Hey guys! Nothing really important today, except keep the reviews coming. I'm afraid some of you have lost interest in this!
Read, enjoy, and review!
"He's here," he showed Hermione.
Just as her eyes found his name on the parchment, it disappeared.
"Where did he go?" she asked.
Ron turned to her, with a glint in his eye.
"The Room of Requirement, it's untraceable,"
"Of course!"
The two took off running, fighting through crowds. The wall in front of them suddenly exploded, causing them to fall to the ground. Hermione knew that Voldemort's forces had finally broken through and were now invading the school.
"We have to hurry," Hermione said, pulling Ron to his feet and running down the hallway.
They reached the room and found Harry being cornered by Malfoy. Hermione and Ron instantly began an assault, and Hermione watched as an object flew from Harry's hand and landed on a stack of rubble. Hermione ducked when a spell flew by her, and she heard Ron yelling after them about attacking his girlfriend. She was in too much of a panic to correct his mistake. Frantically, she and Harry began digging for the small silver crown. Pixies began attacking them, but they ignored them, throwing abandoned chairs to the floor.
"I've got it!" Harry cried his knuckles white with strain.
The two stumbled down to the floor, just in time to see Ron sprinting towards them with a ball of fire right behind him. The three took off running, feeling the heat searing their back. Hermione watched Harry throw up a protection charm, but the three found themselves trapped.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione shouted over the raging flames.
"Here!" Ron cried, throwing broomsticks at them.
They took off, and Hermione saw Malfoy and Blaise on top of a pile of garbage.
"We can't just leave them!" Harry called.
"If we die because of them, Harry, I'm going to kill you!" Ron shouted.
The three doubled back, the two were rescued, and they were bolting for the door. The heat was overpowering and choking Hermione, but she raised her wand to open a small window for them to get out of the room. The second they were out, the five of them hit the floor. Before Hermione could collect herself, Malfoy and Blaise were running away. Ron scooped the diadem up, impaled it with the Basilisk fang and then kicked it into the fire that was still raging towards them.
The doors slammed shut, and the three sat there breathing heavily. Chaos was raging heavily around them, signaling that the Death Eaters had officially penetrated the walls of Hogwarts.
"We have to find the last Horcrux," Ron said.
"Harry, you have to look into his mind," Hermione said, kneeling in front of Harry.
Harry looked at her panicked.
"But you said-"
"I know I told you to close the connection, but you need to see where he is,"
She watched as he closed his eyes and began grinding his teeth. His body went rigid, and Hermione began to fear for him, but his eyes suddenly popped open.
"I think I know where he is," he gasped.
"Where?"
"The Boathouse,"
"What is he doing there?" Hermione asked standing.
"He was talking to Lucius Malfoy. He told him to find Snape and to tell him to go to the Boathouse," Harry replied, rising to his feet.
"Oh, God," Hermione cried out.
A moment later, she was running towards the stairs, firing spells as she went along. The Boathouse was so far away! She could hear the other two behind her, but she didn't care if they managed to keep up. Severus couldn't be alone with that monster. They reached the doors to the courtyard, and Hermione was pulled back as a jinx was shot her way. Harry reached around the doorway, silently firing a spell at the Death Eater and successfully clearing their way.
The three ran outside, dodging spells and debris, struck silent at the amount of destruction caused by Voldemort's forces.
"Watch out!" Hermione cried, seeing a giant coming straight at them.
The three took shelter in a bell, a bell, Hermione suddenly remembered, that rang the night she and Harry had saved Sirius. When they were clear, the three darted past spiders and Death Eaters before they found a wall of Dementors. The three stumbled backwards; even Harry couldn't produce a Patronus that large.
An instant later, large white beams began shooting from behind them, causing the Dementors to scurry away. Hermione turned to see Aberforth standing there with many of their classmates. She offered him a fleeting smile, she had told Harry he hadn't given up, and the three finally reached the stairs to the Boathouse.
