In a split second, Hermione had her wand pulled and whirled around to count at least twenty Death Eaters in black robes and masks encircling them, their wands raised.
"Watch out!" she screamed as the first curse whizzed by her ear and hit Charlie Weasley in the shoulder. He staggered backwards and fell to the ground.
More curses flew at the group and Hermione threw herself onto the ground and rolled as a Death Eater leveled his wand at her. The curse hit the ground beside her, throwing up rocks that scratched at her face. She jumped to her feet and aimed at him.
"Stupefy!"
It hit him square in the chest and he dropped. She dashed over and rope shot out from her wand like angry snakes that wound about his arms and legs, then she turned around and looked for the next Death Eater.
She saw one aiming at Ginny and Hermione threw off a quick hex, which missed to left, but it got his attention and the Death Eater left her for Hermione. Ginny then took the opportunity to hit him with a petrificus totalis and he dropped like a stone. Hermione looked up as a Death Eater shot off a green light at Albus, her mouth gaping as he disappeared as the curse approached him and suddenly he reappeared in the same space and incapacitated the Death Eater with a swish of his wand.
A hex grazed her forehead, and she felt the skin rip and burn and she whirled to see another Death Eater running towards her and she shot off a stupefy which he dodged. He cast another curse and she dropped to the ground.
"Expelliarmus!"
His wand flew high in the air and he slowed as he reached into his cloak, withdrawing a vial that he held close to his chest. Hermione wasn't sure that she wanted to see the contents of the glass. She waited as if in a trance as he neared, her wand at the ready, and she lashed out, catching him in the chest with the heel of her boot as well as crushing the hand that held the vial. He flew backwards, screaming as glass cut into his hand and the vial burst into flames, the fire racing up his arm and towards his face. Hermione cast the strongest freezing charm she knew and the flames licking at the Death Eater flickered out as he himself froze and crashed to the grass. She admired her handiwork with a grim smile, knowing that he would not thaw out before he could be apprehended by Ministry police.
It suddenly occurred to her that Severus's betrayal of Voldemort made him as tempting a target to the Death Eaters as Harry or Albus would, and she tried to find him in the confusion, dodging and ducking through the fight.
"'Mione! Move!"
She heard Harry's voice and in that moment her instincts took over and she dove to the side as a green bolt brushed her cloak, landing on her forearms and rolling forward and back onto her feet before whirling around and lowering her wand.
"Avada kedavra!"
The words left her mouth before she could take stock of them, slipping out without prior consent, and she watched as the spell connected with its intended target and the Death Eater collapsed immediately.
"You okay?" Harry yelled as he ran up.
"Yeah, considering," she answered shakily. "I have to find Snape."
"Go on then," he said, wiping a hand across his forehead, leaving behind a grimy streak. "Shit! Looks like I gotta save Ron's ass again!"
Harry sprinted off towards the entrance to the stadium. Suddenly, six Ministry Police in dark blue robes apparated, along with two wizards in plain robes and Hermione recognized them as aurors. A cry went up among the Death Eaters, and many began to break away from the fighting to disapparate, but several were caught by curses before they could disappear.
"Where's Severus?" she yelled and no one answered, so she scanned for him frantically.
Finally she caught sight of him, across the field, a good hundred yards away, saw his wand fly out of his hand as he was hit with something and she bolted towards him, wondering how he got so far away from everyone else.
Time slowed and she saw the green light erupt from the Death Eater's wand, watched as the curse crawled across the distance separating the two men and strike Severus in the chest and he sank to his knees, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
"No!" she screamed and every single memory and thought she had about that man, from the first time she saw him in the Great Hall when she was eleven, crystallized into one single need to reach him.
She pumped her arms and legs, racing towards them as Severus fell forward onto his hands, and he held himself up on shaky arms.
He must've taken the mortalis before we left!
The Death Eater took a few steps towards Severus, not understanding why the curse hadn't worked. He brought his wand back up toward Severus, who was pushing himself back onto his feet, and again shot him, this time at point-blank range.
"Severus!"
She was only forty yards away from them now, and she could see Severus struggling to sit up, and again the Death Eater lowered his wand. This time, he didn't move.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A blast of green light shot past the Death Eater, and she glanced over to see Harry running full-on from the side, his wand out. He yelled again, and this time the curse hit its target.
