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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
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He looked around slowly. Ronald Weasley stood there, his wand pointed at Severus. He had been so engrossed with Harry’s plight that he hadn’t heard the redhead’s approach at all.
The teenager’s freckled features were set in harsh lines, no less pronounced than Harry’s. The hatred on his face was a silent condemnation, with no possibility of acceptance. “Mr. Weasley, please. Harry needs help. He has to get dressed and warm. I promise you I mean him no harm.”
“You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you.” The voice had lowered to a growl and the wand pointed at him never wavered.
He should Apparate back to Hogwarts. He could do so, even from his kneeling position, and neither of them would follow. Harry was a wanted man at the school. It would be the height of folly for him to chase Severus to its gates. But the weight of Harry’s body was too real, too dear, for him to give it up so quickly.
Harry was struggling, albeit weakly, to wriggle out of his arms. “Dammit, Snape, you bastard! Let go of me!” he croaked.
He reluctantly released him. “Harry, please listen to me. I know you’re upset…”
“UPSET!? You have the nerve to say that I’m upset? I’m far beyond that, Snape!” In spite of his hoarse throat, Harry nearly screamed the words. He was shaking, with cold or anger, and Severus was rocked by the force of his revulsion. Dumbledore had said that Harry and he were at loggerheads. But that didn’t explain the absolute fury that turned his eyes into cold shards of jade.
“Harry, I’m not your enemy. If I’d wanted you dead or hurt, I would have let you drown in the lake.”
“What are you doing here in the first place?” Ron snarled. “You’re supposed to be enjoying throwing your weight around at Hogwarts, aren’t you? Seems mighty queer, you’re showing up here just in time to pull Harry from the lake.”
“And it doesn’t change the fact that you killed Dumbledore, you sack of shit.”
“What?” Severus felt like he’d taken a Bludger to the head. “Harry, what are you…?”
“Accio Wand!” Harry cried. Harry’s wand flew into his hand and he forced the tip of it just underneath Severus’s chin. “I should kill you right now,” he hissed, his eyes green slits.
His mind was whirling. He could barely think past his shock. Harry thought he had killed Dumbledore? “Harry, you’re not making any sense. Why would I kill the Headmaster?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Your master commanded it. You wanted power. For the thrill of it. Pick one, Snape!”
The boy didn’t appear mad. If this were true… What was it the former Headmaster had said? “At his hesitation, another Death Eater struck me down.”
Oh, sweet Circe. Horror froze him, worse than the pond. He choked out, “Harry, no…”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blast you where you sit, you evil prick.”
Severus licked his lips. Harry was a hair’s-breadth from unleashing the Killing Curse. “Because Dumbledore would have wanted you to trust me.”
The wand tip dug into his exposed neck. Harry spat, “Dumbledore trusted you and look what it got him!”
Damn the old man! Why hadn’t he told him this? Then he knew. Albus hadn’t wanted to burden him with this terrible knowledge, not if he wasn’t the Severus who had killed him in the first place. This was doubtless why he had warned him not to confront Harry. Severus had disobeyed him and this was the result.
“Harry, you must listen.”
“Why’re you calling him Harry?”
“What?” Harry’s eyes darted from him to Ron.
“Why is he calling you Harry? He’s never called you anything but Potter,” Ron pointed out.
“This conversation can wait until we are inside somewhere warm,” Severus murmured, noting that Harry’s teeth were beginning to chatter again. “Get dressed, Harry, and I will come with the two of you willingly. You have my word.”
Harry visibly sneered but began to dress anyway. Severus stayed absolutely still, keenly aware of Weasley’s wand trained unswervingly at his head.
Harry bent down to pick up the locket, swinging on its chain. He stooped for the sword and then started.
“What is it, Harry?” Ron asked.
“The locket – it’s reacting to the sword.”
Severus clucked his teeth. “Yes, it would. That’s why it was the height of stupidity for you to be wearing a cursed object while diving for it.” He sighed in exasperation. “You really are a Gryffindor, aren’t you?”
Harry flung him a look of absolute loathing. “Better that than a traitorous Slytherin.” Then his eyes narrowed. “How do you know about the locket being cursed?”
“Because I know about the Horcruxes, Harry,” Severus replied, hoping that the gravity of his tone would impress where his pleading had not. “I know you are searching for them. And I’m here to help.”
