A/N: Anything I say now would have given away the story... So I'm going to shut right up. And please, be brave, and read on! =)

Luna de Papel... Thank you so much for making the words flow so well.

bluefirefly5, I so appreciate the subtle points... =)

Disclaimer: Not Mine.


Chapter Twenty-Eight - Choices

"How amusing, Severus. I'd never expected you to offer such elaborated excuses for your failure." Voldemort's hollow, cold voice echoed inside the dusty room. "Nevertheless, it's a disappointment, but not just because you didn't find the counter spell." The dark wizard sent a dangerous glare towards the only other wizard in the room. "Do you really think I would believe that a capable wizard like you would have such a hard time finding the key to a simple ward?"

The light inside of Shrieking Shack was dim. As Voldemort walked slowly across the squeaking floor, his grey cloak cast a shadow of doom upon the young Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Forgive my incompetence, my lord." Severus bowed his head low. "But I assure you, I have made good progress."

"Crucio!" Voldemort suddenly pointed his wand at the wizard in black; the slits of his red eyes raged with anger.

The sudden curse sent Severus to his knees. His body convulsed violently as the curse ravaged his nervous system. Trying hard to straighten himself up before the Dark Lord, Severus rasped. "Please, my lord," he pleaded between shattered breaths. "If you could allow me only a bit more time . . . I will get the counter spell out of the old man's portrait . . . by the morning . . . I'm almost there . . ."

"Crucio!" Another strong curse flew out of the Elder wand. Watching Severus fall to the ground again Voldemort laughed wryly. "Almost where, Severus? Do you think I'm stupid? Do you honestly think you can fool me?"

"No . . . my lord . . . I would never . . . dare . . ." Severus answered weakly, trying to catch his breath from the second intense attack.

"Really?" Voldemort glared down at the wizard. "Let's recount what we know . . . all these years. Who has access to all the strategic plans put together by my inner circle? Who has access to all the secret communications within the bloody Order of the Phoenix? And who, may I add, is the best Occlumens, the one whose mind even Dumbledore couldn't read? Do you think I would be so naive to think that you are not hiding things from me, Severus?"

"But . . . my lord," Severus' back stiffened. "You must know how loyal I am to you! I would do anything for you. I killed that old man for you, when Draco Malfoy was too weak to do the deed. I brought you the most accurate information about Potter. You surely wouldn't think I would betray you? I would never do such a thing! I am your most dedicated follower, my lord!"

"That's very pleasant to hear, Severus. But tell me, are you really telling the truth?" The Dark Lord began to laugh darkly. "Or is this a desperate attempt to hide the truth from me?"

"I'm telling the truth, my lord! Please . . ." Severus bowed his head and pleaded though clenched teeth. "Let me go back to Hogwarts and question Dumbledore's portrait one more time. I can get the answer out of him."

Voldemort walked back towards Severus' trembling form and paused for a long moment. "Let you go back to Hogwarts?" He let out an exaggerated gasp. "Why? So that you can gather your secret followers to defy me?"

"No! My lord! I would never betray you!" Severus exclaimed. "The Carrows can vouch for me. Please! Summon them here and let them report to you what I've done at Hogwarts. I've done everything in my ability for you, and you alone!"

"Silence!" Voldemort shouted. He stopped his pacing and glared at the wizard, who was still trembling on one knee from the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. "My followers are waiting for me outside the school right this moment. None of them knows about our little meeting here, for I didn't think this would be very good for the . . . shall we say, morale. I'm going in tonight. Something is wrong . . ." The dark wizard stoked his chin thoughtfully, as if talking to himself. "I made troublesome discoveries during my travel. Yes . . . very troublesome. Someone has been helping Potter. And I wouldn't be surprised if Potter is planning on visiting Hogwarts right under your nose. Oh yes . . . I must get there before he does." He stared into the space before him, murmuring his plans. "You see, Severus." After a long pause his cold, high voice was heard again. "I also have a small problem that I was hoping you could help me resolve."

"Anything, my Lord, anything," Severus answered obediently.

"I have noticed my new wand hasn't been performing properly." Voldemort slowly walked away from Severus towards a broken window on the opposite side of the room. "You and I both know why, of course; for you too, are a clever man. This wand only answers to the wizard who killed its previous owner. You killed Dumbledore, therefore you have control over the Elder wand. You could be telling the truth about your loyalty, but I can't take any chances."

Without giving Severus a moment to think, Voldemort summoned his snake out of nowhere with a wave of his hand. "Nagini! Kill!" He ordered coldly.

