Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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
- 10
- 11
- 12
Severus tucked his arms into his sleeves. Time to return to his adopted persona of evil, terrifying Headmaster. The gates opened for him, creakily, in a way they’d never done during Dumbledore’s tenure. Was decrepitude beginning to creep in?
“Severus?” The whisper was disconcerting coming from nowhere.
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to say…good luck and thanks for all your help.”
He gritted his teeth. “Good luck” sounded too much like “goodbye”. Severus wanted to snap at him not to be maudlin. But…Harry had just called him “Severus”, the first time he could recall him doing so.
He was about to reply when he saw a light appear in the near distance. As the figure drew closer, his lips thinned. It was a lantern held by none other than Amycus Carrow. Shadowy shapes swirled out of the darkness with him and Severus steeled himself against the icy presence of the dementors.
Amycus ran towards him, panting, “Severus, where in bloody blazes have you been? The fecking students have been back for two days now and the place is a perfect madhouse!”
“I had urgent business elsewhere.” The dementors were milling about restlessly. They were blind but could hone in on any human emotion in the vicinity. They didn’t seem to have registered the presence of the three truant students with him and he prayed the Cloak would shield them. Irked at their presence, he lifted his wand and sent his crow Patronus streaking through the deadly shades. The dementors shuddered and disappeared.
“What other business could be more important than here, eh? You’re supposed to be at your post! Don’t think ‘cause you’ve got this cushy job that you can hare off and do as you please!” Amycus snapped.
Severus drew himself up to his full height and glared down at the other man. “You dare to question? Do you forget who is responsible for your position here? Who is responsible for my position? If it was decided things needed doing elsewhere, it is not your place to object or inquire. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” he hissed.
Amycus swallowed. He tried to maintain his hauteur but braver men than he had withered under Snape’s baleful glower. “Well, be that as it may. The stinking brats are proving a handful, damn them. We’ve been threatening them with the Dark Lord’s presence. But I’m afraid that’s wearing thin.”
“It was imbecilic to say so in the first place, Amycus,” Severus replied coldly, striding towards the school at a ground-eating trot. “The Dark Lord has more urgent matters on his mind than dealing with a school of unruly, snot-nosed brats. Even those dunderheaded children can sense that and knew your statement for the empty threat it is.
“He placed you and the others in charge because he was certain you were able to maintain decorum and discipline.” He paused before the front door and fixed his unblinking gaze on the shorter man beside him. “Was he mistaken?”
“N-no. Not…at all.” Amycus straightened his shoulders. “And with you back…”
“Quite,” Severus replied in dry tones. “Well, let’s see what circles the little urchins have been running around you.” He turned and the doors swung open slowly before him.
He had expected chaos. But the hallways were eerily quiet. Night had fallen and Hogwarts had settled into its usual stillness. “I see nothing amiss, Amycus.”
“It’s not in the hallways, Snape. It’s in the classrooms. Insulting signs hung up making fun of our Lord! Graffiti on the walls, cauldrons bubbling over, floors covered with slime erupting from nowhere, that stupid poltergeist making trouble with loud noises and dropping things.”
“Peeves? That’s just his usual hijinks, Amycus. He’s been doing that since before you and I were born. Ignore him.”
“It’s gotten worse. He’s taken to throwing shit at me and Alecto! I haven’t caught him at it but I know it’s him, the filthy little ghost.”
“Then call for help from the ghost of Slytherin House. The Bloody Baron will sort him out.”
“Idiotic floating nuisance, that’s what he is. Why they haven’t banished the damn thing by now is beyond me.”
Lots of things are beyond you, you moronic pig. How you ever made it into Slytherin is one of the great mysteries of the age. Amycus continued to rant and Severus tuned him out. He couldn’t hear his invisible companions any longer. Were they still trailing him or had they gone off on their errand? He couldn’t spare a glance from them. He had his part to play and they had theirs.
He turned down the hall towards the stairs. “By the way, Amycus. Where is your sister? I was under the impression that you and she were joined at the hip.”
“We got a call from the Dark Lord earlier this evening.”
“Did you? I received no such call.”