Hermione didn't slow down until she fell to her knees beside Severus, gasping for breath while her lungs burned like a forgotten roast, and she carefully rolled him onto his back and felt for a pulse. She couldn't feel anything so she lowered her cheek to his lips and felt a tiny puff of air.
"Mobilicorpus," she murmured and his body floated a few feet off the ground.
She then conjured a stretcher and slid it beneath him, then released him onto the stretcher. Her hands shook as she tried to take his readings.
"How is he?" Harry asked breathlessly as he got to her.
"Don't know, he probably shouldn't even be alive. Fuck!" she exclaimed. "I can't get a clear reading. We've got to get him out of here, immediately."
Harry nodded. "Right. I better check on everyone else."
They started back to the front of the stadium with Severus's stretcher in tow, but an auror intercepted them. He was older, his black hair tinged with grey. He had piercing blue eyes, and his normally full, pink lips were pulled into a tight line.
"Potter, Granger," he greeted them, nodding curtly.
"Jones, glad to see you," Harry answered.
"The Minister wants to see you, immediately."
"As soon as everything is cleared up here --"
"No, I'm afraid he insisted you leave at once. We can manage things here. St. Mungo's is on their way."
Harry frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together over the broken glasses that dangled on his nose as he looked to Hermione. "I'll be at Hogwarts as soon as I'm done there."
"Right."
Harry disapparated and she followed Jones back to the queuing area in front of the stadium.
"What happened?"
"We were leaving the match when we were surrounded by about twenty Death Eaters. It all happened so fast, I really don't know what else happened. I killed one and took down two more, and then they started running when you all showed up."
"I can't believe they would be so arrogant to attack three aurors, the Deputy Minister and the Headmaster of Hogwarts in broad daylight," Jones said, shaking his head.
"How many were caught?"
"Nine. Of course, we'll be taking them back to the Ministry for interrogation."
She scoffed and asked, "Why? They won't know anything, of course. Even if you use Veritaserum, you know how Voldemort works." He started at her mention of his name, but she ignored it. "Only a select few know what really goes on, and everyone else knows nothing. You might as well send them straight to Azkaban."
"I know, but we still have to take the chance that one of these fuckers knows something." He grinned and added, "Besides, interrogation can be therapeutic sometimes."
Hermione frowned. Death Eater or not, she did not condone further violence on prisoners or the Ministry's blind eye towards the situation.
"I need to talk to Evans," he said and excused himself. Hermione saw witches and wizards in lime green robes moving about the grass, but she couldn't tell who was injured. Albus Dumbledore pulled away from the Healer he had been talking to and strode out to meet her.
"Where is Harry? Is he alright?"
"Yes, Fudge wanted him, so he's there now, but he'll be by Hogwarts later he said."
"Fudge always picks the most inopportune times." He saw the stretcher floating behind her and his voice filled with concern and he asked, "What about Severus?"
"I don't know, bad. He was hit with the killing curse three times. We need to get him to St. Mungo's."
Dumbledore shook his head, his blue eyes humorless. "We must take him to Poppy. He would have it no other way."
"But St. Mungo's is --"
"Not more qualified than Poppy Pomfrey."
"They have more --"
"Resources? I do not believe so. Pomfrey, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, myself. And you, as well, Professor Granger. Are we not just as qualified and resourceful?" His eyes bore into hers and she could not answer. "I'll trust you can take him safely back to Hogwarts."
"Of course. What of the others?"
Albus sighed, rubbing a hand across his weary brow. "Charlie Weasley is dead."
"Shit."
"Ginny and Arthur have both been taken to St. Mungo's with severe but treatable conditions. Everyone else received minor wounds and is being treated here. Now you must get Severus to Poppy."
"Yes, and I'll come straight back," Hermione said, but as soon as the words left her tongue, she knew she would rather be with Severus, and it seemed Dumbledore felt the same.
"No, my dear, you must help Poppy," he said, his blue eyes more serious than she had seen them before. "You know better than anyone about his condition, and I know Severus would want you there as well." Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Dumbledore was already forcing an old soda can into her hand and saying, "This was to be our transport back to Hogwarts but you must use it immediately."
