Love's Fight
Severus sat on the steps of the grand staircase, toying idly with the ring he'd been carrying in his pocket. He'd given up on looking for the students and talking to Lucius about a half-hour ago. He couldn't figure out for the life of him where they were hiding. One thing Dumbledore had been right about, of all the people he could think of besides Albus, Deidra was the most capable of protecting them, and, just as her father had predicted, she'd done a hell of a job with it.
He'd also given up on trying to get anymore information out of Lucius. Roughly fifteen minutes into their umpteenth conversation, Lucius had aggravated him so much that, in Dumbledore's absence, he'd finally given into his inner urgings and knocked Lucius unconscious.
So now he just sat there, wallowing in self-pity and regret. Looking at the ring he thought to himself, if she- WHEN! When she gets back, I'll ask her, it's time, it's time I asked her. I've wasted so much time and lost so much, it's time. Holding the ring straight up, he examined it and grimaced. Would her finger still fit, it'd been sixteen years after all, and she was just a fifth year then, who knew how much she'd grown since then.
Severus was growing terribly restless, replacing the ring in his pocket he looked around him. Where ARE they?! In frustration he slammed his fist into the stairwell, dislodging a vast amount of ancient dust that made him cough and his eyes water. Violently he rubbed his eyes to try to free them of dust. After several minutes he had succeeded and could see. He returned to watching the front door. And then, as if by his command, the door began to open.
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Dumbledore half-supported, half-dragged the young woman up Hogwarts' steps. All the way she hadn't stopped weeping for her "son." It sickened Albus beyond belief that his daughter should be weeping for the demise of Lord Voldemort, the most cruel, evil, and dark wizard of their time. And he silently vowed to take revenge on Lucius and any other Death Eater he could get his hands on for the terrible crime that had been committed on his only child. Stopping at the doors, Albus steadied Deidra in his arm, and with the other one, pushed the massive doors open.
Deidra went stiff in her father's arms and she tried to resist as he attempted to lead her across the threshold. Seeing Severus sitting on the staircase, Albus called to him, "Severus, quickly, come and help me get her inside."
Severus, eyes wide with confusion and fear, uneasily got to his feet and rushed over to the pair of people standing in the doorway. When he got to them, he instinctively reached out to pull Deidra to him. But she shrank back, her eyes filled with terror. "Deidra, it's me, what's wrong, tell me what's wrong."
At that moment Deidra wrenched herself free of Albus's grasp and backed away from the two men. Suddenly she shouted with all her might "I AM NOT DEIDRA! MY NAME IS JENIFER, AND I HAVE JUST LOST MY SON!!!!" And with that she crumpled to the floor in a bitter fit of tears.
Severus rounded on Dumbledore, "What is this? What has happened to her? TELL ME!"
The two men stood with the weeping woman between them, each withering at the sight before them. Albus put his head in his hands, his words were muffled, but none the less strong and angry. "I don't KNOW! If I had known, I would have known what to do to fix it, But I DON"T!"
Severus turned around, he couldn't look at the scene before him anymore. He heard Dumbledore's voice behind him, but tried to ignore it. "Have you found anyone yet Severus?"
Clenching his fists, Severus tried to control the anger that was rapidly boiling up inside of him. "No, I have not been able to find anyone."
Albus came up to stand behind him, "I think I know where they are, go down to the dungeons an-"
"I already looked there." Severus growled.
"I know, just do as I say, I think we both may have missed them due to my daughter's spell. Go down to the dungeon. On the wall, the first one on the left, is a portrait of a snake in a cave, pull it aside and see if you find anything. When you find them, have Madam Pomfrey meet us in the hospital wing, I'll stay here with Deidra." Severus nodded dumbly and set off toward the stairs leading down. Albus watched him go, then turned back to the crumpled figure on the floor.
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Severus shuffled down the stairs, this is pure madness! He thought to himself, what's happening, the last time I turned around, we didn't even know where Voldemort was, now, I just don't know, and I'm through trying to figure it out.
Without even noticing it, Severus had stopped before the picture Albus had described to him. He'd been walking up and down these halls for almost twenty years, and he had never before actually noticed this painting. It was, as Dumbledore had said, a painting of a snake in a cave. He'd never really thought much of it, after all, most pictures down here featured some sort of snake or another. Now that he was really looking at it for the first time, he noticed that the background of the cave seemed to be illuminated by thousands of eyes, it was very unsettling to look at, and Severus wondered how he'' never noticed this painting before.