The monster snake hissed loudly as it jumped out of a dark corner in the room, and sank its teeth deep into Severus' neck like two daggers. The wizard cried out in surprise and tried desperately to free himself from the snake's coiling body. But his attempt to push away from the snake could not prevail. Constricted completely by Nagini, Severus fell hard to the floor. He could feel the venom being injected through the wounds on his arteries, burning through his veins like a torching fire. Short few seconds felt like eternity. By the time the snake finally released its prey, its venom was already deep into the wizard's system, paralyzing him as his blood gushed out of his wounds.

"Pity." Voldemort waved towards the snake and called it into one of his sleeves. "I could no longer make use of you. So long, my faithful servant." He gave a small smile towards Severus' twitching body on the dusty floor and swept out of the room.

Severus knew the combination of the blood loss and the venom would leave him only minutes to live. With the greatest difficulty he garnered control over his right hand, and reached into his cloak for his wand. "Ex . . . pecto . . . Pa . . . tronum!" He rasped with his broken voice.

To his great relief, a silver otter danced out of the tip of his wand. Feeling himself beginning to slip out of consciousness, Severus put all his effort into a nonverbal message to his Patronus, and prepared the warning to Minerva. And then, looking at the silver otter's graceful form, Severus could almost see those honey brown eyes. "Hermione," he whispered weakly. "Forgive me . . . But I don't . . . think . . . I can . . ."

His wand slipped through his fingers as darkness overwhelmed him. The last thing Severus saw was his silver otter dancing out of the shattered roof of the Shrieking Shack.


Hermione was crying so hard that it took her by surprise when she felt the incredible warmth wrapped around her. Looking up from her hands, she found herself in an ivory sphere, with Harry calling her name from afar.

"What's happening to me?" Her eyes widened, as the sphere suddenly shrunk and knocked her off her balance.

It felt as if she was falling through a long tunnel; but when she finally stopped falling, Hermione found herself landed firmly on her feet. Looking around swiftly, she immediately recognized the Shrieking Shack, where she and her best friends met Sirius for the first time years ago. When her eyes found the form of a wizard lying lifelessly in a pool of blood, Hermione's heart dropped to her stomach.

She couldn't remember how she ran across the room and fell to her knees next to Severus. "No!" She cried out in horror when she saw the wounds in Severus' neck.

With one hand pressing hard on his wounds as a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, Hermione swallowed her tears and reached her other hand deep into Severus' chest pocket. She quickly found the small box he had shown her in the previous year. Trying all she could to control her trembling hands, the witch pointed her wand at the box to return it to its original size, revealing the potions she was looking for. Then, carefully cradling Severus' head, Hermione slowly poured the different potions through his lips.

Nothing seemed to happen after she emptied the vials of healing potions, anti-venom, and blood replenishment. Sucking in her sobs, Hermione cast a cleaning spell around the wizard, Vanishing the pool of blood he had lost. With utmost care, she then pointed her wand at his wounds and tried to stop the bleeding by murmuring all the healing charms that she knew. A couple of times the bleeding seemed to respond to the charms and slow down a bit. But it was disheartening for Hermione to quickly realize that none of the charms had the sustainable power to close the deep gashes.

Reaching for the wizard's wrist, Hermione could barely feel his faint pulse. "Stay with me, Severus! Please!" Hermione cried out in despair. She looked around them in the shabby room, desperate to think of a way to save the wizard. A thought suddenly occurred to her when she looked up towards the only window in sight, and noticing a half moon rising in the sky. Quickly she took off her necklace. Holding the moonstone pendant in her palm Hermione pleaded to the spirit who brought her there. "Io! Please! If you can hear me, please save Severus. I beg you. Please!" She then swiftly undid the top buttons of Severus' shirt, and placed the pendant on his chest. A silver glow radiated from the pendant as it touched the wizard's skin. Hermione gasped as she witnessed the magic of the moonstone. Choking back her tears she held her breath, anxiously hoping for a miracle.


Severus woke up in a white mist, feeling surprisingly calm and comfortable. He was quite sure he had died, and didn't think he had much to complain about if this was what death felt like. The only thought he had was that he must find a way to reach the border of the veil. People always said their loved ones could watch over them after they died; and Severus was hoping that was not just some wishful thinking. If he could no longer physically be there to protect Hermione, he would at least stay close to her in spirit. Looking around him, however, Severus was quickly puzzled by the ivory walls around him that were too familiar to be "the other side of the veil."

The sound of soft footsteps drew his attention to the distance. The mist in the room soon began to clear up, revealing a woman's slender figure slowly approaching the wizard. Squinting his eyes, Severus tried to remember where he might have met her. Then he remembered . . . It was the same young woman with long wavy black hair, and a mischievous smile in her face . . .

