Durmstrang
Year 3
Round 6
SPECIAL RULE: Your story must include only two characters. Any person, creature or object that is fully sentient is considered a character. For example, the Sorting Hat, any animal or magical creature, the Weasley's car etc.
Theme: Durmstrang: Inanimate objects make for safer Horcruxes, but Voldemort was running out of time, so he took a risk. Write about taking a big risk.
Buzzwords:
Confessing your feelings.
A situation with too many variables.
Weighing the pros and cons.
Leap of faith.
Main prompt: 8. [Object] A snow globe
Additional prompt:
15. [Word] Wave
Author's Note: Warning: This story contains an age gap pairing: Severus Snape and Hermione Granger. They're not student / teacher here though. It is mentioned in the past though.
Alpha Love: First I would like to thank Irem for sparking the idea for this theme.
Secondly I would like to thank my Oni, for inspiring me to write my OTP and for the waves.
Thirdly, Tee, for the snow globe inspiration. I recommend you read her stories if you liked mine.
Fourthly, Weiss for putting up with me.
Beta love: Millie, my dear, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the work and help you have given me on this story, with a pairing you don't quite love. Or at all. I am very grateful.
Oni, thank you so much for your input and help, you've done twice the work, alpha and beta love.
Mia, for not quitting on the story even if I forgot to say the pairing and actually liking it.
Emmy, for your input on Snape
Georgie and Hannah for helping my sanity
All of you for SPAG and all the beta
Word count: 2996
What good was a world where you were one of only two people left alive? Hermione asked herself this very thing repeatedly as the deserts kept expanding and the ocean grew larger by the second. Soon, the whole world would become an empty beach.
Every sign of civilisation disappeared. Buildings had broken apart, scattered across the Earth, if they weren't buried by sand or water. The ruins that remained wouldn't last long. It didn't matter what part of the Earth they were on, it was increasingly turning into sand and ocean. Even the mountains were shrinking.
Hermione didn't know if she would have made it this long without him. Without her former professor, her mentor, her friend, and her solace on this thrice-cursed planet. He'd saved her, and she'd saved him. Severus Snape was the reason she was still alive.
As the waves crashed against the shore, Hermione was reminded of the first time she'd seen Severus after the war. It was before every breath she took tasted like sand, salt, or both.
Fifteen years earlier…
Hermione pulled at her long-sleeved jumper to protect herself from the harsh, cold wind as her eyes focused on the Apothecary shop in front of her. While she was early, she didn't immediately go in. There was a simple answer for her hesitation; Severus Snape had accepted her apprenticeship application. She never thought he would, considering that he had actively avoided her since she saved his life a few years ago in the Shrieking Shack. He had rebuilt his life and opened up his own Apothecary. When Hermione saw that he was looking for an apprentice, she didn't hesitate.
The door to his shop was, predictably, green with a silver bell. She waited for a long time. Finally, holding her head up high, she knocked. Once. Twice. As she was about to knock a third time, the door opened. There he was, standing tall with those same intelligent eyes that she'd remembered.
"Come on in, Miss Granger," he'd said, stepping to the side before leading her in. The sitting area was simple; one couch, an armchair, a fireplace, blue walls, and a bookcase.
"Professor–" she began.
He interrupted her immediately.
"I'm not your professor anymore, Miss Granger. I haven't been for the past five years. I treat my Apprentices as equals, so Severus will do from now on."
She had to hide a smile. "Then, I shall be Hermione."
With a curt nod, he motioned for her to sit down while taking a seat in the armchair.
"Do you know why I have chosen you?"
"No," Hermione replied. She lowered herself onto the couch, crossing her ankles and maintaining eye-contact. "After your lack of communication over the last few years, I did not expect a reply to my application. Quite frankly, I didn't think you wanted anything to do with me. I wanted to learn from you, and this was my chance. And while it was likely going to be a waste of time to apply, something told me I should try. I'm glad I did."
"Indeed," he drawled. "I apologise, Miss—Hermione. I still do not understand why you saved my life. I had nothing left to live for."
Hermione smiled. "Life is worth living, Severus, even when it doesn't seem so. I saved you because evil only wins if good people don't do anything. But you did. You sacrificed everything to win the war and expected to die. I couldn't let that happen."
He stood up and indicated for her to join him.
"Let me show you exactly why I selected you."
Together, they went through a back hallway, down a series of stairs, and towards the basement. It seemed as if they had walked for hours down a never-ending tunnel. If she hadn't trusted him implicitly, she wouldn't have risked entering into such a maze, skilled witch or not.
Finally, they reached a door, and with a few complicated waves of his wand, he led her inside.
When it opened, she was surprised to see a room the size of the Hogwarts courtyard. On one side was a potions laboratory, and on the other, separated by a glass wall, was a library. In the middle, there was a snow globe?
She couldn't help but be enchanted by the small object. It didn't look like any other snow globe she'd ever seen. There were no flecks of false snow inside. Instead, she saw a small island with a little tower, with waves hitting the shore in the centre. She could even make out a hut in the small forest.
