Disclaimer: Do I really need to remind you that I don't own these characters? Or world?
Hermione's eyes snapped open when she heard Lucius swear. He was whipping his head around and pointing his wand into the forest.
"It seems your boyfriend has discovered our location," he seethed. "I can feel him in my wards."
An angry bellow made Lucius turn to his left. There, Hermione saw Snape standing in front of Dumbledore, Harry, and Draco.
"Let her go, Lucius!" He yelled. "You're outnumbered! You won't be able to complete the ritual with us here now. Give up!"
"You really thought it would be that simple? You won't be getting her back!" Lucius laughed. They were both yelling now; the dark magic was creating a storm above them and the wind had picked up. "Crucio!"
Hermione watched as the spell shot towards Snape and he dodged. Soon, curses were flying back and forth. Even with four against one, they weren't gaining an edge for fear of accidently hitting her. Lucius was playing off of this and kept shooting a spell and then jumping behind her.
She saw Draco start to creep towards the forest, but so did Lucius.
"Incarcerous! Crucio!" Hermione screamed as Draco lay writhing and screaming in pain whilst bound on the floor. Harry ran towards him and Lucius focused on shooting hexes at Dumbledore and Snape. He had dueled three-on-one while under the Dark Lord, so dueling these two powerful wizards was extremely close to that.
The wind was swirling faster now and Hermione could feel a sickening churning in her stomach and body at the dark magic surrounding them.
Lucius finally got under Snape's shield and Hermione watched him fall with a gasp of pain as Lucius' slicing hex cut a gash in his leg from knee to ankle.
"Severus!" she screamed and began trying to fight her way out again. Lucius just laughed at her while still fighting off Dumbledore.
"See your little mudblood, Severus? Do you?" He swiped his wand down her arm and she screamed again as blood started to drip out. "Look! I think I can see the mud in it! No, Potter!" She looked over to see him blast Harry back ten feet into a tree, then did the same to Draco whom Harry had just managed to free.
"Lucius! Don't you touch her! Don't you dare fucking touch her!" Snape yelled and grabbed Dumbledore's robes as he hauled himself up. He waved his wand at his leg and wrappings appeared around it, making him look part mummy.
"Don't touch whom, Severus?" Lucius asked gleefully, still shooting at them while dodging behind her. "Her?" He peeked around quick enough to flick his wand on her face, creating a few tiny cuts on it. "Do you love her, Severus? Do you love the little mudblood? What is it with you? Another mudblood who has an attachment to a Potter? Do you never learn?"
He ran his wand down her bindings and grabbed her, forcing her in front of him. She tried to kick him, but he used a petrifying spell on her body, but not her face. She could still hear and see everything happening, but she couldn't move the rest of her. He had his wand pressed against her throat and was using her as a shield.
"You can't win now, Lucius! It's over!" Snape yelled back.
"Oh, I know that you have destroyed my plan, but I can still have a prize!" Lucius looked downright unhinged now. "Tell Severus how much you love him, mudblood. Let him hear the words finally." He flicked his wand again when she didn't speak and small cuts started to appear all over her visible skin. "Tell him!" He cut a gash in her forehead and blood started to run over her face.
Crying, her eyes fought to find him. He was staring in horror with Dumbledore holding him back.
She mouthed the three words: I love you.
His eyes blazed with fury and pain.
"How does it feel to have failed in the protection of another witch you love? And just like before, Severus, HER BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS!"
With that, he swiped his wand across Hermione's neck.
XX
Snape saw it play out in slow motion. One second they had the upper hand, and the next…he was watching as blood came from Hermione's neck and caught in the fierce wind like red ribbons.
He was dimly aware of curses being called out, but he couldn't hear anything other than someone screaming Hermione's name over and over. He found himself kneeling at her side with no recollection of how he got there so fast. He felt a thud next to him as Lucius hit the ground, but he spared him no thought.
His only thought was Hermione and how to stop the bleeding. He needed to make her wake up.
"Hermione! Hermione, wake up! Don't leave me!" he heard the screaming but refused to believe it was coming from him. He saw his hand frantically tracing her neck with his wand. He needed potions.
As he spared a glance away from Hermione to grab his satchel with his potions, he saw Draco, crying, holding a struggling and crying Harry back. Harry seemed to be yelling as well, but he couldn't hear him. Nor could Snape hear Dumbledore as he knelt in front of him and tried to talk to him. He could only focus on getting the red to go away from Hermione.
