AN: Yes, we're still alive over here, and yes, this chapter has been replaced entirely. Hopefully it's better! Can't believe I'm still working on this thing nearly four years later and it was supposed to take like three months max lmao. Anyways, welcome back, and on we go.
XXVII
—
Snape made his way through the familiar halls of Malfoy Manor, wondering why the Dark Lord had summoned him this time. If he was a fool, he might think the Dark Lord considered him a friend, when he knew the wizard could hardly care so much about anyone aside from himself. Still, he seemed to be taking drinks with the man quite frequently, with not much business being discussed. It was usually just a half-hour of Severus listening to him drone on about the uselessness of muggles or any number of vain self-indulgences he cared to speak on. When he neared the corridor of the Dark Lord's office this time, however, Snape knew something was different.
The door opened before he had laid a hand on it, as it usually did. But the air that billowed out of the room was cold as ice.
"Enter, Severus," came the Dark Lord's voice, low and simmering with a familiar hiss he hadn't heard in a long while. Snape stepped into the study and tried to ignore the invisible fist now squeezing his chest.
It was silent as a tomb for a few moments, then a rumble of thunder moved across the sky and shook the office. Voldemort levelled his gaze at the other wizard, garnet eyes flashing dangerously.
"I find myself contemplating an unfortunate situation," he began. He brandished his wand, glaring at it for a moment, before looking back to Snape.
"I have wielded this wand for several months now, and yet, it has ceased to perform to my expectations. In fact, at times I believe it resists me. What are your thoughts on this?"
There could be no right answer. So, Snape remained silent. The Dark Lord inhaled slowly, and for a moment, Severus saw the snake-like appearance the man used to hold, terrifying and evil.
"I have come to believe it is because I am not the true master of the Elder Wand. Though I retrieved it from the old fool's grave, I did not wrest it from him in a duel, nor did I slay him and take it for myself. Therefore, the wand does not recognize me as its lord. Which then begs the question: who does it recognize?"
Realisation clicked in a moment, and Snape felt the breath of doom slither down his spine. He had disarmed Dumbledore in the astronomy tower. The Elder Wand was his.
The two wizards held each other's stare for many moments, until Voldemort suddenly said, "Enter, Cassandra."
Snape glimpsed the blonde hair of the woman he'd wed as he was thrown backwards into the wall. Reeling, he tried to stand, only to feel a hand crush around his throat.
"Do try not to take this personally, Severus," came a hiss. Then the pressure on his neck was replaced by a sharp cracking sensation, and the world darkened a moment later.
—
Cassandra dropped to the lifeless man's side, opening her emergency bag, only to freeze when the Dark Lord's voice gave a cool command of "not just yet."
The Healer watched as he raised his wand, a chill running down her spine at the chuckle he gave. He then shot a sustained beam of green light at a caged rat on his desk, reducing the animal to mere bones simply with the Killing Curse. She had never seen anything like it, a fact which settled in her stomach like a heavy stone.
"Proceed, Miss Bolton," the man said at last. "And make your best attempt. I have decided Severus is quite useful and would be displeased to lose him."
Cassandra got to work, starting first on repairing the disconnected spinal cord. It was quite delicate magic, but nothing she hadn't done before, and so it was only a minute later that she set on restarting the man's heart and lungs.
With her wand against Snape's chest, the witch whispered an incantation, feeling his heart thud to life again. It was a strong beat, which bode good things, and when she barely had to extend her magic to return his breathing, confidence bloomed in her chest. It was up to him now to return.
—
Severus found himself under a familiar tree. Sadness bloomed in his chest for a moment, but then… peace. He sat up and looked around to find an endless expanse of rolling hills, a singular path running through the grass. And laying beside him…
"Hello Sev," Lily whispered, smiling softly.
Snape was without words. For so long, this was what he had hoped for. A chance to see her, just once more, just for a moment. Yet now he was mute.
For what could have been eternity or no time at all, there was only the sound of the wind in the grasses. Then the young woman spoke again, her voice sad.
"I wish you hadn't treated my son the way you did, Severus. I saw your pain, each and every second of it, but Harry should not have been its target."
Snape looked away, unable to meet her gaze. Her words were true, and it was a crushing regret he'd bore since the boy's death. How could he tell her how bitterly sorry he was?
"I know," came her sweet voice once again, and then her delicate fingers turned his chin towards her.
"You've been given a rare choice to return, if you wish. But I'd understand if you were to stay. I know how exhausting your fight has been."
"Has it been worth anything?" He murmured finally, turning to look into her eyes. Her emerald stare held his obsidian one, and she gave him a gentle nod.
"You know it has."
More silence settled over them, and for another momentary eternity, there was only peace. Then Lily cupped Severus' cheek in her palm, softly kissing his forehead.
"Goodbye, Sev," she breathed. Snape sighed deeply, a leaden weight falling from his shoulders as he did so.
"Goodbye, my precious Lily."
He closed his eyes, the feeling of her palm on his cheek fading to be replaced by a different one on his chest, one that seemed to be moving the air in and out of his lungs.
—
Snape took a deep breath, moving to grasp the hand on his sternum as a throbbing sensation built in his skull.
"Welcome back," Cassandra greeted softly as he opened his eyes. Her gaze was warm, and there was the ghost of a smile on her face. Truly, Severus noted, she was quite beautiful. Why hadn't he seen it before?
The Dark Lord's voice came from elsewhere, then, commanding them to leave him, so Cassandra held a flask to Snape's mouth and tipped the contents down his throat. The rejuvenating effects flooded him immediately, and Severus shakily got to his feet, bowing to the wizard and allowing his wife to assist him out of the study.
When they were sufficiently down the hall, Snape paused, prompting the Healer to pause along with him. He gave a small sigh and kissed the back of her hand.
"You have my sincerest gratitude, Cassandra," He said slowly, holding her stare. The woman appeared to contemplate something, then dipped her head.
"I hope one day we might be more than simply housemates, Severus. Perhaps even… friends."
Snape was still for a breath, then nodded once, silently hoping the same. They then continued on, coming to a Floo and each declaring "Snape House" before disappearing into the green flames.
—
Hermione's eyes flickered open, the room bitterly dark, as always. She sighed and stretched a bit against the silk sheets, trying to quell the odd churning in her stomach. Beside her, Draco stirred, unconsciously reaching for her and breathing deeply when his fingers brushed her bare torso. The girl smiled fondly at his touch, and for a moment, the unease seemed to dissipate. Until her gaze fell on the window, and she froze.
There was a sliver of moon softly illuminating the panes. She hadn't seen the moon in so very many months, and there was a reason for it. For the sky to have cleared so much… the Dark Lord must have been utterly overjoyed. And that could only mean terrifying things.
Hermione wandlessly commanded the curtains to shut as the swirling in her stomach grew, then closed the drapery on the four-poster she laid in, her mind trying to convince herself that she would be ok, if only she could remain out of sight. Lastly, she curled into Draco, who roused slightly and mumbled a semblance of "what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Hermione whispered, trying to believe it. "Everything will be alright."
The boy stroked her curls a few times before his breathing steadied and he was asleep again, and Hermione closed her eyes, letting her chest rise and fall in pace with his. Soon enough, feeling safe in his presence, she was unconscious as well.
Outside, the moon continued to beam onto the shuttered window, not a cloud in sight.
—