"That," Severus said, pointing to the snow globe in her hands, "is the reason I need your help."
Her forehead creased with confusion. A snow globe? "What do you mean?"
"You see, Hermione. This snow globe has been in my possession ever since I was a child. It's capable of supporting life for years. It has an island, mountains, plants, flowers, an ocean, and a tower to live in."
Hermione had never heard or seen anything like it before. "How is that even possible?" she muttered in awe.
"Powerful magic. I've added my own spells over the years and have visited it numerous times. There is a potions laboratory and I have even been able to leave things there."
"Sir, I'm confused. What do you need me for?"
"Because whenever I go inside, there's always a chance that I could get stuck. The magic that I use to transport myself isn't foolproof. The books that include the pertinent spells are ancient and have rotted over time. I need your help to get out if I cannot. At the same time, I would need…"
"Someone to test it for you as well? Is that why you accepted my application? To be your test subject for the risks you cannot take yourself?"
Hermione scoffed. And yet, she couldn't deny that the idea was enticing.
"I would teach you, Hermione. It requires complicated magic, I have potions in there that I would never dare to bring here, books too. In exchange for your service, I am willing to share it with you. Yes, there is a risk that we could get stuck, but wouldn't it be amazing to create a sustainable world inside a snow globe? Think of the possibilities."
A great discovery, indeed. It was ironic that getting stuck for ten years inside the snow globe had saved their lives. When they'd finally managed to reverse the magic that had trapped them inside, the world as they knew it was gone. They had found themselves on a deserted beach, where his potions laboratory should have been, with waves hitting the shore. They'd Apparated across the world, but soon it'd become apparent that the two of them were the only living beings left on the planet.
They had been tempted to go back to the snow globe world, but the risk of never being able to come back was greater than before. As soon as they'd escaped the snow globe, they had felt a shift in their magic. Their cores seemed to be mostly depleted. Besides, being trapped together in the snow globe had been a mistake. They had been working for months on a spell that would allow them to travel together. However, the spell wasn't perfect, and at the same time the magic had been more powerful than they'd thought. Just saying it without true intent had been enough to trap them both inside. For years they'd researched a way to get out, not to perfect the spell which had trapped them in the first place. And the world they were now in, wasn't fit for research. It was barely fit for living.
And yet, they'd lived–no, they survived. For the past five years, they'd lived as nomads, going from ruin to ruin, building boats and navigating through the waves to find new islands with trees and plants they could eat. All the while, Severus kept the snow globe tucked in his robes.
It was very different from living in the near-luxury of the snow globe world. Those ten years had turned them from acquaintances into friends. Hermione discovered feelings for Severus that she never had imagined were possible. She felt a quiet joy when he was nearby, and a smile crept onto her face as she watched him work. She never said anything; it would have been too risky and the possibility of ending badly was too high. Then, when they found a way out of the globe, they'd go their separate ways. Hermione couldn't bear the thought of that. It was best to keep her feelings close to her heart.
That had all changed. Now it was just him and her. If she lost him, then she'd lose everything worth living for.
"I knew I'd find you here," his familiar deep voice said, his shadow reflected on the sand behind her.
Her lips turned upwards slightly. It was as though he could hear her thinking about him. "Severus."
Her heartbeat quickened as he strode to where she was sitting and perched beside her. He was wearing the same black robes he'd always worn, mended by magic over the years.
"The waves calm me. They remind me of our time in the snow globe," she said, "when I would be at the shore with my feet in the water and dream that I would see the real ocean again. Now, we're here, and almost everything is either an ocean or a beach. It almost doesn't feel real."
He put an arm around her and she leaned in. Her mind calmed as she listened to the waves and imagined they were in paradise.
Severus cleared his throat. It was likely the sand was irritating it again. "We need to leave."
"Already?"
They'd had to move on so many times due to tsunamis, earthquakes, or dormant volcanoes becoming active again. They never stayed too long in one place because it was far too risky. The unending silence was driving them insane. Humans were never meant to be solitary creatures.
"My diagnostic spells show that the ocean will double in size again soon. We need to go up into the mountains."
"You used magic?" Hermione raised her head suddenly, looking at him in disbelief. "Severus! Every spell exhausts us. What if you get sick, and I cannot heal you? We can't risk that!"
He looked at her with an expression she couldn't comprehend. "If I don't use magic, we might be taken by surprise and die, too. Nothing is the same. Nature is unpredictable. There were no warning signs before the last tsunami. If we hadn't Apparated away, we would have died, and that takes up even more magic than a diagnostic spell."
In spite of her annoyance, she found herself chuckling. Trust him to talk about when they had to use more magic to survive. "And we almost drowned because we Apparated into the middle of a lake."
"But we lived, Hermione. And that's important." He stood up, brushing the sand off his cloak. "Remember what you told me when we saw each other again for the first time after the war?"
"Life is worth living," she murmured, touched that he'd remembered. She hadn't expected him to actually listen to it. How the tables had turned.
"Precisely."
