That Hideous Strength

"You must go. Lord Voldemort is at the Burrow, and I fear that Severus's cover has been blown."

**

Chapter Thirteen // That Hideous Strength

The three students ran through the woods towards the lamp-post, remembering Albus's final words to them.

Lord Voldemort will not attack you now. He will wait until he has all of his Death Eaters with him to witness the event, and I am sure he will attempt to fight you for the last time at Godric's Hollow – he would like the symbolism behind that. However, this does not mean you should toy with him. Send a message with your Patronus to the remaining members of the Order. Try to stay hidden until the Order arrives. Your mother is the only one there, and Severus has blown his cover to protect her...

The first thing they heard on exiting the wardrobe was a cold, cruel laugh.

"Really, Severus, did you think I did not know of your deception? Why do you think I brought you here – I knew you would not let her die without a fight. Stand up and fight me, you coward!"

"Don't call me a coward!" they heard Snape say vehemently.

Creeping down the stairs a little farther, Hermione saw him. He stood straight and tall despite the obvious pain he was in, shielding Molly Weasley with his body. She stood behind him, wand at the ready, though she did not move.

For a moment, all was still. The three on the stairs were trying to be as quiet as possible. Severus was concentrating on holding off the Dark Lord until the Order arrived. Mrs. Weasley was terrified, yet oddly thankful that none of her loved ones were home to see this.

It was a terrible thing, then, what happened next. Lord Voldemort plucked the thought from her mind like a ripe berry, and at that moment Arthur Weasley came in, calling, "Molly! Where are you, dear?"

The next few moments were a blur of motion. Voldemort was inhumanly fast, whipping around and crying, "Amoresta Morte!" A blood-red jet of light hit Mr. Weasley in the chest, and a thin thread shot back out and wrapped itself around his wife before fading. Mrs. Weasley and Ron screamed, "Dad!" and "Arthur!" in unison, both rushing towards the fallen man. Harry tried to follow, but Hermione hissed, "You idiot! If you're seen now all will be for nothing!" Shoving him back, she ran down the stairs and planted herself behind Professor Snape, furiously whispering the few healing spells she knew as she went. She was, she supposed, pretty handy with a wand, but Severus Snape was far more experienced than she. Her best hope, then, was to support the man who had a chance of holding him off until the Order arrived.

Before she got to him, though, an unseen force pushed both her back to where Ron sat, cradling his father's head in his lap. "Please, Daddy, wake up..." he chanted like a mantra, tears streaming down his face. She looked for the source of the disturbance and saw Molly Weasley still holding her wand at the ready and looking incredibly dangerous.

"Get them out of here. Now." She growled, her eyes never leaving a pair of slitted red ones that looked at her with no small amount of amusement.

"Is the mother cub going to protect her babes? How... touching," Voldemort said in a tone that clearly indicated that he was anything but touched.

"You came into my home. You attacked not only me, but the man I love. For that, you will pay!" On the last word, a bright light white seemed to explode from Mrs. Weasley's chest, surrounding her like a bright aura.

Hermione had no idea the dumpy redhead was hiding that much power. Neither did Lord Voldemort, apparently, for his slitted eyes narrowed even further. "Lucius. Antonin. Take down the traitor Snape, but leave the blood-traitors alive. They will be examples of what happens to those who betray their heritage."

Severus felt relief wash over him as Lord Voldemort disappeared, activating the Portkey he kept with him at all times. The Dark Lord was not ready to fight. Though he could have easily dispatched them by calling his other Death Eaters to him, he instead left – probably fearing an injury that could weaken him. To Voldemort, absolute victory was the only victory and weakness was death. This had simply been a ploy to get him to betray himself. He may have been stupid for blowing his cover like this, but despite appearances, Severus Snape was not a heartless man, nor was he a man that forgot what was owed. Molly Weasley had saved him when he had not believed his life was worth saving; she had brought him back from the brink of destruction. He could not let her be killed while he still had breath in his body.

"Severus, Severus, Severus...." Lucius drawled, hissing his name like some foul blond snake. "To think that all this time, you were working against us. At one time I called you friend. I saw you, you know, when you and the blood-traitor came to kill me. You injured me quite badly; I think I shall return the favor. Perhaps when you –"

"Avada Kedavra."

Lucius fell over dead in mid-sentence, a pompous sneer still twisting his features. Antonin Dolohov may have been a Death Eater, but he wasn't entirely stupid. Grabbing Lucius's corpse by the wrist, he Disapparated.

Hermione looked up from where she was conjuring a stretcher, her eyes immediately going to Severus Snape as the source of the Killing Curse. However, his wand was now held loosely at his side, and he was staring in horrified amazement at Molly Weasley. The white light which had surrounded her pulsed and faded, and her eyes lost the look that had frightened even Lord Voldemort. She returned Snape's look, saying "No one who hurts my family will live to tell the tale. No one."

She seemed to snap back into the present then. "Oh, Arthur!" she cried, sobs already wracking her stout frame as she rushed to his side. Mr. Weasley looked terrible. His face, always pale, was as white as Albus's beard, each freckle standing out in terrifying relief. His eyes were slightly unfocused, and he wheezed with each breath that he took. The pain was evident on his face, and so Mrs. Weasley asked Hermione to go fetch a pain potion while she prepared to move him to St. Mungo's.

"No."

A single word stopped the Gryffindor as she began to rise. She glanced at Snape and was shocked to see that he looked as though his heart would break. A moment later, though, she was sure she had imagined it – his features were as cold and controlled as ever.

