A/N: I don't own Harry Potter
This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Writing Club April
Disney Challenge: 4. I've Got A Dream - Write about someone with an unexpected aspiration.
Bingo: [2.E - Colour: Crimson]
Showtime: 6 - This Jesus Must Die: (color) black
Amber's Attic: 1 - "Death is gonna catch up to all one day, but yours is coming quicker than ours."- "The Phrase That Pays" by The Academy Is...
Elizabeth's Empire: 1. (pairing) HermioneSnape
Scamander's Case: 12 - (color) black
Film festival: 13 - (trait) Unique clothing style
Warning: death, murder, graphic gore, mentions of disease, mentions of abuse , suicide
Word Count: 2192
Severus stepped through the smoky alley. There was barely any light, as the sun had yet to rise. He liked this hour, the one between the night and the dawn. This hour, no one seemed to notice him. His feet didn't make a sound as he walked. The mask he work obscured his face. It was that of a crow, with long metal beak.
No one could see Severus smiling beneath the mask. No one would look twice at a plague doctor, as he was called, walking the streets at this hour. A flash of movement caught his attention. He quickened his pace. The movement was a woman, barely older than a child. His smile widened as he recognized her clothing. He knew what she was doing out here, alone, at this dark hour. She stopped when she saw him.
"Might the good sir be interested in some company?" she asked, flashing him a glimpse of her ankles.
"That I would be," Severus stated, leading her behind a building. She started to say something, but her voice gargled as he carefully slit her throat. She crumbled to the ground, blood soaking her clothing. Severus bent over, examined the body, and smiled. Carefully, he removed her shirt, slit open her chest, and pulled out her heart. It beat a few times before becoming still.
"Good riddance to rubbish," he muttered. His mother had been a working girl, his father one of her jobs. She'd resented Severus for being born. He resented her for existing, for making his childhood a living hell.
Now, no one else would have to suffer as he did. There would be no more bastard children born among these creatures. Severus pocketed the heart. He'd lined one of the pockets of his cloak with a special fabric, it kept the blood from seeping through. Not that anyone would ever think twice about a man like him having blood on his cloak.
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Severus placed the heart in a jar. It was the fifth one he'd collected. Carefully, he put the new jar next to the old ones. He smiled looking them over. Yes, he was doing a good thing, saving those children who would never suffer. He wished someone would have taken his mother's life before he'd been born. A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. He closed the cabinet where he kept his trophies.
A quick turn of the key and they were locked up safely away from prying eyes. He strolled to the door, slid open the viewing panel, and looked down. The young lady standing there was well dressed, well groomed, and the exact opposite of the young woman he had terminated earlier that day.
"Can I help you?"
"Good morning, sir. I am the ward of Lucius Malfoy. I am terribly sorry to burden you, sir, but Mr. Malfoy has fallen ill. Please, can you help him?" she asked, looking up at the viewing slot. Her brown eyes were filled worry.
"Yes, let me grab my bag," Severus stated, sliding the viewing slot closed. A few minutes later, he exited the manor wearing his mask, bag in hand.
"Thank you, sir," the woman said, following him. "You know the way?"
"I do, Miss..."
"Granger, sir, Hermione Granger. Mr. Malfoy took me after the sickness took my parents. I can't lose him too."
"I will do what I can, Miss Granger. What are his symptoms? Who has been attending him?"
"I have, sir. He has a fever, thick mucus discharges from his nose and mouth. He does not have a rash that I can find, nor does he have any spots."
"How high is the fever?" Severus asked, his mind already spinning with illnesses that would fit Miss Granger's descriptions.
"About a hundred, sir. It has lasted three days, spiking today. That is why I was sent for you."
"How is Mr. Malfoy otherwise? Eating, drinking?"
"He is drinking, sir. I managed to convince him to take some broth last night. He won't leave his bed."
Severus nodded. The pair had reached Malfoy Manor. Miss Granger led him to the door and opened it.
"His room is through here," she stated. Severus followed her. True to her word, Mister Lucius Malfoy was laying in his bed. His skin was pale and his breathing was raspy. Severus was immediately next to the bed. He checked Lucius' nose, ears, heart. Slowly, he frowned, although Miss Granger couldn't see it through the mask. Finally Severus opened his bag and pulled out a few vials.
"What are those sir?" Miss Granger asked, looking at him.
"Hopefully something that will ease his breathing," he answered, pouring the contents down Lucius' throat.
"When did his symptoms first appear, Miss Granger?"
"After we returned from holiday. It started with some listlessness, then the cough."
"And where did you take holiday?"
"The shore, sir."
"Hmm, this should help if I am correct, and often I am. Come and get me if he's not showing any improvement in two days. Do you understand, Miss Granger?"
"I do, sir," she stated. Severus nodded, leaving the house. He knew Lucius wasn't long for this world, but the idea of telling Miss Granger that the man who was raising her was dying, he couldn't bare the idea of seeing the pain in those eyes.
He arrived at his home, shed his mask, set his bag down and poured himself a cup of tea. He knew Miss Granger would be back in two days. He had that long to figure out what to do about the situation. Still drinking his tea, he opened his trophy case. At least this had spared someone pain.
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Severus stared at the headline of the paper.
"A ripper? They're calling me a ripper?" he muttered. He didn't care about that part of it, honestly. He was surprised they were even posting about the deaths. He would have to be more careful now. They would be adding extra patrols. Shaking his head, he set the paper on the table. He glanced at his trophies. He'd left the case open to help remind him that he had spared someone pain. Because of him there wouldn't be at least five bastard children to abuse and hurt.
