Song for this chapter: Untitled by Simple Plan

HPOV

"You know, I've been thinking Hermione," Severus said to me as he got dressed for the day. "Snake venom might not be the right avenue for us to take. It leaves a small window of opportunity. I know he does not have a bezoar on hand, I destroyed it myself, but many non-magical snakes have antivenins in existence for their bites. He hates muggles, but he wouldn't be above saving his own life."

"Would he even know to go to a muggle hospital for antivenin?" I asked him, dragging myself up into a sitting position despite the bone weary fatigue that weighed down my limbs. "And then he couldn't really tell them which snake it was could he? He wouldn't have a bite to show them if you were slipping the venom into a potion."

"Despite his hatred for muggles his bloody mansion can't be more than half a mile from a muggle hospital," Severus pointed out as he rummaged around for a pair of socks in the drawer. "You can actually see the glowing, and frankly a bit tacky, sign mounted on the front of the building from the window in the room he is currently convalescing in. It caught my eye when I took him potions again last night. I think it could catch his if he were panicking."

"And then he'd just be an apparition away," I said with a nod, seeing what he meant. "I suppose it's possible. So what… pick a poison that would kill him too quickly for that to matter?"

"Yes," he said, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed and taking my face in his hands. "I have an idea, but you can't come with me while I work on it."

I felt my lip pout out in an automatic response, but I did not allow myself to say anything. I couldn't fathom the idea of arguing with him right now, not after the way I had so obviously injured him. So instead, I ignored the way my heart thrummed a little more quickly in my chest and I pulled my lip back in. I offered a smile, albeit a pained one, and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"We'll I've had an unconventional idea, but I think it will work," he told me, his eyes lighting up a bit as he ran his thumb over my no longer pouting lip. "Over on the other side of the river is this little authentic Japanese restaurant. They serve blowfish there, and I am contemplating magically influencing the chef into preparing it improperly for me. Then I can just bring it home and blend it up into his next potion and serve it to him."

"Why can't I come along for that?" I pouted before I could stop myself.

"Because it would involve standing and walking around," he said quietly as he released my face in order to take my hands in his. "You aren't being honest with yourself if you think you could do that without strain right now."

"No you are probably right," I admitted, dipping my head before and idea occurred to me. "But that could be a good thing, for me to overexert myself a bit. The connection is clearly still lingering between us, and probably will until he dies. I could expend my own energy in an effort to further weaken him."

"We aren't completely sure it works like that," Severus hedged, though his eyes were thoughtful. "You could potentially procure the fish from the chef without using the imperious though, and that would be preferable honestly."

"I could take a strengthening solution before we go if you are concern about me collapsing with exhaustion," I shrugged. "It might help the Dark Lord a bit as well though, but would it matter if the poisonous potion would be in his hands tonight?"

"I should allow you to talk me into taking you out of the house today," Severus frowned. "I don't like the idea of playing around with this new parasitic connection between the two of you. No, I think it's best I just sneak in the back of the restaurant and steal the liver and the ovaries which he is sure to have already cut out of the fish he plans to serve today."

"Are those the poisonous parts?" I asked him, curiosity distracting me far too easily.

"That is my understanding," he told me. "I think mixing them with the potion will actually boost that quality as well. I really ought to go now. I can be back in a jiff and have the potion ready before early evening."

"Alright," I agreed somewhat grudgingly. "I would really like to be there tonight when you give it to him though. I will disillusion myself if you like. It's just that he's already cost me so much… I want to be there when it is over."

"I shall consider it," he said stiffly as he rose from the bed, and when his eyes darkened I knew he was thinking about the ritual I had done and what I could have taken from him in my eagerness to end this war. "I will be back soon."

"Alright," I called after him as he headed for the bedroom door. "I love you."

"I love you more," he said so quietly it was almost a whisper, and with a small pop he was gone.

