The wizard had been able to stave off his shock long enough to make sure Miss Granger was stable while they waited for help. Once he was satisfied that she wasn't going to spontaneously wither away he allowed himself time to take in this new development.

Severus sat rubbing at his arm and casting various spells and curses to see if the Mark would come back. When cutting himself to check under his skin had only succeeded in adding more blood to the marble floor, he finally accepted it. The evidence was right there. The Dark Mark, his tether to the psychopath, was gone. Not only that but other dark curse marks had faded into nothingness. Even the Unbreakable Vows he had made over the years were no longer tugging at his consciousness. He felt stronger, healthier, younger than he had felt in years. It made him weep.

That's how Dumbledore found them. Miss Granger in stasis on the ground and Severus Snape lying next to her, arm over his face as he wept softly. He had pulled his sleeves down out of habit, feeling naked without his layers.

"Severus, my boy. How did you come to be in this place? If the Castle hadn't seen fit to help me locate you, your patronus would have had me blasting through the walls." Dumbledore stepped forward and Severus felt him kneel down in the space between himself and Miss Granger. Hermione. The witch who has taken all the darkness from you, has a name she's given you leave to use multiple times! He mentally chastised himself. He couldn't think of her as a mere student anymore. What have you done, Hermione?

The dark haired wizard sat up and rubbed at his face as the Headmaster ran his own diagnostic spells. Finally, Severus was able to look around at the bright and open space. It was a large empty room. The floor was white marble with black and gold whisps dancing across it. The ceiling was made mostly of a dome of stained glass that depicted a woman surrounded by books and archways. In one hand she held a skull and the other a ball of light. It did not move like the others like it in the castle. The walls were the same stone as the rest of the castle, though without the wear and tear of time and school children's touches.

"Her magical core is nearly depleted. I've cast the best spells I can but you and Poppy will have to tandem brew the necessary potions. I can handle the final incantations and magical transfer to aid her recovery but we must move quickly," The great wizard stood, levitating the girl next to him, "Can you stand?"

"I'm fine Albus. Where exactly in the Castle are we?" Severus asked as he made his way to his feet. He pocketed Miss Granger's wand and followed the Headmaster's lead. They trekked across the room, through an archway, down a long dark hallway that let out into the same hall as the Room of Requirement. "That was the Room of Requirement?"

"One of the rooms it can become, apparently. It seems to be an ancient ceremony room according to the little information the Castle has granted me. I will see if the other Heads know anything once Miss Granger is taken care of," The Headmaster raked his eyes over him and it made him nervous. There was a steeliness to his eyes that no sparkle could cover. It hurt him to see that the Headmaster thought he had done something to one of his students.

Severus felt oddly naked walking the halls without his billowing cloak and frock coat. Down below they could hear the castle inhabitants waking and going to breakfast. It was a small mercy that they weren't likely to run into any students on the short path to the hospital wing from the 7th floor. Another fainting student would not go over well with the Healer.

The rest of the morning passed in a flurry of activity. Madam Pomfrey had jumped into action immediately upon seeing the girl's diagnosis herself. Soon Severus was in the small potions lab next to the Hospital Wing, tandem brewing with the healer.

There had only been 2 other instances where they had to heal someone's magical core and that had been himself and the Headmaster; the damage to their cores had been less substantial than the young woman's. Both of them are quite powerful wizards and, while he didn't doubt the brilliance of the girl, he didn't know if she would have the capacity to have a quick recovery.

By noon the three of them had stabilized her and her core was already rebuilding itself.

"Come, come, we should eat and then we can start picking apart what it is that has our star pupil bedridden and our resident Potions Master looking his age rather than 20 years older," Madam Pomfrey gave him a look as she conjured a small dining table and summoned a house elf. Once the table was laden with food, Severus found his appetite. If he were honest with himself, he had never felt so ravenous. He tempered his reaction to the food, although his mouth was watering, and filled his plate. Once they were all making some headway with the food it was finally time to sort everything out.

"Do I really look different?" He asked when he caught Dumbledore and the medi-witch analyzing him.

"My boy, I don't think you've ever looked so healthy since I've known you," Albus combed his fingers through his beard thoughtfully. He conjured a hand mirror and held it out to Severus who hesitated before taking it. "Look for yourself."

Severus Snape almost didn't recognize himself. The permanent bags under his eyes were gone. The lines of his face were shallower although not smooth enough to call him a young man but believable for a man nearly 38. His hair was thicker and had a sway to it that it hadn't had since he was a young boy. There was a fullness to his face that rid him of his sallow cheeks and gaunt complexion.

"Headmaster," Severus's voice, shook slightly as he put down the mirror. "There is a much more significant change that has happened."

It took him a moment to finally pull his sleeve back up, worried that he had hallucinated the disappearance of the damned mark. But all that shone was clear pale skin. He breathed deeply in relief.

"Oh, Severus!" Madam Pomfrey gasped as she threw her arms around him in a motherly embrace. "Oh bless Merlin and Hecate and whoever else rid you of that burden."