About to extend his hand, Severus checked himself, the thought suddenly came to him, Dumbledore had given him no password to make the painting move. He let out an irritated sigh and approached the painting. He'd used up all his patience and then some today. Grasping the frame by its side, Severus simply lifted it off its hook. What was behind the picture, he never would have guessed. In the wall was a large gaping hole, almost as big as the picture itself.
Severus moved his head closer to examine the entrance. He knew there were many hidden tunnels and rooms in Hogwarts, but he'd never known about this one, which was in fact, barely five yards from his own office. It made perfect sense. Deidra must have known about this particular tunnel, and, when she'd known she wouldn't be able to get the students out in time, had them all hid down here. Then she must have magiced the place for protection and concealment, which would explain why Dumbledore hadn't been able to locate them through his connection with the school.
Gingerly, Severus put a foot inside the gaping hole, testing to see if it was solid. And indeed it was, his foot registered a stone step, and ducking so as to be able to get through, he brought the rest of himself inside the hole.
It was pitch black inside. Fumbling in his robes, Severus extracted his wand and muttered "Lumos." Carefully, he descended the steps, making sure to hold his wand out in front so he would be able to see any obstacles in time to avoid them.
As he went deeper and deeper into the darkness, he began to hear voices. After about a hundred feet or so, he saw a light up ahead. As he approached it, the noise grew very loud, and all at once he found himself in some sort of cellar. Students were scattered everywhere, some playing games, others trying to do homework, and at the edges of the room all the teachers stood, alert, wands outstretched.
Minerva was the first to notice him, and she hurried over. "Severus, what is going on? We've been sitting here for hours, where's Deidra?"
Severus's eyes were scanning the room for madam Pomfrey, he didn't really want to deal with Minerva right now, he just wanted to get back to Deidra. Cutting Minerva's inquiries short he held up his hand and asked "where's madam Pomfrey, Albus needs her to get up to the hospital wing immediately."
Hearing her name, madam Pomfrey trundled over and stood next to Minerva, "professor, your back, what's happened, we haven't seen Deidra since she stuck us in here, and that was hours ago."
Severus was quickly loosing his patience, gesturing to both women he said rather hurriedly, "I'll explain it to you both on the way, but Dumbledore NEEDS madam Pomfrey upstairs, NOW!"
Both women exchanged a look that later Severus would recall as being somewhat reminiscent of Albus's when he saw something in a situation other than what was being told to him. For Severus that was enough, and he turned on his heels, counting on them to follow.
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In the end, Albus had been unable to get Deidra to move on her own, so he'd been forced to carry her up to the hospital wing. She wasn't very heavy, but the sorrow of her situation weighted Dumbledore's shoulders like a thousand pounds.
As he walked through the halls, he thought he saw a little girl with glowing auburn hair streaming behind her running ahead of them. He shuddered as he remembered all the times he'd seen that very same little girl, running, skipping, and dancing through these halls. For a brief span the dark, murky halls had been illuminated by her presence, and then dimmed by her absence. Now he carried the woman who that little girl had become in his arms, her lost soul dancing gaily around them as they walked back through the path of her past, searching for a way to reunite them.
When he reached the door of the hospital wing, he turned around to push the door open with his back. Entering the now dark room, he placed Deidra down on a bed just inside the door. She seemed to be totally unaware of him now, and she babbled madly about her little boy, and how he would be coming home from school at any moment.
Dumbledore took a seat in a chair on the opposite side of the room, he sat in the darkness, trying to figure out what he could do.
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Severus had been hurrying the two women through the halls, calling out a half explanation over his shoulder as he rushed towards the hospital wing. When they got there, they found the door open. Cautiously, the three crossed the threshold into the dark room, unsure of what they would find.
What they did find was Deidra lying in a bed near the door, twittering madly to herself, completely unaffected by their arrival, and Dumbledore sitting across the room from her, his head still buried in his hands. Madam Pomfrey registered the state of both men and took charge immediately. "Minerva, would be so kind as to get some light in here. I can hardly see a thing."
Then, turning to Dumbledore, she said, "what is the problem headmaster, everyone seems to be fine to me."
Bringing his head out of his hands, Dumbledore gestured weakly with a nod of his head, toward the bed where Deidra lay. Turning around, Madam Pomfrey beheld a young woman sitting up on the bed, idly clasping and unclasping her hands and muttering something about "her baby Tom." The young woman seemed to be totally unaware of anyone else's presence.
