FIC: The Revenant, Chapter 12a of 13

[geri_chan]

Again, this chapter wouldn't quite fit into one post, so I had to break it into two parts.

Title: The Revenant, Chapter 12a
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Word count: ~9,300
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except for Hob, who belongs to William Mayne, and Death, who belongs to Neil Gaiman; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning: AU; written pre-HBP
Sequel to:  Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, and Aftermaths.
Summary: Snape and his allies confront James.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2a, Chapter 2b, Chapters 3-5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapters 8-9, Chapters 10-11

***

Chapter 12: The Battle

A sudden gust of wind swept through the Snape Manor library, causing Cabal to bark excitedly. The wind swirled around Branwen affectionately, ruffling Bane's feathers as the raven squawked indignantly. "Thank you," Branwen murmured, and the gust of wind vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, after dropping a piece of paper into Branwen's hands.

Branwen unfolded the paper as Bane smoothed down his feathers, looking rather peeved. "It's from James," she said. "He left it at your cottage, Remus, and the elemental brought it to me. It says for you and Severus to bring Harry to the Potter estate, to the place where the family mansion once stood. And it says, 'No Aurors, no tricks.'"

"I don't need the help of the Aurors to send James Potter back to Hell," Snape snarled. "Come on, let's go."

Harry looked pale and worried, but he rose to his feet without protest. "Do you have the incantation memorized?" Lupin asked kindly. Harry nodded, but Lupin said, "Well, why don't you bring it along with you, just in case?" He tapped the book with his wand and it shrunk down in size until it could fit in Harry's palm, and the boy picked it up and slipped it into his pocket.

"Here, sir," Harry said, handing Prospero the Invisibility Cloak, which he had fetched from his room at Grimmauld Place.

"I will take good care of it, Harry," Prospero promised solemnly, then donned the cloak and vanished from sight.

"Go with them, Bane," Branwen said, and the raven flew over and landed on Snape's shoulder.

"Father, Remus...please be careful," Theodore said anxiously.

"We will, Theo," Lupin promised, smiling at him reassuringly.

Snape just nodded and said quietly, "We will return with Dylan. I give you my word as a Snape."

As he and his companions Disapparated, Branwen whispered, "Good luck."

***

"Potter?" Snape called, as they made their way through the ruins of the Potter mansion. "Where are you? We have brought Harry as you ordered; now it's time for you to keep up your end of the bargain." They all had their wands out and were looking around cautiously, in case James decided to ambush them.

"I'm here," James said, suddenly stepping into view from behind a pile of rubble. His wand was out as well, and he held Dylan in front of him like a shield. "You've brought company, I see."

"Why Prongs, surely you didn't expect me to pass up the opportunity to see an old friend?" Sirius said lightly, but he couldn't hide the worry in his eyes.

"Nice to see you again, Padfoot," James said with an ironic smile. "But I wasn't expecting you, Mrs. Snape."

"That's 'Lady Snape' to you, Lord Potter," Selima retorted coolly. "I am here because Dylan is my son's foster son, and therefore kin to the Snapes." Dylan smiled a little at her words, but said nothing.

"I am 'Lord Potter' only because your son's friends killed my entire family, except for Harry," James said bitterly. "But if you want to stay for the party, 'Lady' Snape, be my guest." He emphasized the title "Lady" with a touch of sarcasm. "The more the merrier. But just to even things out, why don't you put away your wands? It's five of you against one of me, after all." When they hesitated, James pointed his wand at Dylan. "Do it," he said, his voice sharpening slightly.

Snape reluctantly pocketed his wand, and the others followed suit. He could only hope that Prospero was sneaking up on Potter as they had planned; he tried very hard not to look for shifting grass or other signs that might give away Prospero's presence. Instead, he tried to distract James by saying, "We've brought your son, Potter. Now let Dylan go."

"Dad..." Harry whispered.

A look of intense longing filled James's face as he turned towards Harry, but he pointed his wand at his son. Lupin, Snape, and Sirius looked alarmed and started to reach for their wands, but relaxed slightly when all James said was, "Finite Incantatum!" and "Aperio Veritas!" He was obviously just making sure that it really was Harry, and not someone else in disguise. There was no illusion to dispel, of course, so Harry's form did not change, but a golden glow of light appeared on his chest where the topaz charm Branwen had made him rested beneath his shirt, and mingled strands of orange and silver light on his wrist, where he was wearing another charm, a bracelet woven from phoenix feathers and unicorn hair. The pocket that held his wand also started glowing.

"Sorry, Harry," James said apologetically. "I had to make sure it was really you." Then he smiled, a little bitterly. "Wearing protective charms, I see. A general charm against hostile magic, it looks like, and another against Necromancy." He gave his old friends an accusing look. "Did you really think that I would hurt my own son, Moony, Padfoot?"

"I am taking no chances with Harry's safety," Sirius said firmly. "The James that I knew would not harm his son, but the influence of Dark Magic can make people do things that they normally would not."

James flinched slightly, looking guilty and then angry, and Lupin quickly said, "You would not hurt Harry, of course, James, but we could not take the chance that Lestrange might regain control, however briefly, and--"

"Don't patronize me, Moony!" James snapped. "I know that the two of you don't trust me anymore."

Harry stepped forward and tried to interrupt them before James lost his temper further. "Dad, please don't be mad at them. They're just worried about me. You have to admit, it's kind of...unexpected, you coming back after everyone thought you were...um..." Harry paused, suddenly realizing that James might not appreciate being reminded of his death. He coughed to cover up the slip and hastily continued, "None of us knew what to think. But...I'm glad you're here. I'm glad that I have the chance to meet you, when I thought I never would." And as he spoke those words, he realized that he really meant them, and smiled tremulously at his father.