“Help?” A stony expression slammed down over Harry’s face. “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” He picked up the sword and gazed at it thoughtfully. “You know, Ron, now would be as good a time as any to destroy this locket.”
Ron raised his eyebrows. “You figured out how to open it, mate?”
Harry gazed at the ornament, at the snakes entwined on its front. Severus watched as a look of realization dawned on his face. He placed the Horcrux on a nearby rock and hissed at it in a series of sibilant spurts.
Severus flinched at the evil sound. How in Hades was Harry able to speak Parseltongue? He knew the Dark Lord could but his Harry had never had the ability. This world was even more askew than he had realized.
The locket snapped open. Out of the two halves, a pair of eyes looked out at them. They were dark and handsome, the human eyes of Tom Riddle before he became Lord Voldemort. But they glared in unblinking malevolence.
“Kill him, Harry. Avenge my death.”
All three tensed. Ron muttered a nasty word under his breath.
Harry stumbled away, the sword now clutched in his other hand. As he withdrew, the locket blurred and a spectral image emerged from it. It was the head of an old man, his face creased with pain, hair and beard long enough to be tucked into his belt.
“No,” Harry whispered.
The figure rose from the split jewelry, the head followed by a torso and finally ending with the legs. The man was the same, right down to his blue-and-red robe covered with crescent moons and stars. Only the eyes were wrong, the blue charged a murderous scarlet. It swayed above the locket, a bizarre tree taken root in it.
“Harry, my boy. You have the traitor here with you. Strike and let my spirit rest in peace.”
“You’re not Dumbledore,” Severus said as evenly as possible.
The spirit turned burning eyes on him. “You would like him to believe that, wouldn’t you? You came here with a silly tale to give the boy about not being the Snape he knew. But he’s not the fool you take him for. Kill him, Harry! Strike now and you’ll rob the Dark Lord of his greatest ally!”
Harry’s brow creased. “What does he mean – not the Snape I know?”
Ah, the perfect opening. “That is what I’ve been trying to tell you. I am a different Severus than the one you are acquainted with. I came here from another world.”
Harry snorted. “That’s your line, is it? You must think I’m really stupid.”
Severus stated evenly, “You have a small mole on the lower-right side of your back. Your favorite dessert is treacle tart. You told me once, in strictest confidence, that your friend Ronald Weasley suffers from arachnophobia.”
The redhead stared at him, baffled. “A rack of what?”
“Fear of spiders.”
“Oi!”
Harry frowned. “How did you know – ?”
“Harry, these are things he might have easily picked up elsewhere. You know what a cunning spy he is. I learned that, to my cost. Avenge me, son of Gryffindor! Take the sword and kill him!”
“Harry, don’t listen,” Severus urged. “You need to know all the facts before you do anything rash.”
The shade continued to hector and wail, unremitting in its cries for vengeance. “Harry, have you forgotten the depths of this man’s treachery? This monster revealed the prophecy to the Dark Lord that sent him after your parents! He is the reason your father and mother are dead!”
A fist seemed to crush his heart. It couldn’t be… It wasn’t true. It was the cruelest lie. But the iron whiteness of Harry’s face confirmed it.
Harry brought the sword up and swung around, pointing it at Severus. The Slytherin froze when he saw that Harry’s eyes had turned a sullen red.
“Harry,” Ron gasped, blue eyes wide with terror.
He stood poised for flight, frantically weighing his options. The sword was no real threat to him. Harry knew nothing about swordplay; Severus could tell by the clumsy way he held it. He could draw his wand and Disapparate before Harry could strike a blow.
But he couldn’t abandon him now, not with this false specter whispering its lies in his ears. “Harry, listen to me. That is not the Headmaster. He would never speak to you in this fashion. Vengeance was never his way.”
Harry bared his teeth but didn’t move. Reddened eyes darted to the Riddle-Dumbledore and back to Severus.
“You mustn’t commit wanton murder, not like this,” Severus insisted. “Harry, murder splits the soul! It was how Tom Riddle was able to create the Horcruxes in the first place. If you do this, you will damage your soul and play into his hands.”
“Harry!” wailed the shade. “The traitor killed me. You were a witness!”
Now Severus felt truly ill. Harry had seen his counterpart murder the Headmaster? No wonder the teenager looked at him with such utter abhorrence. What could he say in his defense? What wouldn’t sound utterly ludicrous in the face of the Gryffindor’s certain knowledge of his supposed misdeed?