"Io!" Severus exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here!? Is it Hermione? Is she injured? Find someone in the Order. . . Black, Lupin, Shacklebolt. . . one of them can help her. I can't. . . be there. . . anymore." His brows were twisted in a tight knot as he considered all the possible danger the young witch might be facing.

"Mistress Hermione sent me here to help you, Master Severus," the moonstone spirit answered pleasantly.

"I don't need you here!" Severus bellowed. "I've ordered you to keep her safe! That's exactly what you should be doing! Stay with her, not me!"

"But I had to obey my mistress' order, master," Io countered the wizard innocently.

"Your mistress . . ." Severus narrowed his eyes as he took in the words. "Are you saying . . . Did you say . . ."

"Yes, Master Severus," Io's smile broadened. "I'm very happy to have gained a new mistress. And I am gladly offering my service to Mistress Hermione."

"She brought you here? She's here? I'm not dead?" Severus suddenly felt his heart burst with joy, but a frown quickly crawled up his brows. "Is it over? The battle? It can't be over this quickly. Even if she was able to find the potions in my emergency kit, it would only keep me alive for merely minutes. The snake meant to kill. I could tell how much venom was injected into my system."

"As far as I can tell, Master Severus, the battle is raging outside this room. No, I don't believe it's over."

"Make it quick then. How are you going to help me? Just stabilize my wounds and go back to Hermione. I need you to be there to protect her," the wizard ordered urgently.

The smile on Io's face faded. She gave her master a long look before answering. "Master Severus, you were gravely wounded. I'm afraid my healing powers are limited. I can't stabilize your current condition for more than a few minutes."

"What are you saying then?" Severus inhaled sharply. "Are you here to tell me there is nothing you can do after all? Can you at least give me a few minutes to see her one last time?"

"I could. But that's not necessarily the only thing I can do," Io shrugged. "That's why I thought I should give you the choices."

"Choices?" Severus frowned. "I didn't realize there could be choices when it comes to dying."

"Not that, Master Severus, not when it comes to dying," Io chuckled, but the grin quickly disappeared from her face when her eyes met the wizard's serious dark eyes. "It's my powers, sir." Io smiled proudly at her master. "I could stabilize you for a few minutes for you to say your goodbyes. Yes. That would be one option. The other one, Master Severus," a mischievous sparkle danced in the moon spirit's eyes, "is that I could send you to a different segment in time, and give you a new beginning of your life. If you go with this option, you will wake up in the future, but completely healed from your injury."

"That sounds too good to be true." Severus studied the spirit before him. "How can you not have the power to stabilize my wounds now, but possess the power to heal me in the future?"

"I wouldn't really 'heal' you, per se," Io shrugged. "Like I said, it'd be a new beginning. So certain things would be slightly different."

"Care to elaborate?" The wizard glared at the spirit intensely.

"When you appear in the future, well, it'll be a bit further into the future. Last time I did something like this it was with Mistress Serena, my favorite Mistress, and the one who gave me my name." Io stared into the space and smiled at her memories. "She's one of your great great aunts if you remember the pictures in your mother's drawers. It was an exciting journey, at least for me. I made her skip a century forward, to help her forget the man who broke her heart. But for whatever reason, Mistress Serena didn't get much happier when we reached our destination. That was when I was locked away in a silver box. Perhaps I should have taken her a little bit further in time," Io frowned at her own thoughts, as if still confused by the experience. A moment later she looked up. "But to answer your question, yes, I can take you into years away from now. And when you do appear in the future, you're not completely you anymore, for you will be free from your life of this past."

"What do you mean free from this life . . . ? You're going to take away my memories?" Severus gasped in disbelief. "How dare you suggest such a thing as a solution? How can I forget about this life? Hermione? And . . . my child that she's carrying?"

"Don't you fret, Master Severus," Io arched her brows. "You not only won't remember, but also won't be remotely interested in this part of the history. Why do you think it'd bother you so much?"

"What an idiotic suggestion!" Severus rolled his eyes. "What's the point for me to live if I can't remember any of this . . . or being with them? And you failed to mention, what would happen to Hermione if I were to take this option?"

"I don't know," Io frowned, as if surprised by the question. "I will stay with you, of course, if you were to take a trip to the future. Mistress Hermione is with child. So I would assume she would raise the child alone. She may miss you, since you would be disappearing before her very eyes when we leave for the future. And I would recommend that I take you to a different part of the world, so that you won't need to worry about running into her again in the future. It might be a bit difficult to explain, you know, if she recognizes you but you hold no knowledge of your past together . . ."