His mind turned to the one person he was going to hurt. Miss Hermione Granger. He wished there was some way to prevent the words he would have to say to her soon. A knock on the door, her knock, made him frown. She was early. He had only just seen Lucius the previous day. He rose, put on his mask and answered the door.
"Miss Granger?"
"Sir, I'm sorry. I know you said two days, but I couldn't wait. He's worse, sir."
Severus grabbed his bag and followed her to Malfoy Manor. He already knew what he would have to say, what he would see in her eyes. What would become of her? Was she old enough to marry? Would she marry him? He nearly laughed at the thought. What would he do with someone like her? She would only interfere in his work, his wonderfully important work.
Lucius was in bed, same as before. This time, Severus didn't need to listen to his heart, his lungs. He knew what was claiming the lord's life.
"Pneumonia, Miss Granger. It's spread faster than I predicted."
"Can you do anything?"
"I can only ease his suffering. He won't be long. Is there anyone I need to contact for you? A relative, someone to take you in?" he offered. She was Lucius' ward, would his family want her?
"No, sir. I am of age, I have a brother, Draco. He will handle the estate for me."
"In other words, Miss Granger, he will inherit the estate and you?"
"Yes, sir. It is his inheritance, and he will be allowed to do with me as he pleases. He has wandering eyes," she whispered. Severus frowned.
"How long does he have, sir?" Miss Granger asked.
"Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Not much longer than that, Miss Granger. I am sorry."
"I understand, sir. You did what you could. Please leave me with him?"
"As you wish," Severus stated, letting himself out of the manor. He started walking back towards his manor house. His brain mulling over the idiotic idea he'd had about Miss Granger. The idea of marrying her, holding her in his arms, those thoughts appealed to him. His mind moved to her finding his trophies, the horror in her eyes. If she found them, she would have to be taken care of, no one could know of his works. They would never understand.
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Mister Lucius Malfoy died the next evening. Severus was there to confirm the death. He was greeted by a young man.
"You must be Dr. Snape."
"I am, to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"
"Draco Malfoy. You were my father's physician?"
"For the last few days of his life, Miss Granger brought me to him."
"Ahh, yes, his little ward," Draco muttered, glancing at where Miss Granger was seated on the floor. She cast her eyes down. "While I am glad she fetched you, she does tend to forget her place. I will make sure that doesn't happen again," Draco promised. "As for your services, they are no longer needed."
Severus left Malfoy Manor, his heart heavy. He had seen the bruise forming on Hermione's cheek before she'd hidden her face. Wandering hands, she'd said. Severus had some other choice words for it.
The sun was starting to set as he headed home. Something in his mind changed is course. Instead of heading home, he picked another alley. This one a bit more isolated than the previous ones. It was early, there was still some light.
He didn't care. He had caused Miss Granger pain, in that he couldn't save Lucius. He needed to balance that. A blond girl walked past him, flashing him a flirty smile. Severus returned it, his mask hiding his expression. He had a feeling the woman knew he was smiling at her. He led her away from the alley, the streets, to a secluded alcove. She screamed as he cut her throat. Within minutes her heart was in his pocket, and other potential life had been spared a life of misery.
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It had been three months since the death of Lucius Malfoy. Three month since Severus had seen Miss Granger. He'd tried to speak with her once, only to be turned away by Draco. He'd caught a glimpse of her though. Her clothing in tatters, her face puffy and bruised. It had broken his heart. He'd sought permission to court her, to win her away from the Malfoy family. That request had also been denied.
Severus' trophy collection had grown. He now possessed ten beautiful hearts. Ten potential lives that would never exist. Ten lives that would never know resentment, misery, poverty. Ten lives that would never become the bitter man he was.
The sun had only started to peek over the horizon. Severus smiled, his mask once again hiding his face. Tonight he would find number eleven. The papers still spoke of him, calling him a ripper, a murderer, they didn't understand his work. No one would ever understand his work.
He saw his target, a woman with bushy hair, looking away from him. He approached her. She seemed to sense him for she looked up. His eyes widened. No, no it couldn't be! But it was, the woman in front him, selling herself, was none other than Miss Hermione Granger. He paused. She smiled when she saw him, a broken smile.
"Sir, I... would you be interested in," her voice broke at the words she was trying to speak. He felt his heart break again. He reached out a hand and she took it. He led her away, this time to a small park. It was abandoned this early in the morning. She didn't scream when he slit her throat. She only looked at him, her eyes begging for him to end it as the light slowly disappeared from her eyes. He took her heart, held it in his hands. It beat once before stilling. Severus let out a cry of anguish.
Once home, he placed Miss Granger's heart with the rest of his collection. He had caused this, he was the one who had destroyed her, made her into one of those creatures. Everything that had happened to her after Lucius' death was on him. He screamed, bringing his own knife to his chest. He felt the tip pierce his heart. Felt the crimson blood gushing from his chest.
He fell to the floor, no more would he hurt someone, no more would he feel the guilt of what he'd done to Miss Granger. He crawled to his trophies, grabbed a jar. He pulled his own heart from his chest, blood gushing from the wound. As he died, his own heart in his hand, he saw Miss Granger's smile and hoped she would be waiting for him in whatever Hell he'd be condemned to.