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All That You Leave Behind	By : SickPuppy Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 35161 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 68
- 69
- 70
Now you see why we agonised over that last chapter, let us assure you that there was no less agonising over this one! Even if it was for a different reason, there was still plenty of angsting! Thanks to all who let us know we left you gobsmacked. We hope you like this chapter, although you'll probably still hate us no less. Take heart, however, Severus is far from making his last appearance! And.............well, we'll leave you to stew on that for a bit........remember to review!

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Chapter 68

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"H-Harry?" Ginny said through her own tears. She reached across the body of the man she had looked on as a father figure, feeling lost and disbelieving, and touched the shoulder of her husband.

"No," Harry growled, throwing her hand off. "No! This is not happening! It's not!" Ginny was frightened at the look in Harry�s eyes. They seemed to be fading, the life and soul leaving them, but suddenly they blazed and he stood, striding off, leaving Ginny and Severus, both covered in blood, in the street.

"Harry!" Ginny blurted, shocked, "what are you doing? Help me! Help me get him to the shop! To St. Mungos! Anywhere! We can't just leave him here! Harry!"

He paid her no mind, and continued walking, her pleas echoing after him, to a point further down the street. �No!� He choked out, jaw working whilst fresh tears spilt down his grimy cheeks. �Nonononononononononono!� he huffed out, voice rising and falling, cresting as his pain and rage and confusion built.

Without glancing at the body of his lover, his wife, or the many Aurors milling about in the aftermath, he spun on his heel and was gone.

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Harry reappeared again in the living room of his best friends' house, face still wet with tears, his clothes soaked in blood. "HERMIONE!! Harry screamed before he even finished spinning. "HERMIONE!" he yelled again as he distractedly scanned the book-crammed room. He turned and raced out of the room, unable to just stand and wait, all the while bellowing for Hermione a the top of his lungs.

"Harry?!" Ron blurted, and Harry spied them both in the doorway to their bedroom, hair mussed and looking a bit droopy. Obviously they'd been asleep, but Harry didn't care about that. He rushed toward them, unmindful of their widening eyes and Hermione's gasp of horror as she caught sight of his robes. "Harry!," Ron gasped, "what happened?! Ginny...is she alright? What about James?? Harry!?"

Harry ignored him, striding up to Hermione and roughly grasping her shoulders in his hands . He took a great gulping breath and said in a near sob, his words jumbling together, "I need the time-turner, Hermione, and don't argue with me. I know you have it, and I want it right now."

"B-But..Harry...." a clearly terrified Hermione stuttered, "I..."
"Now, Hermione!!!" Harry shouted, his voice cracking, "just give me the goddamned thing and spare me your blathering about principals, and how dangerous it is to play with time. I need it, and I need it now!" He added emphasis with a shake of her shoulders.

"Oi, Mate!" Ron said gruffly, "bit rough, aren't you? Take your hands off my wife!"

"I need the fucking time-turner!!!" Harry screamed, something alien in his eyes. He let go of Hermione and pounded his fists on the wall, leaving bloody smears. "Just give me the goddamned time turner!"

"What do you need a fucking time turner for?!" Ron shouted, pushing Harry further away from Hermione. "Just calm down and tell us what happened! Where's Ginny and James?!"

Harry bent over, his grief threatening to overtake him and render him truly insane, and clutched at his hair, taking in great gulping breaths as he did. OhGodOhGodOhGod! his mind screamed, this can't be real! He steeled himself as best he could and stood up, fresh tears streaking through the grime on his face.

"S-Severus.....he's.....there was a....Death Eater attack.....in Diagon Alley...." he stammered out, "they.....they had Ginny.....I thought they wanted Ginny, and...and I tried to protect........."

"What happened to Ginny?!?" Ron shreiked in a strange, high voice, his freckled face going pale. He grabbed the front of Harry's robes and shook him hard, yelling, "Where's my sister?! Your wife?!?"

