Blood, Oaths and Promises

Disclaimer.

This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Severus woke up from his nap to find sunshine streaming through the windows. Rising, he stretched and looked out of the window to the back garden. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was just past one o'clock. On the bed, Jenny was still asleep, a quilt clutched to her breast like a favourite teddy bear. She turned on her back and sighed. Severus watched her chest rise and fall as she breathed. He took a minute to enjoy watching the outline of her nipples through the t-shirt she wore before letting his eyes wander to her lacy panties. Of all the seductions he'd been a part of and all the sensual stimuli he'd been offered, none compared to seeing Jenny this way. He knew what it was, of course. She did not reveal herself to another as she did to him. This was for him to see and no one else. Her brazen act on New Year's Eve had given way to shyness and uncertainty. Jenny may not have been a virgin, but she was no Bellatrix Lestrange, and for that, Severus offered thanks to whatever god had graced him with his good fortune.

"Are you quite finished?" asked Jenny, looking at him through half-opened eyelids.

"Never," he told her as he lay down beside her. "I could watch you sleep for hours. Mind you, there are too many clothes in the way. If you were to..." He began to slide his hand up under the hem of her t-shirt, dragging it higher and making her giggle. As his fingers brushed her breast, Jenny moaned.

"Severus," she sighed. "I'll never stop feeling like a teenager with you. I've never known a man that could send shivers down my spine just by touching me like this." She stroked her hand down the front of his chest and belly, finally holding his growing erection through his shorts. "Can I have some of this tonight?"

"You need ask?" he teased, leaning over to kiss her. Jenny wrapped her arms around his neck and enjoyed his attention.

As they lay entwined on the bed, they failed to hear a knock at the door. It opened to admit Tonks, who stood for a second before clearing her throat.

"Ahem, we were wondering if you'd like to join us down in the kitchen. We're having a second sitting for lunch." She waited as the lovers recovered from the surprise of being caught. Tonks watched in amusement as they fought over the sheets and quilt on the bed.

"Nymphadora, perhaps if you were to announce your entrance before walking in," snapped Snape.

Tonks smiled at his embarrassment and ignored him. "Sorry, Jenny, I didn't mean to interrupt. By the way, never knew you kept to Slytherin green in your shreddies, Severus." With a snicker and a wink, she closed the door, narrowly avoiding the pillow thrown by Snape.

Jenny started to giggle.

"What?" asked Snape, with his trademark eyebrow rising in annoyance.

"Good job she didn't see the front of your shorts, with the leprechaun holding his shillelagh and shaking it," said Jenny before falling backwards laughing.

He couldn't repress a smile at the reference to the gift from Dumbledore, underpants with an animated motif.

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"Master, the fog has lifted as you predicted. What task must we now undertake to be ready?" Pettigrew smiled at Voldemort, his desire to please dripping from every greasy, enlarged pore on his face.

"There is one last item to be retrieved. It will take a special hand to do it and there are none here who are able," said Voldemort, stroking Nagini's head as she rested from her feeding.

Pettigrew shook his head. "My Lord, your servants are ready to do your will; you need only speak."

"Wormtail, Wormtail, you misunderstand. I know my loyal followers are eager and willing. They are, however, unable to fulfil the task. No one who has magic flowing in their veins can touch the object. It has been guarded and preserved by Muggles for years." He smiled indulgently at his simpering servant.

"Then, how are we to retrieve it, Master?" Peter waited for his lord's wisdom.

Voldemort stood and began to pace around the room, tapping his chin with his forefinger. "Our choice should be poetic, I think, perhaps even a little sentimental...yes." He turned back to Pettigrew. "Summon Bellatrix and Yaxley. I have a little fetch and carry mission for them."

Peter scurried away to find the pair and brought them to an audience with the Dark Lord. They came before him and made their appropriate obeisances. They waited eagerly for their assignment.

