A/N: It really warms my heart as I read the wonderful reviews that you have left for this fic. On another note, this story has finally managed to surpass 100 reviews, a small achievement in comparison, but an achievement nonetheless. It's tough writing so much when your work receives little appreciation but I'm over that now. With English being my second language, I think I have done fairly well, more so because this is my first story ever. I'm just hoping to finish this on a high and please the few faithful readers I have. Anyway, read on!

An Impossible Alliance

"It's me Potter. Your beloved Professor Snape." He tapped his forehead with his wand to reveal the face of Severus Snape, identified with all of his sickly features.

Harry remained unmoving as his disbelieving eyes tried to come to terms with what had just transpired; they just couldn't... It was not possible, neither in this world nor in the next. He refused to even consider the possibility that stood before him. Maybe there was another layer of mask below that face of Snape. Maybe it was all a ploy to unhinge him and force him to confirm the other one's deductions. That's right; that had to be it. There could be no other explanation. It is NOT Snape, Harry successfully convinced himself.

"You guessed wrong." Harry returned coldly, trying to maintain his composure. His wand shook in his hand, whispering, begging to be used, so that it could destroy the one who stood before it and relieve its master from this tormenting chain of thoughts.

"Is that so, Potter?" The other one mused, almost spitting out his name. "Did you really think that you had been cautious enough in concealing your true identity all this time? Let me remove such misconceptions from that bloated head of yours, Potter. You have been anything but careful. You might not be aware of it but you made two huge blunders, giving me enough evidence to prove your identity." Harry gritted his teeth but didn't say anything. The other one's confidence was really making him worry. "Remember when the death eaters attacked Hogsmeade, where you fed Polyjuice to one of the death eater with your hair in it?" Harry couldn't stop his gasp as sudden panic caught hold of him. Snape's vicious smile indicated that he was truly relishing Harry's shocked demeanour. "You see, when I saw the lightning bolt scar on the alleged Harry Potter that the death eaters had managed to capture, I noticed something very odd about it. Although it wasn't apparent with a casual glance, there was a glaring flaw in that scar that you created on that death eater's forehead. It was… etched in reverse." Another gasp left Harry, too shocked to even to try and control his naked emotions. "It was as if the one who was responsible for it had never noticed how the scar really looked like. It was as if he had seen the scar only from the reflection of the mirror. You understand where I am getting at, right Potter?" Harry didn't respond. Without waiting for a reply, the other one continued, an expression of morbid amusement playing on his face. "Do you remember when a particular death eater tried to duel you with just cutting hexes?" Harry nodded in spite of himself. "It was me, trying to get hold of some of your hair strands or possibly a few drops of your blood." Harry gasped again, three in a row for him now. It was as if his speech functions had been temporarily disabled. "Imagine my surprise when I used those strands I managed to get from you in the Polyjuice Potion. Instead of finding myself in the guise of the Marauder, I turned into you. I almost-"

Harry didn't let him complete and launched into a ferocious attack, putting all his knowledge and skills to full use. The other one had to die. No one alive could know his secret. And anyone who did could no longer remain alive.

Harry poured all his magic into his Elder wand, unleashing a deadly volley of spell fire. He apparated with such speed that he felt he was almost a blur. He was giving it his all…

Ten minutes later... Nothing had changed... Not for a single second did Harry have the upper hand and nor did the other one seem drained, unlike him.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry yelled but the drain had finally caught up with him as his wand sputtered but no green light came out from its end. His knees buckled under him as he fell forward on his hands, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He craned his neck to see the other one slowly approaching him, his wand for some reason not pointed at him. Then again, the other one didn't really try to fatally harm him as they had fought; a fact Harry had been trying hard to ignore.

"What a disappoint you are..." The other one momentarily paused in his insult. "…is what I wanted to say but your skills seem acceptable enough. Although, don't think you would last for a second against the Dark Lord. Crushing you would be disturbingly easy for him at your current level." Harry remained dead silent as he slowly raised himself back to his feet, trying his best not to show anymore weakness to the other one. "I can still see it in your eyes that you deny who I am." The cynical amusement on the other one's face was grating on Harry's nerves to no end but for some reason he couldn't say anything. Apparently, the shock to find his best effort ineffective against the person standing before him had rendered him mute. "My potions book; have you destroyed it already seeing that it belonged to me?"

Harry's face hardened, but that was his only reaction. It was now unarguable, unequivocal. He could no longer dispute the truth that he had refused to believe no matter how obvious it had seemed. "Snape..." A whispered hiss left his mouth, without him realizing it.

"Finally!" Snape drawled, stressing each syllable, his eyes mocking him as he spoke. "Your foolish Gryffindor stubbornness finally gave in. I was dreading whether I would have to recount all six years of your misadventures to make you believe me."

Harry seethed as his eyes raged with fury. If only he had more magic in him. He was barely able to support his weight as he stood on his unsteady feet. He longed to do some damage but he was helpless at the moment. "Why?"

"Why what Potter? You will have to be more specific. There are too many "whys" that I have an answer to." Snape was having his morbid fun, if his nasty smirk was anything to go by.

"Why are you masquerading as the Marauder? Why are you killing your own? More importantly, why have you not killed me already?!" Harry burst out.

Snape sneered before resuming his drawl. "You are asking the wrong questions Potter." He paused. "What you should be asking me is why did I kill Professor Dumbledore?"

"I really don't think it's that difficult to figure that out." Harry responded with his own sarcasm.

"Don't assume for a second that you know everything Potter." Snape looked furious but that didn't really affect Harry as he just returned his glare. After composing himself he resumed in his lecturing tone. "I think you know very well that Draco was tasked to kill the Headmaster by the Dark Lord himself, his failure in doing so would have had proved fatal for him. Also, I had made an unbreakable vow with Draco's mother to protect him at all cost. And Albus… was aware of all of this." Snape paused again. "Albus had told me that his time was running out, that his health was deteriorating. He also reminded me of the fact that the Dark Lord's trust in me was waning as well. He told me that there was something that only I could do which could solve all these problems. And so Albus told me what to do." Snape looked absolutely angry and disgusted with himself.