“Then you shouldn’t have left then, should ya?” Amycus sniggered. Under Severus’s glare, he subsided and mumbled, “Alecto’s up in Ravenclaw Tower.”
“Ravenclaw? I see no reason why she should be there. Since when do the second smartest students in Hogwarts need babysitting?”
“The Dark Lord said Potter might try making it back into Hogwarts and that he’d go to Ravenclaw Tower for some reason.”
“What reason?”
“Dunno. He didn’t tell us, did he?” Amycus said, resentment clear in his pudgy features. “He’s being cagey about it. But then isn’t he always?”
“Indeed. Well, I’m sure she has the problem well under hand.” Soon Amycus remembered business he had elsewhere and Severus let out a cautious breath. Making sure the hallway was empty of people and moving pictures, he turned his head and whispered without moving his lips. “Harry, are you still there?”
“Right here, Severus,” Harry whispered back.
“Then let us find a secluded shelter where we can formulate a useful plan.” He made a sharp turn and directed them into the nearest classroom.
Severus stood silently marveling as, wordlessly, Harry put up a locking spell on the classroom door with a Silencing Charm for good measure. Hermione murmured, “Homenum revelio” then said, “All clear.”
“So what Horcrux are we looking for, Snape?” Harry whispered as he tugged off the Cloak.
“You heard what that Carrow said. It’s in Ravenclaw. Too bad the Dark Lord didn’t trust Amycus or his sister enough to say what it was.”
“Did Luna tell you anything about any Ravenclaw heirlooms or precious items, Harry?” Hermione asked.
No, she hadn’t and Harry could have kicked himself for letting the opportunity slide. Then again he had been blindsided by the bombshell that Severus was…well, never mind that. “Severus, do you known anything about Ravenclaw heirlooms?”
He shook his head. “I have not concerned myself overmuch with the traditions and folklore of the other houses, I’m afraid.”
“Then we need to get to…”
Harry staggered. There was a roar of rage in his head as the Gaunt hovel was revealed to be robbed of its treasure. This time Voldemort didn’t waste time venting his fury but flew directly to the cave.
“Harry?” Severus’s voice trickled into his consciousness again. The elder wizard’s hand was at his back, holding him upright. At least he hadn’t toppled over this time.
“He’s found another Horcrux missing. He isn’t heading here yet. But he will be soon. We need to evacuate the school.” Harry knew from experience it would take time for Voldemort to get through that natural fortress, what with the traps he’d laid for the unwary. But they had to hurry.
The others stood soberly pondering that news. “Harry, I think we should split up,” Hermione said finally.
Ron protested, “No way, Hermione! We’ve got to stick together!”
“No, listen, Ron. You-Know-Who is coming. We still need to destroy the Hufflepuff cup and find the Ravenclaw Horcrux and destroy that too. So you and I should go to the Chamber of Secrets and find those basilisk teeth. Harry and Snape will go to Ravenclaw Tower. After that, we can go find Professor McGonagall and tell her to start getting the students out.”
Ron grimaced. “We’re going to the Chamber of Secrets? Why?”
“Because we can use the basilisk fangs. And since you’ve been there before...”
“I never actually made it to the Chamber, Hermione. Got trapped behind a rockfall with His Uselessness, Gilderoy Lockhart, didn’t I?”
“And you need to speak Parseltongue to get to the Chamber in the first place,” Harry added.
Ron’s brows scrunched up. “Like that?” He let out a strangled hissing noise.” The sound raised the hairs on Severus’s neck.
Green eyes widened. “You just said ‘Open up’! How’d you do that?”
“I thought I’d just imitate the noises you made when you spoke to the locket. So it sounded all right, yeah?”
“That it did. Brilliant!” Ron blushed but he beamed at the praise.
“Well, that’s all sorted. Here, Harry, take the Cloak.” Hermione shoved it at him.
Harry shook his head. “No, you two need it more.”
“Harry, don’t be stubborn!” Hermione scolded. “You’re the important one here. You’re the one You-Know-Who wants,” she added when Severus scowled at her.
