A/N: Thanks to Amortentia in my Veins for the awesome beta work. Voldie is back in this one, which can't mean anything good.

Chapter 23

The next day, Severus and Hermione appeared before Voldemort. They were ushered into his presence and bowed low before him.

"Severus, Maia, rise," he demanded.

They rose but did not make eye contact with him.

Voldemort dismissed the Death Eaters that had escorted them into the room. Once they left, he addressed the couple in front of him.

"What have you to report?" he hissed.

Severus spoke up. "My Lord, we have found a suitable hiding place for the… item you entrusted us with."

"Excellent. Where is it?"

"We would like to show you, My Lord."

Voldemort grinned. "I was just going to pull the information from your minds, but this is better. Please, let us go."

He rose, and Severus held out a small paper to him with their home location written on it. Voldemort nodded at him, and they all Disapparated en masse, reappearing in front of the mansion.

"Severus, you have been holding out on me!" Voldemort said angrily.

"My Lord, my grandparents passed recently, and I was just bequeathed this home. Given the delicacy of your need, I thought it would be the perfect location."

Voldemort searched Severus and Hermione's thoughts to validate what he'd said. After a moment he nodded.

"Show me where it is."

They headed into the house and Severus led the way to the library. He stopped in front of the bookcase and looked to Voldemort. With a flick of his wand, the bookcase slid aside revealing the hiding place.

Voldemort looked puzzled. "Where is it?"

"Right here, My Lord," Severus said as he revealed the Disillusioned box and lowered the wards surrounding it. "I have keyed the wards to recognize you, so you will be able to access it whenever you wish."

Voldemort stepped forward and lifted the lid of the box. After a moment, he closed the lid and looked back at the couple.

"This will do, Severus and Maia. You have done well."

Severus replaced the wards and Disillusioned the box once again. He had the bookcase return to its original position. As they moved out of the library, Severus spoke with the Dark Lord.

"This home is large, and we have decided to live in the east wing. This wing will be closed off, further giving protection to the item. A few sheets covering items in the room and a barricade to the hallway should make most people not give the area a second thought. As you could feel, the wards placed around the locket will repel people, and ultimately be impenetrable."

Voldemort regarded his minion. With a flick of his wand, he'd sent a Crucio to Severus, who crashed to the ground, crouching in pain. He let out a scream as he was tortured.

Hermione could not hold her tongue. "My Lord!" she cried. "Why do you punish him when we have pleased you?"

Voldemort lifted the spell and Severus collapsed fully to the ground, moaning quietly. The Dark Lord narrowed his eyes at Hermione.

"Maia, your husband is cocky. He believes his precautions are foolproof. I wanted to remind him that they are not."

Hermione bowed low and cast her gaze to the floor. "Of course, My Lord. You are most wise. We will continue to enrich the protections around the locket."

He gave her a menacing look. "See that you do," he crooned before turning and swooping out of the mansion. She heard his crack of Apparition and rushed to Severus' side.

"How can I help?" she asked while tears formed in her eyes. She felt powerless as he laid there shaking and moaning.

"You shouldn't have said anything to him. He could have hurt you… and the baby."

"But he didn't, Severus, and you're hurt."

She gingerly lifted up his head and placed it in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair. "What can I do?" she asked.

He squinted his eyes shut as she lifted him. "Just… just hold me," he gasped out.

Hermione continued to run her fingers through his hair. He shuddered in her grasp. Hermione frowned as she continued to comfort him. She felt very inadequate. She mused that there must be a way to help relieve the Cruciatus curse's effects. She set her mind to find out what that could be.

In the meantime, she just held her husband, wishing the pain would subside. She kissed his forehead and told him how much she loved him. At long last, his tremors subsided, and his breathing evened out. Hermione leaned over him.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

He sat up and turned to her. "Yes, the pain is gone. Thank you."

Hermione hugged him furiously. "Oh, Severus, I was so worried."

He squeezed her. "It's okay, I'm okay now."

"We need to get out of here," Hermione said worriedly.

Severus stood and headed back toward the library. "Not without the locket. We can destroy it now."

Hermione rose and caught up to him. "What if he wants to see it again?"

"He won't. He won't want to bring attention to our home. He wants it to be like there's nothing out of the ordinary."

Hermione thought about Severus' words as they returned to the library. "You're right. He never searched his treasures out once he'd planted them. He left his watchkeepers to care for them."