I sat in the bed staring toward the open door as if I would still see him in the hallway. That wasn't true was it? It was strange, I had once heard my parents have a conversation very similar to that, and when my mother told my father she loved him more I had thought it was adorable. Did it send a ripple of doubt through my father like it had just done with me? Was it possible that Severus truly did love me more than I loved him? I couldn't fathom it, because it felt like every cell of my body was devoted to loving him. Yet I had allowed myself to believe I could leave him for the greater good. Did that action cause him to believe that I no longer loved him, or simply that he must have more love in his heart than I did? It was a troubling thought indeed.

Severus was gone for about an hour, and in that time I did manage to pull my sorry behind out of bed and into a warm bath. I hadn't made a whole lot of progress with actually bathing myself when it was so comfortable to just sort of melt in the warm water with my body completely obscured by bubbles. At least it had been when I had gotten in, but by the time Severus pushed open the door they had mostly gone. His face was somewhat bemused, and I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with my unexpected location or not.

"Did you have to imperius him?" I asked him as I forced myself to actually start washing my hair.

"No, I had to lie, but nothing more," he said as he came into the bathroom, setting jam jar full of something liquefied on the counter before kneeling down on the floor by the tub and rolling up his sleeves. "I was looking for anyway not to use a curse on him, so I slipped into his mind, and it was my luck I suppose that he was thinking of his recently deceased spouse when I did so."

My eyes had begun to drift shut, as he had taken over the act of washing my hair, but they snapped open at that. He seemed to be able to read my question just in the way my shoulders tense. I didn't even get fully turned toward him before he was setting me facing forward once more and answering my unspoken question.

"She had been terminally ill," Severus aid quietly. "And I admit it made me uncomfortable, but I capitalized on his somewhat fresh grief in order to get what we needed."

"How?" I asked, not really sure how to word the many questions flitting through my mind.

"I told him that my own wife was dying of cancer," he said quietly. "I said that we had exhausted all of our resources medically and financially, and that she just wanted it all to be over. I said that we'd been talking about it, and that I was only willing to accommodate her wishes if it would be quick. I intimated that we thought eating a bit of blowfish would be the best avenue."

I didn't like the sound of that at all, but I didn't say anything. How could I? Especially not with his last words to me before he left still so fresh in my mind. No, he could spin whatever lie he wanted and I wouldn't say anything.

"That was where it became very strange," Severus said as he directed me to lean back and began to rinse the shampoo from my hair. "He was completely unphased by the idea of suicide, in fact almost seemed to agree that it was the right course of action when dealing with an incurable cancer. No it was the fish he took issue with."

Severus paused for a moment so he could help me to sit back up and then reach for the conditioner. For a moment his focus was entirely on the act of rubbing it together between his hands before he began to work it methodically through my hair.

"Your hair is growing quickly," he said distractedly before he met my gaze again. "Anyway, he said to me 'puffer fish too slow, you need this' then he just as calm as you please walked out of the kitchen with a glass bowl, scooped one of the box jelly fish out of the aquariums by the door, brought it back into the kitchen and threw it into the blender."

"What?" I asked unable to mask my confusion.

"Exactly what I said," he said with a half chuckle. "And the faces of the patrons eating in the restaurant were priceless. He blended the entire jelly fish into a gooey mess and put it in a jar for me. He said if my wife drank that she would be dead in a few seconds, whereas a blow fish could take days if it even killed her."

"People survive being poisoned from blow fish?" I asked. "I've never heard of that."

"Apparently it almost always causes numbness and paralysis," he explained as he grabbed a cloth and began to lather it with soap. "But it isn't necessarily lethal. The jelly fish is though, if ingested anyway, and quicker of course."

"So you'll just add that to a strengthening solution and then that's that." I sighed, and it was half of a question and half of a statement that I whispered as I relaxed into his touch and he washed me.

