Miriam exchanged a guarded look with Hermione who turned her regard towards Severus. He was sitting next to Conroy, silent with his eyes closed ever since she explained to him her ideas about using Death Magic on the Keeper. His long fingers closed tightly around Conroy's cold hand and his breathing became deeper.
Hermione looked at Miriam.
"He is under for way too long." The Mediwitch said.
Hermione swallowed nervously and nodded. "I know."
"We need to pull him out. Mind probing is dangerous and you know it." Miriam rejoined.
Hermione wavered in indecision. The last thing she was expecting after revealing to him what she did all morning and how she intended to help Conroy was for him to take a seat wordlessly, clasp the man's hand and close his eyes. He offered no comments on her ideas, neither did he get angry for her audacity to offer his expert skills on making love potions for some unimportant librarian. This lack of an emotional reaction, combined with how long he had been inside Conroy's mind was making her nervous. "He is an exceptional Legilimens…" She said quietly.
"He is the best Legilimens to have ever existed ever since Queenie Goldstein gave up her scepter." Miriam pressed her lips and started fixing the quilt around Conroy with care.
Hermione felt her lips curling up. "What about Voldemort?"
"That beast was demented enough to try the most dangerous Dark Magic to have ever existed, but he was not the best Legilimens to have walked earth dear." –Miriam nodded towards Severus- "This man here fooled him well and good for many years on end."
Hermione crossed her arms. "That is true."
"Still, skilled or not it is not wise to allow him to get entrapped inside an empty mind for so long. He might lose himself in there." Miriam looked at the Professor testily.
Hermione stood next to him. "Has he performed like this with Conroy before?"
"Ever since the poor man fell, several times a day." Miriam rejoined thoughtfully.
Hermione rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. She sighed. "I don't know…"
"You are an experienced Healer my dear. You know the dangers." Miriam's voice held a warning that Hermione couldn't ignore.
"You are right…." She murmured and touched Severus' shoulder with the intention of waking him up from his stupor. Before she had the time to do so though, he spoke quietly.
"I am here Miss Granger, there is no need."
She shuddered in relief, not minding that he spoke to her so typically. "Are you alright?"
He opened his eyes and looked at Conroy. "I am."
Hermione cleared her throat and looked at Miriam seemingly for support. "Did you see anything in there?"
The pause was long. "A void…" He breathed out the answer.
Hermione couldn't help from kneeling in front of him and pulling his hand away from Conroy. She trapped it between hers, urging him to look at her. "Severus you heard what I told you before. We are going to help him. Miriam will support my endeavor…."
His black eyes turned to her, penetrating. "With Necromancy…"
Hermione felt a shiver rushing down her spine. "Yes."
He remained inexpressive. "You are both out of your mind. You have no idea what you are messing with."
"We are both experienced Healers master…." Miriam corrected.
He didn't take his eyes away from Hermione. "That means nothing. You have no experience in Death Magic."
She felt her lips curling up. "You trust in us too little."
He pushed his chair back angrily and stood up. "This has nothing to do with trust young lady."
"Severus wait…" Hermione tried to come closer.
"No and that is final. You will not play with Necromancy Hermione." His tone was imposing, not up for debate.
Her brows creased. "You want Conroy to wake up? That is the only way and you know it."
The pause was long before he replied. "I will find another way…not this one."
Hermione's countenance plunged. "Think clearly please…"
He humphed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do me a favor Hermione…Stop…just stop."
Hermione felt the tension that was pulsating under his skin. "Maybe it would be better if we discussed this more privately?"
He looked down at Conroy for what felt like forever. "I will discuss nothing that concerns Necromancy with you Hermione." -Then he turned to Miriam- "Don't let me find out that you tried Death Magic on him Mistress, especially in the company of this young lady." The warning was clear.
The Healer scowled. "You know I only agreed to do this because of you."
"You agreed because you appreciate Miss Granger more than any other Healer that works in this damned place. That should make you even more hesitant to expose her in the dangers of this kind of nightmarish magic." Severus rebuked.
"Severus, don't yell at Miriam. I was the one who asked her help. Leave her out of this please." Hermione's fingers wrapped around his wrist, which felt cold to the touch.
"Your idea, her idea…I don't care. This is way too risky…I will not condone it!" He snapped angrily.
Hermione pressed his hand tightly. "Listen I know you feel lost, I know you feel afraid for Conroy…but this is not the way to handle things. Let us help him."
He pulled his hand away from her and gave her an eloquent look. "No." He said flatly. Then he span around and walked out of the room.
"That is an impressive lack of trust towards a Healer who has saved his life more than once in the past. This was going to be a favor for you dear Hermione, but with this attitude consider me out of the deal." Miriam raised his brow.
"Please wait….He is not well…this man is a close friend of his. I will talk to him…" Hermione sounded regretful.
Miriam pressed her lips. "Good luck trying to persuade the most stubborn wizard of all Magical England dear."
Hermione stifled a groan of exasperation and hurried after him.
-.-
He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. When he saw her his brow rose slowly.
"Severus…." She made an attempt to approach his carefully.
"What in the name of heaven was all this?" He pointed towards the room.
Hermione closed her eyes and jerked nervously. The last thing she wanted was another outburst from him. "I suppose you didn't like my idea then?"
"You call tampering with Necromancy a good idea and not a suicide attempt?! I thought you were shrewder than this." He grumbled.
