Greetings! You all have probably thought I have fallen off the face of the planet, but I assure you I have not. I have just been quite busy in the transition from schooling to the real life.
Anyway, here is my newest story. It is complete and I'll be posting roughly once a week or however fast I can edit the next chapter. I'm already working on several other works, but they're pretty slow going, so please be patient with me as I work to finish them.
I hope you enjoy and as always, nothing in the Harry Potter universe belongs to me.
…
It was an accident. A stupid little potions accident. One that shouldn't have happened with someone so skilled in potions. But it seemed like accidents occurred often in his life. He had been accidentally born in his parents' ridiculous marriage. He had accidentally called Lily that foul name. He had stood by while his father accidentally murdered his mother. His relationship with his wife had been an accident. They shouldn't have fallen in love. They had trespassed in that forbidden taboo: a professor falling in love with a student. But they had, indeed, fallen in love.
Hermione would say it wasn't so bad. She had already graduated from Hogwarts when their relationship started. They were both equal parts of the wizarding society, however, that still didn't stop the 'wagging tongues'. Both of their names were smeared across every magical newspaper and magazine. Even by the time they had gotten married three years after their relationship began they were still being written about. The press finally moved on a couple years after their wedding. Hermione and Severus tried to keep out of the spotlight as much as possible. They were mentioned every once in a while due to their research, but that was the extent of it.
Severus had just began to think his life was finally straightening out—no more accidents. Then the biggest one of all happened. It was a normal day, just like any other. Severus had escaped to his lab in the dungeons while he waited for Hermione to finish teaching her evening classes. They had made plans to have dinner in their quarters for a change; Severus could only handle the annoying little dunderheads for a limited time. He was currently working on a volatile potion that demanded his constant attention. He had decided he wanted to finish it now while he knew he would have no interruptions. He warded his door against any students and blocked his floo network from anyone coming through. There was one thing he didn't account for: Hermione coming home early.
One of her students seemed determined to follow in Seamus Finnigan footsteps at constantly setting things on fire. Hermione had been forced to end class early after young Mr. Hawthorn set his partner's robes on fire when practicing the Glacius charm. Glacius! How could he have gotten fire when trying to create ice?
After Hermione had cleaned the char marks off of her classroom floor, she stormed her way into their quarters. She didn't stop until she reached Severus' lab, where she knew he would be. "I'll give you one guess what our favorite Mr. Hawthorn has done, yet again," she ranted as she threw open the door.
Thankfully Severus knew better than to jump at the intrusion. "Was anyone hurt this time?" he asked distractedly. He was almost done with the potion.
"Just a few burns this time. Something needs to be done about him. If this continues, he'll end up burning the school down," Hermione complained as she leaned against a nearby work station. "Are you listening to me?" she questioned.
Severus paused in adding the last ingredient. "Hermione, this is a very dangerous potion. I don't want you in here while I'm working on it."
Hermione glared at him. She knew he didn't like being disturbed while working, but he could at least listen to her. She crossed her arms, showing she wasn't going anywhere.
Severus sighed. "Fine, at least cease your incessant chattering. I'm almost finished here." It's amazing I still have both of my ears intact with how much she tries to talk them off. Of course he knew not to say such things out loud. He had learned over the years to keep certain things to himself if he didn't want to spend the night on their rather lumpy couch. With his thoughts distracted, he forgot to grab a new pair of tongs.
The last ingredient was rare; eggs from a gharial. They easily became contaminated and it was best to always use a fresh pair of tongs to handle them. Not noticing his error, Severus added the required number of gharial eggs. As soon as he added them the potion turned black and started bubbling. Realizing his mistake, only one thought came to mind: Hermione. He quickly turned to her and shielded her with his own body just as his potion exploded. He felt the blast against his back and they were both propelled against the wall. He felt his head crack against the wall and Hermione slump in his arms.
With his vision a swirl of white lights, Severus fumbled to find Hermione's face with his hands. "Hermione? Hermione are you alright?" he asked desperately. He could only feel her head rolling against his shoulder. He cradled the back of her head with one of his hands and felt something sticky. "Hermione?!" he called a little louder. He needed to get her to the hospital wing, however his vision was still swirling. Concentrating, Severus focused to make the bright lights to go away and to make the room stop spinning. The sight of his wife caused him to cry out.
