"He is an abomination…a beast…"
Severus' body tensed up. He opened his eyes knowing his boogeyman was prowling ever so close, ready to pounce in the slightest mistake. His eyes turned to Hermione and a wrathful upsurge flooded his chest. His blood felt like molten magma that charred his veins. His fists clenched so hard that his nails broke the skin at the heel of his palm. His breath was rapid, but the oxygen felt scarce. He was balancing on the edge of thorns, one step from creating chaos in her name. The timid voice of reason, now buried under the embers of his fury tried to speak.
What would you accomplish by that? She'd be dead before you even manage to put a dent into Grey's army.
As his body trembled like a leaf from the adrenaline, he realized that this was the first time in eons that he felt so out of control….unable to regulate his body and much less his thoughts. As he became unwilling witness to Hermione's torture, all the hard conditionings that had been earned through the years begun collapsing one after the other.
He had lived all his life inside an icy shell, bereft of all emotion. He learned early on how to put a reign on all those inconsequential feelings that seemed to control people so easily. He discovered the power this kind of control gave him, one of countless times his father became heavily abusive towards his mother. By trying to shield her magically he managed to earn a heavy retaliation that almost send his mother and him to the hospital.
That is when he realized that the more he felt, the more it hurt. The more he resisted, the more others were hurt because of him. The day that sealed the deal inside his young mind was when his mother lost consciousness from the relentless beating. The reason once more was him…the beast she birthed, the abomination…the wizard.
His young mind froze in terror as he fell at the feet of his unconscious mother and promised never to resist his father anymore. He swore to accept the punishment willingly. He vowed never to yell, scream or fight back. He pledged to bury all his feelings so deep, they'd be forgotten.
And that is what he did, by punishing himself in the stead of his father whenever …he felt. With the help of a whip and by the invaluable assistance of seclusion.
This torturous trait, which was earned with so much pain and anguish evolved into him becoming the best Occlumence to have ever lived. He used this painful skill as the ultimate defense against Voldemort. The capacity to distance himself from his very soul saved many lives, but it cost him greatly. He was never able to salvage the scared little child who hid in the shadows and witnessed his father torturing his mother.
Despite his ability to separate his outer shell from the hurt man that lived somewhere in the depths of his soul, he sometimes failed. When on a rare occasion the blistering emotions that were hiding under the surface made an appearance the corporal world around him seemed to bend under his wrath. The blackness oozed out of him in sizzling ruptures of magic that made the rooms grow darker and the ground quake. Albus was the only one who had witnessed this, apart from Grey.
No one else had, not even her …
…the woman who was being dragged like the worst criminal, handbound and face down on that murky ground. She never saw him losing control, but she came close to it. That day in the hospital and that night in the bathtub….she came close to facing his innermost fiends.
However her careful approach and her warm touch which seemed so bereft of an ulterior motive had touched him deeper than bargained. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her in any way. Despite his efforts thought that day in the bathtub some of those cursed emotional threads escaped him and burrowed into her…searching to take firm hold of faith. That day he understood that this sensible and honest woman who possessed a formidable mind and the most empathetic soul he had ever seen, responded wholeheartedly to his untapped emotions, without any fear or revulsion.
She offered him a glimmer of hope. Maybe there was someone out there who wouldn't judge him for his emotions, who wouldn't punish him for them, who wouldn't reject him because of them….
That made his heart throb with an unaccustomed ache, which confused him to no end. All he wanted to do after that was brand her, shamelessly, ravenously and without any remorse. He branded her repeatedly with his seed, needing in some primordial manner to claim this rare woman as his own. He did it thoughtlessly, without ever imagining that branding would blossom into something more. What she had now inside her….
What you placed inside her…His mind corrected.
It was his fault. He got this beautiful woman into a mess that he couldn't possibly follow and on top of that he allowed her to be endangered. He left for the Underworld without securing her wellbeing ….and look at her now. Being dragged like filth inside the most chilling world because of him. He felt his nape crawling with waves of repressed wrath as he witnessed Hermione's disgrace, which reminded him so much of the way his mother suffered under the hands of a beast.
"Professor?" The whisper came to undo him.
He inhaled deeply and his nose flared. "Oswald take everyone down to the crater. Approach slowly. They are many…too many for us to take singlehandedly." His voice was deep.
