A/N: So many new followers! Welcome! I'm so happy to have you guys.

I'm incredibly obsessed with this chapter and I hope you all are too. We are getting very close to the final battle and boy oh boy...

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - OUROBOROS

Somehow, spring seemed a little more willing to show itself at Spinner's End. Not that the sun was any brighter, but the grass in the yards seemed livelier and the woman next door was working on her garden. It was too early to plant anything, but from the little window in her room, Hermione was able to watch the woman tear out weeds and anything dead left over from the previous year. It had only been two days at Spinner's End and already she was feeling better, she would have been more than willing to go back to Hogwarts, but her casual suggestion at breakfast had only garnered a harsh glare from Severus.

Severus hadn't been quite himself the whole weekend, and Hermione suspected it might have something to do with what had happened with Dolohov and Merner. Or maybe it was just watching her move around with limited mobility; there was only so much potions could do about the pain of broken ribs, and she was terrified to use the occlumency technique again. Severus suggested nothing but watched her like a hawk as they easily settled back into the routine they had built at Spinner's End. It felt like a breath of fresh air to wake up every morning and know what her day was going to be like, and to know that Severus was going to be there.

The three months she had been back at Hogwarts had never quite felt right. But being here seemed normal. Maybe she had changed too much or maybe it was that Hogwarts had kept going on without her. Hermione still wasn't sure, and she contemplated it as she got dressed and went back down stairs. Severus had finished cleaning up their breakfast dishes and was standing looking out the window by the front door, his hands latched behind his back. Hermione had the wild urge to step in place behind him and wrap her arms around him. Avoiding the horrible idea, she stood on the opposite end of the couch.

"You don't want me to go back, do you?"

"No."

"Do you think something else will happen?"

"Naturally. Something always happens."

"And I'm safer here."

"Of course, you are. No one else is milling about."

"And what will you tell Vold- the Dark Lord about me not spying for you anymore?"

"We are so far beyond that. His plans are coming to fruition and -"

"And?"

"You have seen Dumbledore, yes?"

"Not really, but I noticed his -"

"Hand? He is not doing well, and the Dark Lord knows it."

"How long do you expect me to stay here?"

Severus finally turned to face her, and she thought she saw a flicker of pain before his face turned to its usual neutrality.

"Ideally, until the war is over, but that is not realistic. There will be a breaking point soon. Perhaps until then."

"Then can you teach me things I'll need to know? When you have the opportunity?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. I'll stay."

There was too much inside Hermione that didn't want to leave anyway. She felt guilty, being hidden away and safe, but these weren't her reasons. Her reasons were the way Severus relaxed here, revealing his snow white button down and the way it was professionally tucked into his slacks; how he still let her wiggle her toes under his leg when they read; the way he automatically cleaned up after everything and the pure sanity that came with knowing everything had its place and was always in it; how he ran his fingers down the pages of book and the catch in his throat when he thought an author was stupid. The way he smelled and the scent of him that lingered in the dark corners of rooms here. The way he softly demanded what he wanted. The unmatchable cadence of his baritone as they discussed potions, spells, and theories. In short, every single reason she was choosing to stay, was him. She might not have admitted it before, or perhaps even realized it. But four days of someone kicking her guts in had led her to one realisation: she loved Severus Snape.

For as hopeless and mad as it was.

"I thought it was going to take more convincing."

"Torture was convincing enough."

"Mm. Well in that case, there are some things we need to work on."

…

Severus was almost loathe to leave such an important project in the hands of anyone but himself. He had given Hermione all his notes and the means to acquire the rare ingredients without endangering herself. But he was uncertain what the result would be. He hadn't been able to return to Spinner's End during the week and had no idea how his experimental potion was doing. It was a nerve-wracking thing since he had the distinct feeling this potion would mean whether or not he lived long enough to at least know who won the war. Severus flooed to his home and tossed his robes and frock coat on the back of the chair. He was certain the silence in the house meant only one thing, and he was quick to descend into the basement where two cauldrons were set up, one hissing and the other putting out a violent shade of yellow steam. The only workbench that didn't house a cauldron was full of notes and paperwork, some his own and some definitely not. Sprawled out over the notes, clearly asleep, was one wild looking witch. Her hair was escaping its braid and there were ink splotches and her hands and what he could see of her face.