"She's fine!" Harry sobbed, "she's fine. James is safe at the Burrow. George...George is safe too. Gin....she got James away.......she got away from the Death Eater and......we were running......they hexed us and...we fell, but I couldn't let him get her, so I shielded her with my body, but.......he didn't want her..." Harry gasped, unable to continue.

"Harry?" Hermione asked kindly, "did....did something happen to Severus? Is he alright? Please, Harry......please calm down. We can't help you unless...."

Harry looked up into her brown eyes and moaned, "J-Just like....before, Hermione.."

"Oh, Harry," she said mournfully, "what..what happened?"

"Where's Ginny, Harry?" Ron broke in, not caring about Snape. Ginny was what was important now. "if she was with you, where is she now?"

"She....I...I left her there.....with.......Severus..." Harry wept, not able to look at Ron.

"You left her there?!" Ron shouted, "what the fuck is the matter with you?!?"

"Ron!" Hermione snapped, "everybody just calm down! We need..."

"I need the time turner, Hermione!" Harry blurted out, "don't you understand?? I can't wait! I need to go...fix it! I need to..."

"Forget about Snape!" Ron roared, pushing through Harry and Hermione, "he's dead, isn't he? He's dead and you left your wife there with him! What the fuck kind of Auror are you, Harry!" The disgust was clear on his face as he grabbed his robes and prepared to disapparate.

"Where are you going?!" Hermione shreiked, going to him.

"To get my sister!" Ron snapped and disappeared.

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Ginny finally let Severus' body go, easing it gently and carefully onto the cobbles of the street. She found, however, that she couldn't stop the flow of tears from her eyes as she looked at the face of the man she'd grown so close to.

"At least he didn't harm your face," she whispered, stroking his cheek. She drew her hand over the vacant and staring eyes, closing the lids carefully, and a deep sob escaped her.

She looked up at the Aurors and people milling about in the street, noticing the subtle way that the Aurors seemed to be keeping the onlookers at bay, and then realised they'd placed a Shield Charm around her. She supposed it was to prevent anyone coming near the body or disturbing evidence, and she was grateful for it.

She closed her eyes and wished Harry would come back. She didn't know any of the other Aurors all that well, other than Kingsley Shacklebolt, and there was no way she was going to entrust anyone to take care of Severus' body. She supposed too, that the Aurors would eventually want to speak to her. As it was, some of them were interviewing witnesses, while others helped repair some of the spell damage from the battle. Kingsley was directing everyone with his big booming voice.

She looked down at Severus' still form once again, then at herself, and wondered if it would be alright if she cleaned them up. She couldn't stand the thought of Severus lying in the filthy street like this, seemingly ignored and forgotten, like so much rubbish. She made her decision, and waved her wand, casting a Cushioning Charm under Severus, even though she was aware he couldn't feel it, then Tergeo and Scourgify to remove the blood and grime from herself and Severus.

"Let them yell at me, I don't care," she muttered through her tears, "you shouldn't have to lie here. This isn't right. You deserve better than this." She wished she could repair the deep gashes that covered his body, shredding his robes, but she thought that may be going too far. Even though he was gone, she thought the Aurors, or perhaps the Healers at St. Mungos, may want to inspect the wounds. It hurt her to see him like this, and she wanted desperately to take him away from here, away from the prying eyes of the crowd of onlookers she could hear murmuring through the Shield Charm. Severus has always been a very private man, he wouldn't appreciate a crowd of gawkers.

Ginny looked up, scanning the crowd for the familiar shape of Kingsley to ask permission to take Severus to St. Mungos. She saw her brother Ron apparate into the alleyway, a furious expression on his face, and she was glad she'd cleaned herself up. She knew he would have gone completely mental had he seen her covered in blood.