"Enough!" Severus stopped Io's words abruptly. "I've heard enough. That's not an option." The wizard's brows furrowed as a realization suddenly hit him. "Wait a minute. . . Was this what you did to her in this other world, and forced her to live her life in the future all alone with Toby?"

"Quite possibly," Io's eyes widened in surprise. "Knowing that this is the most precious gift I could offer my mistresses and masters, I wouldn't doubt that I gladly offered my service and brought Mistress Hermione far into the future to a foreign land in this alternative world."

"The most precious gift?!" Severus laughed bitterly. "Do you have any idea as to how it feels to be separated from the one you love, and not knowing why, nor how, or where to find them again? This is not a gift, Io," he closed his eyes and snarled. "It's a curse, a curse that is worse than death."

"How could that be?" The moonstone spirit was shocked by her master's words. "You'll live! Isn't living the best thing that can happen to a soul? I've done everything I could century after century, trying to transform from a spirit to a soul. I don't understand! What am I missing?"

"You're missing the meaning of love," Severus sighed. "Without love life is not worth living. Give me the few minutes I can get, if that's what you can do. That's all I want."

"But you'll die, Master Severus!" Io's eyes widened as she gasped. "Is 'love' more important than living?"

"I can't abandon her like that," Severus answered quietly. "She will hold on to the hope that she'll be able to find me somewhere and search for me, not having a clue that I will only appear in the future. I need to give her closure," he added a moment later. "So that she can move on . . . with her life."

"I don't understand . . ." Io murmured. "You would rather give up your own chance? Is love that important?"

"It's not easy to understand, Io," Severus smiled weakly. "It took me years to get it. And I'm only fortunate to have found it not too long ago. Please, take me to her," he requested calmly. "I want to tell her about our child. And I need to tell her how much she means to me."

Io regarded her master for a long moment, before nodding in reply. "As you wish," she said softly.


With her wand at the ready, Hermione guarded her unconscious wizard with a broken heart and heightened alarm. She had sent her Patronus to Minerva and Harry, informing them where she had found the wounded Severus. But she truly didn't expect either of them to be able to help her to save the wizard - they must be busy preparing for the battle, knowing Voldemort was already reaching the outer edge of the school.

The battle had begun shortly after Hermione placed the moonstone on Severus' chest. The only hope she had lied in the knowledge that Sirius had arrived with his dragonrider friends. She could see the shadows of the amazing wingspan of the dragons, and could hear the beasts roaring outside the Shrieking Shack. The entire area surrounding Hogwarts was a battleground, filled with deafening explosions from the fire bolts breathed by the dragons and the curses and spells cast by the wizards and witches. There was, however, no way to tell which side was winning. Hermione had one arm cradling Severus, her other hand clutching her wand, pointing at the door of the Shrieking Shack, preparing to send out a Stunning Spell if any Death Eater dare threatening Severus.

A small groan brought Hermione's eyes down to the wizard in her arm. "Severus!" She cried out in joy as she watched his eyes flutter open. "Thank god for Io! Oh Severus," she sobbed. "I was so scared that I was too late . . ."

"Listen to me, Hermione," Severus reached up and cupped the young witch's cheek gently with one hand, stopping her mid-sentence. "Listen carefully. Io can't save me. The venom is too strong. Nothing can stop it. We only have a few minutes. No . . . stop crying and listen to me." He swallowed a lump in his throat and struggled on. "There is something important I must tell you . . . the potion I gave you . . . two weeks ago . . . you were right . . . my little know-it-all," he gave her a weak smile. "It wasn't contraception . . . I'm so sorry . . . I should have . . ."

"No . . ." Hermione could barely speak a word through her sobbing. "Don't talk, Severus. I gave you the potions. You'll recover . . . Save your strength . . . Don't . . ."

"No, Hermione," the wizard held on to the witch's hand. "The potions are not enough. But it's okay," he smiled again at her. "I've lived a wonderful life . . . thanks to you. It's all worth it, Hermione. Thank you for convincing me to give us . . . a try. When our child is born . . ." He drew in a shallow breath. "Tell him, or her, that their father loves them. It's okay Hermione. No more tears, my brave little Gryffindor. I want to see one last smile . . ."

"Snape!" The door of the Shrieking Shack busted open as a shadow rushed inside. A Stunning Spell flew out of Hermione's wand at the intruder before she could even register who it was. The witch let out a gasp in surprise when she realized it was Sirius who just entered the room. Fortunately, the Marauder seemed to be in complete combat mode and was prepared to bat away the spell with a swift flick of his wand. A few long strides brought Sirius next to the dying wizard.

