00Snape
00Snape The SpyCarry on, Carry on as if nothing really
Matters,
Too late, my time has come,
Send shivers down my spine, body's
Aching all the time.
Goodbye, ev'rybody, I've got to go,
Gotta leave you all behind and face
The truth.
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Severus Snape stmubled out of bed to the tumultous ringing of bells and knocking of doors early on a fine morning, two days after the final NEWTs had been completed. Hermione, who was curled up underneath the black silk covers, snuggled closer to where his body had lain in an attempt to reclaim the lost warmth.
"Snape!" came a hollor from beyond the door as he calmly wrapped himself in a black silk house robe. The urgency of the voice was not lost on Hermione, who tensed and sat up. Snape opened the bedroom door to an anxious Sirius Black. Just as he was about to enquire why the overgrown mongrel was in his manor, Sirius interrupted.
"Snape, you have to come to Hogwarts immediantly. He-who-must-not-be-named will be attacking some time today. Malfoy apparated today to warn us and Dumbeldore sent me to fetch you!"
"Fine, give me twenty minutes." He snapped, and slammed the door. A sudden thought struck him and he re-opened it. "Are all my Slytherin sixth years present and correct?"
"Except Malfoy and Zabini." Answered Sirius, "Minerva's the only one missing a student. Hermione's vanished. Harry and Ron are-"
"I do not need to know what Potter and Weasley are winging about now. I am sure miss Granger will appear soon."
"Unfeeling bastard." Muttered Sirius as the door was slammed in his face again.
Meanwhile, Severus had moved back to the bed again and was gathering a crying Hermione and bump into his arms. Her face was shocked and unbeleiveing and she clung to him without speaking.
"Perfectio, we have to go back." He said unwillingly, holding her tightly with one hand over the bump that was their child.
"Please Severus, no." she whispered, burying her face into his chest. "I don't want you to leave."
"Hermione, I have to. I will be summoned to play my part and I must. It is my duty."
"It is not your duty!" she cried earnestly, looking up at him with eyes red from weeping.
"It is my duty to those I murdered." He replied stubburnly, attempting to ignore the part of his heart which screamed to stay with her.
"It is your duty to stay with us." She exclaimed, pressing his delicate hands to hers over the child. He fell silent and kissed her strongly.
"Hermione," he began, "Please, do not make this even more difficult. I promise you, if I could make it different I would."
"But you can't. I am sorry to be so selfish." Said Hermione heroically, and he almost cried. Instead he cursed the fates that had forced him to be torn from his lover and unborn child. They sat in silence for a moment, and then Hermione kissed him again and stroked his face tenderly.
"Come, perfectio." He whispered, and stood up, pulling her gently to her unsteady feet. Passing her the muggle jeans and strappy vest, he tugged on his own black deatheater robes and slipped the mask into his pocket. She was changed and ready by the time he returned from the kitchens, commanding the ten house elves to take care of Hermione and his estates.
Her hair was tied in a french plair, and she had cast the secret keeping spell on herself again. He sighed and took her in his arms.
"Will you remove that charm? For me?" he whispered and she didn't even hesitate, emrely removed it and allowed the teeny bulge to appear slightly. Then they stepped together through the green fire, into Hogwarts again.
Severus' chambers were deserted as usual. No Albus haunted them, no Minerva tutted outside them. In fact, the pair managed to make a clean getaway to the point of the end of the Gryffindor tower corridor where distraught screaming was heard. Hermione reached into him for reassurance, and he kissed her briefly before a red faced, puffy professor Macgonogall came flying round the corner and almost skidded to a stop in front of them, Sirius Black close behind.
"Hermione!" exclaimed her professor, and drew her into a hug. A few seconds later, after making choking noises she was handed briskly over to Sirius, who smiled at her and kept a rather tight hold on her upper arm. Macgonogall turned to Snape.
"Why on earth were you at your manor!?" she hissed, and he scowled.
"My business is my own. Perhaps I was making my will." He said, and Hermione let out a little gasp that her gaurder failed to notice.
"Miss Granger, where were you?" her professor rounded on her favourite student.
"Uh," Hermione wasstumped, and glanced at her lover.
"Miss Granger was attempting to find mr Malfoy's snake. She was lurking in the dungeons." Snapped Snape, and Hermione was hauled off.
"Be careful with her!" snarled Snape after them, and Sirius, so astounded, released his hold on her arm slightly, and took her hand, dragging her along. Hermione placed a hand on her stomach as she looked back at Severus. He was staring after them, with sadness in his onyx eyes.
It was dinner that evening when the team of aurors that Snape was supposed to take to form the first wave of the battle trudged wearily into Hogwarts and upto the Great Hall.
Severus was discretely watching Hermione, who was toying with her vegetable lasagne and seasoned chips. He himself had already eaten three helpings, and most of the school were half way through their chocolate sundaes. She was watching him anxiously under lowered lids, while Harry and Ron watched her and attempted to persuade her to eat something.
