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Onward into the Breach	By : QueenB Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 8398 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in anyway, shape or form. The rights of such belong solely to J.K Rowling. I do not make any money or accrue any monetary benefit on this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Ron and Hermione were the only other ones Harry informed about the Elder Wand’s new ownership. Luna and Dean might keep that secret. But the fewer people who knew, the better. He didn’t want any breath of it getting out to the Wizarding world. People were despairing enough as it was without hearing this particular bit of bad news.
They were all walking along the beach, Snape having thrown up Muffliato to prevent them from being overheard. Harry could have done it himself. But he didn’t want Snape to know about his use of the Potions book of the Half-Blood Prince. He didn’t know why he kept it a secret. Maybe he didn’t want this Snape to be disappointed with his potion brewing skills as the other one had been.
Under cover of yet another impromptu DADA lesson, they were holding a four-way chat. Only Snape was managing the business of looking concentrated on the training while effortlessly carrying on the conversation.
“Blimey. So You-Know-Who has got the Elder Wand,” Ron muttered. He cast a hex at Snape that the other man easily deflected.
“Yep,” Harry muttered. Snape muttered swiftly and cast a hex on him and then a secondary one on Ron. Harry erected a quick shield but the other Gryffindor was caught unaware. His clothes turned into a mass of writhing snakes that started biting him until Severus canceled it.
“Ouch! Fuck!”
“Language, Mr. Weasley.”
“Like I’m supposed to be worried about that when I’m getting my nose chewed off!”
Hermione frowned worriedly. “The Elder Wand – so it really does exist?”
“Looks like it. So much for your notion that the Hallows were all bunk,” Ron smirked.
She glared at him and cast a hex that sent a flock of angry birds in his direction. Ron’s counterattack blasted them before they got within two feet. “Finally learned the counter-curse to that one,” he yawned.
“Only because the Professor taught you, I’ll bet,” she shot back. The flush darkening Ron’s face showed she’d hit the nail right on the head and Harry smothered a laugh.
He snuck a peek at the Slytherin. The former professor had a decided gleam in his eye and a smile playing about his lips that made Harry’s skin tingle. It was so odd to see a Snape with a sense of humor. Still, it was wonderful to see him smile. It made him look so young and…approachable.
Dark eyes flicked his way and Harry ducked his head, embarrassed to be caught staring – again. He swiftly turned his attention back to the lesson and conversation.
“So what do we do now?” Hermione asked. With a twirl of her wand, she created a mild sandstorm that had the others blind and choking while leaving her untouched.
“We continue as we have, Miss Granger,” Snape answered, as soon as he could safely speak again. “We actually have gained more time to find and finish off the remaining Horcruxes. Now that the Dark Lord has achieved his objective, he will fancy himself untouchable. If he is the same arrogant, malevolent creature that he was in my world – “
“He is,” Harry muttered.
“ – then he will be spending the next few days or weeks trying out his newly acquired toy on random victims. I fear Muggles and half-bloods will be the ones to bear the brunt of his gleeful malice.”
Harry clenched his wand. He’d been so concerned about acquiring that damned wand or at least mustering a defense against it. He hadn’t considered the likely consequences to others. Judging by Ron and Hermione’s stricken expressions, they were just realizing this as well.
A jet of purple light hit his right arm, causing it to go numb. He yelped and dropped his wand. When he looked around, Snape was giving him a stern look.
“Constant vigilance, Harry. You mustn’t let your emotions get the better of you, especially in the midst of battle. Pick up your wand – with your left hand,” he added when Harry stooped down.
“I haven’t really learned how to use my left hand for wand work.”
“Then this will be excellent practice for you – all of you. Switch your wands and we’ll begin.”
Snape smoothly switched his wand to his left hand. Further conversation about the Elder Wand was satisfactorily tabled while they fumbled through this new lesson.
__________
Snape didn’t accompany Harry on another lone tour of the beach. He found ways to be elsewhere or he kept in the company of others whenever Harry was around.
The Slytherin was avoiding him; that much was clear. But why? Had he been disgusted by what Harry had done that night? Did he think Harry was a lying prat or a hypocrite for letting himself get jerked off and then babbling about Ginny? He was too mortified to ask and Snape didn’t volunteer.
It wasn’t that Harry wanted to be alone with the Slytherin. He just wasn’t satisfied with what they’d said to each other. Snape had denied feeling anything for him. But Harry wasn’t certain what his own feelings were. Ever since that night, he’d been confused and nervous, all too aware of the older wizard’s presence. There was an unspoken tension, like electricity, charging the air between them and Harry didn’t know what to do about it.
He swore he could feel the older wizard eyeing him, especially when he got dressed at night or in the morning. He had never once caught the Slytherin at it. But the sensation of being watched was too powerful to ignore.
__________
Severus lay stretched out in the bed, Rita Skeeter’s book balanced on his legs. He had decided to take the time to read it. It was undoubtedly trash but even in trash there was a kernel of truth. Not all of this could have been lies and pretense.
There was so much of Albus’s life that had been hidden from him. He wasn’t certain how much of this Albus matched what he knew of the Albus in his own reality. This portrayal showed him as a brilliant young wizard, hungry for knowledge and power and unscrupulous in his choice of company. He’d been bitter about being kept home to take care of a crippled little sister. But somehow he’d found the strength to turn away from Grindelwald’s path.
“Catching up on a little light reading?”
He looked up to see Harry standing by the side of the bed. The youth wore some of Bill’s oversized night flannels, making him look even younger than usual.
“I wanted to see, to try to understand.”
“So did I. But Skeeter isn’t to be trusted. That’s why I went to Bathilda Bagshot’s home. I thought she might be able to tell me something she hadn’t told Skeeter.”
