Chapter 7- The Future

"In the darkness, there are two things to be afraid of. One is what lies in the darkness and the second is what happens in it." Snape stood in the middle of a lonely dirt road, the edges of the road lead to deep, dark forests on both sides, and he shivered in the cold. There was no moon or stars in the sky, just darkness. Snape had never been to a place, even Voldemort's own headquarters, that was this frightening. He searched beside him, desperate in his attempt to see if Hermione had been brought to the strange world with him. "She is not here; she cannot know what I have to tell you."

Snape looked around him, although he only saw that darkness of the lonely path and the towering trees. His eyes were used to darkness and he could make out faint shapes around him. A woman in a long gown stood before him. The gown flowed in what would have been a breeze, if there had been one present. "Who are you?" Snape demanded.

"I am no one and everyone. I am light and dark, beauty and disfiguration. I am the sky and I am the land. I am you and I am her." The young woman said. She began to emit a light from within her, it slowly shining around her.

Snape stared in fascination as the scene changed before him and the woman. The light that she was emitting only brought to him a horrible vision. A battle raged in the open field that was now visible, all signs of the road where gone. The battle, he knew, was the final battle that had yet to come. He saw the Dark Lord and Harry, fighting some miles away from the others. He saw himself fighting on the side of good. He saw the images of Hermione and Ron fighting side by side with him, Minerva, Remus, and Tonks. The whole scene seemed to be frozen, as if someone had stopped time for everything but him and the woman that stood beside him. "What is this?" He asked.

"The future." The woman answered. "A war is being fought everyday, a war of good and evil. This," she waved her arm towards the battlefield, "this is the final battle that some of these people will ever fight. Many people, on both sides, will die here. Death will consume this field and it will forever be marked as the place where one side conquered the other."

The scene changed again, although it was that same field. The people were gone, the battle was over, and all that remained were tombstones. Maybe a hundred tombstones jutted out from the ground and a large figure stood in the setting sun some miles away. "Who is buried here?" He asked.

"No one." She replied. Snape looked at her confused. "Those whose bodies were able to be moved and buried were collected. Death Eaters were buried in the graveyard for dead Azkaban prisoners. Members of the Order who could be save, were buried by Dumbledore on Hogwarts ground, unless their family members wished them somewhere else. The field is only a memorial, a reminder of everyone that gave their life in this battle. This war was won here, although I cannot tell you which side succeeded. I cannot tell you everyone who has a tombstone honoring them here. My mission is to show you one tombstone, one person's death."

She began to walk down the rows of the field and Snape followed. He tried to read the names as he went along, but they were covered in shadows. "Is it my death?" He asked her.

"No." She answered fast. "You don't fear your own death. For a while you wanted it. The life of a spy is never easy and most do which on death. As did you, until she came along."

Snape stayed silent as he saw the woman stop at the end of the field. A large angel carved in white marble, stood at the end of the rows and rows of tombstones. It stood on top of a large stone box, its eyes overlooking the miles of field that death had claimed. Its long curly hair brushed its shoulders and the wings extended into the air. "Is this the person that you wanted me to see?" He tried to read the name, but the woman was in his way.

She turned to face him. "Yes." She said, looking at him with deep eyes. "They built this monument to her. Everyone said that no matter who looked at it, a lot of lives where saved because of her. She was never the strongest person, but she was brilliant. She lived her life with one goal, to help the ones around her. Harry named her as one of the most important people in the war against Voldemort. Lucius Malfoy and his son Draco said she was the smartest Mudblood they had ever seen, and that she was the biggest pain in the Dark Lord's side, aside from Harry. People mourned her death more than anyone else. They built this statue, depicting her as an angel, looking out over the field of death. People visit her grave and monument all the time, saying they can still feel her love." The woman stepped aside, but the words on the tombstone were still blurry to him.

"I can't read it." He said.

The woman placed her hand over his eyes. "She saved your life Severus Snape." The woman removed her hand.

Staring at the grave, Snape took a while before it really sunk in what the tombstone said. Looking from the statue to the tombstone, Snape felt his eyes began to water. "No." He said in a horse voice, before falling to his knees, sobbing quietly. The words on the tombstone seemed to glow. Hermione Granger. The most amazing, wonderful, caring person that this world has ever seen. She will forever be loved, missed, and honored. She stands on this platform, looking out over the lost souls that died here. She was the angel that saved us all. We loved her deeply and we miss her more then we ever dreamed possible. The world will never be the same without her.

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