Last time...

"It's about time, Potter. Everything's set up in the Common Room for poker night, and sometime tonight Pansy will kidnap you for fashion things." Draco sniffed by way of greeting. "I will not be rescuing you from that."

"Wait. He's really going to let me in there?" Hera asked, puzzled.
"I believe the phrase 'Better to ask forgiveness than permission' applies." He replied, with a mischievous grin. "Don't you?"

"Words to live by, really." She agreed, with a wicked grin to match.

Chapter 20

A strange sight greeted him upon entering the Common Room to do the usual checking in. Hera Potter, along with a few Weasleys, a Granger, a Lovegood, a couple of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs he didn't recognize right away, and one tiny Creevey. Somehow, there was also a smattering of Beauxbatons students and a Durmstrang or three. He was sure that Karkaroff would be trying to find his prize student soon. What concerned Severus most at the moment was that the Common Room had been turned into some kind of gambling den, only instead of money or chips, there was a large bowl of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in the center of the table. They all looked quite serious about it too. How strange.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded in the cold drawl he knew they expected from him. "This is not your Common Room, Potter."

So he is completely floored when all he gets is that damned Potter smirk TM, as she replies. "No, but it could have been."

He barely managed to keep his stoic expression in place. "…what?"

"I had to beg the hat to put me in Gryffindor." She replied, impishly.

"Same." The Weasley twins chime in at once.

"Me too." Granger admitted shyly.

And wasn't that just the revelation for Slytherin as a whole? The-Girl-Who-Lived should have been in Slytherin, as well as the Terror-Twins. Even The-Girl-of-the-Sentient-Curls, one of the nicer things he'd heard them call Granger, should have been a Slytherin. The Weasley Twins would have been fine, but this bunch of Slytherin had no subtlety, and he could not say whether or not Potter or Granger would have lasted here before now. Severus didn't know for certain that they would have put Slytherin above the blood status their parents drilled into them from birth.

"And what are you doing here now?" He reiterated, not dwelling on the revelations.

"Poker. Cheat if you want. Get caught if you're stupid. Loser with the worst hand eats a bean." Potter relayed, which explained the bowl of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, before pinning him with that damned Potter smirk. "Want in?"

"Are you challenging me, Potter?" He prodded, arching an eyebrow at her. He was pretty sure there wasn't a single breath being taken in all of Slytherin House right now.

"Why?" She grinned. "Can't handle it?"

"You'll regret this, you know." Severus commented, sitting down at the table with the others.

"I could surprise you." She replied, smirk still in place. He didn't have the heart to tell her she already had.

...

It's late into the night now, and he's pleasantly surprised she's a decent Poker player. She can't cheat worth a damn, or that's the impression she gives, but he can't read her either. Most of the others had already passed out at the table, though Granger was making a passable attempt at staying awake, and he didn't believe the twins sleeping act for a second. Seeing as Potter was looking to be down for the count, he decided to call in for reinforcements, and summoned a pot of coffee from the kitchens. The stuff might as well have been turpentine or sludge, but it would do.

"Drink this, Potter." He ordered, pouring her a cup and sliding it over.

"I'm pretty sure just breathing that in will put hairs on my chest, and as I am of the female variety, I might not want that." She replied with snark, already sipping on the sludge. "Have you ever considered brewing an Invigoration Draught with this as the base instead of Honeywater?"

"One would have to be particular about what kind of bean to use, I suppose." Severus remarked thoughtfully. "Perhaps a hearty espresso bean? There are several strains from which to choose."

"Are you already suggesting my fifth year project, Professor?" She asked with an air too innocent to be believed.

"I'll make it your fourth year project if you don't rein in the cheek, Potter." Severus snorted, causing Granger to let out a sleepy giggle. "I know you throw your potions grades."

"Like you would have graded me fairly." She snorts, eyeing him over her cup of sludge. "Our new…cccelebrity."

"Fourth year project it is then." Severus commented, before moving to take a bean; only to be caught by surprise when the girl lashed out and grabbed his wrist. Unable to pull himself from her unusually strong grip, he tried again. "What are you doing, Potter? This won't end well, whatever your plan is."

"I've been wondering what the strain on your magic is, and I think I get it now. You have a Vow attached to you…and a Life Debt?! No wonder Malfoy tried threatening me first." She remarked as if she hadn't heard him. "There's something I don't understand though."

"And what would that be, Potter?" Severus drawled, not expecting much, still quite unnerved in general.

"Why are they attached to me?" Potter wanted to know, focusing on the sleeve of his shirt as if she were trying to see through it. That didn't matter though, only the news she had given him.

"What?" He asked for clarification, trying to keep his voice light. "The Vow is not attached to-"

She made a motion with her free hand, and he felt a sharp tug on his magic, shocking him into silence.

