Chapter 13:
They had dressed slowly, not speaking to one another about what lay before them.
As they continued onward through the maze, Severus did not protest when Hermione took his hand in her own and wouldn't let go. It was just how she was, unrelenting. She could tell he knew this of her now.
They suddenly found themselves in an opening. This had to be it — they had made it to the centre of the maze. In it sat two stone pedestals covered in vines. Atop one sat a cauldron remarkably similar to the one that had held the liquid that she knew now was the liquid form of Azoth. The other pedestal held a simple wooden hourglass filled with black sand. It was nearly empty from the top, having perhaps an inch of sand in the top. It unnerved her. They looked around for signs of anything else but found nothing.
As if the maze could tell they were confused, a ball of light appeared across from where they stood. This must be the final memory… Hermione looked at Severus and smiled. He allowed himself to be tugged along by her, and they reached for that ball of light together.
She immediately recognised this memory because it was her own as well. They were in the Shrieking Shack, and she knew her seventeen-year-old self was hidden beneath the cloak with Harry and Ron, hiding in the secret passageway.
Severus — her Professor — stood in the centre of the room while Voldemort paced around him. She gripped her Severus by the hand tightly.
"I have a problem, Severus."
"My Lord?"
She watched for the second time in her life as Voldemort twirled the Elder Wand about like a baton, knowing what would happen moments later.
"Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?"
"My — My Lord? I do not understand. You — you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand." She sensed the fear from him now that she knew what she did not know then. Severus Snape had known what was coming to him.
"No, I have performed my usual magic. I am extraordinary, but this wand… no. It has not revealed the wonders it has promised. I feel no difference between this wand and the one I procured from Ollivander all those years ago… No difference."
Hermione could feel the fear emanating from Severus at this point, and she suddenly felt every thought he was having in the moment. She was not sure if it was because this was his memory, because she was in his mind, or because they both had experienced this memory firsthand. As clear as day, she heard Severus' mind screaming, no, no it's too soon. I have to tell him. I have to tell Potter.
"I have thought long and hard, Severus… Do you know why I have called you back from the battle?"
She could see both Severus' eyes were transfixed on the snake coiling in the enchanted cage in the room.
"No, my Lord, but I beg you will let me return. Let me find Potter."
"You sound like Lucius. Neither of you understands Potter as I do. He does not need finding. Potter will come to me. I know his weakness, you see, his one great flaw. He will hate watching the others struck down around him, knowing that it is for him that it happens. He will want to stop it at any cost. He will come."
"But my Lord, he might be killed accidentally by one other than yourself —" She could tell he was attempting to concoct any reason that he should leave this place at least one more time; he had to pass on the memories to Harry.
"My instructions to my Death Eaters have been perfectly clear. Capture Potter. Kill his friends — the more, the better — but do not kill him. But it is of you that I wished to speak, Severus, not Harry Potter. You have been very valuable to me. Very valuable."
"My Lord knows I seek only to serve him. But — let me go and find the boy, my Lord. Let me bring him to you. I know I can — " Severus was nearing his breaking point. She knew he feared he would fail his final promise to Dumbledore, and therefore, his promise to Lily.
"I have told you, no!" Voldemort snapped impatiently. "My concern at the moment, Severus, is what will happen when I finally meet the boy!"
"My Lord, there can be no question, surely —?"
"— but there is a question, Severus. There is."
She watched as Voldemort stopped in front of the Severus who was still conscious in his body, for now. The Elder Wand slid beneath Voldemort's fingers as he raised it slightly.
"Why did both the wands I have used fail when directed at Harry Potter?"
Her face fell at the look of absolute fear that was etched on Severus Snape's face. "I — I cannot answer that, my Lord."
"My wand of yew did everything of which I asked it, Severus, except to kill Harry Potter. Twice it failed. Ollivander told me under torture of the twin cores, told me to take another's wand. I did so, but Lucius's wand shattered upon meeting Potter's."
