Leaving his Mark
by
Thunderspeak
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Harry Potter franchise, created by J.K. Rowling.
Summary: In the final days of Battle, Harry and his friends prepare for the worst. Lives are lost, and the world is taken over by Voldemort. Even worse, Hermione has committed the worst atrocity there is—opening her heart to one of the most unlikely people. Severus/Hermione
Part II
'Hermione and… Snape?'
Harry slumped against the wall, half-surprised and half… not. As much as Harry loathed his potions professor, Snape had this sort of frightening intelligence that reminded him of Hermione. The two could have conversations and actually understand one another. Harry doubted anyone from their year would be capable of dealing with Hermione's constant rambling on her theories of house elf ethics.
It was still (blech!) Snape though. Harry was filled with anger and he turned to glare at the two, as if his eyes could shoot bolts of lightning at them. 'Hermione is a liar and a traitor!'
Harry watched her warmly smile at the Professor, happy despite the war that loomed before them.
The past year was stressful for her, for all of them. They had graduated, but had decided to stay at Hogwarts to assist the professors and train the students in proper defense.
'She seems happy with him…' thought Harry, his eyes slowly softening. It would be horrible of him to resent her for falling in love. Everyone needed a companion in these dark times. Ron and Harry had each other, and the entire Weasley family for constant (and sometimes overbearing) love.
'Also,' smiled Harry, 'I have Ginny.'
Arguing with Hermione about her choice of lover was futile. Harry couldn't win an argument with her about Quidditch regulations, a subject that he knew backwards and forwards. Her wit and encyclopedia of a brain destroyed him in any argument. If he dared argue this of all things… his success existed as much as Voldemort's love towards muggles did.
'I don't know what she sees in him.'
Harry watched his friend touch the professor's hand briefly while smiling ruefully. She then left him alone in the corridor. Harry was tempted to leave, not interested in being found stalking Snape (it would lead to some disturbing rumors, as all stories of him did), but something made him pause.
After she left, Snape stared at the spot where she had stood. He stared for a minute with an unreadable expression and then looked up.
The strangest thing happened in the darkness of the halls. The moody, unhappy man who was known for his biting insults and the destruction of hundreds of children's happy youths—he smiled.
'WHAT?'
Harry gaped and nearly revealed his presence. Snape with a smile on his face was a frightening sight, and Harry wouldn't dare question it. He would never speak of this moment, mostly because no one would believe him.
The Boy-Who-Lived turned on his heel and ran towards his friends. Harry was ready for war—whether he ended up dead, or alive. He just hoped Hermione was ready too.
Hermione felt peculiar. Gallons of adrenaline had to be pumping through her body, because she very well knew that running for this amount of time was not in her range of physical capabilities.
Once again, she was on the hunt for Severus. Unlike their last meeting, it was in a much different place, as opposed to the (relative) safety of the Hogwarts halls.
The death eaters had arrived sooner than expected, and in the first few minutes, Dean and Cho were killed while the others clamored to defend themselves. Hermione may be cold hearted, but it was necessary to push away any sorrow for them. Now was neither the time nor the place. Her sorrow for them would slow her actions and result in more deaths.
It was a blessing and a curse that Voldemort had not arrived with the first wave of attackers. He sent his pawns first, and Hermione couldn't resist silently cursing him for his cowardice. Feeling vengeful, she stunned a death eater.
At the first glimpse of death eaters, Severus quickly joined the side of darkness, filling his position as "Spy for the light side that no one was aware of" except for Hermione, The Order, and a long list of others.
It seemed that Voldemort was the only one out of the loop.
Hermione Granger very much disliked feeling helpless. She scanned the area and caught Severus in her peripheral vision, fighting one of the Orders many allies. Worry filled her; she hated when he fought against those who weren't aware of his true loyalties.
"Stupefy!" yelled Hermione, her spell clipping the shoulder of another death eater.
The main battle had moved into the forbidden forest although many other battles raged like wildfire across the Hogwarts grounds. She could hear the explosions of the Quidditch stands in the distance, and just knew that Harry would be wincing at the sound.
Hermione then realized that she had lost track of Severus. She casted a glance at Harry and Ron, who although had some cuts, were otherwise doing splendid in battle.
She darted into the crowd of death eaters and "others", searching desperately for Severus.
Spells flew over her head and people fought all around her, but she managed to escape most of their notice as she slipped into the darkness of the forest. However, with all the colors and sound, Hermione didn't sense the blonde death eater tracking her movement.
Her heart pounded as she ran through the forest searching for Severus. Hermione soon reached the edge of the land, which dropped before her into a steep slope. Hermione distantly thought, 'What an unfortunate place to be.'
"Mudblood," she heard from behind her, the voice filled with disgust. Hermione spun around with her wand pointed at him.
His hood shadowed his smug face. She ignored the twinge of fear in her chest and yelled across the field, "Why don't you show yourself Lucius?"
He chuckled darkly.
"I won't show myself to filth like you," he said as he walked towards her. Hermione's heart began to race as he drew closer. Unlike most of the death eaters, Lucius was not weak and was definitely not stupid.
She pointed her wand at him. "If you come any closer I will curse you into the next millennium!"
He laughed. Then, quick as a snake, he lashed out his wand and shouted, "Crucio!"
The spell crashed into Hermione and she dropped to the ground. Her body convulsed repeatedly but she gritted her teeth, refusing to scream for him. She foolishly bit her cheek, knowing it would throb for days- if she lasted until then.
Lucius stood before her, laughing coldly while he sustained the spell. "Your friends are dying as we speak! You are too late Granger."
After a minute he finally released the Cruciatus curse. Hermione dizzily stared at the sky and weakly wondered, 'When did the sky turn white?'
The blond death eater lowered his face to hers, his hot breath curling on her cheek. She shivered in disgust.
"The smartest witch of her time… is helpless," hissed Lucius, his eyes burning with hatred.
Hermione was immobile but managed to glare at him. She hoped he didn't notice the fearful trembling of her body.
He ran his hand across her stomach, and it felt like spiders crawling on her skin. The blood drained from her face and she felt the urge to retch onto the grass (or onto him).
Lucius saw her aversion and grinned. "It seems another older man can't compare to Severus, can he?"
She froze, her mind circling to grasp for answers, while thinking, 'What does he mean?'
Lucius then snatched her wand from her hands and snapped it in two. He harshly grabbed her chin and turned her face to his. Hermione whimpered when he breathed into her face. 'How am I so helpless against him?'
"You didn't shiver out of disgust when Severus fucked you, you little Mudblood whore," he snarled.
'How does he know?'
Her eyes welled with tears, and Hermione couldn't think or breathe. She could hear him though, this monster, laughing at her tears.
His laughter didn't last for long. Hermione turned away from him and noticed a dark figure across the clearing. It was Severus, looking gloriously unkempt. His lips were curled in anger and disdain for his fellow death eater.
Severus caught her gaze and smirked, before pointing his wand at Lucius and firing a spell at the oblivious man.
The spell crashed to the ground next to Lucius, who rolled to the side and clutched his burnt arm.
Hermione only watched Severus but soon her vision slowly began to fade and her thoughts turned quiet. Her last conscious moment was hearing Lucius's angry voice through the clearing, hissing, "Traitor!"
And then, the cliff crumbled beneath her and as she fell with the rocks, she saw Severus, bathed in green.
Hey guys,
Thanks for the read. Sorry for the wait for my update, I promise not to do it again :) I enjoyed writing this and hope you felt the same reading it. Please review to let me know your thoughts!
much love,
thunderspeak