Disclaimer:All is JK and WB's
Snape looked at the note in his shaking hand. He was gone. After years of living in fear, he was free from the Shadow that had long been cast over his life. Turning, he crumpled the parchment in a long-fingered hand and threw it into a dark corner of the room. The Dark Lord was not gone. Sighing, sitting down heavily, Severus knew that there was little that was human in his former master, and thus could not die He doubted the earth would ever be free from the taint of his evil again. His mouth twisted bitterly, and he looked up at the man who had delivered it to him by hand.
"What do you want me to say, Albus?" He asked, quietly. "That I'm glad he's gone? That I'm glad Potter's gone? I don't care overmuch about Potter, and you know as well as I that the Dark Lord will return." Dark eyes gazed on the old man before him, with sad, pale eyes and silver hair.
"Severus, I hope dearly that you are wrong on this account. But as for what I wish of you? I wish not for you to say anything, but to do. I wish you to help the Auror's track the remaining Death Eaters. They could use... inside information." Snape's eyebrows rose, and he watched Dumbledore carefully as he had considered. He had been looking forward to finally being able to relax, to be - alone. He blinked at the word, bitterness rising in him again. "I'll do it," he whispered. Revenge would be sweet.
"You expect me to trust him? I've been told all about him by James and Sirius." The man's eyes betrayed him for a second, showing the pain he felt over Sirius' betrayel. Frank Longbottom was a wonderful Auror, with a grip of iron over his emotions. And with a blue steel gaze and strong frame, he was not a man to mess with. Snape glanced over at Dumbledore, who merely nodded his head. Snape had found Frank's weak spot, and used it unaabashedly. He did not have time to be messing about and being sensitive. It was an emotion he didn't do well in any case.
"Do you trust anything he ever said to you? Proof, I think, that people are not always what they seem. Or that some people are terrible judges of character," he added, thinking with a degree of righteousness. He had known Black's true colours all along, since Black had tried to get him killed whilst the two were at school. "I left the Dark Lord's service before his fall - Dumbledore will vouch for me on that."
Frank's eyebrow's raised, and he looked at the man who had been a leader in the dark time, but he still looked suspicious. "Why'd he leave him?" He asked Dumbledore, but Snape interrupted.
He wanted Longbottom's help, not his pity - and he wasn't ready to talk about his family's death yet, if ever. Especially not to an idiot of a Ministry lapdog like this. "It has nothing to do with you," he spat, glaring at Frank, who quailed visibly, then glared back at Snape, angry with him for making him show weakness.
Frank looked about to punch Snape, so Dumbledore stepped in. "Gentlemen, gentlemen. I know the both of you reasonably well, and I know I can trust you to get the job done without killing one another. Now, all I ask is that you both do something you want to - to track down the Death Eaters. I ask you to form a truce, gentlemen, and think of the bigger picture over than petty squabbles."
"While I don't find his being a Death Eater-"
"Former Death Eater, Frank," interrupted Dumbledore.
"Whatever. I don't find that petty at all, and if it were up to me, he'd get thrown into Azkaban with the rest of them. But for now - a truce."
"I don't need his help," hissed Snape, about to truly loose his temper, but then he caught Dumbledore's eye. He looked as though he were about to get angry, and not for nothing was the old wizard the only person his former master had ever feared. "But for now, I will accept it," he said, reluctantly.
Frank shrugged. "Alright. You help us capture a Death Eater, then. We're after Igor Karkaroff."
"I'm sorry, I thought we were going after those worthy of the name," Snape said, looking at Frank as though he were a fool.
"Worthy! Worthy of being scum, of being so weak-"
"Frank! Severus!" Bellowed Dumbledore. "This is not the time. We have only a little time to capture as many of Voldemort's followers as we can before they can regroup. I asked once for you to trust one another. I will not ask again."
Still glaring at the Auror, Severus said his piece. "You couldn't have picked a less dangerous Death Eater. The man is all pomp and no substance. He followed the Dark Lord's orders merely because he was too afraid not too. And even then, he usually got someone else to do it for him. But very well. Karkaroff is still in this country, as far as I know."