"Hermione." His tone was sharp, and she startled awake quickly.

"Severus! You're here." She rubbed her face with a brief pass of her hands and started shuffling through some of the notes, "Great, so I made some changes and I think they will really improve the potency and efficiency and I went ahead and tried them since I wasn't sure when you were going to be here and I figured testing this in the field wasn't the best idea so I got - what?"

Severus' eyebrows were both raised. "When was the last time you left the basement?"

Her eyes flicked around her, and he could see the gears turning.

"What day is it?"

"Friday."

"Oh. Erm. It's been a couple days."

"Come clean up and eat and you can tell me about your changes."

It was fascinating to watch her move into action at his bidding, the pleased smile that spread across her face as she swiftly organised the collection of notes with a wave of the wand she had stolen from Merner before wobbling up the stairs with apparent fatigue and enthusiasm. He set about warming up leftovers and making tea and when Hermione emerged, she looked like a whole new person.

She grinned at him, "Thanks for saving me from myself. I might've spent another few days down there if you hadn't shown up."

"While not surprising, that is quite unhealthy."

"This potion is fascinating. It's obviously based on a general anti-venom, but it is so clearly a potion of your creation. I mean the techniques and ingredients going into this are… Sorry. You know all this."

"And what about your changes?"

"Mostly I changed the order in which a few things were put in and the preparation techniques. You said you wanted this as potent and fast acting as possible?"

"Yes."

"Well, if you put the wickery root before the snail shell it will increase the speed in which the potion will diffuse through the bloodstream. And if you put the mollyhop wings in at the end, it will help coagulate any bleeding, whereas putting it in the middle is useful for pushing the venom out of the body but then you'll bleed to death. But you can counteract that by slicing the moth wings instead of chopping them and adding a few salamander scales."

Severus hoped the surprise that he felt wasn't showing on his face. It was one thing to make changes to a well-known potion, it was something else entirely to edit a potion that had never been made. Theoretically, her decisions made sense, though it was difficult to put his full faith behind the changes without looking at her notes.

"How did you come to this conclusion?"

"I didn't really sleep Monday or Tuesday and read all of your potions books."

Severus glanced at the door that led out into the living room and its walls made of bookshelves. He raised an eyebrow.

"All of them?"

"Each one. I can't be sure if I'm right yet, obviously, but we should be able to test the potion tomorrow night."

"Test it?"

"I ordered a few rats and the most poisonous snake someone would let me buy."

Despite his efforts, some amusement crossed Severus' face.

"I can imagine how that went."

"It was quite a day. I'm fairly certain one man tried to get me to buy black market but that seemed too shady."

"Indeed. Perhaps tomorrow we can go somewhere before we test it."

"Go where?"

Severus eyed the wand sitting on the table near their plates.

"You've been working with borrowed wands for far too long, I think you should have your own before..."

"Yes. Did you ever find out what happened to my original one?"

"After Mr Longbottom borrowed it, I believe it got shattered in the battle at the ministry."

"That's a shame. I loved that wand."

"Perhaps a new one will suit you better."

"Perhaps."

…

Hermione was surprised that Severus didn't hide her with some kind of glamour as they got ready for their morning away from Spinner's End, although he did insist on transfiguring her clothing into more traditional witch's robes. It was a sunnier day and slightly warmer, and Hermione didn't care one bit that her ribs ached as she got dressed. Today was going to be a good day; she would have a wand of her own and hopefully her theories about the potion were correct. There was something thrilling about thinking that maybe her ideas worked and maybe, just maybe, Severus would be impressed. It was not a new feeling to want Severus to approve of her or even be impressed by her, but it suddenly felt just a little more important. She knew it had everything to do with her realisation and knowing that even if he never loved her back, that he thought well of her was still important. She had long ago stopped seeking validation from others when it came to her intellect, but Severus and his mind weren't like anyone else.