"Ginny!" Ron shouted, seeing his sister kneeling in the street beside Severus Snape's unmoving form. Silently he cursed Harry for leaving her here by herself, and started toward her. He stopped as he neared her, recognising the magical signature of a Shield Charm surrounding her, and unsheathed his wand to dispel it. He rushed to her side when it was done, hugging her close and asking if she was alright.

Having Ron there made Ginny begin crying in earnest, all her fear, panic, and grief overwhelming her. She clung to her brother, burying her face in his shoulder, and sobbed, unable to hold it in any longer. She felt another hand at her back, and heard George's voice saying, "It's okay, Gin. It's over now. It's okay."

"No!" she sobbed, "it's not okay! He was our friend! My friend, and he's dead, and I don't know what I'm going to do without him! It's not okay, it's not!"

"Shh, Ginny, shhh," Ron said, "you're alright and James is alright and...Harry's alright. That's all that matters."

Ginny ripped herself away from Ron, gaping at him, appalled. "Severus was attacked and killed, Ron! How can you say that doesn't matter?! Don't you understand? They used me to get to him! He....he took his mask off, and he laughed, and it was the same man, the orderly from the hospital! The one who tried to poison me! it was that Fairncombe man, and you should be helping Harry to catch him!"

"Harry isn't trying to catch him!" Ron said grimly. "Your husband left you here alone to go to our house to get a time turner, Ginny! To save him! He wants Hermione to bring him back again!"

Ginny looked up at her brother, and Ron could see the look of hope in her face. It made him unreasonably angry to see it, and he grasped her shoulders, giving her a shake. "What's the matter with you, Ginny?! You and James.....you are what's important! You could have been killed, you or James! You can sob all you want for him, but the rest of us are glad it was him and not you! You'd think your own husband would be as well, not running off and leaving you trying to save him! Again!"

Ginny stared at her brother, appalled, and flung his hands off her shoulders. Through gritted teeth she hissed, "He was part of our family, Ron, an important part! You have no idea what he meant to us, both of us, and he died trying to save me! He was here, Ron, in the battle, fighting to save me and James, and you have no right to say he isn't important!"

"Gin," George said, tugging at his sister's arm, "come on...", but Ginny was having none of it. She flung his arm off as well, and turned back to Ron, who now was wearing a thunderous experession. "James is safe, I would never risk his life, nor would Harry or Severus! If Harry is off trying to find a way to bring him back, then I'm glad, Ron! Glad! Do you hear me?!" she snapped, feeling her tears begin again. "We saw his face, Harry knows it's Fairncombe. He can find him later. Severus is what's important now!"

With that she stood, swiping her hands across her tear-streaked cheeks angrily and said to George, "Help me take him to St. Mungo's will you?"

She threw a contemptuous glance at Ron and added pointedly, "He shouldn't have to lie here in the street with the rest of the rubbish.'

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"Hermione, please!" Harry nearly sobbed, "the time turner. I...."

"H-Harry," Hermione said warily. She swallowed hard and said, "Harry, you can't just...just keep playing with time! Things happen for a reason, and......"

"Don't give me that shit now!" Harry shouted, grimly resisting the urge, heavily pregnant as she was, to start shaking her again. "Just give me the....."

"Harry, please," Hermione moaned helplessly, "I know how you're feeling, but..."

"You have no fucking idea how I feel!" Harry roared and rushed back down the hall, ignoring Hermione waddling behind him. She found him in the living room, rushing about wildly, spilling open drawers and tearing books from the shelves.

"Harry, stop! Stop!" she shouted, "I can't give you the time turner! I don't have it anymore!"

Harry stopped suddenly, as if he'd been stunned, and then slowly turned toward the crying witch. "Wh-what d'you mean, Hermione? What do you mean you don't have it anymore?!" he said, his voice shaky.

"I'm s-sorry, Harry," she whispered, tears coursing down her cheeks. "I don't have it. I haven't had it for years. Kingsley Sh-Shacklebolt.....he confiscated it when.....when he questioned me after he arrested....S-Severus."