“Is this the Chosen One? You stood by while Snape struck me down. You did nothing and let me die! Now is the time to make amends for that fault. Strike! Kill him!!”
Harry’s eyes squeezed shut. His entire frame shook in the grip of his internal struggle. Finally, he turned the sword around and held it out hilt-first to Severus. “You do it.”
Severus heard Ron gasp. He felt like gaping himself. “What? You wish me to – ?”
“Destroy the Horcrux, Snape.”
“Harry, are you mental?” Ron demanded. “Don’t let him get his hands on the sword! This is Snape we’re talking about here!”
Harry opened his eyes at this. Severus stifled a cry of relief when he saw that they were a true green again.
“Snape could have kept the sword if he wanted. He could have taken it to his master and left me to drown. And You-Know-Who wants me to kill him. I’m thinking if he wants me to do that, it’s probably a bad idea.” He still held out the sword. “You have to do this, Snape.”
“Harry, you’re mistaken. This is the sword of Gryffindor. Only a true Gryffindor can wield it.”
“No, only a true son of Gryffindor can pull it from the Sorting Hat,” Harry corrected, though his voice shook. “It was made by goblins and they don’t give a crap about wizarding wars or school houses so I’m thinking anyone can hold it. If you couldn’t wield it, you’d never have been able to take it from the pond.”
The ghostly shade flailed its arms in helpless outrage. “Son of Gryffindor, do not pollute the sword this way! Do not let it fall into this traitor’s claws!”
Severus focused on Harry. He didn’t want to look at this hideous caricature of the man who’d been his friend and ally. “Harry, it doesn’t follow I should be the one to destroy this Horcrux.”
“Yes, it does. You pulled it from the lake. It was meant to be a test and you passed it, even if you didn’t realize it. You’ve saved my life again and again. The real Dumbledore knew that. He…wanted me to trust you.” Harry took a deep breath. “So maybe I’d better start. Take the sword.”
“Harry, you are nothing but a coward and a fool if you allow yourself to be tricked this way!” the apparition hissed.
Harry pulled in another shuddering breath. “You know, you’re starting to sound a little desperate, whatever you are. So I think this is the right thing to do.” He turned to Severus. “Do it. NOW. Before I change my mind,” he growled when Severus hesitated.
He reached out and grasped the hilt. In his grip, the sword felt heavy, cumbersome, and he clutched the hilt tightly with both hands to steady it.
The shade wrung its hands. “Severus, you killed me once. Would you do so again?”
“No. Once is enough.” He raised the sword.
“You ingrate! I took you in! I gave you a home, a job, respect, friendship…” The Dumbledore-thing snarled and it no longer sounded even remotely like the departed Headmaster.
“Who is this speaking?” Severus mocked. “Dumbledore or the Dark Lord?”
The hands turned into claws, reaching for him. However, the thing was powerless to do anything except taunt him and he closed his ears to it.
The petulance faded away as the thing stared mournfully. “Severus, please…”
Harry flinched at those words and the pleading nearly broke Severus’s heart as well. But he shut his ears to it. He lunged forward and brought the blade down with all his strength against the locket.
There was a clang of metal on stone, followed by an eerie, ear-splitting wail. Riddle-Dumbledore winked out of existence and the Horcrux lay shattered into two pieces.
Severus swayed, his breath coming out in icy puffs. Now that he wasn’t exerting himself, the chill from his surroundings rushed in on him. He stiffened as something poked him in the back.
“Hand over your wand and the sword. Whoever you are, we want explanations,” Ron demanded.
He sighed. “Harry, I have much I need to explain to you…”
“And stop calling him ‘Harry’. It’s seriously creepy that, you know?”
Severus turned to Harry. “I will happily surrender my wand to you as a show of trust if you will refrain from casting curses or hexes at me. Do you both agree?”
“I agree. But only if you don’t try anything funny,” Harry added darkly.
He reached in slowly and pulled out his wand, extending it to Harry. Now Harry wore a look of profound confusion. It would have been amusing had the situation not been such a dire one. Nevertheless, he reached out and grabbed Severus’s wand and the sword from his lax grip. Before Severus could move, Ron muttered a spell and his hands were firmly secured behind his back. Even while he fumed at the indignity, he mentally praised them for their caution. He’d have done the same had he been in their position.
