Chapter 10 – Belief

The estate in front of them looked as neglected as it had two days ago before Severus lifted the enchantments – maybe even worse than before. The giant weeds now completely obscured the great house from view and were so thick and large in size they looked almost impossible to cut down or pass through.

The only thing completely different was the gate, which maybe now they were finally seeing clearly for the first time.

The rusted, black iron was meticulously crafted into the shape of a huge dragon.

Severus looked down at the elves, who were busy fussing at each other over the appearance of the lands in front of them.

"Jibby should have checked back last year, but Miss Ciss says that she can handle ever'thing, and now look at my poor lady's house," she cried.

"Finite," he murmured, hoping that it would end the spell as it had done previously.

When he looked up, he saw nothing whatsoever had changed. The lands were still as overgrown and jungle-like as before.

"Can you end the enchantment, Jibby?" he asked.

"No," she said morosely. "Miss Ciss is technically Jibby's mistress, and Jibby can't break it unless she asks.. She takes control of the house when Lady Lia ne'er came back from school. She was none too happy that someone made the vaults disappear at the banks, she went on about that until Jibby had enough an' asked to serve at Hogwarts."

Severus frowned. He'd have to finally ask Bill how he made that happen, when this was all over and done with.

"Can you do it, Kreacher?" asked Harry.

Kreacher snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened.

Kreacher stamped his foot and snapped the fingers on both of his large hands, twice in rapid succession.

Nothing changed at all.

"Kreacher doesn't know what's wrong," he said, shaking his head and snapping his fingers again.

"She must have some powerful spells on the home if Kreacher can't break them," Ron said. He frowned and closed his eyes, cocking it to the side as he did when he was deep in thought.

"What?" Severus asked.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking, give me a minute," Ron answered, turning from the group.

"Alohomora," Harry said, pointing his wand at the rusty lock on the gate. Sparks flew from the lock, but otherwise it remained as firmly closed as it was before.

"Incendio," Severus said.

"Reducto," Harry said, frustrated.

Severus quickly cast a Shield Charm over the group to protect them from the amount of sparks that flew back.

"Fiendfyre?" Harry asked.

"Do you want an outcome similar to what happened when it was let loose in the Room of Hidden Things?" Severus sneered. "Then we would really see a dragon."

Harry shrugged and lifted his wand.

"That was not encouragement, Harry. Just … stop, okay?"

Severus had had enough. He began to pace in front of the gates, much like he did when he prowled the castle at night when he was unable to sleep. How would they get in? The Manor home was bound so tightly with enchantments that he couldn't even begin to think of a counter – especially if a house elf's magic couldn't undo it. Surely this couldn't be it. They couldn't wait her out in front of the gates, especially when she could conjure almost anything she needed at a moment's notice, other than food, and Severus was sure Narcissa had made as many precautions on that as possible. She seemed to have thought of everything else.

What they needed a sword or an ax something similar to it. Something tangible that they could use to break through to the home. But it would have to be reinforced with magic in order to break through the spells, and very strong – Goblin made would really be the only thing that would work.

"What about the Sword of Gryffindor?" Ron called out, running back to the group from where he'd walked off.

Severus closed his eyes. How could he have missed that? He'd handled it himself, once upon a time.

"Do either of you remember how to call upon the Sword of Godric Gryffindor?" he asked, staring back at Ron and Harry.

Harry smirked. "Well, maybe someone could throw it into a frozen lake for us to find? Want to head to the Forest of Dean in the dead of winter and give it a go?"

Severus fought back a smile. That had been … idiotic to watch, really. He thought the boy would have simply cut through the ice and Summoned it to him, but no – he had to dive into the water and almost drown himself in the process since he wasn't bright enough to take off the locket. Just when he had been about to go save the boy himself and Obliviate him, the other one had finally shown up to save the day. It had been dumb sheer luck that Ron had shown up at the right time.

"Anyone got the Sorting Hat? It's come out of that twice," Ron said. "Where'd it go after the War?"

Harry shrugged. "It disappeared again. Neville had it after he killed the snake, but he laid it down in the Great Hall and it was gone when he looked back at it. It'll come back to a Gryffindor in need, though, if legend still holds out."

Two soft pops sounded one after another to the right of the small group. Five pairs of eyes swung around to find three very surprised looking witches staring back at them.

"My inner eye should have foreseen this," Sybill said, taking out her cards again and muttering to herself.

"Uh-oh," said Luna, letting go of Hermione's arm and backing away.

"Woman," said Ron hotly. "I thought we told you to –"

Hermione shook her head and stood her ground, pointing at Ron in a fashion that reminded Severus of Molly Weasley on a very, very bad day.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, no one tells me to do anything! You gave me a suggestion, and I decided that I didn't disagree with it at the time. I disagree now, which is why we're here," she said, pointing to a very passive looking Luna and a very surprised looking Sybill. "We know where she is, and furthermore we know that she is alive in there and under some kind of false sleep that made her think she was dead. What does that sound like Severus?"