Hermione tried not to think about the swooping in her gut as Severus pressed his fingertips to her back to guide her to an apparition point hidden in some bushes. She also tried not to think about the warmth of his hand grasping her shoulder for side-along. It was a good thing apparating with healing ribs hurt, or Hermione might not have found her focus as they landed in an alcove in a cheery looking street. She followed Severus close enough to feel his body heat as he stepped into the street and started following the cobblestones. Part of her wanted to hold on to him, hand in hand, or hook her fingers into the crook of his elbow. She knew he wouldn't tolerate it.

Distracting herself, Hermione looked around the street they were walking on and was surprised to see a kind of liveliness that she hadn't seen in nearly a year. Lights were on in shop windows and there was a decent number of people on the street. The shops that were closed were politely boarded up and didn't have the haunted, broken appearance of Diagon Alley or even Hogsmeade. No one seemed particularly wary or in a rush.

"Where are we?"

"Wizarding Falmouth."

"Why is it so… normal here?"

"Too far south and too small. There are no great magical resources here for the Dark Lord to raid so he's mostly left the area alone."

"It's strange."

"Isn't it. Come, this is the shop."

The outside of the shop was a pleasing shade of pale peach with pale blue shutters and white detailing. The inside had the same pastels but the warm glow of lamps and collections of bouquets offered a vibrancy that suggested summer was just around the corner. For a moment, Hermione forgot there was a war. And then the unease that seemed to follow her everywhere was back. Behind a small counter only large enough for an old register, a man and a woman stood discussing something in low tones. The man noticed them first. His head was shaved but he had a long, well-groomed beard that was a dark grey speckled with white. When he spoke, his Scottish accent was thick and his tone warm and wise.

"Welcome! We must be looking for wands today?"

"Yes." Severus answered. "For her."

The man's attention shifted immediately to Hermione. "Come along then, let's see what we can find. I dare say this isn't your first wand Miss…?"

"Fairley. And no, I destroyed mine recently. I wasn't careful around my potions."

"Not to worry Miss Fairley! Happens to the best of us."

Hermione followed the man around the shop as he introduced himself as Fergus and explained that he handmade all the wands himself and would pass her one then take it away and give her another. Hermione wished for more time with each wand, even the ones that didn't like her one bit, because each one seemed truly alive, pieces of art that seemed to draw in and hold magic, and the sensation was entirely different than Ollivander's wands. After a moment of deliberating, Fergus handed her a dark-coloured wand that twisted and curved elegantly and as he removed it from the box and passed it to her, the light seemed to catch traces of silver streaking through the wood, though Hermione could not see them when she brought the wand up for inspection. As with all the other wands, Hermione gave it a light wave, pointing at something innocuous in case there was a blast of negative magic. This time, the empty vase she had aimed at filled suddenly with flowers and the glass took on a cheery sheen, all the dust cleared away.

"An excellent wand, Miss Fairley! Ancient bog oak and the tail feather of a thunderbird. A wand for loyalty, determination, excellent in battle and for transfiguration."

"I didn't know wands were still made from those materials."

"Not for bigger shops no, but many of us smaller ones still do."

Hermione thanked Fergus and he led her back to the front of the shop where his wife checked Hermione out. Where Fergus seemed wise yet playful, Magda was stern and sharp witted, but the smile she offered Hermione and Severus as they left was dazzling in its warmth. Severus guided Hermione back out into the street, and much to her surprise, suggested they walk around a bit. They wandered, stopping in shops here and there. Hermione couldn't help but notice that with the exception of a sweets shop, the two of them often got distracted by the same things; wandering through bookstore labyrinths or examining apothecary ingredients. Neither spared a glance for Brooms & Sporting, though each did a double take for Aspburry's Apparel. As they walked and explored, it seemed they were in sync, and Hermione couldn't help the warmth that radiated in little spider webs through her chest.

Loaded with a few more items than they arrived with, Severus finally suggested they return to Spinner's End to put the finishing touches on the potion and test it on the rats. This time, Severus' hand on her shoulder had lost some of its stiff discomfort, and she wondered if he too had possibly enjoyed their day. It was a thought that got squeezed away with the pressure of apparition and Hermione let out a pain grunt as they appeared in the bushes in Cokeworth.