"You were saying?" She asked, taking a moment to look up at him over glasses he was fairly certain she didn't actually need, before focusing on his arm again. "I don't understand though. Usually it's the wrist for a Vow, why the arm?"

"You do not know what you're-" Another tug.

"This reeks of Dumbledore…Oh, I see. He was the bondman, and so has some sway over the Vow. You must have went to him for help, and he demanded a price, a vow; except it didn't bind you to him, it bound you to me somehow." She muttered.

"How did you know that he was the bondman, or that I even went to him for help?" He stalled, going over the defenses in his mind. She had not breached them, hadn't even attempted to pry into them.

"I can see magical signatures if I focus, and Madam Pince needs better security measures over the Restricted Section. It's not even a challenge anymore." She admitted dismissively. "If it's attached to what I think it is, I might be able to remove it. I don't know that it will work on anyone else, not without study. Maybe that will be a fifth year project."

"What are you on about now?" Severus demanded, trying once again to free his wrist from her without success. "You have no idea what I've done."

"Is it attached to the Dark Mark?" She asked, then looked up as if suddenly realizing how invasive she was being. "It's just that…If it is, I might be able to get rid of it."

"No one has ever managed that, and believe me, I've tried." Severus sneered.

"Normally no, but I'll need another repentant Death Eater to test that out on later. You, I might be able to help now. The Life Debt is attached to me. The Vow is attached to me. If I overload it, free you from the debt and vow, I might be able get rid of the mark with a domino effect." Potter explained, looking back up at him. "It could work, but would you be willing to give it a shot? It's a risk. I'm just a fourth year. Just because I can see the magic, doesn't guarantee that I'll be able to manipulate it properly, but you might not get another shot at this."

She was right. No one was awake now besides them, not counting the Weasley Twins. Granger had nodded off at some point after the giggle, and he wasn't sure when the youngest Weasley boy had fallen asleep. If he was going to do this, it had to be now, but could he take the risk? What reason had he ever given her to trust him? Still, he would feel better about deciding at all if he had a bit more freedom of movement. Her grip lessened as she began to let go, perhaps sensing his hesitation and need for space. He quickly latched onto her wrist to stop her, however, knowing that if she did that he'd never agree to what she was willing to attempt.

"I'll need a verbal confirmation, Professor. Magic won't accept anything less, and considering what I'm about to attempt is experimental as shite, I think it'd go a long way." Potter reminded him. Considering how nervous she was, he'd forgive the language.

"You're sure this will work?" Severus asked, expecting confidence even now.

"Not in the slightest." Was what he got back, of course.

"Why not? Sure, go for it." Severus agreed nonchalantly, as he unbuttoned the sleeve with his free hand. "What's the worst that could happen?"

...

"We could both die."

...

She'd waited till his magic had confirmed his acceptance before saying that, and then there's no takesy backsies. He looked absolutely horrified that she would even attempt this, knowing what she could lose, causing the Vow and Life Debt to start reacting; which is why she'd waited till just that moment. She needed them charged up and active when she attempted this, but it was also why it could kill them both. It was a hell of a good thing that Hermione and Ron were asleep, and that the twins hadn't broken their obviously fake sleep act to try and stop her, because it would kill her if they attempted such a thing now.

The Life-Debt was the easiest to push into overloading, and so it broke first. All she'd had to do was gently push her magic into it. With her magic forgiving the debt, and his magic's acceptance of her plan earlier, she knew the moment he felt it give; the sheer relief he felt was palpable. The feedback from it fed into the Vow, but it demanded more. It demanded evidence.

"The wording of the Vow, what was it?" She demanded, pinning him with a glare. "No time to be squeamish now, Professor. Out with it."

"I'm the one…I'm the one who heard part of the prophesy…told the Dark Lord…He assumed it meant Lily, but…" Professor Snape was crying, overwhelmed by magic and pain. Holy shite, this was such a later problem, she didn't even know how to process that. "I had asked him to spare her…knew he wouldn't…Went to Albus…If he could protect her…I had to try…He demanded the Vow…Protect you when you reached Hogwarts, and he would protect your family…He would keep them safe."

"Ah, there it is. That certainly explains why the Vow is frayed." Hera realized, latching onto the frayed like thread of the Vow. "You might want to put up a silencing charm. This is gonna hurt."

The-no-longer-faking-sleep Fred and George heeded her words, knowing they'd meant for them and not the Professor. Had he attempted magic at the moment, not so very great things would be happening to them. Professor Snape hid his face in his arm in an effort to further muffle the pained sounds that came from him. There was no going back now, and there was a reason she'd warned him it would hurt. Because Albus had not been able to keep his end of the Vow, though he'd still kept this man to his end of it, Hera could claim the right of retribution.