XXX
"HERMIONE! NO!" Harry yelled as he saw the bastard cut her. Lucius stood there laughing as she fell, and suddenly Snape was in front of him. Snape was calling Hermione's name over and over again. As Snape got to them, he immediately went to kneel by Hermione while simultaneously slashing his wand through the air in front of Lucius.
Lucius crumpled to the floor and didn't stir.
All three rushed to Snape's side, and when Harry saw his best friend covered in blood, he lost it. Not again; it couldn't be happening again! He started to yell and run to his friend but Draco held him back.
"There's nothing you can do, Harry! Let Severus work! He knows the spells and had the potions!" Draco said in his ear but Harry couldn't comprehend the words. He kept struggling and crying and yelling for her, and felt tears from Draco fall and hit him.
Dumbledore dropped in front of Snape. "Severus! What can I do? Tell me what you need help with! I just sent word to Poppy to make an emergency portkey and come here. Severus!"
It was no use, though. Severus was in his own world trying to bring her back into theirs.
XXX
Hermione was confused. She was walking on the grounds of Hogwarts but she couldn't remember coming back. She knew she was just with Lucius. Was it all a bad dream? Her neck was sore and her head hurt a bit, but as she walked, it bothered her less and less.
"Hermione!"
Hermione started and turned toward the voice calling her. She hadn't heard it in so long!
"Ron?"
Her redheaded best friend ran to her and scooped her up in an enormous hug, twirling her around. Both laughing, he set her down again.
After a few seconds, though, his smile faded and he turned serious. "Hermione, you shouldn't be here. You don't belong here."
"Am I dead?"
"I can't say. Nearly there, I think. You can't stay here."
"What happened?"
"Malfoy got you bad, Hermione. Snape is working on you right now, so we don't have long…either way. But you have to go back!"
"Oh Ron, I miss you so much!" She threw her arms around her best friend and started to sob. "We needed you so bad this year!"
"It looks like you guys got along fine. I'm happy Harry stopped being such an ass about the Draco thing. And I wish I could kick Charlie's ass. And Ginny…she's so lost. Do me a favor, when you get back, and don't be too hard on her. Definitely let her know what she did and confront her, but help her the next few years. She's so alone."
"Ron, I never wanted anything to happen to you! I'm so sorry!"
"I know. Do you really think that I believed you WANTED me to die? We both knew the risks, and it could have easily been you that died. I'm sorry that I won't be there for everything, but I was willing to take that sacrifice. It wasn't meaningless; I died fighting for something I believed in." He looked around, starting to look alarmed. "Hermione, everything is starting to get clearer. That's bad. You need to go back. Listen, I'm fine here. There's nothing you can do for me now. But you don't belong here. I didn't get this chance that you're getting. I was dead before I hit the floor, so everything was super clear and I wasn't given the opportunity to go back. You can, though! And you need to! From what I've heard here, you're happy with Snape. And he's happy, which is just weird to comprehend. And Harry needs you. I don't think he could go through losing another best friend."
Hermione knew he was right. Already, she could barely feel the wound on her neck. "How do I go back?"
"That's easy: go back the way you came. Stop walking away," Ron said, giving her the smile she missed so much.
"Will I remember this? I want to tell Harry I saw you."
"I can't say. You might. Hey, if you do remember, tell my family I love them and that Percy, Dad, and I miss them like crazy but that they need to move on because we're fine. And, hey, I met Harry's mum and dad and WOW. Seriously, Hermione, Harry really does look like his dad. For a second I got scared and thought Harry had died as well. Tell him that they're super proud of him, and so is Sirius. And…tell him I love him, Hermione. Tell him I miss him and that it wasn't his fault. Tell him that I hope him and Draco stay together because they really do make each other happy, and that's what matters." He broke into a wide grin. "And I'm really proud of you too, Hermione. And I really hope that you and Professor Snape are happy. Merlin knows that we need more happiness in the world after what happened, wherever you can find it."
She gave him an enormous hug again, crying, and then started backing up. The farther she got, the more her neck hurt and the blurrier her surroundings got. Finally, Ron was just a red blur waving to her.
"I love you Ron!" she yelled, waving back. "I'll tell Harry you love him!"
"I love you too, Hermione," the voice was faint, but unmistakably Ron's.
Then there was black.
XXX
"Let me have a look at her, Severus!" Hermione heard Madam Pomfrey's voice.
"Leave me!" That was Severus. He must be the one with his arms around me, Hermione thought.
