Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and chars and spongebob underwear. lol.

A/N: Don't hate me. I love cliffhangers. yes... diff POV for dramatic emphasis. Quietus is an english word. go look it up. it's the "bad" definition. Oh by the way.. WHERE ARE YOU GWEN?

Chapter 38: Quietus

"...that's why you broke up with her? So it's not a lie... I must tell her before she goes outside with him. He's dangerous.."

"...Hello, sir..." "So she's already outside?"

"NO! I'm sure it will be worse if we go out.. Just wait until Severus leaves. He'll protect her."

"But Hermione, She could..."

"Don't say it.. We'll go out in a moment."

"Shush! Lucius is talking about her parents.. Exactly what you said you heard.."

"I told you so.."

"Draco, this is not funny. Quick, now's our chance!"

"...We're all dead meat, Mione. We should've gone to Albus like Snape said."

"We would've been caught by Filch and he would've prevented us from disturbing Dumbledore's slumber."

"Even if we get frozen again, we can still hear and see, right?"

"...We are still witnesses and can help."

"No!"

0o0o0o0o

The same raindrops had been falling for a few hours. Mud was clearly on his and her bodies; Covering their faces and skin revealed from various tears in their clothes. Hermione sat in one corner, tears running down her cheeks, staining the cotton of her shirt. Draco was in the same corner of the room, devistated in every way. He prayed for them.

A clock ticked loudly as its hands reached almost one a.m. As soon as dawn broke thorugh, Hermione would gather the rest of the friends into the Hospital Wing. But for now, she and Draco had to watch and wait for positive signs. Madame Pomfrey ran in and out of the room, tending to certain medicines and trying to find something that would help. And finally, she ordered Filch to wake Albus Dumbledore. He entered the room with a very concerned and tired look. He immediately looked at his body... Lying there with every intention of being the hero. And her? She wanted to be a savior too.

"Lucius was finished, so he grabbed onto the owl cage and disappeared. It was a portkey." Draco tried not to stammer while speaking. His nerves and tension bubbled in his fists. He wanted to punch his own father.

Madame Pomfrey leaned against the wall, "Well, there's no way of knowing until the medicine begins to work. If she and he are not... then their cheeks will redden. And if not...Well, let's just hope for the better, shall we?"

"But..Madame Pomfrey," Draco seemeed to be the only one able to talk sensibly, "What does the Ferme Neco spell do? Lucius hit both of them with it."

Albus half-sighed, "Ferme Neco is not an unforgivable curse, but close to it. The more powerful the one who casts it is, the worse the outcome on the victim. The curse causes the person to fall into a deep coma, almost close to death. In fact, sometimes it kills instantly, but we won't know for sure until Madame Pomfrey's potion starts working. The spell can kill, but it can also decieve the ones around it. Basically, it can seemingly kill the person, but they might not really be deceased."

"So, it tricks the body into thinking they are gone, when they might not even be?" Hermione finally spoke with a trembling in her voice.

Albus nodded his head before lowering it, "The spell, however, is very complex. By the time the potion lets us know wether or not they are alive, it will almost be too late to conjure a remedy if needed. Most of the time, the victim will wake up after twenty-four hours. If there is a problem, they will need aid and help to wake from the coma. If a week passes with the person still in coma, they are destined to die."

"What the hell kind of spell is that?" Draco yelled and threw an empty cup on the floor, "You're dead or not, but we won't know until later, but if they stay in a coma for more than a week then they are dead anyways! This is screwed up!"

"It's very advanced, which is why I'm surprised Lucius used it. If he wanted her to die immediately, he would have used an unforgivable. However, I see what he's done. He wants the ones they loved to suffer." Albus scratched his chin.

"No offense," started Pomfrey, "but who will Severus leave behind? He hasn't loved for ... many, many, many years."

Hermione and Draco glanced at each other. No one else knew about Snape and Maranda's relationship.

"Alright, time for bed..." A sudden energy was passed through the room as Albus spoke again, "I know you are both very worried, but you need rest. Madame Pomfrey will be watching over the room. Filch will also be guarding this floor. I'm sure Lucius won't come back the same night...Or at all. Mr Malfoy, I do need a chat with you, however, about everything you knew and know now. Miss Granger, I will expect you to be here in the morning to tell Miss Thompson and Mr. Weasley about this fiasco."

Hermione felt empty. She glanced at Maranda's body lying on the bed and began to cry again. Severus was in the next bed over, also motionless. The two bodies were in a deep coma, close enough to death, close enough to life, but no free will of choosing which path to take. They're fate would be determined by how healthy they were and how badly the curse was done. Sadly, no friends, family, prayers, or spells could take back the curse. Hermione knew, however, that if they did survive, potions would have to be made to help regain stamina and strength.

With no one left in the Hospital Wing except for Pomfrey, the rooms were more silent than a funeral. The remainder of the night went by without disturbance. The Moon watched over the laying bodies and seemingly protected them with rays of light sneaking through a few windows. Soon, dawn crept up on Hogwarts with strong arms of light stretching beyond the borders of the sky.

Madame Pomfrey paced the room anxiously. If the medicine didn't start working soon, there wouldn't be any chance of either victim surviving. Since Severus was one of the victims, Albus would have to find a substitute for his class.

"Where are they?" A worried Gwen ran in the Hospital Wing entrance and stared at Madame Pomfrey.

She directed her to the two beds just as Ron, Hermione, and Draco entered.

"Oh ...shit..." Gwen felt a few tears well behind her eyes, "They can't..."

Ron walked over to Maranda's side and stared in disbelief, "Merlin...I'm so sorry for teasing you. I take back everything mean I've said."

