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Here comes part two of the chapter. I'm already working on editing the next chapter, so I will post it as soon as I can. Thank you all!

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Nightmare in The Forbidden Forest, part two

Severus' POV
"Severus?" Hermione whispered, her voice heavy with sleep and emotions. It made him shiver. He had never reacted in such a way to hearing his name. She started to say something, but stopped and tried to turn around so she could face him. He saw her wince in pain, and instantly reached out to help. A minute later they sat cross-legged, facing each other.

She was looking at him with a sorrowful expression and tearful eyes. "I'm so sorry Severus, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" He just blinked. What could she be apologizing for? He tried to find his voice, to ask what she was talking about, but no sound came out when he opened his mouth.

She cupped his face with one hand, stroking his cheek with her thumb. He closed his eyes for a second, savouring the feel. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched him in such a gentle way.

Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath and looked at Hermione. When he spoke, the softness of his voice surprised even him. "Hermione, I.. What are you apologizing for?"

She looked down for a second before giving him a pained look. Tears were pooling in her eyes and her voice was shaking. "For leaving you! We just left you! I thought you were dead!" Her voice was barely a whisper when she continued. "You died right in front of me. I couldn't save you."

Realization hit him. The Shrieking Shack the day of the final battle. Potter, Weasley and herself had found him after Nagini bit him. He tried to recall what happened. He remembered talking to Potter and giving him his memories. When Potter stepped away Hermione had kneeled down next to him. He remembered how desperately she had tried everything she could think of to save him. In the end Hermione had murmured words of comfort to him while she held her hands on his wounds to slow down the bleeding. Then the memory went black.

Tears were running down Hermione's face now, and he was far out of his comfort zone. She had been crying earlier as well, but then the situation had been hectic, and she was hurt and needed help, so he could focus on that. But this.. He had to make her understand that there was never any reason for her to apologize. He knew how hard she had tried to help him. He put his hand over hers on his cheek.

"Hermione, there was never any reason for you to think otherwise. Poppy told me I actually was dead at some point, and it seems likely that was when you left me. I remember you tried. You have no reason to apologize to me. I know you did everything you could."

Hoping his words would do something to ease her pain; he looked at her, still holding his hand on hers. She didn't however, stop crying. Not at all. She cried harder. Well, that was obviously the completely wrong thing to say. I have no idea what I'm doing.

Just when Severus thought the situation couldn't get any weirder, it did. Hermione launched herself at him and embraced him. He tensed, but she didn't notice. She clung to him like her life depended on it, buried her head in the crook of his neck and cried. He could feel her whole body shaking, and felt utterly helpless.

Hermione held him in a fierce embrace, and her hair tickled his face. She smelled like flowers. She smells like daisies, he thought. Not that it was relevant or interesting to him. Not at all.

Will she ever stop crying? Oh, please stop crying. I hate crying. How many tears can one person possibly have? She seemed to do better before she fell asleep. Did I cause this? He couldn't really believe the subject of his almost-death would cause such an extreme reaction. But then again, he didn't think he would be very surprised if it started raining lemon drops at this point.

Severus wanted nothing more than to run from this situation. That was until he noticed how Hermione was trying to curl together while still holding on to him, and how she was trembling. Severus completely forgot to breathe, and almost flinched from the sight of her. It was obvious that she couldn't handle being in this state of mind much longer. She would lose her mind from it. When looking at Hermione now, he could see past all her walls and defences. And for a moment, Hermione seemed so utterly, and terrifyingly fragile.

Severus Snape caved. He took a deep breath, and let the air out of his lungs with a long sigh, relaxing his body. He could see goose bumps on Hermione's skin, and picked up a blanket, put it around her and pulled her close to him. He could feel the difference in Hermione right away. She stopped trembling, her crying stilled, and he could feel some of the tension in her let go. He stroked her back and leaned his head to rest gently on her hair.

Severus could feel how cold Hermione's hands were, and gently tried to take her hands from his neck. She refused to let go. He tugged her wrist a bit harder. She froze like a statue in his lap, except for her fingers that gripped even harder. He could feel her nails almost piercing his skin. Not a good idea, he thought and heard her breathing speed up, until she gasped for air. Oh, no.

She was starting to panic again. He spoke to her in a soft voice. "Hermione." No response. "Hermione, listen to me. You are in no danger. Your hands are cold as ice, and you need to get them warm." He put his warm hand over her cold one.

"Hermione, can you hear me?" She did not react at first, but then she spoke and he was shocked to hear her voice, it was almost unrecognizable. "Severus." There was not a trace of hope in her voice. She sounded utterly terrified and broken. He cursed Bellatrix Lestrange from the bottom of his soul. It was unforgivable to turn this once infuriating Gryffindor girl into this broken person he didn't recognize.

"Yes, Hermione. Please listen to me. I want you to put your hands down, they are cold as ice." She was shaking now, from fear, cold or crying he didn't know. Maybe all of them.

She spoke again, with the same unrecognizable, broken voice. "Severus." He felt her grip tighten again. "Don't leave me." Her breath hitched. "Please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone. I can't be alone! I can't do this anymore."

He felt his insides crumble at her words. His heart shattered in a million pieces for this young woman. He threw all worries to the wind. He pulled her to him, and held her tighter than he had ever held anyone before in his life. He rocked her to try to soothe her, desperate for her to feel safe.

"Hermione, I am not going to leave you. I will not leave you. You are not alone, believe me. I will sit here, on this floor until the end of the world if necessary, if that is what you want. I will never leave you." What? I will never leave her? What did I mean by that?