It didn't take Harry long to figure what he really meant. And it was a lie! It had to be! There was no way he could trust Snape. He was a bloody double crossing spy.

"The Dark Lord was after Albus' wand, the wand which you now carry in your hands." Severus continued, his eyes looking past Harry. "Only after my warnings, did he take steps to secure it. Although I didn't expect that he would actually give it you." There was a hint of shock in his voice but he didn't sound jealous.

There was an uncomfortable silence but Harry soon broke it. "You still haven't answered my questions." He harshly reminded Snape.

"Isn't that obvious?" Snape retorted with annoyance. "After Dumbledore gone, I had to play a loyal dog to the Dark Lord. I hated every moment of it. And then I saw a light at the end of the dark tunnel. When I saw how you fought the Dark Lord's minions, an idea began to grow inside me. I had to become you to exact my revenge, to stop the Dark Lord and put a rest to all of his minions. And you ask me why I didn't kill you? Do I even need to answer that? I thought Albus made it clear to you." Noticing Harry's incredulous gaze, Snape added. "Yes, I'm talking about the prophecy."

"Dumbledore told you the whole prophecy?!" Harry blurted out in astonishment.

"Not exactly. I already knew a part of it." A look of deep regret momentarily floated across his face but it disappeared so quickly that Harry thought he imagined it. "And inferring from Albus' actions up until now, it wasn't hard figuring out that you alone can put an end to it all." Snape gave a fake shudder. "Merlin help us!"

Harry didn't know what to say. His speech capabilities had been dysfunctional for a while now. And if that was not enough, he was beginning to question his own judgement. He was starting to question the image that he had of Severus Snape engraved in his mind. A part of him was trying to believe Snape. Noooo! Harry mentally screamed. It was not true! Snape was evil to his core. He was just twisting facts to suit himself. That's right, there was no way he could be deceived and he had to make it clear, out loud for Snape to hear. "Your words will have no effect on me Snape. You-"

"Enough." Snape's roar overrode whatever Harry was about to say. "How can you be so hare-brained? If I was indeed on Dark Lord's side why would I kill the death eaters? Why would I refuse to harm you, when you have been a thorn in the Dark Lord's side with both of your identities? Do you really believe that I could have deceived Albus Dumbledore?"

"You must have an ulterior motive." Harry forced a stubborn reply.

Snape looked absolutely livid; the throbbing vein in his temple could have burst any moment. He opened his mouth to rage but somehow stopped himself. "Darn it all! I don't really care what you believe!" Saying which Snape disapparated, leaving an astonished Harry behind.

***B***

The pounding in his head refused to subside. It had been more than forty eight hours but the events were still raw in his mind. He pulled away his eyes from the pale moon adorning the evening sky and rolled over on his stomach and screamed into his pillow, not that it helped his wretched self. A name kept on echoing in his head, his Occlumency skills once again proving to be ineffective.

Severus Snape…

Harry had been trying to come up with reasons to explain Snape's actions but after two whole days of brooding over it, he had nothing to show for, beside his agonizing headache. Even if it looked like Snape was working against the dark side, the absence of a strong motive was truly puzzling. If what Snape had told him was true, why had he put himself through so much? Why become a spy, risking his life at every moment he wore the death eater mask? What was he trying to protect? There was no clear answer…

Each time when his mind had begun to grudgingly accept the facts, his heart had put its foot down and rejected the notion that Snape was anything but an evil death eater.

Moreover, the way in which Harry was defeated by Snape was infuriating him to no end. He had given his all and still fell short by a long way on all three occasions that he had faced him. He realized that if Snape had willed, he could have ended his existence any moment during their duel. He didn't know what more he could do to train himself, to make him stronger as clearly his current state was no match for Voldemort, or so Snape had cruelly reminded him of. Harry dragged his finger nails through his hair, managing to draw blood from his scalp.

He seriously needed to do something about his fast declining mental state. He needed a strong distraction. He knew that responding to his portkey was going to be futile, what with Snape beating him to the scene on each and every occasion. He had to do something else. His eyes suddenly narrowed and a thin smile lined his face. He got up from his bed and bent over his trunk and from a magically hidden drawer, he retrieved a parchment. He unfolded it and went through the list of addresses that he had managed to extract from Lucius Malfoy.

It was time to pay a visit to these death eater hideouts.

He couldn't stop the glee from his face as he prepared to apparate from the empty dormitory he was in. It may have sounded morbid to his past self but he was trembling with excitement as he readied himself. He chose an address at random and tried to remember the location and visualized it exactly as he had observed from Malfoy's memory. With that in mind he disapparated.

He silently appeared in what looked like to be village outskirts with only a couple of houses in view as he looked around the vast outfield surrounded by mountains on three sides. His apparition was off it seemed and he suspected he might have ended up in the wrong place. However, he suddenly caught sight of a house, hidden in the shade of the mountain, which seemed to look like the death eater hideout he was searching for. His suspicions were confirmed when he apparated directly in front of it.

Treading lightly, Harry's invisible body made its way towards the one storey house. As he moved closer he began to study the house and its surroundings. It was built directly adjacent to the mountain, leaving only three sides open for entry. Besides windows on all three sides, the only entrance and exit of the house was the front door. That certainly made things easier for him.

He removed the Anti-Apparition and Anti-Portkey runes from his pocket and began setting them up around the house. Since the house was small and covered only a small area, the incantations didn't take much of a toll on Harry as he laid the final touches to the wards and then turned to face the house after wiping the sweat of his face. His ears strained to hear a sound that could indicate a living presence in the otherwise dark house.

Voices. He heard someone speak as he approached the door. The voices were faint but he could make out three distinct ones. He halted his silent progress in front of the door and put an ear to it to hear what they were saying. He hadn't felt any protection wards so he had to confirm that this was indeed a death eater hideout before barging in.

After a few seconds, he pulled himself away from the door and a smirk appeared on his face.

Bingo!

With a swift thrust of his wand, the door flew open and Harry stepped forward, bearing an air of absolute intimidation. With morbid amusement he noticed the terrified looks on the unmasked faces of the five death eaters as they sat gobsmacked at the dining table, holding sandwiches in their shaking hands. For some disturbing reason, the expressions on their faces seemed to feed his excitement, making the death eaters tremble uncontrollably as his bloodthirsty aura suffocated them.