She held the can tight in her left hand and reached for the stretcher with the other. As she felt the hook at the back of her stomach before the portkey jerked her back to the castle, Dumbledore gave a small wave and turned back to the others. In an instant, she thudded to the cold floor of the grand entrance, her knees banging off the cold marble and she scrambled to her feet.
She pointed her wand at the stretcher and it skimmed the ground behind her as she charged up the stairs to the third floor. Hermione burst into the hospital wing, sending the doors clattering against the walls and Poppy emerged from her office, a terrible frown crossing her face until she glimpsed the stretcher and rushed over.
"Severus? What happened?"
"We were attacked. He took three killing curses and he's barely alive."
"But how could --"
"The potion," she answered brusquely. "We need a strengthening solution, and water."
"Of course!"
Poppy hurried off to her stores and Hermione maneuvered the stretcher onto an empty bed, then disappeared it, allowing Severus to lay on the bed. She started to pull off his cloak when Poppy returned.
"I'm afraid you have to clean up before you can do anything else here, Hermione," she said, a surprising firmness in her voice, and Hermione had no choice but to obey. "There are clean robes in the cabinet above the toilet."
Hermione went to the bathroom and flinched when she saw her reflection in the mirror. A dried river of blood ran from the gash on her forehead down the right side of her face and to her jaw, as well as a nasty bruise developing on her right cheek, and some smaller scratches covered the left side of her jaw. She pulled out her wand and aimed it first at the gash, which sealed up to a small scar after she was done, then pointed to the black bruise which shrank to nothing. She did not worry about the smaller scratches, because a spell would be ineffective, but would get a potion from Poppy for them.
She discarded the dirty robe, pulled her hair back into a knot and turned on the sink, letting the water run hot. She scrubbed her face, working gently around the remnants of her wounds because they still hurt a bit, then dried off and shrugged on a clean Hogwarts robe. She did feel better.
She went back into the hospital wing where Poppy had changed Severus into a cotton gown and had buried him beneath several blankets. She turned as Hermione approached, meeting her at the foot of the bed.
"I gave him the strengthening potion and cleaned him up. I don't know anything else to do for him."
"I've seen the rats recuperating from our own tests, and there's nothing to be done except let him rest."
"I'm not going to lie to you," Poppy began and extended a hand to Hermione's shoulder. "He doesn't look good. He may not make it."
She barely nodded, her voice cracking when she answered, "I know."
"One of us should keep watch at all times, I suppose." Poppy paused, her wise eyes watching as Hermione crouched by the bed and felt Severus's cheek with the back of her hand. "Do you want to go first? Or would you like to rest some? I'm sure you're exhausted."
She stood, her back to Poppy and she said, "No, I'll stay with him."
"Can I get you anything then, my dear? Something for that gash?"
Hermione turned to the older witch and shook her head. "No, it's alright. But maybe something for these," she said, motioning to the scratches along her jaw.
"Of course, you wait there."
Poppy bustled off to the cabinets in her office, and Hermione turned back to the bed and the pallid figure. She summoned over a hardback chair and transfigured it into a small armchair a bit more comfortable, but hard enough to keep her from drifting off. She knew Poppy was right in suggesting rest, she desperately needed it, having forgotten how much effort and energy required to cast avada kedavra on another, rather than a rat.
But she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, not with Severus laying unconscious in the hospital wing, at the top of the ragged slope down. She couldn't leave him while his fate was uncertain.
Finally Harry escaped the grasp of Cornelius Fudge and then tracked down Alex Jones, who had since returned from the scene at the quidditch stadium. Jones informed him about Arthur and Ginny Weasley's transferal to St. Mungo's, and that the rest of the family had followed. He immediately went to the magical hospital.
The witch at the front desk waved him through, telling him to check on the fourth floor, short-term ward. He took the rickety stairs two at a time and he was out of breath by the time he reached the floor for spell damage, vaguely remembering seeing Lockhart on a previous visit to the same floor.
He passed the long term residents ward, wondered if Frank and Alice Longbottom still resided there, wondered how Neville was doing. He would have to ask Ginny, if she was awake, since she and Neville had remained friends after Hogwarts. A sudden pang of sadness hit him as he realized he had lost most of the friendships he had developed while at Hogwarts.
