FIRECRACKER - hjp

SEVERUS

Severus Snape had always hated the Hogwarts astronomy tower.

Not because it was tall or cold or unnecessarily dramatic, but because it carried ghosts. More than most places in the castle, this one was heavy with memory. With things unsaid. With decisions made in the dark.

This, after all, had been where Severus had "watched" a boy cast the Killing Curse at a man who couldn't die.

It had been almost poetic. Almost.

He adjusted his robes as the evening wind bit across the parapet. Dumbledore stood at the edge of the platform, peering out over the Black Lake. His beard fluttered faintly. He looked like a man at peace.

Snape hated that expression. It meant Albus was about to say something maddening.

"You've been quiet," Dumbledore said at last, voice carried softly by the wind.

Snape didn't answer.

He waited.

Dumbledore turned, finally, his hands clasped behind his back. "Nagini and Harry."

Snape closed his eyes. Here it was.

"The last two."

Snape's jaw clenched. "I know."

"They must face each other."

"I know."

The older man's eyes twinkled faintly. "We've bought them time."

Snape scowled. "You bought them time by faking your death, staging a murder, and putting a child in front of the Dark Lord."

"I didn't put Draco anywhere. He walked there himself."

Snape's voice turned sharper. "He was forced to."

Dumbledore's gaze softened. "And now we protect him. As we must protect them all."

Snape looked away, shoulders tense. "Voldemort believes Draco is the Elder Wand's master."

"Yes."

"Which means the moment the boy steps even slightly out of line. He becomes a target."

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed again. "But he is just a boy. So we let him enjoy the last of it."

Snape exhaled through his nose, impatient now.

"He's not just a boy," he said eventually. "He's mine."

Dumbledore said nothing.

Snape stared down at the stone, his voice quieter now. "Narcissa entrusted him to me. Lucius barely trusts anyone, and yet he lets me near his son. Because they know I would burn this world before letting Draco fall."

He looked up again.

"I hope you remember that when the time comes."

"I will," Dumbledore said softly.

There was a silence then, long and full.

Until Dumbledore murmured, "And Harry?"

Snape's lips curled. "The Chosen One."

Dumbledore stepped closer. "He has to die, Severus."

"I know."

"You must be the one to tell him. When the time is right."

"I've already played executioner once this year. Must I do it again?"

"You must tell him he is the final piece. The final Horcrux."