“Did she?”
“No. She’d been dead for weeks. Nagini was inhabiting her corpse. When I confronted her, You-Know-Who told her to attack me.”
“And that’s when your wand was damaged,” Severus finished, putting the pieces together.
“Yeah. Bloody waste of time, the whole trip was. I shouldn’t have bothered. The Horcrux search was more important.” Harry scowled, clearly annoyed with himself, and plopped down on the bed.
Severus carefully set the book down on the nighttime table. Harry was lying still, staring at the ceiling. There was an air of nervousness about him and he waited patiently for whatever the Gryffindor was struggling to articulate.
“Snape…would you tell me about my mum?”
“Your mother?” Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t that.
“No one talks to me about her. You told me she was alive in your world, right?” he whispered.
“She is. Why are you whispering? Put up the Silencing Charm if you don’t want others to hear.”
“Oh. Right.” Harry’s eyes narrowed and Severus felt the slight ripple of wordless magic. Harry was exceptionally good at it when he concentrated. The Dark Lord was right not to underestimate him.
“So what is she like?”
“Your mother is a charming, funny, devious, pushy, sweet, knowing and good-natured lady. She loves you fiercely and would do anything to protect you. I am humbled to have her as a friend.”
“Is she around a lot?”
“Around you, you mean? Indeed, yes. You are still a student at Hogwarts and she teaches Charms.”
Harry propped himself up on his elbow, staring at Snape. “My mum teaches at Hogwarts? Brilliant!” he grinned.
“I think so.”
Harry got a considering look on his face. “Snape, thanks for talking to me about her. Nobody else does. The members of the Order of the Phoenix just look at me and tell me I look like my dad. But nobody says anything to me about what she was like.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there any reason for their reticence?”
Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re all so caught up in this business with You-Know-Who, there’s no time for nostalgia. And it’s not like I asked them. Somehow I can’t talk to them…maybe because they’re so much older. For a long time, they just kept me out of things, you know? Making plans to fight and not letting me in on anything. Before my fifth year, Dumbledore insisted I stay cooped up with the Dursleys.”
“The who?”
“Oh right. You don’t know about them. When my parents died, I was sent to live with my aunt Petunia and her husband Vernon Dursley.”
Severus frowned, thinking back. He remembered Petunia, all right. She’d effectively cut ties with her younger sister when Lily entered Hogwarts. Severus vaguely remembered hearing she was married; Lily had not been invited to the wedding. In later years, Lily had lost track of her prejudiced sister, a distance Petunia had no doubt encouraged.
“You were sent to live with Petunia? Sweet Circe, why? She hated magic and resented your mother for going off to Hogwarts without her.”
Harry shrugged again, looking uncomfortable. “I don’t know. Dumbledore said something about her providing blood protection since she was related to my mother.”
“But she couldn’t have been the kindest of caretakers. I remember how narrow-minded and hostile she was even as a child.” Severus turned over, eyeing Harry’s rigid features. “I presume Petunia married a Muggle like herself?”
“She did. And she had a kid, a boy named Dudley. No magic in him either.”
That stood to reason. Just as Lily had found a wizard who had loved her and whom she had loved in return, Petunia had also gravitated to her own kind. Like tended to like, it seemed.
“Lily and James had other family, magical relatives who would have been perfectly happy to take you in. Why would Dumbledore insist you stay with her, of all people?”
“I don’t know.”
Severus waited but Harry did not elaborate. There was an awkward tension in his silence that hadn’t been there before. What was he not saying?
“Harry? Did Dumbledore ever contact any of James’s relatives?”
“I don’t know. He never gave me any reason for staying at the Dursleys except talk about my mother’s blood protection, since she died to protect me. I guess dad’s death didn’t meet the requirements.” Now Harry sounded sarcastic, bitterness leaching into his tone. “Snape?”
“Yes?”
“Sometimes I wondered just how much the Headmaster really cared about what happened to me. When I got my letter about attending Hogwarts, it was addressed to ‘Harry Potter, the cupboard under the stairs.’ So he must have known what they were doing.”
“The cupboard… Harry, you’re not making any sense.”
Misery flickered across the boy’s features before they went conspicuously blank. “For 10 years after my folks died, the Dursleys kept me in a cupboard beneath the main stairwell. They hated the fact that my parents practiced magic and they hated having to take me in. I guess I was a reminder of everything they disliked about mum and dad. Every day I lived there, they made it real clear just how much of a burden I was.”
This was appalling. There was a wealth of detail going unmentioned in those simple statements. Severus couldn’t begin to imagine what Harry must have endured. And Dumbledore must have known of their ill treatment. Why else would that letter have been addressed that way?
The youth wasn’t finished. In a voice grown even quieter, he murmured, “There were things I noticed, other things that Dumbledore didn’t exactly tell me. During my first year in Hogwarts, I found the Mirror of Erised. I used it to stop Professor Quirrell from getting the Sorcerer’s Stone. But after that it disappeared. Dumbledore told me it was dangerous to keep looking into it. But how else could I have found it in the first place unless he knew about it? And before my fifth year, he wouldn’t let me be in contact with anybody, not even my friends. But he had me watched by a Slytherin portrait, a thief called Mundungus Fletcher and the crazy neighbor lady who turned out to be a helpless Squib. Not exactly a useful bunch if I was ever in any real danger.”
None of this made any sense. The Dumbledore Harry was describing came off like a cold-hearted, manipulative bastard, one who knowingly left a helpless baby in the clutches of hate-filled relatives and needlessly exposed him to danger. He thought about that sword cast into the pond and inwardly writhed at the hand he’d had in that scheme.
