Chapter 103: The Weight of Sorrow
{A/N: Here's Another Update...got caught up in this choice game A Wise Use Of Time on my phone...}
My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S
Warning: Sexual content ahead...
Hogsmeade Village,The Wizarding World...
Sweat poured off the heated bodies of Ursula Black and Phaeron Snape as the teenagers lay beside each other in the darkened Inn room. Both had been breathing raggedly and both had been trying to come to their senses following their spirited coupling. Ursula got to her feet moving about the darkened room with a smile upon her face. She had the unsuspecting boy under her sway and there was nothing he nor Snape could do about it. The swirl of dark magic had been heavy around the teenage wizard as he watched his witch from the center of the bed. She smirked and made her way into the loo. It had been rather sad that she felt nothing for the boy who was pledging his unyielding devotion to her and at least attempting to please her in bed. Her aim had been much higher of course. He merely the means of getting her desired end. Bellatrix LeStrange stood examining herself in the large mirror. Phaeron was perhaps an adorable second choice, but all that mattered to her was her former lover Severus Snape. She closed her eyes briefly and the images of their time together flooded not only her mind but her senses as well.
{ The saddened pale form of Bellatrix LeStrange had been staring back at the ragged witch as she noted the dark circles around her chaotic eyes. Her leather bodice tattered and covered in debris. Her trembling pale hands stained with blood and her heart beating faster than she thought possible. The dark lord had issued the decree for yet another brutal revel, innocent muggle children had found their way into the chaos and were subsequently slaughtered by her at the dark lord's request.
She said nothing as she stared down at her blood stained hands, the images of her newborn son flashing through her mind. The revel had been loud and the other servants of the dark lord were so busy enjoying themselves that no one missed her slipping away to a place where the noise and the blood didn't override her thoughts.
The stench of death had still lingered upon her twisting her face into an uncommon grimace.
She could almost hear the helpless cries of her unborn child as he twitched and called for her protection. She had failed him. She had failed her son. She had done nothing while her callous husband slaughtered the innocent babe for being the product of something he could not control. Something not even the dark lord could have ever thought possible. Nor she herself.
She had not noted the tears that streamed down her pale cheeks as the images of her boy filled her mind.
Nor had she noted the presence of a figure cloaked in black standing behind her as she tried to wash away the blood that stained her pale fingers and palms equally.
She could sense that the presence had been Snape despite the mask that covered his face. The speculation as to his identity did not last long with him wordlessly walking over toward her and wrapping his arms around her. With a whisper the mask had been gone and only the sorrowful obsidian eyes of her young lover gave her a measure of comfort, his touch had grown to be as cold as she had been from all the agonies she had to endure as the eldest daughter of a dark natured Pureblood family.
Bellatrix turned to face Snape, who had been come a man over the course of the years in the dark lord's service. His long pale fingers setting to work as they moved over her body. He hoisted her above the sink in this make-shift bathroom causing her back to hit against the cold mirror of which she had been staring at herself prior to his entry.
The sound of heavy breaths between them had been the only noise aside from the ruffle of fabric pertaining to their respective clothing. Snape unbuttoned his trousers and raised the ragged laced skirt of Bellatrix as he positioned himself between her pale thighs. She kissed him on the lips desperate to feel something in the wake of the hollowed emptiness that filled her.
The deranged witch let out a sharp gasp when she felt the force of his entry, his thrusts hard and precise as if he was determined to make her feel something about their coupling one way or another.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued to have his way with her. In the meantime she had been amazed at his apparent strength as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His near on silent grunts and groans filled her ears like sweet music.
"Bella..." he hissed as he continued to thrust into the warmth of the deranged witch that clung to him.
"Severus." she hissed back finding herself with little to no control over her own body as her impending release continued to build.
The newly titled Potions Master continued to thrust into the deranged witch for all he was worth.
It seemed the images of their son's murder at the hands of Rudolphus LeStrange had done a good deal of damage to Snape as well. The sight of the murdered muggle children nearly too much to bare.
The cruel curse seeping into them like the rush of death itself.
Time seemed to be without end as the rush of release washed over them both leaving them sweat soaked and out of breath. They adjusted their respective attire with still barely a word between them. Their respective positions within the dark lord's ranks creating the necessary distance between them. Snape had been cold. Much colder than Bellatrix had ever been in the wake of his service. The loss of his son and then subsequent loss of Lily Evans left him devoid of much emotion.
