WARNINGS: SLASH and CHARACTER DEATH.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

A/N: Not edited because I'm a loser. XD

Mercy:

For once, he was in control. After so many years of being the spy, the follower, he was now the master. All their plans rested on his shoulders. Their lives were putty in his hands. He'd played his part well. Made them trust him, made them love him in this case.

Green eyes stared up adoringly. The promise of life after the war hung in the air thick like honey. Lying had never been hard, and he wouldn't regret this awful deception. All he had to do was whisper sweet nothings and hold the boy's hand just a little while longer and everything would come full circle.

He'd be the victor.

His lips curved into a hard smile when Dumbledore gave the instructions. The Order members were confused. When had they waited on Snape of all people to give the signal to attack? Shouldn't they be there the whole time to help the revered Boy-Who-Lived? Nevertheless they listened to Dumbledore without protest.

Inside pleasure bloomed. His chest swelled with anticipation. Soon. The boy gripped his hand.

"I love you." Was whispered. Severus only smiled. The boy didn't expect him to say it back. He knew what he had gotten himself into, or he thought he knew. Severus was tempted to laugh, but it would ruin everything if he did.

When the meeting came to a standstill and no one was looking, he brushed his lips against the boy's earlobe. The shiver that ran down the boy's spine sent a thrill through him. Power. Revenge. Victory.

Dumbledore gave him a nod from the corner of the room, and he pulled the boy along behind him toward the door. Outside, the glaring sun made him squint, and he hissed out the word that sent them spiraling through the air as their portkey activated. Voldemort was waiting, and nothing could save Harry Potter now.

----------

He knew the boy expected him to keep holding his hand when they landed in the throne room. He knew the boy was looking for support, for reassurance. Instead, he stepped away with a smirk.

"You are so easily fooled Potter." The boy's eyes grew wide with shock.

"Severus?" The voice was hardly there at all. A cackle from the opposite end of the room drew their attention.

"Silly boy. All you wanted was love, am I right?" Voldemort grinned. The boy's green eyes turned accusingly on him. He relished the crawling feeling of hatred as it squirmed over his skin.

"Do you hate me Potter? Do you wish me dead?" He knew it wasn't necessary, but he thought he deserved to torment the boy just a little.

"I love you. If you die, so do I." He took a step back. The boy's eyes softened. They were filled with love.

"You don't understand that I've tricked you. I've betrayed you. You're going to die, and I am the reason why." He bit out the words, stalking closer and towering over the boy.

A small hand came up to caress his face. "It doesn't matter. I believed for a while that you loved me. Those were the happiest days of my life, Severus. Your acting gave me something I've always craved." The boy turned to Voldemort's throne. "Are you going to try and kill me Tom?"

He reeled back. This wasn't supposed to happen. Where was the anger? The hurt? The broken boy that should be sitting at his feet, begging? How could the boy still love him? He snarled, held up Harry's wand, and snapped it in half. The sound of cracking wood drew the boy's attention again.

"You are trying aren't you?" He looked into the boy's eyes. He was being mocked now. Teased. "Face it; you aren't going to break me. I'm not a piece of wood, Severus." The boy turned away, facing the real danger once more.

----------

Voldemort watched, bored. The silly actions of his Potions Master were amusing. He was willing to watch this dance forever, but he had other matters to take care of.

"Potter, as much as I enjoy watching lovers' spats, we really do have business to attend to. You can only rely on yourself as you can clearly see; you have only enemies surrounding you. There's no hope left. It's over." Voldemort was proud of his speech. He'd worked on it for a long while, but the boy only laughed.

"You've forgotten Tom, I have love on my side." The boy closed his green eyes with a smile.

"Whose love boy? I have your blood. It is part of me now, and therefore, your mother's protection is void. Your truest love," He lathered on the sarcasm for that. "has deceived you. You have no love."

Green eyes resurfaced from behind pale eye lids. "You are cursed Tom. You are a wretched, cursed creature."

The broken wood lying on the floor, the once wand shaped pieces shattered suddenly glowed a blinding green light. They snapped together and flew to their master's hands. "I won't show mercy Tom." The boy breathed before whispering ancient words.

They meant death, and their inky black poison slid through the air in slow motion. It was older than the killing curse Voldemort was so fond of. It was older than Albus Dumbledore, and it was vicious. It hit Voldemort in the chest, and the resounding thunk echoed through the room like a scream.

Voldemort smiled. The curse seemed to do nothing for a moment, but the boy stood strong as he waited. From his left, a real scream came. It was ripped from Severus' lungs unwillingly, and it tore at his throat like fire as it hurtled out to meet the air. From the scream was born a shadow tinged around the edges with blood red. Green eyes watched as it soared across the room and hit Voldemort exactly where the curse had. Voldemort's lips parted.