Hermione pressed her temples. "Severus that is the only way to help him and you know it. He has no brain activity. Even a brilliant Legilimens like yourself is unable to find a way to wake him up. What other options do we have?"
"Not Necromancy!" He thundered.
She flinched.
"Not the Death Magic that Voldemort used in order to split his soul in a dozen pieces! I will not allow this!" He gritted his teeth and his eyes spewed fire.
Hermione swallowed heavily. "What if I don't ask for your permission then?"
"What?" He took a step back, shocked even at the idea.
"You are not my Professor anymore, we are not in Hogwarts. I am a Healer…and my job is to save people. I will do my job whether you agree with it or not." Hermione tried to sound calm even though she wasn't.
"You are going to use heavily illegal magic, just to oppose me?" He scowled.
"I am going to use it in order to help your friend." She rebuked.
He remained silent.
"Haven't you used illegal magic yourself?" -She raised her brow and smiled- "Many times over."
That silenced him for a moment, before he rebounded. "And that helped me tremendously." –The bitterness was clear- "I belong to the Ministry now Hermione, whether I like it or not, and I will not hesitate to report your illegal activities."
Hermione leaned against the wall and pressed her lips. "So you want to act like a Keeper when it suits you? When you were hiding my trace also illegally, I didn't see you reporting yourself."
He squared his shoulders.
She left the wall and came over to him. "Why are you acting in this manner?"
He humphed. "You are absolutely infuriating. Have you any idea what you are wishing to fiddle with? This kind of magic will tear your soul apart!"
"You think too low of my abilities. I don't appreciate this attitude. You never thought I was ever good enough, did you? Not even in school." She said sadly.
He raised his eyes to her in disbelief. "You think that is what this is all about? Me being distrustful of your skills?"
She shrugged. "Give me another reason…"
He didn't speak.
"And make me believe it." She whispered provocatively.
His jawline flexed, but he remained quiet.
She felt his overwhelming energy engulfing her. "So?" Her smile was provocative.
"This is isn't about me distrusting you." He stumbled.
"What is it about then?" She pushed.
The pause was long and full of tension. "I care about you…you silly little girl." He whispered.
Every hair on her body stood in attention. "I will be okay Severus…"
He shook his head in denial.
"If I need your help will you be there?" Her smile was soft.
A low grumble came from the deepest part of his chest. "You are not listening to me…No…I won't help you…"
"So will you let me get hurt?" She smirked and her hand slid up his shoulder.
"You deserve to be hurt for being so irresponsibly silly. Necromancy…Death Magic…" –His lips twisted dryly- "….Love bloody potions."
Her face settled. "Severus…I will help him whether you agree with my ways or not. I can see how much this is hurting you…no matter how hard you try to hide it from everyone."
His lips parted and a rugged breath came out. "You are so despicably stubborn….such an annoying know-it-all…."
Her lips curled up with a prologue of a knowing smile as she felt confident that she would be able to turn his head around soon, when suddenly he was snatched out of her hands. Conroy's son appeared out of nowhere and bulldozed Severus against the wall.
"I heard you! I heard everything you said you bloody bastard! You don't want to help my father, you wish to see him wither and die! It was not his turn to go into the Underworld that day! You were supposed to go in there, not him!" Ebra barked at Severus' face.
Hermione lunged at the boy who proved stronger than expected and tried to pull him off Severus. "Stop it! Stop this right now or I will call security!"
Security was not needed apparently as Severus grabbed one of the boy's hands, twisted it and got him on a choke hold so quickly that Hermione took a step back panting.
"Calm down boy." The older man commanded.
Ebra tried to kick him, but in the position he was locked in, there was little he could do. "You made my father go in this accursed world, you stole his mind and now you don't want to help him get better!"
"Calm down!" Severus spat.
Hermione pushed her hair away from her face. "That's it I am calling security."
"Stay put!" –Severus said and then turned to the boy- "Where is your mother?!"
Hermione didn't listen to him. She rushed down the corridor and opened the door to Miriam's offices.
"Withering away into nothingness along with my father! You took everyone away from me!" Ebra hollered.
"Ebra calm down…let me talk to your mother. This is not what you are thinking." Severus tried.
"No! I heard what you told the Army Nurse! You don't want her to wake my father up! You don't care about him!"
"You are wrong!" Severus barked, barely able to handle his anger.
The office doors flew open and Hermione run to him. She was followed by Miriam and a couple of orderlies. "Stop him!" She said.
Ebra gave a long and hard fight with the two men, but in the end he was magically restrained and dragged away. However his screams had managed to awaken the whole ward and several nurses and patients had come out in order to see what was going on.
As they tugged him away, Ebra turned towards Severus and hurled vehemently. "Everyone who is by your side is cursed to die! You are the real beast! The monster that stood by the side of darkness for so many years. You don't deserve to be called a Keeper, you deserve death! You are a curse to everyone who surrounds you…! Everyone who ever trusted you died….EVERYONE, even the woman you loved!"
Miriam turned to Hermione. "He is in a shock. I will put him under sedation and inform his mother."
Hermione nodded and when the door of the adjoining corridor closed she turned to Severus. His eyes were haunted and his skin deadly pale. She scowled and walked up to him. "Hey…" She made an attempt to touch his arm.
He looked frozen.
Her heart plunged. "Severus look at me."
He didn't.
"Ebra didn't mean those words. He is in shock…you heard what Miriam said…" -Hermione grasped both his biceps tightly- "Look at me."