One of the death eaters made to reach for his wand but a green jet of blasted him from his chair and threw him into the wall. The remaining four stared at the lifeless body of the death eater as he slid down the wall and stopped moving. They slowly returned their frightened eyes to the door, their horrified expressions reaching unimaginable limits. Surprisingly, they made a break for the back door and yelled "It's him!" leaving their backs exposed for Harry who should have had no difficulty taking them out but he didn't; or couldn't.

Harry tried not to show the shock on his face as he watched their retreating backs. His gaze fell to his wand and then to the fallen death eater. The death eater was truly dead. In his excitement, he had lost control of himself and he had actually meant the Killing curse that left his mouth. Clenching his fists, his eyes followed the last of the death eaters as they tried to make their escape. He was also slightly shocked by the level of fear they felt for him. And strangely enough, that particular emotion emanating from them seemed to be having an unusual effect on him; an effect he was trying hard to suppress as he followed the death eaters.

He heard footsteps above him indicating that there were more death eaters in the house. With a quick scan of the two of the remaining rooms on the ground floor, Harry realized that the death eaters had fortified themselves in one of the rooms upstairs. With an alert look on his face, he almost glided up the stairs making no sound whatsoever. The corridor seemed empty and out of the two rooms one of the doors was locked from the inside.

"Go! Go! Go! Hurry up!" Harry heard muffled yells from behind the locked door. With a frown, Harry burst into the room and slid across the floor to the other side, easily avoiding the killing curses that left the wands of the two death eaters who had aimed for the door. With quick stunners he took down the two and with another one he stunned the death eater who was preparing to escape from the window on a broomstick.

With slight astonishment, Harry realized that these cowardly death eaters had no intention to fight him. Rather, they had escape on their minds right from the beginning. With the house warded up by him, the death eaters were left with no choice but to leave on broomsticks.

Harry raced to the window to see four- no five retreating dots in the darkening sky. He wasn't unprepared though. With another wave of excitement rippling through him, he casted the Engorgement charm on his Firebolt, which he had earlier stashed in his belt, and zoomed through the air like a projectile, accelerating the broom to its limits. Harry feared that the death eaters would disapparate any moment but they held their course, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the killer tailing them. Then it hit Harry; unlike him the death eaters couldn't disapparate in mid-air.

Harry knew he could have gained on them by using just the raw speed of his Firebolt but he couldn't remain unaccounted for any longer and his absence might get noticed at Hogwarts. Along with his broom he apparated directly behind one of the death eaters and cast a stunner. Striking him clean on his back, the death eater slid from his broom and fell head first towards the earth. Harry drew his eyes away before the impact and forced his attention on his next target. And the next… and the next… Their futile attempts to dodge him didn't work as Harry hit his mark on all four occasions. They didn't even get a chance to fight back.

He had to do this. The death eaters hadn't left him with an alternative. And he wasn't going waste his time and effort to capture them with their lives intact. His eyes turned to the last of the death eaters but when the death eater looked behind, their eyes met and Harry's wand stopped responding. It was Gregory Goyle, one of Malfoy's mindless henchmen. When no spell left Harry's wand a look of relief came over Goyle's face and he turned forward pushing his Nimbus to go as fast as possible. As seconds ticked by his breathing became easier and hazarded a look behind him to see what happened of his quarry. That was his last memory as a green jet of light crashed into him and killed him on the broom itself.

Harry turned the Firebolt around and flew towards the house, letting the cold air peel away the pained look on his face. He had tried to make it as painless for Goyle as possible but who was he kidding? Composing himself, he apparated right in front of the house after slowing down his broom. He flew through the first floor window and silently landed in the room where three bodies still lay motionless. He checked them for life and after finding that they were still breathing, he broke their wands.

Harry raised himself to his feet and stared hard at the death eaters as he tried to decide their fate. There was no way to alert the Order of his capture; something he had not thought of before coming here. He couldn't send his Patronus as well since they would have recognized it instantly. Steeling himself, he lit the room thrice with green light and without taking another breath, he disapparated outside the house to collect the rune tablets and left.

***B***

Bafflement. Awe. Frustration. The room was heavy with emotions, those three being the most expressed ones. They all looked at each other, unable to comment on what they had just been briefed about.

Never could they have imagined that a single person could have such an effect on this war. Most of them even secretly agreed with how the Marauder dealt with the death eaters. He had singlehandedly killed more than a hundred and fifty death eaters and helped the Order capture over two hundred. That was certainly no small number and they were sure it was more than just a dent in You-Know-Who's forces and that the dark side was certainly feeling the pressure.

"Alastor, I know you have been stressing the fact that there is a spy amongst us who is supplying information to the Marauder, but from what we have learned just now, it clearly indicates that the spy could very well be in You-Know-Who's forces." Doge pointed out with his wheezy voice.

"I agree." Jones said, looking anywhere but at Moody. "We had no intelligence regarding these hideouts that had been recently targeted by the Marauder. It could only be a death eater, most probably in You-Know-Who's inner circle to be aware of these locations." Everyone seemed to immediately nod at that, ignoring the fact that Moody was glaring at them. He was either losing his touch or everyone seemed to be getting used to his behaviour; either way Moody didn't look happy.

"I know what each and everyone one of you are thinking." Moody glowered at everyone as he spoke. "I can see it in your eyes." He slowly stood up from his chair and leaned forward with his palms placed on the table. "You approve of the Marauder's actions, you approve of how he slaughters the death eater like cattle and you approve of his way of judgement." Before he could he interrupted he said sharply. "Don't you try and deny it! My eye can see through your lies." His magical eye swivelled around in its socket, gazing at everyone sitting at the table, as if to prove his point. "It's because of this attitude that the Marauder seems to have gained more confidence. The little restraint that he had earlier over his wand is beginning to disappear which is evident enough from the number of death eaters he has killed in the last two weeks itself. It is clear that he has no remorse over his actions. And let me tell you something." He once again gazed around the room, but the pained and distant look on his face shocked everyone. "I speak from experience when I say this to you. Each time you kill a person, even if it's a death eater, even if your intentions are pure, your soul begins to darken. It would be slow at first and you may not notice the gradual change in yourself. However, there will come a stage when the darkness would start to disease your mind. Your thoughts and goals would become corrupted so severely that there would be no going back. The thin line between you and a death eater would begin to fade and it won't be long before you would lose yourself completely. And in your place, would stand a death eater, the very thing that you had sought out to destroy."

