A/n: I'm really sorry it has taken this long to finish this chapter. I have been writing as much as I have been able to, but there hasn't been too much time for me, and when I finally got the time I was hit with a rather annoying writer's block. Thank you so much to everyone who has been supportive and helped me out these past few weeks, and thank you very much to my reviewers; your comments mean more to me than you know. Extra thanks goes to JK for revealing the release date and congrats with the new baby.
I expect there will only be one more chapter left. If a plot bunny decides to viciously attack me with a machete I might write more, but I'm not counting on it. Again, I'm sorry it's taken so long to update, but I wanted this to be as good as possible. I'm still not 100 per cent happy about it, but it's improved tremendously from what I started out with. I hope you like it, and please review.
And just so you know, I was sincerely tempted to leave you with a cliff-hanger toward the end of this chapter, but I decided not to.
A/n2: Evil Penguin slayer: Thank you.
Vickie211: I hope you like this chapter. And yes, you're right about Severus' feelings :)
Katie: I think the tribe dance finally helped :)
Sis: Thank you, I hope this chapter is thrilling as well.
Cherdy the Molologist: Thank you. I sincerely hope you haven't given up on the story, I know how annoying it is to wait for updates.
sLyThErIn ApPlE: Thank you. Interesting ideas. Not exactly what happens, but very interesting.
Natsuyori: Thank you.
InsaneMonkeyPirate: Thanks.
ms.understood: Here you are: an update ;) I'll check out your story when I have the time.
Disclaimer: Plot's mine, everything else isn't. Credit goes to J.K. Rowling.
Unexpected feelings –13
Waking with a blinding head ache, it took Severus a couple of seconds to realize where he was. The memory of the previous night following with the realization, he groaned slightly and kept his eyes closed a moment longer. When he finally forced himself to open them, he could see nothing.
The room he was in was dark, damp and chilly, the small bed he was sitting on quite uncomfortable. After having watched Hermione's confrontation with the Dark Lord, Severus had been taken down to the same corridor Hermione had been led down, into a room was scarcely better than the cell he knew she was put in. The only difference was that his room wasn't locked.
Staring into space, Severus couldn't get the image of the expression on Hermione's face out of his mind. He had very well known how his explanation to the Dark Lord would affect her, but he had seen no other possibility than to say what he had. Her reaction had been exactly what was needed to make the Dark Lord believe his story.
It had not taken Voldemort long to decide that Severus was telling the truth, helped along by a ransacking of Severus' memories and Hermione's obvious battle against the tears. The Death Eater guards had let them back to the hallway of cells and rooms, and Severus had not dared to even chance a look at the young woman by his side, let alone try to talk with her. The heavy door had closed behind with a resounding slam.
In retrospect, their entire plan was utterly insane. How on earth had he ever let himself be talked into walking in to an area filled with Death Eaters, without any real chance of defending themselves? Though he considered himself to be more than apt at self-defense, it had been foolish and, in all honesty, rather Gryffindor-ish of him to think himself capable of defending both himself, Hermione and eventually Potter against the Dark Lord and at least twenty of his followers.
"Damn it.. Damn it all!", he muttered angrily to himself, jumping to his feet and started pacing. He could feel the anger seething just below the surface, and it took a lot of self-control to keep himself from screaming out loud and banging his head repetitiously against the wall.
How the hell are we going to get out of this with our lives intact?
A sudden sound came from the door and he whirled around, imperceptively straightening his back and keeping his mind clear. The door swung open and in strolled Lucius Malfoy. "Hello, Severus.", he said, an insincere politeness in his voice. "So nice to see you again.".
"The pleasure is all mine, Lucius.". Hatred was coursing through him, and his wand-hand was itching.
"I must admit, Severus, that it came as something of a surprise to hear that you had returned. And not just returned, but brought a.. proof of your continued loyalty.". He stopped to give a slight sneer, a malicious glint of amusement in his eyes. "Such a lovely proof you have with you, Severus, so very lovely indeed. I can certainly understand why you chose that to bring with you.".