His nose flared.
"LOOK AT ME!" She jerked him, needing to get through to him.
His eyes fell on her and she saw the naked pain behind the usually cold curtain. He pushed her away and threw himself down the corridor in a wrathful retreat.
She blinked and felt her eyes watering. If she let him go now she was going to lose him, both emotionally and physically. There was no hesitation. She dashed after him and reached him quickly. "Stop!" She grabbed him by the shoulder.
He pulled himself free.
She gritted her teeth and wrapped both hands around his forearm. "I said STOP!" She yelled.
He kept on walking…dragging her behind him…leaving…
She dag her heels on the floor and grasped the handle of a random office. That managed to stop him. He turned around and looked at her. "You are not leaving me…not when you are like this." Her voice was decisive. Without waiting for an answer she opened the door and pushed him inside.
He stumbled into the darkness.
Hermione closed the door and turned to him. "What in the name of Merlin do you think you are doing?" She frowned.
He didn't speak.
She came in front of him. "Did you take what this boy told you at heart?"
"You have no idea what you are talking about!" He hissed.
She tightened her lips. "I understand more than you think Severus."
He humphed. "Don't act like you know anything about me. You don't."
"Do you think that what Ebra said about you was true then?" She raised her brow.
He was once more silent. Pushing her away with his taciturnity.
She didn't relent. She took another step closer and reached up to clasp his shoulder. "You are the beast he spoke about? The real monster? The one who invites death for everyone around him?"
He took a step back and leaned against the wall. A rugged breath escaped him. "Stop it."
Another step forth for her and she stood still in front of him. "You are the one surrounded by shadows, destined to bring death to everyone around you?"
He shook his head and his eyes watered. He turned his head away from her.
She reached up and cupped his cheek. His skin was burning. "Are you the one who wants Conroy to fade into nothingness? Are you as cold-hearted as they think you are?"
He swallowed audibly and closed his eyes.
Her thumb caressed him under the jawline. "Do you dance with death?"
His eyes squeezed and a single tear rolled down his sharp nose.
"Or are you the hero we have all witnessed during the war?" Her smile was soft, as was her touch.
He tried to turn his head away, but she didn't allow him.
"Aren't you the one who never hesitated to sacrifice himself for the ones he loved?" She took another step and their bodies almost touched.
His jawline flexed under her fingers.
"Weren't you always the silent rogue who suffered for the good of others?" She whispered and looked at his parted lips.
His hands turned into tight fists and pushed against the wall.
"You are in anguish for the fate of Conroy. You are worrying alongside his family and you have no one to share your aching with. That is why you exploded yesterday…that is why you had a meltdown today." She tilted her head up and her lips brushed against his chin.
His chest undulated with s sharp inhalation.
"You are not the monster Ebra says you are. He knows it, you know it, the world knows it…I know it. Had you the choice you would have turned back time in order to take Conroy's place in oblivion." She whispered upon his skin and closed her eyes.
A soft groan escaped him along with several more tears.
"Wouldn't you have?" She asked gently.
"Yes." His voice was rugged.
A soft kiss was placed on the side of his jawline. "You are not death…you are life…don't you see?" She said quietly.
"I feel dead…" his fists punched the wall.
She swallowed heavily and run her lips alongside the rough stubble of his cheek until she touched the softness of his mouth. His breath caught. "I feel your heartbeat under my fingertips…." She whispered and her forefinger caressed a throbbing vein on the side of his neck.
"Hermione…" He murmured upon her lips.
"I feel the quickness of your breath." She pressed her bosom upon his wide chest.
A mewl of suppressed longing escaped his parted lips. "Don't…"
"I feel you rippling with a life force that is so overwhelming, carefully hidden under your rigid exterior." Her fingers pressed on his nape, pulling him closer.
"This is so wrong." He panted hard upon her warm lips.
"No it is not." She opened her mouth and pecked him gently.
"Get away from me Hermione…" His hand came up and grasp her bicep tightly.
A self-assured smile spread on her lips. "Make me…."
He kept her there a mere breath away and his hands became vices of steel around her arms. He wanted to hurt her bad enough to send her away. Make her curse the day she had ever crossed his path outside of Hogwarts. He could do it….he knew how to make people run away from him. He had been doing that all his life….even to the only woman he had ever loved. He was an expert in acting like a bastard. It was going to be so easy for him. He'd push her away hard, make her fall against the desk, bruise her arms, and spit hateful and degrading words to her. It was so easy…it was the only thing he knew how to do well. Send everyone running away from him….he could do it in the blink of an eye. And he was so ready to do it, so prepared to be alone again in the company of his sullenness. He was so needing of his loneliness, for that was the only thing that felt familiar to him. He could do it…he should do it…he wanted to send her away in a heap of humiliation and pain….He was so ready to push her away…however….
…he remained frozen. Counting his breaths. Her small hand slid down his stomach, making his muscles tense, just before it rested on his belt buckle. "Why aren't you making me leave? I know you can." She whispered.
A groan of stifled desire escaped him.
"I saw you that day when I apparated in your house…with that woman." -Hermione came on tiptoe and caressed his lips softly with hers- "You were buried between her thighs…thrusting against her."
He opened his eyes and gazed at her.
The blaze in them made her lower stomach throb. "I felt such a strong sexual pull then…" She grabbed his hand and led it between her legs- "…here."
A raw moan got lodged in his throat.