His life as a spy, which Bellatrix knew better than most was also a contributing factor. His many scars since their initial introduction had been something of a testament to how much the innocent and awkward boy longing to be accept had become the hardened skillful wizard that endured more pain than anyone could have ever imagined. Still Bellatrix found herself drawn to him.
The dark lord and the other death eaters had been none the wiser when Snape and Bellatrix emerged among them heavily soaked from sweat and in more a pleasant mood than either of them wished to convey. The death of their son had been a hollowing experience. Their bond solidified by the tragedy.}
Elsewhere...
A drunken Severus Snape had barely made his way to the flat he shared with Hermione and his young son Sidney. His work at the high school and his research into ways to save his sorry self from the gruesome fate Harry Potter had inadvertently caused was going no where. He knew that Hermione had been well verse in charms and created spells often in her free time. He simply had not wanted to burden her with the knowledge that he was once again going to be killed by a spell of his own creation.
The drunken wizard had been halfway into the house when he found himself coming face to face with his very stern looking Hermione Jean Granger-Snape sitting patiently on the sofa with her amber eyes locked in a furious glare. Her arms had been folded across her chest and she seemed poised for some sort of physical attack.
"What are you doing up at this late hour of the night?" he asked bitterly in his usual professor tone.
It had possibly been out of forced habit given how many times he had patrolled Hogwarts with her and her friends being up to no good all hours of the night.
"I could very well say the same for you...husband of mine." said the amber eyed witch.
Snape had a scowl on his sallow pale face but it seemed to be in effective when it came to his annoyed young wife.
"Well?" said Hermione with her amber eyes narrowed at him.
"Well?" repeated Snape not at all intimidated by her display of annoyance.
"What have you to say for yourself...I mean coming in at this late hour with drink on your breath." said Hermione getting to her feet.
Despite her size and heavily pregnant belly the determined witch with fire in her amber eyes walked over toward the towering pale wizard.
Snape sighed noting her fury. He had not the energy to fight with her, nor to tell her the overwhelming truth about his impending fate. He made himself busy with taking off his coat and unbuttoning his shirt. He put away his shirt and coat giving his angry wife all his attention despite his intoxicated nature.
"I-I had some late work to attend to." he said in a low tone. "I apologize for the hour and my drunkenness but I needed to relieve the stress of the evening's work load."
Hermione had attempted to hold on to her fury and rattle off about his causing her to worry for so long but she had lost steam upon the first utterance of his apology. He had looked to be very tired from what she could tell and there was something behind his eyes that told her that he might not have been in the best of health but she said nothing not wishing to hurt his Slytherin pride.
"I wish I could tell you that it will not happen again...but you and I both know that the frequency of my work is only increasing." he continued. "I simply did not want to give you further cause to worry."
"Severus, I will always worry about you." said Hermione with her gaze softening. "After everything we've been through it's like I can't help it."
Snape sighed once more as he looked into her sorrowful eyes.
"Would you join me on the sofa for a bit?" he asked in a polite tone.
Hermione arched an eyebrow at this and made her way over toward the sofa. Fear had coursed through her for some unknown reason and her haunting dream about what Bellatrix had done to her husband came back into the forefront of her mind as she sat beside him.
"What I am about to tell you...it's not an easy thing for me to discuss." said Snape capturing her attention as easily as he had during his Potions class lectures.
Hermione seemed to have been holding a breath as she looked into her husband's obsidian eyes. She had loved this wizard for so long and they already had two sons and one child on the way. She couldn't imagine that he would just up and leave her. Not when they had built so much together.
"Hermione." said Snape his brow furled almost as if he had been giving a lecture and she had been in his class daydreaming.
"I...Yes?" she said.
"Do you understand the severity of the news I am about to share with you?" he asked.
Without a thought she nodded.
"Yes...Severus." she said giving him her undivided attention. "What is it?"
Snape took a moment and gathered his thoughts. There was no easy way to say this but it was better than rooting around in the dark and causing a rift between him and the very witch he loved.
"The spell...the one that I created..." he began.
Almost immediately Hermione's eyes widened.