"We've got him in London, in a seedy Muggle hotel. But we don't want to alarm him - you know what happened last time," Frank said, referring to Sirius Black's murder of fourteen people. "We need subtlety. You come with me and get Karkaroff in - then maybe I'll trust you."
Severus raised his eyebrows, and smiled unnervingly. "Very well."
"Thank you. Apparate to Diagon Alley, then make your way onwards," Dumbledore said. "And I shall see you back at the school to discuss my offer, Severus," he added, Apparating away, leaving Frank to stare at the space he had been and wondering how he'd got into this mess.
"Alright," he said, still looking at Snape with untrusting, narrowed eyes. "You do what I say, and we'll get on just fine."
"And you stay out of my way, and perhaps you won't get hurt," Snape said, leaving Frank to glare at an empty space as he'd Appararted.
"I can't see any detectors," he said, looking dubiously at the building.
"He has a Foe Glass, an no doubt several other Dark Arts detectors," Severus said. "He'll have been adding to them since the Dark Lord fell, I have no doubt." Looking around, he checked there were no curious Muggles around, then withdrew his wand. Muttering a charm under his breath, there was a tiny tinkling noise. The wand was replaced.
"What did you do?" Frank asked, blue eyes narrowed in an look that was half-suspicious, half-curious.
"Merely performed a charm that would block the detection of the items Karkaroff has. Very simple," Snape added, with a withering look that made Frank mad at him again. Entering the hotel, he smiled at the hotelier, who eyed him cautiously.
"Yeah?" He asked in a gravelly voice to match his shape, which looked like nothing so much as a full potato sack. "Watcha want?"
"Oh, I'm sure you can help us-" Snape felt Frank's hand grabbing his upper arm very tightly, warningly. He glared at him and shook him off. "My companion and I are looking for a room-" He grasped the man's arm, who fell to the floor, the noise quieted by a quick charm from Snape. Frank's anger melted into confusion.
"What just happened?"
"An infusion of asphodel and belladonna - a sleeping potion. It will give us time to get Karkaroff out, and he-" Snape pointed at the hotelier now snoring contentedly. "-will think he has been drinking too much."
Frank's surprise turned to suspicious admiration. "Good. I think I'm going to be glad I don't have to try and bring you in, before the night's over."
Snape smiled grimly. "Oh, you will be. You'd never get away alive." Frank gave him a look as though he doubted it, then looked again at Snape, who didn't bother to hide his amusement. It served to make Frank mad again, a most amusing pastime. They looked at they keys on the wall. Five were missing, 2, 9, 6, 13 and 7.
"So, I guess we'll have to check all the rooms," frowned Frank.
"No. Karkaroff is a superstitious man, and would never have used room 13."
"But won't he have thought that would make him easier to track - I mean, you know-"
"And Karkaroff doesn't know I switched sides," said Severus, looking at the staircase carefully. "I made sure that very few of them do, and even then they are unsure. He'll have gone for seven." Walking slowly towards the staircase, he said quietly, wand in hand, "Finite Incantatem."
Frank walked over, just as cautiously, again looking at Snape with surprise. "That takes a lot of power to back it up, I'm impressed." Snape glanced at Frank.
"It won't have got them all. We need to be careful," he added, and set his foot on the first stair, looking up, checking all around.
"You don't think so? He must be using pretty high level spells for that not to work." Frank looked suspiciously at the staircase.
"He will have." Sighing, Snape went up another step, and his breath hissed out. His arm was burning where the Dark Mark was. Of course. Karkaroff would let fellow Death Eaters pass. Without turning around, he told Frank to stay where he was.
"Why?" Suspicion had flared up in the man's voice, but Severus ignored him. The man was really starting to irritate.
"Just trust me." Frank made a derogatory sound, letting Severus know, if it weren't already obvious, that he most certainly didn't. "Alright then, lets just say he knows I'm here and he trusts me." He let the arm of his shirt fall, revealing the Dark Mark, black and menacing.
