Animal Magnetism

Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing of the Harry Potter 'Verse. I just like to play with them time to time. Especially Severus.

Chapter 3

"Hurry, take my hand!" a deep, oddly familiar voice called out from the void. With both anxiety and relief on her face, she spun around… to see a tall, lean figure cloaked in darkness. The flames that danced over and around the stony surface highlighted but otherwise didn't touch the shade as she peered around it. "I know a way out!" Breathless and shaking with her fear, she skated around one a skeletal tree, precariously close to the magma. Another offer of help, another promise of escape with an underlying falsity? Another fiend who seemed to want to swallow her whole? Why else would he hide in shadow, unless this was thinly veiled trickery? The silhouette reformed to show urgency and perhaps a tinge of impatience.

Shining out from the gloom of the backdrop that seemed to wrap around him like a shield were two coal-black eyes alight with an inner fire… and a mouth that seemed prone to cruelty but instead softened into an appearance of determination and concern. She must've been delusional indeed, or winded by the dry heat, because recognition was blooming inside her. As if she knew this fiend. "Take my hand!" The demanding voice vibrated in the air between them, a voice used to being obeyed she was sure, and she gasped as something struck her. Something meant to taunt, to further inspire fear? Was there any other explanation to this similarity to Snape?

Her potential champion [destroyer?] leaned away from the rock to reach out to her and she caught a hint of a lean but muscled frame. Not unlike the dungeon bat himself. She swallowed heavily, more unsure than ever of this thing professing good intentions. "There's not much time, Hermione. You stay here longer and you'll die for sure!" Would a demon from Hell [where she was suspecting she was] know her? And surely the real Snape, the one who hated her not the apparition pulling her from the lake, would never use her given name. So what did that make him? An angel? Ridiculous, they didn't exist in Hell. But what she saw didn't look evil, like that other thing. Of course, would an enemy in disguise really don one of wickedness and try to kill her outright?

But glancing back at the creature across the way sealed her decision. She took his hand. "Wise choice. We're going to need every second we can get and too many slipped by already." She shot him a glare but his head was turned so he missed it, instead moving aside a thin slab to reveal a slip just big enough for them to get through. "It's warded on this side, but if I try to make it bigger demons from behind it could get though. Think you can make it?" She nodded. "Good girl. This way. There's no ledge to stand on so you have to make sure to hold onto the boulder and work our way down." At her alarmed look, as if knowing her thoughts, he gently explained that this dimension had been created especially for demons and other such characters and as such there'd be no way to make it upwards.

The only path led them lower through the perilous depths, where a soul-gate lay. Swallowing heavily, she stared. Dare she trust this stranger? Did she have any other choice? No. she followed. Instantly flames and scaled arms reached out. Screams permeated the air. Her rescuer entered first. Safe. She tentatively inched out and held onto the boulder with every bit of her strength as he sealed the opening. Apparently magic didn't work here. And to let go was to freefall into Hell, a fiery pit just waiting to gobble her up. She only had him. 'Palms… sweating…'

Whimpering, she tried to keep her eyes on the cliff-face instead of what lie beneath. "Ready?" Hero, as she decided to term him, insisted, reaching for her. To protect her? Aid her? "Yes." Part of her shivered in expectation of the impending touch- but just before contact be moved behind her then away without even brushing her shirtsleeves. She didn't know whether to be disappointed or glad as she tightened her grip on the wall, balancing her feet as best she could on the rocky protrusion. He still unnerved her, but there was something about his presence that comforted her more. Made her want to trust him. He promised to protect her. He offered a means to get away from the creature pacing the border between here and wherever she'd come from.

His eyes captivated her. 'Completely irrelevant.' She corrected herself. 'So did his mouth, the only other feature clear to her. Such a shame the rest is in shadow.' Must focus. The air was smokier here. Hotter. So hot, in fact, that the sheen of sweat spread up her arms, her neck, even her face. Beads formed, and those beads began trickling down her temples, blurring her vision. "Sir," she whimpered, nearing panic again. "Severus," he murmured smoothly. "I'm here." Severus? Wasn't that Snape's first name? A weird feeling crept over her. She thought she remembered Minerva [as the Headmistress had permitted her to call her] using that name for him once before in concern, though she was usually careful not to around students.

Because why would her rescuer insist on that name if it was? Unless it was purely coincidence. Or she could be wrong. 'Well, he does kind of look like the spy, the visible parts. Except less slumped, tired, and cruel. But is this really the time to be arguing semantics. Just call him what he wills!' Hermione chose to listen to the whispers again. In that instant, he was climbing over her and positioning himself behind again. The scent of decadent, powerful male enveloped her, oddly calming, chasing away the pungent odor of decay. "Are you alright?" Suddenly she was. "Yes," she whispered, but gods, what had she fallen into? "Move with me. Can you do that?" he asked, watching her carefully.

"Yes. Of course." Could she? Maintaining a firm grip, she tested the theory, using the jagged stones to edge along, ever conscious of the seemingly endless void awaiting her should she lose her balance. Though she was more aware of the male still behind her, caging her in, keeping her steady. She had the odd urge to crowd closer, brush against him and see what it felt like, drink in his strength, but she immediately squelched it. Savior or no, she didn't know this man, and she was in enough of a bind without adding certain temptations. Like the flash of that sharp-toothed look-alike from the plains on a distant ledge. But maybe that was her imagination. Right? She had to believe it was or she'd lose her cool and perhaps slip. Something big was coming, building. Something important loomed ahead.

