A/N Many thanks to Vaughn, who beta-ed the first two chapters (though she may not recognize them now), and to WriterMerrin who picked up the beta hat and makes sure I make sense. :)
This is DH compliant but is not Epilogue compliant.
CHAPTER ONE—Gambling
"He was fiercely possessive, gloated over every new arrival, and demanded a head-count from Charon at the close of each day. Never did he allow any of his subjects to escape. Nor did he allow a mortal to visit Tartarus, and return. There were only two exceptions to this rule, and those are other stories."
-"The Greek Gods," Evslin, Evslin and Hoopes
Hermione knelt on the floor of the Shrieking Shack as if she were before a sacred altar. Instead of a deity or a shrine, she was in fact gazing upon the pale corpse of Severus Snape. A pool of viscous blood surrounded him, shining black in the moonlight.
Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, 'Mione, let's go."
She shrugged his hand away. "Don't, Ron."
"This is getting scary. Let's go."
"We have to take his body back."
Ron looked at her incredulously, "What? You've gone mad."
"We have to. It's only right."
Harry had declared Snape's innocence and true alliance to the survivors of the war. It had caught many off guard, and some were still finding it difficult to let go of their suspicions. However, Snape was easily forgiven dead, and as a martyr. Harry had only shown Snape's memories to Ron and Hermione. Hermione had run from the room, sick, with Ron following close behind.
"He should be buried with all the others."
Ron rubbed his arms, looking around nervously. "Can't we get someone else to do it? Can't it wait 'til morning?"
"You're such a coward, Ron!"
He looked at her indignantly. "Well do you want to touch him?"
He saw her waver, uncertainty written all over her face. Ron nodded triumphantly.
"See? Even you don't want to do it, and you're the one who's so keen on this notion anyway. Come on 'Mione. If you can bring him back up to the castle, I'll help you, but if not, then let's just go."
Hermione looked at the still body, trembling. She reached into her robes for her wand and breathed deeply through her nose. Mobilicorpus. Mobilicorpus. Mobilicorpus… The incantation was on the tip of her tongue, but her throat was closed up and she couldn't find her voice. Ron watched her expectantly, and she noticed her hand was beginning to shake.
"Someone will get him in the morning, 'Mione, I'm sure."
Her nerve shattered, and she backpedaled away from the corpse, tripping over her legs. She grabbed Ron's proffered arm, quickly hauled herself to her feet and ran out of the Shack. She was still shaking beside the Whomping Willow when Ron caught up with her and laid a protective arm around her shoulders.
"Come on, let's go back up."
"Don't touch me."
Hermione threw his arm off of her, ignoring the hurt look in his eyes. She suddenly found all thought of human contact hateful. The cheerful noises of celebration from the castle, faint, but persistent, grated at her ears. Hermione didn't want to go back to the ruins of Hogwarts where people were reveling in their victory. She could almost feel the smothering of bodies pressing in against her.
"Hermione, what's wrong with you?"
Hermione backed away from him, her wand out and pointed at him. He looked frightened and didn't make a move towards her. She especially couldn't stomach his touch tonight.
"Just go. Go, Ron. I want to be alone."
Hermione hugged her arms and began to trudge across the school grounds. She heard Ron's lumbering footsteps behind her and whipped her head around with such a fierce look that he froze on the spot. Reassured he wouldn't follow her, she continued on her way again. He let her go.
Hermione walked blindly for several minutes, numbly watching grass and dirt roll by under her feet. She was forced to stop and look up when she felt something scratch her face. Hermione brushed away the sharp twig and realized she was standing at the boundary of the Forbidden Forest. It inspired no fear for her; she pushed onwards.
The actions of picking her way through foliage and gnarled branches were soothing in their monotonous repetition, and Hermione found herself calming down as she walked deeper and deeper into the heart of the forest. She was left undisturbed, and she almost forgot there were wild, magical creatures that lived in the forest. Only once was the tranquility broken by the sound of centaur hooves drumming against the leafy floor.
"Oof!"
Hermione tripped, falling to the forest floor and skinning the heels of her hands. She looked behind her to see what she had fallen over and shrieked.
It was a body.
Hermione scrambled away from the body, grasping frantically for a branch to pull herself up with. When she had calmed down from her initial fright, she realized it was the body of a Death Eater. The man lay still, his hands contorted in gestures of pain.