Severus could hear a faint rushing noise in his ears, and said through clenched teeth: "And what, exactly, do you mean?". It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep still; his entire body and mind itched to jump at the throat the man before him, so unwisely taunting him.
"I simply mean, Severus-", Malfoy Sr. sneered and took a step closer, his eyes a flinty grey, "-that you may have convinced the Dark Lord, but you cannot fool me. I know the truth about you, and I am going to make sure you regret the decision of returning to this place. And once I'm finished with you… Well, lets just say that certain proofs also make very nice rewards-".
Severus reaction was instantaneous. Before he had a chance to think, to consider the damage his reaction could have to their entire plan, he had pulled out his wand and sent a curse hurtling toward Malfoy. Malfoy snarled and jumped out of the way, mere seconds too late. The curse would have hit him straight in the face, had it not been for the sudden flash of blue light enveloping them and absorbing the spell.
A tall, dark form was standing in the doorway, red eyes staring down at them through the darkness of a hood. "Lucius, kindly leave immediately.". The blonde wizard staggered to his feet, hastily bowed and mumbled: "Yes, my Lord, of course my Lord..". Hurrying out of the room, he cast Severus a last hateful look.
Severus dropped to his knees at once. "I apologize, my Lord, but Lucius made certain accusations that I could not-".
"Silence!". The high-pitched voice cut through his explanation. "I am very tempted to kill you right this instant, Severus. I would have expected better from a Death Eater, particularly a Deat Eater who wishes to re-enter my ranks.". Pausing for a second, the Dark Lord took a step closer and Severus could feel the power emanating from him; sheer evil power.
"I am certain that you are aware of the fact that I have neverbefore let anyone re-enter my ranks, Severus. I have decided to make an exception of you, but you will not disobey me in the least. You know the consequences if you do.".
Severus mumbled: "Yes, my Lord," and kept his head bowed. After a considerable pause, Voldemort spoke again, this time leaning in to whisper in Severus' ear, making him feel nauseous: "You may not believe this, my dear Potions Master, but I understand far too well the effect young witches can have on a man, pureblood and mudblood alike, and even some muggle women. I will allow you to keep her, as long you do not contaminate the wizarding race with the off-spring such an alliance could produce."
Suddenly straightnening, Voldemort added: "I have no real use of the Mudblood.". Without another word the Dark Lord turned around and walked out of the room, closing the heavy door behind him. Severus stared after him, his mind spinning as he sank onto the bed.
Of all the ruthless, megalomaniac, diabolical hypocrites to ever have walked this earth.. A madman!
It was suddenly very clear to him. He had always known that the man –no, not man, such a term could no longer be used to describe the creature that was the Dark Lord –was as mad as he was power-hungry and clever, but the extent of this madness had never been clearer to him than it was right now.
To hunt down and kill muggles and muggle-borns, and at the same time ask his followers to keep them as… slaves –it is utterly...…I am such a fool to ever have believed..
Severus shook his head vigorously. Staring into space while pondering the actions of his past self would do him no good. It would have to wait until they had found a way out of the hell-hole they were currently in, until he could figure out a way to find the former students of his, currently being held as prisoners.
Slowly standing up, Severus rubbed his hands over his face in a futile attempt at clearing his mind. Sighing deeply he forced his mind to become clear. He needed to get a hold of himself if he was to find both of former students as soon as possible.
Walls could be a rather detailed thing, Hermione found out. She had spent several hours staring at the wall beside her bed after she had been brought back to the cell, and had noticed an intricate pattern of scratches and just plain roughness of stone.
Her mind had been kept clear. For once in her life she had been able to keep unwanted thoughts away, even though it had the small side-effect of making sleep impossible for half the night. Truth be told, she didn't want to sleep. Despite her overwhelming feeling of fatigue, she prefered to be awake, prefered to avoid the danger of letting go of ones conscious self.
It wasn't too odd she prefered it that way. The last many times she had awoken in the previous twenty-four hours had led to unpleasant discoveries or experiences. Being told Harry was missing, coming up with the stupid plan of wandering into the midst of the Death Eaters, being led to Voldemort.. No, not too odd at all.