She had to get…. Somewhere. Out, maybe. But out where? She didn't know, but had to keep moving forward. He urged her on. And since he seemed real enough to her and better yet, aligned himself on her side, she was willing to listen. His heat just added to hers and her blood felt close to boiling, but she couldn't bring herself to wish him away. It was not a heat she minded, even amidst the smoldering furnace that was Hell. His was… heady. He stopped, forcing her to do the same., his breath trekking over the back of her neck. "This might be more difficult than I thought it to be." He adjusted his grip, his arm just over her shoulder. "Shift with me, just to the left." A tremor raked her but she obeyed. If she stood on her tiptoes, she could feel his skin though… 'Stop!' she centered her mind again. But evil laughter erupted behind them and they both stiffened. More creatures.

"Leave us." Severus [?] snapped. The laughter increased in volume. Drew closer. "I can't fight them like this and they know it," he muttered, latching onto her waist. She gasped at the contact. He was touching her. He was real. And it felt amazing, wild and intense. But there was no comfort in this embrace as she'd expected. No, instead she experienced a searing, disconcerting arousal. And a burning desire for more. 'Oh god, now what?' "Time to fall, Hermione," he said, either heedless of her thoughts or answering them she didn't know. "No! I mean, I don't think I'm ready," she fretted. He looked into her eyes and she saw flames there, "Trust me. There's no other choice but to let go." And she did. Seeing this, he released the rocks, taking her over the edge with him. They seemed to fall forever.

Her hero retained an iron-edged grip on her, long auburn tresses whipping around them like angry silk ribbons. She didn't scream, but did turn and wind her legs around him, afraid of hitting the ground again and losing sight of the world. "Where does this end?" she whispered with an undercurrent of panic. "Soon," he said. "Don't worry, I have you." Like before, flames kindled all around them, pinpricks of gold in the shuddering darkness. She wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but he gently rubbed her shoulder, raising little bumps, but her muscles relaxed under his ministrations. Except before, those flames had flicked like snake tongues, licking at her. They didn't now. Because he held her? Were they afraid of him?

For her, he was refreshing ice in this smoldering heat and she clung to it. All the better if it offered more protection. The air was thickening around them, the flames spraying what looked to be molten teardrops. "Hold on tight, don't let your feet touch the floor," he directed. She interpreted it as a sign the end was near. Of either them, or the fall she wasn't sure yet. Until they dropped and he twister aside to shield her from harm as they smacked into the ground with a loud crash. Severus planted his feet as the impact vibrated through him, barely touching her as he took the brunt of it, breath whooshing out. He lay there for a moment, panting, and she unwound herself to check on him.

"Are you alright?" The muted darkness of the pit had given away to bright light, fire illuminating every direction. Hermione hovered over him like the sun, the golden highlights reflecting off the fire's glow. "I am… fine."Her delicate hands wisped over his brow, his jaw, his shoulders, searching for injuries and offering comfort. "No you're not. You're wheezing." She continued smoothing her hands over him, rubbing lightly as he had before, as if to massage away the stiffness and soreness.

The witch heard him sigh and smiled to herself. 'Only because I'm happy to be helping,' she reminded herself. 'I need him to get me through this. I'd be lost on my own. And perhaps already a victim of that awful creature.' She opened her mouth to ask him another question about where they were and how he knew so much when he started speaking again himself. "That's brilliant, but-" He was cut off by a frenzied snarl that echoed through the distance, trailed by more demonic laughter. They had indeed been followed. There was a horde a few yards away, one fiend suddenly separating from the pack. It looked there way. "-it looks like we have company." Popping up, Severus took a concerned Hermione with him and pushed her behind him. "Remember I promised to protect you," he told her.

A minute, perhaps two, and the creature with the fangs and glowing eyes would reach her. Fast as it was, there was still a good distance to cover, the streets of Hell stretching endlessly. She trembled slightly in fear, trying to remind herself she'd faced Voldemort once, so shouldn't be so scared. "I could help?" she offered weakly. A thousand sins resting where the pupils should've been, it looked hungry, and she couldn't hide her reaction as well this time around. He just gave her a look that said she should know better than to think he'd put her at risk. What made this virtual stranger so willing to go to bat for her, so to speak? Whatever it was, she was grateful. A cry of "Mine, mine, mine," rent the air and the creature closed in, faster… almost… there.

Claws raked at Severus as he grabbed his opponent by the neck. Multiple stings erupted on his face, followed by the trickle of warm blood. Flailing arms, kicking legs. Only when her hands were shrugged from his shoulders did he truly begin the battle though. And it was both frightening and captivating watching him move. He tossed the creature to the ground and leapt upon it, knees pinning its shoulders. Four punches, rapid succession, five, six… It bucked, wild and feral. Saliva gleamed on its fangs as curses sprang from its bony mouth. Another punch. Still another. But the pounding only succeeded in subduing it.

The struggling continued, intensified, terror leaping to life on that gaunt face- clear enough for her to see a few feet back. Then her rescuer raised his hand, in it a glowing piece of rock, and struck. The poison imbedded in the brimstone acted swiftly, without mercy, spreading throughout the creature's body and rotting it from the inside out. It screamed and screeched in agony, its struggles becoming writhing spasms. Then the scales began to burn away, smoking, sizzling, leaving only more of that ugly bone. But the bones too disintegrated and black ash soon coated the air, blowing in every direction. Hermione watched him rise on shaky legs. The other, equally hungry looking, demons crowded in.

Next Chapter: "May I ask you a question, Severus?" He nodded hesitantly. "You may do anything you like with me." Had he meant his words to emerge so sensuously? Surely not. Yet butterflies took flight in her belly anyway. "Are you… do you like me?"