus was at his wits end playing mediator tonight.
“Hogwarts has become his priority,” Severus spoke and Ron turned his attention fully to him. Not that he wasn’t always aware of Severus’ position in the room, but his words dredged up something in the back of his mind. Something from days of pain before Severus had saved him.
“With my defection, Voldemort has placed Umbridge as the school Headmaster. He would not have wasted her cruelty and mimicry of kindness on Hogwarts if there was not something there to be gained. Dementors patrol the borders once again and I have heard that Gryffindor House has been eradicated. Their doors have been locked behind spells of binding so strong I’m not sure they will ever be opened again.”
“What of our friends who returned?” Harry asked.
“The Gryffindor at Hogwarts have been placed in other houses, though I am told they resisted. They were punished but their resistance became underground. She suspects them and punishes them accordingly but they still remain.”
“He’s interested in Hogwarts?” Ron asked, though as he did so he couldn’t help but wince. Whatever was in his mind was attached to something so painful he couldn’t grasp it.
“He is,” Severus said softly, standing to come closer. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” Ron answered in an echoing whisper. It hurt to speak, to hear the smallest shuffle of feet against the bare floor, but he knew it had nothing to do with the present or the movements of those around him. “Master.”
Hands supported him as his knees buckled but he didn’t fall to the ground. He was surprised to be set upon the bench but he couldn’t open his eyes to see who else had helped Severus to move him.
“Something,” he gasped against the pain of memory. “Something happened. He spoke to someone. I was being-” Recall shot through him and Ron shied away from the memory of his torture but focused on the words. “It was easier to focus on their words than to focus on what they were doing.”
He heard a sob from somewhere behind him but he didn’t have the focus to determine who it was. It was an unfamiliar sound and he thought he should probably be surprised by such an emotion from the person giving it but he had no attention for it. Instead, he remembered words spoken in his presence; a broken pup would tell no tales and he had never been meant to live so long as he did.
“He has something at Hogwarts that he needs to protect. He spoke to the woman, Bellatrix. She had something of his and allowed it to be stolen. Dumbledore destroyed it and she wants to prove her worth to him. She wants to go to Hogwarts to find it.”
“To find what, Ron?” Severus asked.
“A Horcrux.”
He pulled himself out of his thoughts as Severus took hold of his shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes. “Are you sure Ron?”
“I am, Master,” he said, taking a shuddered breath. “I don’t know what a horcrux is, but he was sure Dumbledore had figured it out and that he’d started to destroy them. Dumbledore had a list of them and that’s another thing they’re trying to find. Dumbledore left the list at Hogwarts in case anything should happen to him. Voldemort needs to protect the horcrux and the list before they can be destroyed.”
Severus closed his eyes and Ron looked past him to see the true horror on Arthur’s face.
“Arthur?” Ron called them by name, unable to demean their relationship by calling them Mum or Dad until he could be their son again, but he answered anyway.
“A horcrux is a dark, evil thing. It’s creation demands murder and it cleaves a wizard’s soul so that part of it remains behind.”
“Like Tom Riddle’s diary?” Ginny asked.
Silence darkened the room and it was a moment before Ron could breathe. He didn’t know what Tom Riddle’s diary was but he was still too sensitive to the tension of others. It didn’t paralyze him as it had when he first escaped but he had to consciously take a breath.
“Yes.” Severus opened his eyes to say. “Though I would not have thought the Dark Lord possible of such a thing, it was most likely a horcrux.”
“Then they can be destroyed,” Harry confirmed.
“Yes. But Ron said he made more than one. We will need to find them all and destroy them. We cannot leave a single alive or he will remain indestructible.” Severus turned his eyes to Ron then and searched his face. “Are you well?”
Ron nodded. “The memory was painful. It was before you saved me. The things they did … it wasn’t easy to remember the words through the pain but I always listened.”
Severus smiled at him and drew him closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead in a gesture of affection that he rarely allowed others to see. “It was a mistake keeping you alive, Ronald Weasley,” he said softly. “If the Dark Lord understood anything about humanity he would have seen it in you when you first spit in his eye.”
Memory flashed in his head, pain and screaming followed, but for one instance he saw himself before the Dark Lord, bound and helpless but strong in his conviction. It passed with a dizzying speed that made him doubt its truth. He had never been so strong before Voldemort. He blessed Severus for making him imagine it though.
“Then we should make sure he realizes his mistake before the end.” Ron didn’t know where he got the courage to speak like that, but he felt strong suddenly. Severus smiled at him and beyond that Harry and Hermione shared a glance before turning upturned lips to him as well. Even the twins seemed to like his words. It was the others that seemed surprised.
Well, he had a few surprises for everyone then. He had no idea how long his current strength would last, but he wasn’t meant to cower his whole life. He didn’t know who he had been before Severus had taken care of him, or if that man was worth saving, but he had choices before him now and he refused to let anyone else be tortured the way he had been.
Only Draco, standing in the doorway, seemed to understand the moment and he gave Ron a sad smile and a nod of acknowledgment that they would both see it through to the end.
**
“It has to be this way,” Harry whispered as they walked out of the front door of Order’s headquarters. “It’ll be for the best.”
It was dark outside and Harry obviously thought they were alone. Ron wasn’t sure why they weren’t. He had no idea how he’d known Harry, Hermione, and Draco would try to sneak out into the night but he had. Severus had watched him for a few minutes when he told him that was what they’d do and he’d just nodded. He felt guilty for leaving his Master behind tonight but he had to stop Harry from leaving before he heard him out.
“Easy for you to say, Potter,” Draco counted. “If things go bad it won’t be you they blame.”
“The members of the Order know who you are Draco,” Hermione said softly. “Not that it matters. You agreed that we needed to go before the others could stop us. If Voldemort has a horcrux at Hogwarts we have to find it.”
“And just where do you plan on looking for it?” Ron asked, stepping away from the shadows.
Hermione jumped and Harry and Draco turned quickly, wands drawn.
“You don’t know what you’re looking for or where to look for it,” Ron said.
“We can’t sit around and do nothing, Ron. We know what we need to do now and we have to go,” Harry answered softly. There was frustration in Harry’s tone though and Ron knew it was because the man he’d once been would have understood. Harry didn’t know Ron anymore though so he didn’t know Ron’s intentions.
“I’m not trying to stop you Harry,” Ron said quietly. “I’m just asking you to consider what you’re doing and what you need.”
“Hermione has had everything packed since we moved. There’s no way she forgot anything.”
Ron gave Hermione a smile because even without his memories he knew that. She probably had ten lists written to make sure they had everything in order. “No, she wouldn’t have forgotten something you needed unless you didn’t know you needed it. What you need is me.”
“Ron-”
“Hear me out, Harry,” Ron said before Harry could tell him no. “The conversation in the kitchen this morning helped me remember something I didn’t even know I knew. We have no idea what else they said in front of me that I need help remembering. I may not be as strong as you but I’m not weak. I can help you.”
Harry looked to Hermione and she looked close to tears. Part of him wanted to comfort her but another part was growing angry. “I might not be the man I was but I’m not a coward. You want to take this fight to Voldemort for what he’s doing to this world? For the things he’s doing to your friends and family? I want to see him destroyed because of what he did to me and every other pet I watched die in those four years. I’m the only chance you have at finding what you’re looking for.”
“Not quite.”
They all whirled at the new voice but the others relaxed as soon as they saw Severus remove himself from the shadow. Ron relaxed marginally but he squared his shoulders, preparing to fight Severus if he had to. He wasn’t sure what made him so strong now as to be able to contest his Master’s will but Ron knew he had to help the others. He had to help his friends.
“You were going to leave without saying good-bye, Pet?”
There was no humor or affection in his voice. There was no anger or hostility either. Severus’ voice was a careful neutral that meant he was at his most dangerous.
Ron wet his lips as he took a deep breath. Severus had never hurt him when the Death Eaters hadn’t required it to keep their cover. They were safe with the Order and Ron hated that he feared the lash of magic even now. He lifted his chin slightly though and nodded. “I would have said good-bye Master but I knew you’d stop me. I have to go with them and they have to go. Please don’t try to stop me.”
