Disclaimer: The same as the previous chapters.

Chapter 42

Suffering from insomnia for years together, Severus Snape managed to sleep only for two and a half hours. Easing himself from his wife's arms, he propped himself on his elbows and watched her intently. He recalled Fawkes cryptic words,"...some will feel the same things, read through the minds and think in the same ways, some would respond through pain and pleasure alone and some would join together through laughter and mirth, and for others, it will be the game of wit and passion. Soul magic, rare still, is the magic that fits with absolute perfection."

Absolute perfection. These two words stood out in his grappling mind. As if finally in his ever-spiraling life, someone had figured out the way to put a stop to the proverbial ever-rolling-barrel and awarded him a moment of breath. Life had its own demands and too much was resting on his shoulders. But Hermione was not Minerva, neither was she Albus, nor Draco and most definitely, she was not Lily Evans nee Potter.

She baffled him each time she said something. With every touch, she ended up saying those thousand words he would wish to hear. With the blink of an eye, she moved mountains off his path. Even without giving his heart to her, Snape could feel her fingers caressing over the ever beating organ. At least he was lucky enough to hide away some memories from her. For example, the ones that were born right after seeing Lavender Zabini's blazing scars from across the screens. In the depths of his mind, he had mixed the images of Gabrielle's tortured body bleeding profusely after childbirth, with that of the Brown girl's mangled body and in some grotesque manner the whole image had turned into that of his wife!

Blinking away, he ran his knuckles gently across her jawline, feeling her softness, and her rolling magic underneath. Within a span of just two days, Hermione Granger nee Snape had managed to make him behave like a normal human being. If anyone would tell him this was love, he might end up miming the offender. Because Severus Snape wanted to worship her first. He wanted to bask in her warm affection. He desired to be the man befitting to stand beside Madam Snape. He wanted to become the subject of her conscious thoughts and also her cozy dreams. He wanted to fall in love with her, slowly, gradually, like the tides of the ocean and like the waning and waxing moon.

Whispering into the late evening air of the dungeon, he looked up and bit his bottom lip. Previously he was so engrossed in watching her peel off his dress that he completely ignored the concave ceiling glowing with the greenish tinge. A school of fish was peering down from above, perhaps trying to figure out what lay on the other side of the magical barrier. Leaning down, he placed his lips gently over her brows. And whispered across her temple," You make me realize the hunger that comes with the word, more."

Quietly, dressing back into his signature clothes, he made his way out of the bedroom. Stopping at his potions cabinet for a couple of minutes, armed with some more vials, he went looking for his guest. Minerva McGonagall had been in the living area of the guest quarters, reading a book while her sipping evening tea. She took a moment to notice Severus standing beside the open glass door and signaled him in.

As he settled on the other end of the couch, she smirked," I figured out my animagus years before you decided to try your hand at it. A cat is a cat, you cannot try that sneaking trick on me, then looking at him carefully, she added," Well, at least there is an improvement, you slept for two hours straight."

Slightly affronted, Snape huffed," What makes you think that?"

"Oh, well, you, your brooding self and that wretched armchair of yours are inseparable, Severus. I can tell how many nights you have even slept on your bed in a week! I could always tell! At least you look fresh and this freshness is neither glamour induced or aid by potions. Now, what made you come looking for me in the first place?"

Turning slightly, facing the Scottish woman, he stapled his fingers over his propped up knee and drawled," I need to hear all about this marriage law and don't waste your time in parroting those filthy forms the ministry forced everyone to sign... I need to know what it didn't mention and I am certain, it must be a hell lot."

Pretending to be surprised, she asked," And this couldn't wait for dinner?"

He simply answered," No, this cannot wait any longer, than it already has."

Heaving a sigh, putting away her reading glasses, Minerva looked at the burning fireplace for some time and then uttered," I know you are sharp enough. Yes, it is just a variation of est vinculum animarum…"

Snape gasped," You managed to enact 'the bond of souls'!" He got up abruptly and took to pacing, throwing angry glances at the other. Minerva tried to pacify the man," Tell me what were we supposed to do? Shacklebolt was beyond himself. The ministry had overnight nominated him as the next minister of Magic and even if Amelia Bones was the other contender, she was too happy to let him run the show. Every single one of them came down to my secluded hospital room pleading. Greyback had about ten to fifteen small packs of rogue werewolves attacking throughout the country. How else were we going to save everyone who escaped and came knocking at the ministry for shelter? Our holding houses are full, the safes houses are packed. Even Gringotts have extended their goblin colonies to shelter the refugees. Very soon perhaps the ministry will turn to Hogwarts."

Snape had stood still and slowly lowered himself on the couch, panic evident in his voice," What are you talking about?"

Pursing her lips Minerva just said," We have barely managed to evade mass extinction, Severus. Greyback, like Lupin, had predicted, does have malicious plans. He wants to rule the magic world. And if he can have his way, it will be worse than what Voldemort could have brought upon us, if he won. Though I doubt he knows anything about his origins. You were just made aware of the Parkinsons and the Greengrass. And Draco and Lupin had managed to handle the Staghorn Lair situation, well, of course, extracting the baby girl was a feat in itself."

