Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the goddess, JKR. The third vignette…two years after the second.

Living

He is gone.

After all these years…all this torment.

He is finally gone.

I can scarcely believe that which my own eyes have witnessed.

It is over…and I am still alive. That, in itself, is astonishing when I look around and see just what price we have paid. There are bodies everywhere. Some are stirring and others…are not. I cannot look too closely. I am frightened to know who we have lost.

Who I have lost.

I walk over to the smouldering remains of he who I used to call my master. A fitting end…there is barely enough for even the rats to feast upon. Potter is still standing there, looking down on his defeated nemesis with determination in his face. So much like his father and yet so different. Even I have come to realize that this young man is his own person…not just a younger version of his father.

"He has mocked my parents' sacrifice for the last time," he whispers to me.

The strength in his voice impresses me. He has never had much of a normal life. Perhaps this is the time…a time of beginning for him. But can The Boy Who Lived, The Man Who Lived Twice…will he be allowed to slip into relative obscurity? I highly doubt it.

"You did well, Harry," I reply, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Your parents would have been very proud."

He turns to me in surprise. I know he would not have expected that from me…but I am not so heartless as all that. And I know that his parents would be proud. I would be too…if I had a son who had accomplished such great things without seeking the greatness thrust upon him.

"Thank you, sir," he smiles.

"We must tend to the others…they need our help," and I know he understands that there are those who are beyond our help but who need us all the same.

"Yes, sir," his smile falters as he turns and witnesses the carnage. But no tears come to his eyes…only that glint of determination I saw earlier. That famed Gryffindor strength and bravery. This is perhaps the first time I have come to truly appreciate it.

I begin to make my way quickly around, checking for signs of life…helping where I can. I may not have the same capacity to heal as Poppy, but I can stopper death even without a healing potion close at hand.

I close the vacant eyes of several former colleagues and students. I do not envy the person who must tell Arthur and Molly that they lost two children in this final battle. I sigh as I look upon Lupin, his face more serene than I have ever seen it. I close his eyes as well. Black will not take his death very well.

Albus and Minerva are conversing in quiet tones and I walk over to them, dread in my heart.

"What is it?" I ask.

"We cannot find Hermione…we have searched everywhere and have turned up nothing,"

Minerva's eyes are red and swollen. Since the death of the young woman's parents last year, the Deputy Headmistress had taken her in and loved her as a daughter.

If I were less tired, less drained…perhaps then I could control my response. I could rein in the fear that I know is clearly displayed on my face.

"I will search for her outside…there is nothing more I can do here," I manage to say in a shaky voice.

Minerva does not notice anything out of the ordinary but Albus nods solemnly…a benediction of sorts.

I do not wait for any further response but hurry out the doors. She had been shielding Potter…preventing The Dark Lord from seeing exactly what her friend was doing until it was too late. Somehow, she had been hit by a stray curse and had simply vanished….disapparated, if that were possible here.

Gone.

I check the hallways and look for her. Searching frantically…finding more dead bodies but not her.

Where did she go?

I move into the dungeons and search the dank corridors there.

There.

Sprawled on the floor like a discarded toy. Her beautiful honey brown hair is covering her face. I can't tell if she is breathing.

Somehow, I manage to walk over to her and kneel by her side. I touch her hand…it is still clutching her wand. Her skin feels like ice and the cold permeates my very heart.

No.

It cannot be this way.

It should have been me…she has hardly had a life.

I gather her up in my arms and hold her close, too despondent for even tears to grant me release from this awful pain.

Her body is so cold and still.

And yet, if I close my eyes, I can imagine that she is still with me. Imagine pressing my lips to hers as I have longed to do for so long.

A first kiss…a last kiss…even the gods cannot deny me that.

Lips that are cold…

….still…

…or are they?

Startled at a slight movement, I break away in confusion and open my eyes to see her eyes struggling to open.

"Is it over?" she asks in a soft whisper as she finally succeeds in opening her eyes and focusing on me. Her gaze is warm, like the warmth that is now spreading through her body…through me.

I don't know quite what to say. I quickly check her and am relieved to see that she is not critically hurt but has several deep cuts that indicate a substantial loss of blood. Her ankle is broken as is the wrist that still clutches her wand as if she expects another Death Eater to come swooping in with a fell curse. She is not complaining of pain or discomfort and seems oddly comfortable lying in my arms on the cold dungeon floor.

"Yes, Hermione. It is over," I tear off a piece of my cloak and use it to bandage her ankle and her wrist.

She smiles slightly and reaches up to touch my face…her gaze is piercing…I feel as if she is scrying into my very soul.

"No more masks, Severus. The time of darkness is finally behind us and there is no need for us to be anything other than who we are," she says softly, the words only slightly slurred.

"And who are we?" I ask as I pick her up off the ground. Levitation spells be hanged…I never want to lose the feeling of her heart beating against mine.

"A man and a woman who love one another. Is that so difficult to understand?" She smiles as she caresses my cheek softly. I capture those fingers in mine and kiss them lightly. I want this…want her so much…and yet…

"Hermione…I…cannot promise that it will be easy," I manage to say as I check the preliminary healing spells to ensure the wounds have not reopened. I sigh with relief. She will be all right.

She smiles weakly. "Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. All I ask is that we make a new beginning…together."

"Are you certain?" I have to know.

"Of course, Severus," she sighs as she closes her eyes to rest, her head resting comfortably on my chest. "It is time for both of us to start living."

And I smile because I know she is right.

Again.

A/N: One last vignette to come.