"Help him, Sirius!" Hermione couldn't help from screaming hysterically. "It's the venom! From Nagini!"

"No," Severus grabbed onto Sirius' robe. "Don't waste any more time. Take her with you, Black. Keep her safe! Promise me you'll look after her. Promise me! Please!"

Sirius let out a frustrated grunt as he ran his hand through his hair. "Bloody hell, Snape. What have you gotten yourself into? Why did you have to come to him alone? Is this the Slytherin's way to be brave?"

Glaring at the Marauder angrily, Severus clenched his teeth. But the strength given to him by the moonstone spirit was quickly fading away. His hand slacked and dropped from Sirius' robe as he looked back at his witch. Laboring every breath, Severus could only look at Hermione, a million unspoken words in his deep dark eyes.

"Oh no, no, no," Sirius growled. "You're not going to die on me, Snape. Not under my watch." He quickly reached deep into his chest pocket and pulled out a small golden sack. Fingering through what sounded like small metal bells and charms inside the sack, he cursed under his breath. "Damn that old man . . . couldn't he make his instructions a bit more obvious than this? And where did he hide that thing . . .?" When he pulled his hand out of the sack Sirius had a small silver flute in his palm. He swiftly held the flute his lips and began to play a slow and sad melody.

"Stop, Sirius!" Hermione looked up at the wizard in disbelief. "What are you doing? Why do you have to do this to Severus? He's dying!" She cried. "Stop upsetting him!"

But the Marauder ignored the young witch. He took a few steps away as he continued to play the tune, and waved a finger at Hermione disapprovingly as the witch raised her wand at him, with anger burning in her eyes.

Suddenly, there was another beautiful song coming from the distance, as if answering Sirius' flute. It was a graceful song with out of the world beauty. Hermione quickly looked up towards the ceiling, just in time to see a golden bird sail through the top pane of the broken window, before gracefully landing next to Severus. "Fawkes!" Hermione broke into a teary smile, feeling hope once again come back to her heart. Was this Dumbledore's backup for his spy? Was this what he meant when he said that he would be able to keep his promise to Hermione?

Sirius put away the silver flute and nodded at the young witch, giving her confirmation to her theories. The Marauder took a couple steps forward and looked down at Severus. "Hang in there, mate," he said softly. "I'm not going to do your job for you. You'll have to keep an eye on your witch yourself."

Severus looked at the golden bird before him in awe. He had never expected to see Dumbledore's phoenix again since the death of the old Headmaster. He had always known the phoenix was an extremely intelligent creature. But would the bird really understand everything and forgive the wizard who killed his human?

Fawkes regarded the wizard briefly, before dipping its head and letting its tears fall onto Severus' wounds. Each drop of the crystal liquid made the wounds smaller. The numbing pain running through Severus' veins slowly subsided. Although he was still too weak to get up, Severus knew the phoenix tears had countered the venom. He was not dying any more.

"Oh, Severus." Hermione wrapped her arms tightly around Severus' shoulders.

Smiling at the couple Sirius quietly turned to leave the Shack. Before he could reach the edge of the room, Harry dashed through the door.

"Where is he?" Harry asked as he ran past Sirius. "Is he going to be alright?"

"Slow down there, Harry," Sirius grabbed his godson by the arm and pulled him back. "Are you okay? Did they find You-Know-Who?"

"He's gone, Sirius. I dueled against him. He's dead, shattered, vanished. Remus and Tonks are helping Kingsley round up the rest of the Death Eaters," Harry said proudly to his godfather. He smiled when he noticed the golden phoenix perched atop the windowsill next to the wizard in black, who had his arms wrapped around Hermione tightly in his embrace. "We won," Harry's smile widened when his eyes met Hermione's. He watched in amazement as the witch broke into a teary smile before burying her face in Severus' chest.

"I'm so proud of you, Harry." Sirius beamed at the young wizard, before turning his attention to Severus. "We should probably keep him out of the public eye until things are all cleared up." Noticing the Slytherin was now looking his way with his deep dark eyes Sirius added. "I'll get you a portkey to Grimmauld Place if that's acceptable to you."

Severus acknowledged the offer with a small nod. He then let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

"Let's give the love birds some privacy, then." Sirius clasped a hand over Harry's shoulder and resumed his way out of the Shack. "Tell me how you got rid of him, Harry. Did you use that curse Remus and I taught you on him . . . ?"

The two wizards were so submerged in their conversation, neither one noticed the small smile hanging in the corner of Severus' lips. For the first time in his life, Severus was thankful for knowing Sirius Black.

TBC


Hugs for you all. =)