Without another word, the three began the trek back to the hidden tent.
__________
Hermione Granger peeked out cautiously from the tent entrance. Her brown eyes widened when they met his. She squeaked, “Professor?”
“Miss Granger,” he intoned.
She took in their little tableau. “Is that…the sword of Gryffindor?” she breathed.
“It is indeed.”
A wand point jabbed him in the back. “That’s close enough, Snape,” Ron said. He and Harry came around to Snape’s front.
He wordlessly cast a Warming Charm again. He could feel exhaustion biting at him. The past months had been strenuous with worry for his beloved and the tightrope he’d been walking with the Carrows hovering over his shoulder and watching his every move.
The other teachers were unwavering in their hostility. None of them spoke outright of their hatred of the Dark Lord or their disdain for him. But it was evident in their frozen silences, their sudden hushes when he came into the Great Hall or their stilted replies when they were forced to answer a question. Any attempt to approach Minerva met with icy distaste or pointed dismissal.
At least now he knew why. Dumbledore’s murderer was Headmaster of Hogwarts. It was beyond his comprehension that none of the non-Death Eaters on the staff had tried to kill him.
Harry tossed his wand to Hermione who caught it easily. After her initial surprise, Hermione looked more confused than angry. He hoped she would be more reasonable than the hot-headed males with her. “May I enter? I’d rather not be exposed this way.”
“You can stay outside and freeze for all I care,” Ron snapped.
“I meant exposure to the enemy. The Dark Lord’s followers are still actively searching for you. Well done in eluding their capture, by the way, Harry,” he added.
The silence was so profound he could hear tree branches cracking in the cold.
“Sir…did you just give Harry a compliment? And call him Harry?” Hermione babbled.
“Merely noting his clever evasion of his enemies, Miss Granger.”
Ron appeared stupefied as well. Only Harry remained unmoved.
“What did that thing mean about your not being the Snape I know? And how do you know those things about me?”
This Harry was as tenacious as his own, he’d give him that. “I’m not from this world, Harry.”
“Stop calling me that,” he spat. “It’s like Ron said – seriously creepy.”
“Very well.” He would not call him Potter but he could refrain from this if it would make him more at ease. “In my world, your mother did not die. She and I remained dear friends after your father died killing the Dark Lord.”
“Friends?” Harry rasped. “You’ve got to be mental. You called her a Mudblood! You humiliated her in front of my father!”
“I certainly did not!” Severus snapped, horrified at the very suggestion. “Lily and I were dear friends almost from the moment we met. And it would have been the height of insincerity to call her a Mudblood, given that my own father was a Muggle. One thing I have never been accused of is being a hypocrite.”
“Sure. That’s why you jumped on You-Know-Who’s bandwagon with all his pureblood rot,” Ron snarled.
“I most assuredly did not join the Dark Lord for any false dream of a pureblood world,” he responded, the ice in his voice no less than that on the pond. “I was approached by Death Eaters recruiting for the Dark Lord. Hearing of this, Headmaster Dumbledore asked me to feign being a pureblood sympathizer so He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would induct me into his inner circle. The pretense paid off and I became a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. My efforts and those of the Order members were successful. In the world I once inhabited, the Dark Lord is dead.”
Harry’s face twisted, caught between longing and suspicion. “Vol – I mean, You-Know-Who is dead?”
“In my world, yes,” Severus said gently. “And your father was the instrument of his death. Sad to say, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named struck with the Killing Curse. They both fell at the same time.”
The green eyes were hard and impenetrable as stones. “Why should I believe any of this garbage?” Harry asked coldly.
“You said you were going to start trusting me. Have you changed your mind so quickly?”
“Harry, we can’t trust him! You know what he did!” Ron hissed.
Harry ran his hands through his hair wearily, making it even more of a mess. “Well, he did destroy the locket, Ron.”
“He did?” Hermione cried. “Why didn’t you two say so?” She reached back and pulled open the tent. It wasn’t invisible exactly but cleverly concealed with magical charms that caused it to blend in imperceptibly with its surroundings. “Come inside, Professor. Oh, I guess I should call you Headmaster now.”
He grimaced. He would never get used to that title.
Seated comfortably inside, his hands freed and propped on his knees, Severus settled himself. This was going to be a very long story. He might as well make himself comfortable.

TBC
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Onward into the Breach