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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
“This is madness.”
“You’ve said that already, Snape,” Harry muttered.
“And I’m saying it again!” he snapped.
“We’ve been over this. Your idea isn’t much better. Bellatrix will realize you’ve betrayed the cause and your name at Hogwarts will be dirt. You’ll wind up being on the run with us.”
“And how is that any different from your imbecilic scheme?” he pointed out, glaring into the sparkling eyes.
“If all goes according to plan, they won’t realize you’re involved with us at all. We can have you back in Hogwarts before spring.” Harry grinned.
Severus huffed but had to admit his reasoning was sound. The plan was reckless in the extreme. But it had the element of surprise and would rely on the typical backbiting and distrust manifested among Slytherins in private. If Bellatrix’s pride and the Malfoy grandeur came into play, this had a fair chance of succeeding.
He was also succumbing to the weakness of being with Harry. The Gryffindor and he were safely hidden under the Invisibility Cloak. At a pinch, it was easily able to cover two people even if they had to crouch a bit. It was thrilling to have his lover – or at least his counterpart – close to him. It was all Severus could do to remain impassive even while his heart pounded with excitement at the warmth pressed to his side.
“Ron, Hermione, you two ready?” Harry called.
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Ron muttered.
The plan was simple. Ron and Hermione would be captured by Snatchers. Under a false disguise, the two would be taken to Malfoy Manor with Harry and Severus along for the ride. If none of their captors thought of doing so, Severus was fully prepared to put at least one of them under the Imperius Curse and “suggest” the two be taken there. Once there, they would attack the Malfoys and retrieve Bellatrix’s wand.
“Here goes, then.” Ron cleared his throat and cried, “Voldemort!”
Almost instantly, there was the crack of Apparition. “Ooh, someone else think they can take the Dark Lord’s name in vain, do they?”
Harry saw five unknown men and one he knew all too well: Fenrir Greyback. Beside him, Severus heard Harry curse under his breath. The feral werewolf was an unforeseen complication. But it was too late to back out now.
“Throw down your wands!” Fenrir growled. “You’re outnumbered three to one and we’ve got the drop on you. So don’t try anything stupid!”
Pretending reluctance, the tousled-haired boy dropped his wand. “Where’s your wand, missy?” Fenrir snapped.
Hermione shrank against Ron, cringing in fear. She didn’t really have to fake it with the werewolf so near. She knew Fenrir’s reputation. “I-I lost it. I’ve been trying to Summon it. But it won’t come.”
As one man Summoned the dropped wand, he peered closer at them. “Potter?” he cried.
“That Potter?”
“Is it him?”
“Strike me pink. It is Harry Potter!” another cried.
“Maybe I am and maybe I’m not,” “Harry” grinned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fenrir snapped.
Harry had borrowed the trick of the seven Potters all over again. It wasn’t the real Harry the men were looking at. It was Ron under Polyjuice disguise.
“I could be Harry Potter…or not,” he shrugged.
“He must think we’re daft,” another man sniggered. “Potter’s public enemy number one. Why’d anybody be dim enough to impersonate him?”
“Ever think that’s so no one will find the real Harry? People have been searching for Potter for months and haven’t managed to bring him in. That’s ‘cause there must be at least a dozen fakes parading around the country pretending to be him,” the Polyjuiced redhead smirked.
The Snatchers suddenly didn’t look so sure. “Blimey, you think that’s right?” one man mumbled. “I’ve been ‘earing all sorts of stories about the Potter boy being seen ‘ere and there. ‘Ow do we know this is ‘im?”
“I heard tell he’d left the country,” another ventured, scratching his head while peering hard at Ron.
“That’s what I’d do – if I was Potter,” somebody in the back muttered.
“We did catch him easy…maybe too easy. Wouldn’t the real Potter put up more of a fight?”
“Quiet, all of you! This could be a trick!” Fenrir leaned close to Hermione. “And what about you, little girl? Nothing to say for yourself?”
“Leave ‘er alone, Greyback.”