"I have need of a Muggle," he told them, "a very special Muggle." He held out a Muggle-style map. "I've marked the address here. Wormtail, I believe you may have met the Muggle in question."

"My Lord?" he responded, confused at the suggestion. He looked at the map and gasped. "Th-th-this is the address of H-Ha-Harry P..."

"It was the home address of Harry Potter until he left," spat Voldemort. "Your task is to bring his aunt, Petunia Dursley, to me. She will be the means of the delivery of the final object. Do not fail me in this, or there will be consequences. Wormtail, you will accompany them. Go tomorrow as the sun sets." He turned his back as they bowed their way out.

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Jenny and Severus entered the kitchen to find both Malfoys already there, sitting to the side of the table.

"Come along, you two. You must be ravenous by now." Molly beckoned to Jenny to sit. With a last glance at Severus, Jenny sat where Molly indicated and promptly found a bowl of tomato soup floating in front of her. Severus sat beside her and calmly reached up to pull his bowl down to the table.

"The charm will end when you touch the bowl," he told her, reaching for the pepper mill.

Jenny took hold of the bowl with two hands and lowered it to the table. A plate of bread was levitated over to them, and the pitcher of juice began filling her glass. A sound behind her made Jenny jump, and when she turned she saw a frying pan being scoured without the aid of a human hand.

"Molly, perhaps we should set aside the charms and allow Miss Doulton to eat in peace," suggested Minerva, noting Jenny's reaction to the casual magic taking place. It was not an unfamiliar reaction to Minerva; she'd seen similar responses from the Muggle-born first years at Hogwarts.

"I'll just run along for a bit then," said Molly. "I know you need to talk." With a last smile, she headed upstairs out of their way.

"A sandwich, Miss Doulton?" offered Remus. He had picked up the plate from the table and held it out to her.

"Thank you," she replied, taking a cheese and tomato roll and placing it on her side plate. Jenny wasn't sure about the juice, but picked up her glass and sipped. It was like nothing she'd ever had before. "What kind of juice is this?" she asked.

"Pumpkin," echoed three voices in reply.

Severus put down his spoon. "Alright, let's get to the crux of the matter. What do you want to know?"

"Do you know where You Know Who plans to have his final outing?" asked Minerva.

"No," Snape replied. He looked to Lucius who merely shook his head. "He'll likely only tell us immediately before we are to move."

"What actually do you know?" asked Remus. He looked first to Lucius.

"The Dark Lord has set me as the standard bearer. He fully intends me to die sooner rather than later," replied the blond wizard. He picked up his juice and sipped.

Severus sighed. "I am to be the bait for the trap to lure you in. I don't know where, but it will be public enough that I will be seen. Also, I will probably be carrying one of the Horcruxes."

Minerva frowned. "How so, if we have them all here?" she asked.

Lucius laughed mirthlessly. "Professor, He Who Must Not Be Named has not become humble over time. However, he has become so utterly self-centred, that he does not see the crumbling foundation of his movement. He has relinquished control over many of the most mundane tasks." He frowned and picked crumbs from his sandwich. "There is also the fact that he is not aware we know what is contained in his special artefacts.

Severus shook his head. "To explain the rhetoric offered by Lucius, he's lost track of the movements of his followers. He might give out commands, but there are many acts committed in his name of which he has no knowledge. We've replaced all but one of his remaining Horcruxes with duplicates, for he does not check whether or not they are the real artefact. He's cocky enough to believe no one would discover their true purpose."

Minerva frowned once more. "If his sway over his supporters has become so tainted, why do they remain loyal?"

"Enough of his loyal supporters believe Potter will fail and anarchy will take hold in the Ministry. They hope to step in and wrest the power from the current bureaucracy," said Lucius. "It was once my hope to become Minister of Magic." He made the latter statement in a quiet, regretful voice.

Remus stood. "All right, this gets us no further ahead. Where are the duplicates you've made for the two other Horcruxes you sent us?"

