Summary: Hermione is ready to cast the spell.

A/N: It's taken some time, but Hermione is finally ready. What will happen? Thanks for reading. :)

Chapter 10

It was time. The Acromantula Venom had finally arrived, and Hermione had brewed the potion. It was now ready for her to drink in preparation for the ceremony. Soon, Severus Snape would be alive once again. Tears formed in her eyes as she stared at the golden potion. She was so fearful that it wouldn't work. Her bond with Severus had strengthened since their marriage, and she felt his presence almost always even though he was in the grave. She didn't know what she'd do if he didn't come back to life. She couldn't understand how she could go on feeling the way she did if he didn't rejoin the living.

She placed the potion on the table in front of her and closed her eyes, concentrating on her husband. Finally, opening her eyes, she saw him standing in front of her. Her arms went around him.

"Severus!" she gasped as she embraced him.

He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. She pulled away and smiled at him.

"I'm ready," she told him simply. "Dorlyth has transferred your spirit to the box and the potion is finished. I'm going to go to the Shack and perform the spell in a little bit."

She looked at him plaintively and pulled him into another hug. She grasped him as if it was the last time she would ever see him.

"Hermione," Severus said softly. "If this doesn't work…"

She squeezed him even tighter.

"It will work," she assured, yet her tone was brittle.

"Hermione…"

She pulled back finally and looked at Severus.

"It will be all right, Hermione, even if it doesn't work."

Her eyes filled with tears. "But it will work. I promise."

His hand came up, and he grasped her chin. "I will not blame you if it doesn't work. Please know that I love you no matter what, and if this is all we have until your dying day, I am happy with it."

"But what if this goes away too?" Hermione asked.

"Why would it?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. The spell is invasive. What if it breaks our ability to communicate?"

"The potion I created gives us the ability to communicate between worlds. That is a permanent ability. It can never be altered."

"Oh, thank Merlin." Hermione pulled him to her and pressed her cheek to his chest.

"Hermione… it's okay."

"I thought that maybe… if it didn't work… I'd lose you completely!"

"You won't." He pulled her away from her and gazed into her eyes. "No matter what, we will always have this. Even if this is all we can do for years in the future, it will be enough."

Hermione nodded and brushed a couple of tears from her eyes. "It will have to be."

Severus kissed both of those eyes and looked at her seriously.

"You're afraid it won't work."

"No… no, I'm not. I just… Nothing is definite, Severus. I have faith that you'll live again, but that doesn't guarantee it. I…"

"I know. I fear it too, but it will work! I promise you. You've done everything you need to. It will work. The prophecy said it would."

She pulled away from him and turned away. Her arms came around her, and she hugged herself. She felt his arms surround her and his nose butted her ear. His words were soon being whispered to her.

"It will work, my love. I know it will."

Her hands reached down and grasped Severus' arms. She pulled them closer to her.

"It will," she said quietly, but determinedly. "It will."

oooOOOooo

Hermione stood over Severus' body, looking down at it with trepidation. Soon, his resurrection wouldn't be just a theory. It would either be real, or it would be a failure. She bit her lip as she studied his face. How she'd wanted to see that face looking at her. Slowly, she took in a deep breath and told herself to stop fretting. Remembering the prophecy, she determined to not despair and to be positive about the outcome.

Hermione turned and stepped a few feet away. She had placed the dragon box on top of Severus' chest with his hands surrounding it. She reached in her robe and pulled out a vial of the potion. Extending her wand, she readied herself.

"You will live again, Severus Snape!" she said with determination.

She downed the potion and began to cast the wand movements of the spell.

"Convertero!" she cried as golden light left her wand and surrounded Severus' body and the dragon box. The light brightened exponentially as she continued the spell. A ball of light centered around Severus' chest. It grew larger and larger until it totally blocked out Severus from Hermione's sight. In a sudden flash, the light exploded around the wizard. Hermione was thrown back and stumbled, trying to maintain her balance. She was unsuccessful and crashed to the ground. She shook her head and sat up.

With hope, she looked over to Severus. She frowned. He was no longer there. The bed where she had lain him was empty. She quickly got back up on her feet and rushed over to it. Reaching out she felt around on it. She moved her hand over it. It was empty. He was gone.

"No…" She looked around furiously, trying to see if his body had been thrown from the bed with the explosion.

"No, please…"

He hadn't been thrown anywhere. He simply wasn't there anymore. The dragon box lay on the floor half open on the other side of the bed, but his body was nowhere to be seen. Tears threatened to fall from Hermione's eyes, but she fought them back as she moved around the room, making sure Severus wasn't hiding in shadow. He was gone.

Back in front of the bed, she gave a huge gasp and fell to her knees. Her elbows rested on the bed as her hands came up and covered her face. She burst into tears.

"No… no… it can't be!" she cried as her tears continued behind her hands. "He's gone," she gasped. "Gone!"

Her head slumped down on the mattress as she let the tears come. She sobbed loudly at the thought that she would never be able to see Severus Snape in this life.

Lifting her head, she sniffed and wiped away her tears. She fought to control herself. Finally, her tears had stopped and the gasping noises she had been making did as well. She concentrated, trying to connect with Severus through the beyond.

Her mind reached out, expecting to open her eyes and see Severus, but her eyes never opened. She didn't feel his presence, nor did she appear in front of him. She concentrated harder.

'Come on, come on. Appear dammit!'

Nothing.

She opened her eyes quickly and rubbed them. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried again. All she could see was the darkness of her eyelids. She tried again and again and again.

Nothing.

She heard a low whining and realized she was making that sound. Opening her eyes, she looked around plaintively, as if help was there in the room with her.

"Oh shit, oh shit!" she cried. Getting up, she began to pace. "What do I do? What do I do?"

She lay down on the bed and tried one last time… nothing. She rolled over and curled into a ball. Before she realized it a scream escaped her lips. Once it had subsided, she breathed heavily, trying to calm herself, but there was no calm to be had. She'd not only lost him in this life, but she had also lost her connection to him in the next.

"No… it can't be…" she said again as tears once again filled her eyes. "He said…"

Sobs bubbled up from her, and she couldn't stop. She'd lost her soulmate. Lost him. She wanted to die so she could be with him instead of spending the next hundred years without him. She felt herself falling deeper and deeper into despair. Not only had she lost Severus; she had now lost herself.

A/N: Major cliffie. I know I'm terrible but we are not finished with this tale and another chapter will be up next week. Thank you all once again for reading. I appreciate all of you!