A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters

This is for the 30 days of music – prompt: 2. Stutter - Marianas Trench

word count: 1519

Warning: Murder, blood, necromancy

Alone, that's how it felt, like she was completely alone. Hermione knew that wasn't true. There were plenty of people around, people who loved her, but she didn't care. All she could think about was the one that wasn't there, the one that she loved more than she'd ever admit.

"I wish I could bring you back, wish you could be here, not leaving me alone like this, but I know it's not possible," she whispered, touching her hand to the flat surface of his portrait.

"Anything is possible for you, Miss Granger," his voice drolled. Hermione blinked staring at the portrait. She knew it was magical, that it should be able to talk, move, but this was the first time she'd seen him do that.

"Sir?"

"Use your brain, Miss Granger. If there is anyone in this Merlin forsaken world that could do just that, it would be you and you know it."

"Necromancy is forbidden," she whispered, pretending she hadn't read about it, pretending there wasn't a tome about exactly how to do it hidden in the purple beaded bag tied around her belt loop.

"So are many things such as stealing from my private supplies, brewing polyjuice potion in the girls' loo, breaking into Gringotts," he listed. Hermione felt a faint blush of pride at these accomplishments. He was right. She had done a lot things that were forbidden, dangerous, idiotic, but necromancy, there was a price to pay for it. She wasn't even sure what the price was exactly, the books were vague, but she was fairly certain it was a life for a life. How could she even begin to think about doing something like that, killing someone?

"There's a price," she finally stated, pretending he wasn't getting into her head, that his very voice was making her consider doing something she knew she shouldn't.

"A life, I believe?" he asked.

"Yes, from what I can gather. And if I'm bringing you back, we both know it must be a human life, not some creature."

"True. I did not wish to leave you, you realize that."

"I know, sir, but you did, well, you're speaking to me now, but it's not the same. We all paid for the war, for the light to win."

"But did it really win, Miss Granger? All these broken, lonely people, you standing here talking to me instead of being with your insipid friends?"

"You're one to talk about being broken and lonely, sir," she said, sitting on the floor beneath the portrait. "What if I did want to bring you back. How would I even start?"

"You know where to start, I've seen you reading, seen the books you've been trying to hide from the world."

"They buried your body at Hogwarts, I'd need to go there. I'd need to bring...my sacrifice there. I could use someone horrible, one of the Death Eaters, someone who is going to die anyway," she mused, her mind running through the names.

"You could."

"But would it really be you, sir? If I did it, would it really be you?" she asked. "I've heard of things going wrong, of wizards stuttering, misspeaking the words, things going horribly wrong. Loved ones brought back, only their not them anymore. If I messed up..."

"If anyone could do it, it'd be you," Severus stated. Hermione nodded, rising to her feet. She needed to head back to the group before they started looking for her.

There was hope, a horrible hope that they could be together again, that she could bring him back. It was dangerous, a wicked set of thoughts going through her mind. Him and her together again, holding hands, her lips on his. A thrill of pleasure ran through her as she counted the days until the full moon. That was when the magic would be most potent, the night that she could do it.

"This is a bad idea," she whispered to herself. Her hands were trembling. She'd done yet another forbidden, dangerous, thing. She'd tracked down Dolores Umbridge. It hadn't been hard, she'd been at the ministry still being horrible. If anyone was going to die tonight, if she had to take a life, it was going to be one that would benefit the world at large. Umbridge was bound, gagged, unconscious at the moment. Hermione used a feather light charm on the body to levitate it to Severus' grave. The onyx stone stood against the brightness of the full moon.

"Come back to me, my life," she whispered, her fingers curling around the silvery dagger embedded with rubies. They shone the color of fresh blood. Her other hand held her wand, which she used to quickly dig through the dirt, bringing Severus' coffin to the surface. She flicked it open and smiled. His body was perfect, hands folded across his chest. They'd done good work fixing the wounds on his neck. Slowly she ran diagnostic spells over his corpse, making sure that once this was done, once his blood once again flowed, she wouldn't lose him again.

"I love you," she whispered, leaning and kissing his cold lips. "Soon, soon this will all be over and we can start again, somewhere where no one will know us, where no one will question you being with me, you being alive," she babbled, trying to keep her voice from trembling. She tucked her wand in her pocket for a moment, grabbing a small vial of golden liquid. This wasn't a sporting event, a large test, she wasn't cheating anything, other than death. The Felix swirled in vial, bubbling against her lips as she drank it, letting the feeling of euphoria settle in her chest before she began.

"Alter," she stated, raising the dirt into a crude rectangular shape and putting Umbridge's body on it.

"Sacrifice," she said with a nod.

"The one I wish to return," she recited, having memorize this part of the spell. She gently placed Severus on a second dirt alter, making a small canal connecting the alters.

"With this blood, I beg you to return to me," she said, having pulled out the skin bound book. She brought the silver blade down into Umbridge's heart. The spells had worn off just enough that Hermione could see the fear in her eyes, the begging to not do this. Hermione ignored it the same way Umbridge had ignored everything Harry had said their fifth year. She watched as the blood pulsed from the body, running down into the canal. She turned her attention to Severus.

"Let this blood return you to me, let this blood fill your veins and heart," she read, gently bringing the knife to Severus' wrist. She made a gentle cut, placing it in the canal as Umbridge's blood started flowing over it. Hermione read the rest of the spell, the words in a language she could only barely understand.

"Return from the land of the dead, the land of those past. Return to this plane, the land of now, the land of the future," she read, half wondering if the english parts of the spell had been added later, if the spell would work without them. She didn't dare try. She read the ancient language, her voice firm as she read. She knew she couldn't hesitate, couldn't stutter or it would all be for naught. Finally she reached the end of the page. She set the book down on the dirt ground and walked over, bringing the knife to her own wrist, letting her own blood join that which was slowly flowing into Severus' body.

"Let my love bring you to me, let my love bring you home," she said, holding her breath as suddenly all three of them were bathed in silvery blue light. It brightened to the point Hermione was forced to close her eyes, lest it blinded her completely. She felt herself falling backwards slowly, wondering when she'd hit the ground. Would it hurt.

"I have you, I've got you, Hermione."

She blinked her eyes open. The light was gone, instead darkness filled the world, the moon having started its descent from the night sky. She turned, looking at whose arms she was in. A smile spread across her face.

"I've done it then, sir? It's truly you?" she asked. He nodded, helping her to her feet and kissing her lips hard enough to nearly knock her back over.

"You have and it is," he answered.

"Good, I was terrified I'd mess up, that I'd stutter, but-"

"You could never do anything anyway but perfect," he stated. "Now, tell me you have a plan for us, and breakfast?"

Hermione laughed softly.

"I have a portkey to the shore and I am certain they serve breakfast there?" she replied, letting him hold her as she pulled the bent twisted fork from her pocket.

"Then shall we?"

"Yes," she answered, kissing him again, feeling the warmth of his lips on hers. "Octopus," she said, activating the portkey. The world swirled around them, leaving the mess she'd made behind and their future in front of them.