"Hermione?"

"I think it's time for a pain reliever. Apparition hurts on the ribs."

Immediately, Severus' face took on its nuanced frown.

"Come on, we've got work to do."

Hermione hoped that by distracting him with the potion, he wouldn't start chastising himself for apparating with her. She desperately didn't want his self-critique to cast a shadow on what might have been the best day since getting to see her friends again. To her surprise, it actually worked, and while she was taking a pain-relieving potion, Severus went into the basement to put the final touches on the anti-venom. When Hermione joined him, they took on the challenge of getting half of the rats bit by the snake without getting eaten. They gave each rat varying amounts of potion at the same time and waited. It didn't take long for reactions to start happening, and although their dosage was easily narrowed down, the potion wasn't perfect.

"So, I guess a coma is better than what happened to the rest of them but it's certainly not ideal." Hermione mumbled, eying the rat Severus was holding up by its tail.

"Certainly not."

"Perhaps a different method of delivery?"

"Perhaps."

And so, they got the other half of their rats bitten and tried various methods of applying the potion, from ingestion, to topical, to injection.

"I guess injection then."

"This rat is fairing the best," by which Severus meant just barely better than catatonic, "but inhaling the fumes seems to be a close second."

Out of rats but their ideas narrowed down significantly, Severus and Hermione took their notes upstairs and pulled out some of the potion's texts from the shelves and new ones they had purchased that morning. Both were so engrossed in their task, that neither noticed that it was four in the morning when Hermione gasped and shoved the tome she had been looking through across the couch to Severus.

"Look at this! If we add coffee leaves and bicorn horn, it should counter some of the catatonic effects without sacrificing the benefits."

Severus scanned the page where Hermione was jabbing her finger and nodded. "Add that to your notes. I believe I have found a simple way to inject the potion, but we are going to have to make it just the right consistency."

"Show me."

It went on like that for the rest of the night and all through Sunday, Severus finally stopping them at one in the morning on Monday. Hermione wasn't sure she could sleep, with all the ideas and calculations running through her head, but she had to remind herself that she had already missed out on plenty of sleep. As they trudged up the stairs and started down opposite ends of the hallway to their bedrooms, Hermione paused.

"Severus, thank you for allowing me to help."

"Of course."

With a dip of his head, Severus disappeared into his room and shut the door.

It took three weeks to get the potion to the point where Severus was comfortable testing it on a person. He supposed it might've taken less time if he was not also teaching, dealing with Malfoy, and keeping Potter from killing Malfoy. He was still blind with fury when he arrived at Spinner's End with a violent flash of green flames and startled Hermione, who was balled up on the couch.

"What happened?"

He cast her a glare with pinched lips.

"It's Harry, isn't it?"

"Naturally."

"Well, what did he do this time?"

"He attempted to kill Draco Malfoy. I am sure that was not his intent, but a child should not use a spell without knowing what it does."

He almost missed the way her eyes flicked over his person, where he knew the white cuffs of his shirt were still slightly stained. She looked shocked and…. Was that anger?

"It was a spell from that stupid book, wasn't it?"

Severus scrambled to follow her line of thinking; what book would have a spell that he created in it? Especially that spell? And then it all clicked together. Hermione had complained once in passing about Potter doing better in potions and the related textbook he was so protective of… Fuck.

"Did you ever look into that book?"

"I never got the chance. Maybe Ron or Ginny did."

"I see."

"We tried to get him to turn that thing in, but he absolutely would not."

Severus stared at her and tried to match her contempt for his old textbook with her endless enthusiasm for their own potions work together. Instead of trying to figure out why she was so upset with the book, Severus got rid of his robes and frock coat and stalked across the room.

"We should eat and then we can test the potion."

He heard Hermione scramble to follow him.

"You said human testing right? How are we going to do that?"

Severus spun around in the doorway of the kitchen, turning so fast Hermione almost ran into him. She staggered back and froze, barely a breath away, her chin tilted up to look at him.

"We are going to offer my arm up to that snake."

"We're testing it on you?" Her voice was quiet, and he could feel the rush of air as she spoke.

"Yes."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"You're more than capable of handling the situation."