“I honestly can’t comprehend your circumstances, Harry. This whole word is vastly altered from the one I remember. Your Dumbledore is a stranger to me, especially since my sole contact with him is as a portrait.” It was an evasion and he could sense the youngster knew it. But it was the best Severus could manage without slandering the former Headmaster.
“Snape, did you… Never mind. Forget it.”
“What?”
“It’s none of my business.”
“Ask me anything you wish, Harry. I will tell you if the question is out of bounds.”
“Did you…leave behind anybody special? You know, in that world?”
Severus was sure his features gave away nothing. But those green eyes were scrutinizing him and something in them sharpened. “Snape?”
“No. No one special,” he answered smoothly.
“What does that mean? You didn’t have anybody or just no one who was really close to you?”
“I assure you, Harry, my situation in this world is precisely what it was in that one.”
“Oh.” There was a brief pause while Harry thought about that. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t concern yourself on my behalf. If I can destroy the Dark Lord, I shall be content to live out my life here in solitude.”
“I’m sorry that you should be alone. You deserve to have someone for yourself.”
Inwardly, Severus appreciated that. But it wasn’t exactly a promise of anything more, was it? So he murmured, “That is a…generous statement coming from you, Harry. I’m gratified you should think that way, considering the animosity of our first meeting.” He brushed his fingers through the untidy bangs, exposing the scar.
Far from shying away, the adolescent tilted his head up into the touch. Harry actually seemed to like it when Severus touched him there. He tried not to read too much into that.
Then he turned over, his back to the adolescent. “Good night, Harry.”
Harry was quiet for a moment. Then he whispered, “Good night, Snape. Nox.”
In the darkness, Severus lay very still, thinking how narrowly he had managed to skirt disaster. He hadn’t lied to Harry, per se. In that world, he would have been in bed with his bondmate, just as he was at this moment. So his situation was exactly what it would have been – only the circumstances surrounding it were altered.
Harry fell asleep eventually and Severus let the soft sounds coming from the other side of the bed wash over him. This was the closest he got to nocturnal bliss and he cursed himself – again – for being a sentimental fool. Yet if this were all he could have of this Harry, then he would content himself with it for as long as he was able.
He closed his eyes and listened to Harry breathe.
__________
Harry was helping Fleur in the kitchen the next morning when Bill came in. “Has Severus come back yet?”
“Come back? ‘As he left, Beell? No one told me about it.”
Bill frowned and glanced at Harry uncertainly. “He said he was going down to the shore to gather some driftwood. He wanted to try brewing something on our stove. I pointed out we didn’t have a regular cauldron. But he insisted he could manage without it. So he hasn’t come back?”
A faint suspicion took hold of Harry. Severus had been up before him this morning. That was nothing new. The man regularly rose near dawn. He hardly seemed to need sleep; he was like his counterpart that way. But he hadn’t been eyeing Harry as usual the previous evening. In fact, he’d seemed distracted, answering Harry with short answers when he answered at all.
And he’d disappeared shortly before breakfast…
Harry stopped chopping the cucumbers for lunch, racing upstairs while Fleur called after him. The bedroom was empty, as he’d suspected. A frantic search revealed his Invisibility Cloak was still there. He snatched it up and took off for the other bedroom.
He skidded to a halt. Griphook was standing in the hallway. The goblin showed no sign of his previous injuries. But suspicion glowed in the depths of his black eyes.
“You seem in a hurry, Potter. Where do you go in such haste? You were not thinking of breaking our bargain, were you?”
Harry’s jaw clenched. “No, of course not, Griphook. Have you seen Snape?”
The beady eyes narrowed even further. “The taller wizard? No, not in some hours.” The batlike ears flattened to his head. “Has he abandoned us?”
“No, I don’t think he has. I was just going to look for him.”
“Allow me to accompany you,” the creature said in its gravelly voice. With no choice, Harry marched down to the beach, the goblin following closely behind.
Harry looked sharply in every direction. He saw no sign of Snape. Could he be farther up the beach, out of sight? Had he already returned to the house?
There was nothing Harry could put his finger on about the Slytherin’s behavior but something was off.
Suddenly he knew. Snape had taken off for Gringotts without him or the others. They’d managed to get their own way when it came to attacking the Malfoys. But Snape had gotten the drop on them this time.
Harry wanted to race back to the cottage and find Ron and Hermione. But he hesitated. The Invisibility Cloak wouldn’t fit all of them any longer, not in broad daylight, and he didn’t have time to find them in any case.
The goblin had been eyeing him this whole time, the sharp stare never wavering from his face. “So this Snape has taken off without you. But I will come with you, Harry Potter.” When he hesitated, the goblin reached out and grabbed his leg. “Do not think to attempt this venture without me, young wizard. I have not told you everything about Gringotts. You need my help still.”
He didn’t know if that was true or not. But he couldn’t risk it. Kneeling down, Harry fought back a shiver as the wiry body climbed his and settled on his shoulders. Tugging the Cloak to cover himself and the goblin, he turned in a circle and concentrated with all his might on the Leaky Cauldron, the entrance to Diagon Alley.
He braced himself against the tug behind his belly button as he was whirled into darkness.
__________
Harry stumbled as he came out of the Apparition tunnel, just barely keeping to his feet. He looked around, keeping a narrow eye out for the Potions master.
He managed to make it into the alley without drawing any attention to himself. No one twigged to the fact that there was an invisible person walking about. Nevertheless, he strove to keep from bumping into people, a task not as easy as it seemed.
Severus was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Harry caught his breath as he saw a familiar woman striding towards the bank.
Bellatrix Lestrange was as haughty as ever, her dark curls falling over her forehead and providing a shadow for her heavy-lidded eyes. But how could she be here? Wasn’t she still imprisoned in Malfoy Manor by Voldemort?
