Midnight Protector | Harry Potter FanFiction

TWELVE

Severus Snape grabbed his newly broken, bleeding nose as he slowly sank to the ground. Fury rushed through him, overpowering any sense of pain. Snape furiously scrambled to pull out his wand with his free hand only to stop when he looked up to see a wand and sai already aimed at his head. Looking past the weapons, Snape noticed the hate-filled look in Harry Potter's emerald eyes. There was a fire in Harry's eyes that Snape couldn't remember ever seeing before along with a presence that made it clear that any sort of movement was a bad idea.

Harry took a step closer but remained far enough away to react in the chance that Snape did something stupid. "Give me a reason, Snape," he growled, "I dare you." Snape's eyes narrowed but that was the only movement he made. "Let's get make something clear, I'm only here as a last resort. If I had my way, you'd be dead, rotting like the piece of scum that you are. Professor Dumbledore may have trusted you but I don't. You are nothing more than a conniving, bitter git who can't let go of the past."

Snape sneered as he rose to his feet, stumbling slightly. Shock and anger poured off of him in nearly visible waves. "I see you are still an impudent brat that believes he has all the answers," he snapped back.

Harry's tightened his grip on his wand as his eyes narrowed. "Don't tempt me, Snape," he said slowly. "I could do anything I wanted and no one would care. No one would miss you. As far as the Ministry is concerned, it's just one less Death Eater they have to worry about."

Snape wisely remained silent and Harry knew why. No matter what Dumbledore had believed about Snape's motives, his actions during the Hogsmeade battle forced many in the wizarding world to believe that he was indeed faithful to Voldemort. No one in the Ministry cared about his supposed spy status with Dumbledore. To them, Snape wasn't a spy for them so he wasn't a spy at all.

"Let's make one thing clear," Harry continued as placed his sai back on his belt, allowing it to automatically shrink. "The only reason you're still alive is because Sirius doesn't know of your 'mistake' yet and I haven't forgotten about it. The moment this war is over, you have a lot to atone for." Without waiting for Snape to reply, Harry put his earpiece back in his ear only to wince at Sirius' loud voice ringing in his head.

"Harry! What's going on?!?"

"Nothing," Harry answered, his eyes never leaving Snape. "Is everything still clear?"

"For now," Kingsley answered, "but the longer we're here the greater the risk we take. Get the information quickly, Harry."

"Understood," Harry confirmed. "Start talking, Snape, and it better be good."

Snape sneered bitterly as resentment seemed to swirl around him. "I do not take orders from you, Potter," he spat. "You need my help, not the other way around. If I'm not mistaken, you need the Dark Lord's location in order to continue your war. I can provide it but I want something in return."

Harry rolled his eyes, not surprised in the least. Snape was a Slytherin, looking out for his own best interest first and foremost because the one person that had looked out for him was no longer around. Just like Malfoy had no one to look out for him.

"That slimy git!" Sirius barked over the earpiece. "That's it! I'm coming in, Harry! I don't care what we agreed on. After everything he's pulled, he thinks he's in a position to demand anything!"

"Sirius!" Remus scolded. "Let's hear him out! Just because he asks for something doesn't mean we have to give it to him."

Harry enfolded his arms across his chest, staring at Snape with a raised eyebrow. Remus had a good point but that didn't make the situation any easier. Standing in the same room with Snape was difficult enough but allowing Snape to lay out demands was another story. Harry just wanted to hex the man and be done with it all. "Start talking," he said through his teeth.