"Maybe we can go back and ask for backup?" One of Harry's Aurors said.
"No time, there is no more time. Look at her. They are going to kill her!" Harry grumbled and made to break through the tree lines.
Snape grabbed his bicep tightly. "What do you think you are doing Mister Potter? Are you trying to make her departure to the otherworld quicker?"
Harry was trembling with adrenaline.
"Stay still! Do you think if we charge with raised banners we will be able to take all the men in the clearing before they slash Hermione's neck open?" Snape's eyes darkened as he looked towards the clearing.
Harry's face went white.
"And even if we do achieve that impossible feat up here, do you think the rest of her army down at the crater will not retaliate by creating chaos both in this world and the real one?" Severus snapped.
Harry remained silent.
"This cannot be conquered by sheer force Mister Potter. It needs to be handled judiciously so hold your bravado for another time!" Severus hissed upon Harry's face.
Harry took hold of Snape's hand and nodded quickly. "I wouldn't do anything to endanger Hermione's life Professor. I am here to help. Now please let me go."
Severus looked at him long and hard before releasing him. Then he turned to Conroy. "Take everyone down at the crater. They haven't seen us yet, but I am more than certain they felt our entrance. Keep the shroud on everyone until I send you the signal. When that happens you go straight for the Book of the Void. Don't lose your time with Grey's men. Keep the shields of protection up, aim at the Book and pray for the best."
"What will the signal be?" Oswald frowned.
Severus raised his brow and exhaled loudly.
Conroy looked at him confused for a second, before grabbing his arm. "What do you plan on doing?"
"Their men are too many Conroy. The shroud is too thin for all of us. We cannot maintain it for very long. Your focus must remain on the Book, leave the rest to me. Just keep those shields above Mister Potter's men, we don't need more deaths. This level aches to tear us all apart….you can feel it don't you? It is lurking with malevolence just underneath the surface." Severus whispered.
"I know." Conroy shook his head with teary eyes.
"Why not let it tear us apart then?" Severus tilted his head.
Conroy closed his eyes in defeat. "Hell…I didn't get to say goodbye to my family."
Severus gritted his teeth. "You shall not die Conroy and neither will Miss Granger. Now go."
Conroy nodded quickly. "As you command."
Severus pulled him closer and spoke in a low tone. "Potter is strong, he can help you destroy that doomed relic."
"Do you think you are strong enough to control this sleeping horror?" Conroy's eyes were full of dread.
"I don't need to be. I won't control it. I will allow it to wreak havoc." Severus' lips curled up in a sad smile.
Conroy looked at him bemused.
Severus felt his composure cracking at the surface. "Please Conroy. I cannot do this alone. I need your help."
Conroy swallowed heavily. "Send Oswald down. Let me stay with you."
"Don't oppose me. Oswald cannot keep the shroud over everyone alone. It will crack and they will sense you. Then all will be over. They might…." Severus choked and felt his eyes burning.
Conroy frowned and clutched his shoulder.
"…They might kill her…." Severus' whisper was barely heard yet it held in its baritone a quaver that made Conroy's heart race.
"And if you remain up here alone, you might die."
"Then so shall I!" The roar that erupted from Severus' chest made all the men look at him.
Conroy froze.
"So shall I…" –He whispered. Then his voice became commanding again – "Mister Potter follow Conroy and Oswald. Save that formidable strength of yours for the destruction of this ill-fated remnant. Make no mistake. It is bustling with the blackness of thousands of wizards….possessing inside its pages the Dark energy of men and women that lived long before you were born. It is a soaring source of malicious magic that has been holding onto its contents for many ages."
Harry's features plunged.
Severus' lips formed a ghostly smile. "You have taken down a much greater evil than this book Mister Potter. You are more than able to handle this."
Harry flared his shoulders. "How about you?"
"I will make sure Miss Granger lives to tell the tale." He said quietly.
Harry's eyes brightened for a brief moment before his countenance became solemn once more. "Thank you Professor."
Severus shook his head and looked away. Then he pulled Conroy close. "I trust you will keep them alive for me."
"And I trust you will keep yourself alive." Came the hard riposte.
Severus' face settled. "Get out of here."
Conroy nodded and led the men away.
