Heal Me

Summary: When Hermione Granger suffers in the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, a certain double spy has been left with a mission he least expected.

Chapter 12 - Celestina & The Ring of Eternal Love

Severus sat staring at the dancing flames in his sitting room. He had done it. He drove Hermione away from him. Now she will never return to him. How does he always manage to push the ones he care about? He continued to sit feeling the squeeze in his heart. It was painful. He was incapable of receiving one's love. His internal battle raged on while he missed a knock on his door. Glaring at the flames he heard another knock much louder than the previous. After a few moments it became silent once again.

However another persistent knock on the door had finally made him snap out of his misery. He growled. Who could be disturbing him at this hour?

Severus walked to his door opening it to his surprise Hermione stood looking down while Minerva beamed at him.

"I've come to drop Hermione off. I believe she is rooming with you for the remainder of the term until the battle is over. We can't have her wandering around the castle especially in the house of Slytherin," Minerva said knowingly, "Good night," she said finally leaving the couple alone. Hermione entered the room silently still looking away from him.

"I'm sorry," she said plucking up the courage to face Severus, "I shouldn't have reacted like that. Its kind of like killing two birds with one stone. I wasn't expecting to find out that Harry is a Horcrux and that well Lily is -"

"Only a memory to me," he finished for her.

"Hermione..when you left, I thought that," he looked away, "I thought you would abandon me."

"What? Of course not! I may have been terribly surprised but I would never leave you. I was lucky to have bumped into Professor Mcgonagall that woman had knocked some sense into me. But enough of this there's something else I would like to speak to you about. I want to talk about the ring that you saw earlier."

With this statement Severus felt elated from being free of his misery he had spent hours brooding about not to long ago. He took hold of her hand caressing the soft hands in his. He tilted her head to face him. He bent his head over curtaining his hair over her face. He lightly placed a lasting kiss on her lips. Those soft plump lips he had missed. Slowly rising his head back up he gripped her hand pulling her to him as he was leading her to his room. She cast a spell onto herself. Her clothes changed into regular sleepwear. She sat herself down to the bed. Patting the spot beside her motioning him to sit.

"Before you start thinking that I stole this from Bellatrix's vault I just want you to know that I didn't. This ring was given to me in a box from Dumbledore. He had told me not to open it until I thought the time was right. He also said this ring will be of use to us. Severus, this is the ring of Eternal Love. The ring that belonged to Celestina Prince."

Severus gazed at her with surprise.

"Severus, who is Celestina Prince? Is she your mother's sibling Eileen Prince?"

Again he stared at her with surprise, "How do you know my mother?"

"Well, Harry had received a potions book and it had the Half-blood Prince on it. And I did some research and linked both together. That potions book was yours wasn't it?"

"Typical know-it-all being nosy even with personal affairs," he smirked.

"Well you're just as much as a know-it-all as I am Severus," she countered folding her arms to herself.

"Celestina Prince would be a great great great grandmother of mine," Severus began. "She is the creator of the set of rings. Although the Prince family has always been known for being in the house of Slytherin, the Prince family were not always pure blood lovers. Celestina was in love with a Muggle. He wasn't an ordinary Muggle. He was a prince," Severus removed his robes putting it down onto his side chair. He slowly climbed on the bed beside her motioning her to lie beside him.

"He knew about her being a witch. They were very much in love. They however had a story much equivalent to that Muggle love story Romeo and Juliet. They were both discriminated. When she died she handed the ring down to the next person in line. It continued to be handed down until my mother took it off and nearly destroyed it. Over decades the ring became tainted. It was supposed to symbolize purity and true love. Over time the ring seemed to get dark and darker. With my parents, my father bedded a new woman all the time. The ring would have eventually killed my mother. But one day she cursed the ring and managed to remove it. She lost a hand. As beautiful as the story with the intended is, the ring doesn't always entail a happy ending." He played with her curls on her head. She now lay her head on his chest snuggling to him.