"I don't think I'll bother with that actually," he explained indicating toward the jar with a jerk of his head. "Do you see how it looks? Viscous and mostly clear but with a blue tint. It looks an awful lot like Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction."

"For healing damage inflicted by thoughts?" I mused meeting his gaze once more.

"Yes," he said as he turned his attention back to the task at hand. "When I was last with him he expressed displeasure at my inability to cure him quickly. I mentioned that I would be doing research for a better potion. Now I will simply say I think someone is launching an attack on him from afar with their mind."

"That's perfect," I gasped. "His paranoia will play right into your hand. He'll be so concerned about someone launching such an attack on him that he won't think to be concerned about whether or not he's taking a legitimate potion or not."

"Exactly," he said as he transitioned into rinsing me off. "And it will work quickly, so I am willing to concede to the argument that is already coming and allow you to accompany me."

I did allow my surprise to take voice. He currently did not think I was capable of bathing myself, not that I was complaining about his soft and caring touches, but it made me think he would not let me anywhere near the end of this war. Yet here he was agreeing to let me come with him.

"I'd like to go tonight if you are up for it," he said as he pulled the stopper from the tub, and then offered me a hand in standing up.

"Let's finish this," I agreed, allowing him to wrap my towel around me before I stepped out of the tub.

Twenty minutes later found me fully dressed standing next to Severus on the front step of the Dark Lord. I was carrying a tureen of soup as the reason for why I was here, and Severus was holding an oversized potion phial that he had transferred the liquefied jelly fish into before we had left home. In a move that would have probably led to a serious injury in any other circumstances, Severus opened the door without invitation and we both walked in to the dark house.

I followed behind Severus, careful not to move too quickly and burn through my very small amount of energy I had to offer before we even got to our destination. He seemed to immediately notice what I was doing and he slowed his steps to accommodate me. We bypassed all of the rooms I had already seen in the house, and instead went into a room off the back of the house that I had never really noticed before. Despite the lack of any light on in the house, I could immediately make out the outline of a bed in the corner of the room due to the faint light glowing through the window. Funnily enough I'd had him pegged for someone who would have an upstairs bedroom, putting as much distance between where he slept and the entrance to the house as possible.

"Good evening my Lord," Severus said as we approached the bed slowly. "I've returned with another potion for you, and I have brought Hermione. She wanted to offer her services in tending to you while you are indisposed."

"I was quite clear that you were not to tell anyone about how ill I have become," the Dark Lord rasped from where he was cocooned in blankets that did nothing to hide how weak and sickly he had become. "Though I suppose if dear Hermione wants to play nursemaid… well who am I to stop her."

Even if it were not him I would have been hesitant to tend to him. He was covered in a thick sheen of sweat, and he had a bit of spittle that was clinging to each lip creating the nastiest image when he spoke. Perhaps I could have had more compassion, been more caring, if I were not staring at the devil himself. Instead of thinking about it further I just plastered what I hoped was a helpful and caring smile on my face and nodded at him.

"I spent most of today searching for a cure for you my Lord, and I think I have finally found it," Severus said, moving forward to put himself between the Dark Lord and myself in a gesture that I was sure was unconscious. "I believe the reason we have not had success as of yet is because we have approached this unknown curse in all the wrong ways. I apologize for my failure my Lord, but I've been focusing on trying to return your strength and I have overlooked what it is that is draining you."

"Enough," he sighed. "I don't want to hear your excuses; I want to hear how you intend to fix this."

"Yes, of course my Lord," Severus said, and I wondered if the Dark Lord could hear the disgust in his voice. "I have finally been able to deduce what the attack is even if I am not yet sure who has launched it. I believe someone is launching an attack on you from a distance with their mind."

"There is no one out there that can rival my skill in legilimency," he spat, causing that line of spittle to wobble dangerously and force my stomach to turn.

"There is of course no contest there my Lord," Severus said quickly. "But I suspect that Albus Dumbledore may be taking advantage of the fact that you should have no reason to pursue the skill of occlumency. He is a conniving bastard, and foolish enough to try and take advantage of you."