Severus smiled to himself. "Hidden in plain sight; they're in the car boot."

"Surely one of his followers must know of the existance of his Horcruxes," said Lupin. "How does he expect to have his soul returned to his body if there is no one to perform the spell."

Snape sighed and spat, "Peter Pettigrew, the ever present vermin in his house."

"Peter," said Lupin in a doubtful tone. "Wormtail?"

"You forget," replied Lucius, "that Wormtail has once already reanimated him."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, but I thought he owed a life debt to Harry. Who will he give his final loyalty to?"

"That remains to be seen," Snape responded. "Regardless, I've discovered the spell that should be used to return the soul to the body."

"Good," said Lupin, leaving the Malfoys and Jenny wondering what he meant.

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Jenny sat in the front parlour, looking out of the window. Her world had become topsy-turvy in such short order, she'd not had time to think straight. On top of it all, she would not return to work for the foreseeable future and couldn't exactly call in to say, 'Sorry, I simply must help get rid of the evil old wizard trying to take over my lover's world. I'll call you when I get back to Manchester, that is, as long as a witch doesn't cast an evil spell on me.' The long and short of it was that her job would be gone when she returned to Manchester.

Jenny turned off her musings that had started to depress her and stared at the grey car parked outside. She turned and looked over to where several of the Order members were sitting. She moved over to sit with them.

"So, we have the spell we need to open them, but no way to destroy them," concluded Harry.

"The only counter-spell Dumbledore found and used had the unfortunate effect of rebounding back at the one casting it. All of the energy from the soul fragment was released in the blink of an eye back along the path to the caster. In this case Dumbledore; hence, his withered arm," explained Snape. "The spell causes the soul to lose all life sustaining properties, rendering it to the realms beyond the Veil. The unfortunate backlash is that any remaining energy from the spell rebounds back to the one who wields the wand."

"That doesn't sound viable, Snape," said Bill Weasley. "We need to survive and be healthy if we're to defeat him."

"We've only got a couple of more days, and we've got to find something," said Hermione, frowning at the world in general.

"Do you have any idea how he plans to attack?" asked Ron. "Do we have any idea of what forces we'll be up against?"

Lucius thought for a moment before speaking. "He has a large number of witches and wizards gathered with him. When I was last in their company, they seemed to be setting up small cohorts and drilling in sequential spells."

Ron grinned. "Sounds familiar, eh, Harry?"

The younger witches and wizards in the group laughed quietly, remembering their fifth year and the DA.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I remember, Ron." He looked over at his former nemeses, and asked, "What other creatures will be there?"

"I doubt he'll bring the Giants. He found them fickle at best," offered Snape. "Werewolves, of course, and Dementors."

Remus looked over at the two reformed Death Eaters and asked, "How does he plan to use the Dementors?"

"His plan was to use them in pincer like moves to force his enemies into small, manageable pockets," replied Lucius. "Making it easier then for the aforementioned cohorts to take them out of the equation."

"What are Dementors?" asked Jenny.

"Vile creatures that pull all the warmth and happiness from life," said Harry. "Muggles can't see them, but they can feel them when they're around."

Remus explained. "They are magical creatures once employed as guards at our prison – Azkaban. They would also administer the Dementor's Kiss if someone had received that sentence."

"Kiss?" asked Jenny.

Remus leaned forward to elucidate. "The Dementor approached the sentenced criminal and kissed them to suck their soul out through their mouth."

"How horrible," said Jenny quietly.

Lucius picked up where they had left off. "The fog that never had an explanation was caused by the Dementors breeding. I'm sure you felt the emotional depression."

Jenny nodded. "Yeah, I did; especially on the train coming down here. Have they killed people outside of performing executions?" She shuddered at the thought.

Harry thought back to his encounters with the maleficent creatures. "I'm pretty sure they're capable of doing that even if we have no evidence of it."

"Now, we were discussing how to destroy the souls released from the Horcruxes...," said Bill, trying to get back to the main subject.

