Poor Celaene... she's so confused and lost... Anyway, I hope you like it, I hope you review. I know I say it every time, but it's still true...!

Chapter Two: In Which the Heart and Soul Both Seem Lost

"They'll know where we've gone in a few minutes," he murmured. She dropped his hand and backed away, nodding slowly.

"I know. I still don't trust you," she warned. He closed his eyes as though trying to focus his thoughts and gather patience.

"Where have we gone?" He asked finally. It was easier than convincing her…

"Home. My house."

"I've never been here before," Severus said in barely a whisper. The loss of blood was costing him his strength and he felt dull and dim-witted.

"No," she confirmed, still not able to look at him properly.

He coughed weakly. "Cella, Cella," he muttered.

"I'm still here." He could tell she was concerned but unwilling to get closer. "Tell me what to do, tell me what potion—"

"You can't make it in time."

"A spell, then—"

"You have not the skill."

"Snape," she said firmly, "I'm not going to let you die. One man has died tonight already."

The use of his surname stung. She hadn't called him "Snape" in over three years. She closed her eyes and Severus realized, horrified, what she would do a split-second before she began.

Celaene knew that if a witch or wizard was truly desperate and did not know what to do, they could open their mind and pour out their soul a little at a time in exchange for knowledge. She closed her eyes, focused on what she needed, and let go of the most basic of human instincts. Celaene let go of her will to live.

A wrench in her stomach told her it worked and it was as if a voice spoke in her head. "Sergesurgess is the incantation that replenishes blood. Severus Snape has lost a quarter of the blood in his body; you need an unbroken minute of concentrated spelling…"

She stopped the connection cleanly, as though cutting it off with a knife.

Snape—she couldn't bare to even think of him as "Severus" anymore—was breathing fast and shallow. She pointed her wand at him and spoke the incantation. A blood-red line of fire connected her wand with his chest and she looked at her watch. She forced herself to concentrate on that line, making sure it didn't break.

Five seconds passed… he moved his head slightly to the side. Thirty seconds… he opened his mouth and let out a pitiful, painful moan. Fifty seconds—he was almost done—there was noise behind her. She tried not to focus on it. Fifty-five seconds… he just needed five more… A hand on her shoulder made her jump but she didn't let that line break. Three… two… someone pushed her out of the way at the last second and the spell broke. Snape opened his eyes and sat up.

"Don't ever do that again, Cella," he spat. "Never, ever, no matter what happens, don't ever give away any more of your soul!"

"Stop calling me Cella!"

"Then don't call me Snape!" The Aurors had arrived, they were pulling Snape to his feet, leading him away.

"Severus died with Dumbledore, and all that's left now is Snape," she yelled.

"Sinistra," he bellowed, "you closed-minded fool of a woman! I don't care if I ever see you again!"

"I'm not Sinistra anymore, I'm your wife, damn it!" She chased him and the Aurors.

"You don't still want to be," he said, taunting her. "So why don't you just go back to Sinistra? Go find your worthless sisters and forget about me!"

"They aren't worthless," she shouted.

"No, I suppose not," said Snape. "By the way, Sinistra," he spat, saying her name as if it were a curse, "did you know that 'Merope' was the Dark Lord's mother's name? Sure you know everything about her, are you? And 'ssynistrah', do you want to know what that means in Parseltongue?" He didn't wait for her answer. "It means 'slut', and that's what you are!"

She could have hit him, just then. "I just saved your worthless, bloody life! I didn't have to do that!"

"You gave away your soul! I'm not worth that, Sinistra!" He pulled free of the Aurors and looked directly at her. "I'm telling you," he said, breathing heavily, "that I love you, Celaene! And if it's not worth anything to you, then I don't want to waste your time, but I do want you to keep that ring so that you can always remember the commitment you made and the vows you're breaking tonight, and the love you're throwing away." He kissed her violently, biting her lip with enough force to draw blood, and then let the Aurors take him again.

Celaene stared blankly into the spot where he'd disappeared, tasting the hot metallic tang of blood in her mouth, turning the ring over and over in her hand without realizing she did it.

She felt numb. He was gone and she was there still, all alone now except for a timid-looking Ministry official who walked up to her.

"Ma'am?"

Celaene turned towards him and he held something out to her, the same way Snape—Severus—had given her that ring. It was a piece of parchment. She read it without much interest:

Dear Mrs. Snape,

Your presence is required at a hearing for Severus Septimius Snape on the thirtieth of June at the Ministry of Magic in courtroom ten. We wish to express our deepest regret that you must be present at this hearing and we extend our sympathy to you and your family during this trying time. Best wishes,

Yours sincerely,

Cleodora Throckton

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

"Absolutely not," she said to the Ministry official. "I will not go watch my husband be sentenced for murder at an unfair and biased trial."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I'm afraid you don't have the power to overrule—"

"I don't want to hear it!" Celaene pulled out her wand and Disapparated back to Hogsmeade.