Severus watched them attentively while they slowly got engulfed by the dense woodlands. He noticed several of Grey's men scouring through the trees to find their trace, which was now dexterously hidden under Conroy's and Oswald's magic. When they were finally out of sight he turned towards the clearing and inhaled deeply.
He was never afraid of dying….not for a good cause…and especially not for someone he cared about. When he closed his eyes, the shroud slid off of him heavily. They sensed him instantaneously. They were upon him within seconds, aiming wands which burst with tension.
Severus was not troubled by violence, despite being predisposed towards the academics. For someone who loved books, research and libraries, he was surprisingly skillful physically. All those years in the Death Eater corps had taught him not only how to observe torture without flinching, but also how to inflict severe pain onto others.
Instead of drawing his wands he used those well ripened skills and fueled them with the rage that made his blood simmer. He was surprisingly fast, extremely competent and frugal in his attack. Three fell. One heavily injured and two dead…both with their necks broken. His fingers curled on the lapels of their coats and he walked out in the clearing…dragging them along with him. More men appeared from the woods and quickly surrounded him. Everyone drew their wands…and they were all pointed at him.
They were too many….just too many for him.
His eyes locked with Hermione's as Malfoy pulled her up by the hair and pointed a knife at her throat. Severus' mouth went dry.
No emotions…remember no emotions.
"Hello master…" Max's smile was wicked.
He hurled the bodies towards Max who took a quick step back. They fell in front of her feet with a hollow sound.
Max raised her brow. "I've missed this brutal side of yours tremendously. You didn't even give them a chance to blink, did you?"
"Go to hell Max." He spat.
She smirked diabolically and Lucius twisted the knife on Hermione's throat. "You don't want to be rude to me. Not when your girl's throat is so close to being slit open."
His eyes locked with Hermione's and every defensive thread in his body screamed in anguish. Her hard sobs that got muffled by Lucius hand, made Severus' adrenaline ripple. His eyes narrowed with fury unmatched upon Max. "Let her go."
"You are not in the position to have any demands." Max raised her brow.
Lucius pulled Hermione's head back and pressed the knife on her skin harder. Her eyes grew wide with terror and locked with Severus'. Then she grunted and twisted under Lucius' relentless hold as unintelligible vows and consonants escaped her throat.
Severus was unable to stop himself in time. He took a step towards her. "Calm down, I am here." His voice sounded much less imposing than he had intended.
"Listen to your man darling. Calm down before you hurt yourself." Lucius hissed in her ear.
She closed her eyes tight and sobbed hard. Her muffled voice sounded so tattered that his heart buckled under the burden.
"Will you look at that? I think she is trying to tell you to get out of here." Max raised her brows.
Severus took another step towards Hermione and instantly more than fifteen wands came between them.
Severus didn't even attempt to draw his wands. He turned to Max. "Why did you take her? What the hell do you want with her?"
"You are a very clever man Severus. I thought you would have made all the connections by now." Max tilted her head.
Severus looked at the expressionless faces of the men who were surrounding him. Then his heavy regard drifted towards the black cloud that was being spewed out of the very bowels of the Book of the Void. He shuddered involuntarily.
The protective line her men had formed opened up to let Maxine pass. She stepped so close to him, their shoulders brushed. "Do you want me to tell you or have you figured it out?"
His jawline flexed and his fists clenched. "Let Hermione go." He murmured.
"Out of the question. Now did you come here alone?" Max's voice stopped being playful. It turned cold and calculative.
"Yes." The answer was quick.
She drew her wand and poked his ribs. "What guarantee do I have about that?"
"You hold her….you hold the one….the only one who matters…" –His chest welled against his will. He couldn't finish the thought - "I wouldn't lie to you."
Max's silence assessed him for several seconds. "…the one who matters most to you?" She scoffed.
He didn't speak.
"Did you allow your usual ego take over everything? Were you stupid enough to endeavor this mission alone?" She whispered close to his ear.
A shiver of apprehension run up his spine.
"There were so many Aurors willing to assist you…so many I couldn't convince to follow my lead." She whispered.
