Saying Hello to Goodbye
"Harry, do something. Go get help!" Hermione plead through her tears.
He ran from the room, Ron at his heels.
She dropped to her knees and cradled the Potion Master's head in her lap, all the while applying pressure to his neck wound that was currently gushing blood. He was growing paler by the second.
"He'll be right back, sir," she whimpered.
"Hermione?" he gasped.
"Yes, sir, it's me! Hermione Granger."
"Come closer, Hermione. Please."
She conjured a pillow, resting his head upon it. Her hand immediately travelled to his neck, failing to stop the constant flow of blood. She leaned over him, now, desperate to hear what he was trying to say.
"I'm s-sorry, Hermione. I know I've given you h-hell these past few years and I'm so sorry."
"Sir?" she whispered.
"I had to make it seem like I hated you so-" he trailed off, gasping for breath.
She pressed an ear to his chest. A heartbeat was there, though only just.
"S-so you wouldn't know that I c-cared for you. You've changed so much, H-Hermione. But you're still that same insufferable know-it-all."
He smiled then. It was the most amazing thing Hermione had ever seen. It lit up his face beautifully.
He winced in pain, the smile disappearing just as soon as it had come. She wondered if it had even been there at all.
"Sir-"
"Call me, Severus, Hermione. P-please, just call me Severus."
"Severus, I need to go find you some help."
"No!" he half-screamed. "Please don't leave me. I want to spend my last few moments with you."
Tears silently slid down her cheeks.
"Don't cry. You're too beautiful to cry."
She managed a laugh through her tears.
"I've wanted to tell you for so long now, Hermione that I..." his voice trailed off.
Her eyes searched his desperately, pleading for him to go on.
"That I love you. I've always loved you...and I always will."
He gasped for breath once more, and then fell still.
"Severus? Severus, no. Please, God, no! Come back! No, come back!"
Silence.
She broke into tears, crying hysterically over his body that was now growing colder with each passing second.
After what seemed like hours, she finally composed herself. She found herself to be alone with him, her friends nowhere in sight.
She forced herself to sit up, searching blindly for her wand. Finding it, she conjured a blanket, which she placed gently over his body. Upon seeing his lifeless black eyes, she once more began to cry. She impatiently wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She took a deep breath, forcing her hands to stop shaking.
After she'd gotten herself under control once again, she gently closed his eyes.
"He could be sleeping", she thought to herself.
"Sleep well, Professor Snape," she whispered.
"I'll see you soon."