"And I feel it more intense than ever right now. You are not dead inside. A dead man wouldn't ever make me feel so alive…." Her hand left his belt buckle and cupped the hardness that was creating an impressive tent at the front of his trousers.
His grunt of pleasure was a mere nothing in front of her satisfied whimper when she felt the impressive weight of his erection pressing against her palm. This man was gifted not only academically and magically, but also physically and Hermione's mind melted even at the thought of touching him. As his tongue rolled between her lips and engaged hers, her fingers didn't lose time. She unbuckled him and lowered his zip. He slowly led her back towards he only desk in the office. A lazy river of lava begun flowing deep in her core and the pull of longing became almost unendurable. She never intended to come on so strong to him when she brought him in the office. She only wanted to reach out to him. However as his large hands wrapped around her buttocks and swept her up, the only thing on her mind was to make him grind on her in the same manner that he had done to Maxine. As she was planted upon the desk and he spread her legs open, she forgot all about propriety and manners. She forgot that he was her old nasty Professor. The man that always terrified her in the past was now opening up her shirt with a greed that made her wet. When he buried his head on her neck in order to suck her skin in hungrily, her body vibrated in response.
She felt papers sliding under her hands as she tried to steady herself. She didn't even know whose office this was or what documents were being stained by her creamy need as he pulled her panties aside. A sharp cry was buried into the heated cavity of his mouth as his fingers slid over her thick wetness. The documents in question were pushed out of the way rudely as she bit his tongue with a carnality that was so in contrast with her always prudent nature.
She had made love before….with Ron….but this here was not love making. This was a catharsis for both of them and she knew it. Foreplays…that were so important to her in the past, seemed now feebly trivial as her fingers wrapped around his impressive length. "Severus…." She mumbled hoarsely as his teeth got buried in the sensitive skin of her shoulder.
An animalistic groan was his response as his hand cupped the fullness of her breast and twisted it tightly. She should have felt pain, but only heat throbbed in her nether regions. Her fist slid on his length and his hips thrust against her palm gratefully. He muttered something incoherent and slid a finger inside her heat.
"No…foreplay…" Her broken voice was barely heard, but the deep rumble that vibrated on his chest made her smile. His finger slid out, leaving her empty only for a moment, because his thrust came with unexpected roughness to make her bellow both in pleasure and in pain. She felt her insides torn apart as the heavy rigidity of this man filled her to the brim. They both stopped, shocked into stillness and looked at each other with cloudy eyes. His brow creased and he cupped her cheek. A tear rolled down the side of her nose as she heaved under him.
"I am sorry…" He whispered broken.
She shook her head and her nails dag on his nape pulling him to her. "I am not…." She hissed and opened her legs wider for him.
He buried his head on her neck with a heavy moan and his hips gave her the first hard thrust which hid behind it ages of frustration and emotional pain. The shudder that spread on her body like a star ignited from her very depths. She closed her eyes and clutched onto him for dear life as he begun thrusting in her with a desperation that touched the deepest part of her soul. The stinging pain that his considerable length and breadth were offering was a mere inconvenience to the emotional awakening that she felt in her heart for him. She closed her eyes as he pounded against her, making the desk creak loudly under them.
He held her up to him almost like a treasure…like a lifeline, she felt it and that awoke fresh tears in her eyes. His nails dug on her hips and his tongue lashed her nipple spreading tentacles of pleasure through her lower stomach. His onslaught was so rough and overpowering. It felt so one sided and needy that she would have never expected her body to react with such hunger. His lunges became harder and faster with each passing moment and she knew he was close to getting the emotional and physical release he so yearned. Then one she craved to offer, without caring for her own pleasure.
However it was there even if she was not expecting it…lingering after every thrust. The sweet pull that send her higher and higher. Emanating from her very depths that were being opened up by him. She closed her eyes and frowned in confusion. She was not easy to please. Ron had rarely managed to send her over the edge, even though he always took care to use a lot of foreplay on her. She didn't expect to find pleasure with the rough loving this man was making to her now. Yet…there it was again…making her moan and wish for him to push deeper. Slowly she stopped focusing on how close he was to his release, like she always did with Ron. Slowly she felt her brow creasing in surprise as her body seemed impatiently excited for another plunge from this man. Her legs opened up more of their own accord and her heels dug into his lower buttocks, pulling him in her deeper. An abysmal cry from him, drew a long moan from her chest and she found herself begging him "Don't stop…more…"
And his lunges came firmer and deeper as she asked. Faster and more irregular, something that would have made her lose momentum in the past with Ron. However this time it was different. Maybe it was his size, maybe his furious need to claim her, maybe the way his body was shuddering in defeat in front of her, maybe it was his emotional breakdown before or her own need to allow herself a moment of freedom …but his rocking kept building her up until she reached a point where she knew there would be no turning back. Then she stopped praying for him to get released and she prayed for him to last a little bit…. "Longer…just a little bit longer…I am almost there." She moaned in his ear.
She didn't know if he heard her or not, if he cared or not, if he was going to do something about it or not, but his dives seemed endless….bottomless….so beautifully painful that before she knew it…she was there…touching the light. Her reaction was a groan of disbelief and pleasure that echoed into the corridor. She clung onto him as her body convulsed uncontrollably. Her nails dug on his skin drawing blood as she tried to understand were madness ended and reason begun. She had never experienced such a powerful release in her life and as his own culmination run him over like the Hogwarts Express she barely had the state of mind to comfort him or tell him to pull out.