"Please, Ron, don't make me cry again.." Hermione still had a tear-stained face.

"Children," Started Madame Pomfrey, "I know you are all very worried, but you cannot stay in here for much longer. I have my own work to begin while keeping an eye out for them. I require room to work properly. You have three minutes."

When Pomfrey left the area, Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Gwen decided three minutes would be spent in silence. Praying aloud wasn't necessary for the group of friends. They knew fate would determine the lives of Maranda and Snape, and they couldn't interfere. Not even with prayers. What happen would happen. Destiny anf fate did not listen to those around the situation. Things took place for reasons unknown or known.

Slamming his fist on a table, Ron firmly stated, "This is so frustrating! We aren't alowwed to stay in a room with our best friend because the nurse is too busy. Bull! I say we stay in here!"

"We can't do that Ron," Draco frowned, "she'll have a fit."

On the way out of the Hospital Wing, Hermione mumbled, "They will be fine. We just have to hope fate will be kind."

The friends went separate ways, but knew in spirit they were still together. Draco was the first to reach his destination, which was Lockhart's room. Upon entering, Gilderoy handed a pile of papers to Draco without a word. He walked back to his desk, took some more papers, and brought them to add onto the same pile.

Draco tried not to lose balance and asked, "Sir, what do you want me to do with these?"

"Take them to Dumbledore's office, will you lad? I'm trying to tidy up my classroom a bit before the weekend is over." Lockhart showed no guilt as he added a few more papers to the pile.

"Sure," sadly, Draco turned to leave the room, "but I'm not in the best of moods. Maranda and Snape are in the infirmary."

A wave of shock caused Lockhart to gasp and stand with his eyes buldging from his head. Since Draco had already left for his errand, Gilderoy couldn't question the problem. Instead, he darted up to the Hospital Wing himself. He hadn't known that secretly, Draco wished this to happen so Madame Pomfrey would become too annoyed to bother kicking anyone out again.

"Oh! Hello Professor," Pomfrey was surprised at her visitor, "What can I do for you?"

It only took a moment for Lockhart to explain the sudden news. He wondered, Is Maranda going to live? as Pomfrey described the situation in full detail. She knew Gilderoy wasn't friends with Lucius, so she was safe telling him.

Sighing, Pomfrey added, "So, you may check on her if you wish, but I do need it quite silent in here. I'm trying my best to conjure a potion that will help if...when they awaken from their coma. But since I'm not a potion specialist, it's really complicated work. Severus usually helped me with any potions. Looks like the tables have turned for the time being."

"As sad as that sounds, maybe this is a positive thing so you have some extra experience under your belt."

"Honey, I have more experience under my belt than any of you will ever know. Do you know how old I am? Just a few more years and I'll be retiring."

Gilderoy chose not to say anymore and he walked over to Maranda and Snape's side of the wing. He gazed at her motionless body with anguish and wonder. The urge to hug her swelled in his mind, but he fought it away. Something shimmering caught Lockhart's eye; A necklace around Maranda's neck. It was silver with little stars as the charm.

"Dirty bastard..." Gilderoy had seen the necklace before...Snape had bought it in front of him at a jewlery store. Gilderoy was only there to fix his watch. Shaking his head with anger, he quietly ranted, "You dared to push a friendship farther even though your job would be at stake. Severus, you are chin-deep in trouble."

Glancing at Severus, Lockhart noticed his cheeks had reddened a bit. He didn't know what this meant, but he knew that his visit was over. Madame Pomfrey asked Lockhart on the way out if anything had happened...Maybe she could tell he was irate.

"Severus' cheeks are red..But that's probably from the emberassment he will have when Albus hears about something interesting I have just realized." With that, Gilderoy angrily left.

Hurrying over to the beds, Pomfrey gaped as Sev's cheeks glowed with red. "Oh dear, where have I put that potion?" She searched for a serenity potion she had taken earlier from the cupboards. "I know it's here somewhere!" She fumbled through the dark cabinet, carelessly tossing empty bottles aside. "Aha!" Taking the potion flask, she ran to Snape's side.

Eyes still closed, Severus took in several sharp, deep breaths as his cheeks returned to the normal pale color of his skin. He slowly opened his eyes, which slightly popped out from shock.

"Ermm..." He began to look around the room, and rested his eyes upon a certain female who was seemingly dead. "Maranda!" Snape jolted out of his bed and stood over Maranda's body.

"Severus," Pomfrey hated to interrupt, "you have to take some serenity potion before any aches and pains come back to haunt you."

Not caring about his own health, Snape raised his voice, "What's happened? Is she dead? Did everyone escape alright? Where's Lucius? What about Draco? What about Maranda...Is she alive?"

"Calm down, Severus. Please, take this potion. I will explain everything to you." She painted a fake smile on her face as Snape sat on the edge of his bed.

With another deep breath, Sev listened to every single word from the nurse's mouth. Obviously Snape knew what the spell did, and how the potion worked, but hearing it from someone else made it seem less surreal. He had witnessed Maranda throwing herself in front of him to take the hit of Ferme Neco. He sat for a moment before telling Pomfrey what happened to him.

"She took the hit for me.. I don't know what possessed her. Lucius tried to run. Maranda was falling to the ground. I couldn't help her. I ran to Lucius and tried to stop him, but he hit me too. And before all sense got knocked out of me, I was able to see that he used an owl cage as a portkey. And then I, too, fell..." Sev hit his forehead with his palm, "I wanted to be the hero. I could have saved her."

Madame pomfrey didn't know what to say in response to the heartfelt harm that Sev described. She handed him the flask and said, "Take some."

She left the area after advising Snape to relax. He took a swig of the potion and stared at Maranda with every intention of crying, but snakes like him never cried.