He ached to push her away. He itched to pull out his wands and send out the killing curse not only to her but also to everyone around. Reason reminded him that he wouldn't be quick enough to kill them all before Lucius decided to slash Hermione's throat. As for the Book, it wouldn't ever get the chance to be destroyed. Not with the hundreds of men that stood at the bottom of the crater protecting it. "I am alone." He intoned each word.
"Was it easy for you to trace her last magical footprint outside of St. Mungo's?" Max raised her brow.
He exhaled roughly.
"Of course it was. Now have you figured out why I brought her here?" Her lips formed a scornful smile.
"In order to lure me in." The resonance of his baritone was terrifyingly low.
"Do you remember the Book?" Max seemed pleased.
"How could I forget?" Those words were uttered with genial pain.
She felt it and smiled proudly. "You thought it got destroyed?"
He shook his head.
"Voldemort never got a chance to use it, but we are here to continue his work. For the greater good."
"Don't use those words!" -The outburst of rage took everyone by surprise. Several wands touched his throat, but that didn't stop him. He grabbed her by the lapels and barked at her face - "Never!"
The muffled scream that came from behind, made his heart falter. He turned to see Lucius' eyes spewing flames as his knife poked her skin. "Pull back!"
Severus' lips parted and his shaking fingers slid off Max's coat. He took a step back and raised his hands. "Tell him to loosen up his hold. I am not going to do anything." He muttered, unable to tear his gaze away from Hermione's petrified eyes.
Max straightened the collar of her shirt and waved everyone back. Then she crossed her arms. "See how easy it is to control you? That is exactly why I brought your child's mother down here."
He shuddered visibly. The curtains of composure withdrew from his eyes, to show such naked pain that Hermione's face got flooded with fresh tears. He shook his head slightly and his eyes rolled down her body in order to stop at her lower stomach. There they remained, frozen in time.
"I was expecting a much stronger reaction from you at these amazing news." Max sounded disappointed.
He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "Shut up." He spat.
"I mean you are going to become a father. Judging by how much you hated the idea in the past, I would have expected a much more impassionate response." Max seemed to be enjoying herself a little too much as those words were directed to him, but in reality they were meant for Hermione.
He didn't want to open his eyes to see Hermione's face at that.
She circled around him, sniffing his fear, sensing his desolation. She had the upper hand and he knew it. "Does she know how much you abhor fatherhood?"
He swallowed a moan of defeat. He shook his head slightly.
A yelp of victory came from Max. Then she turned towards Hermione. "Did you hear that my little petal? How disappointed you must feel. The father of your baby hates…children!"
He opened his eyes and looked at Max. "Shut the fuck up!"
Max cupped her mouth. "Oh, we hit a nerve Lucius. Look at that."
Malfoy smirked and placed a kiss on Hermione's nape. "Indeed this is mostly pleasurable."
The groan of disgust that came from Hermione made Severus lunge. The wands were upon him instantly. Malfoy's knife broke Hermione's skin and carved a long shallow wound as she screamed. Severus heart cracked. "No!" He barked and couldn't stop the first tears from dawning in his eyes.
Lucius hushed him and with a playful glint in his eyes he tasted the blood at the tip of his knife. "I will do her in, don't doubt it." He warned.
"Please…" Severus' lips parted as he looked at the small bloody rivulet that stained Hermione's undulating bosom.
"Now that we have all calmed down, tell me honey. Did you already know about her pregnancy?" Max jeered.
He closed his eyes again, unwilling to see the dissapointment in Hermione's eyes. His lips sealed tight.
"Did you know? Did you leave without telling her?" Max pressed on.
His breath quickened.
Max' fingers slithered through his hair and took firm grip. Then she pulled his head back. "Did you?! Say the truth or she dies!"
"YES!" Severus barked.
Max released him with a satisfied laugh. "Did you hear that Princess of Gryffindor? He knew. He knew and left without telling you."
"Did you intend to come back to her?" Max turned to him with a wide smile.
He shook his head and his lips curled up in hatred.
"Did you!?" Max spat and Hermione moaned hard as the knife twisted upon her skin.
"NO! I intended to run the fuck away! Now let her go!" He thundered and took a couple of strained steps towards Hermione.
The wands poked his cheek, his back, his stomach and his ribs, immobilizing him. He hissed and raised his hands in defeat.
