BethAnn – the SPCFFR? Not them again…grin

Catsrule_Dogsdrool – Right, you've intrigued me m'dear. What are 'Snape cookies?' (bitter on outside, spicy on the inside?)

Caya/Mara456/Silver*chime – Cliffhanger...what cliffhanger? (heh, heh)

Qe Too – Thanks for your comments!

Strega Brava – Yes, I like C.S. Lewis too…though I wasn't purposely putting references in, they just seemed to come through!



Part 11

They both moved apart and Hermione on turning around saw Lucius Malfoy standing outside the mirror-prison. Had this been a sick Malfoy plot all along Hermione thought in astonishment, staring at his pale, fine-boned face and then she noted his eyes were a glowing, malevolent yellow. They were the kind of eyes that belonged to a person that would not be happy unless they had thought of five nasty things to do before breakfast – and that the breakfast preferably be one stolen from you. They could only be Voldemort's eyes in another host body. He was dressed in blood-red robes and at a casual flick from his black wand in his left hand the mirror- prison Hermione & Severus were in vanished, leaving them standing on the black floor.

"Now this is a surprise!" 'Lucius' sneered. The voice had a cruel, reptilian sound to it, a part of Hermione's mind noted, that was different to the refined malice of the real Lucius. Had Voldemort killed him and taken over the body or was Lucius trapped within his own head?

"Stay behind me, Hermione" Severus said softly and stepped in front of her to block her from Voldemort's view, his wand in an attack position. He should never have called her name, he thought with weary grimness. But in his moment of weakness he had….she had heard him too(!) and despite the odds had found a way through the damned mirror by herself. Now Voldemort would be killing both of them…

Severus still couldn't believe that she had cared enough to try and rescue him, let alone kiss him. A kiss before dying…..as always, the universe had a perverse sense of humour. He had been so sure before on seeing her that this was a trick of Voldemort's, a game to be played in between torment. He was aching all over from countless wounds and on the edge of madness as well. He regretted that despite the return of his wand he did not have the strength to cast the Avada Kedarva spell…

Voldemort's eyes glowed brighter. "Here I was, expecting Potter or Dumbledore to turn up but who do we have instead? Why, Snape's…..girlfriend."

"Leave her alone, you bastard!" Severus snapped. "It's me you want, not Hermione!"

Voldemort sighed. "But you're…..boring, Snape. You don't scream at all – surely one scream before I kill you isn't too much to ask for? Hermione would scream for me, wouldn't you my dear?"

"Go to hell!" Hermione retorted as Severus pointed his wand at Voldemort. "Expelliarmus!" he spat, but though there was a bright flash of scarlet light Voldemort was alarmingly…unharmed. However, his yellow eyes were full of rage.

"You dare attack me, you traitor! You'll pay dearly for that...no, both of you will! I will give you a demonstration first…." Voldemort hissed two unintelligible words that managed to convey torment and death and the invisibility cloak that Hermione was wearing shivered and fell off, falling to dust on the floor. A faintly confused look passed over Hermione's face. While she was naturally dismayed at the loss of the cloak, surely its destruction was a needlessly…petty thing for a dark wizard like Voldemort to do? However, her face blanched at his next words.

"The next thing to be destroyed will be your wands!"

"You can't do that!" Hermione blurted in horror. While wands could be broken and chipped, they were nevertheless indestructible. When children showed wizard potential in performing magic instinctively by themselves, it was important for them to be bonded to a wand as soon as possible before their magic became too uncontrollable. When a wizard died and was laid to rest in the ground their wands were buried with them, being of no use to anyone else.

The consequences of her wand destroyed made her shudder. For wizards it was the link to their magic, and without that link the unused magic inside would build up and do…..anything. Such as viciously turn on its owner inside.…there were some spells that could be performed without a wand, but only a few.

"Yes I can my dear!" Voldemort purred. "In fact I've done this before already…why, the *poor* wizard – under my tender care of course – lasted four days before he ah, 'expired'. Decisions, decisions – shall I kill you after destroying your wands, or leave you both to die of your own accord? Neither of you will be able to escape of course, for the Slytherin who built the Mirror of Erised hid most of his notes, and the way I procured passage into and out of here is not for ah, a squeamish young lady to know."

