Number 4, Privet Drive

7: Number 4, Privet Drive

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Snape survived the doctor's treatment, he fought his way through a very long night, and he was still alive the next morning when Harry woke up in the chair next to the bed. After dinner, reluctantly prepared by his aunt, he had taken a shower, had managed to clean his clothes with a Scourgify, and had fallen asleep in the chair next to Snape.

The doctor was sleeping in Dudley's bed. Gently, but very resolutely, Harry had hindered him from leaving the house, explaining to him that it would be too dangerous. "Plus, if there are complications, you will be needed here. You can go and inform the police about us tomorrow." Luckily, the old man had been open to reasoning, had talked to Vernon and Petunia for a little while, and had been sleeping soundly all night.

Harry had talked to his aunt and uncle as well. Explaining what had happened wasn't his intention, so he stuck to the basics and promised them to seek help first thing in the morning. "At the moment, no one knows where we are," he said, sitting at the kitchen table. "I don't have an owl; I don't want to use magic to tell Ginny that I found shelter here. Magic is traceable. I need you, Dudley, to go to my house tomorrow and tell my wife what happened. Snape kidnapped me some hours ago; she must be terrified."

Dudley's face became stern. "You are married?"

Harry smiled involuntarily. "For a bit more than a year. And in a few months, our first child will be born. Wanna come to the christening?"

"NO!" Vernon shouted.

"Yay!" Dudley squeaked.

Harry grinned. Some things never changed. Some things did. That his cousin had managed to become human after so many years under his dreadful parents' wings was nothing short of a miracle. "I'll make sure you'll get an invitation," he said and was feeling surprisingly happy at Dudley's delight at the prospect.

"Yeah, man, how about that dead man, that Voldy-thing?" Dudley suddenly asked, even putting down his toast. "You said you killed him? Where? How? And wasn't that the real bad guy?"

With a sigh, Harry nodded. "The darkest wizard ever known. He killed my parents. I beheaded him. And I don't know where. It was an old mansion, more a ruin than something one would live in. It was surrounded by trees, and the stones of the walls were of a strange green colour. Mould, if you ask me. I have no idea where it was. Pity, as I had to leave the sword and the Sorting Hat behind."

"We don't want to hear about it," Vernon gruffed, but was silenced by his son.

"Green stones, rotten, surrounded by trees," Dudley said. "Was there a huge tree, split in half by lightning , and a chimney with a stork's nest on top of it?"

Harry nearly choked on his toast. "How the... Damn, Dudley, how do you know that?"

Instead of answering, Dudley went to get a big picture book. Placing it in front of Harry, he opened it, flicked through the pages and finally found what he had been looking for. "That one? It's called the Haunted Castle of Carrengroves. We visited it when I was little. Of course, we left you with Mrs Figg back then. I heard it's prohibited to trespass nowadays. Someone bought it, am I right, Dad?"

Vernon grumbled his "Yes," clearly unwilling to give his nephew any information whatsoever.

Harry, though, was struck dumb with happiness. "Big D, that is great news! " he exclaimed. "Someone can go and get the sword and hat back once Snape is safe. I knew it was a good idea to come here to seek shelter!"

Petunia snorted with disdain, and Vernon shot his nephew a look that could have made milk curdle.

*****

Now, as the sun rose, Harry could hear Dudley manoeuvring in the kitchen. Vernon and Petunia had spent the night in the living room, terrified at the thought that their bed was occupied by a half-dead wizard and even more shocked that their only son didn't mind having his cousin back home.

Harry touched Snape's cheek to find it less hot than the previous day. He nearly tripped and fell when he saw the Potions master's eyes were wide open. For a second, Harry believed the man to be dead, but then the eyes moved and focussed on him.

"Dust?" Snape asked, his voice husky.

Perplexed, Harry didn't know what the question meant, and therefore, he didn't have a clue what to answer.

Impatiently, Snape rolled his eyes. "The Dark Lord – did he turn to dust? Saw his head in the air. Can't remember what happened afterwards. Apart from you killing me."