"Severus, there's nothing more you can do." That sounded like Dumbledore, only sadder.
"Hermione, no! DO SOMETHING, MADAM POMFREY! SNAPE! ANYBODY!" Harry's voice broke her heart and Hermione struggled to open her eyes, but she felt like a dead weight.
"Mr. Potter!" Pomfrey again. Hermione heard Draco's voice softly speaking to Harry.
"Hermione," her name was whispered by the distinctive voice of the Potions Master. "Hermione, please don't leave me. I love you. I love you so much. Wake up. These potions have to do their job. Please, Hermione. Please. I love you." Then Hermione felt warm drops of moisture hit her face and she realized that he was crying.
With a herculean effort, Hermione drew all of her courage, love, and strength and forced her body to respond to her.
First, a finger twitch. She felt Snape freeze around her at that.
Then, her eyelids started to flutter as she attempted to force them open. Finally, they cracked enough to reveal a blood spattered, grimy face above her staring at her with disbelief. Snape had dirt and blood on his face mixed with his tears, twigs in his hair from the wind that had died out, and Hermione had never thought he looked more beautiful.
"Severus," she sighed and smiled tiredly.
"Hermione!" Snape hugged her to him and she felt him shake around her.
"Good lord, Severus, LET ME SEE HER!" Madam Pomfrey commanded and forced him back. He kept his arms around her but supported her as the mediwitch dod a scan on her. "Give her more blood restoration potion, and a pain reliever potion. I'll have to retrace the scar when we get back. With any luck, we'll be able to make it disappear, or at least minimize it."
"Hermione!" Harry was on her knees in front of her with his arms around her, squeezing what little life she had left back out of her. When he pulled back, she saw wet streaks on his face as well. Snape helped her take the potions and then helped her to stand when she demanded that she could.
Draco stepped forward next to hug her, then Dumbledore.
"Where's-," her voice cracked and she tried to clear her throat with difficulty. "Where is he?"
"Severus struck him down without knowing it and he hasn't moved since. Madam Pomfrey says he's alive but he has extensive internal wounds. Professor Dumbledore bound him up and sent word to some Aurors," Draco explained. "It was actually over rather quick. Other than you getting cut a few times, it was fairly anti-clamatic."
Harry elbowed him in the ribs.
XXX
"How are you feeling?" Harry asked Hermione as she sat propped up in her hospital bed.
"Perfectly well, and I wish Madam Pomfrey would let me go," she pouted.
"Not bloody likely. Trust me on this one, Hermione: she won't let you go until she sees fit," Snape said from the chair on the other side of her bed.
They had portkeyed back to Hogwarts where Madam Pomfrey promptly put her in a dreamless sleep while she worked on her. She had healed all lacerations and reported that Hermione should have little to no scarring from them. The only ones they were worried about was the forehead cut and the neck wound, obviously. Madam Pomfrey said the forehead scar would fade to nothing within the week, but not to be disappointed if her neck had a faint scar from now on.
She had finally woken up twenty minutes prior to find Snape, Harry, and Draco sitting around her bed. Draco had enlarged a chair into a loveseat and put cushions on it for Harry and himself. When she had opened her eyes they were both dozing, Draco with his head in Harry's lap and legs hanging off the end, snoring, and Harry sitting up with his head on top of the head rest, mouth open and drooling.
Turning her head, she found Snape staring at her from his chair, cheek on his fist, and elbow on the arm of the chair. They smiled at the other and she was about to speak when Poppy came around the curtain. She must have had a spell that tracks patients because it was just too coincidental. Harry and Draco had woken up when Poppy started to talk and Snape sent a patronus off, presumably to inform Dumbledore.
Finally, the check-up was complete, she was ruled to be in excellent health, but was still ordered to stay in the bed until further notice, which was the reason for her current complaint.
"Severus knows first-hand, Hermione," Dumbledore said, coming around the curtain and smiling. "She was the one to care for him when he would come back from Death Eater meetings." He conjured up a chair at the end of the bed and stared at her, suddenly serious. "I know this is much to ask of you, Hermione, but I need to know if you remember anything that Lucius told you while he had you captive. We still need to know about the spy."
"That's perfectly fine, Headmaster. You see…," she said, and told the entire story from when she woke up to when Lucius cut her. "And then…I was walking along the lake, here at Hogwarts."