"Oh my word Dumbledore, what's happened." Madam Pomfrey was very confused now, this young woman looked like Deidra Dumbledore, whom she had known since the child was days old, and yet, she didn't look like Deidra, something about the eyes spoke of something, someone else.
"That is just it Poppy, I don't know what's wrong, from what I can gather, she seems to think she's Jennifer Riddle, and will not be persuaded to think otherwise." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, exhausted, anxious, and unsure. "I am at a lose my dear madam, I think this is my daughter, and yet, at the same time, I cannot believe she is, can you help her, or at least determine what has been done to place her in such a state.?"
Madam Pomfrey waked over to where Deidra was sitting, chattering away, totally oblivious to what was being said around her. Tentatively, Poppy reached out her hand to first conduct a general examination. But when she touched Deidra's cheek, the young woman drew back, whispering, "don't touch me, please."
Gently, Madam Pomfrey patted her on the shoulder, "there's nothing to be afraid of dear, I just going to check to see if you are injured in any way, that is, if you will let me?" For a few moments there was total silence, then Deidra nodded her head sadly and submitted to Madam Pomfrey's examination.
Checking all the normal elements, pulse, all body parts, etc. she found nothing out of the ordinary other than a few light red indents where she appeared to have been restrained. Next she tried some verbal tests, she asked Deidra about memories, people, places, and things, that, under normal circumstances, Deidra would have been able to remember and identify, but she showed no sign of recognition or remembrance to any of them. And when asked about her past, she told, word for word, the story of Jennifer Riddle's life.
After Madam Pomfrey could think of no other ways to test her, she turned around to face Albus, Minerva, and Severus, who had sat and listened quietly all the while she'd been testing. "I don't understand it," she said. "There appears to be no physical or mental damage, yet for the life of me, if I did not know that this was in fact Deidra Dumbledore, I could have sworn she was Jennifer Riddle, she had her memories and everything. I don't understand it, I've never seen anything like this before in my life."
All this time Severus had not said a word, but now he spoke, "Jennifer Riddle, Albus, wasn't she Tom Riddle's mother, the Tom Riddle who became Lord Voldemort."
Albus shook his head sadly, "The very same my dear Severus, the very same."
Now Severus was beginning to form an idea, "and was your daughter not a living expert on raw forces?"
Albus looked at him quizzically, "yes, she was, but what does that have to do wi- You don't think that she,"
"It would explain a great deal of things, including that book I found in the library."
"what book?" Albus demanded, "what are you talking about Severus."
"Wait a moment and I'll show you." And with that he rushed out the door, leaving everyone in mid-thought.
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Severus bounded down the stairs to the place where he'd been sitting before Albus had returned, and, sure enough, right next to the stairs was the book he'd found in the library. Quickly, he checked the inside cover to make sure he'd not been mistaken, and raced back up to the hospital wing with it.
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It hadn't been more than five minutes since Severus had left before he came crashing (he always was one for entrances) through the door again, an old, crumbling book clutched to his chest.
"Here it is," he panted as he handed the book over to Dumbledore. "When I was searching the castle I looked in the library and I found this on the floor in the restricted section, still opened, I thought maybe Malfoy (the elder) had been snooping around, but when I asked him, he said he didn't know anything about it. I figured he was just bluffing, but maybe he really wasn't the person who'd looked in the book, maybe it was Deidra." Bracing his hands on his knees, Severus tried to catch his breath while he waited for Dumbledore to examine the book.
Everyone waited with baited breath as Albus flipped through the pages in silence. Severus stood over his shoulder, reading the chapter titles to himself. Finally when he recognized the one the book had been open to, he called out, "that's it, that's what it was open to when I found it."
Dumbledore read the heading out loud so everyone could hear it, "BINDINGS, BOTH PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL. Good God! You don't think she- She must have, it's the only explanation."
"Albus, what on Earth are you talking about." Minerva had been watching silently from Deidra's bedside. "What did she do? what are BINDINGS?"
Albus ran his hand over his face, "BINDINGS, are when a person combines, their body, their mind, or their spirit, or all of the above, with those of another person, and I am inclined to believe, given the evidence, that that is exactly what my daughter has done to herself." He rose from his seat and came over to sit on the other side of Deidra's bed, she had fallen asleep while they were talking. For a few moments, Albus just sat and watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, trying to pretend that this was all some horrid mistake, and when she opened her eyes again, they'd be her eyes, and she would be herself.
