"Identify yourself," bellowed Snape.
"Harry, sir. It's Harry Potter!" came the muffled voice from beyond the door.
"How do I know it's you not some polyjuice you?"
"You hate me, sir, almost as much as you hated my Dad. Dobby said that you and Hermione were here and…"
The door opened to reveal Harry, Ron, and Molly Weasley. Molly rushed forward and took Hermione in her arms.
"You dear child!" she exclaimed.
"I'm really fine, Molly," Hermione laughed. "Professor Snape has taken good care of me as I have of him."
Molly looked at Snape with narrowed eyes, "Severus…"
Snape turned toward her, lowering his wand.
Instantly her hand flew to her face, "Oh Severus, your eyes!"
"I think it was Bellatrix's doing," he commented coldly. Turning a little to where he thought Harry was standing, "I understand I am in your debt, Potter. You repaired the damage done me by..."
"Malfoy. Yes sir. But I had no idea about your eyes," Harry spoke softly.
"Nor did I until the battle was nearly over. I had crawled into a thicket near the edge of the Forest and lost consciousness again. Hermione was catapulted on top of me. She has been my sight since then," Snape replied.
"Now, let's get you to St. Mungo's and see if they can restore your sight," Molly commented.
"Not yet. Hermione and I have work to do here before we can be worried about my sight," Snape added.
"Nonsense!" Molly reprimanded him. "What if You-Know-Who comes back here? The two of you are completely unprotected. You can't fight without being able to see your attacker. The Order can't stand for that! We thought we'd lost you two once, not again. No."
"I'm in the middle of something here, Molly," he tried directing his voice toward where he thought she was standing.
Then he heard her from a different part of the room, "You see, you can't even follow me. I think the two of you need to be with us. We can take whatever you need back to headquarters. You can finish it there."
"I shall have to begin it again. It's a potion that if disturbed will become unstable and useless," he complained again in what he thought was her direction.
This time her voice was right in front of him taking him by surprise, "No Severus. We will not compromise your safety or that of Hermione. We'll take you to headquarters instead and see if we can restore your sight. You can brew there instead of here. If not, it's to St. Mungo's with you. Take what ingredients you need and let's be off."
Molly took his arm while Harry took Hermione's as Ron joined the four. Snape turned to the caldron and ended the potion with a grump. Molly used a port key, getting them to outside Grimmauld Place. Harry led the way inside. Remus was nursing a broken shoulder but delighted nonetheless to see both his friends alive and reasonably well. Mrs. Black made her usual loud insults about Hermione's heritage.
"Enough!" shouted Snape at Mrs. Black. "She's with me. Leave her be, Madam."
"I'll have you know…" Mrs. Black began again.
Snape rolled up his sleeve and displayed the Dark Mark for her to see, "I said 'Enough!'"
She was brought to stillness, turning away. His hands felt for the frame around Mrs. Black. Then he cast a silencing charm about the portrait.
"Hermione?" he searched for her.
"Right here, Severus," she took his outstretched hand and placed it on her arm as they headed for the kitchen.
Harry cocked an eyebrow toward Ron who looked positively dejected. Ron never imagined that he'd lose Hermione to Snape; Krum maybe, but never Snape, the greasy git who was so much older than she.
"So tell us what happened at the battle," Hermione wanted to know as Poppy Pomfrey took her first look at Snape's injuries.
Harry began, "I saw Malfoy Senior, hit Snape, sorry, Professor Snape, with the sectumsempra curse from the back at the same time something else hit you. I saw you fall, sir. When I could break free, I did what I could to stop the bleeding, at least. The next time I looked up, you were gone.
"When darkness fell, Voldemort, I mean 'he,' and his Death Eaters pulled back. He left a host of his dead and wounded behind. We took the majority of the critically injured on both sides to Hogwarts Hospital Wing or St. Mungo's. By the next day, we evacuated Hogwarts as Professor Dumbledore's wards were no longer in place.
"The walking wounded were being treated in the Great Hall as they staggered in. The Death Eaters who could be were sent to Azkaban to await trials. There are still a couple left at St. Mungo's."
Ron added his part, "We almost had him trapped between the two of us when he sent a signal into the air. The ones who could still fight got away."
Molly continued the story; "We looked for you both for since the battle when we did not find you among the dead and wounded. We figured you had taken shelter in the Forbidden Forest or on the grounds somewhere. After a week, we had rather given up that phase of the search, thinking that maybe 'he' had you both. Nevertheless, we kept looking for you two."
"Who is left?" Hermione wanted to know.
"Most of the Order lived. We did have some bad injuries," added Lupin. "Lucius Malfoy was killed. It was suicide really. He was surrounded but refused to put down his wand. I guess he did not want to go back to Azkaban. And, Bellatrix LeStrange is still out there somewhere."
"Having spent time there, I can fully appreciate that," Snape raised an eyebrow. Sensing a sudden hush, "Yes, Potter. I went to Azkaban before the Headmaster retrieved me and redeemed me."
Remus picked up the thread again, "Wormtail fell in the fight. He took a cruciatas and then the avada kedavra for Harry. So I guess you could say that Peter paid his life debt to Harry in full!"
"Kingsley did not make it through the fight," added a sad Molly. "Moody is still in St.Mungo's."
"Which is where we need to get you," Poppy declared. "I cannot treat you here. You will need a curse breaker and more sophisticated potions if you are to recover your sight. I can get rid of the rest of that nasty ongoing infection while you are here." She rummaged through her bag and produced a vial of potion, "Drink this, Severus."
He curled his lip as he swallowed his own potion, "I must add something to improve the flavour of this," he muttered.
Poppy mused, "Taste of your own medicine…"
He sneered with one eyebrow cocked in response.