It was late night and raining outside. The weather seemed to get worse by the hour. Hermione walked silently through the dark halls of Hogwarts, her wand by her side. She was just finishing her rounds when she heard a noise that made her stop and listen closely. Almost 2 years had passed since the war had ended and she was back in school to finish her NEWTs – there was supposed to be peace – no more hexing and blood prejudices to fight against.
Again there was that sound. The sound of 2 people dueling and someone losing the fight. Then there was running. She was prepared – every protection spell, healing spell and dark spell coursed through her mind, different spells that she had used during the last battle – that ultimately had saved hers and Harry's and Ron's life..
She heard groaning and a quiet plea for help before the silence engulfed the halls again. She started running towards the place she thought she heard the plea for help come from. Then not a moment later she heard a voice in her head. "Help him and all shall be placed as it should have been in the first place.." then the voice faded away. For a moment she thought she was going crazy. But the fact that she had been hearing the same voice in her head for a few months after the battle had ended indicated that something big was going to happen soon. At situations like these the voice seemed to help and guide her in the much needed direction.
Suddenly an invisible wind picked up at the dark and deserted hallway leading her to the fallen and injured wizard. As she was running she was debating who were the two that were fighting and why. She never got to the conclusions, because once she stopped at the scene she was rendered speechless. A man was lying on the cold stone floor with a puddle of blood pooling beneath his black robes.
She crouched down to his level and lifted the black mass of hair clotted with blood from his face. She gasped as she recognized the wizard. Severus Snape. A man she had become to admire for his selfless and demanding tasks, not to mention hard work acting out as the spy over the years for Albus Dumbledore and the Order of Phoenix. With the speed of lightning she waved few incantations over him with her wand to check his injuries. Just as she had feared he's been hit with his own spell – Sectumsempra. "Jesus Fucking Christ! Oh dear god, please be alive!" she cried with her eyes gathering moisture and preparing to release the tears that started to gather as soon as she recognized the man on the ground.
She dropped to her knees and checked the man for a pulse. As soon as she touched him she had some unexpected flashbacks about her childhood. She had to act quickly, so she pushed the thoughts out of her head for a moment. His pulse! She remembered! It was weak, but it was still there.
She dragged the man to her lap and pressed hard onto the wounds. A quiet groan rose from the man on her lap. "Sssshh.. I'm here.. Everything will be alright.. " she spoke in hushed tones. As she closed her eyes for a moment, she tried to remember the counter-curse for that particular one. In almost a sing-song voice she started her humming: "Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur.." waving her wand over his torso. Finally the flow of blood stopped and the wounds started to knit themselves back together again. Still the blood loss was too great. She needed a blood replenishing potion in order to keep him alive. The man on her lap let out a deep breath and relaxed against her. "Hermione.." he whispered almost inaudibly.
Then her tears fell. With the blood soaked hands she wiped some of them away. Bloody tracks remained on her face. She cried silently and tried to conjure a patronus charm.. "Expecto Patronum!" she cried in to the dark poorly lit hallway, before the silver Otter emerged from the tip of her wand. It looked expectantly towards her. "Go find Harry, Draco and Headmaster Dumbledore! Tell them it's urgent! Someone attacked professor Snape! Hurry!" the Otter disappeared from her sight. Again she heard a voice in her head – "You did well my child. It's not long now!" the voice soothed her. A few minutes later thundering footsteps were heard from the hallway.
To be continued ..