"So you are suggesting," said Minerva cautiously, "that Deidra bound herself to the mind, body, and spirit of Jennifer Riddle?" She raised her head to get a response from Albus, who only nodded. "But Dumbledore, that's ridiculous, Jennifer Riddle has been dead for years, years Dumbledore! How could Deidra possibly have bound herself to someone who is long dead."
Albus shrugged, "from what I have read in that book Minerva, it does not matter whether the person you are binding yourself to is alive or dead, either way it can be done, and obviously has."
Madam Pomfrey spoke again, unsure if she'd followed the conversation correctly. "But headmaster, why would she want to bind herself to Jennifer Riddle, what good did it do."
"I'll tell you why she would want to do it." Now Severus too walked over to join them, "she wanted to, and did, do it, because it enabled her to kill Voldemort, for once, and for all."
"Bu, bu, but, how?" Minerva stuttered, this whole conversation was becoming very disturbing to her.
This time both men answered at once, "Raw Force." They then exchanged a glance of pure sorrow and regret, and Severus nervously touched his left upper forearm.
"But Dumbledore, raw forces have been illegal since before Deidra was born, what's more, they've been kept very secret, how could she even know about them."
Albus bowed his head, not wanting to look at anyone, "I taught her."
Both women let out a gasp of shock, but said noting more, wanting Dumbledore to continue.
"I was very reluctant to have anyone teach her, or even to send her to Hogwarts, so I tutored her in Defense Against the Dark Arts myself. I wanted her to be prepared for anything. If you face a dark wizard, they're not going to stop and consider whether the curse they're about to use is legal or not. And I don't care how secret the ministry was about it, there were many people who knew about it, and they passed it on. So I wanted my daughter to be prepared to face it, to fight it and, if need be, to use it. Now keep in mind, I didn't teach her exact spells, that's why she would have needed this book, but I did teach her the principles behind raw forces and how they could be used, and what they could be used for."
"But why did she need raw forces to defeat Voldemort, lord knows we've done it enough times without them?" Minerva asked, unsure of what Dumbledore was hinting at.
"She needed them, Minerva, because since Voldemort's rebirth, none of magics and party tricks we've used before of any use. From the very beginning Voldemort has been using raw forces in his magic, through Deidra's extensive studies into the subject, she must have been able to spot. Lord knows I didn't before now. Anyway, Voldemort used the raw force of his hate for a particular person, or group, to destroy them, therefore, to block his magic, and to destroy him someone would have to employ a raw force magic of the opposite kind." Dumbledore stopped for a moment to let what he'd just said sink in.
"Forgive me again headmaster," said Madam Pomfrey, "but what exactly are you saying?"
"I'm saying," said Dumbledore with a sigh, "That because Voldemort was going to use the raw force of his hate for me and my family to kill Deidra, to prevent him, and destroy him, Deidra had to use a raw force of love for him. Now she has no love for him, in fact I think there's only one person in the world that ever did love him. Deidra must have thought the same, and so she bound herself to that person in order to obtain the means of destroying Voldemort, for once and for all."
Now everyone was staring at him, and no one moved a muscle until, finally, Minerva broke the trance with a whisper of "Tom's mother, Jennifer." Dumbledore only nodded again, to sad to speak.
"How can we reverse the spell?" Asked Madam Pomfrey, "I have no previous experience with such spells, and it seems, neither do any of you."
"But," said Severus from his position at the head of Deidra's bed, his voice hopeful. "If she got the spell for binding out of the book, wouldn't it also have a counter or reverse spell in it too." That was enough to lift everyone's heads.
"Yes," Minerva breathed, getting excited, "that book must have some answers." And with that everyone bolted back to the other side of the room where Dumbledore had left the book.
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Each had taken a turn searching through the entire book, but over an hour later, no one had found any answers. Severus, who'd been the last one looking at the book, threw it aside in despair. Standing up, he paced the length of the room several times, as though he were a tiger trapped in a circus cage.
Minerva followed him with her eyes for three lengths before she spoke, "Severus, stop, please, it does us no good."
Severus spun to face her, his face suddenly scarlet with rage, "Well what would do us some good, I don't know, do you, tell me and I'll gladly do it, but as far as I can see there isn't anything left to do but sit and wait!" With that he picked up a glass from off the stand of a nearby empty bed and flung it against the opposite wall, causing it to shatter loudly on impact.
Everyone cautiously looked over at Deidra, who only shifted slightly and went back to sleep. Madam Pomfrey went over to stand by Severus, her face a mixture of concern and anger, "Well that was very productive, wasn't it. You'll do her no good throwing tantrums like a little boy, honestly Severus, I thought you had more man in you than that."
