Chapter 26: Pain For Pleasure
{A/N: Here's another update...}
My Thanks To My Readers and Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S.
The Girls Dorm, Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
There had been no sign of Severus Snape for three nights as everyone in Hogwarts either celebrated or went about their business as if nothing were amiss. Hermione found it hard to sleep dreaming of the wizard whom had made her, his wife and a woman all within the same day. Harry and Ron had been certainly full of themselves openly boasting about how much better Hogwarts had become with their Potions Professor having been gone. As per the usual Hermione had defended Snape to them despite all of the issues she and the dour man might have had, he was being punished due to her and quite possibly killed. The amount of guilt had been overwhelming to say the least and as a result the sadness that overtook the young witch was noticeable by everyone around her if not her wrath.
The withdrawn witch hardly said a word to anyone and made frequent trips to the Headmaster's office with one inquisition after another about the return of the absent Potions Professor. Each time she was given the same news of having no word on what became of the wizard.
Hermione had not known what to do. Her guilt at the potential loss of Snape continued to weigh rather heavily upon her and the invasive line of questions from her very concerned friends only agitated her all the more.
To make matter's worse, Dumbledore's seemingly cavalier attitude about his most valuable spy being gone this long was not helping to ease her mind in the slightest. She began to question wither or not the dour wizard had meant anything to anyone other than just someone keeping order in the Slytherin dungeons.
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The Black Lake, The Grounds, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
Hermione had not felt much like being social and spent a good deal of her time reading near the black lake in silence. Each time she finished a page, her amber eyes scanned the surrounding area for any signs of the Potions Master's return. She'd been disappointed when he remained absent and continued her reading despite the chill form the cold that only intensified via the black water.
The memory of their last few moments together, more specifically the memory of his body crushing hers in the center of the mattress in his childhood bedroom came back more frequently than anything. She recalled noting the light green wall paper that surrounded them despite the shifting of decades. His single person mattress had been rather comfortable, a result of his magical abilities as a younger wizard she was sure given the impoverished state of everything else in Cokeworth.
She couldn't imagine a more sorrowful setting for a wizard to begin life.
There were holes in the upstairs hall, something one could imagine as being due to someone's fists having gone through the drywall. Snape's door had showed signs of abuse as well despite remaining on it's hinges.
It was clear that whomever had been in that house carried a good deal of anger and from what she saw it seemed to have a lasting effect on the adult wizard she had come to know as her Potions Professor.
"Where are you?" she asked fed up with pretending to read for the umpteenth time.
Her question was met only by lingering silence and more guilty tears as she sat staring out toward the forbidden forest in search of her husband.
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Unknown Location, Unknown World...
The last thing Severus Snape recalled was being bound at the wrists and dangling from a large portion of steel as Lucius Malfoy issued his punishment for his defying of Voldemort when he had entered a marriage with Gryffindor student Hermione Granger in a bid to keep her safe from his other death eater brothers at Dumbledore's behest.
He found himself quite dazed and enduring the onset pain from his beating as well as a few broken bones. Nothing new. The dark lord had been kind enough to spare his miserable life once again and he thanked him for it as per the usual.
The Potions Master lost a great deal of blood and could hardly see his hand in front of his face much less make the trek back to Hogwarts Castle in his weakened condition. As he stumbled through the trees of what he assumed had been the forbidden forest, he could barely make out the figure of a young girl with auburn hair reading a book near a black lake.
"Lily?" he asked unsure of where he had been. "What?"
The girl continued to read not having heard him as he continued to move toward her. The sun was setting and there weren't many student out and about at these hours but the reading girl remained.
A part of the wizard knew this wasn't going to do when it came to the rules of the school and despite his condition he had been of the mind to issue out detention. Snape continued to stumble out of the forest and onto what appeared to be the grounds of Hogwarts castle.
"That's five points from Gryffindor for being out past..." he began losing his footing and collapsing on the short grass.
His collapse startled the reading girl and she immediately rushed over to him her eyes wet with tears and her expression twisted in a mix of concern and sadness.
"Severus." she said not at all seeming the least bit worried about using his first name.
"That's another five points for using my first name." he growled.
Her trembling hands were both soft and warm against his bloodied pale flesh which he only just noted as being exposed to the elements. He grunted in pain at the sensation of having his wounds touched and she apologized profusely still more interested in having him be alive than anything else.
"Sir, you need to go to the infirmary." she said softly. "You can yell at me later but right now it's imperative that I get you there."
"So...beautiful." he said meeting the girl's amber eyed gaze as he reached out to touch her cheek.
Unable to offer much protest due to having lost consciousness, Severus Snape was levitated via the girl's magic and carted off to the infirmary for the second time in a span of days. The girl whom he incidentally stumbled upon had been his own wife unbeknownst to him and the very same student whom had taken him to Madam Pomfrey before they were forced into saying their marriage vows.
"It's going to be okay, Severus." said Hermione softly, she was grateful for the return of her absent husband and Professor as the tears continued to stream down her youthful cheeks."I'm going to ensure you get the help you need."