Her face was charred, her eyes covered in the black mixture he had tried to protect her from. It was obvious she had peeked over his shoulder when he tried to shield her. Severus quickly scooped up his wife and ran for the hospital wing.
…
Poppy was also having a relatively normal day. Maybe somewhat more peaceful than usual. She didn't have any of the children come in until little Becky Aadams came in with burns she received in charms class. Now the hospital ward was empty, which suited Poppy just fine. Just as her mind started to relax she heard the doors open loudly. She looked up just as she saw Severus come in with Hermione in his arms. "Oh sweet Merlin—" Poppy didn't waste any time jumping to help. "What happened?" She asked as Severus gently lay his wife down on one of the beds.
His voice shook as he stumbled over his words, "I was distracted—I told her to leave—"
"Severus," Poppy said firmly, "What happened?"
"A potion exploded. I tried to shield her—"
"Are you hurt?" Poppy asked as she started running a diagnosis.
"I'm fine. How is Hermione?" Severus asked.
Poppy seriously doubted Severus was fine. She could see blood was matting his hair on one side of his head, but it was the color of his face, or lack of, that worried her. "Take your robes off and sit on another bed," Poppy commanded as she cleaned off the remaining potion from Hermione's face.
"I said I am fine, woman," Severus growled. "What about Hermione?"
"I said, sit!"
Severus glowered at her even then turned to do as told, but stopped when he heard her gasp.
Poppy had glanced up as Severus turned and gasped when she saw the state of his back. Even on the black material she could see his back was covered in blood. She quickly left Hermione's side to examine him.
"What is it?" Severus asked.
"Your back is covered in shards. From your cauldron, I assume. Lay face-down on the bed," she said.
"What about Hermione?" Severus questioned. "Take care of her first."
"Hermione is in a more stable condition than you are. Now lay down before I force you to," Poppy demanded.
It was slow work, taking out all of the shards, but Severus never made a sound. His eyes remained glued to Hermione. Once she was done, she bandaged him up and moved back to Hermione. The blow to the back of her head was an easy fix; however, the damage done to her face was another story. The potion had burned most of her face and would have to regrow with the help of some potions. Hermione would have to live with having a cherry-red face for a few days.
Poppy wiped her brow with a sigh. "Now we'll just have to wait for her to wake up."
Despite Poppy's commands that he should sleep, Severus kept constant watch over Hermione. It was sometime during the early morning when she started to stir. Severus' gaze was locked on her face, which was tilted towards his direction. He watched her eyes open and stare at him for a few moments before she sat up quickly.
"Severus!" Hermione called. "Severus! Where are you?!" she asked panicked.
Severus went to her side, "Hermione? I'm right here." He watched as she swiped her arms out in his directions looking for him. "Hermione?" he asked as he took her outstretched hands.
"Sev," Hermione cried. She grasped his hands and followed them to his chest. "Sev, I—why is it dark? Where are we?"
Severus froze. Slowly he raised a hand to her face and waved it in front of her eyes, which were locked onto something unseeingly. She didn't flinch or react at all. "We're in the hospital wing. Do you remember what happened?" he asked while silently sending his patronus to Poppy.
"The potion exploded. I'm sorry I distracted you," she grasped him tighter. "Sev, why are the lights out? Can you light some candles?" she asked just as Poppy came out of her office.
"Hermione, the lights are on," he told her softly.
Hermione froze. "You—you mean…" She slowly lifted her hand to her eyes and felt the rough skin that was still growing back. "I-I'm blind?"
Severus looked to Poppy. "You can help her, can't you?" Severus asked.
Poppy pulled her wand out and approached Hermione. "I'm going to run a diagnosis, Hermione. Try to remain calm," she said softly.
Hermione grasped Severus' hands tightly as Poppy performed her tests. She could hear the mediwitch's robes shifting and she felt the panic climb to her throat and attempt to choke her. This couldn't be happening, she thought and her thoughts raced to what this would do to her life.
"Well?" Severus' cracking voice startled Hermione.
"You can fix it, right Poppy? It isn't permanent," she tried to say confidently. This could not happen.
Hermione could hear her stumble on her words before she said, "I don't know what is wrong. There is nothing showing up on my scans."
Hermione smiled faintly. "So it could just be from shock? It'll probably come back, right?"
Poppy and Severus shared a look, unknown by Hermione. "I don't know, dear. Only time will tell."
…
Hope all is well :)