"Hermione! Where have you been?" Ron asked

Hermione found Ron in the great hall, with his family and Harry by his side. Genuine worry permeated his voice, the emotion visibly painted on his features. It was a heady change to the puzzling wizard she had just left. They were gathered to the lifeless body of Fred, mourning his loss as everyone else did with their loved ones in the bleak room. Without its usual charms the great hall was a cold, massive space with an unbelievable high ceiling that made the temperature low at floor level. The happiness and celebration of "victory" remained outside the castle walls. Quietly she took the boys aside and summed up her experience and Snape's warning, avoiding getting into complex events that would derail the boys from their mission, like her witnessing of Dumbledore's stabbing and true death by Snape and his subsequent transformation into something…something, a revenant? She had no words to explain what the darkness did so she didn't. Arousing the boy's blind hatred of the man wasn't the best course of action and there'd be no chance in hell they wouldn't completely freak out if they knew what she knew. Obviously, despite her thoughtful explanation, they tried to argue with her immediately. As if their disagreement would change the reality of the situation. She didn't have time for it and didn't want to fight them; once Hermione said all she believed necessary, which to her standards was a bit scant this time, she excused herself and left them to figure it out.

Looking at each other, not quite believing what was happening, Harry and Ron knew that Hermione was deadly serious and they should get to work ASAP. Harry marched up towards the great hall's podium while Ron took the task of breaking the party down at the courtyard. Casting a sonorous spell each boy called in everyone's attention. They explained the situation taking care to cause enough worry to make everyone move fast, but not enough to cause a panic chain reaction. With everyone now inside the castle, and way too many people inside the great hall, Professor McGonagall gathered a crowd of skilled wizards and everyone got to work on a race against the clock. The most capable wizards were put to the task of warding the castle in several levels intertwined with each other, while others more proficient in transfiguration fixed the holes and cracks caused by the battle. Those that were hurt or too young found comfort in the great hall leaning in each other, students soothing younger students. Meanwhile Hermione wandered through the shambles of the castle, overthinking her task.

"So, all I've to do is repeat his name, but he didn't say how? Should I say his full name or…oh my, I don't know! 'Snape' sounds natural but that's a surname, not a name in the literal meaning of name… 'Severus' then? I don't even know if his given name has a middle name as well! For Merlin's sake, I'm going to cock up the stupidest, simplest of tasks" she chastised herself, shaking her head

Damning the consequences, she decided on the most literal option to 'his name'. Hermione strode up the castle muttering to herself "Severus, Severus, Severus". Her eyes focused on taking one step after another, for she was too nervous to pay attention to the castle or to simply stand still brewing in her anxiety. After a while she realised, she was completely alone, lost so high in the building that not a soul could be found besides hers. Inspiration struck and she dashed towards somewhere where she could see the outside, see properly if something was coming their way be it the curse or the man whose name she never stopped repeating. Standing in the astronomy tower, whispering 'Severus', Hermione summoned a thick wool blanket from her beaded bag and sat on the edge of the tower, hugging herself with it, taking in the sight of the forbidden forest, Hogsmeade and shrieking shack beyond, hoping that whatever came it did that way.

Severus stood in the centre of the now unlit room, fascinated by the extent of his new powers. There wasn't a single light in the cursed vault but he was able to see in the dark better than any creature of the night. Memories of Albus' words merged in his psyche with visions brought by his seer abilities. He tried to put things in order but was all too new, too much. It felt like trying to drink from a self-replenishing cup without stopping to breathe. Closing his eyes, he focused on the one event he needed to stop, his objective the damnable wizard and his dark curse. He could see glimpses of Voldemort pacing in a circle of followers, something in the middle of it; he didn't need to focus on it to know it was the curse getting ready to be cast. Snape grabbed his dagger and pushed its tip inside the middle of his left sleeve and cut through, getting rid of all his buttons in a single slash. He rolled the torn fabric up to his elbow and gazed at the dark mark. If anyone had been there with him, they could have seen how two golden dots focused on it; his eyes, oblivious to him, glowed in the dark now. Snape touched the dark mark with his dagger, as he would have previously done with his wand and said "Avenseguim" before vanishing in a dark and deep aegean-blue mist.

