Hey everyone! Oh goodness gracious, I'm SO VERY SORRY about the incredibly long wait for this chapter. I had a lot of personal stuff going on, but I know, no excuse. If I still have readers left, (pretty please?!), I really hope you enjoy this, I like writing from Severus' POV, even though it was a tad challenging. So again, I love you all, thank you SO much for your continued loyalty, support, and reviews, and I'm SO sorry! I'll make it up to you by updating super quick from now on :) Please tell me what you think, and remember that I love you all :) Oh, and to make it up to you, if you leave me a PM with your first name, gender, and a brief overview of how you look, I'll add in a character based off of you for a chapter or two! :) So here you are, my lovelies! xoxoxo
"I said LEAVE!" Snape's voice was harsher then he intended, and he flinched at how loud it was. He heard Hermione's footsteps echo down the hallway until she was out of earshot.
"Severus, you fool," he whispered in the silence that followed Hermione's departure. What had just happened? How had he lost control of the situation, so quickly? Why had he spoken to hear? In retrospect, he should of just let the foolish girl spend her detention in silence, while he graded papers. But no. He had to let that nagging feeling invade his mind and control his actions. That nagging feeling...
With a sigh he walked behind his large oak desk and opened one of the heavy, magically locked drawers that only opened for him, and took out a bottle of muggle vodka. He poured himself a healthy tumbler and sat down, taking a large swig. He welcomed the burning sensation of the liquid as it slithered a path down his throat. He was well into his second glass when he heard a soft clearing of someone's throat at his door.
"Tough day, Severus?" Minerva McGonagall walked into the dimly lit potions classroom, eying the clear drink gripped tightly in his hand. Getting up from his desk, Snape ignored the slight buzzing of the bees in his head the alcohol had induced. Putting down his glass, he turned towards his colleague , and now boss, and gave her an emotionless greeting.
"Evening, Minerva. What can I do for you?" He looked into her eyes, willing her not to see the reason for his late night stress reliever. She narrowed her eyes for the briefest of moments, but then it was gone, and she was speaking.
"How was the first day of classes, Severus?" Her question held a deeper meaning that they both knew, but Snape ignored it.
"Fine I suppose. The first years are useless as usual. I had to give a few detentions..." His thoughts strayed to a certain brown haired Gryffindor, but he internally shook himself and focused on the stern looking colleague in front of him. He continued. "Nothing out of the ordinary, Minerva." She walked around the dim room, her hand running over the worn desks there, coming to a stop on the desk that has just a little while ago been occupied by Hermione. She turned to Severus, and just for the briefest of moments he could swear he saw Dumbledore's old twinkle in her eyes. But then it was gone and she was walking to the door.
"Severus... I'm glad you're back, old friend." And with a last nod at the potions professor, she was gone. Heaving a deep sigh and not bothering to wondering of the brevity of Minerva's visit, Snape downed the last of his drink and, pouring a third, made his way to his personal quarters. He let his thoughts wander, and perhaps it was the alcohol or perhaps it was his encounter with that damned Granger girl, but for once he did not shudder away from where they took him.
It happened in an instant. The giant beast of a snake lunged at him, and before he could even raise his wand it had latched onto his throat. He gasped in excruciating pain, trying to scream. The six inch long fangs were deeply embedded into his skin, their venom already coursing at a deadly pace throughout his veins. The beast released him, and for a moment Severus saw a glimmer of relief, but then it was back on him, striking once... twice... three times more. Severus could not scream, could not move. Already the poison was working on him, slowing his heart, making his muscles heavy and sluggish. Inside he was burning, thrashing, clawing at his skin to try to relieve the firey pain engulfing every cell of his being. But on the outside, all he could do was gasp and splutter as he grasped his neck, the blood flowing out of him at a rapid rate as he collapsed on the dirty wood floor.
After a while... (what had it been, seconds, minutes?), Snape heard footsteps and raised his eyes from where they were subconsciously trained on the floor, to... Potter?What was he doing here? He could not think of why; would not think of what might happen to the boy he had been silently watching over and caring for for years. No, he only had one thought in his head. He has to know. Harry knelt down, his eyes wide with horrible fascination and his mouth in a terrified frown. Severus grasped his arm with all the little effort he could conjure. "Harry..." He used his first name, for the first time since knowing the boy. There was no time for disdainful formalities. "Please..." he gasped out, gesturing to the tears flowing freely down his blood-caked face. He heard Harry say something, but it was as if he was listening to him through water; his voice was muffled and the potions professor could not make out the words. Seconds later he felt the cold glass of a vial against his cheek, and then it was gone. It was done. Finally, he thought. It's done. His movements slowed. A dense fog took over his brain, and his body was immensely heavy and a miserable cold was seeping into his veins. Soft footfalls faded away until he heard nothing. Blissful nothing...
"I'm sorry." The voice broke through the fog, soft and endearing, and crystal clear. "These spells might ease the pain." Who was that? He could not see. The voice was the single most beautiful sound that he had ever heard. Snape was not positive that he wasn't imagining it. He felt some simple healing spells bouncing off of his body, useless against his vast wounds."You're so brave, Professor. I'm sorry." The voice... He knew it, but at the same time it was if he was hearing it for the first time. At that moment, he felt a soft kiss against his cheek. Those lips were like a feather against his weathered skin, but they left a scorching heat in their wake that burned his cold body. A small light appeared in his chest, flickering, fighting against the cold pounding blackness that had nearly engulfed his entire being. The voice had gone, but it's presence still lingered around him. It hugged him, laying over his body, warming him. The small light began to grow larger, gaining strength. It began to burn, but not uncomfortably so. It soon filled his chest, the darkness ebbing back from his mind. His limbs felt less heavy, his mind clearing more and more every second. The light was spreading quickly now, , almost at an alarming rate. The voice rang throughout his head, filling him with peace and an undiluted happiness that he hadn't felt since his childhood. The heat from her kiss on his cheek joined the light in his chest as it took over his entire body. He no longer felt pain, no longer felt the blackness that had just moments ago nearly taken his life. It was over... The voice still rang throughout his mind. Over, and over, and... It suddenly struck him who the voice belonged to. Someone that he would never expect, who he wished it didn't belong to, who it couldn't possibly be, but it was... Hermione Granger.
Severus climbed into his bed, his stomach doing odd flip flops, and not from the copious amounts of alcohol in his bloodstream. He had relived that moment each and every day since the battle. Each. Day. When Minerva had contacted him and had all but begged him to return to teach, he had prayed that Hermione would not also be coming back to Hogwarts. He didn't know how he would react to seeing her. How could he go back to blissfully ignoring her incessant hand raising and strong spirited behavior? He would never be able to see her the same way again. What could he do? I'll ignore her, Severus thought as he plopped down on his bed, not bothering to undress. That's it, I'll just not think about her. He repeated these thoughts until he fell into a drunken slumber, determined to push the brown haired Gryffindor from his mind, but completely unaware that this was already far beyond his own control.