“Would you defy me in this?”
“Yes.”
The word hung in heavy silence. The others had remained quiet once Severus showed himself but Ron didn’t doubt they would help him if he required it. Even if they’d been trying to talk him out of going with them, they’d have taken him far enough along to get him away from Severus if they could.
Severus didn’t answer, but looked back to Harry. “Do you really think I would let the fate of the world rest with four Hogwarts drop outs? I was part of the Dark Lord’s plans for some time. What Ron cannot remember, I will be able to divine from my history with him. If you truly wish to be away, then we should begin.”
Ron watched as Severus pulled a bag out from behind him and Ron moved to take it immediately, though he still feared what his Master would say to him. Severus took his hand as he tried to pull the bag away. Ron looked up with wide eyes but Severus searched his face for something Ron didn’t understand.
“This undertaking could bring us to the very people who tortured you. Can you bear that? I would be willing to continue this in your name, even if you felt you needed to stay in the safety of the Order. You don’t have to put yourself in danger.”
Ron nodded slowly. “I do need to. I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t remember them from before but I know I can’t let Harry, Hermione, and Draco leave without me now. The rest is true, they need me, but that was for their benefit. I can’t let them go alone and I can’t let them face the Dark Lord without being a part of it. I’m sorry I disappointed you.”
Severus cut him off before he could say anything more. “I am not disappointed in you, Ron. I understand why you want to go and I understood it when you told me they would go. You might not remember them but some part of you recognizes the bonds you once held. You are a stronger man than any of us ever thought. No, I am not disappointed in you, my Pet. I am honored to travel this path at your side.”
Ron let out a shuttered breath and stepped closer to Severus. He felt the older man’s arms around him briefly before he was turned to face the others. “Hogwarts then,” Severus said succinctly. “Have you got a plan to get around the forces that stand guard over the school?”
They stared at him dumbly and Ron couldn’t help but smile when Severus let out a small snort. “Of course not. I expected it from you Potter but I see you’ve been a bad influence on Draco. A Slytherin should know better. As it so happens, I do. Our first stop is Hogsmeade.”
**
As soon as they arrived at the sleepy village alarms began to sound all over Hogsmeade. The summer air was damp from an earlier rain and Ron felt it clinging to his skin. It’d been a long time since he’d been out in the open. He wanted to close his eyes and turn his face up to the sky to see the stars but he didn’t dare. They were exposed and in danger.
Severus led them away from the main street and Ron felt a hint of excitement as they walked hurriedly behind him. Ron knew he should be terrified, traveling with some of Voldemort’s most hated enemies. That Severus had fooled Voldemort for so long had turned the Dark Lord’s anger into seething hatred. It was only the necessity that he kill Harry himself that made Severus the Dark Lord’s second most wanted.
Ron was terrified; he could admit that to himself. There was nothing brave about denying fear and he moved forward anyway. He meant what he’d said earlier in the dark street. He would see Voldemort defeated for the things he’d done to him, for the things he’d done to Draco and others like him, and the things he’d made Severus do in his name.
A doorway to the right opened as they passed and a hiss brought Severus to it immediately. He passed through the door without hesitation, expecting the others to keep up.
“What in Merlin’s name are you doing here?”
As Ron turned a corner, Harry, Hermione, and Draco directly behind him, the room was filled with a warm light. Severus stood before a bearded man who seemed both old and worn but venerable and vivacious at the same time.
“We need entrance to Hogwarts,” Severus said softly. “Tonight.”
It amazed Ron, the way Severus had such a soft, gentle tone to his voice and how people seemed to cringe away from it. He had heard cruelty from his Master’s lips, heard him cold and emotionless when he was dealing with the Death Eaters and the trials of being a double agent. He’d also heard his patience though as he taught Ron the things he’d forgotten; like his sister’s name or Harry’s birthday or the name of his favorite Quidditch team. He’d heard his words filled with tenderness and compassion as few ever had. Severus had gathered his full height though and he had his head tilted back to look down his nose at the man before him.
“Have you lost your mind?” the man asked. “You can’t move anywhere inside the castle without sending Voldemort a message. He’ll bring every Death Eater he can call to you.”
“So be it. We have to go, Aberforth. If you hear the alarm for Hogwarts tonight, you know what to do.”
“Snape, who is this?” Harry asked. Draco seemed content to let Severus take the lead but when Ron looked he could see that both Hermione and Harry were unsettled.
“Aberforth Dumbledore, at your service, Mr. Potter.” He bowed slightly, and then looked to Hermione. “Ms. Granger. Mr. Malfoy.” As he finished with Draco who had returned a slight nod in the old man’s direction, he looked at Ron. “Weasley,” he said with a snort. “Your family has been stirring a lot of trouble lately. They were quiet until a few months back, and then the whole of the Weasley family seemed to be on Voldemort’s wanted list. I don’t know what you have planned here tonight, but there is never enough help when you want it and too much trouble when you don’t. No doubt set on some grand scheme my brother set you on.”
“A scheme of our own, thank you,” Harry said sharply.
“Can you get us into Hogwarts?” Hermione asked quickly. Ron could see the way the other man’s words about his brother had bothered Harry. Ron knew he’d missed something but he had no idea what yet. Like too much of his life, there were holes he didn’t have time to stop up with information. “We think we found a way to stop him, but we have to get to the castle.”
The old man looked at Hermione for a moment then let out a deep sigh. He looked up at the portrait on the opposite wall before nodding. The girl in the portrait nodded then smiled shyly at the rest of them before walking away.
“If it’s safe, you’ll have passage tonight.”
He disappeared into another room then and came back with a tray of bread and cheese. He brought out mugs and a pot of tea. When Severus took a cup the rest of them sat at the table with him and settled in to wait.
Ron didn’t taste the tea, or the bread, though Severus kept handing him food and filling his mug. Part of him was terrified of getting captured again but he looked up at Severus and let out a short breath. “You won’t let them, will you?”
Severus seemed to know what he was asking. His eyes widened for a moment before his scowl appeared, lips drawn tight. He looked at Ron for a moment before nodding his head slightly. “I won’t let it come to that, but if anything happens, if it is obvious they will capture you, I will kill you myself.”
The others gasped behind him but Ron closed his eyes. “Thank you, Master.”
He was afraid to open his eyes to see what was in Severus’ eyes but he was saved from that as the portrait came back for them. The girl in the picture didn’t speak but as she moved closer it became obvious she wasn’t alone; another light shone behind her as she entered the room. She smiled then moved aside as a young man stepped into the room.
He looked too thin; the clothes he wore sat loose around him. Bruises decorated his face and forearms where his shirt sleeves had been rolled back.
“Neville!” Harry shouted the man’s name and ran to him, pulling him into a quick embrace. Hermione did the same, smiling.
A moment later, he spotted Ron and stilled. “Blimey, Ron? We thought you were dead. Even with the posters that went up we thought it was just a rouse.”
He took a step towards Ron but Ron backed away just as Severus stepped between them. Draco was at Ron’s side. Neither made a threatening move and Ron knew they were supporting him but Neville - who apparently knew him - stopped immediately, eyes wide and shifting between Severus, Draco, and Ron.
“It’s a lot to explain,” Harry said from behind Neville.
“It’s nice to meet you Neville, though I doubt it’s our first meeting.” Ron decided quick and callus was the way to deal with it tonight. “I was captured and tortured and now I don’t remember a bloody thing except what happened since I was captured. So, can we get into Hogwarts tonight and kill the bastard that did it, or shall we sit on our bums and have more tea with Aberforth while Voldemort is out there killing people?”
Neville stared at Ron for a few minutes then shook his head as if he was trying to wrap his brain around it all. “Right. Alright, so Hogwarts isn’t what it used to be. The halls are patrolled and the Gryffindor house has been eliminated.”