"I didn't kill you – you are alive, aren't you? I even managed to organise a doctor for you, although I have to admit that he's a bit old and a bit slow. He worked for hours on you." Relieved, Harry looked down at Snape who seemed close to jumping out of bed, strangling everyone within reach. Reassuringly, Harry patted the Potions master's hand, which earned him a deathly glare. "Voldemort is dead, and he's dust, Snape. After I got rid of that snake, he was blown out the window. Well and truly dead."

Snape exhaled the breath he had been holding. "Death Eaters?" he then asked. It wasn't easy for him to speak, and Harry realised belatedly that the man probably had a throat as dry as the desert. Taking a glass of water from the bedside table, he raised a questioning eyebrow.

Snape took the glass and drank deeply. "I hope you were bright enough to let Albus know where we are?"

Harry sighed. "I tried to, but your stupid wand didn't comply to my wishes. So I sent my cousin..."

That was the moment when a flash broke the window, sending glass splinters into uncle Vernon's bedroom. Downstairs, Petunia shrieked and a kettle slammed to the floor. Snape, experienced in wars and battles, rolled out of bed, crashed to the ground, and hid under the bed.

Harry wanted to grab Snape's wand, but now that Snape was awake, the wand longed for its true master and refused to be used by Harry. With ice-cold, trembling fingers, Snape claimed what was his and cast a protection ward. Several flashes hit the invisible barrier, but it wouldn't hold much longer. Snape was too weak to keep it up, and Harry was helpless without a wand.

When several moments passed without more hexes, Harry crawled on all fours to the window, peeking out. "There are your colleagues, Snape," he whispered. "Five or six of them. I guess there are more in the back garden. We need to get out of here. You are in no condition to fight, I can't really handle your damn wand, and as much as I dislike my aunt and uncle, I don't want to see them dead. Can you get up?"

Snape was already half on his feet. "Anything, as long as you don't Imperius me again," he bit out through gritted teeth, pressing his injured arm close to his haggard body. "Unpleasant experience, Potter."

Against his will, Harry chuckled. "Sorry, I had no choice. I really need to know what you put into Voldemort's wine. I mean, he even checked it. Why didn't he detect the poison or whatever it was that put him under your will?"

Leaning against the wall, his face a sickly grey-yellow colour, Snape grinned maliciously. "Because the potion wasn't in the wine. I applied it directly to the metal when I wiped his goblet clean. Twice. Which is the reason his spell declared the wine clean. He didn't stand a chance. He obviously never watched Muggle spy movies."

Harry's head snapped up, and he stared at his former teacher in disbelief. "You... what? Don't you tell me you've got a telly in your dungeons!" Two steps, and he was at Snape's side, preventing him from sliding down the wall like wet paint by wrapping his arm around his waist once more.

"As a child, at Lily's house," Snape groaned. "Lots of television programs. Mainly ridiculous stuff. This specific piece of nonsense came in handy, though." Sweat pearled on his face, and Harry could feel him tremble as they slowly made their way out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

Vernon and Petunia were nowhere to be seen. Good news, for a change, Harry thought, spotting another Death Eater through the little window next to the door. "Look, Professor, we need to get to Hogwarts. We aren't safe here, and as you are at least on your legs today, we might make it. I don't trust myself with your wand – can you Apparate us there?"

The door burst open, and Harry could do nothing but prevent both of them from falling to the ground. He was just about to attack with his bare hands when he saw Dudley's huge feet and heard Snape hiss, "'Bout fucking time that you turn up, Albus."

Dumbledore swept in with Dudley and Minerva McGonagall at his heels. Outside, a fight could be heard, and in the kitchen, more glass broke. Dumbledore, wand in hand, stepped in front of Harry and Snape, positioning himself between them and the kitchen door, ready to hex anyone who might have arrived. But it was only Rufus Scrimgeour. Behind him, through the open kitchen door, a dead Death Eater could be seen.

"Right," Scrimgeour growled. "What's going on here? I want to know everything, and I want to know it fast."

