Dawn

A Heart Long Broken

Author's Note: This is a co-written work between myself and writer dearjayycee. Dawn was written entirely by dearjayycee with a few minor editing tweaks by me. You can see the original story by clicking the link labeled external link at the bottom of this page right above the comments pane.

The clinking of small metal objects ceased as Severus Snape glided through the doors of the Headmaster's office, cloak whipping behind him like the physical embodiment of all his worries. Only moments ago Snape had been at Spinner's End, brewing a potion he would now never finish, when suddenly a headache he hadn't realized he had abruptly dissipated, giving him a sense of relief he hadn't known since his early school days. In a frenzy he ripped the left sleeve off of his cloak to stare down at his forearm. All that stared back at him was the now lifeless-looking mark against his pale skin. It looked almost like a tattoo that one got in their youth and now regretted. It was no longer red, and raised, and angry, as it had been since the moment it had first tainted his life. Suddenly he no longer knew his own arm, and it was wonderful.

The Dark Lord had fallen.

All he could think of at first was that it was finally over, that there would be no more hiding or sneaking around; well, no more than the average Slytherin did. After those first few moments of unabashed joy, worrying questions started to assault his mind. How had it happened? Had Dumbledore, after all this time, not included Snape in his plans? Was this all just a test? And if yes, from whom, Dumbledore or Voldemort?

These concerns hadn't stopped plaguing his mind. Even now as he stood in front of Dumbledore's cluttered desk, hours after the mark had paled, Fawkes' singing so loudly that Severus almost couldn't hear himself think, his worries still nagged at him. Dumbledore rose a steady hand causing the phoenix to cease his song after a few last chirps, only to happily start preening at its breast feathers instead.

Snape concentrated on the man in front of him, but surprisingly all he saw was grief. Whatever emotion he had expected to see on the old man's face right after the fall of the Dark Lord it had not been this one, and it worried Severus all the more. Dumbledore had fought so long for this day to finally come and Severus had expected nothing other than triumph and joy. But he had never expected an exhausted frown with unshed tears twinkling in the Headmaster's eyes. For once the man looked his age, all two hundred and thirty nine years were etched into his face.

"What happened?"

Severus was sure all his questions would be answered in due time; at least the ones Dumbledore was willing to trust him with. Snape had already waited for hours for the Headmaster to arrive, pacing in front of the giant oak doors. He could stand to wait a bit more.

Dumbledore stood, his back popping a few times as he reached full height. He glided over to one of the windows behind his desk, looking out at the moon which was reflected in the eerily still surface of the Black Lake.

"Voldemort is gone..."

Snape held his breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop as he knew it must.

"For now..." Dumbledore glanced over his shoulder, blue eyes piercing. "I cannot say when he will return, but I am sure he will. And until he is truly gone we are not safe."

Severus kept his mouth shut in a tight line that would impress even Minerva, trying desperately to understand how it had happened. How the greatest Dark Lord since Grindelwald had been defeated? The answer to this question, however, was not what he received.

"Lily and James are dead."

Snape felt his knees go weak, but he quickly caught himself, hand clutching the back of the chair in front of him so tightly his knuckles had gone white. His emotions which had already been raging, after losing the Dark Lord's presence within him, were suddenly thrown into complete turmoil. He couldn't, however, let this weakness show any more than it already had.