With that Severus withered to the ground and began to weep. "I don't what I can do, if I thought anything might be of any help to her, I do it in a second, I just feel so helpless, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do." He sobbed, hugging his knees to his chest like a little boy who'd been cornered. And for a while he rocked himself in silence.
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Finally, Minerva stood up, turning to Dumbledore, she said, "I don't see much else I can do here right now, so why don't I go start herding the students back to their dormitories?"
Dumbledore looked at her, Minerva could see the faint trail of tears down his face and through his beard, she wished there was some way she could comfort him, but like everyone else right now, she was at a lose as to what to do. "Yes, Minerva, I think that would be a good idea."
Minerva simply nodded and left. After a short while, Madam Pomfrey left too, after hearing of Severus's encounter with Mr. Malfoy, she thought it might be a good idea to check him for a concussion. So it was that Severus and Albus were left alone with Deidra.
Dumbledore walked over and put his hand of Severus's shoulder, "Severus, I know you don't want to hear this, but you have to be strong, Deidra needs you to be strong for her. I know you are suffering, and so am I, but we have to be strong, because she cannot be."
Slowly Severus stood up and wiped his eyes. He had to admit that he did seem like a little boy, throwing things and weeping on the ground because he hadn't gotten his way, but was truly at a lose for what to do now. Turning around he looked at Dumbledore and saw, really for the first time, how much shame and sorrow was in Albus's face. And it hit him, he was not the only who was suffering because of what had happened to Deidra. This was her father standing before him, a man just as helpless as he was, with just as much to loose, and he too felt ashamed, because up until now he'd just been thinking of himself and his own losses.
Empathetically, he reached out and grasped Albus's arm, "we'll get her back Albus, we'll find a way."
Albus returned his grasp with equal force and nodded, "yes, there has to be a way, there's always a way."
Severus broke the hold to go back to sit on Deidra's bed. Gently, he took her limp hand in both of his own and stroked it. "Come on my love, show me a way I can reach you, I know you're in there, help me find you." He concentrated fiercely on Deidra's closed eyes, searching for something with which he could draw her out.
Dumbledore stood at the edge of the bed, also concentrating, but giving Severus his space.
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All Deidra could see was darkness. She thought she heard familiar voices and tried to find the source, but each time she moved, she met resistance. She was very frightened and she wanted Severus, or her father, or both, she just didn't want to be alone in the dark like this. Deidra had never liked the dark.
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Severus kept talking to Deidra, just as if she were simply listening to him. He told her about how much he'd hated leaving her. He told her about the Death Eater meeting he'd had to attend, and how it'd made him so thankful that he had truly left that behind and that he had gotten her back. He talked about how afraid he'd been when they'd come back to Hogwarts and found her gone. And he told her how much fun it'd been to finally give Malfoy what he deserved, (at this part Dumbledore chuckled lightly, he'd caught a glimpse of Malfoy when he'd first returned with Deidra, and whatever Severus had done had sure left a mark).
Then Severus got an idea, he shifted Deidra's hand so it rested on the place where his dark mark had been, the place where her hand had rested, only days ago. He paused at that thought, it had only been a few days ago, to him it felt like months, months from that happy moment of love and reunion, months from there to here, when they were farther apart than they'd ever been.
He placed her hand over the red blotch that was all that was left of his dark legacy. De put more force into his words now, he would do whatever it took to call her out, call her back, even if he had to use his own life force to do it. "Remember this love, remember how I said I was marked for life and you changed it, you changed it with you love. You've changed my entire life with your love. You made me want to be a better person, and when I went astray, it was my thoughts and longings for you that brought me back. I would probably still be a Death Eater if it hadn't been for you. When you left I realized for the first time, how evil the Dark Lord and his cause truly were. You made me realize what was most important to me, the people I care about, you, your father, and all the people who've suffered because fools like me were taken in by the attractiveness of evil. And then, when I thought my life was ruined, that I'd be ridiculed and scorned for the rest of my life, you came back, and you forgave me. But I'm lost again, and I need you to help me, I need you to come back to me Deidra, I need you, I need you, please, please, please." Severus still held her arm over his as he cried, his tears dropped on her hand and fell down the length of her arm.