"Wh-what are you trying to say?" Bill blurted out after a disconcerting silence engulfed the room.

With a grim look on Moody's face he stated. "If we leave things as the way they are, soon it won't be just Voldemort and his minions that we would have to worry about."

***B***

Harry was breathing heavily as he lay on the floor of the hidden training area of the gym, frustration clearly etched on his face. He had gone through every technique taught by Lance and measured his own performance and compared them with his past ones. He was heavily disappointed when he saw almost no change. He had hit a roadblock; it was as if the growth of his physical and magical abilities had crawled to a standstill. At the back of his mind he remembered Lance telling him that this would happen soon enough and that every witch and wizard had a potential that they can't surpass. He had already stretched his limits to the maximum as it is. Although, that fact did little to ease his helplessness.

How could he make himself stronger than he already was? How could he defeat Snape? How in the world was he going to defeat Voldemort? The painful echoes of those questions drummed inside his head, giving him a hammering headache. He so wished that Lance was here to answer his queries.

An idea suddenly hit him as he quickly rose to his feet and went to the office to retrieve the Pensieve that he had earlier hidden there. He pulled out the memories of the duels between him and Snape and began to watch them as closely as possible. He first paid attention to his own self and studied his own movements and spell work. After re-watching it four more times he came to the conclusion that he had mostly made the right moves and there was no predictability in his decisions. That being said, he did notice that he was in no control of his emotions and had wasted a lot of his magical reserve on killing curses.

He changed his focus to the enemy; Severus Snape. Snape clearly was able to foresee what Harry was planning to do next. Harry was certain that his Occlumency technique held back Snape's mental attack and was not the reason for Snape's advantage that he had over him. Even with Harry's fast apparitions, Snape was able to keep up with him with slick and efficient movements, never allowing Harry to be in his blind spot. Snape's eyes were always on Harry, following him like a hawk. Harry could see no weakness that he could take advantage of.

Grudgingly, he had to accept that Snape was far superior to him when it came to duelling. With his limited experience, Harry was certainly no match for him. His stagnant physical and magical growth was also proving to be a major deterrent.

He realized that the only way to beat Snape was to plan ahead; make strategies that could throw him off and surprise him with risky manoeuvres. He relaxed himself and began to meditate, clearing his mind first and then picturing his line of attack and letting them play out in his head.

Snape had to be defeated. Somehow.

***B***

Harry waited in the shadows for Snape to finish off the death eaters, eying his soon to be opponent with calculating eyes. As the last death eater bit the dust, Harry entered the fray and took on Snape, who seemed surprisingly prepared for Harry's onslaught. Harry tried to lead their duel away from where the death eaters were and Snape seemed to comply with Harry without a remark or delay.

They fought with such frenzy that they both were almost a haze to the naked eye. Their exchange of spells lit the trees surrounding them but the green flash of the killing curse was oddly missing. It was as if each of them wanted the other to remain alive as long as possible. It was as if Snape was evaluating Harry while Harry was testing himself against the Half Blood Prince. Snape was vicious, both with his tongue and his wand. Each taunt was followed by a barrage of hexes and curses that Harry had a hard time avoiding. If Harry was perturbed by it, he didn't show it. His focus was completely on Snape and his wand. The rest of the world didn't matter to him anymore it seemed. Even with all of his concentration and effort, he could last only a few minutes before realizing that he was going to be defeated any moment now. His magic began to flicker and the pain in his body flared up as the duel neared its conclusion. And just when Harry found himself in an impossible situation, he disapparated.

And so it began. Harry would try to respond to the Portkey as soon as possible and hope to get a chance to duel with Snape. More often than not, he would find Snape putting the final touches to the death eater before they resumed their fight from where they last left off. Sometimes it looked as if Snape was deliberately hovering around the location of the portkey in hopes to engage Harry, strange though as it may sound. As they would fight, Snape would let his tongue run wild, throwing out ridicule after ridicule, leaving no stone unturned in an attempt to insult Harry.

Harry felt as if Snape was taking out his long built up frustration on him. Harry, on his part, would do his best to remain detached, taking on Snape's stinging words and threatening hexes head on. He would try out new tactics each time they fought, taking their previous battles into consideration and learning from his mistakes. Disappointingly though, the results would remain the same. Harry usually had to force himself to escape when he had found himself cornered. Snape was soon becoming an obstacle too huge to cross.

During Harry's eight attempt in as many days, something happened that almost managed to shatter Harry's unyielding belief in regards with Snape's allegiance.

Harry was yet again feeling the pressure as Snape ploughed into him with unwavering vehemence. The frustration he felt had begun to escalate in the last couple of days and was finally beginning to take a toll on his concentration. A moment of hesitation was all it was and it cost him dearly. A strong blasting hex pushed through his defences and struck him clean on the right forearm. Harry staggered but somehow managed to regain his footing as his eyes moved to ascertain his injury. Harry couldn't stop the cry of horror that left his mouth to find his right arm in a nauseatingly mangled state.

His right arm was dislocated from his shoulder and was hanging limply by his side while his elbow was bent an impossible angle. A deep long gash ran along his bloody forearm as the red liquid literally poured along his arm and down his fingers. It was as if someone had opened the tap which was directly connected to Harry's veins as the pool of blood by his feet began to grow quickly. Harry was so shocked by the damage that he remained stunned for a while. However, when Harry finally managed to regain his bearings and made an attempt to heal his wound with the wand in his other hand, he realized it was too late. The blood loss drained whatever little strength there was left in him causing him to lose his balance and crumple to the ground with his eyes facing the sky. His breaths suddenly became laboured as Harry desperately tried to do something about his mortal injury.

"Potter!" A loud yell left Snape's throat as Harry heard a pair of feet rushing towards him. Harry's eyes widened slightly at the evident shock and concern in Snape's tone.