"You knew!"

"About Miss Gabrielle and the girl. Shacklebolt kept me updated, but I insisted that he better not tell me anything about where the child is until I was back at Hogwarts. Even walls have ears, remember? Severus, more than that, I was more worried about not allowing Greyback to win. While you stayed hidden within these walls working with Neville Longbottom on the new variation of Wolfsbane potion, Shacklebolt, Madam Bones, and I, we had been busy. I won't say, we were prepared, Severus, rather we have been lucky on all the fronts."

"The Aurors department has been working in shifts to patrol every bit of magical Britain and our muggle relations office have alerted the Muggle law enforcement department. And it has come to our notice that even the Goblins have employed their own guards to botch any further attack. Severus, we found out, Greyback had literally kidnapped several half-blood and muggle-born witches and wizards. Some of the least affected cases were held captive in Staghorn Lair. And from there the Auror got clues which led them to other secret lairs of the Alpha."

Bones told me, it was horrid. Men, women children, he intends to turn everyone into his kind. He wants to dictate the world. We had to put down several, who could not be saved. And Longbottom's unique cure will start getting administered on those who narrowly escaped, once you have given your approval. But we need to find a permanent solution to this one. Or our own will turn against us and we will be completely defenseless. Do you think he is able to mentally control those affected people?"

"Magical creatures who roam about in packs might show such tendencies. I mean, Remus believed that to be the case as well. But I am wondering how will this marriage law and its underlying marital bond save us?"

Tapping her fingers over the closed book, Minerva McGonagall stared at him for a while. Inhaling sharply, she asked," What do you know about the est vinculum animarum spell, and what have you learned about it ever since both Madam Snape and you have succeeded in sealing the bond?"

It ticked then, mechanically Snape blurted out Fawkes riddled words,"...some will feel the same things, read through the minds and think in the same ways, some would respond through pain and pleasure alone and some would join together through laughter and mirth, and for others, it will be the game of wit and passion. Soul magic, rare still, is the magic that fits with absolute perfection. Your magic is anchored in your spouse and vice versa. The more accustomed you become with each other, the more you are able to yield it. But that is not all, is it?"

"No, Severus, that is not all. Tell me from your only experiences of these past few days, things, subtle but odd enough. Think of Hermione."

Furrowing his brows he started to tick off points mentally," We can feel, sense, hear each other through our minds. I don't have to introduce myself, instead, she can now catch up with my thoughts easily. SHe can break through all the wards and she has figured out my animagus form all by itself."

"And the stronger that bond will be, the easier would be to reach one another. It is something close to the mental connection which we are fearing Greyback is exercising. But there are added benefits. Since each pair exhibits similar magical capacities, when they would team up, they can cast more powerful spells."

"You mean to say, if I am good at Defense against Dark Arts, Hermione…"

"Yes, Hermione has shown herself exceptionally well in all those fields you excel in. She has also shown interest in learning occlumency and legilimency and I have decided to teach her animagus transformation in the meantime."

Rubbing his cheek, feeling the shadow of evening stubble, he mused," I was planning to teach her those skills. Good thing she brought it up to you. Minerva?"

"Yes?"

"What do the goblins want?"

"They are of the opinion that our times will soon be over if we don't work together to revive Old Magic."

Peering into the fireplace, she spoke gravely, making Snape feel uncomfortable once again," It means things have been happening in a certain sequence which we have failed to notice, lost bloodlines and families are going to resurface. We, wizards, are certain of our stance in this war, but this war is not about just wizards and witches, is it? If we are to analyze the folklore of Red Riding Hood, on one hand, there are a bunch of Veelas seething to get revenge, on the other ruthless shapeshifting wolves immoral and beastly, in the middle are two star-crossed intended lovers and a prophecy. And in all of this, we are trapped. Under the circumstances, tell me Severus what would be the most logical thing for us to do?"

Snape felt a chill run down his spine, as he mumbled," We stand by Schwarze Nacht and Rouge, and somehow stop Greyback...but…"

Minerva had leaned forward. Snape saw her eyes burn brightly as she replied," Not but, AND, and we stop him by surrounding him, trapping him from three sides- on one side there would be the veelas, on one side we ourselves and Severus you know who are going to form the third front of our defense."

Gripping the edge of the couch, he found his head reeling, his heart beating too fast, he started seeing stars behind his eyes."Merlin's sake! Minnie, those are small babies, orphans, must we always sacrifice innocent children!"

"Theatrics don't suit you Snape, who are innocent harmless children today, will become formidable warriors in years to come. I am not Albus Dumbledore, Severus, I will not throw unsuspecting children into the fire and leave it to them to figure out a way to save themselves. We will find a way to teach them and train them. Yes, it is ironic that a daughter will stand against her father, but we need to focus on the singular fact, that she must stand with the light, with the Order of Phoenix, with the just and we would need a Lupine to restate the balance of magic."

A/N: Drop a word, if you wish.