"Draught of Living Death," he said, disturbed but also relaxing ever so slightly. He could have an antidote ready for that in a couple of hours if the vial he kept in his store room wasn't strong enough.

That is, if she wasn't …

"I thought so too. We have to get her out of there, now. I don't think Narcissa knows that you can't administer it for more than a week – she may be dosing her continually," she said, looking at Sybill for help. "I know you said Ten of Cups is the best card in the deck and that everything will be okay, but what if it's wrong?"

"It won't be, Hermione, please don't get too upset," Sybill said, conjuring a small stool for her to sit on. "You have to trust what you do not understand."

Hermione gratefully sat on the offered seat, stroking her stomach as she stretched her back.

"Thank you, Sybill," she said.

"Ten of Cups," the Seer whispered back to her, winking as she began to shuffle the deck again.

"Why take the chance on Apparating? You know that's dangerous," Ron said, rubbing her back and looking as though he was doing his best not to scold her.

"I did a side along with Luna, that's safe, remember?" she asked.

"I guess," he said. "But why take the risk?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because my best friend is in there," she said, pointing to the estate, "my other best friend, along with my husband – oh, shut it, you're my best friend too, and my … "

She looked at Severus, as though she was trying to fight off tears. Severus walked to her side and took her hand in his.

"My father, are out here trying to help her, and we can help everyone."

Severus squeezed her hand as gently as he could, even though he wanted to paddle her with it for breaking her word that she would stay safe at Hogwarts.

"What do you know, Hermione?" he asked.

"The dreams you've been having – don't deny it, I've been having the same ones."

He raised an eyebrow suggestively and pursed his lips.

Hermione flushed. "Well, maybe not the exact same ones, but you know what I mean. Her soul has been outside of her body on another Plane, staying close to us."

"They are only dreams," he said sadly. "Don't confuse dreams with reality. It'll make you heart sick."

"They weren't dreams, Severus – it really was her! You have to believe it or we'll never get her out of there!"

"She's right, Professor Snape," Luna said happily. "I saw her too."

"You'll have to trust us," Sybill added. "She's really alive."

He stepped back and clutched his chest. Staggering back against the gate, he tried to catch his breath, but found he couldn't. Suddenly every single breath that he took in smelled like her, to the point he felt like he was in absolute agony.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, unable to believe anything but his own truth. He'd been trying to make himself so ready to walk in and find her as he had always been afraid to find her since the day of the Third Task: limp on the floor, lifeless, pulseless. Dead. Except that their child would not be crying in a crib, it would be gone too, smothered inside the womb of her cold body.

Why couldn't they let him ready himself for it?

"Believe it, Severus. You have to try," Hermione repeated.

"Croyez-le, mon amour," whispered a soft voice that he knew better than his own.

I'm as insane as Draco now, thank Merlin.

"It's Lia!" Harry said, shocked.

Severus turned and saw her standing next to him, hand raised as though she were about to tap him on the shoulder. Instead, she placed her hand over the one on his chest, entwining their fingers together.

"Are you really alive in there?" he asked brokenly.

She nodded, tears spilling out of eyes that were rapidly changing color from grey to blue, the rest of her appearance also shifting quickly from one form to the other.

"I missed you for so long," he said, touching her face gently. He ran his thumb over her lips – it was the one feature that hadn't changed and remained completely static.

"I missed you too, you big arsehole," she said, gazing up at him with the look that signaled she was trying her best not to laugh.

"Gods, it is you, you little minx," he said, kissing her as though they had all the time in the world to just stand there and snog like a couple of teenagers. She tasted and smelled like her, like her, like she had when she was eighteen and completely innocent, just as she had when she was thirty two and they had found each other all over again.

"Of course it's me," she whispered. "But I've got to get back to my body, and you have to come find me. Can you do that?"

"Yes," he said, kissing her one last time.

"Do you believe it?"

He held her eyes with his, believing it completely when he replied, "Yes."

"I'll see you soon, my love," she said, just before she passed through the gates and disappeared from sight.

For the first time since he found the box with her and Draco's hair, he finally felt the one thing that had been missing from his life since she was Confunded from his memory until she reappeared last year.

He felt hope.

He reached into his sleeve to pull out his wand, frowning as he pulled out the one thing he hadn't expected to willingly find its way into the hands of the Head of the Slytherin House.

Instead of his wand, he held the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

A/N: I'll explain it later (or maybe I won't). It's a fairy tale, remember? All sorts of good things happen in fairy tales, even things that aren't supposed to be true.