Her magic would turn angry, vengeful, hurtful. Through it, she sought out the frayed edges of magic in the Vow itself. Some she untangled as gently as she could, while others had to be cut out entirely. She could vaguely hear him screaming into his other arm, but thankfully she was the only one. She was pretty certain the entire castle could have felt the Vow break, and a part of her hoped that it hurt Albus as much as it hurt the man in front of her; He'd made the Vow in her name, after all.

"Oh, what the unholy fuckening is this?" Hera exclaimed, feeling the magic of the Dark Mark around her. "This magic…this is in my forehead…this shite is in my forehead…I can't…Oh dear God!…I-"

"…Potter!" Professor Snape interjected weakly, sensing her emotions were about to get the better of her at a rather inconvenient time. "What…What do you need now?"

"Right. What do I need now?" She muttered to herself, before nodding in confirmation and thanks. "Explain how that bastard gave you this."

"There was…hissing." Professor Snape admitted, shakily, too far into his pain to react to her cursing. "I could not understand the words."

"Can you show me the memory somehow?" Hera asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"You'd have to let down your mental shields in order for me to even make the attempt." He refused, and he must have seen something of the confusion in her face. "You're a natural Occlumens?…You shield your thoughts without trying. Letting someone in now…not a good idea."

"We wing it then. No problem." Hera replied with all the fake confidence she could muster. "There's a picture of a snake on here. I could try talking to that."

...

"…What?" Severus asked weakly, only to be shocked into silence again by what he saw.

Hera Potter was glaring at the snake on the Dark Mark with the kind of concentration that few could claim to possess, seeing into layers he wasn't sure most Masters could reach, simply because no one had told her it wasn't possible. She'd all but laughed in his face when he'd tried. He had not expected her eyes to become a ruby red reminiscent of the Dark Lord in his later years, and yet somehow entirely different, more like blood garnets. When she started hissing, Severus was reminded of the dueling situation in her Second Year, when she'd hissed at a King Cobra. He might not know what she was saying, but he knew that she was angry, could see the literal fire of it in her eyes as she tried to cast the magic out.

"It's okay, Potter,…you tried." He insisted as he gasped in pain. "It's enough that you tried, more than…I don't deserve-"

"No, it bloody well is not!" She declared, clamping down on his wrist before he could make another attempt to wriggle free. "This leaves now!"

She began hissing at the magic within the Mark with renewed fury, and he could feel it begin to seek avenues of escape, only to find none. She had somehow pooled all the magic of the mark from his veins and back into the actual mark itself, and walled it off from the rest of him. In no way was he prepared for her to open her mouth wide, springing forth fangs (had she had those before?!), before jerking his arm towards her by the wrist and sinking her fangs quickly into his arm. When she let go, the fangs disappeared entirely, but Severus was a bit more focused on the sentient like sludge that was oozing out of his arm. The girl quickly tossed out the coffee sludge she'd been drinking, caring not where the splash went, and shoved it under the wound to collect what was coming out of his arm before it could hit the table.

That's when he noticed, the more sludge that came out, the lighter the mark became. She made motions with her fingers, using her magic to pull more and more of it out of his body. That's when another strange thought popped into his head. She hadn't used her wand for a bit of this. He couldn't fathom it, and continued watch until the mark was completely gone.

Only then did she use her wand to tap the cup, sealing it and making it unbreakable. Severus blinked in disbelief as she calmly stood up. She certainly didn't look like she could. A stiff breeze would topple her over, he was sure of it. Fred and George Weasley were by her side in seconds, as if they had expected it as well.

"We need to get them to Madam Pomfrey." He hears. Fred? George?

"I vill take Professor. You take Hera, and you take the cup?" Krum was awake? Fuck. "Vould recommend floating it avay from you. Does not seem like something ve should touch."

He was aware enough to know that his other arm had been draped across the Buglarian's shoulders, as his waist was held, and they began moving.

"Floo...in my office." He managed.

"Vouldn't recommend it vit sludge." Krum countered. And yeah, okay, he can agree that sounded like a bad idea.

"Potter…wandless…whole time?" He asked, looking to one of the Weasley twins.

"Yeah, the whole time." They answered quietly.

"But-"

"We know." They cut him off.

"That shouldn't be-"

"We know, Professor." Fuck it. He's going to call this one Fred. "She doesn't seem to understand how rare it is, and we haven't said anything to alert her. No one talks about it, and no one has said anything to the professors. She's too important."

"That's-"

"We know, Professor."

"Watch…Keep her safe."

"We will, Professor."

That hadn't been what he'd meant to tell them.

Notes:

People reading this as a completed work, this is a mandatory rest stop. Drink some water, go to sleep, and come back in the morning.

Not originally mine, but I saw the idea and thought I'd include it every ten chapters or so. Thanks to katherynefromphilly on Tumblr for the idea!