Hermione wished, not for the first time that apparating was possible in Hogwarts, for it was useless for both of them to run for it – Voldemort would swat them like flies. Any more magical attacks would be useless. But wait, maybe in this place the magical ban against apparating did not apply…surely she could apparate away from here, despite what Voldemort had said. Praying that it would work she lifted her wand, put an arm around Professor Snape's waist and quickly chanted the apparating spell. Voldemort's eyes widened and he frantically hissed a counter-spell – but the world went black around them then reformed again.

The spell had worked; Hermione realised in chagrin, but had only taken them as far as the mirror she had come through! The skulls on the floor (even the ones that had faded Slytherin monograms on the tatters of black cloth on their accompanying bones) seemed to stare at her sadly. She felt tense, edgy and a bit wild-eyed but managed to stay calm (with an effort). In the distance where they had apparated from, Hermione heard a crash, then a tinkle of glass. After a pause there was another crash, and another tinkle of glass. Voldemort was venting his fury by destroying the mirrors around him before he sought them – but it appeared though that they had some time before he caught up to them..

"Over-acting git!" Professor Snape muttered beside her, swaying slightly. "He should have been on the stage performing two-bit villain roles…." Hermione looked up at him in concern and saw that his face where it wasn't bruised was turning grey, his black eyes glassy. Apparating had obviously been too much for him in his state…hastily reaching into a pocket she brought out the bottle of phoenix tears. Fearing that he would collapse if she let go of him she brought the stopper to her mouth and yanking it out with her teeth, spat it aside and reaching up held the bottle to his mouth.

"Drink this down quickly – it will help!" she urged him. Professor Snape stared down at her, his dark eyes trying to focus on her face and he attempted a sneer. "I'm the one who gives orders, not my annoying students!" he whispered but nevertheless he swallowed down the contents of the bottle. When he had finished Hermione took the bottle away and watched him keenly for any signs of change, praying that the phoenix tears would act swiftly.

Suddenly a shudder ran through Severus and he straightened while Hermione heard muted popping sounds. Broken bones re-connecting? Hermione thought, wincing. The bruises on his face faded and his skin tone resumed its normal pale look (though his black hair still looked lank). His eyes, now a sharp, glinting black again stared down at her and he seized her by her shoulders, though his hands were gentle.

"Hermione, what the hell was in that bottle?" he said softly. His pain and tiredness had vanished and he felt the healthiest he had been in years. Just let Voldemort try and attack him now – why, he'd rip him into tiny pieces with his magic and laugh while doing so!

"Fawkes gave me some of his tears for you – Albus believed you would need them" Hermione replied, relieved that they had helped him. Professor Snape looked taken aback.

"Phoenix tears…for me? The world has gone mad!" he remarked, then looking down at her intently he embraced her and swiftly bending his dark head he gave her a quick, tender kiss. "Thank you Hermione – though I'm not sure whether to deduct points or give them to you for coming in after me, you exasperating girl! But if we don't find a way back through this mirror before that filth gets here, house points will be the least of our worries!"

Trying not to think how she could get used to his kisses, Hermione hurriedly said that Dumbledore had told her that the mirror itself would show how to return through it. She pointed up to the strange bronze circle on top of the frame. "That has to be a clue as to the way back!"

Severus glanced at the bronze circle and then at the skeletons surrounding the mirror. "Obviously they hadn't paid attention!" he observed sarcastically and releasing her took her hand and they both approached the mirror frame. The mirror appeared to be ordinary glass, for it only showed the two wizards in their black robes, Severus scowling at his reflection and a part of Hermione's mind noting that she looked terrible for her face was pale and her hair looked wild and unkempt.

The mirrors surface shimmered – but instead of a Hearts Desire spell activating it showed their reflections with the chain of light that linked her to Severus. What was going on, Hermione thought in surprise. Clearly Professor Snape could see the chain too for he looked startled and tried to touch the chain with his free hand. "Albus was right!" he muttered. "But I didn't believe him – I didn't want to believe it …"

His black eyes met hers in the mirror and a fleeting look of hesitant vulnerability passed over his face, far removed from his usual sneering one. Hermione squeezed his hand gently. "I'm glad it's there – Dumbledore cast a spell with the help of Fawkes to help me see it. That's how I got through" she said softly and then looked rueful. "Harry was present – I don't think he was sure whether he wanted to run off screaming or try and exorcise me!"