“And you’re the one who just came up with the idea of destroying the one Horcrux we’ve got in our possession. That’s what needs to be done. So you two take the Cloak and I’ll try to get to Ravenclaw Tower.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Ron piped up. “Why don’t we all take the Cloak to the bathroom? Then Hermione and I will go down to the Chamber. Once we descend, we won’t need the Cloak any more and you and Snape can use it to get to the Tower.”
The others stared at him. “Actually…that’s a good idea,” Hermione said slowly. “Great thinking, Ron.”
“Well, you don’t have to make it sound like a feat,” Ron grumbled. “I get good ideas too, you know.”
“Which only proves that miracles are indeed possible.”
Harry poked Severus. “Don’t be such a prat.” He tugged the Cloak over himself and the other Gryffindors once more and they left the classroom with Severus leading the way.
__________
Harry stared in frustration at the door. By dint of peering at the Marauder’s Map and questioning it again and again, they had made their way to Ravenclaw Tower. The march had led them a merry trail through dark corridors that he hadn’t seen before and up a long and twisted staircase until he was dizzy.
Now they were confronted by a plain door. No keyhole, doorknob, opening or sign was apparent. There was nothing except the bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. “How do we get this thing to open?” he muttered.
“At a guess, I would say that we knock and see what happens.” Harry glared at his sarcastic tone. Severus smirked and rapped at the door.
In the silence, it rebounded like a cannon blast and Harry flinched, expecting to see Death Eaters swarming to see what was causing the row. At once the beak of the eagle opened. Instead of a bird’s call, a soft, melodious voice intoned, “Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Isn’t there a password?”
“We are in Ravenclaw, the house of the mentally agile. This must be a test of wit. We must answer or we won’t be admitted,” Severus mused thoughtfully.
“Great. We should have let Hermione tackle this. She’s the smart one. I never could figure out stuff like this,” Harry said ruefully.
“Do not speak of yourself in that fashion, Harry,” Severus said, black eyes snapping in disapproval.
“Why not? You’ve made it clear how disappointed you are that I’m not in Slytherin. What was it you said when you took off for Gringotts?” Harry mimicked Severus’s sneering tone. “‘You have been meandering around trying to avoid capture and nearly getting yourselves killed with hare-brained schemes.’ Ring any bells, Severus?”
There was a brief silence. “Perhaps my words were a tad hasty.”
Harry snorted.
Severus rallied. “You have shown yourself to have your own brand of intelligence. You have made very astute speculations about the Dark Lord’s Horcruxes and kept yourself ahead of him and out of his clutches throughout these stressful times in spite of a whole wizarding nation that has been on the hunt for you.”
“Just barely,” Harry sighed. “So what do you think the answer is?
“I would have to say that the tree contains the seed of its own beginning.”
“Excellently reasoned,” the eagle replied and the door swung open.
The deserted Ravenclaw common room was a wide, circular room, airier than any Severus had ever seen at Hogwarts. Elegant arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue-and-bronze silk curtains. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars. Even at a cursory glance, Severus could see that all the constellations were in the correct order. There were tables, chairs and bookcases and in a niche opposite the door stood a tall statue of which marble. The statue, that of a beautiful if slightly formidable woman, stood beside a door that led, he guessed, to the dormitories above.
“Who’s that?” Harry pointed.
“At a guess, I would say it is the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw.” When Harry would have walked from beneath the Cloak for a closer view, Severus seized his arm in an iron grip. “Stop,” he hissed.
“Wha–?”
“Who’s there?” The bent and sloping-shouldered figure of Alecto Carrow had stepped from the doorway. Her wand was out and she was sweeping the room with it.
She stepped in farther. “Don’t try to hide! I heard you whispering! You come out right now, you miserable child, or you’re in for it!” She cast a revealing spell. When nothing showed up, her eyes narrowed.
“Right. That’s the way you want to play it, I’ll just fetch the Headmaster. See what kind of punishment he’ll visit on misbehaving Ravenclaws.” She marched towards the front door.