The werewolf licked his lips with an impossibly long tongue. “She looks tender, Scabior. You know I do like ‘em young.” Hermione looked ever more terrified as the slavering werewolf moved closer.
Severus could feel Harry tensing up. He looked to see the youth clutching Hermione’s wand, ready to unleash a spell at the hovering werewolf. If he did, he would give away their position for certain. With the odds so greatly against them, Severus knew that a successful fight was a chancy thing, at best.
“Easy, Greyback. We’re not getting paid to drag in ‘alf-chewed corpses,” Scabior chided, his face twisted in disgust.
“The Ministry wouldn’t quibble with a little taste, Scabior,” he rasped, exposing each one of his teeth.
“Let’s check and see if she’s on the list, first.” Another man, bald with tattoos scrawled all over his head, pulled out a long sheet. “So who are you, then?”
“P-Penelope Clearwater,” she stammered.
“She’s not on the list.”
“Penelope Clearwater, eh?” Scabior pulled out a picture and made a show of scrutinizing it. “Oi, Ian, take a look at this. This is one of the pictures of ‘Arry and ‘is friends, innit? This girl with ‘im look familiar?”
The bald man squinted at the picture and back to Hermione. “I do believe you’re right, Scabior. She looks like Hermione Granger.”
“And if she’s Granger, this must be Harry Potter.” Fenrir raised his voice. “Scabior, you and the others search the tent!”
The tent had already been cleared of incriminating evidence. The sword was safely tucked into Hermione’s purse, now concealed with Harry under the Cloak. All the tent held was the bare remnants of their food and blankets.
“Nothing,” one of the searchers said with a shrug.
“We’ll ‘aul ‘em into the Ministry. They’ll know what to do,” Scabior said.
“We do that, the Ministry will take credit for the capture and we’ll get nothing,” Fenrir snarled again. “No, I think we should take them to the Malfoy Manor. Bring the others and gather in a circle.”
The others? Severus’s heart sank as he saw Dean Thomas and a goblin dragged forward. Both of them were firmly secured. The goblin appeared to be barely conscious. Hermione and “Harry” were seized, their arms tied behind their backs. The hidden pair watched the group and timed their departure at the same exact moment, feeling the sickening lurch of Apparition.
The situation had just gotten a hell of a lot more complicated. Severus was dead certain Harry would refuse to leave without the other captives. This suddenly had all the grim look of a rescue mission.
__________
When the other prisoners were shuffled off to the Malfoy cellar, Severus could sense Harry’s tension. Naturally, the fool boy wanted to rush off and save the others. But Harry was his first priority. It was he who needed to remain safe at all costs.
Holding the stiff body close, he edged with all his hard-won cunning around the circle of fiercely debating Slytherins. Fenrir was demanding payment for his capture, Bellatrix wanted to question (i.e., torture) the captive “Potter” and Lucius Malfoy wanted to send for the Dark Lord right away. Typical – they were all caught up in dreams of gold, power and glory, too engrossed to notice the real danger in their midst.
Bellatrix’s humor was always an uncertain one, at best. It became even more so upon seeing “Potter” and Granger. Ron was continuing his charade of was-he-or-wasn’t-he. So far he had the Malfoys and Bellatrix so off balance they weren’t sure about anything.
“What if he’s not Harry Potter? We’ll have called the Dark Lord here for nothing!” Bellatrix spat. “Do you think he’ll be happy to know we brought him here for an imposter?”
“What do you suggest we do? Hold them in the dungeons until the Polyjuice wears off?” Lucius sneered.
“No, please. Not the dungeons,” Hermione blurted.
Severus frowned. What was the girl playing at?
“Got a problem, dearie?” Bellatrix purred. Seeing her victims squirm had always brought joy to her black heart.
“I-I don’t like enclosed spaces,” Hermione whimpered.
“Well, we were just going to send your friend down there. But now you can go and keep him company. Maybe he’ll hold your hand,” Bellatrix cackled.
The body against his began to shake. Oh, Merlin, no, not now. Severus gripped him hard, feelng Harry’s heart hammer against his hand. The green eyes were wide and unfocused, fixed on whatever new horrific vision the Dark Lord was sending his way.