"No." was mouthed silently, but it seemed louder than the scream that still echoed around the room and in their ears. The body of Voldemort fell to the ground and lay there still as the stone beneath it. Then agony ran through the boy's body. An identical scream to the one before made its way from his throat. He was ready for it though, and despite the pain it held a note of hope. The shadow was darker red this time, and it hurtled into the expanse of the room and grew larger.

It engulfed the body of Voldemort whole and turned the corpse to ashes as the last echoes died down and silence reigned to torment the two left standing alone in the throne room.

"What have you done?" The voice was dark with pain, with betrayal.

"Love, Severus, is stronger than anything." The boy said. "Somewhere in your dark soul, you loved me, and it saved me. Don't you understand? I've always known." The boy looked forlorn as the man in front of him crumpled to the floor weeping silent, bitter tears.

"You shouldn't cry." The boy fell to the floor beside the man. "No one has to know you betrayed me like that. I certainly won't tell. You've made me happy this long, whose to say you can't just keep making me happy. Maybe someday you'll be happy too."

The tears stopped, but when the black eyes rose to meet the green, they weren't filled with love, they were filled with hate.

"Do you think your adoring public would mind if I killed you?" he snarled.

"Probably. Won't stop you from trying." The boy stood and held out his arms. "Go ahead then."

"Don't." The word barely made it through clenched teeth. The tongue pressed up against the lips almost refusing the words.

"Don't what Severus? Don't love you? Don't bend to your every whim? Why not?" The questions came hard and fast attacking the taller man with a force he didn't know the boy had within him.

His fists clenched at his sides and he drew his body up. His looming shadow fell over the much smaller boy. "Don't make me hurt you."

"But you want to, very badly. I can tell." The boy's arms beckoned him closer.

"Does that make you happy then?" His stance fell back into a half slouch signaling he had run out of options. "Do you want my abuse, is that it? I never figured you a glutton for punishment."

"I know there's another side to you. You can't hide from me now."

"Naïve little boy. I am no more that what you see here. A broken man full of rage, spite, and revenge. There is no more than that." It took courage for him to say that. He felt his voice crack just a little over the word broken, and he tried to vain to steady the tremor before the boy noticed. Weakness wouldn't be tolerated.

The boy smiled and walked a bit closer until their faces were centimeters apart, and there breaths mingled in the small space in front of them fogging over the boy's glasses and hiding his green orbs.

"I love you." The boy let the simple declaration hang in the air for a suspended moment before he broke the silence that had become almost visible in front of them by reaching his hand out to stroke a pale cheek. The muscles tightened under his soft touch.

"If I did kill you, no one would know. They would assume Voldemort killed you." The voice was shaky now and lacking any venom.

"Is that what you want?" the boy didn't remove his hand.

"I want revenge. I've always wanted revenge." The black eyes closed as if they were afraid to meet the green eyes that stared into them without reservation and unashamed.

"On who? I've never done anything to you. I've only loved you. You know that better than even I do."

"Don't feed me logic Potter. I don't care if you've done anything or not. That is far from the point." There was a pause in which neither said a word. Then, "You look enough like him for it not to matter."

The hand dropped then as if scalded. "I thought we'd moved past that. I'm not him. I'm not my father. I wouldn't hurt you like that." Then as if to prove the point, to make it crystal clear, he dropped to his knees and pointed his wand at his throat.

Black eyes widened at the sign of submission, the sign of sacrifice. "What are you doing?" It was no more than a harsh whisper, barely a noise that was recognizable.

"Whatever you wish of me, whatever you command, I'll do it. Whatever it takes." Green eyes looked up pleadingly. "I love you."

"Die for me Harry Potter." The command was simple. The words held no lies, no trickery. The boy opened his mouth forming the words for the killing curse. Soon green light would extinguish the life in eyes the same color, and he would have his revenge.

The final letter dropped from the boy's mouth and green light hit him instantly. The last sound the boy made was a low laugh of happiness.

"I love you too, you stupid boy. I love you too."

He turned, satisfied that his work was done. He'd accomplished what he came to do. The boy was dead, and he could live his life knowing that he could never again be tormented by those damn green eyes and unruly black hair. A deadly combination.

Outside it was dark, and he walked cloaked in it knowing that, for once, he was truly alone. Above him, a sliver of moon hung in the sky grinning at him like the Cheshire Cat. It was satisfied with what he had done, and he was at peace with his demons for now.

But that laugh lingered, echoing in his heart. It reminded him of love he had held in his grasp and thrown away without a drop of regret.

A/N: That was different from what I expected. Harry sort of refused to die for awhile. He was supposed to die earlier. He took on a life of his own. I think this sort of corresponds with 'Stripped'. The same sort of desperate Harry and reluctant Severus. I like it. I also have issues. Haha.