This wasn’t good. Soon she would find out that Severus wasn’t where he was supposed to be. The Carrows were stupid but even they were capable of figuring out that his odd behavior had nothing to do with an errand for the Dark Lord.
Severus pulled out his wand and cried, “Stupefy!” The spell hit her and she dropped with a thud to the carpet. He tied her up with a very efficient Body-Bind Curse and her body became rigid as a mummy’s.
Harry let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Brilliant, Severus. I didn’t even hear a bang!”
“Soundless Stunning spells are a special advanced magic. When all this is over, I shall be pleased to have you learn all the lessons you missed.”
Harry smiled at him. “I’d like that.”
They became aware of how closely they were standing under the Cloak and Harry fidgeted. The next moment he darted from underneath it to approach the statue. This close, he could make out a delicate-looking circlet had been reproduced in marble on top of her head.
It seemed weird that a founder of Hogwarts would have a crown on her head. It wasn’t like she was royalty. There were tiny words etched into it and he climbed up onto Ravenclaw’s plinth to read them.
“Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure,” he read. “Hey, Severus, could this be a Horcrux? This circlet thing?”
“It mentions ‘treasure’ so it might have some significance.”
He scrunched his face, thinking. “Maybe we can wake up one of the Ravenclaws and ask them.”
“Good plan. In fact, you should awaken all of them. Remember, we need to evacuate the students from the school before the Dark Lord arrives. I’ll stay here and keep watch over this harpy,” he said, gesturing at Alecto. “Keep the Cloak, Harry.”
“No, it’s best you hold on to it, in case Amycus comes snooping here looking for her. ‘Sides, I’ll be bringing in the students. If they see you…”
“Understood. I’m supposed to be one of the enemy, after all,” Severus muttered.
Harry ran up the stairs, mentally reviewing which Ravenclaws would be most likely to help him. Hopefully, he would find members from Dumbledore’s Army still in the castle.
He stood over the beds. “Lumos,” he whispered. He moved quietly from bed to bed, noting the still faces, shading the flaring wand with his other hand.
The children here all looked so young. Had he ever been this small and fragile? But he didn’t see anybody he knew. Terry Boots, Cho Chang, Michael Corner…none of them were here.
Was it possible none of them had come to Hogwarts this year? Purebloods had to attend. It was mandatory; Severus had told him that. But how many of the DA had been purebloods? He didn’t know. It had never really mattered to him one way or the other.
Wait, of course! These were the first years. The ones in seventh year would be in another room entirely. He was about to retreat when a child rolled over and blinked. He hurriedly whispered, “Nox” but the girl was awake and had seen the light.
“Who’s there?” she whispered sleepily.
“Hello,” Harry whispered. “Um, little girl?” He could still see her faintly in the light from the windows.
“Name’s Melissa Doolittle. Who’re you? There aren’t s’posed to be boys here.” She was more awake now and sounded reproving.
“I’m…you know Harry Potter?”
“You’re Har – “ she squeaked.
He covered her mouth with his hand. “Ssshh! I’m …here about Harry’s business.” Not exactly a lie. He just didn’t want her going into hysterics when she learned he was the Boy Who Lived. “He’s looking for something precious belonging to Ravenclaw House, something Rowena Ravenclaw might have owned.”
“Why should I tell you if you’re not Harry Potter?” She might not be in Slytherin but she had their cautious nature.
“Because it’ll help defeat You-Know-Who. So, please, what can you tell me about a Ravenclaw heirloom, something might have had her eagle on it?”
“You mean the lost diadem of Ravenclaw?” The girl said it in a matter-of-fact way like everyone should know about it.
Diadem? Yes, the circlet on the marble statue could be called that. “Yes, that’s it. What do you know about it?”
“It’s supposed to enhance the wisdom in the wearer’s head. Rowena Ravenclaw made it herself. It’s a very powerful kind of magical item.”
Harry’s heart leaped. This sounded like the very thing! The young Tom Riddle would have loved something like that. “So where is it?”
“Look, could we have the lights on? It feels kinda off talking to an invisible person like this.”