Max exhaled in satisfaction and waved them back. Then she turned to Hermione. "Did you hear that princess? He got you pregnant and the moment he found out, he abandoned you. Hadn't he been forced to come here….you wouldn't have seen him again."
His heart broke into a thousand little pieces.
"Open your eyes and look at her!" Max commanded close to his ear.
He fought not to flinch.
"Open them! Tell her. Confess all your shortcomings to her face, unless you want to see her and the baby dead!" Max spat hatefully.
He shook so hard, that he lost his footing. He stumbled back and the braced himself. He opened his eyes expecting to see dissapointment, hatred, even fury. He saw only wounded acceptance and that broke him even more. "I am sorry…" He whispered, overcome.
Hermione shook her head as the tears drowned her.
Severus closed his eyes and turned to Max. "Why are you doing all this? In order to humiliate me in front of her? You did it. I admitted everything. Now let her go!" He shouted.
Max raised her hand in authority. "I didn't bring you here in order to humiliate you. That was an extra bonus for all my hard work. The real reason you are here is this." She pointed towards the Book.
He turned to it with a heavy heart.
She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the edge of the cliff. "Look at how beautiful it is. All that powerful magic, trapped inside its pages finally being released. Isn't it wondrous?"
"You are crazy." He spat with trembling lips.
"We had so many members from the Wizengamot willingly adding their Dark knowledge inside this book during the last few years. Even more members from the Ministry joined along with several prominent followers of our Pureblood society. The Darkness in it after the latest additions became so thick, it was impossible to contain it anymore. That is when we understood that it was finally time. We unleashed it here, because the pure malevolence of this level only adds to the strength of the Book. It blossomed so quickly and spread over London with a speed none of us expected. Soon it will shroud the whole country and move even further towards the continent. Then all will be under its influence. No Muggleborn man, woman or child will ever be free. They will all come under the power of our purest people and we will do the best we can to eliminate their blood." She seemed in awe of her own words as she described her life's work.
"By any means possible." He felt his throat filling with bile.
"By any means possible." –She repeated- "Be it by their death, their imprisonment or their absolute control with the use of the Law. No more breeding between them. No more destroying the purity of our blood."
"The experiments?" Severus' voice was coarse.
"Lucius' plaything. He was trying out his hand on Muggleborn girls in order to see how much clearer the blood of their offspring will be if they got impregnated by his Purebloods. He didn't get far with it though. Most died or failed to fall pregnant. You destroyed his fun soon after." Max shrugged.
"Shut up woman!" Lucius growled.
"That is why he wanted to take Granger from the start. This was his chance to try his experiment out in the open with a Muggleborn who seemed very adept in magic. You destroyed his fun there too." Max snorted.
Lucius spat a curse under his breath and tightened his hold on Hermione.
Severus' jawline was trembling with tension. "What will happen when you eliminate all Muggleborns? When you finally stop them from being born? Still the Half-bloods will outnumber you. The wizarding blood will never be pure again." His eyes were icy cold as he turned to her.
She raised her brow.
"You cannot win. This is madness. You are destroying innocent people for nothing Maxine." He said quietly.
"If nothing works we shall kill all the Half-Bloods who decide to resist our holy cause! We will remain few, but we will be powerful! The Book is giving us all the supremacy we need in order to control the whole world! Now don't try to lecture me Severus, not when you so blatantly admitted to the woman you impregnated that you never wanted children." Max pursed her lips.
He closed his eyes and looked at the cloud that was rotating slowly, soundlessly. "What do you want me to do?"
"I think you know already." She smiled.
He gritted his teeth.
"Disperse your damned shields, the ones which are hindering the cloud's effectiveness."
"Will you let Hermione go?" He muttered.
"I am not finished." Max smirked.
He turned to her mutely.
"You will also add your own darkness to the book." Her lips curled up in the vilest smile he had ever seen.
His face blanched.
Max walked up to him and leaned close to his ear. "Gather up from the pit of your mind all the blackness that you have gathered there throughout the ages and unleash it upon the Book of the Void….do it for the greater good…."
His soul tore apart.
"Do it for her life…and the life of your unborn…unwanted child." Came the venomous hiss.
He shook his head and his eyes seared upon hers.
"The Book is already brimming with unprecedented Darkness. Your power will catapult it to the moon…the Book will become all consuming. No one and nothing then will be able to resist it." Her eyes glimmered with a lunacy he hadn't noticed before.