He found the short-term ward and spoke to the on-duty Healer, a witch named Evelyn. Despite her diminutive stature (Harry did not think her taller than five foot), she was intimidating with wild grey hair that flew out at all angles, and a piercing green squint, her voice like coarse burlap scraping against stone.
"And you are?"
"Harry Potter, ma'am. I'm here to see Arthur and Ginny Weasley."
"Hmm, yes. They are together at the very end on the left," the old woman croaked, pointing down the row of beds and drawn privacy curtains.
He thanked her and went down the row, not looking right or left as he walked, his mind still churning over the details of the afternoon. Pettigrew had said there would be no more than fifteen Death Eaters, but Harry knew that there had been twenty or more, and they fought harder than he had expected.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed and Harry pushed the matter from his mind.
He embraced Ron quickly, nodded at Bill who stood by the wall, and then turned his attention to the tear-stained face of Molly Weasley. She pushed herself up from the wooden chair that sat between Arthur's and Ginny's beds and met his outstretched arms and he held her as gently as a new father would his own child. She sniveled a few times on his chest, and he patted her gently on the back until she pulled away and managed a wan smile before sitting back down.
"Harry, dear."
"Mrs. Weasley, if there's anything I can do …." He trailed off and she nodded, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "How are they?"
"Arthur will be out in a few days, they want to observe him first. Ginny should be able to leave in the morning, but the Healers have told her she can't play quidditch for at least a month, maybe more, because of a curse that hit her left shoulder."
"I still can't believe it!" Ron said from a chair on the other side of Ginny's bed. "That they would try that shit on us!"
"Ron," Molly began, but her voice lacked its usual conviction and Ron's cheeks failed to darken.
"Mrs. Weasley, I need to go to Hogwarts and talk to Dumbledore, but I'll be back afterwards."
"No, go on, get some rest," Ron said. "Fred and George are coming back later so Bill and I'll go home for a bit."
"Alright."
Ron turned to Bill. "I'm gonna walk Harry down and maybe stop by the tea shop after. You want something?"
"Yeah, get me a black coffee."
"Mum?"
Molly nodded slowly, her eyes on her husband. Harry and Ron turned around and left the ward. Ron was silent until they reached the stairs.
"So what did Fudge want?"
"Aw, his usual bullshit. Asked why I didn't know about it beforehand, as if I have some sort of precognition of being attacked by Death Eaters."
Ron scowled. "Fucking moron."
"Yep, our boss. Now I've got to check in with Dumbledore and have pretty much the same conversation."
"He couldn't be that bad, could he? He always seemed harmless to me."
"That's the point, Ron," Harry said, throwing a reproachful look over his shoulder. "That's why he's so great: everyone underestimates him."
"Oh."
"And I have to check on Hermione and Snape."
"Is Snape really that bad off?"
"Not sure, Hermione couldn't say. But I saw him take avada kedavra three times and live, though just barely."
"Holy Merlin! Three times?" Ron exclaimed, clearly impressed. "How'd he do that?"
"What, she didn't tell you about the miracle potion she's got going?"
"Well, a little, but you know how hard it is to pay attention to Hermione when she gets going."
Harry laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But it was so incredible, each time he took a curse, and I thought he was dead for sure, but I really think he would have died after one more."
"Would that have been so bad though? A world without Snape?"
Harry didn't answer. They reached the ground floor and again they hugged before Ron went upstairs to the tea shop and Harry made his way outside to the almost deserted street. He ducked down and empty alley and apparated to the outskirts of the Hogwarts grounds. He crossed quickly to the front doors and went immediately to the hospital wing.
As he entered, Poppy called out to him from her office and she rushed out to him.
"Harry, are you alright dear? Did anyone from St. Mungo's check you out?"
"I'm alright, Madam Pomfrey," he said with a boyish grin. "Just here to see Hermione, that's all."
"She's been keeping watch over Severus since she got here," Poppy said, and the corners of her mouth turned down, "as if she's afraid to leave him alone."
"Hmm. Well, perhaps I'll take her for a quick walk."
He went to the back corner and slipped behind the drawn curtain, and Hermione started at his presence.