"It seems that it was fueled enough by Potter's hatred of me to progress to a level far beyond an unforgivable curse." said Snape. "The spell is eating away at my magic and before long I will not be able to cast even the simplest of charms."
The pregnant witch had been truly horrified at this news.
Snape immediately grabbed her before she got to her feet and pulled her close.
"I need you to remain calm." he said in his professor tone. "There is nothing that you or I can do about this by getting overly emotional."
"Severus...without your magic..." she started.
"That is only the least of our worries." he replied holding onto her tightly.
"W-What do you mean the least of our worries?" asked Hermione stunned by this turn of events. It was no wonder that Severus had been out drinking for the past week. The poor man had figured out that he was going to lose his magic.
"Once my magic is depleted the spell will go after my life force." said Snape as if he had come to terms with his predicament.
Hermione suddenly stiffened. Her heart pounding in her chest.
"No." she said at the tears immediately started rolling down her cheeks.
"Hermione..." he said trying to get her to calm herself.
"NO!" she shouted causing a spike in her magic. "I WON'T LOSE YOU AGAIN SEVERUS!"
Snape again pulled the angry witch to him.
"Hermione for once in your life learn to control your emotions." he said serious. "You are pregnant...think about the child you are carrying...think about the two sons we share already."
"I am thinking about them!" said Hermione sharply. "I am thinking about having to endure life without you again...I am thinking about all the questions that will come from both Sidney and this baby about where their father is...all the while Harry gets to see his children grow wither they elect to speak to them or not."
"Not now." he said as if he had been completely drained. "It's enough to know that my time with you is short."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. He could see the fury behind the amber irises.
"I WILL NOT LOSE YOU SEVERUS." she said with conviction. "We are going to find a cure for whatever this is...I will not be raising three children alone."
Snape almost wanted to smirk at the fight in her. A true Gryffindor if ever there was one. Aside from Minerva that is.
"Got enough determination for the both of us eh Mrs. Snape?" he asked playfully.
"Damn right." replied Hermione pulling him close to her. "If Harry Potter or Bellatrix LeStrange think for one second that they are going to break up my family then they've got another thing coming."
Snape smirked.
"Alright witch..." he said. "But before you launch a full scale assault on them let us get some rest first."
Hermione allowed herself a small smile.
"I love you Severus Sebastian Snape." she said. "And I will do everything in my power to make sure you live a very long time."
Snape smirked.
"Well Hermione Jean Granger-Snape, I will do everything in my power to live a very long time...if only to make you happy."
Snape kissed his wife passionately before they both headed off to bed. He had told her just as Lucius had wanted him to but he wasn't sure that it was something he should have done given the nature of his wife's hostility and late stage of pregnancy. He neglected to mention their son's rather torrid affair with his ex-lover and her well documented nemesis.
He didn't gather that it would have gone over well.
The Bedroom, The Snape residence, Muggle London, England...
The rest of the night had been quiet as Snape and Hermione both lied in bed together thinking about all that had been said between them. His life had once again been in danger and the chances of him living to see his children reach adult hood had been slim at best. Snape didn't need to try very hard to note that Hermione had been crying. He could hear the hurried breaths and the vain attempts to keep from sniffling.
"Hermione." he said softly.
"I-I can't..." she started as the tears continued to fall.
Snape pulled her close to him spooning his lean pale form into hers. His long pale fingers resting on her thigh and heavily pregnant belly.
"We won't let that happen." he said in a bid to reassure her. "I love you too much to give up this easy."
Hermione smiled.
Snape kissed her softly on the shoulder.
"Have you thought of a name?" he asked changing the subject to more pleasant things. "If it's a girl like you want so much...I would think you'd come up with a good name for her...of course she will be a Slytherin like her father."
Hermione shifted some until she was face to face with her husband.
"If we do indeed have a girl, she will be a Gryffindor like her mother." she insisted.
Snape smirked slyly.
"I beg to differ Mrs. Snape." he replied. "Our girl may have her mother's beauty, and possibly her spirit but she will most definitely have her father's house at Hogwarts."
"In your dreams." said Hermione.
"Absolutely." replied Snape kissing her once more. "Now go to bed witch...we have a lot to accomplish come morning."
Considering the matter closed for the time being, Hermione did indeed drift off to sleep holding tight to her sleeping dour wizard.