"Could we pull them into another vessel and then destroy that?" asked Minerva.

Severus shook his head. "A sealing charm can hold a soul, but it will not destroy it. If you destroy the vessel, you will only release the soul once more." He became thoughtful. "For most of us, the moment of our death releases our soul to continue its natural journey to the afterlife. The abomination of splitting the soul by murdering another, then imprisoning that fragment, does not negate the natural desire of that piece to find its natural repose. It will escape."

"There has to be a way to get rid of them for once and for all," said Hermione, moving to the table, seeking comfort from the books and parchments strewn about.

Jenny thought about what they had told her about souls and Dementors. It was obvious to her. Why didn't they see it?

"You say these Dementors work with this wizard you're fighting against, and will be with him?" she asked for clarification.

"Yes, why?" asked Severus, knowing she often had leaps of logic in her thinking. The others looked back and forth between them.

"These Dementors consume souls, right? Why don't you use his forces against him? Let the Dementors suck up these soul things, it would probably piss him right off." She looked around at the faces of the witches and wizards who were staring at her. "Sorry, I should have kept my gob shut." She looked away in embarrassment.

"Miss Doulton – Jenny, what did you say your occupation was?" asked Lucius.

"I am a Librarian, that is to say I have a BA in Information and Library Management. I am, or rather I was working as a clerk, for now. The job won't likely be mine when I get back." Jenny smiled at them and got up, intending to leave.

"Jenny," called Remus. "You are a certifiable genius. The solution was right in front of us and we couldn't see it." He looked around at the others. "All we need to do is drive the Dementors towards the Horcruxes and release the soul fragments. We'll have a veritable feeding frenzy."

Jenny turned back and saw them all smiling at her, especially Hermione who was walking towards her.

"Come on, Jenny, it looks like they can't do without Muggle know how after all. Uhm, could I talk to you about getting into Uni for Library Science later on?" She squeezed Jenny's arm and pulled her back to sit down.

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Arabella Figg was passing Privet Drive on her way home from shopping for cat food. She noticed the police cars in front of Harry's house and diverted from her walk to see what was happening. As she got closer, she saw Vernon Dursley gesticulating at the constable leaving his house.

"They took her, I tell you. Just grabbed her and disappeared. Why won't you listen?" he yelled.

"Mr. Dursley, please calm yourself; I'm sure your wife will be back shortly. We don't see any signs of a tussle. You must have just imagined that you saw her disappear." The constable pocketed his pen and notebook. "You say you'd just woken up from a sleep in front of the telly. Your imagination was just running riot, left over from a dream. Now, make yourself a cuppa and relax." He patted Dursley on the shoulder and walked down the path. As the constable entered the car, he motioned drinking from a bottle to his partner.

"They've kidnapped her, I tell you! Those freaks my nephew is mixed up with!" screamed Dursley as the police car pulled away. "Come back, come back, I say!"

He leaned on the doorframe and wiped his face with his hand. "Oh, Petunia, what am I to do? What am I to do?"

Mrs. Figg padded up the path to where the distraught man still stood. "Mr. Dursley, do you remember me?" she asked.

"What? Oh please go away; I've no time for you today," he spat at the doddering old woman.

"Mr. Dursley, I might be able to help you. I know someone to contact," she told him.

He looked at her as if she was insane. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"I know who might be able to help you find your wife." She stepped closer to him. "I think it was someone working for You Know Who that took her." She looked around to make sure no on else was about.

"How... how?" he asked, bewildered at how mad his world had become.

"Make yourself that cuppa and wait in your house," she told him, toddling away.

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"Professor Snape," said Harry, entering the library. "May I have a word?"

Severus raised his brow and asked, "Do you have your wand on your person? I'd like my anatomy left in one piece."

Harry offered a shrug. "I left it with Remus." He walked over and sat facing the older wizard.

