"Sectumsempra!" A familiar voice rang out from beyond the crackling ring of fire.
The moment they heard it, the faces of the group behind the water curtain visibly relaxed.
Even the Weasley twins—who normally despised Snape—found the sound of him casting the spell nothing short of heavenly.
"George, lend me a hand," came Kyle's faint, weakened voice.
George didn't understand, but seeing Kyle raise his palm, he mimicked the gesture and lifted his own arm.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!" Kyle's palm slammed against George's. In an instant, George felt his magical energy being drained in a relentless torrent.
The water barrier encircling the four of them suddenly swelled, transforming into a raging flood that surged outward, crashing against the fiery wall.
The roaring flames, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water, struggled helplessly before being extinguished. Thick clouds of steam billowed through the Forbidden Forest.
In the dim light, Kyle spotted a dark figure standing nearby—and scattered around him, a gruesome pile of headless bodies.
Werewolf corpses.
"Professor Snape! Never been happier to see you!" Hagrid's face was taut with relief.
George and Fred let out identical sighs of deliverance. "We're saved!"
"You all right?" Snape's expression remained his usual corpse-like mask, but Kyle caught a faint trace of concern in his otherwise flat tone.
His gaze locked onto Kyle's right hand, which was tucked behind his back.
Snape seized Kyle's arm. Under the light of the Lumos spell, he examined the injury—and his pupils contracted sharply.
A wound like that would have broken most adults, let alone an eleven-year-old boy. Yet Kyle had endured it without flinching.
After magically cleaning away the melted, fused rubber clinging to Kyle's skin, Snape pulled a vial of potion from his robes and poured it over the boy's severely burned right hand.
The searing heat vanished, replaced by the cool relief of being submerged in ice water.
The angry red of the burns faded rapidly. The blackened, charred areas scabbed over in seconds. The entire arm healed at an astonishing rate.
In the blink of an eye, Kyle's hand was nearly good as new.
Not fully restored, but more than functional.
Kyle raised an eyebrow. That potion is incredible. A sudden urge struck him—to learn potion-making from Snape.
If there were potions to strengthen the body… if he could make himself resilient enough to withstand lightning…
Or better yet—a potion that granted immunity to electricity…
If the timing and setting weren't so wrong, Kyle would've slid across the ground on his knees and begged: Professor! Teach me potions!
"Let's go," Snape said, turning toward the edge of the forest after finishing the initial treatment. "There may still be others nearby…"
A sudden red beam sliced through the air, striking Snape with blinding speed and sending him flying.
His wand spun out of his hand, twirling through the air before vanishing into the darkness.
Before anyone could react, more beams shot from the shadows, hitting each of them in turn.
Kyle, who had let his guard down while Snape treated him, failed to dodge the surprise attack. He was blasted backward, slamming hard into a tree. His vision swam. When it cleared, he found himself bound by magical ropes.
George and Fred were in the same predicament—tied up alongside him.
Hagrid lay unconscious on the ground nearby, his chest still rising and falling. Alive, at least.
"Severus… I've waited so long for this day." A stranger's voice drifted from the darkness.
A tall, black-haired wizard stepped forward, a faint smile playing on his lips, though his eyes were cold as glacial ice.
"Professor Tom?" Fred blurted out, recognizing the attacker.
"Professor?" Kyle echoed, confused.
George leaned in and whispered, "He's our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Kyle didn't care what the man taught. Right now, he was the enemy. Escaping was priority one.
"Fred," Kyle said, shifting his body to angle his ninja pouch toward him. "There's a knife in my pouch."
Tom Hiddleston emerged fully from the shadows, a vengeful glee on his face as he advanced on Snape. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"
Snape, disarmed and calm, replied evenly, "You lured the werewolves here. Why?"
"Of course. For revenge." Tom's wand tip glowed a sickly green. "Have you forgotten who you are?"
"Former Death Eater… Severus Snape?"
At the sight of the light, Snape remained unfazed. "Don't hurt them."
"I have no intention of killing them. Just you. Oh—and Bellatrix Lestrange. I'll be paying her a visit in Azkaban soon enough."
Hearing this, Snape closed his eyes in quiet acceptance, ready to meet his end.
"Lily… I'll see you again at last." A single tear slipped from the corner of his eye, tracing a shimmering path down his cheek.
But the expected green light never came.
Snape opened his eyes slowly—only to see Tom lunge forward, seizing him by the robes and snarling like a madman.
"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!" Tom Hiddleston roared, voice cracking with hysteria. "WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!"
Snape, choking under the grip, managed to rasp, "Because it's the name of the woman I loved most."
Tom's hands went slack. He stepped back, defeated. "It's the name of the woman I loved most."
Snape collapsed to the ground, propping himself up on his elbows. He glanced toward Kyle and the others. "Before you kill me… will you let me die knowing the truth?"
"For Lily's sake, I'll tell you why." Tom retrieved his wand from where he'd thrown it.
By now, Fred had quietly slipped a dagger from Kyle's pouch without alerting Tom.
"Do you remember the Hemsworth family?" Tom's face twisted with pain. "Murdered by you and Bellatrix thirteen years ago?"
Fred sliced through the ropes binding Kyle's wrists.
"The woman I loved… Lily Hemsworth…" Tom's voice trembled with sorrow. "I'd finally worked up the courage to confess to her…"
Kyle rose silently, creeping up behind Tom.
George and Fred, now free, held their breath.
"Do you know what it felt like… to arrive at her house and see the Dark Mark floating above it?"
Snape's eyelids flickered almost imperceptibly. His gaze grew distant, lost in memory.
"I watched you and Bellatrix leave her home with my own eyes…" Tom's anguish gave way to triumphant malice. "And now, one of her killers will finally pay…"
Kyle formed the Tiger hand seal. A faint spark of electricity danced between his fingers.
"After I kill you, I'll go to Azkaban. One more to go…" Tom's expression froze.
Two fingers jabbed swiftly and precisely into his body.
Snape, George, and Fred all winced in unison.
Kyle's face twisted into a sadistic, gleeful grin as he shouted from behind:
"Lightning Release: Millennium Kill!"
————
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