Author's Note:Some scenes from Deathly Hallows are paraphrased in this chapter for purposes of plot continuity. All the credit for those ideas is JKR's not mine.
Chapter 25: A Promise Kept
Severus gasped, struggling for air, feeling the blood rattle in his throat. Things seemed thin around the edges, and he wondered how much longer it would take for him to die. Without realizing it, he reached his hand up, running bloody fingers around until he felt the charm beneath the tips.
"It is a terrible thing to die alone," he rasped, truly admitting his fate to himself for the first time. As his fingers curled around the charm, Artemis' face swam in front of him. "Artemis… I am… so… sorry. I wish I could see you… once more…"
Miles away, Artemis, Bill, and Lupin had Apparated as close to Hogwart's as they could and joined a growing throng of wizards and witches – many of them with children at the school – all intent on marching to Hogwart's and helping to mount a defense. As they started to move, a painful shock flooded Artemis and she almost fell to her knees. Her hand flew to her throat where her own charm burned like she'd just pulled it out of the hearth embers. "Severus!" she cried.
"Artemis? What's wrong?" Lupin grabbed her arm. With the din of the crowd, he was the only one who had heard her call Severus' name, and that was only because he was right next to her.
"Something's wrong," she said. "Terribly wrong. Accio broom!" Her broom, which had been following the crowd along with all of the other brooms, flew to her free hand. She looked once at Lupin and he nodded. He knew she had to go. She shot into the air and vanished a moment later, and as soon as she was far enough away from Hogwart's, she Apparated.
In the dusty, run-down, web-encrusted main room of the Shrieking Shack, a flash startled Severus out of his growing stupor. He looked around wildly as he heard his name being shouted.
"Severus! Oh, hell!" swore Artemis. She threw herself down next to him and drew her wand. Part of the magic she'd woven into his charm was a powerful healing spell. The flash that Hermione Granger had seen when she left the room had been the healing spell being released from the charm. The healing spell was the only thing that had kept Severus alive, but the bites from Nagini were so severe, that even that spell – unaided – would not be enough. Artemis put her hand on the open wound and pressed, doing her best to slow the blood.
The touch focused Severus. His brow furrowed; surely he must be hallucinating. "Artemis?"
"I promised you." Her voice trembled. "I told you that I'd come if you really needed me."
His eyes rolled up in his head and he lost consciousness. "Don't you die on me," Artemis ordered. "I forbid you to die on me, Severus Snape! If you do I will bring you back so I can kill you myself!" She touched her wand to his chest.
"Sanguis confuto!" Severus' entire body convulsed when it was hit by her powerful healing spell, but the blood loss slowed to a trickle.
She moved the wand slightly, but kept it in contact with Severus' chest. "Restituo valetudo!" Both of those spells were short-term solutions; neither could save Severus. Artemis leaned forward, oblivious to the fact that she was sitting in a pool of his blood, and brushed the hair away from Severus' face.
"I need to get you someplace where someone can help me. I'm going to take you to Hogwart's; there must be a healer there." She tried not to think about the fact that the healer was probably inundated with injuries from the battle. She summoned her broom, swung her leg over, and rose several feet in the air.
Pointing her wand at Severus, Artemis furrowed her brow as she concentrated. "Levitus ansi cradelum." A golden glow appeared around Severus and encased him. From this cradle of magical energy, four strands of glowing light extended up until they attached to the bottom of the broom. Raising her wand again, Artemis wasted no more time on subtlety. She blasted a hole in the Shrieking Shack's roof and soared up into the sky with Severus in tow.
As she descended on Hogwart's, some small part of Artemis noticed all of the destruction, but she was too concerned with Severus to truly SEE what had happened to the school. Large groups of people had gathered together, many crying, and some obviously mourning those who had died. In the press, Artemis finally caught sight of Hogwart's healer.
"Healer! You need to help me. He's dying!" cried Artemis.
Madame Pomfrey hurried over and knelt down, but suddenly stopped when she realized it was Severus lying there on the ground. Her face grew dark. "Death Eater," she nearly spat.
Artemis grabbed her arm and Pomfrey recoiled at the force of her grip. "And a Healer's charter is to help anyone in need." There was accusation in Artemis' voice. "Any wizard, any witch, any magical creature. Are you telling me you won't try to save him? You would stand by and watch him die?"
That question brought Pomfrey up short. No one had ever accused her of something as vile as that, but then again, she had never been in a situation like this before. Pomfrey stared into Artemis' eyes and she couldn't help but be touched by the pain that she saw there. It was a pain she had seen before – when she worked at St. Mungo's she would see that pain in the eyes of people who feared that there was no hope.
"I will do what I can." Pomfrey drew out her wand and added her powerful spells to the ones Artemis was already using. After a few minutes she withdrew her wand and sighed. Artemis stared at her, but managed to bite her tongue.
"For now, he'll be fine," Pomfrey said. "You can augment my spells. You obviously know a thing or two about healing spells. But he's going to need a lot more assistance. I can't promise you he'll make it." She hesitated. "I have to go attend to others…"
Artemis waved her away. "Go. I know… thank you…"
As Pomfrey hurried away, Artemis turned back to Severus. A few people noticed him and the whispers started. As the murmurs passed by McGonagall, she looked up sharply.
"Severus Snape is back?" Her voice was acid.
"Who is that with him?" asked Madame Sprout.
Pursing her lips and looking over the rim of her glasses, Minerva's answer was slow. "Artemis… that's Artemis Ollivander." McGonagall straightened, fully prepared to march over and tell Artemis about the horrible things Severus had done. She did not, however, get very far.
At that moment, Voldemort and his Death Eaters returned, gloating over Harry Potter's dead body.
--- --- --- ---
Hope you enjoyed this one. Not a particularly good day for Severus or Artemis! Thank you for reading – and a special shout out to everyone who has sent in reviews or put this on your alert/favorite list. I really appreciate it!