Tangled Threads Book I: Spun Together

Chapter One: Desperate Souls

Severus Snape groaned as he regained consciousness. Everything hurt, courtesy of the Crucio he'd been subjected to, as well as the violent that Stunner that had sent him crashing against a wall and briefly into oblivion.

He shook his head, then fumbled in his robe for the potions he carried at all times. A Revitalizer, a Clarity Draft, along with a potion for pain and one for healing. He drank them, choking a little in his haste, then shoved himself to his feet as his memory of the last few minutes returned in a rush.

The Potters had been betrayed. Betrayed by their Secret Keeper. He didn't know who it was, only that they had been betrayed and the protection of the Fidelius rendered useless. Voldemort had informed his Death Eaters that he had the key to the destruction of the boy of prophecy, and that he would, this very night, destroy the boy and his family, then return to lead his faithful against the Wizarding World. Once the boy was dead, he would be unstoppable. Severus had long learned to distill the ravings of an unstable mind and the dross of vague plans from concrete, immediately relevant information.

The Dark Lord had been far too certain, too controlled. He was confident in a way that vague plans never made him, and coherent in a way that his wilder moods never permitted.

He had been punished because he had dared, as the others dispersed, to hang back. He had dared to ask the Dark Lord to spare Lily Potter. For himself. The Dark Lord had not been in a tolerant mood, and in no mood to listen to a follower who dared question his plans on the eve of his victory.

Severus paced. He needed to warn the Potters. He needed to warn Dumbledore.

But he didn't know where Dumbledore was. He knew, vaguely, where the Potters were, in Godric's Hollow, but with the Fidelius still in place, he knew he'd never find the correct house in time. Unless he were to follow on the Dark Lord's heels, but that would be suicide at best. Especially since he'd confessed his desire for Lily.

There had to be a way to save her. There had to be.

Damn Dumbledore for his secrets and his agenda, which meant he was temporarily out of touch. Damn the Potter's betrayer. Black, he thought. If it was true, he'd never forgive the mutt.

Then the fury died, sinking into despair. Damning James and Black and Dumbledore would mean nothing if Lily died. Everything he'd done, the risk he'd taken and the danger he'd been in for the past half-year, would mean nothing if Lily died. And he'd learned after Fifth Year that vengeance would be a poor comfort.

He couldn't lose Lily. Not like this, permanently. Not to death. He sank to his knees against a wall, breath heaving in and out of him as his mind raced over options.

He needed a way to get to Lily, to save her. He would give his life, his soul, anything and everything, to save her.

There has to be a way...please…

***TTST***

Rumplestiltskin paused his work, snapping his head up.

Something was happening. Something was invoking and waking magic in his castle. Something he hadn't initiated. That wasn't supposed to happen.

He turned, tracing the threads of magic absently, searching for whatever had captured his attention. His work-space was more disordered than usual, given that he'd begun preparing for the coming events several days ago.

Regina was even now preparing to cast The Curse. And he knew the young princess Ella was with child. Any day now, the last piece would fall into place. She would seek help in dodging the deal they had made, resulting in his incarceration, there to wait for the curse to sweep him away to the Land Without Magic.

That was why he'd been sorting through things in the Dark Castle, using magic to mark those things that should come with him. Not that he'd get any use out of them for the next 28 years, but still, they'd be useful once he'd awoken. Some of them could be bargaining chips. Some of them were imbued helpful magic. Some of them he just thought he might need.

None of them were what had caught his attention.

He traced the magic, surprised when it led him to the mirror room. He'd spent years seeking a way to enchant a mirror as a portal to another world, or at least a way to scry across the boundaries of the worlds to see how his son fared. He'd eventually come to realize that there needed to be magic on both ends for the mirror to work. Magic and some sort of connecting force, his will or another's. He'd eventually abandoned the research. Regina had later borrowed it, to become an expert mirror reader. With the added power of her Magic Mirror Entity, he'd had to either cover or store all his mirrors to prevent her from spying on him.

One of the small scrying mirrors on the wall was glowing softly. His eyebrow went up. Which realm...He probed it, and his heart started pounding.

The mirror was linking to something, something he'd never touched before. Something across the one boundary he'd given up crossing.

Something from the Land Without Magic was triggering his boundary scrying mirror. The smallest and strongest of the lot, the last he'd worked with before giving up the enterprise entirely.

He crossed the room at a bound, hands circling the mirror. "Show me."

The mirror flickered and flared, then cleared. Well, sort of cleared. It was like looking through clouded water. He couldn't have cared less. All that mattered was that it did clear, giving him a view of whatever had triggered the mirror.