"The lake, Hermione?" Snape asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah. I was walking, and I think my neck hurt. I'm not too sure, everything is fuzzy. But I distinctly remember the lake. Then…then I saw Ron. He ran up to me and hugged me and then told me I didn't belong there. He told me I had to go back the way I came and come back here." She turned to look at Harry, tears already pricking at her eyes. "I asked if I would remember seeing him and he didn't know, but if I did, he had some messages for me. He said to tell his family that him, Percy, and Arthur miss them but they need to move on in life. He met your parents, Harry. He said that they're so proud of you. Sirius as well." Harry's eyes were looking dangerously wet and she knew her's were the same. Draco put his arm around his boyfriend and Harry leaned into him. Snape grabbed her hand.
"He said…he said to tell you he loves you, Harry," she said, voice breaking as the tears spilled out. At that, Harry's eyes overfilled as well and he turned his head into Draco's chest. "He said he's proud of you and that he wants you and Draco to be happy forever." Harry gave a soft sob and Draco laid his cheek on Harry's head. She looked at Snape. "He also said that he hopes that you and I are happy, because after the war we need more happiness in the world and we should take it where we can find it." Snape squeezed her hand and Dumbledore gave a loud sniff.
"Words we can all live by," Dumbledore said.
"So, the whole prophecy is fulfilled then?" Draco asked.
"Oh yes," Dumbledore said gleefully. "In fact, Harry here figured out some crucial points of it."
"I told you guys that it sounded almost familiar! So I discussed it with the Headmaster after that meeting, and yes, Draco, I lied to you about it. Professor Dumbledore didn't want me talking to anyone about what we thought we had discovered," Harry explained.
"Which was?" Draco asked, twirling his hand.
"Love," Harry and Dumbledore said together.
"Explain," Draco said.
Dumbledore started. "Obviously, The nameless foe was, indeed, Voldemort like we said, and he met his end, with a broken body that was finally unfixable. The wizarding world seemed ignorant of era not over yet, because everyone was basking in the relief of no more Voldemort, yet the darkest powers were, indeed, still to get, which is what Lucius tried."
"Pale Death lurks in safety's walls was Lucius, quite cleverly," Hermione grumbled, "and he was hunting me, whom he blamed for his loss."
"Correct. Of course, we know about the plot for your blood, and the evil did indeed grow, as we witnessed with the swirling wind and the feel of dark magic. And the endless night was because it never got light out until after Lucius fell," Dumbledore continued, and then looked to Harry.
"This is where I started thinking. Severus, I told you to feel for her, and apparently she was doing the same. Her heart no longer belonged to her because she had given it to you, and you settled the score by barging in and fighting for her. The magic of it was embraced, giving you both the strength to fight. Severus, it gave you the strength to pull yourself up and charge at him when he cut her throat, and Hermione, it gave you the strength to come back to us all," Harry explained.
"So what about that seemed familiar?" Draco asked.
"In my prophecy, it said I would have powers the Dark Lord knows not, which turned out to be love. This one said for the magic both know not of will once again reign above. It was love, again. Neither Hermione or Severus knew this level of love, and it was once again the deciding factor that won the fight," Harry finished, looking very proud of himself.
"But…but what about…Lily?" Hermione asked hesitantly, looking at Severus.
He cleared his throat. "I came to realize that she was never mine and that I loved her…but I don't believe I was in love with her. I never felt for her what I feel for you," he said quietly, trying to make it so no one but she could hear. The others weren't fooled but wisely kept their mouths shut.
"Well, I believe that settles everything then," Dumbledore said and stood to walk away.
"Oh, sir," Hermione said, halting him. "He also asked that we…not be too hard on Ginny, sir. He wants her to know exactly what she did wrong and confront her, but he wants us to help her the next few years. He said she's lost."
Dumbledore nodded slowly with a small smile before sweeping off.
Hermione looked over to Snape, where he still sat holding her hand and looking at her. In that moment, no one existed but them.
"It's all over," she said, smiling.
Snape's face froze for a second. Then he looked resigned. "Yes, it is. There's no more need to keep up appearances or play pretend anymore." He almost sounded wistful.
"Severus?" She said, and he raised an eyebrow in question. "I love you," Hermione said, finally able to say it out loud and to him.
His eyes showed relief and love and he gave her a rare, but full, bright smile. "As I love you, Hermione."
With that, he leaned in to kiss her.
XXXXX
A/N: WHEW! Emotional. Writing about Ron killed me. Well, that's it. Just the epilogue left.