James's expression softened, and his eyes filled with tears. "Harry," he whispered in a hoarse voice. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be there for you when you were growing up. But even though you didn't know I was there, you were never alone. I was watching over you the whole time."

"I know that now," Harry said softly, his eyes tearing up as well. "I'm here, Dad. You don't need to hold Dylan any longer."

When James hesitated, Lupin said urgently, "Please, James, you said that you would return Dylan to us if we brought Harry to you."

"Is that how little you think of Harry?" James said viciously. "You obviously think I'm dangerous, but you'd hand Harry over to me without a second thought, just to get your Slytherin brat back!"

"That's not true!" Harry protested before Lupin could reply. "Remus and Sirius and even Professor Snape didn't want to put me in danger. I'm the one who insisted on coming! I trust you, Dad. I know that you won't hurt me." James's anger seemed to ease, and Harry moved a few steps closer to him. "So please let Dylan go."

But James still hesitated. "If I let him go, they'll attack me," he said, motioning towards Snape and the others.

"Not if I'm with you," Harry said. "Please, Dad...Dylan is a friend of mine. He's not a Death Eater, I promise. Please let him go."

James began to look suspicious and a little hurt. "Did you really come to meet me, or are you just here to help free Rosier?"

"Of course I want to help Dylan, but I'm here for you, Dad!" Harry cried. "How can I not want to meet my own father?!"

Meanwhile, Snape was looking Dylan over carefully. He was standing calm and still--a little too much so. As a Death Eater, he had seen the Imperius Curse used many times, and when he looked more closely into his son's eyes, he recognized the trapped, frantic look of an Imperius victim. Physically, at least, though, the boy appeared to be unharmed...and then Snape caught sight of the dried blood on Dylan's hands and wrists.

"What have you done to him, Potter?!" Snape snarled. "Is this the work of a noble Gryffindor, to harm a bound and helpless hostage?"

"I didn't hurt him!" James retorted. "He did it to himself!"

Snape still looked furious, and Lupin had to grab his arm to prevent him from grabbing his wand and attacking James. Dylan flashed a pleading look at James, who hesitated for a moment, then said, "You may speak."

Released from the part of the curse that had forcibly kept him silent, Dylan said, "Professor, I'm all right, he's not lying! He left me alone for a little while when he went to deliver the message to you, and I found some broken glass and tried to cut the ropes with it, but it slipped and I cut myself by accident. Really, I'm all right. It's just a few shallow cuts."

Snape calmed down, but shouted, "Then keep your word and let him go, Potter!"

"Dad, let him go," Harry pleaded. "A Gryffindor always keeps his word, isn't that right?"

"Snape has turned you against me!" James shouted accusingly, and his eyes seemed to glow red for a brief moment, but it was gone so quickly that Harry wondered whether it was merely some sort of trick of the light--the sun hitting James's eyes at an odd angle, perhaps.

"Dad, that's not true!" Harry protested.

James was never exactly sure what alerted him to the presence of someone behind him. A soft, barely perceptible rustle in the tall grass, perhaps, or maybe the senses of a Revenant were more acute than those of a normal human. But whatever the reason, he whirled around just as a dark-haired wizard appeared out of nowhere and shouted, "Stupefy!"

James managed to keep Dylan in front of him, so that the boy absorbed the full force of the spell without any of it touching James. As Dylan's body went limp, James pointed his wand at the strange wizard, and a jet of red light shot out towards him. The wizard tried to dodge the spell, but he wasn't quick enough; the red light caught him in the shoulder and sent him flying back several feet. He landed heavily on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Prospero!" Selima cried.

"Do you think I wasn't expecting a sneak attack from a cowardly Slytherin, Snape?" James sneered.

"You're the coward, Potter, hiding behind a child!" Snape shouted. "But then, you always were a coward, weren't you? You never dared face me one-on-one when we were in school; you always had to have Black and Pettigrew backing you up!"

"SHUT UP!" James shouted, and this time his eyes distinctly flashed red.

"Wha...what the hell was that?" Sirius whispered.

"I believe it's a sign that he's losing control of himself," Selima whispered back. "If it continues, he will eventually be completely consumed with rage, and he will lose his humanity and truly become one of the undead."

Sirius looked horrified. "You never mentioned before that James could lose his soul!" he hissed accusingly.

"That is always a danger when dealing with Dark Magic, especially Necromancy," Selima retorted. "As a former Auror, you should already have known that. And I didn't say anything about it during our strategy session because I thought it might unnerve young Mr. Potter and distract him from doing what needs to be done."

Meanwhile, James dropped Dylan, letting his unconscious body fall to the ground, and hurled a curse at Snape as Bane spread his wings and shrieked in outrage; Snape lunged to one side to try to avoid it. Knowing there was not enough time to cast a counter-curse, Lupin physically threw himself in front of Snape to act as a human shield. Seeing the danger to Snape, Selima and Sirius broke off their argument and reached for their wands. But it was Harry who rushed forward and actually stopped the curse with a Shield Charm, shouting, "Protego!"

James stared at his son, a look of heartbroken betrayal on his face. "Harry," he whispered. "You really have turned against me. My own son..."

"Dad--" Harry said in a pleading tone of voice.

"He's trying to protect you, James, you stubborn git!" Sirius shouted, striding forward to stand beside his godson. "He's trying to stop you from doing something that you'll regret later when you're in your right mind, the way he stopped me and Moony from killing Wormtail in the Shrieking Shack! If you've been watching over Harry all this time, you must have seen that, right? Do you think he would want his dad to become a murderer?!"

"You've betrayed me, too, Sirius!" James ranted, his eyes gleaming red again. "You've sided with my enemies, tried to steal my son from me..."

