Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J. K. Rowling. This is for fun, no copyright infringement is intended.

Author's note: This is not connected to my story 'Unbreakable' (which is AU now that the seventh book has come out) but written in the same spirit hence the similar title. And I repeat - spoilers for Deathly Hallows.

"Severus, the Dark Lord sends for you, you must go to him..."

"What, now?"

"Yes, yes, go - go this instant, go..."

There was no defying a direct order from the Dark Lord. Severus Snape drew out of the fight, turned away from the desperate eyes of a father looking out of Lucius Malfoy's once so arrogant face and - dodging a gnarled object hurtling towards him out of the darkness - made it to the long lane leading down into Hogsmeade. Gravel crunched under his hurried steps. Acutely aware of the fine, disturbing tremor that seemed to have seized his entire body he did not dare Apparate for the first time since he had taken the test, knowing he would splinch for sure. An especially vicious round of explosions split the night behind him and wincing slightly he hunched his shoulders, but not once did he turn round, not once did he glance back to the besieged castle that had been his one true home.

I am sorry Dumbledore...

Fire in the sky illuminated his path like it had illuminated the faces of those children when he had caught them trying to steal Griffindor's sword. It had needed all his authority as headmaster and the Dark Lord's most trusted servant to keep them out of the hands of the Carrows, to send them only into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid and not somewhere far, far worse. Unfortunately he had not always been so successful.

I did what I could to protect them...

But he could not anymore. Briefly he wondered if dear, fierce Minerva would ever learn about his true intentions when he had confronted her in the corridor. If she would ever believe that his inquiry about Potter would have ended with I must insist on speaking with him rather than you hand him over immediately. Yet after she had realised he had pierced her mind with Legilimency there had no longer been a choice. Even if he had felt, known - KNOWN - before that the boy had to be there, somewhere, hidden under his cloak. No, flight was the only option he had had left considering it was rather hard duelling effectively back at someone out for your blood if you had no desire of harming them. And as if in mockery he felt again for a moment wind ripping his hair, saw the outstretched wand threatening Lupin's back, heard his own voice, screaming -

Be sure to act convincingly ... convincingly...

If he could only stop remembering the cold dread as he saw his curse would miss, did miss, hit the side of the bespectacled head ducking against the werewolf. If he could only stop the memory of his growing alarm when he had seen the boy dive into the pool of icy water to retrieve the sword in an act of need and valour. The near panic when he had realized that he was under too long, that he was not coming up and how he had stirred, split-seconds from bursting from his hiding-place, if not by a grace of fate that infuriating Weasley-boy had finally come running from the dark and leaped in with a splash.

There will come a time...

Time. Did he still have time? Time enough to find the boy, time enough to tell him what needed to be told, what needed to be done? He had not seen the Dark Lord for days, weeks, occupied as he was with keeping up at least a resemblance to order in the school. Fighting students and staff alike while trying to rein in Alecto and Amycus's fondness for punishment. But he had felt the urgency in his orders tonight - that the boy-who-lived might return to Hogwarts, might try to break into Ravenclaw tower - that he was to be stopped and captured at any cost.

There will come a time...

Had it? Was the snake, Nagini, with him? Did the Dark Lord already keep it close, in fear for its life, protected by magic as Dumbledore had foretold? But why would he do so?

I prefer not to put all of my secrets in one basket...

And so the only thing he had was trust in an old dead man and the help of a number of portraits to fight on, blindly, incarcerated in the headmaster office with no living soul to confide in. But he had chosen a long time ago.

Anything...

Yes, anything. There must still be time. There must. He must tell the boy, although he would probably have to put him in a full body-bind to make him listen. He could not fail now. Even if it meant to betray her a second time. Even if it meant those eyes that were so much like hers had to close forever. Pain was like a living beast clawing at his insides. How many times had Dumbledore told him that the boy had inherited his mother's eyes? How many times had he looked at him and seen only the face of his old enemy and rival looking back at him? And when on earth had he started to wish for one more opportunity to look into these eyes - not to read the rebellious mind behind, not to communicate deathly secrets - but simply to relish the resemblance to those he had lost forever?

Always...

Stopping for a brief moment in front of the Shrieking Shack Severus Snape drew a deep breath and then scooped up all his jumbled thoughts and emotions, his guilt and his remorse, his self-doubt and despair and pushed it down, down, deep under the shield of Occlumency in his mind. Striding through the first door and then through a second he knelt immediately and bowed his head, feeling the cool curtain of his hair sliding across his face.

"My Lord, you have sent for me."

Always...

"Rise."

Straightening his gaze fell on the snake, floating in mid-air, imprisoned, protected, kept safe in a starry, transparent sphere and his heart froze.

The end