"I don't like what you're suggesting," he snapped.

"I don't like it either," Severus said quietly. "But I think I have come up with a solution. I've brewed you a potent batch of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction. As you know injuries inflicted by thought can be the hardest to heal, but this potion should completely disengage his connection with you and fully return your strength."

This was the moment of truth, would he accept the story despite how much we were stretching. I watch his half lidded eyes and despite my hatred for him I could relate to the bone weary tiredness that was likely making him look that way. He seemed to be thinking quickly, but even with how fast the wheels were spinning I could see that he was going in just the way Severus had expected him to.

"I am hesitant to believe that anyone could have that amount of influence on my mind without my knowledge," he sighed tiredly. "But I am willing to concede that the wave of weariness that came over me upon the initial attack might have clouded my ability to think clearly. I am willing to try your remedy."

Because I was standing so closely to him I could feel the way some of the tension went out of his back in relief. He hid it well however, and instead produced the phial of liquefied jelly fish with a flourish. He sat on the edge of the bed delicately as he unstoppered the phial.

"You have to drink it quickly," Severus explained. "It might be easier if I help support you while you take it."

"Now, now, we can't steal your wife's chance to play nurse main," he said in a sickeningly sweet voice before he looked at me. "Come sit with us then."

I fought the urge to shiver in revulsion and instead I sat at the head of the bed, and despite how much it disgusted me to put my hands on him and helped him to lean his body against mine to sit upright. I wouldn't admit out loud how much energy that took, but I was sure Severus could see the strain in my face. Hopefully he would misread it as being the disgust I was actually feeling to have the cold clammy sweet that was drenching the Dark Lord begin to seep into my clothes.

"Alright here we go then," Severus said as he brought the phial to the Dark Lord's lips and delicately tilted his head back. "I apologize for the flavor, attempting to change makes the potion ineffective."

"The things I tolerate," the Dark Lord said tersely before he allowed Severus to tip what he believed to be a potion into his mouth.

Despite his complaints he drank the contents of the phial greedily fully expecting to have all of his problems solved. I was surprised by the somewhat empathetic guilt that rose up within me when his back arched up away from my chest and he sucked in a clearly painful gasp of air. He sounded like he was choking. He shook violently against me, his arm jerking up and reaching for his chest, but he never quite made it. He spasmed on last time, and then he slumped against me no longer moving. I was surprised to see my hand shaking when reached out to tentatively feel for a pulse in his neck.

"I think it's done," I said shakily as I looked up at Severus.

"Let me check for certain." Severus said quietly as he drew his wand.

He cast a serious of diagnostic spells, causing smoky runes to appear in the air above the Dark Lord's body. I had never seen a dark grey smoky rune in place of a shimmering gold one, and I had a feeling that meant what I thought it did. I tore my eyes from the runes and met Severus's gaze once more. His eyes were slightly glazed with a look of confusion mingled with something I could only describe as rapture on his face.

"It's over," he whispered, reaching out to push the now still body off of me and pull me into a bone crushing hug. "He's dead."

I would have known without the spells that he was dead the second that Severus pulled me to my feet. The weight that had been dragging me down was gone. I felt like my old energetic self once more. There was no parasitic force draining my magic or my health anymore. We'd actually done it. The war was over. I felt almost light headed with the relief that flooded through me.

"It's over," I mimicked his earlier words kissing him in my excitement before I pulled back, my stomach roiling once more. "Let's get out of here. Something about kissing by a dead body just isn't right, and I really want to kiss you right now."

"Let's go home," he said, releasing me from his embrace so he could hold my hand in his.