"Professor McGonagall showed me Dumbledore's memory this morning, the one where he asked you... made you promise to kill him if he might become a danger to the Order."

"I see," said Snape quietly. "Then you also know I didn't want to ta..."

"I know, sir," said Harry quickly and then licked his lips before he continued. "I'd begun to hate you as much as Voldemort, you know."

Snape shrugged. "I care little about what you feel for me, Potter. You were an irritating reminder of my youth and an annoying child who flouted school rules with a regularity that would have sent another student packing. Dumbledore coddled you and, against my advice, allowed you to become involved in matters that should have been left to adults."

"I did what I thought was right, and I was always proved true in the end." Harry stood and faced the fire, leaning on the mantle. "As I remember it, you recommended that I be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament."

Snape nodded. "Yes, I did, but solely on the belief you would be knocked out in the first test." He snorted. "Your little Miss Know It All came through with a Summoning Charm to save your arse."

Harry spun and pointed his finger at Snape. "Don't ever talk about Hermione like that again. She's brilliant and you know it." He took a deep breath and turned away.

Snape smiled behind Harry's back. "Indeed I do, Potter. Why else would I choose her to make contact with the Order?"

Harry sat back down, surprised at the revelation. "What?" he asked.

"Your Miss Granger has the intellect and logic to understand when she is being given valid data as opposed to rubbish. Her deductive abilities have always served you well, haven't they?" He watched as Harry digested what he'd said.

"Yeah, she's always been the one to figure out things first." He looked back at his former professor. "Why were you always so cruel to her? You never had a decent word for her."

Snape looked back at him coolly. "What did you learn about me, Potter? What unexpected piece of information did Miss Granger dredge up from the library?"

Harry understood the question. "Your father was a Muggle. You're a half-blooded wizard."

Snape actually smiled at him. "And from my mother's old Potions text, Potter, how much did you learn?"

"You knew I had it all along?" he asked.

Snape shook his head. "No, but after listening to Slughorn's sickening praise of your potions skills, I realized you'd latched on to something. Your hex of Malfoy cemented my belief you'd been given my old book."

"So you were hard on her to prove you hated Muggle-born," said Harry.

"Especially one connected to Harry Potter." Snape watched the realization of what life was like when associated with the Dark Lord change Harry's expression.

Harry thought hard about what he wanted to say. The man before him had killed a wizard who had been a mentor and father figure to each of them. Hadn't Harry been in the same situation, when he had forced the potion protecting the pendant down Dumbledore's throat? He realized he had more in common with the man before him than he wanted to admit.

I'm sorry for all the hardship you've had to go through since that night. It must have been difficult," said Harry, finally. "You've lived with Dumbledore's death without anyone to help you. Was it hard to give up magic?"

"At times, Potter, but I've also had some interesting consequences as a result. Discovering my Muggle half after all these years; it wasn't buried as deep as I'd thought." He looked into the fire thoughtfully.

"Meeting Jenny," offered Harry with a smile. "She seems to be a very nice lady and really smart too."

Severus nodded. "Yes, she is. Surprised someone would even think of wanting to be with me, Potter?"

"I suppose we all were, but Jenny seems to be happy with you, and that's all that matters," said Harry.

"Surprisingly mature of you, Potter," said Snape, just as the door opened to admit Shacklebolt.

"Harry, come down to the kitchen. A situation has cropped up; you too, Snape." He turned away expecting them to follow, which they did.

Entering the crowded kitchen, Harry saw Moody with Proudfoot, the Auror. McGonagall shared a look of deep concern with him as he took a seat.

"Harry," she began, "there's been an incident that has come to light, and because of what we know about one of the Horcruxes, we can only assume one thing." Minerva looked over at Moody.

"Here it is in plain language, boy: your Aunt Petunia has been kidnapped by wizards. We think she's been taken by You Know Who to get the Horcrux from the church," Moody told him in a tone of finality.

