AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!

Hermione's entire body, felt as if it had been thrown against a wall by a centaur. There was too much throbbing to assess what damage had been done. Still, there was a weight on her, a warmth which assured her all was well, even if breathing underneath it was difficult.

"Hermione?"

She reached out her hands, unable to move anything else. Although her vision was blurred, she could make out the long flowing hair of her savior. It took a moment before the haze in her eyes cleared and she could make out his face.

"Hermione?" He asked.

"Lucius," she groaned.

"Yes, it's me." He knelt beside her. "Are you well?"

"It hurts," her vision was clear enough to see him. "My whole body hurts."

"Okay, that isn't exactly surprising all things considered," he examined her.

She groaned and struggled to keep her focus on him.

"Does your head hurt?"

She nodded.

"You may have a concussion then," he muttered.

"W-what are you doing here anyway?" She moaned.

"I was trying to find you, but when you wouldn't answer your floo, I sought out Severus."

"Severus?" Her heart slowed. "Where is he?"

Lucius looked above her and swallowed. Then, he raised the weight from her. With a gentle touch, he laid what had been atop her onto the ground. Hermione crawled after him, dragging her spasming leg.

The color left her face as she observed Severus. He was laying face down, his breathing shallow. A few times, he shuddered. What was most noticeable was the burn across the right side of his face.

"Severus!" She sat over him, strength returning to her body. "Severus? Can you hear me?"

No answer.

"Severus, please, speak to me."

Nothing.

"Severus!"

He didn't respond.

"Is, is he alive?" Tears filled her eyes.

"He has a pulse," Lucius' voice was distant as he held Severus' wrist. "But it's weak."

"Why are you standing around then?" Hermione demanded. "Go find Poppy so she can save him!"

"Right." With care, Lucius dropped Severus' wrist and darted out the door, leaving Hermione beside her fallen lover.

"What the hell were you doing here?" Tears poured from her eyes. "Why couldn't you wait another few minutes to see me? At least then you would be uninjured"

A ragged breath was her only answer. His eyes were not twitching. He wasn't even trying to regain consciousness.

Hermione broke into a cold sweat as she was transported to a far less pleasant time. For years she'd suppressed the memory of Severus lying in the Shrieking Shack, the light dying in his eyes. The last thing she ever wanted to think about was how the man she loved had almost lost his life, how the last four years would not have been possible had Voldemort succeeded in killing him. On that night, she'd had potions which could save him. On that night, she could move her leg without it buckling under her. On that night, she wasn't hopelessly in love with him. On that night, it wouldn't have torn her soul into pieces had he died. Now though, now she did love him, and never wanted to endure life without him.

"Wake up!" She held him by the collar as best she could. "You have to wake up and come back to me! You have to wake up now!"

He was still, so still. Then there was the blood on the right side of his face. It was so dark, so sickly, so unnecessary.

Why had he even been in her apartment?

"Come on Severus! Wake up!" She yelled.

No movement. No sound.

"Don't do this to me!" She screamed through her tears. "You can't leave me! Not now! Wake up and come back to me!"

He was making no move to acknowledge her.

"You promised you'd be with me!" She shouted. "You promised you'd never leave me! You can't break that promise! Not when we're so close to achieving all our dreams! Not when we're so close! I need you! I need you now so you have to wake up!"

Her eyes fell on a charr piece of paper. She took picked it up and read it.

Hatefully yours,

Marietta Edgecomb

She took another look at Severus and whispered. "It's all my fault. I maimed her, made her life hell, and now she tried to kill you."

Her body shook as she gasped for breath. She slumped onto Severus and cried into his shoulder. A few times, she made a fist and hit the ground, as if this would somehow return him to consciousness.

"Hermione?" Poppy tiptoed towards her.

She couldn't find any words. Instead, she clung to Severus until Lucius pried them apart. With hushed reassurances, Poppy put him into a gurney and transported him away. Hermione stared at the doorway until Lucius touched her shoulder. He gestured towards her wheelchair. Like a child, she sniffed and raised her hands. In silence, Lucius helped her into it and wheeled her to the infirmary.