Hermione's plan had worked for a couple of hours, and then she could no longer resist the drooping of her eyelids.
The dreams she'd had consisted of the nightmares she had been expecting. Waking up after two or three hours of restless dreams, she sat up and resumed her staring at the wall. Only this time it didn't keep away her thoughts.
I'm never going to see mum or dad again, and I've hardly even given them a thought since we left Hogwarts.. Hardly ever thought about them in several months, actually...
Harry's probably going to get killed any minute now..
Ginny will show up soon, and then she'll be taken as a prisoner as well.. If not killed immediately..
I wonder how Ron and Professor Lupin are doing? Probably dead as well..
Severus will get killed as soon as they discover his betrayal.. His second betrayal. Maybe they've already killed him? Why do I even care, it's not as if we ever had anything between us, there's only always been my dreams.. My foolish dreams.
All of my friends will soon be gone, and mum and dad will probably be the next target anyway.. I have nothing left..
"They might as well kill me now..", she whispered to the solitary ray of silvery moonlight shining though a small opening, high in the wall above her.
Burying her head in the small blanket, Hermione fell asleep again, crying silently in the darkness.
Walking out of his small chamber led to the first unpleasant surprise of the evening for Severus.
He walked almost straight into the man standing outside the door and staggered ungraceciously backwards, knocking the other man to the floor and only just avoiding falling. Opening his mouth to make a sneering comment he cut himself off, a sudden thought of caution stopping him. It wouldn't really be suitable for their plan, foolhardy as it may be, their chances of escaping were small enough without him making new enemies as soon as he met anyone.
Mumbling a hasty reply to the man's muffled curse, Severus hurried off, not bothering to see who he was. A weird feeling of shame suddenly washed over him; he realized that he was running away. Never before in his life had Severus Snape done that; he had always preferred to stand his ground against difficulties.
Odd how quickly one life can change..
The dusty hallway was completely empty once Severus had turned a corner and left the man behind. Increasing the speed of his pace he quickly reached the door that he had been led through earlier, emerging into another hallway, identical to the one he had just left.
He hurried along this corridor and then another; then another. Feeling extremely grateful for having a rather good sense of direction, Severus quickly scanned the corridors around him, trying to recall the route he had been led through. He knew the Dark Lord well enough to suspect him for purposefully attempting to confuse anyone sufficiently brave, or stupid, to venture unprepared into seemingly innocuous hallways.
Finally reaching a door Severus carefully pushed it ajar. Peering into the room beyond he saw the large entrance hall, multiple doors on either side of the long, square room. After ensuring himself that the room was, indeed, empty, he slipped through the door.
With a determined air he walked across the room and pushed the first door open.
The door to her cell suddenly banged open, and Hermione sat up blearily. Rubbing her eyes sleepily she stared at the open doorway where the light was pouring in and blinding her; a hand seized her arm roughly and she was dragged out of the room. Before she had time to even think about protesting, she had been flung into the arms of a man standing outside the door, her arms twisted to her back and a binding spell put on her.
Stumbling along the corridor, terrified and not entirely awake, Hermione was frantically trying to get her mind to cooperate. The shock of practically being dragged out of bed had left her confused and feling vulnerable, and she had only just shaken off the shock of waking, when she was thrust forward into a room as dark as the hallway was bright.
Landing on her knees she gasped, breathlessly swearing at the sharp pain the hard floor had caused when she landed, it took her a couple of seconds to realize that someone was standing in front of her. Slowly raising her head, her breath caught in her throat.
A red pair of eyes were staring at her.
Severus nearly gasped out loud at the sight that met him when he entered the room. On the wall opposite the door a gruesome sight met him; Hermione Granger and Harry Potter chained side by side, they clothes full of blood and half-way torn off their bodies.
"Hermione!", Severus moaned, hurrying forward while pulling out his wand. A sudden bang sounded behind him and he half-turned while running, then suddenly stopping dead in his track. In the split-scond his eyes had left the wall ahead of him, Hermione and Potter had disappeared. It took him a second to realize what must have happened; someone had tricked him.