"No, Dad, you're wrong!" Harry shouted desperately. "I've never stopped loving you, I swear! How could I ever forget you or Mum when you gave your lives to save me? And you're wrong about Professor Snape, too! We don't always get along, but he's been loyal to the Order, and he's protected me all these years to repay the debt he owed you for saving his life. And..." Harry hesitated, thinking of the things that Lupin had told him, and the way that Snape had protected the Slytherins during the final battle. "And maybe for my own sake, too, even though he doesn't really like me, and even though he's hated me at times. Because I'm his student, and he worked hard to protect all his students during the war. And it was because of his Occlumency lessons that I was able to defeat Voldemort."

Snape looked startled and embarrassed by Harry's words, while James grew even more infuriated. "You've been brainwashed by that Slytherin bastard!" he screamed.

"Dad, no, please listen to me!" Harry begged.

"I saw what you saw in the Pensieve!" James continued, as if he hadn't heard Harry, then he glared at Lupin and Sirius. "Everyone made such a big deal about what I did to poor little Snivellus! But you never saw all the times that he hexed me! He'd sneak up and ambush me from behind; just what you'd expect from a slimy Slytherin snake..."

"Like you did to him, you mean?" Harry asked coldly. "It's one thing to defend yourself if someone attacks you, but Snape wasn't bothering you that day. You weren't even doing it to get revenge for the other times that he hexed you. You did it for fun, just because you were bored!"

"It was just a joke!" James protested. "And it was only Snape; who cares if we had a little fun at Snivelly's expense?"

"Mum cared!" Harry shouted. "And Remus cared! And...I care!"

"You care about him?!" James shouted back at his son. "After the way he's treated you all these years?"

"It has nothing to do with whether I like Snape or not!" Harry retorted. "In fact, I hated him for most of the time I was at Hogwarts! But nobody deserves to be treated that way, and believe me, I know how it feels! Dudley bullied me the entire time I was growing up, until I became a wizard and learned how to defend myself with magic!"

Snape muttered, "Damn it, Potter, you're supposed to be calming him down, not angering him further!" He sighed and shook his head; he should have known that it would be a mistake to bring the hot-tempered Gryffindor boy along with them. Harry Potter might be the most powerful wizard to come along since Voldemort (not that Snape would ever admit that to the boy's face), but he had no control over his emotions, which was what had made him such a bad Occlumency student. What Harry ought to be doing was agreeing with his father that yes, Snivellus was a slimy little snake who deserved everything that James had done to him--even if that meant lying through his teeth. The important thing was to pacify and disarm James, not to take the moral high ground. Harry's sincere and impassioned argument would only serve to strengthen James's belief that Snape had brainwashed him.

Meanwhile, Selima remained cool-headed and sensible as always, despite her concern for her wounded former lover. Taking out the main threat, the Revenant, would be of much more help to Prospero than rushing to his side like an hysterical schoolgirl. She took advantage of the fact that James's attention was focused on his son at the moment, and very slowly and quietly circled around behind him, preparing to attack. She hesitated for a moment, trying to decide which spell would be most effective. Thus far, stunning spells had proven to be ineffective, partly because James had been using Dylan as a shield, but she wondered if it might also have something to do with the nature of the Revenant. According to Severus's account of their first confrontation, he and Lupin had hit James simultaneously with a Stupefy spell and an Aperio Veritas spell, and Rabastan Lestrange had briefly emerged and resumed his true form. They had assumed that this was due to the second spell, which caused a person disguised by enchantments to reveal their true form, but now Selima wondered whether it might have been at least partly due to the Stupefy spell. Perhaps it had knocked James unconscious for a moment, allowing Rabastan to take over his own body again. And if that was true, then a stunning spell was of limited use, since they would still have to face a Death Eater in combat even if they succeeded in stunning James. Or perhaps the Revenant was simply more resistant to magic than a normal human.

Selima made her choice; she pointed her wand at James's back and cried, "Crucio!" It was one of the strongest curses that existed, just short of the Killing Curse, and since she was inflicting pain on the physical body of the Revenant, in theory it shouldn't matter whether James or Rabastan was in control of its mind. And hopefully it would be distracted by the pain long enough for them to capture and bind it.

James screamed, and Harry rushed forward shouting, "Dad!"

Selima, however, had underestimated the Revenant's strength when she assumed that the Cruciatus Curse would incapacitate James. His face was contorted in a grimace of pain and rage, and his arm was shaking as he raised his wand, but he managed to fire off a spell at her. "Crucio," he whispered, and Selima dropped to her knees, screaming in pain. James smiled in bitter satisfaction, muttering, "So how does it feel to be on the receiving end, you bitch?"

"Mother!" Snape cried. It wasn't as if he hadn't fantasized about doing the same thing himself more than once as a child, but it enraged him to see someone else, particularly his old enemy and rival, attacking a member of his family. He reacted more out of instinct than reason, lashing out with a spell that he had created himself specifically to attack the Marauders with during their long feud at Hogwarts.

"Sectumsempra!" Snape shouted. James tried to dodge the spell but wasn't quick enough, and a long bloody gash opened up on his cheek. A thin stream of blood ran down his face, and James's tongue darted out to lick it when it touched the corner of his mouth.

At the same time, Prospero, who was still lying on the ground, weakly raised his wand and pointed it at James, saying, "Stupefy!"

James collapsed face-down on the ground as Harry reached his side, ignoring Lupin's cries of "Harry, no, stay back!"

Harry grasped James's shoulder and gently rolled him over, asking urgently, "Dad, are you all right?" But to his dismay, it was Rabastan Lestrange who grinned up at him.