An Azkaban cell.

After all these years, he was going to suffer for his crimes. He was in a dingy, Azkaban cell, with only the light from the sunset to grant him light.

It was different than he imagined it to be. Things were quiet, much too quiet for a prison. Nobody yelled, nobody wailed from the dementors, and no waves crashing onto the shore. From what he understood, the place was supposed to be damp and cold. Why was this place so dry and a comfortable temperature?

He glanced out the barred window. There was only the reflection of the sunset off the gray sea. Yet, something wasn't right. Why were there no bright colors? Why was it such a foreboding purple and green? Why couldn't he see the Dementors flying around?

Dementors. Those presented an interesting dilemma. Did he cling to his happiest memory to keep himself sane, or did he occlude everything away? Years ago he would've said occluding was best, but if that meant he could no longer remember Hermione in his arms, no he couldn't do it. Nothing was worth losing the memory of her love.

Severus' eyes widened. His last memory wasn't a trial, but rushing up to save Hermione. When he'd last been conscious, she was underneath him. There was an explosion, the right side of his face hurt like hell, and then he landed in the cell.

He touched the rock. There was no sensation. Nothing about it was hard, jagged, or grainy. It was as if the rock didn't exist.

This wasn't an Azkaban sentence, this was a nightmare!

Severus rushed to the door and banged upon it. The words echoed off the walls, taunting him that he was separated from the only woman who made him happy, the only woman who loved him even when he was a git, the only woman who could lure him from the dark of the dungeons into the light, the same woman who needed his support now more than ever.

"Let me out!" He demanded. "Let me out!"

Nothing.

"I need to see Hermione! I have to help her! You have to let me out!

"Severus my boy, you need to calm down."

He stopped as his body turned white. That voice was familiar, one he hadn't heard in years, one he never wished to hear again.

"You're going to hurt yourself if you continue thrashing about." A slot opened, and a man peeked through.

"Albus," Severus hissed.

"So you do recognize me," he chuckled, though the sound was much more sadistic than pleasant.

"How could I ever forget you?" Severus scowled. "You saved and almost destroyed my life."

"I may have meddled too much for your own good," the former headmaster admitted. "But it was all for the greater good. My plans did work after all."

"Do you want another plan that will work?"

"Certainly."

"Let me out! Let me see Hermione! If I help her, she can become the new Defense Against Dark Arts professor!"

He paused before there was a tinkle in his eyes. "No."

"No?"

"No, I can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

"Because your body is recovering, and your mind needs to recover as well."

"I need to be with Hermione!"

"No, you need to heal."

"What good is healing if I cannot be with the person who needs me most?"

"Why is it so important that you go to her?"

"Because I love her, and for some unfathomable reason," his voice grew quieter. "She loves me."

"It is nice that you have found love," the familiar twinkle returned to the former headmaster's face. "I had always wanted the best for you. Part of me always hoped you'd find love"

"So you arranged to have me kill you."

"It was either you or Draco, and you didn't want the boy's soul to be torn. You killing me was for the best."

"I wanted to be free to live my own life, the way I do when I'm with Hermione."

"I know you wanted your freedom, and now you're free," Dumbledore's voice was gentle. "You're finally living life on your own terms. It's beautiful to see."

"So you'll let me go?" He was pleading, no longer caring if he lost every ounce of pride he'd built up over his life.

"I can't," there was a sadness in Dumbledore's voice. "Your body must recover before you regain consciousness, and Hermione must face her battles alone."

"She doesn't have to!" He yelled. "She has me! I can help her!"

"She must help herself. This she must do on her own."

"All we've had are ourselves all our lives," Severus' voice cracked. "We've both been alone for so long. We finally found someone to love us just the way we are. You can't take that from us."

Dumbledore glanced down.

"You can't take Hermione from me!" He yelled. "I won't lose her, not like this!"

"I'm sorry," he closed the slot on the door.

"No," Severus hissed before pouring on the door. Then he yelled, "Let me out of here!"

Yet no matter how loudly he screamed or how much he banged on the door, it remained shut.

Despite his efforts to return to Hermione, he could not reach her.