In the dead of the night Voldemort stared at the recently lit fire surrounded by dark, mismatched figures. This wasn't just the inner circle, in fact some of them were missing and new figures stood beside them impassively -namely the werewolf Greyback and an unfriendly giant- while the death eaters eyed them with suspicion. Nagini was freed and crawled to rest on her masters' shoulders. The Dark Lord made a lazy gesture and Bellatrix walked up to him, carrying an unremarkable sack with her. The witch eagerly started passing the contents of the bag to her master, not before taking the chance to kiss his bony hand. He tossed one item in the fire one by one, whilst giving a speech.

"Who among us isss tired of losing?" he asked, gathering the attention of his followers" That isss why I called you here. Today we claim victory and move to a new, better realm. A place where we can finally win"

"An you'll honour our deal?" said the giant

"I guarantee it" answered Voldemort "but first I need something from you: a lock of hair from those with the darkest soulsss. You must trust me because if you don't, there are other waysss" He waved the elder wand in a show-off power and branches of trees behind starter growing and stretching, threatening the crowd. Everyone started cutting and pulling at strands of their hair or beard and Bellatrix collected each one for her beloved master, adding her own.

"A wissse decision" he asserted, taking the small case Bellatrix had used and throwing its contents into the fire "All that remains isss the final ingredient…"

Saying this Voldemort caressed the body of Nagini, cupping the snake on the first of her curls, and silently and wandlessly put the animal in a full body-bind curse.

"A prized heart, from my esteemed Nagini" he revealed "A glorious beast whose passing will fuel our victory"

Before finishing his discourse, the Dark Lord impaled his hand on the snakes' body and ripped out her heart, the stunned animal felt lifeless on the ground.

"Let my wrath be unleashed" he declared ominously, throwing the still-beating heart on the fire

A thick purple smoke began to form and swirl up from the fire pit at the same time that another, this one a muted blueish colour, materialised behind the Dark Lord in the shape of a dark, known figure.

"Am I late once again, my Lord?" he asked in a mocking tone, vowing excessively. The figure rose from his vowing position to reveal the face of Severus Snape.

"Severusss? But"

"Indeed" He cut in

A wave of his hand and Voldemort dropped frozen on the ground as his snake.

"HOW DARE YOU" Bellatrix yelled at him

But before she could hex the wizard, he swayed his hand in a circle over his head and everyone dropped on the ground as well, but deep in sleep rather than frozen in place.

"So, I see you've cast the curse, you bigoted, delusional, pathetic excuse of wizard" Snape said kicking his former masters' head "It is a shame indeed, for I cannot take you with my own hands. In doing it I would be giving in to the darkness more than I care to do. Dumbledore expected it, all of you always asking too much…but I'm going to stick with the prophecy route. Let Potter be the one to banish you for good"

Snape brought his dagger from inside his robes and bent over the still body, looking directly into his eyes whilst speaking. He had him under his thumb, fully conscious but helpless, his ghastly body a prison. Menacingly he caressed each side of his skull-like face with the dagger, instilling as much fear in him as possible; his new aura not lost to the dark wizard. It was just as well, a bit of fear before forgetting everything won't do him bad, he thought. Merlin knows he deserves much worse, but fate is a fickle mistress. Finally, Snape rose and walked past him, touching the tornado of growing dark magic with the tip of his dagger.

"I'm going to change things, just enough to give us a chance but not so much that the breaking of the curse isn't sought" he said, not looking back; 'It's up to you now, Miss Granger' he thought "Oh, and I'm going to give myself an acceptable life in this new world, of course, not that you'll remember it but nevertheless…"

He never finished phrasing his last, mocking words to his defeated master. Snape was free of either one at last. Magic spread from his dagger, creating thunder inside and the tornado and it grew to become a full-fledged storm, The smoke engulfed them all and expanded with a force he'd never seen before. It was past four in the morning when Hermione was startled by a thunderstorm that broke far, far away. She'd fallen asleep but the loud noise brought her back and she noticed dark clouds were moving, too fast to be natural, towards the school grounds. A chill ran through her spine and she squinted her eyes, trying to see something in the darkness before her. As the mist that preceded the storm came closer, she observed how it crept up and down and got into the castle from every direction. 'This is it, Severus failed and the curse got us' she thought. Brazing herself for the inevitable, Hermione hugged herself tighter in the blanket and let out a single tear as the magic finally buried her too.