Harry continued to stare at her in disbelief a few more seconds, then abruptly sat down hard on the sofa. The tears welled up in his green eyes then, and he sat there looking shocked and tragic.

Hermione went and sat beside him, taking his hand and squeezing. "Harry....I'm so sorry," she said, "I know how much Severus meant to you, and I understand how awful this is....to lose him again, but....."

"You don't know," Harry whispered hollowly.

"No matter how badly you feel, Harry," Hermione soldiered on, "no matter how wrong it is that this had to happen.....fooling with time....doing this again, bringing him back again.....it's not right, Harry! He didn't want to be brought back last time, you don't know he would want it this time! He's not yours to toy with, you can't control his fate! How do you think he would feel, knowing you'd tried to control his fate again?!"

"Shut up, Hermione!" Harry suddenly shouted, springing to his feet, "just shut up! You don't know how I felt about him, or how he felt about me, you don't know anything, so for once in your life just shut up!" He began to pace back and forth wildly, feeling as if he were losing his mind, his grief and pain making him want to scream until he couldn't feel anymore.

"I won't!" she shouted back, "this is an awful, tragic thing, but you can't save everyone, Harry! I don't have the time turner anymore, but even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you! I brought him back before because he didn't deserve what happened to him, after all he'd been through, he didn't deserve to die like that! But I did it for you too, because you owed him your life, and you needed to tell him that, and to thank him for all he gave up for you, and he at least deserved to hear you tell him so!"

"He didn't deserve this death anymore than he deserved the other!" Harry snapped back, "you brought him back before, but that doesn't give you the right to decide he shouldn't be brought back again! Who are you to judge what's right and what's wrong?!"

"Harry!" Hermione screeched, "it is wrong! It's not just a question of messing with time! That's dangerous enough, but this....this...it's immoral, Harry! You can't keep forcing him to cheat death! It's not right to keep resurrecting him! Don't you see that? Harry?" she implored.

She could see he wasn't listening to her. He'd stopped pacing back and forth and was staring distractedly at the floor. She could almost see his mind formulating something, what, she couldn't be sure of, but she didn't like the look on his face.

"Harry?" she began again.

"I need to go," he said urgently. He stepped forward, intending on apparating, and was stopped by Hermione firmly gripping his arm.

"Harry," she said in a frightened voice, "what are you thinking?!"

He didn't answer, pulling his arm free and quickly stepping forward into the suffocating grip of apparition, Hermione's frantic voice echoing after him.

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Harry re-appeared at the gates of Hogwarts and sent his patronus to find Minerva McGonagall and ask her to open the gates for him. He paced back and forth as he waited impatiently, muttering to himself as if demented while he did. After what seemed like an eternity, the massive gates began to move, creaking slowly inward by themselves, and Harry stepped onto the grounds.

He glanced up at the ancient castle that had been his home, as well as Severus', for so many years, but set off in the direction of the Forbidden Forest instead. When he reached the edge of it, he stopped to get his bearings, casting back into his mind for the memory that would never completely leave him. The memory of the last time he had entered this place. It was as clear in his mind as if it had happened yesterday, and he walked until he reached the right spot. He set off into the trees, ignoring the ghost of Hermione's words in favour of focusing on his purpose for coming here.

The trees grew thicker and more close together the longer he walked, and he had to be careful, just as he had had to that last time, not to trip over their gnarled and twisted roots. Deeper and deeper he walked, trying to hurry as fast as the uneven ground would allow, relying on memory and instinct now to lead him to the right spot.

At long last he arrived at the place he'd been seeking, the clearing where he'd once faced his own death, and for a moment he just stood there, unable to stop the flood of memories that washed over him. There was where his parents, Sirius, and Lupin had left him. There was where Voldemort had stood waiting for him, Bellatrix Lestrange by his side. There was where Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had stood, clearly terrified. There was where Harry had revealed himself to Voldemort. And there was where Narcissa Malfoy had lied to Voldemort and saved Harry's life.