While the Healer wept with joy, the Headmaster looked contemplative. Severus met his eyes and nodded to him as he held his arm out. "I've cast as many counter curses and revealing spells as I know. There is nothing left of it. But you are free to do what you need to, Albus."

Severus tried not to read into the flash of frustration in the sparkling blue eyes. He recounted the events that led them there as a distraction from the Headmaster casting spells on his blemishless appendage. He omitted the previous encounter with Granger at the start of term, not seeing it as relevant, for now.

"She has called upon old magic. Magic I will need to research. Where she heard about it let alone learned it is anyone's guess, as we all know Miss Granger's thirst for knowledge knows no bounds," The Headmaster finished his inspection with a sigh, "The mark is gone with no remnants. It may be callous to say, but with you no longer marked all our plans in this war must be reevaluated. Sooner rather than later. Please let me know when Miss Granger has returned to the land of consciousness. She has much explaining to do."

With that parting comment, Albus left the wing mumbling about contacts, and needing to owl someone. Madam Pomfrey nodded and summoned a house elf to clean the remains of their lunch. Then she disappeared into her office leaving him alone with the girl as the only other visitor of the ward.

Severus sagged in his chair, the tension finally melting off of him. He hated that the man could make him feel like a student again, one that was being reprimanded. Shaking his head he stood and took up his vigil next to Hermione' s bed. The Headmaster was right, now that the mark was gone he wasn't going to be very useful as a spy. A part of him was relieved of that fact but he knew that Lucius would now take over his old duties. He knew the suffering of walking the fine line of spy-hood and did not wish it on anyone else.

But Lucius would be amenable. He would do anything for his wife and son.

The Dark Lord may have also felt the removal of the mark which would mean that Severus had a large target on his back. He wouldn't be able to do anything outside the castle for the foreseeable future. The dark man scoffed at himself. He should feel guilty that he could not help the war effort to the extent he did before but he didn't. Whatever he had owed the world had long since been paid. If anything, he was owed some selfishness.

But that was not his way. He had been too entrenched in the war since the first go around. So rather than rest completely he began brainstorming contingency plans to bring to Dumbledore. He owed that much to the war effort. A small noise from the bed in front of him caught his attention.

Severus found himself drawn to Hermione, as she whimpered in her sleep. He felt the need to comfort her. Less cautious than he had been the weeks since he had tumbled off the Astronomy Tower with her, he pushed an errant curl behind her ear. Her whimpers stopped as she turned into his palm. There was a level of awe and admiration and something else deep inside that he felt for the petite woman. He knew his miraculous health and the loss of his mark were her doing.

"What have you done, Hermione? Old magic? Blood Magic? What price did you pay?" He implored the sleeping girl who did not answer.

Hermione was floating in an abyss. There were fragments of memory weaving around her, glimpses of her life and her thoughts. All of them mangled and distant.

Please just let me die. Let him take all of it, he deserves to live.

She floated for what felt like eternity until a door appeared before her, bathed in warm light. One of her library doors. Then her mind library surrounded her. She took a seat in one of the armchairs, feeling nothing except a faint curiosity. Hermione watched as the wisps of memories and feelings siphoning into the room through the other open doors. Before her they knit themselves into the books and scrolls that housed them.

Then she was waving them towards their designated shelves. Reorganizing her mind and growing more lucid by the moment. As each bookcase filled, another door to the vastness of her consciousness closed. Everything started to feel more real.

When all the doors were closed, Hermione expected the bookcases to be neat and full. But one had an empty shelf. She ran her fingers along the empty space trying to recall what normally fit there.

A bit of scrap paper caught her eye. When she had it at her fingertips it seemed to multiply into endless sheafs of paper that lifted themselves and then shot off around the room. Some squeezed their way beneath the doors to disappear outside. Others inched between books and crammed into corners. Hermione, now frantic, looked at the paper in her hands that showed her parents looking down at her when she was a baby. A sob rent through her as she hastily tried to collect the other pieces of memory that were making an escape.

Like a bat out of hell she tore through the room, stuffing the pieces of memory she found into her pockets desperately. The ones that escaped her grasp funneled out of the room through door jambs and keyholes. Without thinking Hermione blasted one of the doors open and gave chase into the black abyss.

Mum! Dad! I won't forget. I'm the only one who remembers! I'll always remember! Don't leave me.

Severus was at a loss. Hermione was thrashing around in bed, screaming and crying. He tried to be gentle as he grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her from toppling off the bed. She had been whimpering and mumbling for hours as Severus sat by her bed, failing to focus on the papers he was grading.

Her fidgeting had begun to get more pronounced when she started screaming. It was a desperate sound that made Severus want to pull her into his arms and assuage her pain. The young woman's skin was hot to touch and tears were spilling out of her closed eyes.

The warmth of her magic, now familiar to him, filled the room as she lost control.

"Dobby!" Severus called out and the bleary eyed elf appeared before him. His eyes widened with alertness as he took in the scene.

"Potions Master called Dobby! Is Missy Granger needing help?" The Elf had jumped up on the end of the bed looking concerned.