Hermione was running so fast, she kept stumbling and nearly falling. She felt like she was stuck in a dream, one of the dreams that no matter how hard you push yourself, you can never run fast enough.
They reached the Boathouse, and Harry quickly pulled Hermione to the ground, and she fell with a thud, feeling her knees and palms scrape against the stone. Her heart was pounding and she could feel the sweat covering her body. After a moment, she could hear past her own heart beat and focus on the voices inside.
"My Lord, the wand only answers to you," she heard Severus say in his silky voice.
"No, Severus, it does not perform the way the legends describe it," a voice hissed in return.
"I assure you, the wands allegiance lies with you,"
If Hermione hadn't spent so much time with him, she would have noticed the slight panic in his voice. He was scared.
"The wands allegiance lies with the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore, Severus, and while you live, the Elder wand can never truly be mine,"
"My Lord?"
"You have been a faithful servant, Severus, and I regret what must happen,"
Hermione heard a slicing motion, before she heard a cry fall from Severus' lips. A loud bang sounded from the glass above their heads and Hermione turned her head to see a profile pressed against it. She pressed her hand to her mouth to suppress the scream she could feel bubbling in her chest. Hermione, choking back sobs, pulled out a Basilisk fang from her bag.
"What are you doing?" Harry hissed quietly.
"It is a pity to lose you, Severus. Nagini, kill,"
A moment later, Hermione sprang into action. She jumped up from under the window and burst through the door of the Boathouse with her wand and the fang clutched in her hands. Her eyes found Severus' limp form, his eyes wide with terror and his hands wrapped around his throat and covered in blood. She darted to him, taking a stance between him and the snake.
Voldemort hissed something to the snake, which paused in its attack.
"Call it off or I will kill it!" Hermione shouted, keeping her wand trained on Voldemort.
He was terrifying, and Hermione struggled to keep her wand steady in his midst. The snake like eyes, slits for nostrils, and the protruding veins in his head made her heartbeat quicken
"Foolish Mudblood," he hissed viciously. "Don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. You're simply a pawn in his game, a game in which Severus only looks out for himself. Don't fool yourself,"
Hermione's eyes flickered from the snake to Voldemort. He had a certain air about him, which made her skin crawl and caused her to doubt herself. Hermione now knew how so many people became wrapped up in this cult and how many people had been tricked into supporting him.
"I will kill the snake,"
"With that?" Voldemort scoffed, raising his wand slightly higher.
"I think we all know the effects Basilisk venom has on someone, Tom,"
"How dare you use that name!" Voldemort shouted, a stream of light coming from his wand.
Hermione blocked it with a huff, the force nearly knocking her off her feet. He was beyond furious, and she knew she was about to die at the hands of the most terrifying wizard of all time. She needed to do something, and quickly. Before he could fire another curse at her, Hermione lunged for the snake, swinging downward with the fang.
Hermione heard his piercing scream, sending chills up her spine, before she was engulfed in a black smoke that was striking her repeatedly, causing her to stumble blindly around. It reminded her of the attack they had in the Ministry, when they were consumed in black smoke to disorient them so Harry was left alone, only this attack was meant to injure her.
Her wand dropped to the ground, and before she could lean down and pick it up, her foot struck a ledge, and Hermione fell straight into the Black Lake, losing the Basilisk fang in the process. The more she struggled for the surface, the deeper she was pulled down. Eventually, the black smoke was gone, a knot of seaweed wrapped around her ankle, pinning her to the bottom. Hermione couldn't see a thing, and for the first time in hours, it was completely silent.
She stopped struggling, relishing the quiet and peace. It had been a long time since she had peace and quiet. A moment later, that was broken as a bolt of light severed the seaweed, allowing her to float to the surface, water rushing into her lungs.
When her head broke the surface, hands were everywhere, clutching her clothing and lifting her from the water. She was dropped onto the stone, causing her to cough up water and gasp for air. She would have gladly lain there, regaining control, if she hadn't heard a sickening gurgling sound.