A low-pitched laughter reached his ears, and Severus slowly turned around to look at the person he suspected having done this. The flinty grey eyes of Lucius Malfoy met his black ones, and the superious smirk alone nearly made him jump at Lucius throat.
Instead he stayed calm, waiting for Lucius to say make the anticipated comments. "So, Severus..", Lucius began, his voice holding an under-current of steel. "So.. You really are prepared to go a long way to save her. I expected as much, but it is always nice to have ones suspicions confirmed.". The amusement in his voice was even more pronounced than usual, and the normally calm eyes had a flicker of madness in them; the sight of which made Severus feel oddly off-balance.
A sane Lucius Malfoy is bad enough to deal with..
Slowly advancing on Severus, with a remarkable resemblance to a predator, Lucius hissed in a low voice: "All those years being around Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers must have made you soft, my friend. The Severus Snape I used to know would never have fallen that easily for a trap.. And you should have known better, Severus; you should have known better than to allow a filthy Mudblood as her to even come near you."
Before he realized what he was doing, Severus had jumped forward, his wand at Lucius throat before the other man had a chance to react. The grey eyes stared at him for an endless second; the blank face dissolved and a smirk appeared. "Did you really think I had not foreseen this possibility? I am protected by more spells than you have time to figure out, and when you finally break through them all, I will have had time to curse you into oblivion. So I suggest you lower your wand.".
Knowing Lucius Malfoy, Severus suspected him to tell the truth. But he did not want to take his chances, and instead of lowering his arm he took a step back and mumbled: "Incarcerous.". Nothing happened. Grinding his teeth Severus mumbled the incantation again, with the same result. Forcing his temper down he took a deep breath.
Finally lowering his arm his wand, he gave Lucius a contemptuous look and said: "What do you expect to gain form this, Lucius?".
"Oh, I expect many things, Severus. Not least to see you die a painful death, but regaining the position I rightfully deserve; the position you stole by returning; is certainly also quite prominent in my mind. And who knows, I might even get to see why it is you insist on keeping that Mudblood..".
Still forcing his ever-rising rage away, Severus viciously snarled: "That may be your expectations, old friend, but I'm afraid you will have to see some them left unfulfilled. I have no intention of-". His voice was suddenly cut off by another laughter, this time high-pitched and coming from the doorway.
Slowly turning his head towards the door, Severus met the red eyes of the Dark Lord. One look at his face was enough to convince Severus that he had heard enough to realize that Severus had fooled him once again.
He didn't even have a chance to raise his wand before the cold voice had shouted the stupefying charm.
Hermione's second incounter with Voldemort was by no means been any less horrible than the first, but at least she was able to keep herself under control this time; she looked straight ahead of her, stubbornly ignoring to listen to his usual insulting nonsense, and only when his cold fingers roughly grabbed her chin, did she flinched.
After he had finished with his degradation of her, he left the room. Soon thereafter a masked Death Eater appeared in the doorway, throwing a black bundle of something into the room and slamming the door after him. Staring at the bundle for a couple of seconds, having half-way convinced herself that it was probably dangerous to her in some way, she finally got up the courage to walk over to it and look at it.
Just two feet away from the bundle it suddenly stirred, revealing a pale face covered in sweat; a face with a scar on the forehead. "Harry!", she breathed, dropping to her knees and gently shaking his shoulder. "Please wake up, Harry, please!".
He mumbled something inaudible, his voice sounding as hoarse as if had he been screaming for hours. Feeling the tears filling her eyes, Hermione angrily wiped them away and shook Harry more forcefully. He still did not wake up. Giving him a last shake, a broken sob escaped her and she let her hands fall to her side.
Feeling like an idiot for reacting so strongly, Hermione sat down on the floor beside Harry. Staring around her in the desolate room she was trapped in, she felt utterly miserable. The same thoughts kept going around in her mind, not matter how hard she tried to get herself to stop thinking.
It's all my fault.. Somehow this is all my fault..
The tears filled her eyes again, this time unchecked by her anger. Desperately trying to fight off the feelings of hopelessness and a loneliness so deep, that it was as is she was the only person in the world, Hermione buried her head in her arms, fighting a losing battle against the tumbling fall into the whirlpool of despair and despondency inside of her.