"Alright," said Frank, and Snape heard him take his own wand out. Sighing, Snape thought that might well be needed. If he could just find out which spell Karkaroff would have used to detect the Dark Mark and disable it without him realising... Looking to his left, quite by accident, he saw a crude carving of a skull, that was glowing pale red in the darkness of the stairway. Pausing, Snape wondered what to do. He couldn't destroy the charm or Karkaroff would know. Perhaps he could change it? He couldn't reverse it, or he himself wouldn't be able to climb the stairs, and he didn't trust Longbottom to get the job done alone. Taking out his wand, he looked around him. There were several other talismans drawn on the walls, that only a wizard or witch would be able to see.
"There are more charms here than anyone could need - I told you he was paranoid."
"There are?" Asked Frank, and turning, Snape saw he was frowning. "I don't see anything."
"They're everywhere," Severus said, wondering again at the stupidity of this Auror, then understanding dawned. Karkaroff was more intelligent than he had given him credit for. They were all connected to the Dark Mark - though, thankfully, not the Dark Mark charm, else Karkaroff would already know of their presence. Only someone with the Mark of Voldemort on their arm would be able to see and destroy these protective charms. It seemed Karkaroff mistrusted even his brethren. Snape smiled ironically, then looked again at the marks. Most were either already extinguished by his spell, else were stand-alone's that had no connection with their caster and thus Snape was able to charm into not working, or working to their favour. There was just the Dark Mark detector left. There was nothing to do but for Snape to go up alone.
"What are you doing?" Called up Frank.
"There's no way for you to get up here without Karkaroff knowing - if indeed he hasn't added a curse to the talisman," Snape added, and held his wand firmly. He was suspicious now of Karkaroff. He hadn't known him to be so smart, and would not underestimate him again. Frank was saying something, but Snape ignored him. He had to focus entirely on his quarry. At the top of the stairs, the door of room seven was directly ahead now. Karkaroff would know he was coming, and Snape prayed that he still trusted him or he was about to come to a very nasty end. Behind him, he heard Frank coming up the stairs.
"No!" Snape yelled, but too late. The Dark Mark charm had been activated, and as Snape had guessed, had a curse on it. It was merely a Stupefy, luckily for Longbottom, but now Snape was on his own. Instincts kept him alive as he heard Karkaroff's door open and dived out of the way, as the green light of Avada Kedarva filled the corridor. Looking up, arm burning still, Snape saw Karkaroff looking suspiciously down at him.
"You! Lucius was right - Expelliarmus!" Snape was knocked against the wall, and his wand flew into Karkaroff's hand. A glance down at Frank told him that no help would be coming from the downed Auror. It was up to him. Leaping up unexpectedly, Snape barrelled into the shorter man. Karkaroff gave a yell of exclamation as he fell, then pointed Snape's own wand at him and yelled out a curse. "Crucio!" Every nerve ending was on fire, Snape was in agony, then it stopped as Karkaroff paused to gloat. "You thought you could catch me, did you?" He sneered. "You always thought you were so much better than I, didn't you, Severus? Well, I - What are you doing?" Snape had sprinted down the stairs, and dug a Muggle pen from out of his pocket. Pressing hard, the pen went a little way into the wall and through down the Dark Mark charm, disabling it. Its light failed, and Snape grinned nastily up at Karkaroff. "Bad luck, Igor," he said, before yelling "Enervate!"
Frank got up on his hands, shaking his head, then he saw Karkaroff at the top of the stairs, looking down, aghast. He then glared at Snape again, casting Crucioon his. For a moment, Frank considered letting the two finish each other off. No. Snape had saved him, had tried to stop him getting cursed, and had stopped Karkaroff. It seemed he really had changed sides. He then yelled "Stupefy!", before Karkaroff managed to finish his Avada Kedarva, and the Death Eater slumped down. Frank and Snape stared at one another, the latter breathing heavily, shuddering as the effects of the Crucio curse wore off. Frank slowly smiled, and offered Snape a hand. After staring at it for a few moments, he took it.
"Perhaps you aren't as stupid as I first took you for," he said, with a wintry smile.