"We must take him to Albus, secrecy be damned. St. Mungo's can do nothing for him, nor can a simple pain potion."

She looked at him in confusion – How is Albus supposed to heal him?

"Get up, you silly girl! We don't have time to waste with you gaping at me like a dead Puffeskein!" he snapped, grabbing her roughly by the arm and pulling her upwards. He let her go quite abruptly when he found a wand pressed to his genitals, a wand belonging to one Molly Weasley.

"Don't touch her like that," she said in a deadly calm voice. "What do you mean, take him to Albus?"

"Come on, Molly. I will explain on the way; I will carry Arthur for you."

"No, you won't. I will carry him," she said, tears rolling down her face. She cast a spell, one that Hermione recognized as a weight reduction charm. She tenderly picked up her husband, leaving the conjured stretcher on the floor and nodding at Snape to lead the way.

**

Albus exited the guest bedroom, his face grave. He somehow seemed to have aged greatly since Hermione saw him thirty minutes before. Snape exited behind him, his face still a hard mask. Albus closed the door and turned to face the three students.

"Albus, what's going on?" asked Ron. He was still upset that he'd not been allowed in the room, but as Albus had told him, notifying his family and the Order came first.

"Severus, will you please explain this? I think we all need a cup of tea..." he said, turning towards the kitchen as he spoke.

Snape settled himself in one of the armchairs by the fire and began to speak. "Amoresta Morte is one of the Dark Lord's cruelest curses. It is not an Unforgivable, though I suspect that this is because the Ministry of Magic denies its existence. Basically, it turns love into pain and, eventually, death. The love your mother has for your father will cause him intense pain, and the more she loves, the worse it is. He believes that this will demoralize us."

Ron's voice cracked as he asked, "Isn't there anything we can do to stop it?"

"There is one option. There is a potion, that when taken, will sever the connection of love that holds them together."

The three wore identical horrified expressions. "You mean," Harry asked, "that unless she takes this potion and... stops loving him... he'll die?"

"I am afraid so. There is nothing else to stop the pain which will eventually consume him. They are discussing their options now."

Hermione now understood why Severus Snape had actually looked upset, even if he had only let it show for a moment. To know that your love would kill your beloved and that the only way to stop their pain was to stop loving... She could not imagine such a fate.

Another silvery Patronus came sailing through the door, this time stopping in front of Ron. His eyes took on the silver glow that meant he was listening to the message and then faded with the Patronus.

"That was Bill, and he said the Order is there now. What should I do?" Hermione was impressed with the way Ron was handling himself. At her questioning gaze he said, "Won't do me any good to break down now. It won't help anything."

"Very wise... Ronald. You are more mature than I had given you credit for, and I... will endeavor not to underestimate you in the future," Snape said stiffly.

It wasn't an apology, but it was the closest thing to one any of them had ever heard out of the mouth of the former dungeon bat. Snape shifted slightly at the awestruck gazes of the three.

"I am not entirely the man that I portrayed at Hogwarts. He is a character in a play, nothing more. Though I feel compelled to remind you that I am still not friendly, nor am I ever likely to be. As we will be spending an inordinate amount of time together in the future, I suggest you forget what you can of Professor Snape, and begin the process of getting... acquainted with Severus Snape. I shall... try to do the same for you."

"Why, Severus, that was almost pleasant! I am very proud of you," said Albus, balancing what looked to be tea for twenty on the tip of his wand.

"I wasn't trying to be pleasant. I simply tire of them looking at me like I've grown another head or three every time I do something outside of Professor Snape's persona."

Albus twinkled at him, saying, "Of course... Now, Ron, I believe I heard you say that Bill had arrived?" At Ron's nod, he continued, "Will you go and fetch him, please? The time for secrecy, at least among members of the Order, has passed."

As Ron got up to find his boots, Hermione approached the Headmaster. Maybe there was something that had been overlooked, something that could save them... She needed the library. Everyone has their way of coping, and getting lost in research was hers.

"If it would be all right... that is, it's not that I don't want to stay here... I just..." she stuttered. Thankfully, having been a Headmaster of a boarding school that admitted nervous eleven-year-olds for many years, Albus Dumbledore was proficient in Stutter and saved her the trouble of asking.

"Run along to the library, dear. In fact," he said, putting down the tea and picking up a quill, quickly scribbling something on the parchment, "here."

He handed her the parchment, and she read the words The private library of the Phoenix can be found behind the tapestry of Duranda the Demented on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle.

"Albus, do you really think it's a good idea to let her have access to that? The know-it-all won't be able to resist opening some of the Dark tomes..." said Snape, who had come up behind the Headmaster.

"Too true, too true. She is too much like you, Severus... The call of knowledge is strong, isn't it? Very well, thank you for escorting her. I'm sure you won't let her get into any trouble."

"Albus, this is a terrible idea – and a task that I most certainly do not wish to undertake. In case you haven't forgotten, I am still a wanted man!"

"I know very well that you can disguise yourself when needed. In any case, she'll need someone who knows how to get past the ward. Go on!" Snape glared at him, but Albus just twinkled.

**

That Hideous Strength is the final book in C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy. Random Fact: In this book we are introduced to Numinor, which is an intentional reference to his friend J.R.R. Tolkien's Númenor. Lewis, however, had only heard the word in readings of the rough drafts of the LotR trilogy, which would not be published for several years – hence the misspelling.