The view from the top of the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts suddenly swam into view in her mind, and a sudden guilt of not ending it that night, of not jumping while she had the chance, filled her. She could not explain where the thought came from, why it came, but that fateful night suddenly stood out clearly in her mind, that night from so long ago.
Hours passed, or perhaps just minutes, and Hermione was suddenly shaken out of her reverie when the door slammed open once again. Jumping to her feet, she could barely hold back an audible gasp when a person was roughly shoved into the room.
Nearly falling over, Severus regained his balance and turned to look at the persons walking in behind him, Lord Voldemort and his faithful servant, Lucius. A vehement hatred was shining out of Severus' eyes, and he looked as if he would have been cursing them into oblivion, had he not been gagged.
"My, my.. It seems as though all of our prisoners have been brought together at last..", the cold voice whispered. Hermione stared at them, horrified.
He's been found out –oh no-
"Wormtail!", the Dark Lord yelled. A balding man instantly appeared, bowing deeply to his Lord and muttering: "Yes, my Lord?". Sending his prisoners a last evil look, Voldemort bent down and whispered something to his servant. Straightening up, he said: "Bring them to the meeting room.".
Several Death Eaters stepped through the door. Two grabbed Severus' arms and dragged him along, another heaved the unconscious Harry off the floor and slung him over his shoulder as if had he been a sack of potatoes, and a last forcefully took hold of Hermione's arm and pulled her after them.
Her heart hammering in her chest, Hermione fought hard to pound down the panic rising in her chest. Her mind swimming over with horrid pictures of the gruesome deaths, she would be sure to witness in perhaps just a few minutes, she fought for breath and tried to keep her head clear.
Walking down a long corridor, she saw that they were being led into the same room Severus and herself had been led to the first time they were brought before the Dark Lord. The fear increasing with every footstep, she closed her eyes briefly and desperately prayed that they would make it out alive.
He was pushed into the room with a vicious shove and once again nearly lost balance. Remaining on his feet, Severus turned around and caught Hermione's eye as she was dragged along after him and the unconscious Harry; wordlessly trying to reassure her, to make her believe that everything would be alright.
He doubted they would be alive in ten minutes time.
Turning around again to face the Dark Lord, Severus squared his shoulders and held his head up high, determined not to let his desolation and hopelessness show. As his former master walked to the middle of the room, he was filled with a hatred stronger than he had ever known; a hatred against everything this man before stood for: his own youthful stupidity and twisted beliefs, the heinous acts he had performed under Voldemort's service, the inumerable deaths Voldemort was responsible for; the bitter and empty life Severus had imposed on himself, as a result of the racking guilt and self-loathing he suffered under.
"Bring in my loyal followers!", Voldemort yelled, and one of the Death Eaters hurried off. Soon after the Death Eaters began to enter the room, sending the prisoners gleeful and gloating looks from under their protective hoods. As the door was closed after the last person entering, Voldemort spread out his arms.
Looking around at the subservient crowd, the Dark Lord said: "We are here today to bring justice to those who have dared to cross our paths, those who have dared to defy us! Finally I have reached my goal –to make certain that Harry Potter; the so-called 'Boy-who-lived'; will no longer have an opportunity to attempt his foolish tries of resistance. And as an added bonus we have two more to punish –the Traitor and Potter's Mudblood.".
Pointing toward Potter, Voldemort sneered: "Bring forth the boy!".
Grabbing Harry by the arms, two Death Eaters hauled him forward, his head hanging limply against his chest and making him look like a marionette. They threw him on the floor in front of the Dark Lord, and as their master raised his wand, a small jolt of fear going through Severus.
Is he going to kill him, just like that?
"Ennervate.", Voldmort said.
Harry's eyes fluttered open and a confused look took hold of him for a few seconds. Realizing where he was, he hurriedly scrambled to his feet, staggering slightly as the sudden movement seemed to make him dizzy. Sending Hermione a pained and saddened look, he shifted his gaze and his eyes caught Severus' for a second.