As he emptied himself inside her she entwined her fingers through his slick hair and kissed his brow, still feeling her body trembling in regular intervals from the explosive release he had offered her. When he collapsed on top of her she closed her eyes and felt more tears rushing down her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying….for she didn't feel sadness. Just immense satisfaction and a wholesomeness she had never felt before. Like she was one with the world again, one with her mind…at peace with herself once again.
He lay on top of her wasted, limp inside her, panting on her collarbone and caressing her breast for the longest of time. She kept him cradled in her arms, twisting her fingers through his hair and kissing his temple every so often until he spoke. "Are you….alright?" His voice was hoarse.
She smiled calmly and felt a wave of bliss covering her body. "Oh, yes I am….I couldn't be better. You?"
He didn't answer. Instead he asked her again. "Did I hurt you?"
She pressed her arms around him. "You did…"
He tensed.
She laughed lightly. "In all the good ways."
He exhaled in relief and offered a series of tender pecks under her earlobe. "I came too roughly upon you."
"Do you see me complaining?" She smiled.
"Hermione…" He stumbled.
She cupped his cheeks and lifted his head up. His eyes were bloodshot, but his face had a serenity she had never seen in him before. "Stop…just stop with all this guilt. I wanted this as much as you did."
He looked at her lips and his thumb run gently over them. "I never intended to ….do this…with you….." Another attempt to an apology, which Hermione didn't want.
"I did though." She smirked.
He frowned, taken aback.
"Peculiar to hear you say that you never intended to find me this way. It sounded like you didn't really want this, which comes in contrast with how heatedly you were taking me a few moments ago." She teased.
He cupped her jawline and came down for a gentle kiss. "You don't know how much I wanted you…but not like this…not so roughly…not in an office…in the middle of nowhere. An office…" He looked around him embarrassed.
"That you don't know whom it belongs to…." She laughed.
He exhaled and leaned his head on her shoulder with a sad smile. "Whose is this office that we tainted anyway?"
"I have no idea." She admitted.
He looked up surprised.
She shrugged. "No damn idea whatsoever."
They held each other's gaze for several moments before she snorted. His lips curled up in an unexpected smile that made him look years younger. She sobered up. "You should smile more often. It becomes you."
He frowned down at her and caressed the soft corner of her well kissed lips. "And now what?"
"About what exactly?" She raised her brow.
"About everything…." He rejoined.
"Who would have expected the ever controlled Professor Snape, the cold natured spy to sound so insecure?" She smiled teasingly.
"Don't jest." He admonished.
She rolled her eyes. "Now Professor Snape we have consummated our future marriage and believe me I don't regret it at all. Actually I wouldn't mind repeating the dirty deed with you many times over."
He sighed and looked at her lips thoughtfully. "I am sorry I came down so hard on you before at the corridor."
She caressed a few grey tendrils on his temple. "Ebra's words were hurtful, but I am sure he didn't mean them."
He nodded and remained silent for several moments before looking at her again. "Thank you."
"For what?" She scowled.
"For everything…." –He hesitated- "For today…for being here."
"I wouldn't have left you at a moment of need Severus." She sobered up.
He looked at her solemnly. "You are such a unique woman…."
A smile toyed on her lips. "I know I am…" She tried another tease.
He humphed and leaned his forehead on hers. Then he closed his eyes.
She begun caressing his hair, looking at the ceiling and wondering if feeling so blissful was a crime. If something would happen to take all this away from her. Fear made her heart twitch as those thoughts kept twisting around in her head, pushing the pleasure she felt from him away slowly.
"When are you going to work?" She purred.
"This afternoon." He was quiet.
She tensed. "I don't want you to go to work today."
He looked up. "I cannot do that Hermione. Look at what happened to Conroy when I didn't go the last time. Don't overburden me with another fail like this again…I beg of you."
She heard the pain in his voice and closed her eyes. "I understand….yet that dream I saw of you…it scares me so bad."
He caressed her forearm gently and smiled. "There we have another seer. Are you ready to take over after Trelawney?"
"This isn't funny and don't compare me to her." Hermione sounded offended.
"Fine…" He smiled.
"Forget about my dreams or my intuition. I just want you to take the day off so we can enjoy each other. Is that too much to ask?" She tried to sound enticing.
"That is a very fair request."
"So you want to stay with me too?" Her face lit up.
He leaned over and pecked her lips tenderly. "Oh, believe me I do."
Her brow shadowed when she looked at him. "Yet, you won't."
"No, I won't." He scowled.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly and squeezed her eyes tight. "Just please stay home with me today…please."
He kissed her temple and looked at her. "This worries you too much…"
"You cannot believe how much. I have a feeling that today something is going to happen again. I don't know to whom, but I certainly don't want that someone to be you." She felt her eyes tearing up.
"It is endearing that you wish to protect me, but I have to do my job Hermione." His finger entwined through her wavy hair, waking up the goosebumps in her skin.
"So we will now part ways. I will have to go home and you have to go to ….hell on earth." She pressed her lips.
He scoffed. "That's an eloquent way of putting it."
She grabbed his biceps tightly and pushed him up. "How will I know that everything is okay with you?"
"You won't…unfortunately. It is part of the package." His gaze was intense.
"I don't like this part of the package."
He caressed her flushed cheeks gently. "Everything is going to be alright."