Professor Snape smirked at that. Ah, to have been a fly on the wall then…he thought in amusement.

Suddenly the bronze circle on top of the mirror glowed green and then to their surprise a green ray of light scanned both of them quickly, focussing briefly on the chain of light between them. A soft, impersonal voice issued from the bronze circle.

"The conditions set by Victor Darkholme of Slytherin five centuries ago have now been met. In his absence the Mirror of Erised is now at the command of both of you."

Professor Snape glared at the mirror, his wand held in attack position and Hermione looked at the mirror with equal suspicion. "Explain!" Severus hissed.

"My purpose in being built was to keep record of the deepest wishes of all who looked at me, as well as provide passage to where the wishes could be viewed and a portal to other realms."

"What do you mean by conditions being met?" Hermione said uneasily. While she felt she could trust Professor Snape with her life, she wasn't sure about this Slytherin-built mirror..

"While Victor was alive only he could travel through me, but at the end of his days he believed that other wizards would eventually find a way through. He therefore cast a spell on me decreeing that if others got through that they would only be able to command me to return them to the world if they truly loved a wizard from their opposite house, with that wizard loving them in return. Such as a Ravenclaw loving a Hufflepuff. Or a Slytherin loving a Gryffindor."

Hermione felt sick. She was glad that this Victor was long dead for he sounded like an especially cruel Slytherin – turning the Mirror of Erised into a death trap for any who found a way through! It was little wonder that the conditions had been hard to meet – lasting relationships between wizards of different houses were rare, for Ravenclaws looked down on Hufflepuffs, while there were countless legendary feuds between Slytherins and Gryffindors.

"Well, Victor did not anticipate us, did he?" Professor Snape said softly. "Mirror, I order you to open the way back to Hogwarts – and once we're through to prevent anyone from coming through, or to follow us out!"

"Why Snape, I didn't think you cared!" Voldemort hissed as he walked from behind a nearby mirror. Severus and Hermione both whirled around, their wands raised. Hermione realised she could still hear the sounds of mirrors being destroyed - it had a trick to lull them into a false sense of security!

"I have a better plan!" Voldemort continued. "I see you both have the potential to be a greater nuisance than Potter, which I can't allow." He gave a cruel smile and though Hermione and Severus both pointed their wands at the dark wizard to curse him he was quicker – and pointing his wand at Hermione spat "Avada Kedarva!"

"No!" Hermione and Severus both screamed, but before the lethal curse could strike Hermione the Mirror of Erised murmured "unacceptable" and a shield in the Slytherin colours of green and black issued from the mirror, enveloping them both. The curse hit the shield – then bounced back on it's shocked creator. Voldemort screamed, then he fell to the ground, dead. With the danger over, the shield vanished.

In shock at her narrow escape from the same death that had befallen Harry's parents, Hermione to her chagrin felt tears running down her cheeks. She sniffed, scrubbing at her eyes and then Professor Snape pulled her gently into his arms.

"It's all right Hermione, he's dead. I intend to see he stays dead this time!" he whispered fiercely and she sighed and laid her head against his chest. She just wanted to go home and when she heard Professor Snape command the mirror to open the way back to Hogwarts, she was glad to see the mirror obediently shimmer - to reveal the stone room beyond, with the faces of Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Harry Potter (with wands pointing at them) gaping at the sight of her in her Professor's arms.

"Yes we're fine, so point those wands elsewhere – especially you, Potter, before I deduct points!" Professor Snape snapped. "Just kidding!" he murmured naughtily to Hermione before he suddenly swept her up in his arms, making her squeak in surprise. "Let's go home, love" and still carrying her swept through the mirror, back home to Hogwarts.

A/N: Whew, my longest chapter yet, and I hope the characters weren't too OOC. At times I wasn't sure myself as to how they would escape! (Plus I knew that if I stopped halfway through this chapter, some of you might form a lynch mob and come after me, heh!) I may continue this story…after I have a lie down! smile