“Just a moment, Bella. You are in my house. No one is going anywhere until I say so.”
“Your authority has been severally compromised since our Lord took your wand and you know it, Lucius,” Bellatrix sneered.
Lucius beckoned to his son. “Draco, come here. Is this Harry Potter?”
Draco hesitated. The younger Malfoy was curiously wan and didn’t seem at all eager to approach. Ron tried to assume a bland expression, like Draco was no one in particular he knew. Draco moved close and looked him over.
“Certainly looks like him.” He leaned into Ron’s face and his lips twisted in a sneer. “Glad to see me, Scarhead?”
Ron blinked and his face went slack. He shrugged uncertainly. “Should I be…Draco?”
Draco frowned, searching Harry’s face for a hint of recognition. “Something’s wrong, Father. The real Harry never called me Draco.”
Harry was straightening, shaking off the vision. His face was ashen and the lips sternly set. The pain must be excruciating that he didn’t cry out. Severus wished he could offer more comfort than a hand circling on Harry’s back. But he held on and directed his attention back to the squabbling group in front of him.
Narcissa clucked her teeth. “Honestly, what are you people thinking? There’s an easier way. Do you have their wands?” she snapped at one of the Snatchers. When he handed her the wands taken from Ron and Dean Thomas, she frowned. “Ollivander described Potter’s wand as being holly with a phoenix feather core. Neither of these matches that description.”
“Then we’ll put them in the dungeon for now. We’ll check back in an hour and then we’ll see who’s who,” Bellatrix said with an impatient gesture.
“Wait. What about our money?” Fenrir demanded.
“You’ll get your filthy lucre, werewolf,” Bellatrix spat. “But you’ll not get as much as you’re hoping for it if turns out you’ve brought us a fake Potter! Put the captives in the dungeon. Then you can wait in the courtyard with your…cohorts.”
The werewolf’s lip lifted in a mute sneer but he was wise enough to say nothing as he gestured to the other Snatchers to leave. Severus stifled a sigh of relief. They would not have to deal with Fenrir and his gang of thugs. At last, something was going their way.
As “Harry” and Hermione were led away by the werewolf, Harry tugged him to follow. Severus resisted. Now would be the perfect time to attack the Malfoys and Bellatrix. They were only four and only three of them had wands. He and Harry could hit them swiftly before they knew what was happening.
But the rebellious brat was straining against him. In another second he would slip from beneath the Cloak and stand revealed in front of his enemies. Clutching his wand in growing irritation, Severus allowed himself to be pulled after the vanishing captives.
They trailed after Fenrir down a steep flight of stairs. At the bottom was a heavy door. Greyback unlocked it with a snap of his wand, then forced them into the cramped room. Before Severus could stop him, Harry had drawn Hermione’s wand and whispered, “Stupefy!”
Taken by surprise, the werewolf had no chance to defend himself. He stiffened and fell down the remaining stairs, crashing into the captives. Ron and Hermione staggered, forced into the cell by his weight, and fell on the floor.
“Well done, Harry,” Severus whispered snidely. “Let’s hope the sound of an enormous body falling down stairs doesn’t rouse everybody in the house.”
“Harry?”
Harry looked up to see Ron and Hermione struggling to their feet. Barely visible behind them were shadowy figures in the darkness. “Who’s there?” he whispered.
“It’s me, Luna. Oh, Harry, I was so hoping you wouldn’t be captured.”
“He wasn’t, Luna. I’m actually Ron. Harry’s around…somewhere,” Ron said, waving vaguely in Harry’s direction.
“Really? How come I can’t see him?” Dean demanded.
Harry stepped from under the Cloak and bounded into the dungeon. “I’m here, Luna. That’s Ron,” he added, pointing at his friend. With another gesture, he released their bonds. “I didn’t know you were here. Who else is with you?”
She blinked and then nodded as though the presence of a fake Harry made perfect sense and didn’t need any explanation. “I’m here with Dean Thomas, a goblin and Ollivander. I think the goblin’s unconscious and Ollivander is in very bad shape. Poor man, they’ve been torturing him terribly.”