She took hold of his long fingers and brought them to her mouth. She kissed each finger separately. "I don't want to end up being in the place of Jody…."
He scowled and pulled her in his embrace. "What is this nonsense now? This will be another usual day in the Underworld. I promise."
She settled there and closed her eyes. "What time will you be back?"
"Quite late…"
"Can I visit your workspace?" She wrapped her arms around his back.
"I won't be there, I will be in the Parallel Worlds…why come?" He asked in confusion.
"Just to see the place you are working in, get to meet your colleagues. Maybe find Harry and speak to him…."
"Maybe ask him to keep an eye on me, which is absurd since he cannot recognize his left foot from his right inside the Underworld…" He rejoined.
She snorted and pressed her forehead on his chest. "You are right…nothing is going to happen. If there is someone who knows how to navigate that world better than anyone else, then that's you…"
He stroked her hair and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "There you go…now we agree."
"I will go home and make you a special dinner. Then maybe when you return we can…uhm repeat what we did here today….if you are in the mood?" She looked up at him eagerly.
The smile that formed on his lips echoed in his eyes. "That will be my pleasure and an ultimate honor, which I don't deserve." He whispered and offered her a sensual kiss that blew all the worries away from her mind.
…if only for a moment….
-.-
Sometimes dreams come true they say and for Severus that had never been the case…in the past. Today though an unexpected dream did come true…such a precious dream that he didn't want to wake up from it.
Sometimes nightmares also come true and that for Severus also was the case. At least that is what he thought as he was following his Captain Garret towards a purple alarm the Aurors fired up soon after he entered his office in order to take over today's work. Hermione's voice telling him about that dream she had…that certainty she had that someone was going to get hurt today made him run even faster.
The purple alarm, the one arranged between the Keepers and the Aurors. Only to be activated when the Aurors had a lead to another Muggleborn abduction that was connected to the Underworld. The one that was pulsating vividly in the sky, throwing its vibrant colors to the sides of the dull buildings in this dark London alley. The blasts from the wands of the Aurors towards a hooded figure that was passing through the dark cloudy whirlpool barely made him flinch.
The rough hand of Potter as it wrapped around his forearm hardly made him turn around. His eyes were solely for the black whirlpool that led to ….hell….as Hermione had so elegantly put it. "They took the girl…the portal is closing up!" Harry hollered.
Missing a portal would be catastrophically unfixable. The Underworld was abysmal in many levels. Practically impossible to find where a portal leads. The hesitation was minimal considering he was understaffed, thoroughly tired and followed by one of his less experienced Captains.
-.-
When they exited on the other side, Severus tried to take a deep breath and felt the air dirty and heavily damp despite the dryness of the land.
"Do you see them anywhere?" Garret's voice sounded slow and thick.
"No." -He whispered not wanting to bother the sickening silence that surrounded this place- "But they can't have gone far. Come on."
Even though he had ample experience of the Parallel Worlds since he was working for Voldemort who was thoroughly interested in using them, Severus recognized this place as some deep forgotten part of the fifth level. A dark grey hue covered the sky and the empty deserted valley around him was a thirsty sheet of lifeless land. As he took his first heavy steps inside this dense level he felt the dark magic sleeping around him. Quite and unbothered by their presence….yet. His fingers tightened around his wand and he called on his protection schematics silently.
"This feels close to the sixth level…" Garret whispered.
"Silence…" -Severus hissed and stopped him- "Wait…"
There was an abandoned gravel path that was barely seen inside the dry and dusty land that surrounded it. A white picket fence stood broken by the elements alongside of it. Severus was hearing his breathing way too loud and he knew soon he'd be able to hear the rushing of blood through his veins. The deeper one went inside these worlds, the quieter it got. This place could easily drive anyone mad. It was like putting a patient prone to psychotic episodes inside an anechoic chamber and praying for the best.
He began walking again, wishing he could hear his boots crushing the gravel under them. A fallen prayer of his destined to wither behind this forgotten veil. When they turned the corner of the gravel road, Severus saw a tall mountain in the distance and the huge waterfalls that were the fifth levels' trademarks, tumbling violently from a great height and crashing upon the sharp rocks below….maddeningly silent….once again. This world was an abomination, dead, colorless, abandoned by the Gods. The only thing that could thrive in here was the Dark Magic, which fed the land to its very bowels and made the air thick and sickly.
"I don't hear anything boss." Garret whispered.
"We need to make out presence known." Severus' brow darkened.
"Do we have a death wish today?" Garret frowned.
"When the Darkness awakens it will track down not only us, but the ones who entered the portal before us." Severus rejoined solemnly.
Garret's gaze was eloquent. "I am ready."
Severus raised his wand and a huge red burst of light came out of it. Its beam shot straight onto the sky, ending up in a beautifully silent explosion that lit up the whole valley, spewing red magical matter all over the dry land.
Garret tensed and tightened his hold upon his wand. "That will wake up the madness alright." He murmured.
Three ages could have passed as they waited, or maybe three seconds. They couldn't have known for time moved differently down there. However Severus felt the black awakening inside his veins. The vibrations of the Dark Magic rushed through him like a scorching liquid meant to burn and destroy.
"It's here." He whispered.
Garret remained mutely tense, waiting….He was not as sensitive as his boss in this kind of magic, but the rush of Dark Magic numbed down his spine, sending him almost into a fainting spell. No one in this place would be able to bare this painful heat, this sickening darkness without uttering a word. No one apart from maybe the man that was standing in front of him. Garret groaned and grasped Severus' shoulder for support. "Boss?"