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Now Deidra was sure it was Severus's voice that she heard, she could never mistake that deep rumbling sound, it was imprinted in her mind for eternity, and she heard it now. Gathering all her strength, she fought the resistance that met her on all sides. His voice was getting closer, if she could just get to it, if she could just fight. Again and again, she threw herself at the invisible walls that surrounded her. Each time she hit, she felt less and less resistance, got to keep trying, got to get through, get to Severus, got to get to Severus.
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As Deidra began to regain consciousness her fingers ran lightly over Severus's arm. Severus's breath caught, he remembered that first night, that night when she'd held his arm in hers, her power coursing through his very veins as she erased his horrible past, burned it away with her love.
Now, as her fingers moved over that very same spot, he tried to recall that feeling, the feeling of her love channeling through him, and when he found that feeling, he held on to it, pull at it with all his might. For that feeling, that pulsation of love, was Deidra through and through and he used all the strength of his magic to pull it to him. To break his love away from this other person.
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Deidra felt like a tiny string that was attached to her was being pulled, all at once, she knew, and didn't know, what was going on, but she did know that she should go with this pull. Focusing on where it was coming from, she added her own push to the pull, and finally, she felt a give in the walls of her prison. It felt as though she was being squeezed through a tiny hole, but she didn't fight, because she knew, on the other side of this hole, was freedom.
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A pillar of golden light exploded from Deidra's body, reaching infinitely high. Albus was forced to back away and shield his eyes from the light. Severus, however was not so affected because his eyes were blurred from his tears anyway. Grasping Deidra's arm with both of his own, he concentrated on keeping that his hold on his link to Deidra. He had to keep her with him, he could not let her fly from him a third time. This was what he'd promised himself, this time he would do it right, this time he would be the man she thought he was.
A single high pitched scream that sounded something like "To- Verus." Escaped Deidra's lips before everything fell dark and silent.
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Albus was the first to gather his wits, scrabbling to his feet and fumbling for his wand in the darkness. Once he got it in hand, he muttered "Lumos" and went over to the bed to see what had happened.
What he found was Severus, seemingly frozen in place, both his hands clutching Deidra's arm. And Deidra sitting upright and twitching slightly. "Are you alright?" Albus asked in a worried voice.
But Deidra didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were transfixed on Severus. Slowly, she brought her other hand over to his face, and ran her fingers along his forehead, cheeks, and mouth. She did this for several minutes, as if she were trying to recall something through her touch. Albus could see now that Severus's eyes were open and that he appeared fine, just to frightened to move.
Then there was a hoarse whisper of, "Severus, Severus." And she broke into complete sobs. Severus was out of his trance in a moment and had Deidra locked in the safety of the circle of his arms. She didn't fight this time, simply melted into his shoulder, clutching him tightly.
Severus pulled her head up just long enough to look into her eyes, "it's you, it really is you." He buried his face in her hair, stroking her back.
They stayed like that for several minutes, just holding each other and rocking slightly. After awhile, Severus tilted his head so that his mouth was right next to Deidra's ear, and he whispered, "you know, you're a hard woman to hold on to, I think I'll have to get you a leash so you don't keep wandering off."
Deidra pulled out of his arms abruptly, she looked at his face, then began to laugh. This got Severus laughing too, as well as Albus. But because she'd been crying so fiercely, her laugh was an extremely wet one, and Severus had to offer her his sleeve to mop her face.
After they'd calmed down a bit, Severus shifted to reach into his pocket. Carefully, making sure it was concealed in his fist, he pulled out his ring, he'd waited sixteen years for this. Deidra looked down and saw his hand coming out of his pocket, balled in a fist. "What's that?" She asked, still trying to rid her face of tears.
"It's something, for you." He said, feeling very unsure about this, he hadn't figured out how he would ask her when he first got the notion sixteen years ago, and he still didn't know. "We, we, well, I figured, the only way I could get to keep you for more than a day at a time, would be, to ask you to stay with me forever." And with that he opened his fist to reveal the gold ring with its perfect ruby and diamonds.
Deidra gasped as she reached out and slowly examined the ring, finally taking it out of Severus's up turned palm. Without a moment's hesitation she slipped it on her left ring finger, it fit perfectly.
Severus paled instantly in shock, "Yo, yo, you mean you will."
"What?" said Deidra, sounding playful now, "marry you, yes, I suppose so."
Severus sneered, what was that she supposed she'd marry him.
But his thoughts were interrupted when Deidra said, "And if I'm to be your wife, there'll be no more of that." And with that she slipped her hand behind the nap of his neck, and pulled him to her, sealing his protests with a passionate kiss.