"Daddy's taking a nap right now, Harry," Rabastan said, grabbing the boy's wrist. Then he touched his wand to Harry's chest and whispered, "How long I have waited for this moment...how sweet revenge is. Finally I have in my grasp the one who destroyed all our hopes and dreams. If it were not for you, boy, we would have won the first war, and the Death Eaters would now be ruling the wizarding world. My Master would not have fallen and been weakened by his defeat, and he would not have turned on his loyal servants and slain my brother and Bella."

Harry started to raise his wand, but Rabastan waved his own wand with a flourish and cried "Sectumsempra!" Then Harry screamed, dropping his wand as dozens of shallow cuts slashed through his clothing and flesh, spraying blood all over himself and his captor. And although he was not yet aware of it, beneath his robes, a crack ran across the surface of the topaz protective charm that he wore. Rabastan laughed maliciously and said, "That's a very nice spell that you invented, Severus! Not as strong as a Crucio, but it has a certain artistry to it--crimson is such a lovely color, don't you think? I have to thank you for sharing it with your fellow Death Eaters."

"Let him go, Lestrange!" Sirius shouted furiously, pointing his wand at Rabastan.

"Back off, you blood traitor," Rabastan told him with a mocking smile, resting his wand against Harry's chest again. "I can take out little Harry with a Killing Curse before you can blink."

"But if you kill Potter junior, then you have no hostage, and there will be nothing to stop us from attacking you," Snape pointed out coolly. He gave Harry a disdainful look, then shrugged indifferently. "Besides, our late lamented Lord is dead, so the Boy Who Lived is expendable. The wizarding world will mourn his death, to be sure, and no doubt there will be a grand funeral in his honor, but the truth is that we don't really need him any longer."

"You...you're bluffing!" Rabastan said, but the fearful look in his eyes betrayed his doubt, and he wasn't at all reassured by the way Black was staring at Snape in horror and outrage.

"Snape, if you let Harry die, I'll kill you!" Sirius shouted, playing along with Snape's ploy. At least, he hoped that it was only a ploy; it didn't really require much acting for him to project an air of horror and anger. Snape might be on their side, but he still possessed a certain amount of Slytherin ruthlessness, and Slytherins were known for sacrificing the expendable in the name of self-preservation. He glared at Snape, thinking, {This had better be an act to fool Lestrange if you know what's good for you, Snape!}

"Oh, shut up, Black," Snape said, still in that cool voice. "You're not helping matters by getting emotional. For that matter, your godson wouldn't be in his current predicament if had shown a little more caution and not let his emotions overrule his common sense."

"Let Harry go, Rabastan," Lupin said quietly as Rabastan looked back and forth from Snape to Sirius uncertainly. "No matter what happens, you cannot escape."

"As Snape pointed out, if I lose Potter, I lose my bargaining chip," Rabastan retorted.

"Then let us bargain, Rabastan," Snape said in a silky tone of voice. "If you kill Potter junior, then we'll have to kill you. And while I must admit that I find that scenario rather appealing, I'm afraid that it would also create a few complications that I would rather not have to deal with. For one thing, I'd have to kill or Obliviate Black as well, since he'd no doubt tell everyone that I let the golden boy be murdered. And of course my lover is a bit softhearted, and Mr. Potter's death would probably cause him distress."

"Then what do you propose, Snape?" Rabastan asked warily.

"You told me before that you would rather go to Azkaban than live as a prisoner inside your own body," Snape reminded him. "I know of a way to cast Potter's spirit out of your body, but I need Potter junior alive and well in order to do it. Only a blood relative is capable of casting the spell that will exorcise a Revenant." Actually, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but Snape was gambling that Rabastan wasn't aware of that.

Selima looked up, her body still trembling from the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. "You've only won a temporary reprieve, Rabastan. I believe that the Stupefy spell knocked James out and allowed you to regain control of your body, but he will awaken soon, and past experience has proven that you aren't strong enough to fight him off."

"I can't let you go free, Rabastan," Snape said. "You know that. But I will spare your life and free you from James if you surrender to us and let Harry go."

"But to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban..." Rabastan protested.

"Would you rather spend the rest of your life as a prisoner in your own body?" Snape shot back. "Although the sentence might be shorter than you think, because if Potter grows strong enough, he'll be able to snuff out your mind like a candle. Eventually he'll destroy your sanity and crush your consciousness, and then your body will truly be nothing but an empty shell for him to possess. But if you turn yourself in, I'll tell the Ministry how cooperative you were, and perhaps they'll reduce your sentence a little--you showed compassion and spared the life of the Savior of the Wizarding World, after all. And if you make a show of weeping and showing remorse and claiming that the Dark Lord and Malfoy misled you, perhaps they'll be merciful." He smiled slyly. "It worked for me, after all."

Rabastan hesitated, then finally released Harry and started to lower his wand. But he had waited too long, because he started screaming, "No! No, get out of my head, damn you! NOOOO!!!" And then his face and body seemed to melt and blur, and reshaped themselves into the form of James Potter once again.

"Traitors!" he shouted. "Traitors, all of you!"

"James, please, you have to listen to us," Lupin begged.

"You betrayed me!" James screamed. "You conspired against me with Snape! You took that Death Eater into your bed, Moony! And you, Padfoot--I thought you of all people would never betray me, but you went and married that Slytherin-loving demon woman--"

From his perch on Snape's shoulder, Bane screeched in anger.

"Branwen's on our side!" Sirius argued. "She was a member of the Order, you know that, Prongs! The Death Eaters tried to kill her, for Merlin's sake! You've got to fight the anger, Prongs! This isn't you--it's the Dark Magic trying to take over your mind!"

Snape didn't bother trying to reason with James. "Incarcerous!" he shouted, and thick ropes appeared out of thin air. They resembled snakes, moving as if they had a will of their own, flying at James and seeking to wrap themselves around him.