The image showed a young man, dressed all in black in a style that called to mind his own robes. The robes he wore when he wished to walk abroad as an unnamed and unknown sorcerer. The only thing missing was the broad hood that Rumplestiltskin used to hide his distinctive features.

The young man was bowed, leaning against a wall. His expression was desolate, desperate, agonized, his face white and his hands clenched in fists against the stone.

A desperate soul. And even through the mirror, he could sense the magic in this man. There was power there, for all that the realm he stood in was meant to have none.

Rumplestiltskin double-checked the traces. No, he'd been correct. But how?

Perhaps the events leading up to The Curse had caused magic to leak over, infusing people with powers not native to the realm. Perhaps the barriers had thinned.

Perhaps the Land Without Magic wasn't as magic-less as it was rumored to be. Perhaps magic had been simply...hidden, in some form or fashion.

He dismissed the consideration as not worth his time. There would be time enough to ponder it, particularly while he was trapped in the cell Ella and her friends would confine him to. For now, he had a rare, impossible opportunity in front of him.

He could see the young man was desperate. And he could use that. After all, where there was a desperate soul, there was a deal that could be made.

He smiled, and set a spell that he hoped would carry his voice across the barrier.

***TTST***

"Well now. This is interesting."

Severus jerked upright, looking for the source of the voice. That was no voice that he recognized. But how could anyone enter this, one of the Dark Lord's secret meeting places?

"Over here, dearie."

He twisted, looking. There was a blank wall, containing the mirror the Dark Lord used sometimes for spying (it was easier to use people, and more informative, but sometimes a mirror was simpler).

"In the mirror dearie."

Severus frowned, moving toward the mirror. It was only then that he realized it was glowing softly. He stepped forward to look into it, then recoiled.

There was a man in the mirror, if man he was. He had a man's form, but his skin was textured like a dragon's, green and gold. He had wild hair and eyes that were reptilian in appearance, and a smile that might make even the Dark Lord blanch.

"Now now, don't be shy." The man – being? Beast? - gestured, flourishing an arm clad in a dark russet silk sleeve. "Come now, I've no time to waste, and I'll wager you're the same. So come on now." He smiled, showing that blackened grin again as his voice turned coaxing. "Come now. What's your name?"

"Severus Snape." He was too stunned to do anything other than respond.

"Ah. Nice, strong name. Nearly as good as my own." The being – he was close enough to a man that Severus should probably think of him such – dropped back into a half-bow. "Rumplestiltskin, Deal Maker extraordinaire, at your service." He straightened. "You must need something very badly to have contacted me, dearie."

"I didn't..."

"Oh, you did. Activated my mirror, which is no small feat, I assure you. Especially since I was not expecting this mirror to ever activate. So...since you've gotten my attention, what is it you want?" Severus opened his mouth to ask another question, and the man, Rumplestiltskin, shook one black-nailed finger warningly. "Ah-ah. Times a-wasting dearie. Skip the questions for now. What is it you want?"

Miracle or damnation, impossible coincidence or fever dream...Severus didn't care. "I need to save Lily."

"Lily. She's important to you, I take it?" Rumplestiltskin's nose scrunched, but it looked more like curiosity than scorn. He hoped it was. Then the man pointed at him. "Ah. You love her."

"Yes. I do." He felt his hands clench in his robes.

"Ah. And...does she love you?"

He'd rather have been asked if he wanted to be Crucio'd again, but he had no time to spare for the ever-present heartache that accompanied thoughts of Lily. "No."

The figure in the mirror reared back. "Unrequited eh. That does present a bit of a tangle. Still...I can help you. Now, what do you need to save your fair lady from?" He spun on his heel, pacing away from the mirror and then back with a nervous energy that mirrored Severus's own.

"The Dark Lord. He's going to kill her, so he can kill her son."

"Dark Lord? Haven't heard of him." Severus blinked in shock, but the man in the mirror was waving it away before he could say anything. "No matter. I can guess what he is. And, as it happens, I know some spells that can help. Magic, so powerful it can defeat any Dark Wizard. Even me, and that's saying something."

"What magic?" Severus stepped closer to the mirror.

"Why, the magic of True Love. Assuming you really do love this girl. Magic is emotion, dearie, and where there's a will, there's nearly always a way. So...want to give it a try?"

"Of course." The man's description went against much of his training, but Severus gave up the idea of arguing the point. If the man was wrong, he'd lose no more than he stood to lose now.

"Good. Then let's discuss the price. All magic comes with a price, you know."

Dumbledore already commanded his life and services. But he knew in his heart that Dumbledore couldn't help him now. "I will give you anything. If Lily survives."