"And perhaps you aren't really Death Eater scum," grinned Frank, then used the fire behind the desk to talk to the Ministry, who Apparated a SWAT team over to take care of Karkaroff. "Come on. You can come and get cleaned up at my place before we move on."
"'Move on'?" Severus asked with raised brow. "I was sure Dumbledore only required us to work together this once."
"Aw, are you telling me you didn't have fun?" Frank asked, still grinning.
"'Fun...?'" Snape asked, and shook his head. "I don't think I'd classify that as 'fun'."
Longbottom clicked his tongue, and shook his head. "Well, if you're sure... Come and get cleaned up, anyway, me and Martha will see if we can't change your mind." He Apparated, and sighing, Snape followed him. He would clean up, then leave.
"Won't you have a drink, Severus?" Asked Martha Longbottom.
"I really-"
"And I really insist!" She laughed as baby Neville banged his bottle on his high chair. "See, Neville does too. What can I get you?"
"if you insist," said Severus, giving in, "Then I'll have a coffee. Black, no sugar."
Martha nodded, walking over to the kitchen. "Alright. Just watch Neville for a moment, would you?" She disappeared into the other room, and Snape stared at the child, who laughed and waved his feet. Despite himself, he smiled warmly at the boy. He was really very sweet.
"He's damn cute, isn't he?" Snape jumped as Frank entered the room, smiling broadly, looking as though he'd won an argument. "I saw you smile, Snape. You might pretend to have no feelings, but you do, don't you?"
"You have no idea," Severus said softly, looking at the boy, then at his father, who walked over and doted on him, waving a duck-shaped rattle. Martha returned, handing Snape his coffee, then walking over to her husband and son and wrapping an arm around Frank's waist. The image of family bliss was too much for Severus, and he spoke up, making sure his voice was icy.
"Were we not supposed to find more Death Eaters?"
Frank turned in surprise, giving Snape a measuring look and then shrugged. "Yeah. You got any suggestions? I wanted to get the Lestranges, but they got off." His look was dark, and made Snape uncomfortable. The Lestranges had been good friends of his, though too zealous towards the end - almost as insane as Malfoy.
"Malfoy," Snape said, then looked at Frank. "If anyone will be trying to gain control of the Death Eaters that remain, it will be him. I could get to his house, and spy a little... See what his plans are."
Frank gazed at him for a while, and Snape merely looked unblinkingly back. "You think its safe? Apart from anything else, Lucius Malfoy has power in the Ministry, he'd never get sent to Azkaban."
"I know," Snape said, bitterness returning to full strength. Thru Dumbledore, he had tried to get the murder of his family avenged by the arm of the law. His appeal had been laughed out of court. "I will go and see what Lucius has to say. And if he tries anything, I'll kill him."
Martha stared at him, shocked. "You - you will? You'd risk going to Azkaban for that piece of trash?"
Snape looked at her for a few moments, then at her son. He knew some of his feelings must have shown in his eyes for a moment before he regained control, for the look Martha gave him next was one of infinite compassion. "I would, if it meant he couldn't hurt anyone again," he said, and she nodded, going over to pick her son up and hold him tightly. Frank had been looking at him during the whole exchange, but, it seemed, hadn't picked up that which his wife had.
"Well, if you're sure you can do it without being discovered," Frank said, with a serious look. "Then go for it. We're getting short of information on what the Death Eaters are doing now."
"I'll be back tonight," Snape said, before Disapparating.
The charms and hexes that guarded Malfoy mansion were many and quite complex, many more than in Karkaroff's den. But Snape knew each one well, and had created some himself. It was very easy, therefore, to get in. The greater problem was finding Malfoy. Luck was with him that night, it seemed, for he found Malfoy in full, bragging swing. He was in the dining room, and when Snape used a handy charm to use a brink near his ear as an amplifier, he could hear every word. Lucius was talking to his wife, telling her how he had sent some Death Eaters on a mission.