His eyes returned to the place where he'd taken off his Invisibility Cloak and revealed himself to Voldemort, and he let that memory surface again as he walked to the spot. It had been years, but he was sure it was still here. He stopped, drawing his wand with one hand as he stretched the other out palm up.

He took a deep breath and said, "Accio, Resurrection Stone!"

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Lucius Malfoy, feeling the warmth of a Protean Charm heat up one of the gold galleons he carried in his trouser pocket, excused himself from the small group of dignitaries he was standing with, and quietly made his way toward the bank of fireplaces that lined the Atrium of the Ministry. He nodded at a few of the other attendees as he flung a bit of floo powder into one, announcing his destination loudly, and smiled as he vanished into the green flames.

Upon arriving, he stepped out into the elegant library of Malfoy Manor, stood looking about for a moment, then strode to his favourite chair, settling himself with a sigh, eyes closed. How boring the Ministry was, he thought to himself, all those arrogant and pompous stuffed shirts parading about. Still, they'd been solicitous in their treatment of him, as if they feared him, and the feeling of power had been quite heady. He smiled to himself thinking of how horrified they'd be if they knew the real him lurking beneath the carefully cultivated exterior.

Lost in these thoughts, he didn't hear the door to the room open, and nearly yelped in surprise when a hand landed on his shoulder. His grey eyes flew open to encounter a pair of large blue ones gazing down at him.

"I'm sorry, Darling," Narcissa Malfoy said, a small smile of amusement adorning her elegant face, "I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't expect you back this early."

Lucius remained staring at his wife for a heartbeat, then gathered his wits, cleared his throat, and forced a returning smile. "It.....was the usual deadly dull Ministry affair," he said lightly.

"Aren't they all?" she said, making a small moue. "It's not as it used to be, is it? I think I shall retire early, perhaps with a tray. Would you care to join me? A small picnic? Like when we were younger?" She raised one perfect brow delicately, making the invitation clear.

Lucius Malfoy had married a very beautiful woman; it would take a very strong man to resist such a charmingly offered package. It was with real regret that he told her, "As much as I would love to, I am expecting a...business colleague....in a few moments."

"I see," she said, trailing her fingers from his shoulder to his neck, then skimming lightly over his ear. Her fragrant hair brushed his cheek as she leaned forward to murmur in his ear, "Keep it short, won't you?", and then vanished as silently as she'd appeared.

A moment later, green flames flared in the hearth of the massive fireplace and Howard Fairncombe stepped through, an evil grin on his face. Lucius rose and watched silently as Fairncombe strode over to the liquor cabinet, grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey and two glasses. Striding back, he shoved one of the glasses at Lucius and poured for both of them.

"Cheers," Fairncombe said, clinking their glasses together, and they both drank. As they did, streaks of white began to race through Fairncombe's hair, and his skin began to ripple and melt, eliciting a low groan from the man. Lucius stood watching calmly, sipping his drink, not moving when the man fell into the chair he'd just vacated and sat there panting and groaning as his body convulsed.

Soon enough and his body was going through the same contortions, although he handled it better and managed to remain standing. When it was done, Howard Fairncombe stood looking down at Lucius Malfoy, who again raised his glass in a toast before finishing off the remainder of his drink.

"All went well, I trust?" Lucius asked Fairncombe, rising and drawing his wand. He flicked his wrist and swapped the dark robes he wore for the elegant dress robes Fairncombe wore.

"Yes," Fairncombe replied, "you were right, Sir. All I had to do was smile, bow, and be polite, then make my excuses when you activated the charm. Your meeting went well then?"

"Yes, very well indeed," Lucius purred maliciously, "I accomplished all I set out to do. That is, except for one, tiny, detail."

"And what was that, Sir?" Fairncombe asked, wondering if Malfoy would offer a refill.

Lucius' smile became feral as he raised his wand. "Only this. Obliviate!"

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All That You Leave Behind