"My aunt," said Harry, more to himself than anyone else. "Why would they take her?" He looked up at his adult supporters. "She doesn't even like me. She'd probably have volunteered if they'd asked."

"Harry, lad, your aunt is the one who protected you all these years. He Who Must Not Be Named doesn't care one way or the other about her feelings. He just wants revenge," said Remus. "He intends to use her against you, hoping it weakens you."

"Harry, your uncle wants to see you," said Proudfoot.

"What does he want to see me for? To make sure he tells me it's my fault and that my parents were perverted freaks and they're to blame too?" Harry yelled.

"Harry, that's quite enough. See your uncle, if only for a minute. Kingsley will go with you," said Remus in a stern voice.

Harry backed down; Remus was the one person to whom Harry would listen. He followed the Auror out, leaving the rest of the people in kitchen standing in silence.

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Friday morning Jenny had gone shopping with Molly, who took her to Diagon Alley. She walked around, agog at the sights she could never have imagined being real. Thinking upon it later, Jenny imagined that the people must have thought her addle-brained, as Molly had led her about, holding on to her arm. She returned to Grimmauld Place with some new clothes, courtesy of the Muggle shop down the street from the Leaky Cauldron.

Jenny went to her room to change, then came down looking for Severus. Ron told her he was in the back garden. Making her way out, Jenny stopped when she saw a man dressed completely in black, his style of dress early Victorian by her guess. His back was to her as he looked at flowering shrub growing near the fence.

"Hello," called Jenny.

The figure turned, and with a shock, Jenny realized it was Severus. Unconsciously, she brought her hand to her mouth as he walked towards her.

"Hello, Jenny," said Severus in his gentlest voice. "How was your morning out?"

"Severus," she whispered. "You... you look different." Jenny reached up, touched his face, now smooth and clean-shaven. "You're not my Severus. You belong to that other world again, don't you?"

Severus shook his head. "No, Jenny, I'm still the same man. The face you saw was not the real Severus; this is. I'm still your Severus... if you want me. I can't imagine my world without Jenny Doulton any more."

He took her hand and led her to a garden seat. "Before you were a part of my life, I was going through the motions of living. I had a mission to fulfil and beyond that...well beyond that, I saw no life. At the time, it didn't matter; now..." He sighed, unusually lost for words.

Tears sprung to Jenny's eyes, for now more than ever the reality of Severus' world was weighing her down. "You think you're going to die, don't you? You don't expect to live through whatever it is that's going to happen," she blurted out through her emerging tears.

"Jenny, I...." Severus started.

"Well, I won't have it, do you hear? You will not die. You promised to bring me to London for the Millennium, remember? You promised," she insisted, "so you can't die." She fell into his embrace, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Oh, Jenny, my lovely Manchester lass, what have I pulled you into? I never ever wanted to hurt you," he whispered, as he held her close.

Taking her by the shoulders, Severus made her look at him. "Jenny, none of us knows when we will die or how, but I promise, I will do everything I can to stay alive, that's all I can do." He smoothed the hair from her face. "I've never wanted to live more than I do at this moment. I love you Jenny Doulton."

Unbeknownst to the couple in the garden, another couple watched them from a window above.

"If they can find love in all of this, why can't we?" Tonks turned to look at Remus who was leaning on the wall looking out at the garden below.

"There's just so much more for us to overcome, Nymphadora. You deserve better than a man like me," Remus told her sadly.

"I don't want better; I want the best, and that is you, Remus. Why do you keep pushing me away? I know you feel something for me." She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Don't let us go on this way."

Remus opened his arms and Tonks fell into his embrace. "Let's get through this moment in time, love. Let's get through this and then we can fight the new battles," he told her.

"I want to stay with you tonight, Remy. Please, don't say no." She pulled herself closer, wanting to feel his heart beat for her. He pulled her face up, looked into her eyes and smiled. Tonks leaned up ever so slightly and kissed the man she loved.