He looked at her a little more carefully. She appeared much the same as when he’d last seen her. Her clothes were stylish yet subdued and she walked with a purposeful stride – long and slinking and practically soundless.
This wasn’t Bellatrix. This was Snape under Polyjuice. He’d managed to defeat her in battle, after all, and it would have been an easy matter to get her wand away from Hermione. He’d known Bellatrix for years as well as the Malfoys. So who better to impersonate her?
Harry sidled up to his target and whispered, “Going somewhere without me?”
Snape was much more self-possessed than Hermione or Ron. Instead of starting or shrieking in terror at the voice coming out of nowhere, the disguised woman turned smoothly into a nearby alley. Once there, she glared at the empty air and muttered between clenched teeth. “Harry, you imbecile. Get away from here before you ruin everything.”
Harry pulled off the Cloak only to have her – or rather him – grab it. “Keep it up, you fool! Do you want to get captured?” Snape hissed.
“I could ask you that!” Nevertheless, Harry jerked the Cloak back over himself. “We make all these plans to assault the bank together and you just tear off without us! What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I had the best chance of infiltrating the bank and doing so without the bungling efforts of you and your sidekicks.”
“Ron and Hermione are not sidekicks! They’ve been standing beside me from day one and helping me, which is more than I can say for you!”
“You have been meandering around trying to avoid capture and nearly getting yourselves killed with hare-brained schemes like rescuing people from the Ministry and the Malfoys and attempting useless conversations with aged, decrepit witches like Bathilda Bagshot. I, on the other hand, know Bellatrix well enough to impersonate her. I don’t need your help or that of your tagalongs. Now kindly leave, Potter.”
Harry seethed at this dismissal although he had to admit Snape was right. They had been mucking up things. But that was no reason for the Slytherin to risk his neck alone. “You’re not going in there by yourself, Snape, and that’s all there is to it. You try and we’re tagging along, as you put it.”
“We?”
“Indeed, Snape,” the gravelley voice rapped out. “Did you think to invade Gringotts without a goblin at your side?”
Snape’s eyes darted around the empty space. “Brilliant, Harry. You brought your little friend with you.”
“Merely seeing to it that you did not renege on our bargain, wizard,” Griphook hissed.
Snape heaved a much put-upon sigh. “Very well. Since you insist on being in the way, keep yourselves hidden.” Snape strode out of the alley, Harry following.
People scurried out “Bellatrix’s” way as she strode down the sidewalk, looking to neither left nor right. If she managed to catch someone’s eye, they quickly looked away, fright evident in their drawn features.
One of them did not withdraw. A man with a bloodied bandage came staggering across Snape’s path.
“My children!” he bellowed, pointing at the Polyjuiced wizard. His voice was loud, cracked with fury or grief. “Where are my children? What has he done with them? Tell me! You know, you hag!”
The man lunged for him, his hands outstretched for Snape’s throat. Without a single word or glance at him, Snape whipped out Bellatrix’s wand and hit him with a Stunning Spell. One red blast and the man was stretched out on sidewalk. Snape stepped smoothly over him and walked on without a backward look at the prostrate figure.
Harry was stunned but managed to scramble after him, skirting the unmoving man. The whole incident had taken less than a minute but managed to attract the attention of everyone in the street.
“Why, Madam Lestrange!”
Harry whirled around. A tall, thin wizard with a crown of bushy gray hair and a long, sharp nose was striding towards them. He tensed but Snape greeted the man in smooth if not entirely friendly tones.
“How do you do, Travers?”
Travers? Who was that? Snape evidently knew him; Harry would have to play this by ear.
“Very well, Bellatrix. I confess I am surprised to see you out and about.”
“Really? How so?”
“Well,” Travers affected a cough while eyeing the Polyjuiced wizard smugly, “I had heard that the inhabitants of Malfoy Manor were confined to the house, after the unfortunate, ah, escape of Potter and his friends. The Dark Lord was not pleased with your ineptitude.” He chuckled maliciously to himself.
The look “Bellatrix” gave him could have frozen a forest fire. “The Dark Lord forgives those who have served him most faithfully in the past. Perhaps he is less impressed with your performance than he is with mine, Travers. After all, I did manage to kill that turncoat, Sirius Black. What have you done for him lately?”
The wizard’s lips thinned. Then Travers peered at the false Bellatrix, sharp eyes flicking at her. “But how is it that you have a wand, Bellatrix? I have heard that yours was – “
Snape held up Bellatrix’s wand. “I don’t know what rumors you have been listening to, Travers, but you seem sadly misinformed,” he said coolly.
Snape really was good at this; Harry doubted whether Hermione could have done better. Though the Death Eater looked offended, it was clear he bought the impersonation.
“Indeed. My mistake.” Now the man looked confused and distinctly uneasy. Death Eaters were clearly a treacherous lot, given to dragging each other down and profiting from misfortunes even among their inner circle. Harry had seen some of that attitude at Malfoy Manor. Evidently, it wasn’t confined to family members.
Abruptly changing the subject, Travers asked, “So what are you doing today?”
“I’m off to Gringotts. I have business there.”
“Ah yes. Gold, filthy gold. We cannot do without it, yet I despise the necessity of consorting with our long-fingered friends to obtain it. Mind if I join you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do, Travers. We are not on such good terms that I would accept your stepping in my shadow.” Her lips curled in a mirthless smile. “And this explains why you’re such a poor spy. You need subtlety to track your victims, a quality you have always been sorely lacking.”
This time an ugly flush traveled over the other wizard’s thin face. His hand twitched in his pocket and Harry pulled out his wand, prepared to Stun the man if necessary. But Travers pulled back and continued past them with a curt nod.
