Well… my grandfather died two weeks ago and I was unable to move a muscle thus…it became difficult for me to actually update as frequently as I would have liked to. *sighs* …don't give up on me, please… I really like the story. What do you think though? Don't be shy…leave a review!

I'll answer all reviews on chapter 41 in my LJ (FlorWS is me!)

¡¡LOS QUE ESTEN EN EL CAMINO, BIENVENIDOS AL TREN!!

Chapter 41: The reality of love Part II

All of us have buried love, at least once in our lives. Some have buried relatives who died of old age and some others-like me- have buried the souls of friends who died unable to discover their true essence. Whoever that person might have been in your case, I have always been certain that when someone passes away, the entire world goes dark because the light that shone in that person's chest goes off as soon as his soul unglues itself from its lustful flesh. And believe me when I say that no other light will ever shine in the same way ever again. A true lost for the entire human race. Thus it is not uncommon for us to cry without exactly knowing where the pain has come from or when it will cease to torture us.

I know it hurts and make no mistake: Severus has never been a stranger to those feelings.

But death was near, so near he could feel it breathing down his neck whispering words that would make the bravest of warriors shiver in apprehension. But not Severus; he had too much to lose and the smallest hesitation could mean Hermione's death. Yes. Beautiful Hermione with her milky skin uncovered for him to see, beautiful scar-less Hermione, beautiful pure almost virginal Hermione dressed as the Helen of Troy of Contemporary times. She was, ironically, his Achilles' heel too.

He could not even picture in his head those dreadful images of his beloved wife The Mirror of the Dark Desire had so conveniently showed once in the obscurity of his dungeons.

The words Narcissa had pronounced before disappearing-  "If you want to find your wife, Mr. Snape- even though I reckon you may not be able to recognize her- you need to head towards my chambers. He is there and so is your wife. However, I must warn you: your life will soon end if you decide to leave this room, Mr. Snape. Lucius Malfoy knows of no limits now,"- kept repeating themselves in his brain as his feet led him to a room he knew almost by heart because of the constant chats he used to share by Floo Network with his Hogwarts mate Lucius Malfoy. However the darkness that wrapped Malfoy Manor that night made it very difficult for Severus to decide which corridor to follow. Two rights and one left were the choices he made before finding himself facing a reddish mahogany door that read "NM" in gold gothic handwriting.

He knew from the start that he had a made a terrible mistake but in any case he felt the need to open the door as if a potent force was guiding his hand towards the door knob.

"This door," he said to himself as he placed his right hand on the golden ball, "is hiding a secret,"

I dare say that Severus Snape, my friends, had never been more assertive. There, wrapped in brown blood stained white sheets lied the body of Narcissa Malfoy. Her blonde hair was now covered in blood and all over her body the words "LM" were marked: she was nothing more than an ordinary cow that the Master thought it was time to dispense.

And, oddly enough, as soon as terror- and anger- invaded Severus' body again with the power of one thousand irritated lions, he remembered one of the most important articles married people agree on the day they say "yes": Infidelity is punished with death in the magical universe.

Severus smirked; now he understood why Narcissa was able to appear and disappear without the use of an invisibility cloak: she was a ghost that had been brutally murdered by her dear husband; a husband that had no impediments to rape Hermione Granger now. Narcissa had guided him there, he was sure of it. Now he knew. And the thing with knowledge is that we cannot ignore the bits of information that reach our ears even if we fool ourselves in thinking that we can.

A million questions ran through his head as he slowly stepped back and closed the door behind him. He searched into his robes and caressed the tip of his wand- it was still there- and cast an ancient spell on the room in order for Narcissa's soul to rest in peace although he was well aware that she would not rest before Lucius' death. He had an invisible ally that hated the new King of Darkness as much as he did, perhaps more, and that was good news.

He breathed deeply and filled his lungs with the sinister oxygen of Malfoy Manor. He was ready. He knew the way to Hermione because Narcissa knew the way to Lucius so he started running through the narrow corridors Narcissa was guiding him through without a hint of anxiety. Soon enough he would find himself facing a murderer that "knew of no limitations" as Narcissa had vigorously stated minutes before.

Four lefts one right.

There was no escape now. And he needed none. Hermione was there; that was all Severus Snape- Hogwarts most feared Potion's Master- needed to know. Because despite the hard exterior, despite his isolated personality, despite the physical features he thought horrible-and that he had inherited from his father-, despite his bad manners and above all despite the childish way in which he behaved regarding love, she had fall in love.

Severus Snape had never been sure of his wife's love or if that love that was burning his soul was socially correct but now when the face of death was as visible as it had never been, all those contradictory feelings that had habited in his chest for a good portion of the semester became, all of a sudden, as clear as water: love is not something that happens to you when you are busy making other plans, love is something that goes through you like an arrow when you are busy making other plans. And it pushes you into living, no matter how dead you actually are. Love is not sane, and yet… we choose to live in insanity because what's the point of breathing if your heart does not beat at the same rhythm that another human being's?

He sighed. Sure enough, he had been utterly stupid. He had one more reason to live now: he needed to redeem himself in front of his wife because sure enough he was still unable to understand the reasons behind her love. But he was sure that such love really existed so he couldn't fool himself anymore: love had made him fearless and, ready or not, it was time for him to embrace his destiny.