"Commander Snape?" came a voice from the wide doorways, and silence fell. Maybe twenty aurors stood there, an unspeakable at their head, identified by his red lined robes.
Dumbeldore and Snape stood, and made their way towards the aurors, some of whom were watching the pupils with concern in their eyes. Snape nodded his head once, and the ranks split to allow him to travel through.
Suddenly there was a loud clatter, and two shrill male squeks of surprise. Hermione Granger had thrown her eating impliments down into the table, sent her chair spinning backwards, shaken the hindering hands of her friends off her robes and them off the bench, and was standing, watching the transaction.
"Are you going with them?" she whispered at last, tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You know I must." He answered and she hurridly shook off Ginny Weasley's kind arm and almost ran across the hall to him, stopping just in front of him.
"Please." Was all she could say around her tears, "Promise me you'll come back."
"I promise." He answered heavily, and she cried even harder, almost hiccuping now. He could bear it no longer and chose to ignore the entire school and his employer standing a mere foot away from him. He gathered her into his arms, folding her deep within his cloak and kissing her face lightly, as if to take the wetness there away. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder.
"And now you must promise me something." He whispered softly so no one but her could hear. "Promise me to stay away from the battle. Stay with madame Promfrey and Prince in the medical wing."
She hesitated for a second but then nodded against his shoulder.
"I love you." He whsipered softly, and released her.
"I love you too." She replied, ignoring the gasps around her and kissing him once more on his lips.
Without loosing her eye contact he signaled for his team to move out and placed one last, lingering kiss on her cold lips before leaving for the final battle.
-*ö*-
Dundundun…No, I'm not that cruel. There's more.
-*ö*-
Hermione Granger sank into a forgiving hideous purple suede armchair in Madame Promfrey's office, exhausted, flapping her plain white robe around in an effort to forget about what was happening out there. The robes themselves were fine, layered with enough cleaning spells to kill millions of microbes and bucketfuls of blood. They were just a different kind of uniform to the one she was used to, and thus were slightly uncomfortable.
She really had no clue why she was so tired, the hospital wing had been extended along four corridors and two levels to form a mydrad of narrowly spaced beds and neatly made up white linen, with each bedside cabinate equipped with a vial of dreamless sleep potion and anti pain tablets. She had no idea of how long Severus must have had to labour to equip the wing with all of these.
Severus…Merlin above, she hoped he was safe. Well, alive would be enough. Injured wouldn't be too bad because then he would have to come back here. Suddenly a bell began clanging urgently throughout the school, and she jumped to her feet, racing out of the room and overtaking madame Promfrey and madame Prince and their three hufflepuff fifth years there for menail tasks.
Running flat out down three flights of stairs (some genius had decided to put the medical staff room on the fifth floor) she skidded to a stop on a balcony above the entrance hall.
Assembled there were almost fifty aurors, grim faced and organised into lines of ten each with a commander at their head. Between these lines were Hogwarts students, sixth and seventh years from all houses, looking pale and terrified. Most of the Hogwarts teachers had already taken their places within the barricaded 'safe' rooms, made mainly of the four now linked comman rooms and the staff room and kitchens. Some, like Macgonogall and Flitwick, stood holding their wands next to Albus Dumledore and worrying about the remaining five years deemed too young to fight.
Hermione searched desperately for the line of red she knew was Gryffindor and found it with some difficult. Ron was pale underneath his freckles and Harry looked far too determined for her liking. Saemus and Dean were whispering to their girlfriends, Parvati and Lavender, while Neville looked almost scarily cheerful. Ginny had Harry's hand clutched in hers, and Ron was looking at Luna Lovegood with worry evident in his eyes even from here. (The girl in question was absently picking the flowers from her loose bun) Both boys were looking around for her, she guessed.
Ron suddenly saw her and began waving frantically, Harry only joining in a split second later when he identified her.
"Hermione!" they both shrieked, and she carefully tucked her skirts around her as Dumbledore leviated her down. The stairs had been blocked yesterday as soon as Severus had gone.
"Thankyou!" she gasped as both boys broke rank and ran at her, desperately hugging her. No one said anything, there was no need for words. Hermione cried, and even Harry and Ron's cheeks were wet with tears (although they would later claim it was sweat in front of Severus). Finally the bell tolled once, and the boys kissed her hastily, assured her of their love and ran back to ranks.
"If you die I'll kill you!" she shouted after them as the whole army began to move forward, Dumbledore in the lead.
Most of them smiled, looking back at the castle and the white-clad headgirl waving desperately on the front steps, crying into her head piece and apron, missing the black clad illusive figure of Severus Snape who should have been standing next to her, but was at that moment peering over the edge of a magicly fortified trench missing her desperately.
Author's Note: Well that's it. Crys That ending was kinda sad. And a wee bit cliffhangerish. You now have three choices:
1. I write a sequeal, under a different heading entirely.
2. I write a sequal, under the same title, because I like that title.
3. I completely abandon the fic because no-one tells me what to do.
[I've actually started the sequel, so it won't take long if you want it…]