Before the discussion could continue, or before he could think too much about why she didn't step away from him, Severus spun back around and went into the kitchen, flinging open the refrigerator to see if there was anything already made. There was. He quickly dished it out and warmed it while Hermione busied herself with tea. They ate in tense silence. Severus could tell Hermione was worried, it radiated from her in waves. He wondered if she was more worried about the potion working or about something happening to him. Not that it mattered.

When they were done eating, Severus set the dishes to washing themselves and the pair retreated to the basement where Hermione fetched a vial of the updated potion and Severus went to coax the snake out of its aquarium. Holding it behind its head, Severus stared at the snake. In comparison to Nagini, it wasn't a very big snake although in terms of snakes it was quite large. Nearly two meters with a small head and a thick body, its scales were deceptively plain. Nothing in its appearance gave indication of how poisonous it was. Severus turned to face Hermione, who was eying the snake with a wariness she had not shown before when the creature was inserting its fangs into rats.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, we are not testing it on you."

Before she could protest, Severus released the snake's head, which whipped around to firmly clamp down on his left forearm. Severus was overwhelmed with irony as he watched Hermione rip the snake from his arm, leaving behind a trail of blood smeared across the dark mark. The back of his tongue felt swollen and heavy, and he couldn't feel his fingers, his hands, his feet. At some point he stopped being able to see or smell. Nothing seemed to tie his body to the physical realm and Severus was certain he had died, though it was impossible to tell. It lasted long enough that Severus started to contemplate his eternity in this nothingness. Was this what hell really was? Just nothing for the rest of time? At least it was quiet, and his mind was clear. The clarity was almost overwhelming; his mind without occlumency and walls, none of the wounds that seemed to scar his soul, just his mind as it was supposed to be, all the pieces of it. Even pieces that didn't seem like his own, but they felt like it.

And then suddenly with such clarity, such force, a voice found him in the void. It felt like sunshine on his skin and honey on his tongue. It blessed him with its purity.

"Severus Snape I will murder you if you die on me!"

He might have laughed. "I can't leave you."

"You better not, you daft bat!"

"Never."

…

Severus opened his eyes to an all too familiar ceiling, one he had laid awake and stared at for years. It somehow seemed different. The shadows were the same, its height, the dust, the way a jagged crack ran across one corner. And yet. Groaning, he shifted, pulling himself up to lean haphazardly against an assortment of pillows, a chaotic mix of his own black ones and the pale-yellow ones he had transfigured for… his mind raced with a cacophony of names he didn't know though they burned familiar in his chest until he landed on the right one.

"Hermione."

There was a noise, and he removed his eyes from the ceiling to find the other person in the room. Balled up against the footboard of his bed was a woman, her face transforming out of sleep and into relief. She unfurled and began launching towards him, stopping short as if finding herself face to face with an invisible wall.

"Severus?"

The name crashed against hundreds of others, but it was his.

"Yes."

His tongue felt wrong, heavy.

"Bloody hell you scared me. How are you feeling?"

It should have been a simple question but suddenly he was so self-aware he thought he could feel his cells splitting. But she wasn't asking about the way his atoms were spread across time or how his mind could be full of everything and nothing or the way his skin was processing all the textures around him.

"Different."

"Can you move?"

Severus tried. He could bend at the elbows and wiggle his fingers, but he didn't have the sensation in his shoulders or neck to move them. His toes displaced the sheets and his knees lifted slightly. The movements kindled something, a familiarity, a knowledge of this body. The woman sighed.

"Well, that's something. I thought you died."

"I think I did."

Yes, this voice, rumbling and low and full of darkness was his own.

"Are you hungry, thirsty?"

The concept of these sensations escaped him, but only for a fraction of a second.

"Thirsty."

"I'll get you some water."

Hermione unfurled further, worming her way off the bed. She glanced back at him as she left the room. Severus thought the terrified concern seeping out of her pores was wholly unnecessary. He felt fine, if not a bit strange. He listened for a moment to the barely there sounds of Hermione elsewhere in the house before he tried something.

"I am Severus Snape."

It felt like thunder and lightning and then nothing at all.