James lunged backwards, just barely evading the flying ropes, and he pointed his wand at them and shouted, "Incendio!" The ropes burst into flame and were charred into ash in a matter of seconds.

Behind him, James heard someone shout, "Expelliarmus!" He managed to evade the spell, then turned and fired off a hex at the dark-haired wizard he had wounded earlier. It seemed that the man had recovered, at least enough to dodge the attack. As James cautiously backed away, he stumbled over something, and looked down to see an Invisibility Cloak lying on the ground--no, not just any cloak. It was the same cloak that James had owned, which had been passed down to his son.

"You lied to me," James whispered, staring at Harry accusingly. "You didn't come here because you wanted to meet me. You were working with Snape all along. You gave them your Invisibility Cloak--MY Invisibility Cloak--so that they could ambush me! And Snape said something about needing a blood relative to exorcise me. He said he needed you to cast the spell. That was why you came along--to help them destroy me!"

"No, Dad, that's not true!" Harry pleaded.

"That is proof of your lies!" James shouted, pointing at the cloak.

"I gave Mr. Zabini the cloak, and yes, I learned the exorcism spell, but it wasn't to hurt you, it was to save you!" Harry shouted. "The Necromancy that Lestrange used to summon you is destroying you! It's like a Dementor, taking away your happy memories, only it leaves you with anger and hatred instead of despair! It's destroying the James that Sirius and Remus knew and loved! The James Potter who was a Marauder, who was a hero of the Order, would never have kidnapped his friend's son! He'd never have used an Unforgivable Curse on someone!"

"James, please," Lupin said, tears forming in his eyes. "If you can listen to Harry's words and think past the anger, you'll know that he's right. Come back to us, Prongs."

But James didn't seem to hear his words; his eyes were still fixed on Harry. "You believed Snape's lies about me," he whispered. "Trusted that snake over your own father. Or maybe it's Slytherin's cursed blood flowing through your veins that has poisoned your mind."

"Slytherin's blood?" a startled Prospero asked. "But Salazar's line died with the Dark Lord, and none of the Potters have ever been Slytherins..." He glanced at Selima, who just shrugged, looking equally bewildered.

Lupin, Snape, Sirius, and Harry knew the truth, of course--that during their final, fatal duel, Voldemort had revealed to Harry that he was Lily's real father, which meant that Harry was the last living descendant of Salazar Slytherin. But none of them had time to explain this to Prospero and Selima right now.

"I thought all that blood status stuff didn't matter to you," Harry said, a tear running down his face and mingling with the blood left from the cuts caused by the Sectumsempra spell. "Remus told me that you judged people by their actions, not by who they're related to."

James stared in fascination as the tear ran down Harry's cheek, cutting a faint trail through the blood smeared there. His tongue slowly moved across his lips and his eyes gleamed red.

Dylan, who was just beginning to recover from the Stupefy spell, saw this and knew what it meant. "Harry," he said, his voice weak but filled with urgency, "get away from him, now!"

Harry started to back away, but the numerous cuts all over his body were still bleeding, and his legs felt weak and wobbly beneath him. Before he could get more than a couple of steps away, James moved forward and reached out and stroked Harry's face. Harry stopped moving and smiled at James in relief, thinking that it was a fatherly caress and that James must be coming to his senses. But then James raised his fingers to his mouth and licked Harry's blood off of them, and the red glow in his eyes seemed to intensify.

"Even sweeter than Dylan's," James murmured dreamily. "So sweet, so rich...and filled with such power. No wonder Voldemort feared you so."

"D-Dad," Harry stammered nervously, his eyes filling with horror as he stared at his father.

James grinned at him, but it was utterly lacking any compassion or affection. Instead, it was the hungry grin of a predator regarding a tasty meal standing right in front of him. Ignoring his wounds and his wobbly legs, Harry began to stumble away from his father, who with that hungry smile and those glowing red eyes, no longer looked human at all.

"Let's see," James said musingly. "How did that spell go? Sectumsempra!" He slashed his wand through the air like a knife; Harry tried to dodge the spell, but wasn't quite quick enough. Another cut opened up on his face, and his effort to dodge the curse caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

"Dad!" Harry shouted. "Dad, please don't--"

"Prongs, no!" Lupin screamed as James raised his wand again. He froze in place, paralyzed with horror for a few crucial seconds...

"HARRY!" Sirius screamed, running towards his godson and his best friend, frantically trying to decide whether he should try to attack James, cast a shield spell over Harry, or just physically throw his body in front of Harry. All these thoughts passed through his mind in a split second, and time seemed to slow for Sirius, as if in a dream where he was running in slow motion, his legs as heavy as lead. It would only take a few seconds for him to reach Harry, but he knew with a certainty that filled with him anguish and despair, that he would be too late.

Dylan watched helplessly from the ground, still too dazed and weak to move, while Bane launched himself into the air from Snape's shoulder, and Prospero and Selima raised their wands. But it was Snape who leapt forward and reached Harry first, throwing himself between father and son as James swept his wand through the air in a broad, slashing motion and shouted, "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Snape cried out in pain and fell backwards, nearly landing on top of Harry, as a broad gash appeared across his torso, ripping through his robes, a fountain of blood spraying into the air as if he had just been slashed by an invisible sword.

"Professor!" a shocked and horrified Harry shouted.

The red faded from James's eyes, returning them to their natural hazel color. "Sn...Snape?" James stuttered, looking stunned and bewildered.

"SEVERUS!" Lupin screamed, running to Snape and dropping to his knees beside him, sobbing hysterically. "Severus, oh God, Severus, please don't die!"

