Should I Have Let You Die?
New fic from MJ? Really? Is that possible? I thought she died and fell off the face of the earth...
Drabbleage: What if via Murtlap or some other quick intervention from a magnanimous Harry, Severus lived and was passed out in the Shrieking Shack until after the duel?
All readers, mostly canon compliant.
“Should I have let you die?”
The pale man in front of Harry was limp from loss of blood and very close to the death he had narrowly averted. He could live - if he wanted to.
Severus’ glassy eyes drifted shut and his chest rose with considerable effort as he drew in enough breath to speak. “Even in death, she belongs to him.”
Harry nodded. “A fact I can’t regret, mate. And I won’t apologise for him either. We’re all of us good and bad. I’ve done some pretty stupid things - most of all not believing Dumbledore when he told me to trust you. But I’m not all bad, I don’t think. Walking into a crowd of Death Eaters and handing myself willingly over to death for the sake of all Wizarding kind of redeems me, wouldn’t you think?”
“So… it’s done then?” Severus’ voice was barely a rasp of a whisper and he drew a breath for each word.
Harry nodded. “It’s done.”
“You’re not dead.”
“Not for lack of anyone trying, I assure you,” he chuckled. “By hurling the killing curse at me, Tom killed the last piece of his soul in my body and by sacrificing myself I gave everyone in the castle the same protection Mum had given me. He wanted to kill me himself, but Mum made that impossible. I, in turn, made it impossible for him to kill anyone else. All of his curses rebounded. Neville Longbottom killed Nagini and I bested Tom in a duel and took the wand.”
“The wand…”
“Was never his, because it was never yours. I had already beat Malfoy in a duel when we were caught at the house.” Harry held up his own newly repaired Phoenix feather wand. “It was powerful enough to repair my own wand, and so I was able to return it to Dumbledore. May it rest there for eternity, drained of its power for never having been taken from me.”
Severus nodded slightly. “For the best.”
“I think so,” replied Harry. “Now then, my friend, what is best for you?”
Silent until that moment, Harry calling Severus friend caused both Ron and Hermione to gasp. The noise drew Severus’ attention and a hint of his familiar scowl reappeared on his face. Harry rested a soothing hand on his shoulder. “Your secrets remain your own,” he murmured. “I won’t betray you. Dumbledore’s word was strong enough to save you until you killed him. My word will stand in its stead.”
“This world will never accept me.”
“And yet a small price to pay. You’re free, Severus. Every drop of blood you gave has served its purpose. Your masters are both dead and have no hold over you. You are, for the first time since you took the Dark Mark, your own man. If I were you, I’d think twice about ever swearing allegiance to anyone again.”
The older man gave a sort of wheeze that passed for a chuckle. “You proclaimed yourself ‘Dumbledore’s Man’ if I recall.”
“And look where that got me,” replied Harry, grinning. “So… St. Mungo’s?”
“If you must.”
Hermione was leaning over him then, binding the wounds to the best of her ability. Ron was by her side with their last bottle of Murtlap.
“Gently, Hermione,” cautioned Harry. “He’s been hurt enough.”
“Harry…” Her voice held a note of trepidation, though her touch gentled.
“He’s worth ten of me, Hermione. I would walk right back into that circle of Death Eaters again, rather than face what he’s faced.”
She shook her head slightly as though she couldn’t countenance Harry’s complete about face, but continued her work. “We’ll take by side along Aparition, then?” she asked.
At Harry’s affirmative nod, Severus’ eyes widened in horror. Ron leaned in then and smiled hesitantly at their former Potions Master. “No worries, Mate, we’re actually quite good at this. You know, patching up wounds from Dark Magic and side along Apparitions. Even better without any Snatchers or Death Eaters on our tail. Haven’t splinched anything in weeks!”
Severus groaned weakly and Harry laughed. “Way to put his mind at ease, Ron.”
“That’ll do it,” murmured Hermione, who then sat back to inspect her work. She smiled slightly. “Thank you, sir.”
Severus didn’t respond, but gave her something of a questioning look. “For being loyal to Professor Dumbledore,” continued Hermione. She shrugged self consciously. “It seemed like there’s wasn’t anyone working with us… like all of the Order were working at cross-purpose with Harry… Like there was no way just the three of us could win…”
She lifted her hand helplessly at a loss to explain herself. “I don’t know what Harry knows, or how it’s possible that you were on our side, but I’ll take him at his word. And it’s just… nice… knowing that even when we couldn’t trust the members of the Order, you were still on our side.”
Harry gripped her shoulder as she flushed and ducked her head. He thought maybe he could understand. They were so sure that Severus Snape had betrayed them, and yet discovering that he hadn’t was like having a small shred of their innocence and youth returned to them. For a moment, they were all a little less disillusioned. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for not only for Hermione to Apparate them out of the Shrieking Shack, but also for the explanations that must be made to St. Mungo’s healers. It seemed his job of saving the world was not quite over.
