Chapter 2: What I am to you is not what you are to me.
Severus withdrew into the brick wall, willing it to swallow him. His mind was reeling and the pain that dwelled in his bones was nothing in way of the suffering that streamed through his mind. Andreas, no Granger was talking again, how he had come to know that face so well. A face of someone who didn't even exists. He valued her above all others, the way she held his gaze, never backing down from his temper. Though, looking back on it now it made perfect sense. Andreas, was effectively Miss. Granger, the same stubborn manner, raging courage, and fiery passion that kept him entertained; that kept him admiring. He had to concede it was, indeed, the ultimate betrayal, with nothing left to take from him but his dignity which she was currently, and successfully bleeding from him right now. Yes, death would be most welcomed after tonight. He was tired, had been very tired for so long now. Her voice waft back onto him.
Her hands were shaking, as she waved her wand to heal the remainder of his wounds, it would do no good for him to bleed to death before she finished what she had been longing for, for years now. What pity did he deserve? Death would not come to this man by her hands. That was one thing she was so very certain of, it was not for her to decide his fate, only to let him know she knew what he really truly was.
" I have tried, Professor, even before I so cleverly disguised myself in so many roles. I had endeavored to find some reason, any explanation at all for what you've done. I begged for the smallest hope that underneath all of the lies, you were acting with some sense of duty to those who had believe in you. That there were answers to the actions you committed. That you Severus Snape, could not in good consciences actively murder the Headmaster, willingly." tears had welled up in her eyes, causing fierce blue eyes to spark. She raised her wand, swishing it to draw him up off the bricks and stand stiff against the wall.
" Look at me, Professor, and give me any answer." She pleaded.
His eyes clouded before forcing himself to look at her; the woman who he had shared more than just a home with for the last year.
" There is nothing I can say to you that will bring him back." His sigh held more defeat then all the injuries his body.
She walked quickly to him, forcibly pushing a well-known hand into his throat.
" I want an answer, a reason, you threw away the trust of so many in return for the misery of the world. What did you gain? Was power that important to you? Did you crave the title of Headmaster so much you'd kill for it? Did you think it would make you significant, make you famous?" She squeezed harder. " Because, you will never be able to fill that chair you sit in as the Headmaster."
He did not try to struggle against her, there was no point, he was resigned to his fate as it were. " I owe you no explanation."
Her face hardened with rage, a flick of her wand and he felt his jaw open parting his lips. Her hand lifted to his mouth pouring a liquid down his throat. He swallowed little before gathering it on his tongue and spitting it back into her dangerous glare. The damage was done however, he could already feel his resolve slipping away. She stepped away from him wiping her cheek with the edge of her robe.
" Why did you kill Albus Dumbledore?" She hissed.
He clamped his mouth tight shut forcing the words back down his throat. This was Vernessiam from his own storage and even with the small amount he had imbibed he could feel the words on his tongue.
"He… told me to" The words rushed from his mouth along with all his strength.
Whatever she had been expecting to hear, it was clear by the falter in her step that, those words he uttered where not it.
"What?" she breathed.
Against, his will the tale unfolded. "It was planned that should Harry fail and Albus was targeted by Voldermort than I was to issue the Killing Curse to the Headmaster as a last attempt to thwart the Dark Lord and insure the remaining students and staff were safe."
Her voice cracked as she spoke. "How would that, why- why would that even be reasonable, Dumbledore could have fought back, taken Voldermort, he could have saved us."
"Dumbledore knew that only Potter could kill the Dark Lord, and by then the Headmaster was too injured to fight." His voice held such despair he could hardly stop the trembling in his legs.
She looked to him, searching his face for something, anything that would make it not true. "All this time, all these years I thought there was something… I thought you were…" she couldn't continue, her voice frail and wounded she plunged to the ground.
Her curse broke and his legs fell an inch to the ground yet he stayed frozen to the wall behind him panic and misery holding him tighter than any spell.
" I've… I'm.." she looked up to him. " I'm so sorry."
Had he seen her without the charm, without the face of his wife starring at him he would have managed something scathing to say, something hurtful. But this woman before him was not Hermione Granger, Gryffindor know-it-all, another casualty in a war no one man nor child should have had to fight. This woman, looked, smelled, and felt like Andreas Snape, his wife and companion for over a year, current Potions Master and Slytherin Head of House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He felt cheated, as if the wind had been knocked out of him and he'd never get a deep breath again.
" I assume, Miss. Granger you have the Dark Mark?" he managed to choke out.
She raised her head to him a blank mask of terror, "Yes."
" And is it also safe to assume that you understand the implications of having it?" His usual sneers not quite hitting there marks in his voice.
" Professor, I assure you that you have nothing to worry about your secret is safe with me. I've made quite a career out of disappearing."
Panic coursed through his veins, " Miss. Granger you miss my point entirely. This is not something you can just disappear from. You have made you proverbial bed and now indeed have to lay in it. I will expect you in class on Monday."
She might have laughed if her mind wasn't so weak. " Yes, Headmaster."
A/N: So yep here's chapter 2, and I didn't actually think it go on this long, but Severus and Hermione are terribly stubborn. Who knows what they'll do next.
Thank you to the reviews I've gotten already and don't hesitate to review again… and again… and again J