Meanwhile, Bane screeched in anger and dove down at James, raking his claws across James's scalp. The wounds he caused were shallow, little more than bloody scratches, but they did serve to distract James as he cried out, as much in surprise as in pain. And the distraction enabled Prospero to hit him in the back with a Stupefy spell, which did not render him unconscious, but did cause him to drop to his knees. Selima took advantage of the opportunity to cast a Disarming Spell, and James's wand went flying out of his hand.

"Accio!" she cried, and the wand flew over to her hand; she pocketed it and went over to check on her son while Prospero stood guard over James.

"If you so much as twitch, I'll cast a Killing Curse, and to hell with the consequences," Prospero said coldly. "The Ministry might even give me a medal for killing a Death Eater, since technically you are Rabastan Lestrange."

But James showed no sign of trying to fight or escape. He just sat there, whispering, "Dear God, what have I done?"

Snape's face was paler than usual, and his black eyes were glassy and unfocused. "That damned Potter," he muttered weakly. "Always turning my spells against me..."

"I think he's in shock," Sirius said, looking concerned.

Meanwhile, Lupin had flung himself across Snape's chest, heedless of the fact that he was getting Snape's blood all over himself. "Severus, oh, Severus..." he sobbed.

"Somebody stop the werewolf from blubbering on me," Snape muttered, his voice still weak, but with a hint of its usual sarcasm. Then he coughed, spraying droplets of blood from his mouth, and Lupin began sobbing even harder.

"Harry," James said helplessly. "Harry, I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen, I swear."

"I never hated you, Dad," Harry said quietly. "I was upset when I saw what you did to Snape--to Professor Snape--in the Pensieve, but I never hated you. It upset me because I saw you treating the Professor the same way Dudley and Draco used to treat me." James hung his head, and for the first time, he truly felt ashamed of how he had treated Snape when they were students.

"And it shook me up, because I wanted to think of Professor Snape as a bad guy," Harry admitted, looking a bit shamefaced himself. "And it was harder to hate him after I saw that. Although I still managed it for awhile longer. So if it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one who was stubborn and immature."

"You must get it from me," James said, attempting a smile, although it came out rather lopsided. "Which would still make it my fault."

There was a loud cracking noise, and suddenly Branwen and Blaise appeared before them. Branwen was holding onto Blaise's arm, and Blaise looked a little queasy. "I don't think I've quite got the hang of this Apparation thing," he muttered.

"It's a little disorienting when someone else is Apparating you with them instead of doing it yourself," Branwen said soothingly. "And Apparating across long distances makes some people nauseous. You'll be fine with a little more practice, dear."

"Branwen?" Sirius asked, staring at his wife in surprise.

"Blaise knows some healing magic, and we've brought along some Healing Potions from Snape Manor," Branwen explained. "Blaise can get Severus stabilized while I bring help from St. Mungo's. I wasn't sure if it would be safe to move Severus in his condition."

Before she left, she paused to give James a cold, steely glare, and he flushed with shame. "I'm sorry, Professor," he whispered meekly, like a chastened schoolboy.

"I am not the one you should be apologizing to, Mr. Potter," she told him, and then Disapparated before he could reply.

"Branwen, wait!" Sirius called, but she was already gone. He turned to Blaise, saying urgently, "Harry is wounded, too."

"I'm okay," Harry said instantly. When his godfather gave him a dubious look, Harry added, "It looks bad, but the cuts are all shallow. Please see to the Professor first, Blaise."

Blaise knelt down beside Snape and gently pulled Lupin away from him, saying, "Please let me tend the Professor, sir."

Lupin reluctantly moved back, sniffling a little as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "How did you know that Severus was wounded?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure myself," Blaise confessed with a puzzled smile. "We were just sitting in the library, when suddenly Professor Blackmore cried out. Theo and I asked her what was wrong, and she said that Bane told her that Professor Snape was hurt and needed our help. She Apparated me here because I've never been to the Potter estate before, so I couldn't Apparate on my own." He pulled a small potion bottle out of his pocket, unstoppered it, and held it to Snape's lips. "Please drink this, Professor." Snape obediently swallowed while Blaise poured the potion into his mouth, then Blaise took out his wand and cast a healing spell. His brow furrowed with concentration, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he ran his wand just above Snape's wound, and the edges of the wound slowly began to fuse together. When Blaise's hand started to tremble, he lowered his wand and sighed, sounding weary but relieved. The long gash had not closed up completely, but the bleeding had slowed to a trickle.

"Sorry, Professor," he said apologetically. "I'm not strong enough to heal you completely, but you should be all right until the team from St. Mungo's gets here."

"I'm grateful to you, Zabini," Snape said gruffly, still looking pale but sounding a little stronger. "And I suppose that I should also be grateful to Professor Chizuru for teaching that class in Healing last year. I will speak to Dumbledore about adding it to the curriculum permanently."

Blaise smiled. "I only have a minor Healing Gift and I didn't want to be a mediwizard, so I never thought I'd have to put it to use. But I guess those Healing lessons were a good idea, after all." He reached into his pocket again. "I do still have one more Healing Potion, sir."

He offered it to Snape, but the Potions Master waved it off and said gruffly, "Give it to Potter." So Blaise gave the potion to Harry, who drank it down, and his cuts began to close up, although they did not vanish completely.

"Why?" James asked Snape quietly. "Why did you risk your life to save my son, after everything I've done to you? I know you hate me, and I thought you hated Harry as well..."

"Not everything is about you, Potter," Snape growled as Blaise and Lupin helped him to sit up.

"Severus," Lupin said gently.

A soft sigh hissed through Snape's lips, a resigned and irritated sound. "Duty," he said curtly. "Honor. Atonement."

"Atonement?" James asked hesitantly. "For what you did as a Death Eater?"