"Maia, do you have the copy we created?"

"Yes," Hermione said as she fished the miniaturized version out of her pocket. With a wave of her wand, she'd made it normal sized and handed it to Severus. The bookshelf had slipped open on its own at their approach, and Severus took the wards off the Horcrux and Disillusioned the box.

"I'll wear it," Hermione said.

"No," Severus argued. "I won't have it hurt the baby."

"Severus…"

His head snapped toward her. "I said no!" He cringed as he put the locket around his neck. "I apologize. It's already starting to affect me. Let's get moving."

Hermione stopped him. She looked at him seriously, then pulled him to her and kissed him furiously.

"I love you, Severus Snape. Never forget that."

His kiss was possessive. Pulling away he sneered at her. "You are a fool to love me," he said snidely.

"Come on," she said. Taking his arm, they Apparated together and appeared outside the Hogwarts gates. As they approached the castle, Hermione started to feel apprehensive.

"This is a foolish plan. We cannot destroy it," she said morosely.

"Hush," Severus said through clenched teeth.

"We're not strong enough."

"Be silent, you insufferable know-it-all!"

"Yes sir," Hermione said almost automatically. It was as if her Potions master had reappeared and was tormenting her once again. She was silent, but her thoughts were morbid. Severus could never care for her in the way she wanted him to.

Severus took her arm and led her up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. They waited for the stairs to open and ascended in silence.

"Severus, I don't deserve you. You should just…"

"Silence!" He moved up the stairs at a fast pace, despite them already moving on their own. He pushed her ahead of him, and they burst into Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster looked up with a startled look at their rushed entrance.

Severus moved up to his desk and hesitated. Finally, he removed the locket from around his neck. He threw it on Dumbledore's desk and grimaced at it.

"Destroy it now! It is the most evil of all of them."

Dumbledore looked from the locket to Severus. "How did you get it?"

"The Dark Lord entrusted us with it. Evidently, it was another change in the timeline. A fortuitous one."

Dumbledore nodded and picked up the locket.

"Destroy it!" Severus demanded.

Dumbledore placed the locket back onto the desk and got the Sword of Gryffindor. Hermione could say nothing as tears were falling down her face. She felt so insignificant and worthless at that point, she would have welcomed Dumbledore thrusting the sword through her. She struggled as the Horcrux fought with her psyche.

"Please, Dumbledore," she whispered.

"Brace yourselves," Dumbledore advised as he brought the sword up. He paused as the locket threw up visions of his sister playing as a young girl, then lying dead on the floor, staring up at nothing.

"You killed her…" the Horcrux whispered.

"No." Dumbledore's voice was so quiet, Severus and Hermione barely heard him. With the locket concentrating on Dumbledore, Hermione was able to control her ragged emotions.

"Dumbledore, it's lying. You know that," she cried.

"But it's my fault."

"You couldn't have known that Grindelwald would do what he did. Now destroy the locket!" she cried.

Dumbledore shook his head and brought the sword down onto the locket. With a scream, the Horcrux split in two, causing the entire room to shake. Books and items fell to the ground as Severus and Hermione crouched low and scooted under a table. Soon, the room stood still. They slowly rose from behind their hiding place. Dumbledore was still standing by the locket, staring at it and breathing heavily. His eyes came up to Hermione's.

"Maia, how did you know what it was talking about?"

"You already knew I knew some of it," she explained. "There was a book written in the future about you and your family. That's how I knew the details."

"Dumbledore," Severus interrupted. "Maia and I will be going. We'll return another time and discuss what we are going to do now that all the Horcruxes are gone."

He took Hermione by the arm and threw some Floo powder into the fireplace. He disappeared into it, closely followed by Hermione. When she emerged into their front room, Severus wasn't there. Part of her wanted to find him, but the other part just wanted to curl into a ball and cry. She sat on the sofa, pulled her legs up and surrounded them in a hug. She buried her head in her lap and let the tears come. She didn't know how long she'd been crying when she felt Severus' strong arms pulling her toward him.

"Maia, please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive," she said between sobs.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you. I hurt you. Please, Maia, I have no words to say that will make up for my behavior while I've had the locket on me."

"How can you love me?" she asked. "I'm not good enough for you."

"You're letting the lies from that Horcrux influence you, Maia."

"I know, but I can't stop thinking how you deserve so much more!" she said with a sob.