He seemed to be waiting for their outrage but Ron knew they’d already heard about that. In the grand scheme of things it was nothing, but Ron knew that Harry and Hermione had both been appalled when they’d heard of it.
He must have gotten something from their expressions through because he continued on then. “Getting into Hogwarts is easy enough, but what are you planning? The school was taken over by Umbridge once Snape left and it’s just gotten worse.” He looked back at Severus and cringed. “No offense.”
“What precautions have they taken?” Severus ignored the comment and Neville gulped visibly.
“The Carrows are teaching now but mostly they spend their time in the halls, looking for reasons to punish students.”
“What happened to you?” Hermione asked him.
Neville shrugged. “I got cursed by Crabbe before I was able to give him one back. He’ll be with Madam Pomfrey for a few more days before he can make it out. He’s here, monitoring the halls with a handful of former Slytherin. I was here on business with Madam Sprout when Crabbe and I had a falling out.”
“Neville, what’s the likelihood of getting into Dumbledore’s office without getting caught?” Ron asked before they could get caught up in their outrage over the other boy’s trouble.
“Umbridge hasn’t been using it. She’s always got a guard on it, but nothing more.”
“Why isn’t she using Dumbledore’s office?” Harry asked.
Neville looked over at Severus, a small smile on his lips. “The last Headmaster didn’t pass along the password and locked it against anyone else’s use. She’s tried to get the other professors to open it for her but they can’t either.”
“Won’t.”
“What Professor?”
“They won’t. Minerva has always had the ability to enter the Headmaster’s office in times of need.”
That made Neville smile. “Umbridge said as much, but McGonagall swore she couldn’t open the door.”
“There are other ways in besides the door, Longbottom.”
“Who is guarding the office?” Harry asked.
“Tonight? Goyle.”
Draco smiled. “I think it’s time I visited my old friends.”
Hermione put a hand on Draco’s arm. “Draco?”
“It’ll be alright Hermione,” Draco gave her a small smile. “I owe his family more harm than I could ever do. I won’t kill him. Doesn’t mean it won’t feel good about sending him flying against a wall or knocking his front teeth out.”
“Malfoy?” Neville seemed to find his voice again and he eyed Draco with obvious mistrust.
“He’s one of us now Neville,” Harry said instantly.
Neville looked at the way Hermione’s hand rested on Draco’s arm and his eyes widened like he understood. Ron wondered what he would really think, if he knew the whole truth, but he knew they didn’t have time for that tonight. Maybe someday he’d get to see all his old school friends and see what they thought of the lives Harry, Hermione, and Ron had made for themselves. If they lived that long, Ron hoped to get to know them all again and find out.
“Alright. So. Low patrols at night. Are you ready now?” They nodded and Neville indicated the tunnel. “They locked the Gryffindor halls when they reassigned us to new houses but we found another way in. No one can get into the Gryffindor common rooms since the doors are cursed so the Order was able to set up a safe house of sorts there. A handful of us that left Hogwarts come back in shifts to keep an eye on things here. We help Aberforth out and he sends us news and supplies if we need them. You’ll be a sight for sore eyes, that’s for certain.”
He led them down a narrow tunnel. By the time they got to the end they were all stooping to walk and Ron began to feel claustrophobic. If he walked a little too close to Severus and pulled at Hermione’s hand behind him, no one said anything.
The end of the tunnel was a glaring light and more noise than Ron could handle. He pressed himself back against the tunnel walls and let the others pass by him. Hermione hadn’t wanted to let go of his hand but he begged without words and she seemed to understand. When he was alone in the tunnel he felt he could breathe again. He wasn’t sure what was on the other side of the tunnel but he wasn’t sure he could face a group of people that had expectations for him.
Through the noise outside the tunnel he could see that there was some humor. Whatever else Voldemort was doing, he hadn’t beaten the life out of them yet. It gave Ron the courage to walk to the edge of the tunnel on his own.
Harry and Hermione were in the middle of a maelstrom of embraces and pats on the back. There were too many people Ron didn’t know and he wanted to flee back into the tunnel but he held his ground.
“Ron?”
He didn’t turn his head to see who spoke his name so quietly - so reverently - but he held his head high and clenched his hands into fists to hide the shaking. He didn’t know who spoke to him, he had no memory of names or voices, so he looked out to see what would happen next.
No one moved forward and Ron realized Severus and Draco were standing at his side now. He wasn’t sure if the others were avoiding the Slytherin pair or if they realized the change in him but he welcomed the respite from questions even if it didn’t quiet them from the eyes of the others.
“Alright, we need to get into Dumbledore’s office. We might need some help later, but for now we just need some space to work.”
No one hindered them when Neville led them towards another door.
“This wasn’t here before,” Hermione said instantly.
“We needed a place to go so we went to the Room of Requirements. Guess it’s not just for practice rooms,” Neville said with a grin. “We needed a way to get into Gryffindor house and it gave us a new door. The interesting thing about it is this door always lets us out wherever we need to be in the castle.”
“Brilliant.” Harry was smiling as they walked but when they approached the door he pulled his wand out. “Ready?” he asked the others.
Ron grabbed Severus’ hand and stopped him. “It’s now or never, Master.” He ignored the gasp he heard. Ron wasn’t ashamed to let the others know what sort of relationship he had with their former professor but it was more a slip of the tongue than an intention. He saw the way Severus’ eyes searched him and Ron let go of his arm to hold his hand out. “I need my wand.”
Severus took it from the folds of his robes where he’d been holding it since Ron had been captured. He didn’t know how Severus had gotten hold of it, but he’d shown it to Ron years before, promising to return it to him at the proper time.
He handed it over now, bowing his head slightly over his hands as he held it out. “You have been braver than any wizard or witch I have ever known. I pray you have no need to use it tonight, but if you do, I know that your aim and your deeds will hold true.”
He felt Draco’s hand on his shoulder as he took his wand. The wood felt warm to his touch, welcoming. For the first time in years he felt at home and whole. It wasn’t just the wand, but Severus acknowledging his readiness. It was Draco at his back and Harry and Hermione watching, ready to go into battle with him. It was taking action against the creature that was responsible for the reprehensible things that had been done to him.
He held his wand up and whispered as his wand lit up at the tip. It was a small piece of magic, something he could have done early in his first year, but years of enforced wandless living made it seem like a miracle. He could see the determination build in the eyes of the people he had come to care about since his memories had been taken and he gave them a grim smile.
“Let’s put an end to this.”
**
Harry led the way through the halls with a determined stride. Hermione was at his side and Draco and Ron were at his back. Severus was in the rearguard position and Harry almost wished someone would attack but no one did. Neville was right; the doorway let them out a corridor over from Dumbledore’s entrance way and the halls were deserted at night for fear of being caught by the roaming guards.
When they turned the corner Harry had the spell ready to release. Goyle’s eyes widened as he saw them approach but it was Draco who let loose with the incantation that sent the Slytherin skidding along the hall.
“He’ll come!” Goyle spat at them, wrenching up his sleeve to show the dark mark upon his forearm. Severus was already in motion with another curse but Goyle set his hand to the mark, turning it a dark black before Severus was able to incapacitate him.
“Hurry,” Severus said, gesturing with his wand until ropes appeared around an unconscious Goyle. He pulled him alongside them and stopped in front of the Headmaster’s office. “Chocolate Frogs,” he said softly, watching as the guarding griffin began to turn.
“Albus was very fond of his picture on the chocolate frog card. It seemed a suitable tribute,” Snape said softly.
Harry smiled at that, wondering just what his life might have been like if he’d learned to trust Severus Snape a little earlier. There were things he wanted to ask the man, to understand why he did the things he did, but Harry knew without a doubt that he was Dumbledore’s man. That he was Ron’s. There was no amount of gratitude that would repay the debt he felt for the strength and personality that Ron was beginning to show again. For a while Harry thought Ron was truly gone, but Severus never gave up on him. Now, even without his memories, Ron was coming back to them.
“He’d have like that,” Harry replied just before Severus turned to take the stairs to the office.