Snape's figure came into his vision which quickly knelt down beside him and began to work on his life threatening wound. Harry felt so weak now that all he could move were his eyes. A strange numbness had begun to spread all over his body. Death was claiming him, slowly.

However, when he noticed Snape's frantic features, he felt hope. Sweat dripped down Snape's temple and his eyes remained focused on Harry's wound, as he mouthed some healing charms he wasn't aware of. Snape didn't even bother to clean Harry's blood that had begun to stain his own cloak. Harry was so engrossed in studying Snape's face that he wasn't even aware of his shoulder and elbow snapping into place, nor did he feel the stinging pain of the magical stitching Snape was performing on his forearm.

Harry's eyelids grew heavy and began to force themselves shut. Suddenly he felt a metallic liquid being thrust down his throat. "Don't you dare die on me Potter!"

Harry forced his eyes open finding an anxious Snape looking back at him. Harry, even in his semi-conscious state, was completely baffled by Snape's countenance. He had never seen so many emotions running on the ex-Defense Professor's face. Furthermore, his most prominent expressions, anger and contempt, were surprisingly absent. With unconcealed desperation, Snape studied Harry's condition looking for a positive sign, although his expression indicated that it wasn't looking good. He had lost too much blood.

"I need more blood regenerating potion." Snape looked completely lost as he looked around as if hoping to find a vial of said potion in the forest. Snape undecidedly stood up, eying Harry with concern stamped on his face. "I will be back with more. Stay where you are." Harry would have laughed at that last comment. He was in no position to even move his finger.

"Wait…" A small throaty whisper left Harry's mouth and he feared Snape hadn't heard him. Snape frowned as he looked at Harry's face, half expecting that he had imagined him say something. "Belt…"

"What?" Snape moved towards his face bringing his ear close to Harry's mouth.

"My belt…"

Snape raised himself and after pulling back Harry's cloak, he unbuckled his belt strap and removed it from around his waist. The clinking of vials drew Snape's attention as he studied the numerous potions with- Wait! Was that a look of approval on his face or was it the light headedness that was playing tricks on Harry's eyes?

Snape quickly extracted a few vials from the belt and unceremoniously downed them in Harry's throat. And then he hungrily began to watch for any sign of improvement in Harry.

The reaction to those potions seemed instant as Harry felt the tingling sensation all over his body and the dull pain from his arm slowly began to return. Moments later, the pain suddenly flared up in his arm and shoulder as a pained cry left his throat.

"What happened Potter?" Snape enquired with worry, scanning Harry for an injury that he might have missed.

Harry clenched his teeth and pressed his eyes closed as he fought back another moan. "It's my arm." His voice was much clearer now. "It hurts…"

"Of course it would hurt Potter. Did you even notice the state your arm was in?" Snape rebuked him, almost rolling his eyes. "And here I was beginning to doubt my preconceptions regarding you and that you had finally inched forward in improving your duelling skills to barely acceptable levels, but guess what? You proved me right, again. The consistency with which you manage to remain a disappointment is truly astounding. Although, I should have seen that coming. The Potter blood which runs in your veins-" Rather than getting riled up, Harry was slightly amused by Snape's insistence on slighting him at any given chance. That being said, his body needed attention and he would rather not hear anymore of Snape's rant so he tuned him out.

Feeling the strength slowly returning to his arms, Harry slowly pushed himself off the ground, gritting himself to show no sign of weakness. Snape stopped himself as he followed Harry's attempt to rise to his feet. Thankfully though, he didn't make any attempt to support Harry whose pride had already taken a huge beating and wouldn't have been able to bear anymore of the humiliation. His head began to spin due to the sudden rush of blood into his head, nearly causing him to stumble. However, Harry did his best to maintain his balance and fought to cease the wobbling of his legs.

After two long minutes, the lasts hints of weakness had disappeared and Harry slowly looked up to meet Snape's neutral gaze. Wait! Was he waiting for Harry to thank him for saving his life? Harry felt inside himself and even then he didn't feel any gratitude towards Snape. The return of the sneer on Snape's face indicated that he wasn't expecting any and was just evaluating Harry's condition. "Make sure you drink the blood retention potions for the next three days and stay away from any strenuous activities, unless you want your frail body to succumb to its misery." Harry couldn't stop the smirk from his face causing Snape to glare at him. For some reason, Harry was finding Snape's out of character behaviour hilarious in spite of himself.

After not receiving the desired reaction, Snape disapparated but not before having his say. "Next time Potter, there will be no mercy."

***B***

Harry clenched and unclenched his right fist to get the blood flowing through his hand. The numbness was still present and the horrid scars hidden under his robes refused to disappear. He had barely made any progress in completing his Charms essay since he was finding it difficult to even hold the quill properly. All his futile struggles resulted in a few lines of barely legible scrawls. It was not that he actually cared for his studies and knew that in the end it won't be his marks that would help him against Voldemort. He was just using the physical pain while attempting to write his essay, as a distraction.

Thoughts of Snape still riddled his head. He no longer could put up any arguments explaining Snape's actions, nor could he come up with any plausible motives. The hate for Snape was seeded so deep within him that it was extremely difficult to pull out.

'Harry…' He quickly looked up from his failure of an essay and scanned the Gryffindor common room for the source of the thought in his head. His eyes stopped on Hermione who stood at the Portrait door beside an uncomfortable Ron, both of them not meeting his eyes. Her wand was inconspicuously pointed in his direction to project her thoughts in Harry's head. 'Please come to the Room of Requirement.'

Harry stayed still for a whole minute trying to figure out what they were up to. Bringing his guard up, he slowly stood up and followed the couple who began to lead him to the Room.

Once inside, Ron closed the door behind them and asked Harry to sit after taking a seat themselves.

"What is it?" Harry said with an even tone as he lowered himself into the remaining empty chair, placing his right hand on his pocket where his wand was. He didn't even try to be discreet about it. His action didn't go unnoticed by either Ron or Hermione.

Ron's face wore a hurt look. "Harry we would never…" An exasperated sigh left his mouth. "We have been worried about you, that's all." Harry's eyes swivelled to Hermione who was eying her feet, remaining strangely silent.

"What is it?" Harry repeated again, a hint of frustration entering his voice. Ron opened his mouth but didn't know what to say and threw a side glance at Hermione, nudging her shoulders.