"Harry," she mumbled, voice thick with sleep. "Shit, must've dozed off."
She sat up quickly and moved to the side of the bed, and Harry for the first time looked at Severus Snape as he lay on the bed. He was buried completely under blankets except for his head, and his face was a pale, sickly color, his hair especially greasy as it clung to the pillow. He looked terrible, as if he would die at any second. Harry watched with curiosity as Hermione labored over him, checking his vitals and administering a potion.
"What's that?"
"A strengthening potion. The only thing that can help his recovery."
She straightened and placed the vial back on the bedside table, and touched her hand to his forehead. Unsatisfied with what she found, she pulled back the sheets, revealing a feeble chest that just barely moved up and down with each breath that struggled through his lungs. Hermione spread her hands across his chest, over his heart and murmured what Harry recognized as a warming spell. Her hands glowed red and the glow spread to Severus's white skin and dispersed through the rest of his body, and she covered him up again.
"Let's go for a walk," Harry said, holding up a hand to stem her reply. "He's not going to die while you're gone. I think Madam Pomfrey can take good care of him in the meantime."
She forced a laugh. "You're the second person to tell me that today."
"Let me guess, Dumbledore's the other?" She nodded. "I need to go see him, but first, I want to talk to you."
She finally acceded and she left the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey settling into her previous position, following Harry as he strode down the third floor corridor.
"It was smart to bring him back here instead of St. Mungo's."
"It was Albus's idea, good thing he was calmer than I was. Now I can see why, since we wouldn't want to explain to everyone how Severus managed to survive three shots of the killing curse."
"Speaking of which, how did he?" Harry asked, slowing a bit to match her pace. "I didn't know the potion was that far along."
"Neither did I. We've had no practical tests on it before, just with rats. I would have actually thought it less effective on the human, but it appears to be roughly equivalent, just with higher side effects."
They walked in silence for a moment, until Harry asked the very question Hermione had been herself avoiding:
"Will he make it?"
"I -- I don't know. Usually in the rats, there's some recovery of strength after a couple of hours, but it's been almost five hours and he's hardly better than he was when we got here."
"And you've been with him this whole time?" Hermione didn't look at him as she nodded. "'Mione, you need to get some rest. I know you care about him a lot, but don't forget to take care of yourself."
She halted in the middle of the corridor and Harry turned back to look at her.
"What -- what do you --"
"I don't know what's happened to you, and it's okay that you haven't told me, I'm not upset. But it's obvious you care about him, I saw it this afternoon, I saw it back there and so did Pomfrey, and even now as you're glaring at me, I can tell you're really worried about him. And it's okay, I'm fine with that."
"Well, that's good because I don't need your approval of my feelings!" Hermione burst out angrily as she crossed her arms and scowled at him.
"Look, all I'm saying is that you need to worry about you too. Go take a nap, in the hospital wing if you insist, but take a nap and let Madam Pomfrey do her job."
Harry's deep green eyes pleaded with her and she finally gave in. "Alright, I'll lay down on the cot in Poppy's office."
"Thank you. C'mon, I'll walk you back before I go see the old man," he said, grinning and throwing his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side. She was glad for the physical contact and leaned in to him as she wrapped her arm around his waist.
"I keep having this really odd dream about you lately," Hermione said and Harry looked at her with raised eyebrows. "It's the same thing every time. You and Draco live together, and he's really sick but you take care of him."
"That is odd. Is there anything else to the dream?"
She shook her head. "Nothing I can remember."
"Maybe you should try taking a dreamless sleep potion," he suggested.
"It doesn't really bother me or wake me up or anything. It's just weird that I keep having it."
"You should tell Trelawney about it. Maybe she could tell you if it means anything."
"Yeah, sure," Hermione said, laughing as she poked Harry in the side.
He left her in the care of Poppy Pomfrey, who was thrilled that Harry had talked her into resting, a feat she had been unable to accomplish just a few hours ago. Harry then headed up to the Headmaster's office for a standard debriefing, though Harry was unable to offer much insight into the events of the afternoon. Eventually, Albus dismissed him and Harry nearly skipped out the castle and down the path, so eager he was to finally return home. He reached the edges of the school grounds and apparated back to his familiar street, ran up the steps to his own flat, sighing as he saw the charms were untouched from when he this afternoon, so long ago.