Suddenly a scream was heard from the distance. Severus lifted up his head, seized Garret's arm and disapparated. They reappeared right in front of the hooded figure who was holding a girl on a choke hold. His wand was pointed on her temple. She looked at them and sniffled. "Help me…please…." She was panting, barely able to breathe.
Garret walked in front of his boss and raised his wand. "Let her go!" He yelled.
"Garret step back!" Severus rejoined.
"Don't come any closer or she dies!" The hooded figure spat and twisted his arm around the girl's neck.
Severus showed him his wand in a gesture of good will. "We don't have to do this. If we remain here, we all die. The Darkness has awoken and it makes no exceptions. You are clearly outnumbered. Let the girl go…" He approached slowly.
"Don't move!" The hooded man warned.
Severus stopped. "You know I am not going to let you get out of here alive, right? If you let her go I might consider releasing you."
"He-lp me…" The girl stuttered.
Severus saw the wilderness in her eyes and that is when recognition hit him harder than a punch. Freezing the blood in his veins. This was the same girl that Hermione saved at the alley. He felt his mouth drying out and turned his attention to the hood. "You know how to enter the Underworld, therefore you know the dangers that lurk in here when the Darkness awakens. You can hear it, can't you? You can feel it rushing through your veins destroying the red cells in your blood….don't you?"
Garret took another step closer. "Look around you. It is circling us. It is going to rise up from the ground and descent on us from the sky. You will die alongside of her."
"Listen we can try something else." –Severus took a careful step closer, feeling his body aching all over- "Why don't we change the original deal. I won't hunt you down if you push the girl towards me. You will be left alone. You can leave without any consequences. How about that?"
"No Commander…." The hooded man replied and there was something familiar in his voice that made Severus' hair stand on end.
"What is the use of sacrificing her inside this world? You took her, therefore she is useful to you in some manner. If she dies she won't be useful to anyone. You can get out of this unharmed." Severus taxed.
"The point is not for me to escape, but for her to die." The hooded man tightened his arm around the girl's throat.
"He-lp pl-ease…" She gasped and tears gushed down her cheeks.
Severus looked at her for a tense moment before turning to the hood. "Why does she have to die?"
"All Mudbloods have to die! It is what must be done. Our legacy to this world!" The man roared and without any warning the tip of his wand turned into a sharp knife which slit the girl's throat from side to side.
Severus felt the adrenaline exploding inside his pained body. "NO!" He hollered wrathfully and threw himself towards them. Before he could take a single step though, the tentacles of Darkness erupted from the ground and engulfed him. Talons made out Magic, ethereal weapons of death flung towards him and one slashed through his shoulder blade, pierced it straight through and came out the front. It broke through his skin as easily as it had broken through his protection schematics.
He looked bewildered at the girl collapsing at the feet of the hooded man, her throat bearing a huge slash that created a sickening fountain of blood around her head. He lifted up his wand and pointed towards the hooded man when the talon that was buried in him lifted him up in the air and flung him upon some sharp rocks several feet away. He crashed upon their edges with the side of his head and a searing pain tore through his forehead and left eye. He felt the world darkening and he knew that he was losing consciousness. He couldn't pass out now….He forced his eyes open and tried to get up.
Garret was out there, trying to get the girl, calling upon his magic, throwing myriads of spells towards the hooded figure. None passed through to him, for his protection was surprisingly efficient. Something that couldn't be said for Garret, for when the hooded man retaliated the strike was deadly skillful.
"NO!" He barked and saw the hooded man running away from the scene of destruction as the Darkness was engulfing him. Severus forced himself up. He tried to take a step, but the dizziness from his torn head and the poison of the Dark Magic that was running through his veins made him collapse with a cry of anguish which was both physical and emotional. He felt unable to breathe anymore and everything around him was moving so fast….and so slow at the same time…but always silent…always so damned silent. He sat there kneeling in the middle of nowhere with the shadows swallowing him, the body of Garret a few feet away and the blood of the girl almost staining his trousers. He gritted his teeth and wrapped his arms around his stomach. Then he closed his eyes and pushed everything he had outwards. Without channeling it through a wand or through his mind. A blinding white eruption flattened the land as far as the eyes could see. The Darkness shrieked in agony and hurried to hide away from his force. It burrowed quickly inside the ground and disappeared into lead sky faster than the eyes could see.
Then everything was still once more…motionless and empty.
Unable to think clearly he raised his head and tried to find Garret. Everything was swirling around him and he didn't know if that was due to his attack or due to the poison that was rushing through him…killing his red blood cells. He pushed himself up and felt nauseous. Then he fell down again. He crawled and spat the blood that was coming up to his tongue. "Garret…" He gasped. He pushed up and fell down again. Unable to catch his breath he scuttled to Garret. "No…no…please no…" He muttered and reached out with a trembling hand to touch his friend's throat.
There was no pulse.
His mouth filled with bile. He turned towards the girl and crept up to her. She was lying in a pool of her own blood, looking up to the sky….asking it to help her. Severus felt vomit rising quickly. He turned around and emptied his stomach violently. Blood and food came out. He was a hard man, trained under the most ruthless wizards, yet at this moment the girl's cloudy eyes, frozen as they were in terror had torn whatever was left of his soul to threads. He took hold of her hand and pulled her with great effort towards Garret. Then he pulled the Captain on his lap with a sob he didn't even hear. He closed his eyes and opened up a portal.
