Title:  Ex Umbris (From Shadows)

Author:  Alarun

Rating: R (blood and gore and death.  Hurray!)

Distribution:  Whatever you want, just let me know so I can brag to all my friends. (GnirpsEvilhotmail.com).

Note:  Book five, The Order of the Phoenix, never happened here, so I guess it's an AU… with the exception of "Snivellus," and maybe a random character or two.  This is Harry's seventh year. 

This was originally Pray for Daylight, but has been revamped.  Get it?  Vamped.

As your bony fingers close around me
Long and spindly
Death becomes me
Heaven can you see what I see

Hey you pale and sickly child
You're death and living reconciled
Been walking home a crooked mile

There's no time for hesitating

Pain is ready, pain is waiting

Primed to do it's educating

Feel the fever coming

You're shaking and twitching

You can scratch all over

But that won't stop you itching

Blame it on your karmic curse

Oh shame upon the universe

It knows its lines

It's well rehearsed

It sucked you in, it dragged you down

To where there is no hallowed ground

Where holiness is never found

Dream on

Depeche Mode, "Dream On"

The cold wind felt like a rasp against the exposed skin of his face.  Moving silently through the still night, his fleeting presence hesitated at the front boundary of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; the looming cast iron gate that separated the Forbidden Forest from nearly a thousand students and staff. 

He relaxed, leaning his burning forehead against the cold, heavy metal. 

The silver mask rested in the deep breast pocket of the thick, black, coarsely woven wool of his Death Eater's robes.  He had just met with Voldemort.  Had proven his loyalty to the Dark Lord once again.  Barely.

He felt the blood drain from his face, leaving him frozen inside.  Unconsciously, he grasped his left arm with his right, holding it tightly against his side.  He closed his eyes and willed down the dizziness, breathing slowly to regain a steady heartbeat.  Hot blood slowly crept down his left side, and he felt it pool into his shoe.  The Dark Lord had gotten irritated tonight, and actually broke through skin in a fit of anger.  Severus had the image of the blade Voldemort had used imprinted on his mind, a wicked, curved knife with a bone handle.  He had never seen the dark wizard use a weapon other than his wand, and wondered if tonight had set a precedent.

He prayed to anyone who was out there that it wasn't a new routine.  He had enough scars to hide already.

When the ground began tilting at a strange angle from bloodloss induced dizziness, he quietly unhooked the large latch and pulled the gate open just enough for his lean frame to fit through.

Before he could will himself to move, however, something took hold of him; a firm grip on each of his shoulders, near his neck.  They pulled back and turned him around and slammed him against the gate, making the heavy cast iron slam shut so loudly that it echoed off of the bare trees and surrounding hills.  He barely contained a cry as he was pushed against the gate and held there, his heels off of the frosted grass.

More surprising still was the possessor of that great strength; he had thought that it might have been a man equaling Hagrid's stature.

It was a woman.

She was nearly a head shorter than him, and her small hands were still on his shoulders.  Wide grey eyes were slightly tilted up at the outer corners.  Her face was thin, with a strong jaw that bordered on lantern. Black hair twisted into a thick braid rested over her shoulder like a snake, and a small, pointed nose rested over a wide, smirking, red-lipped mouth.  Her white teeth glittered in the moonlight.

"Severus Snape."  Her voice was low, and she placed a heavy accent on the consonants.  "I have waited to meet you for a long while." 

"To whom do I owe the pleasure?"  Her eyes held his as his sarcastic personality automatically took hold.  The rest of the world vanished as he realized that he couldn't look away.

She ignored him.  "It is imperative is that you go to Hogwarts immediately.  You are not safe on this side of the gate.  You must heed my warning.  Do not leave Hogwarts again."

And with that, she brushed her lips against his, and was gone.

Snape stalked through the wide corridors of Hogwarts, intent solely on the Headmaster's office.  It was past curfew, so with the annoyingly obvious exception of Potter's gang, all students were safely in their dorms. 

He barked out "Gobstopper," as he approached the stone gargoyle.  It moved out of the way so quickly that Severus didn't have to pause before going through the wide, arching doorway.  The distressed potions master ascended the stone staircase and moved to knock on the dark green, iron bound door to Albus's office.

Before his knuckles touched the wood, however, Albus's voice could be heard on the other side; "Come in, Severus."

"Albus--" Severus started as he opened the door and stepped inside the cozy office of the man who saved his life on multiple occasions.  The rest of his greeting strangled to death in his throat as he noticed two other figures in the room.

One of the figures spat a single word at him; "Snape."

He replied in kind. "Black."

The other visitor was wearing blue and white pinstriped pajamas and no shoes.  The belt of his dark red robe was pulled through one of the loops, one side of it being knotted in his white-knuckled hands.  The scar on his forehead, under his unruly mop of black hair, stood out even more because young Potter was sans glasses.  He looked terribly tired, with bloodshot eyes and dark spots like bruises under them.

"Potter?" Severus turned to Dumbledore as the Headmaster raised a hand.

"Harry has had another dream in which he awoke with pain in his scar."  Snape felt a pang of sympathy for the kid, but it only lasted for a moment.  "It was about you, Severus."

"What?  Why?"  Snape belatedly directed the question at the prophetic student, who flinched under his gaze and studied the ornate rug at his feet.

"T-there was …a girl …she saved your life in the Forbidden Forest, sir. "

Snape narrowed his eyes, "Tell me how."

"By warning you to get back to Hogwarts.  There was something…lurking …around you.  Some sort of a… a shadowy ghost thing.  It was stalking you, or something.  I didn't see it clearly.  At the back gate.  You were---"

"That was tonight," Snape snarled at Dumbledore as the Headmaster offered him a lemon drop.  "It was nothing.  Go back to your dormitory, Potter, and take your dog with you." 

"This is about Harry, Snivellus.  I think he has the right to hear about it!"  Sirius Black interjected loudly, straightened up; his hand was moving slowly for the pocket that undoubtedly held his wand.

"Potter may have dreamt about it, but it does not concern either of you."  Severus Snape was not in any sort of mood to bicker with an old enemy, so he kept his hands in clear sight and away from his wand, though he kept his body turned so that his wounded side was away from his schoolyard bully.  He turned back to the Headmaster with an obvious air of dismissal.  Potter moved toward the door, but Black only folded his arms across his chest.

"Sirius, I need to hear Severus's report.  I hope you'll understand."  Dumbledore's eyes pleaded with Sirius to leave off Severus.  "And if you wouldn't mind, Sirius, stop in to wake up Madam Pomfrey.  We're going to need her services tonight."

Glowering, though an eyebrow rose in surprise at the mention of the mediwitch, the animagus reluctantly took his leave, followed closely by The Boy Who Lived.

"Why would Potter dream about it, though?"

Dumbledore stood up and walked to the fireplace, staring into the flames for a long time before answering.  His half-moon shaped glasses reflected the flickering orange light.  "This woman, whoever she is, seems to project strong telepathic vibrations.  Harry Potter is the most open at receiving prophetic dreams, because his mind is …well, used to it now." 

"So, why would his scar hurt?" Severus fully expected that he knew the answer, but he didn't want to acknowledge it without the Headmaster coming out and saying it.

"I don't know, unless Voldemort was actually outside of Hogwarts …"

Snape tightly closed his eyes.  He tensed as Madam Pomfrey entered without knocking, her wand already held toward him.

"Sit down, Severus."