"Merlin! I was getting worried!" Draco exclaimed as Harry walked through the door.
"You're not the only one," Harry mumbled as he slouched into a worn chair by the couch and absently rubbed his cheek with one hand.
"How did it go?" Draco asked, leaning in.
"It was a mess. There were at least twenty Death Eaters --"
"Twenty! I thought Pettigrew said fifteen!"
"Yes, and I'm very curious about that." He stopped, his eyes closing behind his glasses. After a moment, they snapped open and he started talking again. "They hit right after the game let out, swarmed us.
"Snape's hurt bad, I don't know how bad but Hermione's afraid he could die. She got out alright, a few nasty cuts and sores, same for Dumbledore. Ron got knocked out, but he's okay now, so's McGonagall. Arthur and Ginny Weasley are in the hospital, and Charlie Weasley's dead."
"What about the Death Eaters?"
"Most apparated when the Ministry Police showed up with two aurors. A bunch got arrested, and I killed a couple myself so I'll probably be formally reprimanded." He went to the kitchen and got a beer out of the refrigerator, then sat back down. "I don't know how I'm expected to fight off that many Death Eaters while trying to keep Snape and everyone safe."
"He'll be livid that Snape is still alive," Draco said, "since that was the main reason for the attack."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's going to be a fun meeting." Harry took a long pull of his beer and sat in quiet for a moment. "I did find out some information on the miracle potion."
"Really?" he asked, his eyebrows arching into the cascading blonde hair above. "I haven't made much headway with that sample."
"I'll put it in my Pensieve later so you can see the whole thing. It's fucking amazing, Draco, I saw him take the curse three times and live."
"Voldemort will kill for this potion."
"I know," Harry said, taking another drink. "That's why we have to make sure Snape stays alive to finish it. I don't think Hermione can do it alone."
Draco scoffed. "Of course not."
"I didn't mean it like that. I meant, she could but --" he stopped, realizing Draco wouldn't understand what he was trying to say. "She did mention you, said she kept having some strange dream where you were sick and I was taking care of you."
"Is that all?"
He shrugged. "That's all she could remember, she said."
"Do you think she has remembered anything from her visit?"
"No, she would have said something else."
"One can hope. If she starts to suspect you, it would cause trouble."
Harry grinned as he slid his glasses off his nose and pulled out his wand, a bolt of magic fixing the broken nosepiece, and then settled them back on his face.
"Don't you know, trouble's my middle name?" Draco rolled his eyes and Harry set down the beer and slid over to the couch, wrapping an arm around Draco's shoulders, planting a tender kiss on waiting lips. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired. The potion will be wearing off soon."
"Already?" Harry asked incredulously. "You should still be okay for at least three hours!"
"Don't you think I know that already?" Draco snapped, and he felt terrible for it when he saw the sadness on Harry's face. "I think I'm developing a tolerance for it, I didn't want to tell you yet."
"Fuck!" he exclaimed, balling his fist and punching his thigh. "We could do some more work on it, try to fix it. Maybe get Snape to look at it again."
"I don't think it will matter either way."
"What do you mean?"
"Harry," Draco said, his voice quiet. "You know what I mean. A few more weeks won't do anything except for delay the inevitable and give you more false hope. I'm dying, Harry, sooner, not later."
He saw the tears forming in Harry's emerald eyes and he pulled Harry to him, stroking his wild black hair as the Boy Who Lived sobbed into Draco's fragile and dying body.
___
A/N:
Yay! I got this chapter up in a week! You should be so proud! So reward me by leaving lots of reviews so I can have 200!! (Unless Ink still wants to send me that check….)
Lotta, yeah, I was talking to you! You hadn't been signing your name, just the Shitsurei Shimasu, and I wasn't thinking when I wrote. What's that mean anyway?
Queenie, you are absolutely correct, though Sev won't be singing any NMH songs to Hermione! I really liked that line, and when I was writing the very first draft of the beginning, I heard that line while listening and thought it would be great for the title, especially since I was having problems coming up with one. So I hope you enjoy the fic, us being fellow NMH fans and all. Oh, you should listen to the Decemberists -- they remind me a lot of NMH.