...

When Severus opened his eyes next, he was on his side, a glass of water on the table next to him. He reached for it and drank deeply, emptying the glass before he glanced around him. He was in his own room, a table he didn't recognize taking up most of the space in the room, covered in vials and papers. Folded on the floor, leaning against a wall was Hermione, her head between her knees. Worry beat in his throat. How long was he out? What happened after the snake bit him? He shifted again, finding a comfortable position to sit in.

"Hermione?"

Her head jerked up so quickly he was surprised she didn't hurt herself.

"Severus?"

Her voice wavered, full of questions and uncertainty.

"What happened?"

Hermione took a breath. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure you died at one point. How do you feel now?"

"Sore. My head hurts." He felt weak too, but he wasn't going to mention that.

Hermione stood slowly and stiffly, and he wondered how long she had been on the floor like that. She started walking towards him, grabbing a vial from the table on her way. She stopped rather further from the bed than he expected, stretching out her arm to offer him the vial from her fingertips. Severus recognised the potion immediately and grasped for the pain reliever with urgency. As soon as he took hold of it, Hermione took a step backwards. It struck Severus as strange, a wary action he had long stopped expecting from her. He drank the potion, placed the vial on the table next to the empty water glass and turned his full attention back to Hermione.

"Tell me everything."

"Do you…. Remember anything?"

"The snake biting me."

"That's all?"

"Yes. Hermione what -"

"That was two weeks ago." She blurted.

Severus felt something that might've been panic rise up in the back of his throat. "I see."

"After the snake bit you, you went really pale and kind of crumpled. I waited the allotted time before applying the needle and after about two hours you came to, but you laughed and… and passed out again. I think you died during that time, so did you."

She was leaving something out, he knew it. Hermione couldn't look him in the eye.

"I brought you up here and you were out for a week, mumbling a bunch of stuff and twitching occasionally. Your vitals were low but not dangerous. Then one day you woke up, but it was strange, it didn't feel like you, it was like I was talking to someone else. I went to get you water and when I came back you were unconscious again. That was a week ago. You kept mumbling."

"What was I mumbling?"

"I don't know. It sounded like names. When you woke up last week you were still mostly immobile."

Severus tested his fingers and toes, arms and legs.

"I seem to be in working order now."

"I adjusted the dose and timing based on your reaction and I created a way to have a dose constantly on hand and easily accessible."

"That's a lot to work out in two weeks."

"I was too worried to sleep."

Severus pinched his lips. "What did you come up with?"

Hermione shoved her hand in her pocket and pulled out something small. The tension that had been filling the room seemed to be dissipating, and this time when Hermione came towards him her thighs nearly pressed against the bed. She plucked something from the palm of her hand and held it out to him. Severus reached for it, his eyebrows coming together. A chill ran down his spine at the sight of the ring, a perfect imitation of the snake eating its own tail. It was subtle and dark, something he could wear without drawing attention.

"Why the Ouroboros?"

Hermione shrugged. "It seemed fitting considering we are working on an antivenom."

The cold prickle on his spine that was making the hairs on his body stand on end wasn't going away. Something had happened during the two weeks he was unconscious, something vital, and yet he couldn't remember it. All he knew was that the symbol of cyclical renewal and rebirth he held between his fingers touched something deep within him, something he knew he wouldn't have noticed before.

"How does it work?"

"Once bitten, tap the ring three times and the fangs of the Ouroboros will drop down and deliver the proper dosage."

Once bitten twice shy. Severus looked from the ring to Hermione, who was observing her matching ring as she slipped it neatly onto her middle finger. Was he so vehemently against the soul mate bond because he didn't think she deserved him, that he wasn't worthy, or because he was afraid of exposing himself after what happened with Lily? It might have been a long time ago, and he might have been a child, but Severus had never once cultivated feelings for someone else after. Why? And why fight something fate had created itself? That same chill ran up his spine. Wherever these thoughts were coming from, he had to put them back, he couldn't afford to evaluate himself like this. Severus pushed his own ring onto his middle finger.

"Good work, Hermione."

She gasped, and Severus hid his smirk behind a curtain of hair.