The office was simpler than it had been the last time Harry had been there. Severus had taken some of Dumbledore’s things and moved them into cabinets in the back of the room. The feel was colder, more efficient and less welcoming, but there was still an air of knowledge and consideration in the room.
Ron moved before any of them, going to stand before the portraits that were sleeping on the wall. “Headmasters, wake up! We have to save Hogwarts before it’s too late.”
A few figures startled awake, including Dumbledore’s portrait itself.
“Ah, Severus. I do believe you’ve come in time to take care of a few odds and ends that I had left behind.”
“You had a list, Headmaster,” Ron didn’t hesitate to speak and Harry was caught again by the difference between the boy he’d known and the man Ron had become through his trials. “Voldemort’s horcruxes.”
“A very dark business, I’m afraid,” Dumbledore said softly. “I didn’t live long enough to tell anyone that I had been poisoned by one of them. Severus, you were away on one of the Dark Lord’s missions and I’m afraid your replacement was not as quick to find a cure as you would have been. I would not have lived to see these times ended. It is our young who must win this fight, I fear.”
“Albus, the horcruxes?”
The Headmaster looked down at Severus and nodded. “My memories, Severus. They are, if I am being honest, most cleverly hidden in a vial with the misleading label of ‘dinner with Slughorn.’”
Severus was at the back of the room already, pulling open a cabinet that held the Pensieve. Next to it was a shelf with vials full of memories. Ron had already moved to Severus’ side to find what they were looking for. Harry felt almost useless with the two of them there, but waited until Severus had the Pensieve filled with the right memory.
“Potter first,” Severus said, surprising him. “Dumbledore would have wanted it that way. Draco can relive it with you. The rest of us will watch when you’re through.”
Harry stood before the Pensieve and waited for Draco to join him. He could see Draco hadn’t used one before and Harry gave him a brief smile. “Just stick your head in Draco. Nothing but memories.”
He did as he was instructed then, putting his face into the water of Dumbledore’s memories. He felt as if he was falling from a great height but his landing was soft and smooth. Draco was there a moment later at his side, staring around them. They were still in the Headmaster’s office but this was still Dumbledore’s clutter and chaos.
Before him, Dumbledore was having a conversation with a painting of a previous Headmaster.
“You think you should leave this to children, Albus?”
“Voldemort will take the fight to Harry, no matter how we try to protect him. He’s lost too much to stand aside and the only way to save him is to prepare him. We have to give him the tools to succeed,” Dumbledore answered. “Harry isn’t just a child. He’s a great wizard.”
“Because of what Voldemort did to him.”
“Because of what Voldemort did, they all are. Longbottom has his strength from confronting his fears. Granger learned to turn her love of books into practical magic and heroism. Malfoy may someday turn from his family’s legacy of darkness to find and embrace his own beliefs. None of those is possible without Voldemort.”
“So you will leave cryptic messages for the boy and hope he can find his way to cheat death against the greatest dark wizard in history?”
“If I leave anything too obvious it will never reach him and I cannot put this on him if there is any other way. My memories, then, will have to suffice. Harry,” he said then, looking away from the portrait to stare into a mirror, as if he was talking to himself.
“My dear boy, I am sorry to pass this burden on to you. I hope that you have found allies to make this burden less. I have no doubt that Granger and Weasley are at your side and in that at least I can find some solace. Your path has long been crossed with Voldemort’s and we are beyond hope that this can be settled in any other manner. Voldemort has become impossible to kill, not because he is such a great wizard, but because he chose to shatter himself. To live eternal, he has committed the darkest magic to sever parts of his soul and hide them away. You have destroyed one already, though little did we understand the importance of that act at the time. Tom Riddle’s diary was a horcrux, a small part of Voldemort’s soul. I have learned that there are six horcruxes. You know that Voldemort suffered losses. In the past year I found three of his horcruxes and I was able to destroy them with the basilisk fang, as you did Tom’s journal. I found his father’s ring, Salazar Slytherin’s locket, and the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. If I am correct, there are two horcruxes still to be found. One should be found in the Ravenclaw house. For a final horcrux, I believe it would be something close to Voldemort, something that would never be far from him.”
Harry had an idea of what it could be. He could remember all too well Ron’s early screams when he woke in the middle of the night. He didn’t know how many nights he’d sat outside the room Severus shared with Ron, listening to their former professor comfort Ron - and unknowingly Harry himself. He didn’t know how many times he’d found Hermione in the same position. It changed from night to night, the horrors that Ron never confessed to them but that they overheard through the slight sliver in the door that Harry was certain Severus knew about. Large in his dreams was Voldermort’s favorite torture for Ron; the threat of being eaten alive by Nagini.
“Remember this Harry. To create a horcrux is a terrible thing. To do so, one must be willing to kill another person. When that happens, the soul breaks and attaches itself to another surface. Sometimes it is what the caster wished. On occasion though, when malice is great enough, the soul can rebound into another living creature. These horcruxes can feel the destruction of the other. They can find one another. Remember Harry, to trust in your instincts and to always trust in yourself.”
Harry found himself standing with the others again, uncertain, as always, of Dumbledore’s message. He stepped back, Draco looking at him with questioning eyes as Hermione, Ron, and Severus stepped towards the Pensieve.
“The alarm has gone up,” Severus said as he looked at Harry. “All of Hogwarts is on alert. I sent word to Remus when we left. The Order will be ready to come when Aberforth calls them.”
“I didn’t want them involved,” Harry glared at his former professor even if he knew it was childish. They needed help but he’d wanted to keep everyone safe. If this didn’t work the Order could be finished in one fell swoop.
“You want Voldemort dead. We are all prepared to risk our lives to this end. I would not have come without plans.”
Harry saw the quick flick of his eyes towards Ron and Harry understood then. Severus had given Ron his promise, he might have known it was coming before Ron had asked it even, and he’d refused to come with Ron without a way to get him out of the fight if he needed to.
“You remember your way around my storerooms, do you not?” Severus asked Harry. Harry nodded and Severus smiled. “At the back of the room you will find my mark on a corner of the wall.” He handed Harry a ring that had been on his finger. “Press this to the mark. There will be a table of ingredients and a scroll next to it. Follow the directions. I have long prepared a means to defend myself if the Dark Lord sent his followers against me.”
He didn’t say anything else, but dropped his head to the Pensieve and left Harry and Draco to leave the safety of their numbers and find the potions room.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Relationships: Snape/Ron, Harry/Hermione/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Content Notes: PTSD, past non-con, torture, AU from book 5 onward.
Summary: In the end, Hogwarts wasn't the place of safety they all thought it was. Dumbledore was defeated in the castle before Harry and his friends could complete their fifth year, and the rest of the wizarding world is in chaos. Those not sworn to the Dark Lord by fervent belief have taken the Dark Mark to protect those they love. England is a wizarding battleground and the entire country is a shadow of what it once was. But not all hope is lost.
The Order of the Phoenix is still fighting. Under Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the Order strives to find a way to weaken the Dark Lord and end his reign. When the Order gets word from an agent inside the Dark Lord's ranks, they think they might get the break they've been waiting for. Instead, they find one of their own, thought dead year before. Ron Weasley was tortured and used as a Death Eater play thing and only the quick thinking of Severus Snape kept him alive. While Harry and Hermione try to heal their broken friend, they find out that Ron isn't as broken as they thought and that he just might be the break they were looking for after all.
The visits with the Weasley family became more regular. In the three months since their first visit Ron had become as used to them as he had Hermione and Harry. Draco became more comfortable around them as well but Ron could see the way he avoided any intimate contact with Hermione and Harry when his family was there.
It wasn’t that Draco worried they would think less of him; rather he feared the Weasleys would think less of Harry and Hermione if they were forced to face it too often. Ron couldn’t care less what his family thought but Hermione had snapped when he voiced his opinions, reminding him that just because he didn’t remember them enough to want their approval didn’t mean no one else did. Ron understood then. Hermione and Harry supported Draco’s distance but neither wanted it. Ron also saw in that small admission that Draco feared far worse than the Weasley family’s disapproval.