Author Index
Drabbleage: What if via Murtlap or some other quick intervention from a magnanimous Harry, Severus lived and was passed out in the Shrieking Shack until after the duel?
All readers, mostly canon compliant.
“Should I have let you die?”
The pale man in front of Harry was limp from loss of blood and very close to the death he had narrowly averted. He could live - if he wanted to.
Severus’ glassy eyes drifted shut and his chest rose with considerable effort as he drew in enough breath to speak. “Even in death, she belongs to him.”
Harry nodded. “A fact I can’t regret, mate. And I won’t apologise for him either. We’re all of us good and bad. I’ve done some pretty stupid things - most of all not believing Dumbledore when he told me to trust you. But I’m not all bad, I don’t think. Walking into a crowd of Death Eaters and handing myself willingly over to death for the sake of all Wizarding kind of redeems me, wouldn’t you think?”
“So… it’s done then?” Severus’ voice was barely a rasp of a whisper and he drew a breath for each word.
Harry nodded. “It’s done.”
“You’re not dead.”
“Not for lack of anyone trying, I assure you,” he chuckled. “By hurling the killing curse at me, Tom killed the last piece of his soul in my body and by sacrificing myself I gave everyone in the castle the same protection Mum had given me. He wanted to kill me himself, but Mum made that impossible. I, in turn, made it impossible for him to kill anyone else. All of his curses rebounded. Neville Longbottom killed Nagini and I bested Tom in a duel and took the wand.”
“The wand…”
“Was never his, because it was never yours. I had already beat Malfoy in a duel when we were caught at the house.” Harry held up his own newly repaired Phoenix feather wand. “It was powerful enough to repair my own wand, and so I was able to return it to Dumbledore. May it rest there for eternity, drained of its power for never having been taken from me.”
Severus nodded slightly. “For the best.”
“I think so,” replied Harry. “Now then, my friend, what is best for you?”
Silent until that moment, Harry calling Severus friend caused both Ron and Hermione to gasp. The noise drew Severus’ attention and a hint of his familiar scowl reappeared on his face. Harry rested a soothing hand on his shoulder. “Your secrets remain your own,” he murmured. “I won’t betray you. Dumbledore’s word was strong enough to save you until you killed him. My word will stand in its stead.”
“This world will never accept me.”
“And yet a small price to pay. You’re free, Severus. Every drop of blood you gave has served its purpose. Your masters are both dead and have no hold over you. You are, for the first time since you took the Dark Mark, your own man. If I were you, I’d think twice about ever swearing allegiance to anyone again.”
The older man gave a sort of wheeze that passed for a chuckle. “You proclaimed yourself ‘Dumbledore’s Man’ if I recall.”
“And look where that got me,” replied Harry, grinning. “So… St. Mungo’s?”
“If you must.”
Hermione was leaning over him then, binding the wounds to the best of her ability. Ron was by her side with their last bottle of Murtlap.
“Gently, Hermione,” cautioned Harry. “He’s been hurt enough.”
“Harry…” Her voice held a note of trepidation, though her touch gentled.
“He’s worth ten of me, Hermione. I would walk right back into that circle of Death Eaters again, rather than face what he’s faced.”
She shook her head slightly as though she couldn’t countenance Harry’s complete about face, but continued her work. “We’ll take by side along Aparition, then?” she asked.
At Harry’s affirmative nod, Severus’ eyes widened in horror. Ron leaned in then and smiled hesitantly at their former Potions Master. “No worries, Mate, we’re actually quite good at this. You know, patching up wounds from Dark Magic and side along Apparitions. Even better without any Snatchers or Death Eaters on our tail. Haven’t splinched anything in weeks!”
Severus groaned weakly and Harry laughed. “Way to put his mind at ease, Ron.”
“That’ll do it,” murmured Hermione, who then sat back to inspect her work. She smiled slightly. “Thank you, sir.”
Severus didn’t respond, but gave her something of a questioning look. “For being loyal to Professor Dumbledore,” continued Hermione. She shrugged self consciously. “It seemed like there’s wasn’t anyone working with us… like all of the Order were working at cross-purpose with Harry… Like there was no way just the three of us could win…”
She lifted her hand helplessly at a loss to explain herself. “I don’t know what Harry knows, or how it’s possible that you were on our side, but I’ll take him at his word. And it’s just… nice… knowing that even when we couldn’t trust the members of the Order, you were still on our side.”
Harry gripped her shoulder as she flushed and ducked her head. He thought maybe he could understand. They were so sure that Severus Snape had betrayed them, and yet discovering that he hadn’t was like having a small shred of their innocence and youth returned to them. For a moment, they were all a little less disillusioned. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for not only for Hermione to Apparate them out of the Shrieking Shack, but also for the explanations that must be made to St. Mungo’s healers. It seemed his job of saving the world was not quite over.
Author Index