Hermione finally looked up but was finding it difficult to meet Harry's eyes. "We-we have been trying to talk to you since…since- but you have been avoiding us."

"And whose fault is that?" Harry couldn't stop the venom from his voice. He frowned slightly at his own tone but his expression was unrepentant. Tears began to fall from Hermione's eyes as a small sob left her. Harry frowned again when he felt no sympathy for his distraught friend.

Ron looked shocked. "Harry… didn't you say earlier that she should be forgiven for what she did? I don't understand why you are still angry with her." Harry chose not to reply.

"I am so sorry Harry." Hermione said with a slightly cracked voice. "I should have apologized to you sooner but I was so ashamed of myself that-that I didn't know how I could have faced you. I don't know what came over me to make me do what I did. I would… do anything to go back in time to correct my mistakes. Please Harry-" Another sob interrupted her. "Please forgive me."

Harry looked at Hermione with calculating eyes and said sharply. "Alright. I forgive you. Now leave me alone."

"Don't take that tone with Hermione!" Ron retorted, his face reddening with anger. "You don't know how much she has been suffering."

Something snapped inside Harry's head as he let out a harsh laugh. "She has been suffering, has she now?" He said with heavy sarcasm. Ron was trembling with rage and Hermione had stopped crying and was looking at him with bewilderment.

Ron had his wand out, struggling to stop himself from raising it. "What has gotten into you Harry?" Ron forced through clenched teeth.

Harry wore an amused smile, enjoying Ron's volatile state. So this was how Snape usually felt after riling up a student. He slowly removed his own wand and imitated Ron by keeping it at his side.

"Ron! Don't!" Hermione implored from behind as Ron began to raise his wand. "Harry is doing this on purpose. He is trying to provoke you and make you do something you would regret for the rest of your life; just like how I did. He is trying to push us away. I just know it." Harry's smile diminished slightly as he shifted his gaze to Hermione. She was certainly too clever for her own good.

Ron's anger dissipated as his confused eyes bounced from Harry to Hermione. "But-"

"Let's just leave Ron. You were right. It was too early. Coming here was a mistake after all." Hermione stated, her eyes never leaving Harry's as they tried to size each other up. Ron looked undecidedly at Hermione so she added. "Maybe when we come back from the Christmas holidays, hopefully things would have cooled down. Let us just go for now."

With one last look at Harry, they left the room. Harry dropped in his chair with frustration, irked by the turn of events. Hermione's uncanny perception of his true intention was spot on. His game was entering the final stages and there were a few loose ends he had to take care of but Hermione just had to put herself in the way, unknowingly so. He had been planning to break all bonds that he had formed with his friends before he made his final move. He figured that if they hated him, his disappearance won't have much of an effect on them. He hadn't expected the vicious emotional backlash when he pushed Ginny away but he thought he had everything under control when dealing with his two 'best' friends. Although, he hadn't counted on Hermione figuring him out. Oh well.

'Harry' had served his purpose at the school and no longer was required. 'Harry' was only proving to be a hindrance to his goals. 'Harry' was not going to return to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays. 'Harry' was soon going to vanish forever.

***B***

Harry walked into the dormitory, his mind occupied with thoughts regarding his next move. A sudden flutter of wings distracted him as he noticed an unfamiliar owl sitting at the window sill. After finding the dormitory empty he figured that the owl must have something for him and approached it. There was a note attached to the owl's feet which he removed and the owl flew away instantly. He unfolded the parchment and began to read it, his eyes widening after taking in each word.

Dear Roonil Wazlib,

Head of the Red is the Mole

The Half Blood Prince

***B***

"Did Professor Hart object to our request to delay the competition?" Remus enquired with tired eyes as he sat in another one of the Order meetings.

"No he didn't." The Headmistress of Hogwarts responded, equally tired. Juggling with so many duties was running her ragged. "In fact, it was he himself who had come forward with the proposal to postpone the Battle Club to a later date, most probably in January."

"What about the Minister?" Moody asked gruffly. "I am told that he has held some interest in that club and a delay wouldn't go too well with him."

"Professor Hart has given me assurances that he would deal with him. He believes that the safety and security of the students takes the utmost priority."

"I don't like smooth talking people. Can he be trusted Minerva?" Moody questioned sceptically. His paranoia certainly had no limits.

The Headmistress shook her head before replying. "He hasn't given us any reason to think otherwise."

Moody just harrumphed and moved his attention to Kingsley who promptly began to speak. "Death eater activity has hit an all-time low. The few attempts they have made to cause chaos and disruption have failed, thanks to the Marauder. Our response teams are left with just cleaning up the mess that the Marauder leaves behind. Death toll of death eaters has crossed two hundred by now and this is excluding the other unknown hideouts that might have been taken out by the Marauder."

The meeting room was silent again, trying their best not to be impressed, in spite of what Moody had told them earlier. "The thing which worries me the most is that You-Know-Who has not retaliated in similar fashion. He is either biding his time to strike where it hurts us the most or he might be looking for our weakness that he could make use of against us." Remus informed the room with a pensive look on his face.

"I don't really think we have a weakness as such." Diggory pointed out. "Our strength in numbers and skill of each fighter far outmatches their forces. It is they who have weaknesses." He concluded confidently. However, there were a few who didn't seem to agree with him.

"Tonks? What have the DLME been up to?" Moody inquired when there was nothing more to be said on the current topic.

Tonks sat a bit straighter in her chair to give her report. "Yesterday we made a major breakthrough after arresting Borgin and sealed his shop in Knockturn Alley which had been a front for smuggling and distribution of dark artefacts but had always managed to stay under the radar. He had been evading arrest for a long time now but one of our recent surprise inspections finally caught him unprepared and we had enough evidence to charge him."

"That's great work." Mr Weasley complimented. "Have we learned anything from him yet?"

Before Tonks could open her mouth to respond the door to the meeting room flew open and Auror Sam rushed in. "I am sorry to interrupt the meeting but something has happened at Hogwarts."

The Headmistress was the first to her feet. "What happened?" She asked with growing trepidation.

"Head Auror White has been killed." Auror Sam almost yelled after taking a gulp of breath. "It was the Marauder."