He looked at her in tense silence.
"Yield your devastating power to it, withdraw your shields, allow it to control, maim and destroy….and I will let her live." Max's smile was dazzling.
He felt his heart plunging and turned to Hermione. Her eyes were full of terror. He wanted to yell at her that all those words he spoke before were lies…but were they? Now that they were both hanging over the edge of the world…what could he deem as the truth?
He didn't know and he'd never have the time to find out…
He pushed gently and every single ounce of his shields slid off his body and found her Rune. They got buried there, strengthening her protection from what was about to come. Hermione's eyes grew wider and the moans intensified. She tried to shake her head. "No…no…no" He heard the muffled word clearly this time.
Lucius glowered at Maxine. "Can we get on with it?!"
Max turned to Severus who now was empty of any protection. His eyes rolled to Hermione's stomach.
Then he squeezed his eyes tightly.
Max leaned close to him and whispered darkly. "You cannot possibly win this Severus. I felt you exhausting your Rune for her. You are exposed. Now drain all the Dark power in you for the Book and I shall let her live."
His knees unlocked and he emptied himself to the ground.
"Give your power to the Book or they die Severus!" Max hissed.
His hand got buried under all that ash and grasped the ground tightly. He held his breath and counted inwardly for a few seconds before his face settled in determination. Wake up…His call was quiet, but the magic he pushed towards the ground was colossal.
Max looked at him in momentary confusion and then clenched her fist around his hair. She pulled him back brutally. "Give your strength to the Book or THEY die!" She shrieked.
Hermione bellowed in pain.
He felt the vibrations under his hand as the unholiest demons of this world were slowly waking up. He drew a wand with his free hand and pointed at it towards the Book. Then he held his breath as the first whispers came to undo him.
"Don't listen to your father my baby. He is not well. He doesn't know what he is saying. He doesn't want to hurt me."
"The boy is an abomination! A beast! You gave birth to an atrocity! An evil that looks exactly like you!"
"What do you mean Tobias? What do you mean find a way to get rid of your son? Do you mean kill him?"
When those words got whispered in Severus' ear the dark power erupted from his wand with such violence it send all the men around him to the ground. Max who rolled much further off by the discharge of his strength, looked up bewildered for a brief moment before she quickly stood up and rushed towards the edge of the cliff. When she saw the Book being saturated with Severus' Dark Magic she clapped happily and yelled, but Severus was unable to hear her.
"Leave our son alone! He promised not to use any more magic! He will live like you command! Don't touch him anymore and he won't resist! Please Tobias!"
"MOM!"
"Hide your feelings. Never let anyone see them. Hide them! Hide them now!"
"Learn to hide your feelings… be careful how you use your magic…you have so much power in you…Hide it…hide that also. No one must know….people will get hurt because of it…hide it…."
Severus felt the nightmares caressing his hair and licking up his spine with their venomous tongues. He tried to hush those voices, push the shadows away, but it was of no use. The level was awake now and it was targeting all of them. He had no protection against the malevolence of this world. His shields were empty. They had all been gifted to someone who meant the world to him…
Lilly?
No…not her…that isn't her name.
"I beg you Headmaster save her….please…"
His lips parted and a moan of anguish escaped as his eyes turned towards the crater. He saw the black nightmares crawling out of the ground, surrounding Grey's men, pulling them slowly under.
"Save only her Severus? What about James and the baby?"
He saw the poisonous ash that had covered the ground like a black quilt undulating around him as something seemed to be crawling under it. The tentacles of fear hooked on his stomach and pulled it apart as his mouth dropped open in a silent scream. The hiss that he heard, paralyzed him. The beam of Dark Magic retreated hastily back into his wand and in its passage left all the trees singed. Severus cradled his arm and looked around him lost. They were so many. Not the enemies….his fears….his past….the nightmares that wouldn't let him go. They were embracing him, pulling him under…and the worst of them all was slithering towards him quickly.
"No, not only her, save all of them. Please!"
"What will you do for me in return?"
"Anything! I will do anything you wish!"
He was so engulfed by his hallucinations that he didn't see how ruthlessly the terror he had awoken was terminating Grey's men. He couldn't see Lucius straggling to keep his hold on Hermione as black hands of death were wrapped around his ankles, pinning him down.