-,-
Another end of the portal opened up in front of the Ministry's steps. Severus pulled himself at them with great effort. He kept holding the girl's hand and having Garret's head on his lap, right there in the midst of all those innocent bystanders. He couldn't hear the screams of terror around him, nor did he see all those Aurors rushing out of the doors and down the steps towards him. He felt arms pulling him away, trying to separate him from the girl and Garret, but there were no sounds. Only the sound of his blood rushing in his ears, the void and Ebra's voice. "Everyone around you dies!"
It was not one, nor two, neither three Aurors that finally managed to pull him away, but five. He took a few steps away and felt the world spinning again. He saw the Healers coming for the girl and Garret, but he knew it was of no use. They were long gone…both of them…and he was alive. Again. What was he doing alive again when another one of his Captains was gone alongside this poor girl, which he was supposed to have protected? He should have been dead instead. He took a few steps away, lost his footing and emptied himself on the steps messily. He groaned and felt the world flickering. He leaned his head on his palms and closed his eyes….wishing to never open them again. He didn't want to see those foggy eyes again…the ones asking for his help.
He had one chance to save that girl and he failed….he failed her.
-.-
Hermione had been unable to settle her worries enough in order to return home and play good housewife. She hadn't been in the mood to cook, so instead of brooding alone until he returned home she decided to remain at the hospital and help Madame Miriam. She cleaned the office from the mess Severus and she caused and then asked Miriam what she needed. Now several hours later she was closing the door of the potions apothecary, balancing precariously four bottles on her bosom, with the intention of taking them to Madame Miriam.
That is when she almost fell head first upon Severus' ex assistant. That beautifully sensual woman was standing there, dressed all in black leather, making Hermione's heart twitch with jealousy if only for a moment. Then she squared her shoulders. "This is a closed Ward. No one is allowed outside visiting hours." She said strictly.
Maxine placed her hands on her waist and looked at her cheekily. "Hermione Granger. The famous Army Nurse, turned apprentice Healer on the most famous ward of magical London."
"I have work to do. Can I help you with something?" Hermione pressed her lips annoyed.
"I was just talking to Jody. She is a good friend of mine. Her husband was a colleague of for many years you see." -Max said emphatically- "She mentioned how helpful you have been to them and I wanted to thank you."
"There is no need." Hermione said coldly and made to leave.
Max stopped her. "Also I wanted to congratulate you on your engagement to my former boss. He is a bit difficult at times, but he is a killer in bed."
"I don't see how such details are appropriate for this conversation. Can I do anything else for you before I resume my work?" Hermione rejoined dryly.
"Not really…except maybe so. I wanted to wish you both happiness during these darkest hours. Be courageous dear Army Nurse. Things will be hard. Especially after what happened today." Max crossed her arms with a contented smile.
Hermione's heart froze. "What do you mean?"
Max humphed, turned around and walked away.
Hermione stood in the middle of the corridor perplexed until a door opened and Miriam came out. "Hermione did you see the news?!" Her eyes were haunted.
Hermione felt the world disappearing from under her feet. "Miriam…what is happening?"
The Healer came over quickly and grabbed her arm. "It's your …its Severus. There has been an accident."
Hermione heard little of anything else, neither did she see Max' smiling eyes as she dashed out of the ward like a tornado, leaving all those broken potion bottles lying on the floor.
-.-
Her heart was pounding, her blood was icy, her legs were weak and she couldn't breathe. She felt Harry leading her through the crowd and she searched apprehensively for him, looking like a lost child. Then she saw him….sitting with his head buried in his hands a few feet away from two black body bags. Several medics were surrounding him, trying to treat his wounds. His shirt was soaked in blood and so was his head and face. She tore herself away from Harry and staggered to him.
She knelt in front of him and touched his knees. "Severus?" She whispered.
He didn't speak.
She reached out and cupped his hand. Then softly she pulled it away from his face. Her stomach tilted when she saw the depth of his shoulder wound, which was oozing a black matter and the torn skin on his forehead that had slashed his brow in two…missing his eye by a hair's inch.
"Severus it's me…can you hear me?" She pressed his hand.
He raised his eyes to her and her heart fell.
"Can I hug you?" -Her eyes teared up- "Please?"
Without warning he reached out and took her in a strong embrace that pushed all the air out of her lungs. She embraced him back with the same fervor and released a sob mixed with a laugh, which she knew was not appropriate in the face of all this death. Yet she didn't care…because he was there. Her dream hadn't come true. He was still there with her. Wounded yes, but alive. She pulled his head on her shoulder and kissed his hand fervently. The tears of relief flooded her eyes. "You are alive…sweet Gods…heaven above…you are alive…" She murmured as she kissed whatever available patch of skin was not wounded or bleeding.
His whole body trembled and she felt it.
She pressed him tightly and heard the hiss of pain. "I am going to heal you, don't worry about anything. I am here for you…"
Another shudder shook him whole. "Ebra was right." His haunted voice whispered.
She felt her heart stopping for a moment and then hugged him almost possessively. "Hush, everything will be alright…hush…" She soothed him and closed her eyes. All she cared about was that he was not hurt. Everything else was going to be fixed. She was going to fix it for him.
Inside this nightmare no one noticed that the sky had grown several tones darker from a menacing supercell that was approaching the city from the North.