If the news of the death of the Auror had shocked them, it was the identity of the killer that totally blew away their minds. Why would the Marauder do such a thing? Was Moody's intuition regarding the Marauder accurate all along? They needed more facts.

"What happened exactly?" Kingsley enquired with a calm voice.

After regaining control over his bearings, Auror Sam replied with an even voice. "One of the Aurors who was on patrol duty heard a commotion coming from the direction of Head Auror's quarters. When he approached to inspect he realized that the Head Auror was fighting someone inside. He rushed to his recue but it was too late. When he entered the quarters, he found the room to be turned upside down with almost all the furniture destroyed. In the corner, just below the large window, he found the Head Auror lay dead on the floor with the Marauder standing over him."

"What did the Auror do next?" Moody spoke in his interrogative tone.

Not meeting Moody's eyes, Auror Sam replied. "He was too shocked to do anything."

"Useless!" Moody chastised him as if he was the responsible Auror.

"Go on." Kingsley egged Auror Sam with a supportive voice.

"The Marauder told the Auror that Head Auror White had been a spy for Voldemort all along. And then he disapparated."

The unsettling silence again took hold of the meeting room, as had been usually the case when it came to the Marauder's activities.

"Could the Marauder have been right about him?" Charlie put up the question with a doubtful look.

Everyone knew the facts and all of them began to ponder on it. They realized that the Head Auror was always in the best position to deceive them and could have been responsible for everything that had happened at Hogwarts and possibly at St Mungo's as well.

"We can never know for certain. That bastard killed him before we could get a chance to properly interrogate him. We may have learned more." Moody was furious but a sudden frown of worry came over his face as he turned to meet Minerva's troubled gaze. "We may have a problem."

"What?" Mr Weasley anxiously enquired.

"I don't think Hogwarts will be able to last even till Christmas…"

***B***

A throaty groan broke the silence of the Room of Requirement as Harry lay on the mattress on the floor, one hand clutching his ribs while the other held an empty flask of Skele-Gro Potion, which he had swiped from the Infirmary. A recently healed red scar now adorned his left shoulder. Various other injures still lay unattended, hidden under his cloak. The worst had been dealt with though.

At first, Harry wasn't sure whether the information Snape provided was legitimate or not. Harry had planned to surprise the Head Auror with a Legilimency attack. However, his invisibility charm came undone due to some kind of protection ward in the Auror's quarters. Realizing that he had been made, Harry forced his way into the Auror's mind who had spotted him but was too surprised to react to Harry's unexpected mental invasion. The Auror fought desperately to push Harry out but Harry had managed to claw his way in and found some incriminating memories, proving true Snape's information.

Auror White had been an extremely difficult opponent. His movements were more nimble compared to Snape and he hardly spoke during their six minute duel to death. They went at each other with unwavering accuracy, dodging and jumping all around the room. The Auror had also managed to strike Harry with the Anti-Disapparition charm greatly stunting his mobility. As the duel neared its end, Harry found himself feeling strained as the Auror was beginning to dominate the proceedings, using his experience and skill in that small room to good use.

Harry however, got a lucky break as the Auror tripped over something and left himself open. Harry didn't waste the moment as the blinding green light left his wand and met the shocked Auror, instantly sucking out his life in the process. Harry had planned to remove the body from Hogwarts to ensure that no one could question the safety of the school. Unfortunately though, another Auror made an untimely entry causing Harry to leave in haste.

A deep concern bore is forehead. Things were not going as he planned; not that they ever did. The Hogwarts Army wasn't ready yet to be pulled apart so prematurely. They needed more time. The situation was irreversible now though. The school could close any day.

***B***

The jingling of bells indicated the end of another bizarre Defense class and Harry slowly stood up, letting everyone leave before him. He had been distracted since yesterday, fearing the worst but till now there hadn't been any news. Not surprisingly though, there had been no official announcement of the death of the Head Auror within the castle. That being said, Harry had noticed the anxious look the staff and the Aurors had on their faces during breakfast. If one had looked closely they would have realized that something was amiss. Hermione had certainly picked up on it if her worried expression was anything to go by.

"Mr Potter?" Professor Hart called out from behind him, drawing Hermione's attention momentarily before she left through the door. Harry took his time turning to face the Professor preparing himself for the unknown that was to come. Harry had initially suspected Professor Hart to be a death eater and he had actually seen him disapparate using the Dark Mark. However, his actions have been extremely inconsistent and besides his strange teaching techniques, he had been almost invisible since the preliminary rounds of the Battle Club. That being said, Harry was on high alert as he kept a safe distance from the Professor, giving him enough time to react to any unwelcomed surprises.

When the last of the students left, the Professor closed the door with his wand and casted some security spells around the class, putting Harry on edge. His fingers were only a breath away from his wand. He was ready for anything.

The Professor finally returned to his seat, finally satisfied with the many layers of protection on the room and placed his wand on the table, much to Harry's astonishment. He was quick to realize that this was just to put Harry at ease and give him the impression that it was going to be a safe discussion. Nevertheless, Harry remained vigil, his eyes following the Professor's every movement. Professor Hart began to speak with a placid tone while his expressions seemed different from his usual scorn. "Mr Potter, we both know that our stay in Hogwarts is short-lived and could end any day now." Harry's jaw slightly slackened as he realized the true underlying meaning of what the Professor had just said. His arm moved automatically, raising the wand and pointing it at the Professor, who just gave the weapon of destruction a dismissive look before meeting Harry's sharp eyes. "I had asked you to stay back to tell you… that I am on your side." The twinkle in his eyes was oddly disconcerting.

"You are a death eater." Harry spat out, his grip tightening on his wand. The smile on the Professor's face only widened, furiously clashing with his rough features. He rolled up both his sleeves to display unblemished forearms. Harry was quick to retort to that. "There are ways to hide the dark mark. It has happened before."

Harry's valid point did little to affect the Professor's expressions as he smiled even more. "You surely don't give away trust so easily, or so I have been told."

Harry's eyebrows almost met his hairline as Professor Hart echoed Lance. Lance had said the same words to him when they first met, telling him that it was Dumbledore that had actually told him. "Who told you that?" Harry asked harshly, threatening him with his wand although he knew that seemed to have no effect on the mysterious person before him. He just kept smiling, enjoying Harry's conundrum.