"Dobby, alert the Headmaster that Miss Granger is awake, then tell Madam Pomfrey to get the newest batch of Calming Draught from my lab. Be swift!" With a sharp crack the house elf was gone on its errands.

Severus pulled out his wand, and despite knowing the risk of waking her when she was in a magical sleep, he cast a rennervate.

She shot up into a sitting position, her magic exploding outward in hot waves that should have burned him but instead settled into him like a warm embrace. The hospital wing was not faring well and wandlessly, he threw up shielding charms around them, keeping her magic directed inwards. He held her up with an arm around her torso and looked into her eyes.

"Granger!" He called through gritted teeth, "Granger, look at me!"

She stared straight ahead. Her hair whipped around her as her magic swirled. He grabbed her chin, "Hermione! Come back!"

When her light brown eyes met his, he tumbled into her mind.

The library of her mind was in shambles. The bookcases were splintered and singed. Books and scrolls were scattered about the room. Two of the five doors were blasted open into a darkness so black it felt like it sucked the air right out of him. The other three doors were still locked shut although they appeared battered by the chaos of whatever happened in her mind's library.

Suddenly, from one of the dark open doorways came a vision of Hermione running up to the door next to him. Her hair was wild, face tears streaked. She banged on the door with her fists, crying uncontrollably. This version of her didn't seem to notice his presence as it sent spell after spell at the door. Then, she lifted her hands, hair sparking wildly, and blasted the door inwards. Then she bolted through the door and out into the cloying darkness.

He tried to follow her but was met with an invisible barrier that kept him in the library. Severus was growing frustrated and increasingly more worried. The vision of Hermione returned and went through the same process with another closed door. And just like the others it was blasted through and she was running into the void. With only one door left a sense of foreboding pervaded his senses.

When she next came back through the library Severus grabbed hold of her. She startled into awareness and then fought him.

"No! Let me go! I have to find them!," She fought hard and managed to scratch his face with her hands. Hermione was screaming hysterically as she fought him but he trapped her against his chest using his arms as a cage that was also an embrace. The fight finally drained from her body and she just wept.

"Please sir, I can't forget them. Don't let me forget them," Hermione wept, clutching at his robes and looking at him imploringly. "All the memories are hiding from me, running from me! Please help me! Help me!"

"Hermione, please you have to calm down," He spoke softly to her, rubbing her back in an act of comfort. "The more you want to find them the more they will escape you. Do you understand?"

She sniffled and looked up at him with glassy eyes. A stiff nod followed, then a moment of deep breathing. When her eyes opened again she looked tired, resigned.

"Can you lock me in here when you find them? I don't want to leave them." She requested. The young woman avoided his gaze as she looked upon the carnage around her. Severus took her by the chin.

"I can't do that Hermione. Your memories of your parents aren't gone and they won't leave you. I'll make sure of it. But you cannot stay here," Severus cupped her cheek, ignoring the guilty part of him that knew he shouldn't be so liberal with physical touch even if it was in their minds. "Will you sit for me? I know you have already given me so much but this will be my only request, since you forced the others on me."

The corner of her lip curled up slightly. "It worked?"

She stepped back and brought his forearm to her eye level. Like his corporeal body, the mark was nowhere to be found. To his surprise she pressed her cheek to it and wept softly. "Oh thank Merlin, it was worth it."

His heart clenched at this small woman who, even in the midst of her own turmoil, still showed relief and care for him. Severus's traitorous heart beat rapidly. He cleared his throat. "Sit, Hermione. I will take care of the rest."

And so, Hermione sat on the repaired armchair that Severus conjured up. He didn't know how long it was out in the real world but it took a few hours, with direction from Hermione, to reorganize and fix her mind library. As he did so he found the scraps and sheafs of memories with her parents. With the greatest care he collected them onto one shelf.

Exhausted beyond belief, but satisfied, Severus sat down next to Hermione. The armchair now transformed into a small sofa. He took a moment to run his eyes over the impressive and now immaculate library. The books with her treasured memories were collected and tucked into their own shelf.

He felt her hand on his and turned to her. She did not meet his gaze. "Thank you, sir."

Severus let her hold his hand, relishing how she flexed her fingers against his, as if she contemplated threading them with his own. "I should be thanking you, Hermione."

She looked up then, "You've been calling me that since you got here."

"It's your name isn't it?"

"May I call you Severus?"

"Hermione, after what you've done. After whatever great price you had to pay to that ritual, I will grant you anything you desire," He meant it. His whole being was practically singing to him to grant her every wish.

Hermione stuttered trying to speak while her countenance paled. She reeled back suddenly and vehemently commanded him, "You need to leave. You shouldn't be here!"

She shoved him off the sofa and threw one of the doors open, "No, no, no! I was supposed to die so that the bond wouldn't take. I was just supposed to give you the magic! I'm so sorry."

With those parting words, Severus was thrust out of her mind and found himself practically on top of the girl. She was completely unconscious again. His own exhaustion pulled him into slumber soon after.

When Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey burst into the hospital wing they found the Potions Master asleep next to the young woman as they clung to each other, faintly glowing.