"I — I have no explanation, my Lord." All she wanted to do was scream, tell Harry to jump out. Hermione and Ron could take on the snake while Severus and Harry killed Voldemort. It would work. But it wouldn't matter… They would not hear her cries.
"I sought a third wand, Severus. The Elder Wand, the Wand of Destiny, the Deathstick. I took it from its previous master. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore."
As Severus spoke, his voice was flat, as though he knew this was it. "My Lord — let me go to the boy —"
"All this long night, when I am on the brink of victory, I have sat here," said Voldemort, his voice barely louder than a whisper, "wondering, wondering, why the Elder Wand refuses to be what it ought to be, refuses to perform as legend says it must perform for its rightful owner . . . and I think I have the answer. Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen."
"My Lord —"
"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine."
"My Lord!" Snape protested, raising his wand as though he could take him all on his own.
"It cannot be any other way. I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last."
She knew what happened next and looked away, tucking her face into Severus' shoulder, and he held her tightly, but she could feel him shaking. The sound of silence at first, and then the hiss as Voldemort spoke in Parseltongue.
Hermione heard his terrible scream for the second time in her life.
And then it all faded around them, and they were back in the maze.
Before either of them could speak, Azoth's disembodied voice came from above, and they both looked up. They could not see the creature, but the voice rang loud enough to be heard throughout the entire maze.
I am a symbol of choice, a riddle to ponder,
Two paths diverge, which will you wander?
One offers rebirth, a new life to unfurl,
The other, the spirit realm, where souls swirl.
In my depths, a cauldron bubbles and brews,
A potion of renewal, a chance to choose.
To awaken anew, in the world of light,
To journey on, in the realm of endless night
Drink me and all will be right
Beside me stands an hourglass, sands slipping away,
Marking the passage of time, night to day.
To return to life's embrace, to breathe and to feel,
To transcend earthly bounds, a soul to heal.
Destroy me for her, flip me for a deal.
So ponder your choice, dear seeker, and choose with care,
For destiny awaits, both here and there.
Will you embrace the cauldron's call, or the hourglass's chime?
Your fate awaits, in the realm of space and time.
As Azoth finished the riddle, Severus looked at Hermione.
"You have to leave. I can't make the choice with you here. It will run the risk of you being stuck with me."
"I don't care, Severus." She honestly didn't; she had gotten to know this man in the past day or so better than she knew her closest friends and family. She couldn't see a future without him now.
"Please, Hermione. I'm begging; I can't do this with you here."
Tears began to fall from her face, and his face was all sincerity, "Please. I promise we will see one another again."
He kissed her tenderly, and she began to sob, pushing herself out of his mind. Tears streaked her face as she lay prone in the recliner.
She pulled herself out of the chair and stood, staring at the man waiting patiently.
All of a sudden, he began to convulse, and she shrieked, reaching for his shoulders. He shook uncontrollably for several moments, and she became soaked as she tried to hold him steady with all her weight.
Finally, he stopped.
She looked at him; her face was a mask as she stared at the unmoving figure below her.
Suddenly, he took a deep breath. She began to cry again, her laughter intermixed in the sobs. "Severus, Severus!" Her hands found his face, and she carefully wiped his face from the congealed mess of the tub. "Are you alright?"
"Hermione?" His voice was hoarse as his eyes finally fluttered open.
"What did you choose?"
He smiled at her, "I smashed the hourglass. It said destroy me for her. I knew all my subconscious self wanted was you. You are her."
She lay on top of his naked body, gripping him tightly in the tub as he looked around at their surroundings.
"I see you have me in your evil lab, in a tub no less. What sort of experiments have you been conducting on me, witch?"
She shoved at his bare chest, and he pulled her in for a kiss.
"Let's get cleaned up," she laughed into his mouth.
He smirked in response, "I can think of a few other things we can do first."