Ignoring Harry's question, the Professor went on. "If in future, you find me standing before you, try and not kill me before hearing me out. I may have something important to share with you." Harry couldn't respond, his tongue was all tied up. "That is all I had to say. You may leave." Saying which, the Professor moved his attention to the parchments on the table and began correcting and marking the essays, as if Harry wasn't even present, with a wand pointed at him. Harry just stood there, grinding his teeth, staring hard into the Professor's head. Nope. Couldn't even put a dent to his mental shield.

His inability to figure out where the Professor's allegiance existed was unsettling. And the way in which he had been dismissed, as if he was just a harmless and innocent student was extremely irritating, to say it mildly. Harry had a good mind to blast the Professor with his painful worst but he knew it wouldn't do him any good. There was still enough doubt hanging in the air regarding the Professor. After a moment of hesitation he left, ensuring to not let his back exposed. He stood outside the door, trying to regroup his thoughts and try to answer the questions swimming in his head.

How did the Professor figure out his other identity and why now? Was it just a coincidence that both Snape and Professor Hart had come to know of his other self almost in the same span of time? Was there any possible connection between them that he was not aware of? Did he really have any reason to trust the Professor since now he knew the truth?

Even if the Professor could not be trusted, Harry knew that he wouldn't have been able to do much about it anyway. It was highly probable that the Professor was much stronger than Snape himself and Harry's attempts to end him would only result in failure. However, could he really risk letting his identity being revealed to Voldemort? All his attempts to keep his friends away from the personal feud he had with Voldemort would be in vain.

"You needn't concern yourself. Your secret is safe with me." Harry heard an amused voice coming from inside the door, surprising Harry. Harry's jaw hardened slightly as he stared at the door before finally deciding that it was futile to remain here any longer. If the Professor was indeed a death eater, the damage was already done and his identity would have already been circulated among the death eaters by now. For the moment, he would let the Professor believe that he trusted him.

His legs automatically carried him towards the Great Hall while his mind was trying to figure out the worst case scenarios. His train of thoughts were interrupted when an owl almost mauled him in an attempt to get his attention. After a more careful observation, Harry noticed that it was a Ministry owl and a note had been tied on its leg. It had to be his Ministry informer.

Harry quickly unfolded the parchment and read through the hastily scribbled note for him. Harry let out a deep sigh of frustration as he read the first part. That was to be expected but it was going to happen much sooner that he had foreseen. However, his frustration morphed into utter shock when he read the second half of the note.

A voice inside Harry's head, which seemed to sound disturbingly similar to Snape, mocked him. Didn't see that coming, did you Potter?

***B***

As Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table, she again scanned the faces of the unnerved staff as they spoke with hushed voices trying not to meet the students' curious gaze. There seemed to have been no change in their behaviour and it actually seemed to have worsened. She knew something was up; something bad. Ron however looked oblivious and began digging into his food causing Hermione draw away her gaze. Her eyes suddenly met Malfoy's who seemed to have been watching her for some strange reason. Having caught in the act, he quickly withdrew his eyes and focused on his lunch. Hermione frowned with unease as she tried to understand his actions when suddenly the doors to the Great Hall flew open and Minister Scrimgeour, along with a small army of Aurors entered the Great Hall.

The clattering of the spoons ceased and the whispers subsided as the uninvited guest marched himself up to the podium and stood facing the hall, while the Aurors surrounded him, taking defensive positions. Hermione also noticed a few Aurors guarding the exits and some of them had inconspicuously positioned themselves near the Slytherin table. The Aurors' guarded movements, more so their huge numbers astonished Hermione. What was the Minister up to?

The Minister began speaking, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. "I have come bearing bad news." He began with a dejected look to his face while the hall maintained the pin drop silence. "Hogwarts had always been the most protected school in our country and breaching its security had been near impossible in the past. However, as of late, incidents have happened that had put each and every one of your lives in danger. As a matter of fact, and something you may have not been aware of, yesterday Head Auror White had been murdered in cold blood within these castle walls itself." The furious whispers prevented him to say any further and he waited patiently till the silence returned. "It's very sad that the war which had been raging outside has finally managed to endanger the school itself. After a long and heated debate, the Hogwarts Board of Governors and the Ministry have finally concluded that it is no longer safe for the students to remain at Hogwarts any longer." He paused and took a deep breath before making the announcement. "With a heavy heart, I would like to inform you all that today would be the last day of this term and tomorrow you all would depart using the Hogwarts Express. This is-" The rest of whatever he was going to say got drowned by the cacophony the students began to make, most making sure to voice their loudest in protest. They screamed and yelled, pointed fingers but they all knew… the Minister hadn't come all the way here just to return empty handed.

The Minister looked almost mockingly as he waited for the rebellion to die out. After two minutes, when finally the students were out of breath, the Minister resumed, his face hardening slightly. "I have another sad and shocking news for you all." He paused to give effect, receiving their undivided attention. The Aurors near the Slytherin table moved ever so slightly, their movement going unnoticed. "It has recently been brought to my notice that one of our own student had plotted against this school, greatly endangering its safety, resulting in the death of the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and injuring countless students caught in the crossfire… Apprehend him!" He ordered loudly, pointing his finger at the end of the Slytherin table.

All eyes followed the finger to find a scene that shook everyone. Eight Aurors stood in a battle stance, their wands trained on a Slytherin student who had gone completely white as he slowly raised himself to his feet; Draco Malfoy. Hermione could see Malfoy looking at the Gryffindor table with frantic eyes but whatever he was looking for was not there. It had to be Harry.

One of the Auror spoke, his voice loud enough to be heard around the Hall. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, you have been charged with assisting death eaters to infiltrate Hogwarts with intentions to murder Albus Percival Dumbledore. You have also been charged with attempt to kill the Headmaster with various dark items that you had illegally obtained from Borgin and Burkes. You will be hereby detained and held in custody of the DLME till your hearing. Any attempt to resist will force us to subdue you and your safety will not be guaranteed under such circumstances. Draco Lucius Malfoy, you are under arrest."