We hurried quickly out of the bedroom and made our way toward the door. It didn't even occur to me that we might want to consider just apparating home. What should I be worried about? The war was over, the villain slain. But then as we crossed to the door and popped open and we were confronted with the concerned faces of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

"Oh Hello," Narcissa said in a friendly voice. "Were you two invited over for dinner as well? We thought perhaps the evening had been cancelled without our knowledge when we saw that all the lights were out. "

"What exactly is going on here?" Lucius asked suspiciously.

"We were also supposed to come over this evening," Severus said smoothly. "We arrived a few minutes early, and we were also concerned about the lights being off. We came in to see if everything was copasetic, but it appears that the Dark Lord is not present this evening."

"It's possible he just forget to tell us the plans had been changed," I suggested, looking to Narcissa who I felt would be more likely to believe it.

"It seems very unlike him," Narcissa said quietly. "Well actually I'm not certain about that."

"It is her prerogative to change his mind," Severus shrugged. "My wife and I have decided to simply have our meal at home and wait to see if he we receive another invitation. You're welcome to join us."

I wanted to kick him for inviting them over, but then it occurred to me he was just trying to get them out of the house. I suppose I could put up with have two actual death eaters in the house if it meant getting them away from the house right about now.

"I am afraid we will have to pass," Lucius said with an almost imperceptible sneer. "Perhaps another time."

"Yes of course," Severus said, steering me toward the door once more. "Another time."

We disappeared out the door but the Malfoy's did not. I was wondering if Severus's heart was thrumming in his chest like mine was. What would happen if they discovered what we had done. It was only now, after we had done what we had done that it occurred to me that cutting off the head of the beast may not actually end the war. There were still death eaters to be dealt with.

The anxiety that started in entrance hall grew exponentially when we returned home. For perhaps thirty minutes we sat together in perfect happiness, quietly basking in the happiness of the that twisted dark wizard being gone, but it didn't last. The heralding of what was to come was announced by the sound of a beak taping urgently against the window.

Severus lurched up from the couch and threw open the front window with apprehension clear on his face when he saw what owl it was. I recognized those fierce orange eyes and sharp talons before I even registered the regal look of the owl. What good had ever come from the Malfoy's sending us an owl? Severus took the letter from the owl, wincing when it nipped a little rudely at his finger

"Ouch," he groused, sticking his finger in his mouth as he read the letter. "Well damn."

He tossed me the letter and I quickly read it as well.

Severus,

I'd like to assume you had no idea what was going on before you left this evening, but something tells me you knew more than you would be willing to admit about what happened. We'll pretend for a moment you had nothing to do with it and I shall inform you that Voldemort is dead. I can find no trace of a curse or a poison, but he was in perfect health just days ago so I suspect foul play. You must know how it looks for you and your wife. Between that and your wife's abnormal request she asked of Narcissa, where your loyalties lie is becoming abundantly clear. I intend to call a full meeting of the death eaters, and it would be best if neither of you came. It is the least I can do to honor the friendship we had to give you a head start before the hounds come calling. I'd like to say it was a pleasure to have known you, but even a Slytherin encounters an occasion where they simply cannot lie.

Lucius

"Well, he's offering a head start," I said carefully. "I suppose we're supposed to be grateful, but honestly I am just frustrated. How didn't I consider this as a possibility?"

"We were both short sighted," he sighed before he dropped down onto the couch once more. "Maybe we should run. We've already done the heavy lifting."

"We could go to the Order," I suggested as an alternative. "If we tell them what we've done, and help them with rounding up the death eaters that apparently intending to hunt us down maybe they'll protect us."

"Are you prepared to put faith in a group of people you haven't trusted to help get us where we are now?" he asked me carefully. "Not to mention that most of them hate me and think I am just as evil as the man we just killed."

"I don't know what else to do," I admitted, embarrassed by the frustrated tears that sprung up in my eyes. "It isn't fair Severus. We've practically killed ourselves to end this war, and what do we have to show for it? More people who want our heads."

"We'll think of something," he said gruffly as he pulled me into his embrace and held me tightly.