"They're so easy to manipulate," he laughed. "They think those idiot Auror's know where the Dark Lord is. They shall wipe them out, one by one - and if they get caught? I remain blameless, with the Dark Lord's legion of followers at my disposal." He laughed, and Snape's eyes narrowed. So that was his plan. But who was he sending them after?
"I heard today that Karkaroff was captured, poor fellow," Narcissa said.
"Yes," growled Lucius. "That's why I sent them after Longbottom first-" Snape didn't wait to hear anymore, merely Apparated back to the Longbottom's. He wasn't sure what he would do - there was a group of Death Eaters, but he would not allow Lucius to harm anyone else's family. He appeared on the Longbottom's front lawn, and a startled yell came from in front of him. Looking up, Snape saw it was Robert Lestrange, a skinny, nervous looking man, who looked relieved to see him.
"Sev! What are you doing here? Did Lucius send you, too?" He grinned nervously. "I'm glad - wouldn't want you to miss the show-" Snape's hands went around the shorter mans throat.
"Who are they? What are they doing?" He hissed.
"S-Severus! What are you doing! They're getting info from the Auror, didn't Lucius-" Snape punched the man, highly irritated by his stupidity. Unfortunately, Lestrange cried out before he lost consciousness. There went Snape's element of surprise. He ran into the house anyway. It was a mess. Doors were pulled off hinges, furniture was broken, the carpet was in shreds. Ducking an Expelliarmus just in time, he saw a thickset man, whose name he didn't know, holding his wand and glaring at him stupidly. He was quicker than he looked, as he moved over to Snape and kicked him in the head, causing the world to go black with flashes for a moment.
"What did you do to Rob?!" He asked with a think accent, now kicking Snape in the stomach. Getting thoroughly sick of it, Snape performed a Stupefy on the man, and pushed himself onto his feet. He ran into the living room, and stopped, eyes wide at the sight he saw there. Frank and Martha were writhing on the floor, victims of the Cruciatus curse. An exhausted look of pain sat on their faces, and they were drenched in sweat. This had been going on a long time, maybe since he'd left. And worst of all was Barty Crouch, laughing hysterically at the pain he was causing. When he noticed Snape, he pointed his wand at him, and leagues of pain assaulted him for moments.
"You've betrayed us, have you Severus?" He launched another attack on the Longbotttom's. "Well, I never trusted you. But you're too late. And once we've finished with these two, we'll take you to Lucius - I'm sure he'll be very glad to see you." The pain came again, for longer this time. His head was already spinning, and he felt weak as hell. He feared that the Longbottom's wouldn't survive the torture, certainly not with all their faculties intact. He had to do something.
"Let them go, Barty," he said in a quiet voice, dropping his wand and raising his hands. "I'll go with you - but they don't know anything." He had no intention of going to Lucius Malfoy unarmed, but Crouch would never get him that far. He could kill him with his bare hands, if he had too. The boy was a little zealot, and Snape had no intention of letting him go. No-one cursed him and got away unscathed.
"They know!" Screamed Crouch, face contorted with fury and hatred. "And they'll tell us." He raised his wand at Snape. "As for you, you deserve a traitors death. Avada Kedarva!" He screeched, and Severus leapt out of the way just in time, as a hideous green light filled the room. He then leapt up, pushing Crouch to the ground. Crouch's long fingernails gouged deeply across Snape's cheek.
"Traitor!" He screeched again, "Cruciatus!" The pain came again, tho somehow, Snape managed to hit Crouch's arm, and the wand flew to a corner of the room. Wandless, the boy just pummeled Snape. Off balance, Severus fell to the floor, head spinning. The boy drew a dagger, completely unexpectedly, from the folds of his robe, and plunged it into Snape's shoulder. He gasped in pain, then again as Crouch pulled it out and stabbed at his stomach. He kicked him off, feeling faint and covered in his own blood, and managed to find a wand - his vision was too burred to see whose - and Stupefy Crouch.
The boy, Snape thought, remembering the Longbottom's son. He threw the wand to the floor, knowing little healing magic and useless anyway at his low energy levels. He expected that to be the last of the Death Eaters, in any case. But he had forgotten that where Robert Lestrange went, his wife followed. Finding the nursery, leaving a trail of blood behind him, Snape sank to his knees in exhaustion. He looked up and saw Lenore Lestrange looking down at him.