Harry let out a sigh of relief. Snape walked down the crooked, cobbled street toward the snow-white edifice that towered over the other little shops. All too soon they arrived at the foot of the marble steps leading up to the great bronze doors.
Instead of the goblins that had stood there on Harry’s long-ago visit, there were two human wizards, both holding long thin golden rods.
What were those? Harry frantically searched his memory. “Griphook,” he whispered. “What are they holding?”
“Probity Probes,” Griphook hissed. “They must have had these tools implemented after the attack on the Ministry. They will pierce any spells of concealment and hidden magical objects. They will discover us, Potter!”
Harry relayed this information to the Polyjuice wizard. “Bellatrix” stiffened slightly. Snape evidently hadn’t known anything about this. But he couldn’t leave now. It would look very strange to any onlookers. The guards were already staring at her where she hovered at the bottom of the stairs.
Pulling out Draco’s wand, Harry pointed at first one guard then the other and murmured, “Confundo” twice. Each guard gave a slight start as the spell hit them. Snape made no acknowledgement of his action, merely maintained his stride up the steps. As he passed the guards, one of them raised his Probe.
“One moment, madam.”
“But you’ve already done that!” the Polyjuiced wizard snapped.
The guard looked confused. He stared at the Probe and then at his companion, who said, “Yeah, you’ve just checked them, Marius.” “Bellatrix” nodded curtly and swept past them into the inner sanctum.
This was even more harrowing than the attack on the Ministry. Then he’d been working more or less on his own autonomy. Now he had a goblin hissing instructions into his ear while trailing along in Snape’s wake, terrified that he might trip up the older, more experienced wizard.
Harry was using the Confundus spell and the Imperius Curse on watchful wizards and goblins. It was the first time he’d ever used an Unforgiveable and it made him queasy inside.
An Imperiused goblin named Bogrod called for something called the Clankers, which appeared to be nothing more than a leather bag filled with clanking metal. Another goblin came scurrying around the counter.
“Wait – Bogrod! We have instructions,” he said, bowing to Snape. “Forgive me, Madam, but there have been special orders regarding the vault of Lestrange.”
“They know something is wrong,” Griphook hissed. “They have been warned to expect impostors!”
If the goblins did know, they hadn’t amassed any force yet. Snape had been challenged for identification but not forcibly stopped. The goblins had their orders but they were too unsure about Snape’s real identify to risk angering such an important figure, especially a Death Eater.
The goblin was whispering urgently in Bogrod’s ear, but the Imperiused goblin shook him off. “I am aware of the instructions. But Madam Lestrange wishes to visit her vault and we can’t…risk angering…very old clients…old family. This way, if you please.”
Still clanking, he hurried toward one of the many doors leading off the hall. They reached the door and passed into the rough stone passageway beyond, which was lit with flaming torches.
“We’re in trouble. Griphook says they suspect,” Harry said as the door slammed behind them and he pulled off the Cloak. Griphook jumped nimbly down from his shoulders. Bogrod stared ahead blankly; he didn’t seem to notice the sudden appearance of Harry or the other goblin.
“Then we must hurry, Harry,” Snape intoned. “The Polyjuice disguise won’t last for much longer.”
“Bogrod must control the cart taking us down. I no longer have the authority,” Griphook stated.
Harry pointed the wand at the old goblin who whistled for a cart. Harry’s stomach clenched. He remembered rattling along in one of these during his first year. It had been unpleasant then. He wasn’t looking forward to it again.
But he had no choice. They all clambered in and with a lurch it took off for the lower depths. The cart shot off, going deeper and deeper, the torches casting long shadows on the ceiling and walls. They were plunging deeper than he had ever been when suddenly he spied a long curtain of water before them.
This must be the Thief’s Downfall that Griphook had mentioned. But it was still a shock to plunge through it, feeling it wet him to the skin and choking him. To his horror, he felt the cart run out of control and flip over, spilling out all the passengers. He braced himself for a fall against the rocky floor only to find himself floating weightlessly and landing softly on the rocks without so much as a bruise.
“Cushioning Charm, Harry,” Severus said.
He was absurdly pleased to see Snape standing there in his own person once more. Harry bit back a smirk as he realized the man was still wearing Bellatrix’s fancy dress.
Snape frowned as if he knew exactly what Harry was thinking. With a wave of his wand, the dress dried out and reverted to his normal black jacket and trousers.
Griphook picked himself up. “We don’t have much time! If they’ve set off the Thief’s Downfall against us, they know there are intruders!”
“How do we get out of here, Harry?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Harry replied.
Snape glared at him as if it was Harry’s fault they were in this mess. Harry didn’t point out that the goblins had been on the watch for an imposter before their arrival. No use making the man any more pissed off.
Bogrod was shaking his head in bewilderment. The Downfall must have wiped out the Imperius Curse as well as Snape’s concealment. Harry cast it on him again, feeling the odd thrill running down his arm that signaled the use of the Unforgiveable.
The goblin’s expression changed once more to polite indifference and he led the way. As a precaution, Harry handed the Invisibility Cloak to Severus. The man accepted it without a word and draped it over his form, vanishing from view.
Harry could hear something clanking and moving around nearby. The air grew strangely warmer and foul.
Snape laid his hand on his arm. “Brace yourself, Harry,” he whispered.
They turned the corner and stopped dead. Even knowing what to expect, Harry was still stunned at the sight that met his eyes.
There was the dragon. It extended the entire length of the cavern. Its scales were a translucent white and flaking off because of its long imprisonment. Cuffs enclosed its hind legs, the links fastened to sturdy pegs driven deep into the rocky floor. A milky film seemed to cover its eyes but it turned its head at the sound of their entry. It partially spread its wings and roared, causing the surrounding rock to tremble. It opened its mouth and spat out a long gout of flame that sent them running back up the passageway.
