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Chapter 12

Just Breathe

All three men were sobbing in the now completely silent room. Each of them had lost a special person today, a friend, lover, and prized student. None of Severus's efforts to revive her had worked. She was dead and there was nothing left for them to do but mourn their great loss. Severus was still on his knees at the side of her bed sobbing into her chest and gripping her now lifeless hand with all the strength he had. But just as he thought all was lost he felt her chest expand and quickly rise and heard a gasping for air coming from the woman below him. He looked up at her and couldn't believe what he was seeing. There lying on the bed was Hermione, once legally dead, gasping and choking for air completely alive.

He swiftly retreated off of her body to give her room to breathe. Hermione continued to choke and gasp for more air but her mind was still unconscious. Severus checked her vitals with a few swishes of his wand and was in complete shock of what he saw. Hermione was completely stable. Her blood pressure and heart rate had returned to normal and her breathing was steady once again. Medically, this was an impossibility and Severus knew it. She should not be breathing right now, no matter how many spells he had used on her just a few minutes ago.

Tears began leaking out of his eyes once again as he sat down on the side of his bed next to the woman he loved, who was now alive. His rough hands came up and covered his own face as he broke down into sobs. But these sobs were different from those of a few minutes ago. Despair and emptiness had been replaced with relief and hope. His Hermione would live.

Draco slowly approached the Potion's Master and took a seat right next to him on the bed and began to cry in relief as well. Hermione had certainly turned him into an emotional man and he was sure that Severus was feeling the same exact way. He didn't kill his best friend and he was just as relieved as Severus was.

Albus advanced the few steps towards Severus and Draco. He laid his hand once again on Severus's shoulder as the man before him was sobbing in relief. He would ask questions about Hermione's situation later and how she came to be in this horrific state. But for now, he would provide support for the man that was like a son to him. Once she is well he would get to the bottom of what happened here tonight. With one last squeeze of Severus's shoulder, Albus left the bedroom silently and headed back to his office.

The other two men were left sobbing without words sitting on the bed next to the barely alive Hermione.

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Draco was thoroughly exhausted from the events that had taken place that night. He had cried his eyes out more than once and was glad to know that his friend was once again alive. He knew that Severus would want some time alone with her so he bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and pushed himself up off the bed and exited the bedroom.

Severus knew why Draco had finally decided to leave the room, and for that he was grateful. He needed some time alone with Hermione and it wouldn't do for Draco to be there as well.

He released her hand from his and moved it to cup her cheek ever so softly. Her skin that had once been ice cold and tinted blue was now rosy and warm. A rush of air escaped his lips in a sigh of relief. He had been so close to losing her tonight. He then leaned down so that he was a mere centimeter from her face. His lips then gently touched hers in a small kiss. He swung his legs up onto the bed and lied down next to her, close enough to feel her warmth but not close enough to cause further injury to her. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and finally rested his lips right next to her ear.

"Thank you, Hermione. Thank you for coming back to me. I don't know what I would've done without you. You are my life," Severus whispered into her ear. He was so relieved and happy to have his love back. Surely he would've died without her.

"I love you, Hermione," Severus whispered once again into her ear. With that he fell into a dreamless sleep lying next to Hermione.

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"Uhhhhhhhhhh," Hermione groaned as her eyes began to flutter open. The light was streaming into her eyes, causing her to be blind. The pain she was feeling was unbelievable. What had happened to her?

The small groan caused Severus to wake up from his place on the side of her. He looked down into her lovely face to find her eyes blinking open and pain apparent on her face. He jumped out of bed slow enough to not injure her but quick enough to be gone without Hermione noticing before he was back again.

Severus then resumed his place sitting on the side of her bed, but this time with a small bottle clenched in his right hand.

"Hermione, love, can you hear me?" Severus said loud enough for her to hear him in her disoriented state. She grunted back in response, clearly in heaps of pain.

"Good. I have a pain-relieving potion. I'm going to have to sit you up for you to take it. It will hurt though. Ready? On the count of three. One, Two, Three," Severus counted off as he placed his strong arm behind her back and under both arms and carefully pulled her up into somewhat of a sitting position.

A loud scream of pain escaped her lips as her wounds felt like they were pulling apart from being sat up. Her screams pulled on Severus's heart. He had seen her in enough pain in the last 24 hours and he didn't want to be the cause of any more.

As soon as she reached an acceptable height to administer the potion, Severus quickly held the bottle to her lips and helped her drink it. He could immediately see the pain recede from her face and he knew that the potion had taken effect. He slowly lowered her back down to her original place on the pillows. He caressed her face with his left hand and just stared down at her.

"What happened to me?" Hermione asked with her voice raspy from all the screaming from the last 24 hours. Severus grasped her hand in support before breaking the news to her. He thought that she might not remember what happened.

"You were at the revel last night. The Dark Lord accepted you as his spy, for the time being," Severus's voice faltered after this. He didn't know how to tell her gently. "But the other Death Eater's were not as happy to see you join, especially Lucius. They tortured you and there was nothing Draco or I could do but watch…" Severus broke off as a sob entered his throat.

"Severus, you did what you could. Obviously it was enough because I'm here aren't I? I made it through," Hermione whispered to Severus to appease his guilt.

With this remark Severus swiftly stood up and began to pace the room with his hands covering his face once again. Hermione was perplexed by what he was doing, what happened to make him react like this?

"You didn't make it. You were dead Hermione, for minutes. Those were the longest minutes of my life. There was nothing I could do to save you. You were dead! And it was my own entire fault for bringing you to that stupid meeting. I killed you!" Severus screamed in guilt at her from across the room. Tears were once again streaming down his face.

"Severus, it wasn't your fault! Lucius is the one to blame. You saved me! Without you I would definitely still be dead," Hermione said back with as much strength as she could muster. She couldn't believe that she had died last night and least of all the Severus was blaming it on himself.

"You don't understand, Hermione. You were blue and cold and there was blood everywhere. Your breathing and heartbeat ceased to exist; you were limp in my arms. Do you know what that did to me? Here I had finally found you and within a week you were gone, after you had promised to come back to me. I love you, Hermione! And I almost killed you! What kind of man does that to the woman he loves?" Severus ranted at her to try to get her to understand.

"I kept my promise, Severus. I'm here, alive, talking to you right now. It doesn't matter what did or didn't happen. I'm here now. And I love you. Don't give up on us yet," Hermione begged to the man in front of her with tears storming down the sides of her cheeks.

Severus finally looked over to her as she spoke and noticed the tears on her cheeks. He had caused her enough physical pain and now here she was crying because of him just minutes after she woke up from her life-threatening experience. He rushed over to her side and wrapped his arms gently around her body. She leaned into his chest and began sobbing uncontrollably with a death grip on the front of his shirt. She would never let him go.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I was angry with myself for letting you get hurt like that. I will never leave your side. I love you more than life itself. I'm so sorry," Severus whispered into the unruly hair on top of her head. Her sobbing continued for a few more minutes before it ebbed off into small hiccups. She began to be overcome by sleep so she cuddled deeper into Severus's chest.

"I love you too, Severus," She whispered before sleep finally took her once more.

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A/N: Awwwwwwww yayyyy! Hermione lived!

As always thanks to my awesome reviewers, Glow91, padslet, debjunk, and anon!!! love you guys!

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Should Hermione, Severus, and Draco come clean about what's going on to Albus, Harry, and the Order????? Or should they keep it a secret until the end? I haven't decided yet….YOU DECIDE!!!