Something that looked like an apology flittered through Harry's eyes before he looked away. Severus stared unbelievingly at him, jolting back to reality as Potter spoke: "We meet again, Voldemort.". His voice was hoarse, and mockingly polite.
The Dark Lord sneered at him and spat: "Do not attempt your little games, Potter! You may not have noticed, but I have your little Mudblood. I doubt that you have any questions in regard to how I treat filth as her, do you?".
Visibly calming himself, Harry raised his chin, a defiant look across his face. "You can kill us now or you can torture us for eternity –it makes no difference. You will never be anything more than a pathetic, useless fool; there is nothing you can do to change that.".
It was like watching a bomb exploding, only slightly slower. His facial expression changing from ice-cold fury to something indescribably worse, Voldemort spun on his heel to face Hermione, pointing his wand at her and sending of a greenish light before anyone could react.
The world stopped. A breathless splitsecond passed, a splitsecond that might as well have been a thousand years and Severus felt his heart crumbling. His entire life stood out clearly to him –a life filled with bitterness, wasted and filled with numerous what-if's –and he knew that there would be no perpetual bliss, no happy end and nothing more for him to live.
His feet had begun moving without his knowledge, he neither saw nor heard anything as he jumped into either heaven or hell without caring which one he landed in, as long as she was safe, as long as she had a chance. A scream that sounded as though coming from another world ripped through the air, but it went as unnoticed as everything else had as he pushed Hermione aside. The green light hit him straight in the chest and he knew no more.
Throughout the many hours she had been trapped in this house of evil, Hermione had been close to both panic and depression too many times to count, and she had been certain of imminent death just as many times. The proceedings she was witnessing scared her even more so, if any such thing was possible, a cruel mockery of a legal trial, of justice.
But when the wand was pointed toward her she felt her heart stop, stop beating for the first time. As if seeing it in slow-motion, she saw a green light shoot out of the wand and streak toward her. Thoughts of friends and family, unfulfilled opportunities and missed chances, thoughts of happy memories and everyday life passed through her mind. A thousand thoughts and none at all, preparing her to die.
Then, as suddenly as lightnening, she was pushed aside and missed the green jet by inches. Falling to the floor, she looked up, uncomprehensing and confused, letting out a scream as she realized which guardian angel had saved her. Watching Severus falling in front of her feet, a savage snarl she didn't recognize as her own escaped from her throat, and she was on her feet in a heartbeat.
Launching herself forward faster than even her instinct could follow, she tumbled into the culprit, the man responible for more deaths than anyone would ever know, and let her fists rain down on him; possessed by a superhuman strength and a rage fiercer than anything.
Taking him by surprise, she hit him squarely on the jaw and made him stagger, he gripped her arms with a feral screech and lifted her physically of the floor. Kicking out as hard as she could, Hermione it him straight in the gut and made him let go. Before any of them had time to make the slightest move, Harry had jumped in front of her, a wand aimed at the heart of the Dark Lord.
"Avada Kedavra". The words were as cold and filled with hatred as everyone of those Voldemort hat uttered, and the look of surprise in the Dark Lord's eyes equal to the one that had filled the eyes of every single one of his own victims. Staring wide-eyed at his attacker, the most evil man on earth fell to the floor while a tremendous eruption of sound filled the house and made it shake to the core, knocking everyone to the floor.
The sound wave only slowly dying down, Hermione sat up gasping; staring around her and not yet comprehensing what had just taken place. Jumping to her feet she let out a scream as the floor started quivering beneath her feet. "We have to get out!", she dimly heard Harry yell next to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her forward.
Suddenly remembering Severus she tried to pull back, tried to turn back and reach him, but Harry wouldn't let go and determinedly heaved her with him. Her limbs shaking from exhaustion and emotional drain, she had no choice but to oblige and followed after him, stumbling.
Whirling through the hall they ran toward the doors to freedom, desperately trying to remember in which direction they should head. Feeling the small sparkle of hope in her diminish, Hermione screamed as a particularly violent tremor ran through the stone floor, and they hurtled out off the corridor.