“It is partially blind but even more deadly because of it. Every sound makes it nervous since it is unable to pinpoint the cause. But it has learned to fear the Clankers for it knows what will follow. Give them to me.”
Harry handed Griphook the bag and the goblin pulled out small metal instruments that when shaken made a loud ringing noise like miniature hammers on anvils.
“We used to apply heated swords to beat the creature back. Now that it is blind, it can’t see that we no longer use them. But it associates the noise with those weapons and has learned to fear the sound.” Griphook handed Bogrod his share and together they neared the chained beast.
As they clanked their tools, the dragon cowered and shrank away from the vaults. As Harry approached, he could see ugly shiny scars, a remnant of vicious slashes across its faces from the swords.
“Now make Bogrod place his hand against the vault,” Griphook commanded.
The goblin did so under Harry’s command and the vault opened. Harry, Snape, Griphook and Bogrod hurried into the vault. The door slammed shut behind them and all four were plunged into darkness.
“Do not worry. Bogrod will release us. Light your wands!”
“Lumos.” Snape’s wand was lit practically before the last word was out.
The Lestrange vault held even more gold than that of the Potters. Everywhere Harry looked, golden trinkets, coins, armor, weapons and unknown magical tools met his astonished gaze. It was so dazzling his eyes were watering.
“There is the cup, Harry, on that shelf.”
“Accio Cup!” Harry cried. The cup didn’t move.
“You can’t Summon a Horcrux, evidently,” Snape said in his usual dry voice.
“Great. How do we get up there?”
“I will levitate you up there and you will grasp the cup,” Snape answered.
“Careful not to touch anything, Harry Potter,” the goblin warned. “They may have already triggered the Gemino and Flagrante Curses.”
“Be ready, Harry. Mobilicorpus!” Snape cried and Harry found himself turned upside and soaring up towards the ceiling.
There were gold trinkets piled even this high up and Harry held his breath as he was dangled within hand’s reach of them. The cup was not set at the edge of the ledge where it was perching. It was placed about six inches behind other items. If Harry touched even so much as one of them, they would multiply and begin burning.
He’d hoped he wouldn’t have to do this. But there was nothing for it. He pulled out the sword from his pouch – not easily done given his upside-down position – and used it to shove aside the other items. Finally there was an unimpeded path to the cup. Holding his breath, he was able to snag one of the handles with the sword. “Got it!”
“Excellent.” Snape lowered Harry but this time Harry was not as lucky. One dangling hand brushed against a chain of gold and it crashed to the floor, instantly multiplying into a dozen copies. They fell against Snape’s outstretched hand and he cried out in pain, stumbling back from the burning links.
Released from the spell, Harry dropped to the floor. The sword flew out of his hand as he landed on one of the links and yelped as it seared his skin through his clothing. At his touch, the link instantly multiplied again, each false copy burning as fiercely as the others.
The floor was soon covered with burning items that continued to multiply as the helpless goblins stumbled in vain to avoid the growing pile of flaming metal. As Harry struggled to his feet, Griphook snatched up the sword. “Bogrod, touch the door!” he yelled. The burning pain from the curse must have had the same effect as the drenching of the Downfall. Bogrod gave them all startled looks and lunged for the door.
Snape tried to intercept them but the goblins had not been named formidable fighters against wizards for nothing. Bogrod tackled the invisible intruder about the knees, knocking him to the floor while Griphook brandished the sword near the fallen wizard’s head.
The older goblin opened the door and the two creatures charged out, Griphook waving the sword over his head and shrieking, “Thieves! Thieves! Guards, stop them!” at the top of his lungs.
Harry staggered up and charged towards the still invisible Snape, nearly tripping on a fresh avalanche of multiplying gold. He grabbed the older wizard by the elbow and the two of them staggered from the chamber.
There were loud shouts coming from the entryway. Help was coming and the two of them were trapped here.
“Any brilliant ideas as to how we’ll escape from here, Harry?” Snape growled. He pulled off the Cloak. Except for the hand that had been free of the Cloak, there were no burn marks on him whatsoever. Apparently, the Cloak Hallow was immune even to curses of this magnitude.
Harry’s eyes darted around the cavern and landed on the cowering dragon. “Yeah. I’ve got an idea.”
Snape followed his gaze and the color leached from his skin. “You can’t be serious.”
“You bet I am. Come on, it’ll be no different from riding a hippogriff.”
“I’ve never ridden one of those beasts in my life!”
“Well, chalk this up to experience.”
__________
The attack on Gringotts had been a frantic, bungled affair but at least it was over. If their luck still held, no one knew that Severus Snape was involved with the robbery.
Harry was busily casting the usual protective spells about the place. It was unlikely Ministry officials could have tracked the dragon to their new location. It had been getting dark when they escaped and the beast had flown with an impressive speed despite its blindness. Nevertheless, the flight of such a large animal was bound to be noticed.
The dragon had flown for miles while Harry wondered when it would settle. Finally, scenting water, it had touched down in a large lake. Fortunately, the waters were not too deep and its passengers had thrown themselves off and swum to shore.
In spite of the mishaps, it had been worth it. They had snagged the Hufflepuff cup. They had also freed the imprisoned dragon, an act that would have appealed greatly to Hermione’s sense of social rectitude if she’d been there to see it.
Snape, on the other hand, was less than impressed. “Flying on the back of a dragon as a means of escape. I must remember that the next time I find myself in dire straits,” he ranted in withering tones.