Fenrir groaned. He had knocked his head severely when he fell but it might not take him long to recover. Harry took Fenrir’s wand. Then he levitated the werewolf into the cell and cast the Body-Bind Curse on him for good measure. He handed Hermione back her wand.
“We have to get them out of here quickly before someone comes to investigate what is taking Greyback so long,” Hermione pointed out.
“Can you Apparate so many, Hermione?” Harry asked, scanning the room in the uncertain light.
Ron and Hermione exchanged uncertain glances. “I don’t know,” Hermione ventured. “I don’t want to risk it.”
“Me neither, mate. Last thing I want is to get Splinched again,” Ron added, shuddering.
Harry thought hard. “Dobby! Dobby, can you hear me?”
With a small “crack”, the green-eyed house-elf appeared in their midst. He clasped his hands together and smiled joyfully. “Is that Harry Potter calling Dobby? Oh, Dobby is so glad to see Harry Potter! Dobby feared Harry Potter had been captured or killed!” He threw his arms about Harry and sniffled with delirious joy.
Harry pulled at the house-elf’s bony fingers. “Dobby, we can save the reunion for later. Take my friends and get them out of here.”
“Harry, let us help you,” Luna protested.
He shook his head. “You and Dean don’t have your wands. We’ve got a plan all set and you’ll only bollix it up. Besides, it looks like Ollivander and Griphook need help. Grab hold of each other.” When Luna reluctantly complied, Harry added, “Dobby, take them to…” Harry paused. Then he brightened. “…Bill and Fleur’s place in Shell Cottage.”
“Harry, wait! Ron and I were supposed to help!”
“Change of plan, Hermione. You’ve got injured to take care of and you need to make explanations to Bill and Fleur. See you soon. Bye!”
The captives Apparated with another sharp cracking sound, Hermione still protesting, and Severus winced. When he had the chance, he would teach these careless children about silent Apparition. Maybe then they wouldn’t have to rely on gibbering house-elves.
“Did you hear that?” shouted Lucius Malfoy from over their heads. “What was that noise in the cellar?”
Harry darted underneath the Invisibility Cloak. “Snape, how much Polyjuice Potion have you got on you?”
“At least ten bottles. Why?”
Lucius yelled, “Draco – no, call Wormtail! Make him go and check!”
“Just got an idea.” He rushed in, plucked a hair from the unconscious Fenrir and locked the cell door behind him. When he returned, he held out a hand mutely.
Severus raised an eyebrow but handed over one of his bottles. Harry added the hair and drank.
His form began to ripple and change, growing taller and bulkier. However, he had forgotten to switch clothes with the much larger werewolf and his own clothing began to strain at the seams. Severus waved his wand and Transfigured them into Fenrir’s bulkier, coarser apparel.
Not a moment too soon. Suddenly Pettigrew appeared above them. “Hello? Fenrir? Why haven’t you come up? What’s going on down there?” The puny man edged closer, his nose twitching like he was smelling them. Severus wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if he were.
“Just making sure the kiddies were all tucked away. What did you want, Wormtail? Come to join the fun?” Even knowing it was Harry standing in Fenrir’s skin, it was unnerving for Severus to hear that unnaturally deepened voice.
Wormtail stood uncertainly, his eyes darting everywhere, looking at anything except the werewolf in his path. “N-no. Glad you’re amusing yourself.
Harry took a step up the staircase and the shifty little man flinched backwards. Easily frightened as always, Wormtail appeared terrified of Fenrir. He swallowed nervously. “Um, Lucius heard a strange noise here in the cellar. H-he sent me to check it out.”
Harry picked at one of his teeth with a dirty, pointed fingernail. He never took his eyes off Wormtail as he rumbled. “One of the treats got a little – rowdy. Had to throw him against a wall to make him behave. He shouldn’t be any trouble now. Why don’t we get back upstairs? I still want my gold.”