Looking around, she realized the forest was in tumult here: branches were snapped off from trees, dead leaves and dirt kicked up on the ground, and general signs of chaos. Hermione realized this clearing must have been the grounds for the final battle between Harry and Voldemort. She made her way cautiously around, as if afraid that any sudden movements would resurrect an evil being.
She saw a few wands scattered about on the forest floor and ripped pieces of cloth stuck to pointed branches. Curious about the wands, Hermione crouched to the floor and pushed aside the dead leaves and debris, hoping to see one of the abandoned wands in its entirety. As she brushed away some of the dirt, her fingers skimmed across something smooth and polished. Intrigued, Hermione dug around and saw a glimmer of black and an engraved vertex.
Her breathing quickened.
Reverently, Hermione teased up the object from the packed dirt and, having freed it, let it rest in the palm of her hand. Although it had some dirt caked on it, it was still recognizable. The Resurrection Stone.
Hermione's hand shook with the temptation to turn it three times. She curled her hand into a fist instead, so she wouldn't give in. Clutching it to her chest, Hermione walked away from the battleground, thinking of making her way out of the forest, and taking the stone back up to Hogwarts. However, with every step she took, Hermione felt her eyelids grow heavier and heavier. Soon she found herself leaning against a tree and then curling up at its base among its roots and falling asleep.
The Stone was still clutched tightly in one hand.
Hermione opened her eyes, and at first was not sure she had succeeded in waking or if she were in a dream.
Hermione turned on the spot, looking left, right, up and down. She was surrounded by blankness, an indomitable white and absence of form. It was hard to tell that she was standing, or that there were directions, when there was truly nothing where she was. Hermione looked around hopelessly; she didn't understand… and yet, she knew perfectly well where she was,
You weren't supposed to come with that stone.
The sound came from nowhere and everywhere, resounding from the nothingness around her and echoing inside of her chest.
Leave it behind when you leave. You will be able to leave.
Hermione's hand clenched over the Resurrection Stone. For some reason, every fiber of her being was telling her do not let go, do not let go…
No? Why won't you leave it behind? Why aren't you leaving?
Hermione looked around her, licking her lips nervously.
"I can't."
Can't?
"Won't. Not empty-handed."
She could feel it, whatever it was, pondering. The blankness around her seemed to shift, as if a figure were stirring the white mist. She clutched the stone to her chest, daring to peek at it through her fingers.
Very well, you'll have one favour granted you in return for the stone, and then you will leave.
Hermione's mouth went dry. This was it. This was why she had held onto the stone. She needed to do this right. She had to do this correctly.
"O-okay."
What will you ask for?
"I… "
Hermione squeezed her mouth and her eyes shut, thinking hard. She had to do this properly; if she revealed too much, then all would be ruined. She had to show her cards one by one, revealing her trump at the end. Otherwise, she would leave with nothing, or worse yet, she could be stuck in the blankness.
"I wish to be able to repay all my debts."
It was almost as if the white mists chuckled.
Very well then, though everything you require, you already possess within your own resourcefulness.
"Is it granted? Will you grant it?"
Yes, you will be able to repay all your debts.
"Then you have to bring Severus Snape back to life."
Everything stilled. Hermione almost wanted to cry out in shock at how static everything became, and how bold she had been. This had to work, this had to work…
That is impossible.
"Why?"
Hermione clutched the stone harder, afraid invisible hands would try to take it by force.
He has been avoiding his own imminent end for far too long. He is long overdue for collection.
"But then, you'll go back on your word, your favour."
Everything was silent. Praying she was doing the right thing, Hermione pressed on.
"I owe him. I owe him a life debt. I can't repay him unless he's alive."
A life debt.
"It's a binding magical contract! When one wizard saves another's life, then the other—"
Spare the details. You have been very sly, but very clever. Leave the stone behind. Go back to the waking world. Your favour is kept.
Hermione stood for a moment in shock, she couldn't believe her ploy had worked, and in a daze, she dropped the stone from her hand. It fell, cutting through the blank white like an obsidian knife, and Hermione could not see to which depths it had fallen. She found the mists thickening around her, blackening, and her heart seized in terror.
But then her eyes opened, and she hit her head against the trunk of the tree, jerking it back in surprise. Groaning, Hermione felt the back of her head and the ridges of tree bark. She looked at her hands and saw the stone was gone. Morning's light peeked in through the treetops and bathed her in soft light.
A thrilling cocktail of triumph and terror sent an electric frisson through her and she leapt to her feet. She had to go back! She had to go and see!
Hermione tore through the trees, ignoring the branches whipping in her face, and frantically trying to find her way out.
TBC