“Think of what a story you’ll have to tell your children,” Harry said. His grin faded when he saw the stony look on Snape’s face and he busied himself with a blistered patch on his hand.
The only cruel loss had been the sword of Gryffindor, which had been snagged by Griphook in the heat of battle before they could prevent it. Severus had half-planned on keeping the sword no matter what the goblin had said. But Griphook had played his part in getting them in the bank and claimed his fee. There was nothing they could do about it now.
But that left them with a Horcrux they couldn’t destroy. Harry had been planning on stabbing the cup with the sword. With the weapon gone, they were out of choices.
Suddenly there was a crack of Apparition. Harry and Snape both jumped to their feet, wands in hand. Harry had cast the usual protective spells about the spot, concealing them from view; he’d learned a lot from watching Hermione. But they still ran the danger of discovery – and the nearby dragon wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.
A tall, redheaded teenager looked around. “Harry, where are you?”
Hermione’s face was set in angry lines. “Harry, we know you’re here. Ron managed to track you.”
Uh oh. They both looked pissed as hell and Harry couldn’t blame them. But how had they managed to find them?
Severus laid a cautious hand on his arm. “Careful, Harry. We don’t know if those are your friends.”
Hermione and Ron leaned together and conferred in low tones. “Harry, when we tracked down Quirrell, Ron moved the chess pieces and I solved the riddle with the potions.”
Harry hesitated. His exploits had been fodder for school talk for a long time. It was possible someone other than Hermione and Ron might know the details.
Ron spoke up. “Harry, mate, I told you…” He stopped for a moment, visibly fighting to speak. “I told you I hated being poor.”
“And I said I was sorry for turning your broom in to McGonagall because I thought it might be booby-trapped.”
Harry shrugged off Snape’s arm. No one but his friends would know about those things or sound so contrite about them. He took a deep breath and banished the concealment.
Hermione and Ron wore almost identical looks of rising anger. “Harry, you berk, what the hell do you think you were doing taking off like that?”
“We had a plan!”
“You don’t just leave, not without saying anything!”
“We’re your friends, Harry. We’re in this together.”
“All those weeks in hiding…”
“All that time spent training…”
“You don’t just leave!” Ron finished with a shout.
Severus crossed his arms and murmured sarcastically, “Well done, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. If we were being hunted just now, I’m sure the enemy would have no trouble tracking us down. All they need do is follow the sound of your voices.”
Ron’s mouth hung open, caught in the beginning of another rant. A beet red flush rose over his face, obscuring his freckles. Hermione turned pink and she too subsided.
“How did you two find us? We didn’t exactly send up a flare,” Harry asked, trying to deflect the tension.
Ron held up the De-Luminator Dumbledore gave him. “We knew you must have taken off to Gringotts. I wanted to go right away. But Hermione said we didn’t know exactly what you were doing or how much of a head start you’d gotten – “
“ – and I didn’t want to risk getting to you in the midst of the bank robbery and tipping off the guards – “
“ – You’d taken the Invisibility Cloak and we had no Polyjuice – “
“ – So we were out of our minds with worry until we heard the news on the wireless – “
“We’re on the news? Already?”
Hermione gave Harry a look filled with exasperation. “You and Professor Snape just finished robbing the major bank in the Wizarding world. It’s not exactly something even You-Know-Who could keep under wraps, now is it?”
“After that, we figured it was safe to come after you.” Ron walked up to Harry. His flush had faded but he still looked downright furious, like he wanted to toss Harry into the lake with the dragon. “Harry, that was a daft thing to do. What if you’d gotten killed? What would me and Hermione have done?”
“I would have expected you to go on with the search without me,” he replied steadily.
“What?” Hermione’s eyes widened, hurt and shock clear in their brown depths.
“We have to stop You-Know-Who. With his Horcruxes gone, he’s vulnerable. I think anyone can kill him then.”
“Indeed,” Severus intoned and the two started; it was like they’d forgotten he was there. “It is the height of lunacy for the entire Wizarding world to lay that monster’s death on one frail pair of shoulders. In my world, he was defeated by James Potter and no prophecy was required to bring him down. Can you honestly believe there are no other wizards alive who can take on this creature and win?”
Ron and Hermione looked at each other uncertainly. “We don’t know. We’ve just been told…” Ron began.
“Yes, I know what you’ve been told,” Severus snarled, fury suddenly surging to the fore. “I’ve read all those moronic articles in the back issues of the Daily Prophet with all its incessant nonsense pegging Harry as this world’s savior. What simplistic and self-serving jargon! As you’ve said, this is not only Harry’s struggle. It is yours and that of the entire Wizarding world. True, he must be kept safe. But not so that his only destiny is killing a monster who should never have returned in the first place!”
Harry reached out and grabbed Severus’s arm. He could feel it shaking minutely under his fingers; the man was truly in a towering rage. “Easy, Snape. You’re starting to shout, too.”
The man’s face was like a thundercloud but he visibly reined himself in. “All of this is getting us nowhere. We have a Horcrux to destroy and that is what is of paramount importance.” He whirled away from the trio and marched back to the concealment, disappearing behind it. After a brief hesitation, the others followed.
“So you did get the Horcrux, Harry?” Hermione asked. She eyed the golden cup but made no move to touch it. He didn’t blame her. Harry had been feeling the evil magic throbbing through it since taking it from Gringotts.
“Yeah, only…” he hesitated.
“Only what, mate?”
“We lost the Sword of Gryffindor. In the confusion, Griphook snatched it.”
Ron sighed, his anger at Harry already forgotten. “That double-crossing goblin. How are we going to destroy the cup now?”
Severus pondered the question. “Harry, how was the ring destroyed?”
“Dumbledore didn’t say though I think he must have used the sword.”
“And the diary?”