Fenrir or no, Wormtail obviously wasn’t going to be so easily deterred. “I’ll just have a quick look, shall I?”
Harry shrugged. “Suit yourself…Wormy,” he finished with a sneer.
Wormtail’s face twitched at the insulting nickname but he didn’t dispute it. As he tried edging past Fenrir, he brushed against Severus under the Cloak. His forehead puckered, puzzled, at the odd sensation. Then his eyes widened.
“Lu – !”
“Stupefy!”
Severus’s spell caused Wormtail to go smashing into the cellar door. His head knocked against it with a solid “thunk” and he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
Harry opened the door and shoved Wormtail in, though not before yanking out some of his sparse hairs and confiscating his wand. “Now who’s being rash?” he smirked.
“Not in the least. He knew I was here and was about to sound the alarm.” Besides, seeing Wormtail getting tossed like the garbage he was had been the only pleasure this ill-advised undertaking had afforded him. He hadn’t been about to let the opportunity pass.
Harry snorted then held out Wormtail’s hairs. Severus eyed them in extreme distaste. “And what do you expect me to do with those?”
“Don’t be thick, Snape. They’re expecting to see Wormtail and Fenrir come back upstairs. Use more potion and we’re out of here.”
Severus wanted to protest but Harry was right. Grimacing at the thought of swallowing one of the filthy rat’s hairs, he downed the potion as quickly as possible.
Harry pulled off the Cloak to see Wormtail’s bent form, looking even smaller from the vantage of his increased height. Severus had even managed to Transfigure his clothing to match that of the unconscious rodent’s. “Okay, we’re ready to go. Here’s his wand.” He bundled up the Cloak and tucked it under his Transfigured clothing.
Severus nodded tightly, not wanting to hear his voice come out squeaking like that miserable little toady’s. He looked with loathing at his silver hand before clutching it around his own wand. He didn’t trust anything Wormtail had touched.
They marched upstairs – rather, Harry loped, his stride much longer than usual, and Severus scurried along in his wake. They emerged to find Draco, Lucius and Bellatrix waiting impatiently. Narcissa was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she had tired of the Death Eater antics in her home.
“Well?” Lucius demanded.
Severus shuffled like one racked with nerves. He’d had months of acquaintance with the wretched rat Animagus during his previous time as a spy. He knew Wormtail’s mannerisms down to a tee. He only hoped Harry would be ready when the moment came.
“Um, Fenrir here was smacking around one of the captives. He got a little rough, is all.”
Lucius frowned. “Really? It sounded like Apparition to me.”
“Fenrir’s” lip lifted. “Sorry about that. Guess I don’t know my own strength.”
Bellatrix sniffed. “Well? What are you standing about for? Go and wait with the others, Greyback!”
The “werewolf” cocked his head. “I don’t think so.”
“What?” Bellatrix screeched.
It was as good a signal as any. Severus and Harry both drew their wands and fired.
As the more dangerous one, Bellatrix was struck down at once to lie insensible on the floor. Draco pulled out his wand and yelled, “Fenrir, you bastard! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Let’s just say we’re both tired of being treated like the hired help around here, you little prat,” the false werewolf growled.
Lucius had ducked behind a couch. Without a wand, he couldn’t help his son but he was far from helpless. Snatching up a poker from the fire, he sent it flying in their direction.
Severus ducked but the burning instrument grazed his shoulder, causing him to hiss with the pain. Harry did not allow himself to be distracted, however. Draco had never been able to beat him in a fair wand duel and now was no different. He easily rendered him unconscious while Severus managed to best Lucius.
Harry swiftly removed all of the wands, including the ones earlier confiscated by the Snatchers. With Ollivander on the sick list, no more wands would be made for awhile. The more of the enemy left incapacitated by the loss of their weapons, the better. And Draco’s would make a nice spare from Fenrir’s. Even though the werewolf’s wand had worked well enough, there was a – sticky feeling to it that Harry disliked and made him want to wash his hands vigorously with acid after every time he used it.
They Apparated away, both men grunting at the nasty sensation.

TBC
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Onward into the Breach