"You got through the others, Sev. You're a great wizard - could've been the greatest of all of us. But you made the wrong choice when you betrayed us." Her voice was hard, her lip curled into a snarl. With a twist of his head, he saw that she had the boy in her arms. He had to get him away from her. If only his body would follow instructions and move. To his initial surprise, she lay him down in the crib. He merely laughed and tugged her finger. Pulling out her wand, Snape realised what she was going to do - she was going to kill him, get rid of the last of this Auror family.
"No," he said, meaning to shout, but barely audible. Lenore looked at him, amused, then turned back to the baby, who gurgled at her. With a last reserve of strength fuelled by desperation, Snape launched himself at her. Her wand rolled across the floor.
"I can't let you hurt an innocent boy, Lenore," he rasped, punching her.
"You let your own daughter die, Snape," she snarled. "Wasn't she innocent?!"
"I didn't let anyone die!" Howled Snape, before punching her again, and she slumped to the floor, unconscious. Glancing up at an owl which was shrieking hysterically in a cage in the corner, Snape managed, barely keeping conscious, to open the cage magically. Grabbing a piece of parchment that lay on the floor, he managed to write in blood;
L tortured by DE. Boy safe. SS
"Take this to Dumbledore," he whispered, before slipping into the kind and peaceful realms of unconsciousness.
"No!" he cried, sitting up quickly. He was forced back down to the bed. Looking up, Severus saw that it was Dumbledore who had lowered him. He recognised the room as the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey, the new nurse, was bustling about, looking at Dumbledore disapprovingly. It seemed she was strict and didn't want her patient disturbed. Though Snape felt much better than he had any right to - any Muggle would have been dead hours - days? - ago. Dumbledore was looking at him with a mixture of bitterness and sorrow in his eyes. "What? Are they alright?" After his initial outburst, Snape could manage little more than a hoarse whisper.
"They have been taken to St. Mungo's, Severus. They have little sense left in them, though would have no doubt been killed if you had not intervened."
"Being dead is better than that," Snape whispered, though the look on Albus' face showed he disagreed with him. There was silence for a few moments.
"We have a jumbled account of what happened, but I think it should hold up in court," Dumbledore sighed, then looked at Severus again. "You did a great thing tonight, Severus."
Snape looked up at Dumbledore bitterly. "Robbed a boy of his parents? Loose a couple of the very few people who trust me? And truly betray my friends? I did nothing great, Albus."
"If you had not interfered, both Frank and Martha, as well as their son, would be dead. You saved their lives. And there is always hope."
Snape snorted. He didn't believe in hope anymore. What was there to hope in? To hope that the world would suddenly be a wonderful place, all evil gone? He didn't believe that for a moment, and wasn't sure if he believed anything at all would ever get better. Any good that appeared was balanced out by an evil, in his experience. To hope is to be naive. "The boy?" Snape asked quietly, not sure he wanted to know.
"He has been sent to his grandmother," Albus said.
"And its all my fault," Snape said, staring out of the window into the dark night.
"Would it make any difference if I said otherwise?" Dumbledore asked, himself sounding bitter. At that, Snape glanced up, a wintry smile graced his features.
"Surely you aren't becoming bitter, Albus - if you loose hope, what have the rest of us?"
Albus smiled a little, then looked at Snape again. "And what of my offer of a teaching position at the school? Hunting Death Eaters is too dangerous for you, now."
Snape paused to consider. To teach children to protect themselves against the evil his brethren would spread around the globe? To teach children to stop those men and women who would cause their pain and deaths? It sounded almost too good an offer. And one he most certainly couldn't refuse.
"I'm not sure I'd be a very good teacher," Snape said.
"Shall I take that as an acceptance?" Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling behind their half-moon glasses. Severus smiled weakly as he took Dumbledore's hand. For better or for worse, this was the start of a new life for him. He was determined not to fail.