"Look what you have done! You lied, you bloody motherfucker! You didn't come here alone! My men! They are dying! Stop this! Stop this now or else she will die!" Max screamed as her own nightmares were burrowing through her shields which were slowly failing.
The cry that left his chest was feral and brimming with despair.
Lilly?
No, not her….
It's not her who is in danger…
"Make this stop now!" Max's frantic voice barely reached him.
"I cannot stop this anymore." He whispered almost spent. They were all destined to die, like Lilly did.
No! Not all…one will survive and so will the baby. The child….my child….Hermione….His eyes flew open and his hand wrapped around Max's throat with such strength, that she gagged. He held her there tightly as he called the unforgivable without raising a wand. He turned and saw Lucius battling his demons wand at one hand, the other choking Hermione. He entered Lucius mind and took control. Malfoy's eyes widened with horror as his nails declawed from Hermione's throat. She dropped on the ground unconscious and Lucius tumbled back with his hands limp by his side, unable to fight back as his demons wrapped their black fingers around his neck. When the ground started swallowing him, his screams reverberated into the crater below. Then he turned to Max. He pulled her close and opened his mouth. Out of his blue lips surged the black magic that was aimed towards the Book before. He closed his eyes and let go of his steel grip on all those suppressed feelings. They gushed out of him and into Maxine, choking her with their intensity.
All those years suppressing his feelings, hiding them, keeping them away from people, keeping people safe from them. Learning how to hide them better than anyone else…. …hiding…learning...knowing…telling…spying, betraying, lying, spying, hiding…all for the greater good.
Max's harsh breaths meant nothing to him as he emptied his purgatory inside her….and while he did so he felt his soul emptying. He opened his eyes slowly and found Max's horrified stare. In her face he saw the face of his mother as she wept tears of pain with her lips torn and her nose bloody. He saw Lilly's pale mask of death as he cradled her like the most precious gem. He saw Albus' face in calm abandonment as he fell off the railings of the Astronomy tower….and finally he saw his death….his previous death that came from the same snake that was now wrapping tightly around his body.
When he felt Max's fingers sliding off his shirt and her eyes closing he craved to push her away and at the same time keep on feeding her this inferno. Severus felt Nagini twisting around his shoulders and her split tongue tasting his nape. He dropped Max and tried to find Hermione. She had regained consciousness and his heart rejoiced when he saw the visible protection pulsating around her strongly. No demon was able to approach her. She struggled to get on her feet and then begun crawling swiftly towards him, the apprehension in her eyes profound. "Severus!" She screamed.
"LEAVE!" -He thundered. Then a soft whisper came out that was only heard by him- "Save yourself, save the baby."
He closed his eyes and a portal instantly formed far away from the scene of destruction. The strength of his unspoken spell, send Hermione rolling to the ground for at least a hundred feet and alighting her with the entrance of the portal.
His hands clutched on the body of the snake as the whispers of betrayal resumed fiercer than ever. He fought with it as the Aurors below under the protection of the Keepers were firing all their power against the Book of the Void. Certain that his portal had already taken Hermione away from this doomed place, he turned his stare towards the sky. The cloud was slowing down…Potter was doing it. All this mindless sacrifice wouldn't have been in vain. Maybe he'd get a chance to see Hermione again, maybe even see the baby.
Not with that snake around you old man…you are destined to be killed by her once again.
The bitterness of that thought fed an unexpected wave of wrath that made him dig his nails deep into Nagini's skin. He tore it apart with such savagery that the snake hissed in pain. His teeth got buried into the snake's neck as he tore it from his body. He stood up with a sudden adrenaline rush and threw it over the cliff. He knew it was not real, he knew that nightmare was part of this world but that meant little as the rest of his demons still had a strong hold on him. Nagini may have been gone, but all those hands that blossomed from the ground were now trying to pull him through.
As he struggled to keep himself afloat he heard her voice dripping with dread and all the hair on his body stood in attention. "Severus look out!"
His head snapped back and he saw Hermione running towards him with open arms. Her sweaty hair a mess around her face. Her clothes torn. A wound across her forehead sending rivulets of blood over her eyes. He frowned unable to understand what she was still doing in here. Didn't she leave from the portal?