"Bloody hell, Potter, do you have to have everything spelled out for you?" Snape asked waspishly, then before James could respond, answered his own question with, "Well, you're a Gryffindor, so I suppose you do. Fine. Yes, to atone for being stupid enough to join the Death Eaters and serve the Master who killed his parents. And because I'd rather die than be indebted to the Potter family for the rest of my life--to you, for saving me from Lupin in the Shrieking Shack, although really, that shouldn't count, since it was Black's fault for luring me there in the first place." Sirius smiled sheepishly. "And to Potter junior," Snape continued, "for saving Dylan's life when the R.A. hexed him at the Quidditch match. And because, regardless of what you might think of me, I do take my duties as a teacher seriously. I wouldn't let one of the little brats be murdered just because I hated his father. And finally, Lupin would be upset if Potter junior died, and I'm not about to put up with him weeping and moping around the house all summer."

Lupin laughed, wrapped his arms around Snape, and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Severus," he said tenderly. Then he smiled at James. "Now do you finally believe me when I say that Severus is a man of honor? Now do you understand why I love him?"

"Knock it off, Lupin," Snape muttered, sounding rather embarrassed.

"Professor Snape protected me while I was at Hogwarts, even though he didn't like me," Harry told James. Looking thoughtful, he added, "And maybe, in a way, that's more noble than protecting someone you do like."

"Very insightful, Harry," Lupin said approvingly.

"Will wonders never cease?" Snape muttered sarcastically.

"The Professor protected all of us during the war," Dylan said. "All of his students."

Harry smiled. "Hermione always said he was okay."

Dylan grinned at him. "And everyone knows that Hermione is always right!"

James smiled weakly. "Yes, your friend is very wise, Harry. She reminds me a great deal of Lily."

"Excuse me," Prospero interrupted politely. "I'm very glad that Harry's father seems to have returned to his senses, but what do we do now? I fear that he will not be able to fight off the effects of the Necromancy indefinitely."

James's face turned pale. "Yes, you're right. I am no longer of the living, and the undead require blood to sustain life. Thank Merlin that Snape and...er..."

"Prospero Zabini, at your service," Prospero said, bowing slightly.

"He's the grandfather of my classmate, Blaise," Harry explained, motioning towards the Slytherin boy. "And his younger sister, my housemate Allegra."

"Thank Merlin that Snape and Mr. Zabini stopped me before I killed you, Harry," James said, his face still pale. "I could never have lived with myself if..." Then he laughed bitterly. "But I am already dead, so I would have had to live with the knowledge that I killed my own son for all eternity." He turned to Prospero and said with sincere gratitude, "So thank you, Mr. Zabini." Then he caught sight of Prospero's wounded shoulder, where the curse he had cast had burned through the man's robes and down to the flesh beneath them. "And I'm sorry about...er...that." Prospero just nodded.

James turned towards Snape, obviously feeling ashamed and nervous. But he bowed his head humbly and said, "I'm sorry, Snape. For everything. And thank you. Thank you for saving Harry, and thank you for watching over him all these years. You may consider any debt that you owe me repaid. If anything, it is I that am in your debt now."

"If you wish to thank me, Potter," Snape said coolly, "you can go back to where you came from. Or rather--move on to where you should have gone seventeen years ago."

"Dad!" Harry cried, feeling a sudden wrench of pain in his heart at the thought of losing his father so soon after he'd found him, even though he had agreed earlier to persuade James to move on into the afterlife.

"He's right, Harry," James said regretfully. "I can't risk hurting you again. And besides, it's past time for me to move on. Your mother is waiting for me." He smiled ruefully. "And if I know Lily, she'll have a few choice words for me when I finally see her. She has quite a temper, your mother."

Harry smiled, his eyes filling with tears. "I know," he said. "I saw it in the Pensieve."

"At least you saw something good in there," James said, smiling back at his son.

"Dad, I'm sorry!" Harry said urgently, knowing that this was his last chance to set things straight with his father. "I never meant to hurt you, when I asked Sirius if I could call him 'Dad.' It wasn't that I hated you, or wanted to forget about you. It's just...I've never had a real family...and I just wanted..." The tears spilled from his eyes and he began to weep openly.

"The Headmaster told me once, 'Love is not like a pie,'" Snape suddenly blurted out, looking a little surprised by his own words.

"That's right," Lupin said, grinning at him affectionately. "It can't be divided. The amount of love in your heart never grows any smaller, no matter how many people you love." He smiled warmly at Dylan, who rose to his feet, a little shakily, and made his way over to Lupin and Snape. Lupin cast a quick charm to dispel the ropes binding his wrists.

"I love the Professor and Remus," Dylan said. "They're my parents now, but I still love my real mother and father. I'll never forget them."

"That's what you were trying to tell me in the Shrieking Shack, but I wouldn't listen," James said quietly.

Sirius came to stand beside Harry, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We all love you, Prongs," he said. "Moony and Harry and I. I wanted to give Harry a home and make him feel like part of the family, but I'd never try to take your place. In fact, he asked if he could visit the estate so that he could learn more about you and Lily. Bran and I brought him here this morning so that he could feel closer to you." He gave James a slightly accusing look. "I would never have let him forget you, Prongs. You're my best friend. I love Harry as if he were my own son, but I'd always have kept your memory alive for him."

"I'm sorry, Padfoot," James whispered, bowing his head again. "I know that now. And Harry, please don't cry." He moved towards his son and reached out to touch his face. Prospero looked a little alarmed and raised his wand, but Lupin shook his head slightly and Prospero lowered his wand, although he still watched James very carefully.