Miraculously emerging into the entrance hall they sprinted forward and collided with the doors, knocking them open and jumping into the free air outside. Landing on the grass-covered earth their hands were ripped from each others, and Hermione felt the world spinning around her as the force of the knock made her unconscious.
A sudden quivering ran through the floor Severus was lying on, and he opened his eyes immediately. Sitting up straight, he realized what must be happening; the building was collapsing around him. Instinctly jumping to his feet he nearly lost his balance as the floor trembled again, he regained in at the last moment and turn to the door, hurriedly running through it. He ran as fast as he ever had, his feet thundering against the floor.
They must have defeated him –Potter must have done it, he must have killed the Dark Lord-
Hearing a desperate scream somewhere in front of him, his heart jumped as he recognized Hermione's voice. Hoping against hope that she would make it out of the crumbling house, he headed towards the door, reaching for the moonlight outside.
Three feet from reaching it, a cacophonous roar of tumbling walls reached him from behind. With a last, desperate attempt he bolted forward and tumbled through the open doors and down the steps outside; heaven and earth colliding behind him as the building fell to the ground with a sound like the loudest roar of thunder. Severus landed just outside the dangerous circle of flying wreckage, the entire world collapsing around him and darkness ensuing.
Silence slowly spread under the pale light of the moon.
Lying on the ground, Severus felt his conscience slowly coming back. He allowed a wonderful feeling –punctuated with sharp stabs of pain here and there –to fill him for just a few seconds, a feeling of complete oblivion.
It is all over.. He is gone, and I am free. Gone for ever… Freedom.
A particularly sharp pain in his side called him back to reality, and he reminded himself that he did not have time to rest. Pushing himself awkwardly of the ground, Severus opened his eyes and blinked at the blurriness filling his vision for a moment. Rubbing a hand over his eyes the sight before him was revealed.
A fine dust was settling over the ruin of the house and the knee-high grass surrounding it, painting everything in a soft, gray color that made it seem like a huge sculpture of a chaotic battle scene. Looking around him he suddenly felt a small twinge in his chest; he could not see the other two.
Staggering to his feet, he nearly fell down again as the shock of battle hade made his legs weak; he fell to his knees and took a steadying breath. Heaving himself up again, he slowly took a few steps, testing his legs to make sure he wouldn't fall down again. Staring all around him he tried to see where Hermione and Potter were, careful not to let his imagination run wild with images of her bruised and injured body, half crushed under a large piece of the wall, or a part of the roof, or..
The beating of his heart increased as he spotted a small patch of black ahead of him; something that looked suspiciously like a robe. Half stumbling, half running, he hurried forward and fell to his knees beside it. Hecticly, almost feverishly, he pushed the rubble away, getting a better hold of the black fabric.
"Hermione!". Her name left his lips as a hoarse croak; barely heard in the still of night. As he pushed a particularly large piece of rubble away, his heart jumped. He pulled at the fabric, only to discover that it was only a small piece, a piece torn of a robe. The sickening feeling spreading in him was almost unbearable.
A small sob suddenly emitted from somewhere. Half dazed with pain, Severus didn't register it at first. Then, slowly, his mind began to function again and his head snapped up, his black eyes wildy searching around him. On his feet again he stumbled forward, instinctively following the sound. Running faster as the sound increased, he came to a halt as he rounded a halfway fallen wall.
Hermione was sitting in the grass fifty feet ahead of him, covered in dust and sobbing into her arms, rocking back and forth. Taking a tentative step forward, Severus instinctively called out her name, louder when she didn't seem to her him and then almost yelling as he began to run.
She needs me, I have to get to her; she needs me-
Abruptly stopping he could only stare. Seemingly emerging from no where, Potter was suddenly by her side. Wrapping his arms around her, the younger man spoke to her in a low voice, apparently trying to soothe her. Looking up at Harry, the moonlight sparkling in her tear-streaked face, Hermione threw her arms around him and cried into his shoulder.
Severus' brain was again working too slow, he could stare ahead of him without really seeing anything. He suddenly realized that his knees were back on the ground, and that his vision had become oddly blurred again. His conscience slowly slipping away, a cooling darkness spread before his eyes.