Welcome to another adventure in my wheelhouse. This one isn't super long. Eleven chapters and about 25k words. You know the drill: weekly updates either Friday or Saturday until finished.

Chapter 1

Darkness, that's all there was. At least, that's how Severus perceived it.

He was dead.

That bloody snake—he wasn't sure if he was referring to Nagini or Voldemort himself—had killed him. He'd survive all this time, just to be cut down right at the end.

Damn.

He tried to look around, but his eyes were sealed shut and seemed frozen in place. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open his eyelids. He puzzled over that.

Why would his eyes be frozen in place?

He tried moving other parts of his body… nothing.

Is this what eternity was? Blackness and the inability to move?

He laid there for a while—because he couldn't do anything else—and tried to take in his surroundings.

Nothing.

He heard nothing, he saw nothing, he felt nothing. Just nothing.

Well, evidently I don't exist.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that. Time had no meaning, just like everything else.

He lost track.

There seemed to be a gap in his consciousness, but he couldn't tell if it was real, nor how long it had lasted.

The darkness still enveloped him. He could feel his body but had no idea where it began or ended and what was beyond it. The endless darkness was beginning to grate on his nerves. He must be in hell, that was the only thing it could be. Killing Dumbledore did damage his soul, evidently, exiling him from wherever everyone else went when they died.

Lovely

He existed for a while in the silence. It seemed to be an eternity. Examining himself, he seemed to be a little more aware of the silence around him. He noted some small noises in that silence. He heard what seemed like a page turn of a book. He wondered about that. Perhaps it was part of the tortures in his version of hell… knowing that a book was nearby, but not being able to actually see or read it.

Bugger

He supposed that he deserved this. He'd been a horrible person. He'd been bitter and vindictive. He'd caused his best friend to be killed and actually murdered his mentor. After everything he'd done, he didn't deserve to move into the light. This was his existence now. He would need to get used to this neverending blackness.

He dwelled there for minutes; days; years… eternities? Noting the silence around him still, he wanted to huff but was unable to do so. He knew that if this was to be his world, he would go insane.

Again he thought he heard a page turn. He zeroed in on that sound but didn't hear anything more. Wait… there it was again. He waited breathlessly. Again… and after a while again. Was someone reading? Was someone there with him? If that was the case, where was he? Was this the beyond or had he not died at all?

He listened more. He could pick up the sound of someone breathing.

Do people breathe in the beyond?

He had almost drifted off into unconsciousness again when he heard what he could only describe as a commotion. A door slammed and someone was yelling. Well, maybe not yelling. He was speaking loudly, though, and with all the silence, it seemed like he was screaming.

"Oy, 'Mione. Are you gonna move in here? Come on, we're going home now!"

'Mione… that's the Granger girl.

He heard a huff.

"Ronald, for Merlin's sake. Don't come barging in here making demands. And lower your voice. There's no need to yell!"

"'Mione, you've been here for two weeks. When are you gonna come home? I miss you."

It sounded like she sighed.

"Ron, sit down for a minute, yeah? We need to talk."

"What do you mean, we need to talk? Just come home, all right?"

"No, Ron. I'm not ready to come home. I'm sitting with Professor Snape."

"Waste of time, I say. He can't even hear you."

"I'm going to keep visiting with him until he wakes up."

"But what if he never wakes up? The Healers say they don't know what else to do for him. Are you just gonna sit in this room for the rest of your life while that old bat wastes away?"

"Ron! Stop it right now! You don't know what will happen. I believe he'll come out of this in a little while. I'm not giving up on him."

"What about me? You seem to be giving up on me!" Weasley whinged.

"I…" There was a long pause. "I've done a lot of thinking."

"Not much else to do in here," Wesley muttered.

Severus could almost hear a frown in Granger's voice.

"I know we shared that kiss during the battle, but… as I said, I've thought about it, and I got caught up in the moment. I… I don't feel that way about you."

Severus cringed internally. Maybe he actually was in hell. He couldn't think of anything worse than listening to these children discuss their relationship.

"What do you mean, you don't feel that way about me? You seemed to feel pretty strongly about me that day!"

"I know, and I'm sorry to send mixed signals. I was thrilled that we kissed, Ron. I really was. And when everything was over, I was still thrilled that you wanted to spend time with me."

Severus noted an edge to the Weasley boy's tone. "Then why are you trying to break this off?"

There was silence for a minute, and Snape wondered what was going on.

"Oy, stop chewing on your lip and just tell me!" Weasley demanded.

"It's your jealousy, Ron. It runs rampant. You left us… Left us!... partly because you thought something was going on between Harry and me. And that's not the first time you've done that. Then last week you thought I was being too friendly with George. Merlin, Ron, he just lost his twin a few weeks ago. I was being supportive, but you thought I was flirting with him! I can't…"

"Mione, I can change," Weasley offered.

"Can you, though? I don't think you can. And to be perfectly honest with you, I don't trust you. You left us when we needed you. I can't trust you to not do something like that in the future when things get tough. I'm sorry. I just… I can't be with you."

"Oh, I get it. You've got a thing for Snape, right? Well, you can have that Greasy Git!"

"He's a war hero, Ron! And I'm here to be supportive, but here's an example of what I was just saying. Just get out! I'm done trying with you!"

He was a war hero? Severus thought. How could that be? He killed Dumbledore. He should be unconscious in Azkaban awaiting his soul to be sucked out by a Dementor.

"Fine, Hermione. Go ahead and push me away. You only love your books anyway."

The word books was said with such vitriol that Severus would have cringed had he the ability to do so.

"Out, Ron. Go now, before I hex you!"

"Always with the hexes. You know, you think you're so smart and powerful. I could best you any day."

Weasley screamed then. He then began oinking furiously.

"Now go, before I do something I'll regret," Granger ordered.

I need to make sure I never piss her off… Severus mused.

He heard the door slam and then a huge sigh.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I'm sure you didn't want to hear any of that. I wish Ron would just grow up, but I'm afraid that it's just wishful thinking right now."

She was quiet for a minute.

"What I really wish is that I knew how I could help you," she said finally.

He felt something warm on his hand, and a rush of images ran through his brain. He was walking with Granger; then they were dancing; then they were sharing a meal; then he was kissing her. Immediately, the images stopped.

He heard Granger say, "What?" then nothing more.

"I have to go, Professor," she quickly advised. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He heard a whoosh of clothing and then a door closing. He sat in silence not thinking anything for a split second, then his mind went wild. What had he seen? Why was he with Granger… and by with, he meant with!

And why did it feel so natural and right?

He was puzzled. Had Granger seen the same thing he had? She certainly had left abruptly right afterward. That could have been because she was upset about Weasley, though.

All of a sudden he was annoyed. Why would he see such things with a mere girl? An annoying girl at that? It was absurd! The whole thing was just a fluke because she had been in the room and had a fight with the Weasley boy. There was no way that any of that could come to pass, nor did he want it to. She was just a child.

Although… she hadn't looked like a child.

A/N: Thanks for stopping by. Hope you liked it.