"You don't have to apologize, Harry," James said. "It was my fault. I should have moved on once Voldemort was dead and you were safe, but I couldn't. I was ashamed that you'd seen me acting like such a git, but I couldn't admit to myself that I'd done anything wrong, so I blamed it on Snape. And maybe I was jealous, that he and Remus and Sirius got to be near you, when I could only watch from a distance. I couldn't bring myself to move on, knowing that you were so disappointed in me. I wanted to fix things with you, but I didn't know how, since the dead can't interact with the living, and then Lestrange called me..."

"It's okay, Dad," Harry said, still weeping. "You made mistakes, but so did I. I'll always love you, Dad."

"And I love you, son," James whispered, wrapping his arms around Harry and hugging him tightly. "I'll always love you, even after I'm...gone." And despite everything that had happened, James had to be grateful to Rabastan for this one moment, for the chance to hold his son.

"Professor Dumbledore told me once that the ones we love are always with us," Harry said.

"He's a very wise old man," James said with a smile. "I should have listened to him more often. Try and do better than me, okay?"

"Okay, Dad," Harry said, laughing a little as he wept.

James gave Harry one last, fierce hug, and then released him. "I'm not sure how long I can fight off the...the Dark part of me," he said. "I don't want to take any chances. I'm not sure that I can separate myself from Lestrange on my own, so I need you to cast that spell, Harry."

Harry nodded reluctantly. "It won't hurt you, will it?"

"No," James replied, although he didn't really know which specific spell Harry was casting. But it didn't matter; painful or not, he needed to move on so that he wouldn't be a danger to his son.

"If he moves on willingly, I do not believe that spell will cause him pain," Snape said.

"Do we still need to draw the Circle of Power?" Harry asked.

"No," Snape replied. "The Circle is necessary to bind an uncooperative spirit, but if he isn't fighting the spell, then you don't need the Circle to hold him in place."

"All right," Harry said. He wasn't sure if he could still recite the incantation from memory after everything that had happened, so he pulled the shrunken spell book out of his pocket, and it immediately reverted back to its normal size.

"Harry?" James said. "Before I go, I just want you to know...it's okay with me if you want to call Sirius 'Dad.'"

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Really," James said, smiling sincerely. "Padfoot and I are like brothers, so we're all one big family. I'm glad he'll be there to look after you. Take care of Harry for me, Padfoot."

"I will," Sirius said, and he came over and hugged James. "Say hi to Lily for me," he said as they separated, brushing tears from his eyes.

"I will," James said, then Lupin went over and hugged him, too. "I'm sorry, Moony," he whispered. "I hope you'll be happy with him."

"I already am," Lupin assured him. "I finally have a family of my own. I've never been happier in my life."

"Good," James said. "Take care, Moony."

"Take care, Prongs. Give my love to Lily."

When Lupin released him, James turned towards Dylan. "I'm sorry," he said. "I can never apologize enough for what I did to you."

Dylan hesitated, then shrugged. "I can forgive what you did to me, for Remus's sake. But if Blaise hadn't been able to heal the Professor, I would never have forgiven you. And undead or not, I would have found a way to take revenge on you."

His silver-gray eyes gleamed with menace, and for a moment, he looked like his father, when Evan had been a devoted, fanatical Death Eater. But this time James did not take offense; he deserved it, and he would have felt the same way towards anyone who had threatened someone that he loved. "I believe it," James said quietly. "I'm glad that won't be necessary." And then he remembered his talk with Evan in the waiting room. "But there is one thing I can do for you before I go, that perhaps will make up, just a little, for what I've done. While I was in limbo, watching over Harry, I met your father."

"What?!" Dylan cried, his eyes lighting up with mingled disbelief, suspicion, and hope.

"He stayed to watch over you, too," James said. "We weren't really supposed to meet, but there was some sort of problem on Halloween, when the spirits of the dead can move more freely...oh, it doesn't really matter how. I met Evan, and like me, he had stayed behind to watch over his son. He was grateful that Snape and Remus were there to take care of you, but he regretted that he wasn't able to be there himself."

"Is...is he still there...here...watching over me?" Dylan asked, his voice trembling.

"No," James said gently, shaking his head. "He wasn't as stubborn as I was. After Voldemort died and he knew you were safe, he chose to move on, together with your mother. You couldn't see or hear them, but they said goodbye to you on the battlefield. He said that he loved you, that you were the one good thing that had emerged out of all the evil he had done in his life. He and your mother both said that they loved you, that they knew Moony and Snape would look after you, and that they hoped you would be happy."

Dylan burst into tears, and Snape wrapped his arms around the boy protectively. "I swear, Potter," he growled in a low, threatening voice, "if you're toying with him..."

"I swear on my honor as a Gryffindor, on my parents' graves, by my love for Lily, that I'm telling you the truth," James said solemnly. "I swear it, Dylan. Evan was my enemy...but he regretted what he had done with the Death Eaters, and he truly did love you."

"And my parents?" Dylan wept, staring at James with pleading eyes. "They're together?"

"Yes," James replied. "They moved on into the afterlife together, and..." He thought about what Death had said about second chances. "Those of us who haven't moved on yet aren't allowed to know exactly what comes next, but...I have a feeling that they're all right. Death promised them that they would be together."

"Thank you," Dylan whispered, and collapsed against Snape's chest, sobbing. Snape continued to hold his foster son, while he stared at James with a thoughtful, brooding, but not entirely hostile look in his black eyes.

James smiled at Snape. "You must have been a good parent to that boy, Snape," he said. "Even bound, he fought me tooth and nail. Said he wouldn't let me hurt his father. He was talking about you, not Evan."

Snape's eyes widened. He said nothing, but held Dylan a little more tightly.

"I'm ready, Harry," James said, turning to face his son. When Harry hesitated, he smiled and said, "It's okay, Harry; I'll be all right. It's past time for me to go, and I've missed Lily all these years."

Chapters 12b-13