"Good. I like a man who's willing to bargain. So." Rumplestiltskin turned away, flourished. Something appeared in a waft of purple smoke. "As you may have guessed, I'm not from your realm."

"Indeed." That much had been obvious.

"But I will be coming. So will a great number of other people from my realm. An Evil Queen has already set in motions plans to cast a curse. A great curse, that will trap all of us for 28 years, trapped in your world, frozen in time, all our dreams destroyed. But..." He waved a hand. "There are two people who will be outside this curse. Two...children."

He held up his other hand, revealing a hand-drawn picture of a boy in his teens. Dark haired and dark-eyed. "This is the first. His name is Baelfire. Or Bae. He's already arrived. The second..." The parchment disappeared in a swirl of smoke. "The second will be an infant. A girl child. Don't know her name, but she'll come on the wings of the same magic that transports the rest of us."

"What is it you wish?" Snape clenched his fists. He had no idea how long it would take the Dark Lord to find the Potters and breach their protections, but every second wasted was one second closer to Lily's death.

"Find those children. The boy in particular. But find those children. Take them into your care. Raise them. And when the time comes, when 28 years have passed, bring them to me. Bring them to break the curse. Promise me that, and I'll tell you how to save your woman." He smiled. The expression would have been terrifying if Severus hadn't spent the past few years in the service of the Dark Lord. "Do we have a deal?"

"Why two children?" Snape frowned.

"The girl...well, she's the one that's going to save us all of course. And the boy...well, the boy...is my business, but I suppose I can tell you." The smile dropped from his face. "The boy is my son. He fell to your realm some time ago. I want him found and taken care of." The smile reappeared. "So. Do. We. Have. A deal?"

Find two children and raise them. Not the easiest task, especially for a man like him. But in the balance was Lily's life. "We do."

"Wonderful!" The glee that lit the man's face was practically unholy "Then the deal is struck! Now..." He flourished. "First things first, you're gonna need to get to your lady-love's side."

"She is hidden."

"Yes, yes...well, I assume if this Dark Lord can find her, you can too. I mean, at the very least, you can find him I suppose. Magic like that leaves traces, if you know what you're looking for."

Severus's hand flew to the Dark Mark on his forearm. A way to take any Death Eater directly to the Dark Lord regardless of enchantments. It usually required a summons from Voldemort, but if he put enough power into it...He was a gifted wizard, and he knew he could do it.

"I see you've figured it out. So then...once you've reached the woman of your interest, here's what you do..." The imp flared his hand out. "Magic is emotion dearie. You were willing to bargain with me. Use that same determination. Focus on what you feel, what you're protecting. And make it strong. Otherwise, you're never gonna win."

It sounded too easy to be true. But the truth was that he knew no spell that would stop the Dark Lord. He wasn't even sure the Killing Curse would do it.

Then again, he had always been good at walling off his feelings. To bring them out like that...he would do it for Lily though. He'd do anything for Lily.

"You've got it? Well then, time's passing, and you'd better hurry. Remember, you've got a love to save and two children to find! I'd hop to it if I were you!" He started to turn away, then paused. "And one more thing..."

Snape stopped. Rumplestiltskin stopped smiling, his face oddly serious and suddenly much older looking. "When you find my boy, tell him...tell him I'm coming, and I'll see him soon, And tell him...I love him, and I never stopped looking for him." With another dark smile, Rumplestiltskin flourished, and the mirror went blank.

Man, imp, monster or Crucio-induced hallucination...he was right. Time was wasting. Severus hesitated, then snatched the mirror off the wall and bolted from the room and out into the night.

He only prayed he would be in time.

***TTST***

Rumplestiltskin rubbed his hands together as the image faded and went blank. The thrill of realization was singing through his blood.

Of all the things he'd Seen or imagined, connecting with a sorcerer from a land supposedly without magic had been unexpected. Undreamed of, even. How it had happened, he had no idea. But it didn't matter.

There would be someone to raise the savior, did her parents succeed in getting her to safety. And he would ensure they did. As long as Ella did her part and got him into that prison cell, the rest would fall into place. And now, all unlooked for, he had an ally in that other world who would help the savior grow into a proper adult, ready to break the curse when the time came.

Even better, someone would be there to look for, and look out for Bae. He could send someone to find and save his precious, precious son.

He had no idea what magic had permitted this breach between worlds, but he didn't care. He was grateful to it. And even more grateful to the man who had agreed to deal with him.

"Severus...Snape."

He would remember the name. And when the time came...well, he supposed he owed the man a favor.

Author's Note: I blame this idea on being sick, quarantined and very bored for a week and a half. But, it wouldn't go away, so...

Next up...well, Severus goes to save Lily.