He opened his mouth to answer, but that is when a hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. Before he even had the chance to react, a knife got buried deep into his chest.
The voices of the demons seized. The black hands released his shins. His vision cleared up. His hand came up and wrapped around the knife that was buried in his chest. He found Max's eyes, twinkling with unspeakable loathing. A smile formed on her lips as her hand twisted the knife around. He frowned in confusion as she released the weapon and took a step back. "I knew it would be a pleasure to kill you." She shushed with hatred.
His hand tightened around the knife and he pulled it out. A low keening sound of agony left his mouth. His knees buckled and he felt suddenly so heavy. He collapsed just as the green hue of Hermione's killing curse wrapped around Max.
Buried oceandeep in his fading memories he felt her arms pulling him into her embrace. The pain flared and he took a rasping breath, but felt a warm and thick liquid gathering in his throat, spilling over his lips.
Then the coldness of her palm was on his cheek, her nails clawing him, her trembling lips smoothing roughly upon his temple. Suddenly his chest welled with so many unsaid emotions. As he begun slipping away, a strange numbness covered his extremities. Everything felt so heavy. He opened his lips again to speak and felt the blood oozing out.
There she was again, clearing his face, speaking to him, kissing him, her hands uselessly trying to stop the fountain of blood that was coming out of his chest. He gathered every single thread of diminishing magic that was still remaining in him and spoke straight into her mind.
"I am sorry for everything." -The heaviness on his body became unbearable- "Please let me see your eyes."
A pair of soft hands wrapped under his head and she leaned close to his face. Her voice sounded far away, but the words were clear. "I am here my love. Please, look at me…." The hard undulations of her breath made these words ripple with agony, yet her voice felt so comforting to his soul.
The effort it took him to open his eyes, left him breathless. He groaned thankful that the Gods had pitied him in the end. He saw her eyes clearly. They were looming above his, bloodshot, surging with tears, the anguish in them bare and raw.
They were not green.
They were the most beautiful shade of brown he had ever seen. His black coal eyes seared into hers for a few seconds and the ghost of a smile tried to form on his bloody lips. It failed as the light in his eyes got extinguished and they sealed tight forever.
-.-
The explosion that shook the earth couldn't tear Hermione away from his cold body. She clutched him like he was her lifeline as the destroyed cloud slowly transformed into heavy rainclouds that released their blessed rain upon the dry lands chasing the demons back into the bowels of the earth along with all their victims. All of them apart from him, because the protection she had offered him, all too late, was now keeping all those fiends away from his dead body. As the same rain turned into a gentle storm under a painful moon up on the real world, washing all the ash, all those tears and hatred away…her trembling hand was pressing his cold one upon her lower belly. Her bellows of anguish were barely heard under the heavy thunders that tore the sky apart in all the worlds of every level.
She remained stooped over him in a timeless lament that could have broken even the wickedest of hearts, caring only on holding him close to her heart till the time ended for all of them.
Loosing track of time, she didn't see anyone approaching so when they addressed her she felt her body clenching tightly. "Hermione?"
She enwrapped Severus tightly upon her bosom and squeezed her eyes tight. The intensity of her moans scraped her throat. She shook her head madly. "Go away!" She spat.
A pair of hands touched her shoulders. "Miss Granger, please…it is over." The pain was clear in Conroy's voice.
"NO!" She bellowed and pressed her forehead on his chest. Then she removed her hand from his cheek with incredible tenderness and wrapped her fingers around her Time-Turner.
"We have to leave Hermione….this world is coming into ruins…." Harry's tone was beseeching. He kneeled next to her.
She shook her head, feeling the pain tearing her apart. She pressed Severus' hand upon her belly tightly as she directed their combined power of the Eleventh Key towards their child. She felt the heat enveloping her insides and lifted her head.
"He is dead…please…we destroyed the cloud. We need to leave…I beg you. I will not leave him down here. I will bring him up for you." Harry touched her hand that was around the Time-Turner. His eyes were streaming with tears.
She pushed Harry's hand away. "I am going back for him." She gasped and without warning gave the Time-Turner one turn with full knowledge of how unforgiving the Underworld was going to be upon someone who was going back in time unprotected.
-.-