Ron knew Draco’s family - far more intimately than he would ever admit - and he knew there was fear of them as well. If anyone knew of Draco’s fondness for Hermione and Harry they would become targets against him. Hermione and Harry might laugh at that - Harry already topped Voldemort’s wanted list and Hermione was near it - but it would make Draco’s conscience more clouded. Harry and Hermione held their tongues to assuage his guilt and allow him to protect them the only way he could.
Ron watched them, Harry and Hermione on one side of the table with Draco hovering behind as the Order spoke of the coming days. There was no release from the horrors of the Death Eaters and their list of allies was growing shorter. The Ministry of Magic was useless; a front for Voldemort though they proclaimed to remain strong in the fight against him. Some of the wizarding world believed them; too afraid of the truth of the end times they lived in to see past the lies.
“We are still no closer to finding a way to kill him,” Sirius complained. “It’s all useless unless we can stop Voldemort.”
“Tell me how and I will,” Harry demanded. The argument was heated between them and Ron watched it with a certain degree of amusement. As hot headed as the two were, they never got so far that they would hurt one another. Godfather and Godson shared a bond that even the stress of these times couldn’t sunder. “I’m the Chosen one aren’t I?”
“For the love of Merlin, stop that,” Remus sighed. He was usually the calm one but he was at the end of his patience tonight. Arthur and Molly had come as Percy had been leaving and the Weasley parents had been almost livid at finding him there.
Remus had tried to keep their arguments from reaching Ron’s ears but he’d heard it anyway. He’d ended the fight effectively by walking in and telling Percy he’d see him soon. When his parents balked at the idea he reminded them that Percy was his brother too. Ron has a right to know him and it wasn’t their choice.
Molly had been quick to anger ever since and it was obvious Remus was at his wits end playing mediator tonight.
“Hogwarts has become his priority,” Severus spoke and Ron turned his attention fully to him. Not that he wasn’t always aware of Severus’ position in the room, but his words dredged up something in the back of his mind. Something from days of pain before Severus had saved him.
“With my defection, Voldemort has placed Umbridge as the school Headmaster. He would not have wasted her cruelty and mimicry of kindness on Hogwarts if there was not something there to be gained. Dementors patrol the borders once again and I have heard that Gryffindor House has been eradicated. Their doors have been locked behind spells of binding so strong I’m not sure they will ever be opened again.”
“What of our friends who returned?” Harry asked.
“The Gryffindor at Hogwarts have been placed in other houses, though I am told they resisted. They were punished but their resistance became underground. She suspects them and punishes them accordingly but they still remain.”
“He’s interested in Hogwarts?” Ron asked, though as he did so he couldn’t help but wince. Whatever was in his mind was attached to something so painful he couldn’t grasp it.
“He is,” Severus said softly, standing to come closer. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” Ron answered in an echoing whisper. It hurt to speak, to hear the smallest shuffle of feet against the bare floor, but he knew it had nothing to do with the present or the movements of those around him. “Master.”
Hands supported him as his knees buckled but he didn’t fall to the ground. He was surprised to be set upon the bench but he couldn’t open his eyes to see who else had helped Severus to move him.
“Something,” he gasped against the pain of memory. “Something happened. He spoke to someone. I was being-” Recall shot through him and Ron shied away from the memory of his torture but focused on the words. “It was easier to focus on their words than to focus on what they were doing.”
He heard a sob from somewhere behind him but he didn’t have the focus to determine who it was. It was an unfamiliar sound and he thought he should probably be surprised by such an emotion from the person giving it but he had no attention for it. Instead, he remembered words spoken in his presence; a broken pup would tell no tales and he had never been meant to live so long as he did.
“He has something at Hogwarts that he needs to protect. He spoke to the woman, Bellatrix. She had something of his and allowed it to be stolen. Dumbledore destroyed it and she wants to prove her worth to him. She wants to go to Hogwarts to find it.”
“To find what, Ron?” Severus asked.
“A Horcrux.”
He pulled himself out of his thoughts as Severus took hold of his shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes. “Are you sure Ron?”
“I am, Master,” he said, taking a shuddered breath. “I don’t know what a horcrux is, but he was sure Dumbledore had figured it out and that he’d started to destroy them. Dumbledore had a list of them and that’s another thing they’re trying to find. Dumbledore left the list at Hogwarts in case anything should happen to him. Voldemort needs to protect the horcrux and the list before they can be destroyed.”
Severus closed his eyes and Ron looked past him to see the true horror on Arthur’s face.
“Arthur?” Ron called them by name, unable to demean their relationship by calling them Mum or Dad until he could be their son again, but he answered anyway.
“A horcrux is a dark, evil thing. It’s creation demands murder and it cleaves a wizard’s soul so that part of it remains behind.”
“Like Tom Riddle’s diary?” Ginny asked.
Silence darkened the room and it was a moment before Ron could breathe. He didn’t know what Tom Riddle’s diary was but he was still too sensitive to the tension of others. It didn’t paralyze him as it had when he first escaped but he had to consciously take a breath.
“Yes.” Severus opened his eyes to say. “Though I would not have thought the Dark Lord possible of such a thing, it was most likely a horcrux.”
“Then they can be destroyed,” Harry confirmed.
“Yes. But Ron said he made more than one. We will need to find them all and destroy them. We cannot leave a single alive or he will remain indestructible.” Severus turned his eyes to Ron then and searched his face. “Are you well?”
Ron nodded. “The memory was painful. It was before you saved me. The things they did … it wasn’t easy to remember the words through the pain but I always listened.”
Severus smiled at him and drew him closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead in a gesture of affection that he rarely allowed others to see. “It was a mistake keeping you alive, Ronald Weasley,” he said softly. “If the Dark Lord understood anything about humanity he would have seen it in you when you first spit in his eye.”
Memory flashed in his head, pain and screaming followed, but for one instance he saw himself before the Dark Lord, bound and helpless but strong in his conviction. It passed with a dizzying speed that made him doubt its truth. He had never been so strong before Voldemort. He blessed Severus for making him imagine it though.
“Then we should make sure he realizes his mistake before the end.” Ron didn’t know where he got the courage to speak like that, but he felt strong suddenly. Severus smiled at him and beyond that Harry and Hermione shared a glance before turning upturned lips to him as well. Even the twins seemed to like his words. It was the others that seemed surprised.
Well, he had a few surprises for everyone then. He had no idea how long his current strength would last, but he wasn’t meant to cower his whole life. He didn’t know who he had been before Severus had taken care of him, or if that man was worth saving, but he had choices before him now and he refused to let anyone else be tortured the way he had been.
Only Draco, standing in the doorway, seemed to understand the moment and he gave Ron a sad smile and a nod of acknowledgment that they would both see it through to the end.
**
“It has to be this way,” Harry whispered as they walked out of the front door of Order’s headquarters. “It’ll be for the best.”
It was dark outside and Harry obviously thought they were alone. Ron wasn’t sure why they weren’t. He had no idea how he’d known Harry, Hermione, and Draco would try to sneak out into the night but he had. Severus had watched him for a few minutes when he told him that was what they’d do and he’d just nodded. He felt guilty for leaving his Master behind tonight but he had to stop Harry from leaving before he heard him out.
“Easy for you to say, Potter,” Draco counted. “If things go bad it won’t be you they blame.”
“The members of the Order know who you are Draco,” Hermione said softly. “Not that it matters. You agreed that we needed to go before the others could stop us. If Voldemort has a horcrux at Hogwarts we have to find it.”
“And just where do you plan on looking for it?” Ron asked, stepping away from the shadows.
Hermione jumped and Harry and Draco turned quickly, wands drawn.
“You don’t know what you’re looking for or where to look for it,” Ron said.
“We can’t sit around and do nothing, Ron. We know what we need to do now and we have to go,” Harry answered softly. There was frustration in Harry’s tone though and Ron knew it was because the man he’d once been would have understood. Harry didn’t know Ron anymore though so he didn’t know Ron’s intentions.
