"Come back to me. Come on. Come back."
He heard a small voice calling to him which sounded a lot like Hermione. No. No. She, Ron and Harry had just left. He had told them to take his tears to the pensieve so that Harry would finally know the truth. Why was she here? He was dying, he was ready to die.
He cracked his eyes just enough to her silhouette, the bushy outline of her hair confirming it was in fact her calling to him. His body felt shattered, the deep gashes left by the snake burnt so deep in his neck he wasn't sure he could speak.
Was he dead? Was he imagining Hermione? The last thing he had seen was the three of them turning away from him, his eyes closed and he saw nothing but darkness. A small light had emanated from the far corner of his vision and beckoned him to follow. Before he could reach it, she had called him back. "Professor?" If this was heaven, why was she here? Calling to him. "Granger?" He could only manage a whisper. Her silhouette seemed to shift slightly, but his eyes still struggled to focus on any details.
"Merlin! You're alive!" She sounded just as surprised as he was. Why was he alive? With great effort, he forced his eyes fully open. They were still inside the shrieking shack and he was still a crumpled mess. He tried to shift his weight slightly, but Hermione put her hand gently on his shoulder. "You shouldn't move yet sir, it will take the antivenin a moment to completely do its job." He opened his mouth to say he was well aware of how antivenins worked but thought better about it because of the dryness in his throat. However, he was perplexed. One didn't normally carry around an antivenins and definitely not one that would fight Naginis unique properties. An even better question struck him, why him?
He had gone to great lengths to be as unliked among the students as possible. Especially Granger, Weasley and Potter. That was how it had to be to keep his spying a secret. So much rested on his excelling at being a spy. It was helpful that most of the students questioned his Death Eater status. So why was she here when she could have easily left him to die?
"Granger." He barely choked out the word. "Sir please, try to take this Wiggenweld potion." She already had it up to his lips. He was no fool, the antivenin alone wasn't sufficient enough to save him. His wounds would also need seeing to, but he wasn't sure he could swallow.
Seeing the pain and contemplation on his face, Hermione tipped his head back, being careful not to put too much pressure on the back of his head. Though the snake had only bitten from the neck down, she knew the venom had already spread. He was in a lot of pain. She had no plans of adding to it if she could help it.
He drank the potion slowly and she waited before speaking. Giving him some moments to let the potion work and hopefully get his bearings slightly, after coming back from the brink of death.
When he shifted slightly without a great deal of struggle, she spoke. "I had been working on an antivenin for Nagini's venom for a bit. Knowing that the war was coming and that Voldemort had used her to kill before, it seemed a smart project. I started during sixth year. It was hard to keep experimenting while on the run, constantly moving and finding it hard to attain potion ingredients but I kept it as a side project." She explained while tracing her finger through the dust on the floor. She sat across from him now, with her knees drawn up to her chest. Explaining more to the floor than to him. He winced as he shifted once more. His body was already warming and his blood thinning. The throbbing in his wounds was waning.
"But why did you give it to me? I was already dead. Someone else surely needed it. Why give it to a traitor?" He was looking at her through the long black hair that had plastered itself to his face. Her eyes searched him. "You were the first to be bitten by the snake. I hadn't gotten to test the antivenin. I had high hopes it would be successful and when I checked, you barely had a pulse. It was a perfect time to test it." He understood. If she had done nothing or tried the antivenin and it was unsuccessful, he would die. However if the antivenin was successful, she would save his life. Bravo Miss Granger. He still questioned why she had decided to save him, he was a traitor for all she knew. Which was what they all surmised. The Dark Lords most trusted servant. "I've felt for some time that you were not a traitor. Dumbledore trusted you completely and during your work for the Order, I started to question if you were truly on the wrong side." She took a deep breath. "Then there was the fact that whenever fighting broke out, you were nowhere to be found. Voldemorts most devoted servant I would think would have been front and center. Like Bellatrix. Willing to knock down anyone in his path, including Harry, which you had prime opportunity to do."
She had gone back to tracing her finger through the dust but cast him glances from time to time as she spoke. "Also, giving Harry your memories, what did you want him to see?" He shifted himself to his knees, hoping he might have the strength to stand up. He had almost forgotten there was still a war going on outside of the shack. He still had a chance to help but openly on the side he had been fighting secretly for and honestly he wanted to do anything but answer Hermione's question.
Hermione quickly came to try to sit him back down but he shook his head at her attempts. Instead she placed her arms under his and helped him stand fully upright.
"We can still help." He uttered as she shifted lightly under his weight. Though his body was slowly coming back together it would still take time and rest. She would almost have to carry him out of the shack. As they made their way to the exit, he realized they would have to deal with the Whomping Willow. He was in no state to evade the beast. Luckily, Hermione seemed to have already thought of this. She poked her wand out of the hole and cast a pressure charm on the spot that caused the tree to still. She really was the smartest witch of her age. Of course she had proven that quite before tonight but nevertheless, he remained impressed.
As they made their way towards the castle, Hermione half supporting them, Severus noticed how quiet it was. There were no spells being cast, no flashes from wands. In fact, he didn't see a living person. Aside from the bodies littering the grounds, they were alone. As they neared the front of the castle, they could hear faint voices. People were seemingly sifting through the rubble, maybe looking for more dead. A tall lanky boy holding a sword glanced at them. He turned away and then seemingly, realization struck. He ran toward them, the sword still clutched in his hand.
"Hermione! He's done! You-Know-Who is gone!" Shouted Neville. He beamed at Hermione. Then, his attention turning to Severus, he looked perplexed and his face drained of color. "Pro…Professor? Harry said you were dead. He also told us what he saw in the pensieve. You're a hero!" Severus grimaced. Not totally because he wasn't ready to be looked at as a hero but because of the pain that suddenly passed through him. He became lightheaded. He stumbled and Neville quickly took up the side opposite Hermione. Severus shifted so that most of his weight would rest on Neville now. They began walking into the castle. Heads turned as they passed. Neville and Hermione shook their heads as they passed people with absolutely flabbergasted expressions. He assumed they felt as if they were seeing a ghost, having been told he was dead. Some stood with their mouths open. They made their way into the Great Hall and found an empty cot where Neville and Hermione laid him down gently. Severus closed his eyes.