“I stabbed it with a basilisk tooth. The venom destroyed it.”
“Where on earth did you manage to get hold of a basilisk’s tooth? Such teeth are extremely rare and very expensive,” Severus exclaimed.
“Well, I got this one for free. It came from a basilisk hidden in the Chamber of Secrets.”
“The Chamber of Secrets? I thought that was merely a story schoolchildren told to frighten each other.”
“Oh, it’s real, no doubt. Guess the Harry in your world never made it there. Lucky him,” Harry muttered.
Something clicked. “Harry, are you saying…you actually dealt with this creature yourself?”
“Yeah,” Harry shrugged. “Long story. It’s not important.”
Severus stared; he couldn’t help it. How could this adolescent have faced one of the deadliest beasts alive and lived to tell about it? Harry was fidgeting under his scrutiny so he clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Reluctantly he abandoned the subject. “Ah. So is the use of those teeth still an option?”
Harry shook his head. “Only if we could get more of them from the Chamber.”
“Harry, mate?”
“What is it, Ron?”
“I’m thinking that breaking into Gringotts was bound to have attracted attention, yeah?”
“We just said so, Ron,” Hermione remarked. “What’s your point?”
“They knew they were there and they must have reported what was taken. When the Dark Lord finds out – “
As if on cue, Harry gasped. His whole body spasming, he pitched to the ground.
“Harry!” Snape cried in alarm, catching him before he could fall. The scar on his forehead flamed scarlet while Harry’s entire frame convulsed in his arms.
__________
Harry’s eyes darted beneath his eyelids as he witnessed Voldemort screaming at the wizards and the poor hapless Bogrod, demanding to know who had stolen the cup and casting the Killing Curse willy-nilly at anyone who was unlucky enough to get in his way.
Fear gripped him when he had not feared in many months. The boy knew about the secret shards of his soul. He had to if he knew about the cup. Why else was it the only thing taken? Had he hunted down the others?
Perhaps all was not lost. He would go to the remains of the Gaunt hovel and take Nagini with him: he was too terrified of letting the snake out of his sight now. The lake where he’d crippled the minds of those two other orphans in his youth – was that in danger? He had been foolish to mention the names of those hapless children to Dumbledore but it had been years ago. Perhaps the old man had forgotten about that incident.
Hogwarts was secure with the dementors and his loyal Death Eaters in place. But the boy might return. Harry had friends and allies there, as he didn’t at the other places. He himself would return there after checking the other hiding spots.
Harry opened his eyes blearily to see Hermione staring anxiously at him and Ron’s blue eyes flitting between him and Severus. The Potions master was holding him in his arms again and he blushed furiously, squirming until the older man released him.
The Potions master mutely pressed a potion on him to relieve the pain and Harry eagerly downed it in one gulp, not even noticing the horrid flavor. Almost immediately the agony receded and he breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“You were right, Ron. He just found out about the bank robbery. He knows we’re on to him about the Horcruxes.”
“We just ran out of time, didn’t we?” Ron muttered.
“He’s going to be at Hogwarts soon. We have to get back there.”
“You mean I have to return,” Severus stressed.
“No, we all have to go. He was very anxious about the school being secured. That means…”
“One of the Horcruxes is hidden there,” Hermione finished, her eyes glowing with renewed excitement.
Harry nodded. “He’s also worried about letting Nagini out of his sight. Terrified, actually. So I think she’s a Horcrux, too.”
Ron grimaced. “Figures. He’s right fond of that snake, isn’t he? But how’re we going to kill her? Not one of us can get near her if he’s keeping her close.
“I might be able to kill her, Harry,” Severus said.
“No! You can’t! I don’t want you getting anywhere near him,” Harry protested.
“Harry, I must. I am the one Death Eater he trusts above all others.”
“He doesn’t trust anybody! He’s hurt his allies before! You haven’t seen the things he’s been doing.”
“I know better than you what the Dark Lord is capable of,” Severus snapped. “I have spent years spying on him and shielding my thoughts from his. Believe me, I am more than capable of handling any situation.”
“That was before he got hold of the Elder Wand,” Harry pointed out. Before Severus could protest, he insisted, “Didn’t you swear to protect me? How can you do that if you’re running off?”
“I may have no choice. The Dark Lord still believes me to be one of his allies. If I’m not to alert him, I must answer if he calls. I will do the utmost in my power to shield you, Harry, but you must allow me to play my part as I have done from the beginning.”
Harry’s look was stricken, miserable even, in its denial. Was he truly so concerned about Severus’s welfare? He didn’t want to think what this could mean. His self-control would shatter for certain. “Irregardless of what you feel, I must return to Hogwarts, the sooner the better,” he said, more firmly.
“Then we’re going with you.” Harry stood up, brushing off his knees.
“Wait, Harry, we need to plan,” Hermione protested.
“No, we need to get going. You-Know-Who is on the move. He can Apparate and he can fly without a broom. If we delay, he’s going to find out about the other missing Horcruxes and get to Hogwarts before us.”
“But the protections around the school…”
“With me accompanying you, you will have no trouble avoiding them on your re-entry, Miss Granger,” Severus stated, earning him Hermione’s grateful smile.
“That’s settled then. You two ready?”
Hermione and Ron must have been tired, Apparating all this way. Yet, at his word, they leapt to their feet and nodded. “Ready, Harry,” Ron stated firmly.
Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and draped it over himself and his mates. They were no longer small children; it didn’t fit them very well. But they had gotten used to crouching under its concealing folds and the darkness would hide much. Snape assured them no part of them could be seen and reached out to grasp Harry’s arm under it. Without another word, they Apparated to the front gates of Hogwarts.

TBC
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Onward into the Breach