“I’m not trying to stop you Harry,” Ron said quietly. “I’m just asking you to consider what you’re doing and what you need.”
“Hermione has had everything packed since we moved. There’s no way she forgot anything.”
Ron gave Hermione a smile because even without his memories he knew that. She probably had ten lists written to make sure they had everything in order. “No, she wouldn’t have forgotten something you needed unless you didn’t know you needed it. What you need is me.”
“Ron-”
“Hear me out, Harry,” Ron said before Harry could tell him no. “The conversation in the kitchen this morning helped me remember something I didn’t even know I knew. We have no idea what else they said in front of me that I need help remembering. I may not be as strong as you but I’m not weak. I can help you.”
Harry looked to Hermione and she looked close to tears. Part of him wanted to comfort her but another part was growing angry. “I might not be the man I was but I’m not a coward. You want to take this fight to Voldemort for what he’s doing to this world? For the things he’s doing to your friends and family? I want to see him destroyed because of what he did to me and every other pet I watched die in those four years. I’m the only chance you have at finding what you’re looking for.”
“Not quite.”
They all whirled at the new voice but the others relaxed as soon as they saw Severus remove himself from the shadow. Ron relaxed marginally but he squared his shoulders, preparing to fight Severus if he had to. He wasn’t sure what made him so strong now as to be able to contest his Master’s will but Ron knew he had to help the others. He had to help his friends.
“You were going to leave without saying good-bye, Pet?”
There was no humor or affection in his voice. There was no anger or hostility either. Severus’ voice was a careful neutral that meant he was at his most dangerous.
Ron wet his lips as he took a deep breath. Severus had never hurt him when the Death Eaters hadn’t required it to keep their cover. They were safe with the Order and Ron hated that he feared the lash of magic even now. He lifted his chin slightly though and nodded. “I would have said good-bye Master but I knew you’d stop me. I have to go with them and they have to go. Please don’t try to stop me.”
“Would you defy me in this?”
“Yes.”
The word hung in heavy silence. The others had remained quiet once Severus showed himself but Ron didn’t doubt they would help him if he required it. Even if they’d been trying to talk him out of going with them, they’d have taken him far enough along to get him away from Severus if they could.
Severus didn’t answer, but looked back to Harry. “Do you really think I would let the fate of the world rest with four Hogwarts drop outs? I was part of the Dark Lord’s plans for some time. What Ron cannot remember, I will be able to divine from my history with him. If you truly wish to be away, then we should begin.”
Ron watched as Severus pulled a bag out from behind him and Ron moved to take it immediately, though he still feared what his Master would say to him. Severus took his hand as he tried to pull the bag away. Ron looked up with wide eyes but Severus searched his face for something Ron didn’t understand.
“This undertaking could bring us to the very people who tortured you. Can you bear that? I would be willing to continue this in your name, even if you felt you needed to stay in the safety of the Order. You don’t have to put yourself in danger.”
Ron nodded slowly. “I do need to. I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t remember them from before but I know I can’t let Harry, Hermione, and Draco leave without me now. The rest is true, they need me, but that was for their benefit. I can’t let them go alone and I can’t let them face the Dark Lord without being a part of it. I’m sorry I disappointed you.”
Severus cut him off before he could say anything more. “I am not disappointed in you, Ron. I understand why you want to go and I understood it when you told me they would go. You might not remember them but some part of you recognizes the bonds you once held. You are a stronger man than any of us ever thought. No, I am not disappointed in you, my Pet. I am honored to travel this path at your side.”
Ron let out a shuttered breath and stepped closer to Severus. He felt the older man’s arms around him briefly before he was turned to face the others. “Hogwarts then,” Severus said succinctly. “Have you got a plan to get around the forces that stand guard over the school?”
They stared at him dumbly and Ron couldn’t help but smile when Severus let out a small snort. “Of course not. I expected it from you Potter but I see you’ve been a bad influence on Draco. A Slytherin should know better. As it so happens, I do. Our first stop is Hogsmeade.”
**
As soon as they arrived at the sleepy village alarms began to sound all over Hogsmeade. The summer air was damp from an earlier rain and Ron felt it clinging to his skin. It’d been a long time since he’d been out in the open. He wanted to close his eyes and turn his face up to the sky to see the stars but he didn’t dare. They were exposed and in danger.
Severus led them away from the main street and Ron felt a hint of excitement as they walked hurriedly behind him. Ron knew he should be terrified, traveling with some of Voldemort’s most hated enemies. That Severus had fooled Voldemort for so long had turned the Dark Lord’s anger into seething hatred. It was only the necessity that he kill Harry himself that made Severus the Dark Lord’s second most wanted.
Ron was terrified; he could admit that to himself. There was nothing brave about denying fear and he moved forward anyway. He meant what he’d said earlier in the dark street. He would see Voldemort defeated for the things he’d done to him, for the things he’d done to Draco and others like him, and the things he’d made Severus do in his name.
A doorway to the right opened as they passed and a hiss brought Severus to it immediately. He passed through the door without hesitation, expecting the others to keep up.
“What in Merlin’s name are you doing here?”
As Ron turned a corner, Harry, Hermione, and Draco directly behind him, the room was filled with a warm light. Severus stood before a bearded man who seemed both old and worn but venerable and vivacious at the same time.
“We need entrance to Hogwarts,” Severus said softly. “Tonight.”
It amazed Ron, the way Severus had such a soft, gentle tone to his voice and how people seemed to cringe away from it. He had heard cruelty from his Master’s lips, heard him cold and emotionless when he was dealing with the Death Eaters and the trials of being a double agent. He’d also heard his patience though as he taught Ron the things he’d forgotten; like his sister’s name or Harry’s birthday or the name of his favorite Quidditch team. He’d heard his words filled with tenderness and compassion as few ever had. Severus had gathered his full height though and he had his head tilted back to look down his nose at the man before him.
“Have you lost your mind?” the man asked. “You can’t move anywhere inside the castle without sending Voldemort a message. He’ll bring every Death Eater he can call to you.”
“So be it. We have to go, Aberforth. If you hear the alarm for Hogwarts tonight, you know what to do.”
“Snape, who is this?” Harry asked. Draco seemed content to let Severus take the lead but when Ron looked he could see that both Hermione and Harry were unsettled.
“Aberforth Dumbledore, at your service, Mr. Potter.” He bowed slightly, and then looked to Hermione. “Ms. Granger. Mr. Malfoy.” As he finished with Draco who had returned a slight nod in the old man’s direction, he looked at Ron. “Weasley,” he said with a snort. “Your family has been stirring a lot of trouble lately. They were quiet until a few months back, and then the whole of the Weasley family seemed to be on Voldemort’s wanted list. I don’t know what you have planned here tonight, but there is never enough help when you want it and too much trouble when you don’t. No doubt set on some grand scheme my brother set you on.”
“A scheme of our own, thank you,” Harry said sharply.
“Can you get us into Hogwarts?” Hermione asked quickly. Ron could see the way the other man’s words about his brother had bothered Harry. Ron knew he’d missed something but he had no idea what yet. Like too much of his life, there were holes he didn’t have time to stop up with information. “We think we found a way to stop him, but we have to get to the castle.”
The old man looked at Hermione for a moment then let out a deep sigh. He looked up at the portrait on the opposite wall before nodding. The girl in the portrait nodded then smiled shyly at the rest of them before walking away.
“If it’s safe, you’ll have passage tonight.”
He disappeared into another room then and came back with a tray of bread and cheese. He brought out mugs and a pot of tea. When Severus took a cup the rest of them sat at the table with him and settled in to wait.
Ron didn’t taste the tea, or the bread, though Severus kept handing him food and filling his mug. Part of him was terrified of getting captured again but he looked up at Severus and let out a short breath. “You won’t let them, will you?”
Severus seemed to know what he was asking. His eyes widened for a moment before his scowl appeared, lips drawn tight. He looked at Ron for a moment before nodding his head slightly. “I won’t let it come to that, but if anything happens, if it is obvious they will capture you, I will kill you myself.”