He extended a hand to her and pulled her up. Time could change and transform anything, the ruined world they lived in was proof; but it had changed them more than she'd have ever thought possible.
"How much time do we have?" she asked. An idea had come to her, even if it was risky.
"I'd say two or three days. The spell wasn't precise and I didn't want to risk using more magic than necessary."
"It should take us two days to scale the mountains," she said, looking at him. They'd climbed up there before when they'd moved to the area six months prior to get a better view of their surroundings.
Severus narrowed his eyes. "Only if we climb day and night without breaks. What are you thinking?"
"We've been here for months, and we haven't gone for a swim unless it was to bathe. I would like one last swim."
"Hermione! We could swim later, when things settle down. This is just an unnecessary risk."
"But it'd be a risk worth taking! How do we know we'll live? Severus, we've survived alone for years, but every natural disaster that comes our way is more powerful than the one before. It's like nature knows we're alive and wants to kill us. We can climb during the night as well to reach shelter. If the tsunami is two or three days away, we would have to anyway. We can risk an hour of fun. It might be the last one in a while. Besides, the sun is setting. It'd all be so beautiful…"
'And romantic,' she thought.
She turned to look at him. Again, she couldn't quite decipher the look he was giving her.
"Very well. Maybe an hour of swimming under the sunset is what we need."
Hermione grinned in triumph and stripped down to her underwear before glancing over at Severus. Her throat went dry as she looked at him, but he quickly turned away.
Stepping into the water she relished the warm, lapping waves as she covered her body. Then… SPLASH!
"Severus!" she shouted in surprise.
Over the last few years, he'd changed in their constant travels together. Often, he was the same man she had known for years; to the point, solemn, and sensible. Occasionally, however, a different, more carefree side came out. This was one of those times.
"You got my hair wet!"
He laughed at her.
She grumbled under her sopping hair. Sometimes, she preferred when he scowled at everything.
"I thought you wanted to swim!"
"I could have done that without getting my hair wet!"
Severus smiled, took a running leap, and then… SPLASH.
For a second, she was angry. How dare he? Her eyes caught his as he surfaced, and he smiled again; that smile won her over. She wanted to kiss it off his face. She couldn't. She wouldn't risk ruining their friendship. If things didn't work out, it'd leave both of them miserable and alone. Hating herself just a bit, Hermione swallowed her feelings and started swimming after him. She'd wanted a fun time, after all.
Too soon, they finished, dressed, and were on their way to survive another day. Crossing the sand, each step left deep footprints behind. It was dark before they got to the foothills of the mountains, but they knew they couldn't stop.
"Where do you want to go next?" she found herself asking him. "Maybe we could try China. I haven't been there since graduation."
"I've never been there," Severus responded without looking back at her.
The silence was deafening, and she so badly wanted to speak, but she had no idea what to say. Of course, her heart screamed that there was one conversation she could have. The signs were on her side. His smiles, his caresses; they weren't just friendly. She was afraid to bring up the subject. They both were. Or maybe she was just imagining things, and it was wishful thinking.
Her hands rushed to cover her ears as an awful sound filled the air.
"What's happening?" she shouted, looking around to see what could have caused it.
"It's the ocean! The tsunami!" Severus said, and turned back to take her hand in his.
"But how?"
"The spells… I don't know… I thought we had time."
"Nature is unpredictable," Hermione whispered, watching as the water receded out to the horizon, a huge wave forming in the distance. They wouldn't be able to climb quickly enough; they were running out of time.
"This is it." Severus stared fearfully at their coming doom.
He sounded so lost that it woke something up inside her. He'd been her guiding light these past years. She remembered how he'd looked at her in the moonlight when they'd swam hours earlier. Now it was almost sunrise, and there was nothing left to lose.
"No, it's not." She took off her backpack and pulled out the snow globe. "We still have this, Severus! There's still food there, our home, there could still be life for us. Its magic is still strong."
The wind began to howl.
"Hermione, we might never have enough magic to get out of there!"
"Get out to where?"
Severus looked at the wave that was closing in on them and gripped her hand. "I'm not sure I have enough power to travel inside."
Hermione forced him to look at her. "I know we can, together."
"What?"
"Severus, there's one magic more powerful than anything else. And no matter how depleted your magical energy is, if you focus on that magic, it will give you the strength to succeed."
"What?" he whispered, but she could see he understood.
"I kept denying my feelings at first. Then I hid it because I didn't want it to ruin our friendship. I liked the stability that it gave me." She shook her head to refocus. "I have enough love to transport us back."
"Hermione–"
"We don't have time. Maybe a minute before the wave will crush us. Touch the snow globe, and I'll make sure you are safe."
"No," he said. "We'll do it together."
"But–"
"No, because you're right, even if it pains me to admit," he quipped, making her smile. "Love is the most powerful magic of all."
Hermione didn't have time to react. He leant in and kissed her, both of their hands touching the snow globe.
Less than a minute later, the waves crashed into the mountains and a sudden, violent storm broke above where they'd stood. In the ebbing waves, the snow globe bobbed to the surface, whole and protected by the most powerful magic of all.