She relaxed slightly, breathing coming a bit easier, but kept up the death-grip with her ice cold hands. He had to do something. He made a fast decision.

"Hermione" he said in the softest voice he could. "Hermione, I have a suggestion. She gave a sound of acknowledgement. I can cast a binding spell on us. It will bind us together until you willingly break the spell. Do you understand?"

He had no idea why he was doing this, and not too sure if it was a good idea, but he had to do something to help her feel safe. He had never seen her so utterly broken. "It's old magic. Somewhat similar to a wizard's oath, but this is physical, and can be lifted again when the people involved decides it. When I cast the spell, it will bind us together physically, which means that we are physically unable to leave each other until there is mutual agreement to lift the spell. I wouldn't have left you without the spell either, but this is permanent assurance as long as you want. The spell makes us unable to go more than 50 yards away from each other. If we try going further than that, it's like bumping into an invisible brick wall. Okay?"

Her breathing was calming down a bit more. She nodded. He sighed profoundly in relief. "Hermione, like a wizard's oath, I will need your hand to do the spell." She froze up again. "You can keep your other hand in place until we're bound." He made his voice sound light, to ease the tension." Feel free to grab on to something, collar, hair, anything with your other hand if that helps."

She grabbed his hair and he gasped. It wasn't painful, she just held it. He almost had to laugh. This had to be one of the most ridiculous situations he had been in. He was ridiculous. He couldn't even put up his mask of indifference faced with this young woman. He had never let anyone grab his hair before. And he had most certainly not suggested to anyone to grab on to his hair before. But here he was.

Taking her hand and holding it in his, he tapped the wand at their wrists and muttered words under his breath. Golden threads danced around their wrists before fading again.

"It's done. I can't leave you even if I wanted to. I will not leave you alone. Hermione, please, you can relax now, you are safe. I swear this to you."

A while later, Severus noticed Hermione had calmed down. Her breath was stable and she wasn't trembling anymore.

"Hermione? I think it's time for us to move a bit, maybe you are hungry? Or want a shower? She flinched a bit when he said the word move. "Are you moving away from me?" He heard Hermione's tiny, broken voice say. He didn't know what to say. He didn't plan to move much, but they needed food, maybe a shower, Hermione needed clothes.

"Hermione, please look at me." She did. She was a beautiful, but sad sight at the moment. "What do you wish me to do?"

Hermione's POV
Hermione stared at him. I want you to kiss me, she thought. OH, GODS, I thought it, and I meant it. She bit her lower lip, thinking. Ok, I meant it, but I have to deal with it later. For now, what do I wish him to do? She had no idea. She just knew that this was the only place she felt safe. And they were bound now. With that thought, she felt herself calm down.

"As of right now, I don't really know. I'm not dealing well with everything that has happened, and it frustrates me immensely." She thought for a second. "'not dealing well' is an understatement. I'm not handling it at all. And the reason for why I was screaming bloody murder in the snow where you found me yesterday…" she trailed off. "You saw it. And I have no idea how to deal with any of it. I feel so screwed up."

She gave him a small smile. "I feel a bit better. You are right, it's time to move a bit. I think it's time for showers, food and whatever it is Potion Masters do in private." Her eyes widened, and she blushed in a charming deep red. "Uhm, that sounded better in my head."

Severus Snape laughed. It was an easier laugh than she had ever heard from him before, and very infectious. She started to giggle, and she knew it she was having a laughing fit. She felt a knot of tension vaporize. The laughter shifted over to chuckling, and she felt something fluttering in her heart. She felt easier than she had in months. Still sitting in his lap, and she hugged him. And to her utter amazement, he hugged her back. "Thank you."

She realized he hadn't said anything in a very long time. "Are you going to say anything any time soon?" He looked at her with a devilish gleam in her eyes. "Well, Miss Granger, I would have before. But there wasn't really any opening, with all the laughing and chatting." She started to protest. He gave her a smirk and raised one eyebrow at her. She realized he was teasing her. Professor Severus Snape is in a playful mood. If not snowing, it has to be at least raining in Hell right now.

Severus' POV
Severus Snape was indeed in a playful mood. He was so relieved that Hermione had calmed down. It made him feel positively giddy. And seeing her reactions to him teasing her was priceless. "So, as I am given a moment to talk, you can go shower, while I do private-potion-master-things. She raised her eyebrows at him. He just raised his eyebrows back.

"It's extremely secret, and it only involves one blood sacrifice. Do not worry." She giggled at him. "Now, get up, I have blood sacrifices to perform." She was now laughing out loud, but did not move.

He grabbed her, and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed and wiggled. "Severus Snape! Put me DOWN!" He stifled a laugh. "Yes Miss Granger, I intend to, do calm yourself!"

He entered the bathroom, wandless charmed the water on, and put her into the shower. He grinned at her. "Do keep the little cloth you have on for 2 more minutes. I'm going to find something for you to wear until the house elves get your things."

Hermione's POV
He almost winked at her and she could feel herself blush. About a minute later he returned with a t shirt, some cotton pants, and a black robe that obviously belonged to him, just transfigured smaller. "Here you go, you can be Mini-Me for the day." he grinned again. Hermione gasped. He watched movies? She pictured him laughing to Austin Powers. She couldn't believe it. "That's.. It's… Do you watch muggle movies?!" He grinned at her. "Yes, I do. Have a nice shower." And then he turned in an excellent potion-master-Snape-style, and swept out the door.