The others gasped behind him but Ron closed his eyes. “Thank you, Master.”
He was afraid to open his eyes to see what was in Severus’ eyes but he was saved from that as the portrait came back for them. The girl in the picture didn’t speak but as she moved closer it became obvious she wasn’t alone; another light shone behind her as she entered the room. She smiled then moved aside as a young man stepped into the room.
He looked too thin; the clothes he wore sat loose around him. Bruises decorated his face and forearms where his shirt sleeves had been rolled back.
“Neville!” Harry shouted the man’s name and ran to him, pulling him into a quick embrace. Hermione did the same, smiling.
A moment later, he spotted Ron and stilled. “Blimey, Ron? We thought you were dead. Even with the posters that went up we thought it was just a rouse.”
He took a step towards Ron but Ron backed away just as Severus stepped between them. Draco was at Ron’s side. Neither made a threatening move and Ron knew they were supporting him but Neville - who apparently knew him - stopped immediately, eyes wide and shifting between Severus, Draco, and Ron.
“It’s a lot to explain,” Harry said from behind Neville.
“It’s nice to meet you Neville, though I doubt it’s our first meeting.” Ron decided quick and callus was the way to deal with it tonight. “I was captured and tortured and now I don’t remember a bloody thing except what happened since I was captured. So, can we get into Hogwarts tonight and kill the bastard that did it, or shall we sit on our bums and have more tea with Aberforth while Voldemort is out there killing people?”
Neville stared at Ron for a few minutes then shook his head as if he was trying to wrap his brain around it all. “Right. Alright, so Hogwarts isn’t what it used to be. The halls are patrolled and the Gryffindor house has been eliminated.”
He seemed to be waiting for their outrage but Ron knew they’d already heard about that. In the grand scheme of things it was nothing, but Ron knew that Harry and Hermione had both been appalled when they’d heard of it.
He must have gotten something from their expressions through because he continued on then. “Getting into Hogwarts is easy enough, but what are you planning? The school was taken over by Umbridge once Snape left and it’s just gotten worse.” He looked back at Severus and cringed. “No offense.”
“What precautions have they taken?” Severus ignored the comment and Neville gulped visibly.
“The Carrows are teaching now but mostly they spend their time in the halls, looking for reasons to punish students.”
“What happened to you?” Hermione asked him.
Neville shrugged. “I got cursed by Crabbe before I was able to give him one back. He’ll be with Madam Pomfrey for a few more days before he can make it out. He’s here, monitoring the halls with a handful of former Slytherin. I was here on business with Madam Sprout when Crabbe and I had a falling out.”
“Neville, what’s the likelihood of getting into Dumbledore’s office without getting caught?” Ron asked before they could get caught up in their outrage over the other boy’s trouble.
“Umbridge hasn’t been using it. She’s always got a guard on it, but nothing more.”
“Why isn’t she using Dumbledore’s office?” Harry asked.
Neville looked over at Severus, a small smile on his lips. “The last Headmaster didn’t pass along the password and locked it against anyone else’s use. She’s tried to get the other professors to open it for her but they can’t either.”
“Won’t.”
“What Professor?”
“They won’t. Minerva has always had the ability to enter the Headmaster’s office in times of need.”
That made Neville smile. “Umbridge said as much, but McGonagall swore she couldn’t open the door.”
“There are other ways in besides the door, Longbottom.”
“Who is guarding the office?” Harry asked.
“Tonight? Goyle.”
Draco smiled. “I think it’s time I visited my old friends.”
Hermione put a hand on Draco’s arm. “Draco?”
“It’ll be alright Hermione,” Draco gave her a small smile. “I owe his family more harm than I could ever do. I won’t kill him. Doesn’t mean it won’t feel good about sending him flying against a wall or knocking his front teeth out.”
“Malfoy?” Neville seemed to find his voice again and he eyed Draco with obvious mistrust.
“He’s one of us now Neville,” Harry said instantly.
Neville looked at the way Hermione’s hand rested on Draco’s arm and his eyes widened like he understood. Ron wondered what he would really think, if he knew the whole truth, but he knew they didn’t have time for that tonight. Maybe someday he’d get to see all his old school friends and see what they thought of the lives Harry, Hermione, and Ron had made for themselves. If they lived that long, Ron hoped to get to know them all again and find out.
“Alright. So. Low patrols at night. Are you ready now?” They nodded and Neville indicated the tunnel. “They locked the Gryffindor halls when they reassigned us to new houses but we found another way in. No one can get into the Gryffindor common rooms since the doors are cursed so the Order was able to set up a safe house of sorts there. A handful of us that left Hogwarts come back in shifts to keep an eye on things here. We help Aberforth out and he sends us news and supplies if we need them. You’ll be a sight for sore eyes, that’s for certain.”
He led them down a narrow tunnel. By the time they got to the end they were all stooping to walk and Ron began to feel claustrophobic. If he walked a little too close to Severus and pulled at Hermione’s hand behind him, no one said anything.
The end of the tunnel was a glaring light and more noise than Ron could handle. He pressed himself back against the tunnel walls and let the others pass by him. Hermione hadn’t wanted to let go of his hand but he begged without words and she seemed to understand. When he was alone in the tunnel he felt he could breathe again. He wasn’t sure what was on the other side of the tunnel but he wasn’t sure he could face a group of people that had expectations for him.
Through the noise outside the tunnel he could see that there was some humor. Whatever else Voldemort was doing, he hadn’t beaten the life out of them yet. It gave Ron the courage to walk to the edge of the tunnel on his own.
Harry and Hermione were in the middle of a maelstrom of embraces and pats on the back. There were too many people Ron didn’t know and he wanted to flee back into the tunnel but he held his ground.
“Ron?”
He didn’t turn his head to see who spoke his name so quietly - so reverently - but he held his head high and clenched his hands into fists to hide the shaking. He didn’t know who spoke to him, he had no memory of names or voices, so he looked out to see what would happen next.
No one moved forward and Ron realized Severus and Draco were standing at his side now. He wasn’t sure if the others were avoiding the Slytherin pair or if they realized the change in him but he welcomed the respite from questions even if it didn’t quiet them from the eyes of the others.
“Alright, we need to get into Dumbledore’s office. We might need some help later, but for now we just need some space to work.”
No one hindered them when Neville led them towards another door.
“This wasn’t here before,” Hermione said instantly.
“We needed a place to go so we went to the Room of Requirements. Guess it’s not just for practice rooms,” Neville said with a grin. “We needed a way to get into Gryffindor house and it gave us a new door. The interesting thing about it is this door always lets us out wherever we need to be in the castle.”
“Brilliant.” Harry was smiling as they walked but when they approached the door he pulled his wand out. “Ready?” he asked the others.
Ron grabbed Severus’ hand and stopped him. “It’s now or never, Master.” He ignored the gasp he heard. Ron wasn’t ashamed to let the others know what sort of relationship he had with their former professor but it was more a slip of the tongue than an intention. He saw the way Severus’ eyes searched him and Ron let go of his arm to hold his hand out. “I need my wand.”
Severus took it from the folds of his robes where he’d been holding it since Ron had been captured. He didn’t know how Severus had gotten hold of it, but he’d shown it to Ron years before, promising to return it to him at the proper time.
He handed it over now, bowing his head slightly over his hands as he held it out. “You have been braver than any wizard or witch I have ever known. I pray you have no need to use it tonight, but if you do, I know that your aim and your deeds will hold true.”
He felt Draco’s hand on his shoulder as he took his wand. The wood felt warm to his touch, welcoming. For the first time in years he felt at home and whole. It wasn’t just the wand, but Severus acknowledging his readiness. It was Draco at his back and Harry and Hermione watching, ready to go into battle with him. It was taking action against the creature that was responsible for the reprehensible things that had been done to him.
He held his wand up and whispered as his wand lit up at the tip. It was a small piece of magic, something he could have done early in his first year, but years of enforced wandless living made it seem like a miracle. He could see the determination build in the eyes of the people he had come to care about since his memories had been taken and he gave them a grim smile.