“You don’t want to wake up the others, do you? If you just tell me where to find the diadem…”
The girl sighed impatiently in a way that sounded very much like Hermione. “Weren’t you listening? It’s LOST. That’s what they told me the very first day, when I asked about that lady statue in the common room. They said it was supposed to be Rowena and she’s wearing the diadem. They told me what it does but that it’s been lost for ages. Nobody living today knows where it is.” She paused. “If that’s all, I need to get back to sleep. I have classes tomorrow and the Carrows get really mean if they catch you napping in class.”
“Actually, Melissa, I’m going to need your help for something really important. Who’s your Head Girl?”
“Cho Chang. She’s in another room.”
Cho was Head Girl? Well, he should have expected that. “Help me find her and wake her up.”
It was the matter of a few moments to find Cho. When they shook the dark-eyed Ravenclaw girl, she started up and groped for her wand on the bedside table. “Who’s there?” she mumbled, her voice half-thick with sleep.
“Cho, it’s me. It’s Harry.”
Cho’s eyes widened, sleep completely gone. “Harry? Oh my god, I can’t believe it! We haven’t heard anything from you in ages. I thought you might be dead!”
Melissa suddenly squealed. “You ARE Harry…”
“Not now, Melissa,” Cho snapped.
“Cho, this is urgent. You need to get the other students awake. They all have to leave Hogwarts. Tonight.”
“We do? Why?”
He took a deep breath. “He’s coming.”
Cho turned pale. She didn’t need to ask who he was. But Melissa frowned, staring from one to the other. “Who’s coming?”
“Melissa, I’m here on very crucial business. So we need to get the other students awake and out of here. Help Cho and you’re helping me.”
Her forehead wrinkled in a frown before she nodded slowly. “Good. I hate it here, anyway. With mean old Snape in charge, this place isn’t nearly as much fun as my parents told me it would be.” She ran to poke and prod awake the other Ravenclaws.
The students were soon stirring, although groggy and grumbling about being roused out of their beds. But they were sufficiently excited enough to stir when they saw Harry. Cho had to speak to them sharply before they got themselves properly dressed and shod.
Harry moved down the stairs ahead of the gossiping children and then stumbled as his scar scorched him. For a moment, the Room of Requirement swam before him. Then he saw the dark earth flying beneath him and felt the comfortable weight of his snake familiar wrapped around his shoulders.
The vision passed and he rubbed at his scar. It wouldn’t make it any better but he couldn’t help it.
“Harry?” Cho peered down at him worriedly.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.” He smiled and continued walking stiffly down the stairs.
Melissa shrieked and several of the students started at seeing Alecto’s still body stretched on the carpet. “Is she dead?” one of the little boys asked, approaching the body cautiously.
“No, she’s only stunned and unconscious. Don’t mind her; we still need to get out of here.” Harry ushered the children around the body. Was Severus still there? Alecto hadn’t moved so presumably the Slytherin was still around.
He was hustling the children down the winding Tower stairs when he felt something brush against his side. Still, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the soft voice. “Harry, how do you intend to get them out of here?”
None of the children appeared to notice. Maybe Severus was using his own Muffling Charm. “Are all the exits guarded? Even the secret ones?” he whispered.
There was a pause. “I know a great deal about those secret exits. When I was Potions master in that other world, I located at least six entrances that the Dark Lord’s minions likely know nothing about. Some let out into Hogsmeade.”
“Won’t there be Death Eaters there?”
The disembodied voice continued. “If the Dark Lord is heading here, he will Summon every available member to the castle grounds. The children should be safe anywhere that isn’t here.”
“Then we’ll get the Ravenclaws to the nearest exit.”
Severus whispered instructions to Harry until they appeared before what looked to be a blank stretch of stone. The Slytherin mumbled the secret password and a passage mysteriously opened out of the solid wall.
The children hesitated, shivering in the cool air. Harry spoke calmly to the oldest of them. “Go to Madam Rosmerta’s. Ask her to take you in. She’ll keep you hidden until we send word.”
They all left quickly except for Melissa who flung her arms around Harry. When he bent down to reassure her, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “I love you, Harry Potter. If I were older, we could get married.” Her cheeks pink, she darted after the others and was lost to sight as the wall resumed its normal appearance.