Hermione lifted her eyes in time to see Severus stumble back, hitting the glass, and collapsing to the floor.
"No," Hermione gasped out, scrambling over to him.
The instant she reached him, her hands pressed against the large laceration in his neck, feeling the blood freely flowing between her fingers.
"Look at me, don't you dare leave me," she muttered, her eyes welling with tears.
His eyes briefly met hers, and she saw tears on his cheek. He turned away from her, and Hermione saw him grab the front of Harry's shirt, yanking him down.
"Take them," he gurgled out, gesturing to the moisture on his face.
Harry was frozen for a second before turning to Hermione.
"I need a vial, now!"
"Put your hands here," she choked out.
Harry's hands replaced Hermione's, and she instantly pulled a vial from her bag. She returned to pressing against the wound as Harry collected the tears.
"Take them to the Pensive," Severus rasped.
Harry looked at the vial, before Severus tugged on his shirt.
"Look at me…"
Harry did as he was told.
"Ron, bring me my wand, now!" Hermione cried, tears streaming down her face, as she gasped desperately for air.
Ron did as he was told, and Hermione began the strongest healing spell she knew, trying to slow the bleeding.
"You have your mother's eyes,"
Hermione lifted her eyes to look at the man she loved, as he looked into Harry's eyes with a deep anguish reflected in his own. Severus turned his head, his eyes on Hermione's. She released a strangled sob when her eyes met his. The black pools she had fallen so deeply in love with only showed a resignation, a deep understanding that in a few moments, they would never see again.
"No," she mumbled, still healing him.
Her work was done, and her wand clattered to the stone. The wound was healed, but Hermione knew that he had lost so much blood already.
He weakly lifted his hand to her cheek, gently brushing away the tears he found there. Hermione used both of her hands to brush his hair away from his face.
"You're going to be fine," she sobbed. "We just need to get Madame Pomfrey here, and you'll be as good as new,"
He gave her a small smirk, so weakly executed that it could barely count as a smirk. Hermione forced him to look at her, and she watched his eyes flash over her face.
"Thank you," he sighed.
"Shh, you're going to fine, I promise," she mumbled. "You can't go yet, I'm not going to let you go," Hermione added, the tears falling faster.
Hermione watched in horror as the twinkling eyes locked on hers slowly dulled, and his body went limp, causing the hand that was on her cheek to slip away and strike the floor with a heart wrenching thud.
"Severus? Oh God, no! SEVERUS! NO! PLEASE!" Hermione screamed while stroking his face, trying to get his eyes to refocus on her.
"I CAN'T LOSE YOU! PLEASE, NOT NOW! Please, don't leave me, please, no," she moaned.
Hermione couldn't think of anything as he body slid down the wall. She instantly caught him, pulling his torso into her arms, preventing him from hitting the ground. She pressed her face to his, allowing her tears to splash on his pale skin as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Please, don't take him away from me," she whispered against his cheek, gently rocking him in her embrace.
Hermione closed her eyes, tightening her arms around his body. His strong commanding presence was gone now as she held his broken body in her arms. He had never before looked so vulnerable to Hermione, and she had never loved him more than she did at that moment.
"I love you, Severus Snape," she whispered, so no one could hear her.
She risked a kiss to his pale lips hidden behind the wall of her hair. He had a second chance at life, a chance to live without having guilt hanging over his head, and it was snatched from him. Hermione felt cheated; her future was now gone. Severus was her future, and she couldn't see one without having his scowling face peering at her over a large book or having his scolding words when she did something wrong.
His skin was cooling, and he was white, but Hermione gently stroked his cheek, wiping away the blood that was smeared on his skin.
"Hermione," Harry whispered.
"Leave me alone," she sniffled.
"We have to go,"
"I'm not leaving him here!"
Someone touched her shoulder, and she flinched away.
"Please, just go," Hermione whispered, gently running her fingers along Severus' cheek.
Hermione rested her forehead on his, and clung to him tightly, allowing her agony to flood all of her senses, and steal her breath away.