“Let’s put an end to this.”
**
Harry led the way through the halls with a determined stride. Hermione was at his side and Draco and Ron were at his back. Severus was in the rearguard position and Harry almost wished someone would attack but no one did. Neville was right; the doorway let them out a corridor over from Dumbledore’s entrance way and the halls were deserted at night for fear of being caught by the roaming guards.
When they turned the corner Harry had the spell ready to release. Goyle’s eyes widened as he saw them approach but it was Draco who let loose with the incantation that sent the Slytherin skidding along the hall.
“He’ll come!” Goyle spat at them, wrenching up his sleeve to show the dark mark upon his forearm. Severus was already in motion with another curse but Goyle set his hand to the mark, turning it a dark black before Severus was able to incapacitate him.
“Hurry,” Severus said, gesturing with his wand until ropes appeared around an unconscious Goyle. He pulled him alongside them and stopped in front of the Headmaster’s office. “Chocolate Frogs,” he said softly, watching as the guarding griffin began to turn.
“Albus was very fond of his picture on the chocolate frog card. It seemed a suitable tribute,” Snape said softly.
Harry smiled at that, wondering just what his life might have been like if he’d learned to trust Severus Snape a little earlier. There were things he wanted to ask the man, to understand why he did the things he did, but Harry knew without a doubt that he was Dumbledore’s man. That he was Ron’s. There was no amount of gratitude that would repay the debt he felt for the strength and personality that Ron was beginning to show again. For a while Harry thought Ron was truly gone, but Severus never gave up on him. Now, even without his memories, Ron was coming back to them.
“He’d have like that,” Harry replied just before Severus turned to take the stairs to the office.
The office was simpler than it had been the last time Harry had been there. Severus had taken some of Dumbledore’s things and moved them into cabinets in the back of the room. The feel was colder, more efficient and less welcoming, but there was still an air of knowledge and consideration in the room.
Ron moved before any of them, going to stand before the portraits that were sleeping on the wall. “Headmasters, wake up! We have to save Hogwarts before it’s too late.”
A few figures startled awake, including Dumbledore’s portrait itself.
“Ah, Severus. I do believe you’ve come in time to take care of a few odds and ends that I had left behind.”
“You had a list, Headmaster,” Ron didn’t hesitate to speak and Harry was caught again by the difference between the boy he’d known and the man Ron had become through his trials. “Voldemort’s horcruxes.”
“A very dark business, I’m afraid,” Dumbledore said softly. “I didn’t live long enough to tell anyone that I had been poisoned by one of them. Severus, you were away on one of the Dark Lord’s missions and I’m afraid your replacement was not as quick to find a cure as you would have been. I would not have lived to see these times ended. It is our young who must win this fight, I fear.”
“Albus, the horcruxes?”
The Headmaster looked down at Severus and nodded. “My memories, Severus. They are, if I am being honest, most cleverly hidden in a vial with the misleading label of ‘dinner with Slughorn.’”
Severus was at the back of the room already, pulling open a cabinet that held the Pensieve. Next to it was a shelf with vials full of memories. Ron had already moved to Severus’ side to find what they were looking for. Harry felt almost useless with the two of them there, but waited until Severus had the Pensieve filled with the right memory.
“Potter first,” Severus said, surprising him. “Dumbledore would have wanted it that way. Draco can relive it with you. The rest of us will watch when you’re through.”
Harry stood before the Pensieve and waited for Draco to join him. He could see Draco hadn’t used one before and Harry gave him a brief smile. “Just stick your head in Draco. Nothing but memories.”
He did as he was instructed then, putting his face into the water of Dumbledore’s memories. He felt as if he was falling from a great height but his landing was soft and smooth. Draco was there a moment later at his side, staring around them. They were still in the Headmaster’s office but this was still Dumbledore’s clutter and chaos.
Before him, Dumbledore was having a conversation with a painting of a previous Headmaster.
“You think you should leave this to children, Albus?”
“Voldemort will take the fight to Harry, no matter how we try to protect him. He’s lost too much to stand aside and the only way to save him is to prepare him. We have to give him the tools to succeed,” Dumbledore answered. “Harry isn’t just a child. He’s a great wizard.”
“Because of what Voldemort did to him.”
“Because of what Voldemort did, they all are. Longbottom has his strength from confronting his fears. Granger learned to turn her love of books into practical magic and heroism. Malfoy may someday turn from his family’s legacy of darkness to find and embrace his own beliefs. None of those is possible without Voldemort.”
“So you will leave cryptic messages for the boy and hope he can find his way to cheat death against the greatest dark wizard in history?”
“If I leave anything too obvious it will never reach him and I cannot put this on him if there is any other way. My memories, then, will have to suffice. Harry,” he said then, looking away from the portrait to stare into a mirror, as if he was talking to himself.
“My dear boy, I am sorry to pass this burden on to you. I hope that you have found allies to make this burden less. I have no doubt that Granger and Weasley are at your side and in that at least I can find some solace. Your path has long been crossed with Voldemort’s and we are beyond hope that this can be settled in any other manner. Voldemort has become impossible to kill, not because he is such a great wizard, but because he chose to shatter himself. To live eternal, he has committed the darkest magic to sever parts of his soul and hide them away. You have destroyed one already, though little did we understand the importance of that act at the time. Tom Riddle’s diary was a horcrux, a small part of Voldemort’s soul. I have learned that there are six horcruxes. You know that Voldemort suffered losses. In the past year I found three of his horcruxes and I was able to destroy them with the basilisk fang, as you did Tom’s journal. I found his father’s ring, Salazar Slytherin’s locket, and the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. If I am correct, there are two horcruxes still to be found. One should be found in the Ravenclaw house. For a final horcrux, I believe it would be something close to Voldemort, something that would never be far from him.”
Harry had an idea of what it could be. He could remember all too well Ron’s early screams when he woke in the middle of the night. He didn’t know how many nights he’d sat outside the room Severus shared with Ron, listening to their former professor comfort Ron - and unknowingly Harry himself. He didn’t know how many times he’d found Hermione in the same position. It changed from night to night, the horrors that Ron never confessed to them but that they overheard through the slight sliver in the door that Harry was certain Severus knew about. Large in his dreams was Voldermort’s favorite torture for Ron; the threat of being eaten alive by Nagini.
“Remember this Harry. To create a horcrux is a terrible thing. To do so, one must be willing to kill another person. When that happens, the soul breaks and attaches itself to another surface. Sometimes it is what the caster wished. On occasion though, when malice is great enough, the soul can rebound into another living creature. These horcruxes can feel the destruction of the other. They can find one another. Remember Harry, to trust in your instincts and to always trust in yourself.”
Harry found himself standing with the others again, uncertain, as always, of Dumbledore’s message. He stepped back, Draco looking at him with questioning eyes as Hermione, Ron, and Severus stepped towards the Pensieve.
“The alarm has gone up,” Severus said as he looked at Harry. “All of Hogwarts is on alert. I sent word to Remus when we left. The Order will be ready to come when Aberforth calls them.”
“I didn’t want them involved,” Harry glared at his former professor even if he knew it was childish. They needed help but he’d wanted to keep everyone safe. If this didn’t work the Order could be finished in one fell swoop.
“You want Voldemort dead. We are all prepared to risk our lives to this end. I would not have come without plans.”
Harry saw the quick flick of his eyes towards Ron and Harry understood then. Severus had given Ron his promise, he might have known it was coming before Ron had asked it even, and he’d refused to come with Ron without a way to get him out of the fight if he needed to.
“You remember your way around my storerooms, do you not?” Severus asked Harry. Harry nodded and Severus smiled. “At the back of the room you will find my mark on a corner of the wall.” He handed Harry a ring that had been on his finger. “Press this to the mark. There will be a table of ingredients and a scroll next to it. Follow the directions. I have long prepared a means to defend myself if the Dark Lord sent his followers against me.”
He didn’t say anything else, but dropped his head to the Pensieve and left Harry and Draco to leave the safety of their numbers and find the potions room.