Severus smirked at his obvious discomfiture but decided not to tease him. He pulled off the Cloak. “Harry, what did you see earlier when you came down the stairs?” he asked, scanning the wan face.
“How did you know I’d had a vision?”
“You were as pale as death. And your scar had turned red again.”
He rubbed self-consciously at his forehead. “He’s moving, flying again. I don’t know if he’s headed here or the lake. I saw the Room of Requirement for some reason,” Harry murmured.
“What were you told about the diadem?”
Harry shrugged. “The Ravenclaw girl I spoke to said the diadem’s been lost for ages. No one knows where it is.”
“Is that what she said? Exactly?”
Harry recognized that hectoring tone. It was the same one the old Snape had used on him to force him to concentrate on his Occlumency lessons. He forced his mind back to the recent conversation.
“No,” he said carefully. “She said no one living today knows where it is.”
“What about someone who wasn’t living?”
The two men stared at each other.
The castle ghosts. It made perfect sense. Some of them had been around for centuries. If anyone would know where the diadem was, it would be one of them. “Severus, who’s the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower?” Harry asked, his voice vibrating with new excitement.
“I believe it is the one they call the Gray Lady.”
“What’s she look like?”
“Quite young, much younger than the other ghosts. She appears to be in her twenties with long flowing hair.”
Harry nodded. “You should go and find Slughorn and convince him the school needs evacuating. I need to find the Gray Lady.”
The black eyes flared. “Harry, let me go with you.”
“We have to go our separate ways, at least for now,” Harry said calmly. “You said it yourself. So did Bill. We’re at war, Severus. We all have our parts to play. Just…stay safe.”
The Slytherin looked like he was going to protest again. Then his eyes shuttered, though not before concealing a flash of what looked like pain. “And you too, Harry Potter,” he returned stiffly.
Harry swallowed. He looked down at his worn and beaten trainers, as if they were the most fascinating things in the world. “Yeah. Well, then…”
Without the slightest warning, the older man seized him by the shoulders and yanked him close. Before Harry could move or protest, Severus had locked lips with his.
The kiss was wild, even more so than the other one in the cottage had been. Harry went rigid, too stunned to push Severus away or kiss him back, caught off guard by the desperate desire of it. He felt the lean fingers grasping his arse, nearly lifting him off his feet, as the Slytherin licked at his lips.
Harry’s heart was pounding against his. Severus didn’t know whether the boy was alarmed, disgusted or aroused and, frankly, he didn’t care. He sensed there would never be a better opportunity – or he might never have another chance. He was through being noble. Unless Harry put up a decided resistance, he meant to have this to take with him, at least.
He was pressing him to the wall, the ripe earthy smell of unwashed male and under that the oh-so-subtle scent that whispered “Harry” seeping into him everywhere. Then he felt the wiry arms grasp at his shoulders, tugging him closer. This wordless acceptance, tentative though it was, struck him to the core. He let out a small gasp between the parted lips and Harry sucked down his unguarded breath.
For several fleeting seconds, the kiss was ardently returned. An eternity later, he let the slight frame slip from his grasp. He rested his forehead against Harry’s, unwilling to look him in the eye. “You had better not die, Harry James Potter, or I shall be very angry with you, indeed,” he whispered fiercely.
He watched the Adam’s apple bob as the Gryffindor struggled to speak. “You too,” Harry finally breathed. “Here, take this.” He pressed the Marauder’s Map into Severus’s hand. “So you’ll be able to find me.”
Harry stepped back and slipped the Cloak over his head. Severus watched the green eyes disappear into obscurity and heard the footsteps fade. It took all he had not to run after him.
He stood silently, clenching his fists and forcing his breath to slow, even knowing that he was wasting precious time.
Well. Work to be done, as always.
Severus sped down the corridor at a ground-eating trot. If he knew anything of the members of his house, it was that they needed no prodded if it came to saving their own skins. He would find that walrus Slughorn. Then he would return to Harry’s side, Dark Lord or no.
TBC
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Onward into the Breach