"You are everything to me." His hand came up and tangled in her curls. "Please don't cry. I'm not sure why the effects of the Horcrux are still making us feel horrible, but I have an idea how to get past all of this."

He stood then, reaching out to her.

"Come," he said simply.

She looked up at him as she wiped the tears from her face. "Where are we going?"

"Away from here." He reached down and took her hand, helping her to stand. A broken bowl floated up in front of them. "I was saving this for the New Year, but I think we should use it now."

Hermione sniffed. "Where does it go?"

"It's a surprise. I decided to use my prize for having the most points in Ancient Runes last year. Come, let's go."

"I forgot you'd won that," Hermione replied.

"Well, thankfully, I did not forget."

Hermione hesitated. "Severus, I'm not packed."

His arms surrounded her, and he pulled her close. "I packed for you while I was upstairs berating myself for being a monster."

She giggled into his chest.

"That's it. There's my Maia." He pushed her back a little so he could look at her. "You are my salvation. Please stop berating yourself about being inferior. Of course, you are good enough for me. You are my soulmate."

"Severus…"

"Are you ready?"

Hermione looked at him with love. "Yes, let's go wherever we're going."

Severus nodded. They both took hold of the Portkey and disappeared. They reappeared in front of a large, ornate building with a green roof. Hermione gasped, as everything around them was beautifully old, and many buildings had green or red rooves.

"Severus, where are we?" she asked in surprise.

He looked down at her as his arm wrapped around her shoulder. "This is Vienna, Maia."

"Oh, Severus, this is an amazing surprise! And you say you're a bad husband. You're mental, my love. You are the most wonderful man I have ever known!"

"Maia, don't exaggerate," he said in a bored tone.

She reached up and put her arms around his neck. Pulling him close, she kissed him fully, showing how much he meant to her. After a long, satisfying kiss, she pulled back slightly and peppered his mouth with small kisses, weaving her next statement in between each kiss.

"You are amazing, Severus Snape, and I love you."

Severus smirked then. He reciprocated with several kisses and words of his own. "I can't imagine what my life would be like without you. I take that back… I do know what it would be like. I'd be like my older self from your memories. I am a much happier man because of you."

She smiled at him and caressed his hair. "You make me so happy too, Severus."

Severus sighed as he looked at Hermione. "It's a relief being away from that evil. I finally can say that I'm not feeling any of its effects."

She nodded. "Me too. I'm not feeling so horribly inept anymore, thanks to you." She smiled at him. "And we're here in Vienna!" she exclaimed as she hugged him again.

Severus couldn't help himself; he snogged her senseless. They ignored the other people walking by and fell into each other. Hermione's heart felt full at her husband's adoration for her. She was obviously just as adoring of him. When they'd finally come up for air, Severus smiled at her and caressed her cheek.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured. Clearing his throat, he stood straighter. "Come with me. I had bought tickets to the Staatsoper for next week. I want to see if we can exchange it for tickets for tonight."

"The opera? Oh, Severus, that's wonderful!"

"Well, don't get your hopes up. They may not have any seats that we can exchange."

She pulled at him. "Well, we won't know unless we ask, right?"

Severus stopped short and looked at Hermione. "Maia, do you even know where you're going?"

She laughed heartily. After a bit, she composed herself and answered him. "Of course not! Lead the way, Severus!"

Linking his arm in hers, he pointed to the left, and they proceeded down the street.

oooOOOooo

They had been able to get the tickets exchanged. Hermione looked into her bag that Severus had packed and smiled. He'd packed her nicest robes, which were Muggle enough to work at the Staatsoper perfectly. She pulled out the dress and quickly put it on. The deep purple dress was floor length and free-flowing. It made her feel absolutely beautiful. She wrangled with her hair until it looked decent in an updo with some curls left out on the sides of her face. Gold earrings and a matching necklace completed the outfit.

At that point, Severus came out of the bathroom and stopped short.

"Maia," he said in a whisper. Coming up to her he kissed her on the cheek. "You look absolutely stunning."

Hermione eyed her husband appreciatively. His black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt and vest made him look positively edible. Her arms went around his waist.

"You look divine," she said huskily.

He grinned at her. "Are you sure you still want to go? We could hole up in here for the evening."

She laughed. "That is definitely tempting, but I've been looking forward to tonight since you said we had tickets."

"Well, then, my beautiful wife, let's get going." He placed his hand lightly on her abdomen. "Little one, we're going to start your induction into culture early."