With You Gone

Chapter 1-Battle for Hogwarts

Her heart beat fast. Where was he? "Severus?" she cried out hesitantly. A flash of green focused her attention onto two bodies; one with a malicious grin on his face, and the other on the ground. Oh god, Severus. "You beast!" she flung a hex at Voldemort. Her teeth bared she sent the killing curse strait at him.

He deflected it with his wand. His laugh sent shivers through her body. "Dear, now now. Ms. Granger I believe? Yes, you're that smart mudblood the Malfoy boy was talking about," He gestured to Snape. "I'm guessing you cared for old Severus. Pity he couldn't stay longer. But I'm afraid his defiance to me was simply... intolerable."

He laughed and waved his wand swiftly, disappearing into the cold night. Hermione's rage was peaking and she rushed to Snape's side. "I'm so sorry love, I'm sorry I let him kill you." her tears spilled down her pink cheeks. Harry appeared blood stained next to her. He looked down at the lifeless body of Severus Snape. "I'm sorry, Hermione." was all he could get out. She nodded, standing up. "You go get Pomfrey. I have a battle to win." He touched his scar lightly and then ran towards the front entrance.

Hermione scooped up her lovers limp corpse and wove in and out of the many wizards and witches that were fighting for their lives against the Death Eaters take over of the school. They barely glimpsed at Snape as they passed; he was nothing right now.

The hospital wing was full of moaning wizards that were cut up and bleeding. Pomfrey gasped as she saw Snape in Hermione's hands, and immediately took him to a bed. When she felt his pulse she gasped again. "You should have said-," Hermione's teared up face stopped her. "I'm sorry dear. If you wish to stay here with him that's fine, but there are many others out there you could save instead."

She should know better than to stay there sobbing over Snape's body but it was so hard to believe that he was gone. She looked at his face, and gently wiped his hair back from his eyes. I'll be okay, she thought. I can write a book about him if I wish. Her attempt at humor in this situation failed to make her happy. Pomfrey was right, she had to go out there and save any other lives she could. She ran out of the hospital wing and to the front entrance where everyone seemed to be streaming to.

She shot a curse at Dolohov which left him writhing in pain. Gibbon passed her smiling, whispering a few words under his breath. The killing curse flew by almost hitting Remus but instead, knocked Gibbon down. His eye color faded and his mouth dropped. "Remus, are you okay?" she yelled to Lupin over the roar of spells being cast.

He nodded quickly, sending his own curse at Fenrir Greyback. It missed, and the two danced around an imaginary circle with their wands out. Hermione sent a spell flying at Greyback and he grabbed his bleeding nose. Remus took that chance to send the killing curse at him. Why couldn't she fall in love with Remus? It would be just the same, that's why. "Be safe!" she yelled to him.

He grabbed her wrist. "Hermione, is it true? Did Severus really die?" her eyes clouded with tears again and she nodded. He released his grip on her. "Then you be safe too." She slipped away out into the night to find a fierce battle between Harry and Voldemort. "No. I can't lose Harry too." she choked. Her wand at the ready, she hid behind a bush.

"This is for all that you did. Avada Kedavra." It was slow motion to her. Voldemort turned and his eyes widened and then it was over. He was gone. Cheers erupted from around the school as death eaters fled, but Hermione was lost at words. Harry saw her and ran over. "How the heck did you do that?! Hermione, that was brilliant!" She sat on the ground.

She knew this was a moment for celebration; the man who killed so many was dead. What was with her? Severus. Severus is gone. Her mind whispered to her. Harry pulled her up and walked her to the great hall. Hundreds of people grave her their thanks and congratulations, but she wasn't listening. In the hall, there were the bodies of the dead.

Snape wasn't there because Hermione had taken him to the hospital wing. But there was somebody else there, in the wakes of the gruesome deaths. Tonks was there with her eyes closed on top of one of Hermione's school mates. Remus was trying to hold back tears she noticed and she wanted nothing more than to puke herself. She walked over to him placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Remus, let's go. She'll be okay. We''l have a funeral. One with lots of crazy things, that's what Tonks would have liked." Lupin looked up at her teary eyed, and she noticed just how old he really was. The lines in his face were stretched out and his hair was turning quite gray. He turned away from his wife's body and looked at Hermione. "I could have saved her. I was right there and that bastard hit her square in the chest! I could have stopped him!" he shouted at her.

"Just like I could have saved Severus. Remus, get over it, she's dead. We can't do anything about it so stop sobbing and let's go! She's not the only one that died!" He looked at her surprisingly, and she instantly felt ashamed. Remus would never say that to her, so why should she say it to him? "I'm sorry Remus." She grabbed his hand and appariated to the burrow. The spell on the castle had broken when the death eaters got in, so she was able to do this.

"Hermione, we should have stayed to help." he whispered. "I don't want to be there right now! Right now I think I'm going to go sit in a comfortable arm chair and read so I can get my mind off of the fact that I just killed Voldemort and the man I loved died!" he grabbed her shoulders and kept her still. "Don't tell me that you're going to drown in your sorrows when you just told me not to." she choked on her tears and buried her face in Remus's chest.

"I'm so sorry, Remus. She was a great person, and you were lucky to have her." He kissed her head. "As were you lucky to have Severus. Now go read, Molly won't be home for some time since she has a million people to make sure are okay." Hermione grabbed Moste Potente Potions from a bookshelf and sat herself down in a plaid armchair."Remus, will you sit with me?" He smiled and squeezed next to her. She let him read over her shoulder for once, even though she hated it usually. After a few paragraphs she found herself putting the book down and resting on Remus's chest. His shirt smelled a lot like Snape's. Severus I miss you.

Her mind wafted through the night's events and finally rested on the last time she saw Snape. It was in that dim room where he had pulled her aside to tell her the castle was being taken by Voldemort. He had taken her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips for which would be the last time. When he pulled away from her, he put on his unconcerned, potions mocking tone. "Now, Hermione I expect you to do the best you can possibly do with that brain of yours. If you are to fail I will only give you a Acceptable in the class." then he became the Snape she knew him to be; the sweet, kind man he really was.

"Please be safe love. I'll be looking for Voldemort and will ultimately kill him in the end. Keep Potter safe, and remember, I love you." he walked swiftly out of the room with his billowing cloak trailing behind him. How he never tripped on that thing astonished her right out.

To think that that would be the last time she would ever see him alive was death in a different way. You touched me in more ways than you can imagine. A book would defiantly need to be written about him. One filled with sarcastic comments just for him. Maybe I can add in the one about the time he met a pipsqueak and he told him that he was the utmost into writing romance novels. The poor man looked so happy until Snape told him to piss off. She hadn't stopped laughing that day, and she wished Snape was here to make her.