Dumbledore looked stern. "We were sent here by Ginny Potter and Hermione Granger less than fifteen minutes ago," he explained. "Apparently, Harry's cousin Dudley Dursley had turned up at Harry's house at Grimmauld Place, yelling her name until she opened the door and let him in. Dudley told Ginny that her husband was in grave danger, that Severus Snape was with him, wounded, and that they needed help. We came here immediately. It seems as if Dudley has spoken the truth." With his words, he turned his back to the Minister, facing his Potions master instead. "You look awful, my dear boy," he scolded mildly. "What in Merlin's name happened to you?" Carefully, he helped Snape to sit on the stairs.

"Potter happened," Snape snarled. "Who else but he would be demented enough to attack me with Gryffindor's sword?"

Incredulous, Dumbledore looked at Harry. "You did that? You wounded Severus?"

Harry blushed. "Well, yes, but..." he began. Thoughtfully, he looked at Snape and continued, "I stabbed him, and it was all his fault. He told me he had raped Hermione. In response, I tried to kill him. I was... furious. Sorry."

*****

When every Death Eater was down or captured, when Snape sat safely on the living room couch, and after Petunia, Vernon, and Doctor Cameron had been Obliviated, three people were on the verge of hexing each other: Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and Rufus Scrimgeour. Snape, arms crossed over his chest, watched in silence as they shouted at each other. Harry, who could have ended this farce in a matter of seconds by telling them what had really happened, wasn't there anymore – Dumbledore had taken him aside the moment he'd seen him. "Ginny's at St. Mungo's," he'd whispered into the young man's ear, and Harry's face had paled to an ashen grey.

"Is it... the baby?" he'd asked.

"I am afraid so, yes," Dumbledore had replied gravely. "That Severus had kidnapped you proved to be too much, and when Dudley banged at her door and told her the news, she collapsed. A miscarriage is... possible. You should go and see her immediately."

Harry's head filled with fear, and instantly, every thought of the past hours, of Voldemort's death, of everything apart from his wife and unborn child was completely wiped from his memory. He didn't even bother to say good-bye to Snape – he just stormed out of the house and straight to St. Mungo's, unaware of the mess he was leaving behind.

"You are crazy! " Poppy told the Minister. "You can't take him to Azkaban!" She was sitting next to Snape, supporting him and taking care of his wound. The Potions master was barely conscious and not in the condition to add anything useful to the question whether or not he should be imprisoned. "He won't survive there," the matron stated matter-of-factly whilst applying an additional healing charm. "I have to take him to my infirmary. St Mungo's would do as well, but not a cold and wet cell in Azkaban."

"Snape," Scrimgeour said loudly, trying to get hs attention. "I have already asked you, but I will ask you again: Did you abduct Harry Potter and did you rape Hermione Granger?"

Snape didn't answer. Fever had claimed his body; he was shaking, and hadn't even heard the question.

"I have no other choice but to imprison him until his trial," Scrimgeour stated after a moment. "No one knows what happend. He might have tried to kill Harry, he might be still on You-know-who's side. Once Mrs Potter's life and that of her unborn child is out of danger, I will question Mr Potter, but until then, I have to put Snape under arrest." He didn't look too happy about it, but sounded determined nevertheless.

Coldly, Dumbledore said, "We cannot wait until Harry has the mind to answer your qustions, Rufus. I have Legilimensed Severus. I know he was forced by Tom. Hermione has no intention of charging him, be assured."

Scrimgeour shook his lion-like head. "Miss Granger has to come to the Ministry and state that herself, in person and before witnesses. An accusation has been made. Rape and kidnapping are both very serious charges. You know that, Albus. How many have claimed to be under a curse, and how many have lied? I can't spare him, not with his reputation as a known Death Eater."

Shackles clamped round Snape's wrists, and two Aurors stepped to the left and right of him, supporting him as well as taking him into custody. Limply, Snape hung between them. A moment later, they were gone.

A/N: I have to fix some logic-issues in the next chapter. It might take a bit longer than the usual week before I post the next part, but I will do it asap and definitely this month. Thanks for your patience!