"How can I remove it?" she asked. Severus watched her play with it, "I'm not part of your family so I do not understand why it chose me without you wearing it first.

"Do you have the other ring?" he asked her completely ignoring her question.

"I do, here let me get it," she accio her beaded bag which landed perfectly in her hand. Her hand fumbled around inside the bag and she pulled out the box containing the ring. De-shrinking the box she lifted the lid up and put the box in Severus's hands. Severus picked up the ring inspecting it. He grimaced at it. Memories of his mother and father rush through his head. He put the ring back into the box. He couldn't wear that and become another stupid Prince. Returning the box back to Hermione who looked a little disappointed that he hadn't tried it on he quietly spoke, "I wish not to follow in the footsteps of my cursed mother. I do not need to be cutting off my hand in the future once my intended grows tired of me," he said bitterly.

"How do you know that I will grow tired of you," she asked not caring that she was admitting her feelings.

Severus turned to her watching her serious face pout. He half expected to joke saying something crude like he was old and eventually she would get tired of him. That however never happened. She sat there still giving him that pouting look of hers. He realized how different she was from Lily. Bother Hermione and Lily were similar academically as well as in terms of aspirations. However, Lily was never playful nor was she ever emotional. Lily didn't like to wear her heart on her sleeve. She didn't have the passion and compassion that Hermione had. Not saying a word Severus bend his head over placing a soft kiss on her lips.

Together they engaged in a battle of tongues. She swung her leg over him fixating herself on him. Hermione being the sly girl she was sat on his lap deepening the kiss. Unbeknownst to him Hermione sneakily slipped the ring onto his finger. Still crushing her lips to his, she let go of his hand moving it up to his hair. She loved his hair. It was soft and shiny. People thought it was greasy but that really wasn't true. She hadn't known Severus for that long but she knew he was a hygiene freak. He kept everything in order. Severus broke away from her feeling something warm on his hand. He looked down to see the ring tightening around his finger morphing into a new shape that mirrored Hermione's ring. He glared at her, "Sometimes I wonder why you were not sorted into Slytherin."

She grinned, "I wonder that sometimes too. Seems like I have a thing for Slytherin men," she giggled.

"What do you mean men? It should be one man," he said with a low voice.

"Well there was that one guy he -" Severus attacked her lips not letting her finishing her sentence. Hermione's laughter echoed throughout the room has Severus continued his 'torture' on her.

"Ssstop it please," tears falling from her eyes while Severus tickled her. Her stomach contracted due to the immense laughter coming from herself.

"Say it," Severus said probing her to apologize. She shook her head refusing to give in. His fingers continued to tickle her sides and she burst into another round of laughter.

"Give up," he said dropping his face dangerously close to hers. Fear was written in her eyes, she knew he will do something to her unless she gave in. Finally Hermione gave in, "I'm sorry," she whispered looking away defeated. Severus stared at her with a smug grin, "I'm sorry what did you say?"

"I said I'm sorry," she said louder, "Can you let go of me now? I promise I won't say anything about another Slytherin man," she added.

Feeling satisfied Severus let her go only to lie back on his bed and pulling her to him. He reached out for her hand entwining it with his. He observed their rings. At least she had good taste, he thought. Seeing his mother's god awful ring before made him cringe. Who knows where this would lead them. He didn't know if Hermione would stay loyal to him forever. Maybe she will fall in love later with someone much younger, much more livelier. She will tire of him. He wasn't special. He didn't look appealing. Wasn't filthy rich like a Malfoy. He lived to die. He will die one day. And if she was in love with him, he would only give her sadness. There's no way he would be able to make her happy for too long. He shifted his gaze to the girl beside him.

With the ring pulsing with warmth he almost believed that Hermione Granger is indeed his intended. With time, the Ring of Eternal Love will reveal what their future will entail.

Fin~

A/N - I do not own any Harry Potter characters however Celestina Prince is mine.