a/n: Thanks for encouragement, poka. So glad you're enjoying the story, I know it's a bit different structure. Things will definitely get darker before they get better.

Prompt: Vampires

Chapter 16: Vitalism

The Vampire delegation has announced its withdrawal from the coalition, making them the first defectors since the defeat at Hogwarts. On a lighter note, we can report the death of undesirable number 2. The mudblood girlfriend of Harry Potter. It's been reported she was killed in a siege on Lucius Malfoy's estate.

Snape waved his wand at the radio. Voldemort would be irate. Nothing was going as he expected. It appeared the false memory he gave Draco had worked. Hermione Granger died in an explosion that destroyed the sublevel of the manor. Secretly, Snape was glad he hadn't been there when the dark lord was told he lost his best bargaining chip.

It was for the best that the dark lord thought he was off securing the many safehouses they'd established. He had at least two days of reprieve. He'd already lost one of those days putting his plan into place. Potter had been willing to throw away everything people had fought and died to protect. Perhaps he wasn't the chosen one after all. Dumbledore had been so sure the boy would sacrifice himself for the greater good. As distasteful as that was, if he really had a piece of Voldemort's soul, there wasn't another option. Instead it was the greater good left on the altar. For a girl. That cut deep for Snape. There was a time he had been willing to betray every principle and friend for one witch. A pregnant one at that. He'd never admit that maybe he and Potter weren't that different. It was a fleeting thought. One that gave him the boldness to take choices away from the emotional wizard.

Walking across the small cabin floor to check on the huddled form on the bed, Snape scowled. She had an intense fever and open wounds that refused to heal. She might still die. He wasn't a healer.

With some relief, an orb on his workbench glowed blue. Someone had breached his enchantments and they knew the spell to do so safely. He was expecting her. Given the circumstances, precautions were still warranted. Cloaking himself with an invisibility spell, he extinguished all the light inside the cabin and cracked the door open. A buggy was parked in the clearing. The front thestral harnessed to it stomped on the ground, ready to take flight again.

"Take it easy, Abaddon," a witch soothed, patted the head of the leathery skin.

"Are they all named after demons, Lilith?" Snape asked, lowering his charm. He didn't think anyone would be cheeky enough to think his old friend would do such a thing.

She flashed a wicked smile. "Of course. My parents clearly thought I was one. Might as well embrace the superstitions." The older witch stepped up and she held her hands out widely in questioning of the urgent summons.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said, stepping aside, motioning to the door.

"How could I not," she answered, stepping into the cabin. "Everyone in the states are watching this war, wondering what's really going on. We know the ministry reports are pure propaganda. It did take some doing, getting around the ban in international magical travel." She paused long enough to light the torches inside. "No offense, Severus. This is a dump."

The one room cabin had everything he needed. A potions bench, a bed, and a fireplace. And it was hidden deep in a forest reserve. Luxury wasn't something he cared about. He rolled his eyes, and transfigured two stools into comfortable chairs. "Tea and biscuits?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yes. Good you have some manners left. Oh dear, who is this poor soul?" she asked, finally noticing Hermione under the pile of blankets.

With a flick of his want the tea kettle came to life, preparing itself. He joined her at the bedside. "Why I asked for you," he told the medicine woman. "She's suffering from a curse I can't diagnose."

Lilith placed a hand on Hermione's forehead. Her eyes widened. "There's a baby."

"There is."

Lilith continued to examine Hermione. Snape had confidence that if there was something that could be done, she'd know. He had met her a decade previously while traveling in the United States for rare plants. The Native Americans kept their knowledge of ancient magic and herbal magic a secret from MACUSA. For good reason. The American magical conference was not be trusted to uphold offered treaties. A lesson the tribes had learned from the muggle government as well. Naturally distrustful of outsiders to begin with, it took Snape the entire summer sharing his potion making knowledge before Lilith finally took the step to share basic information. Over the years their friendship grew, mostly through correspondence. She was sympathetic to his outcast label, a former Death Eater suspected by some as never entirely turning away from the darker side of magic. Her, an orphaned girl, abandoned by her religious adoptive parents when they discovered her talents. It took her some time to find her way back to her people. The same could be said about him.

To Lilith, life was all mostly gray. He needed someone who wouldn't be put off by his request. And he needed a healer. She was all of those things.

"Did she sustain these injuries in a place known to practice the dark arts?"

Snape doubted there was ever a time over the centuries of Malfoy ancestors living on the property where the dark arts weren't practiced. "For many generations."

"Hm," she acknowledged, cast a wandless spell over the wound on Hermione's forearm. She clicked her tongue. "Residue from dark magic has attached itself to this curse. It's deep."

"Can you help her?"

"Maybe. It could take weeks. I can teach you the rituals."

"I need you to take her."

"Take her where?"

"Back to the states. Keep her hidden. The people who did this to her will do far worse to her and her child if they find her again. Everyone thinks she's dead and it needs to stay that way."

Lilith's eyes narrowed. "I'm not part of your war, Severus. And I'm not running a halfway house."

It was incredibly unfair of him to make the request. "You're the only person I can trust with this."

"I'm going to need more than that. Why is this girl so important? If I take her how much danger will I be in?"

The tea kettle screamed. Her concerns were warranted. He poured her tea, set it in her hand, "I don't have biscuits."

"Tea will do," she said, sat down in his transfigured chair. She wasn't refusing his request. "Give me the cliff notes version."

Taking his own cup, his brow wrinkled in confusion. "Cliff notes?"

"A muggle invention. What do I need to know," she chose her words carefully.

Formulating his, he wasn't opposed to telling her everything. Expediency required just the low lights. "I assume you know who Harry Potter is?" Her obvious reaction to the name was all the confirmation he needed. "The baby is his. There are an endless number of wizards who would want to get their hands on her and the child."

"Say I can rid her of this curse. You think she'll just stay hidden?"

"She will if she thinks Potter is dead and the life of her child depends on it."

The bombshell hung in the air. Lilith sipped her tea.

"It's only until the war is over. And that won't happen if we don't do this," he continued.

"She's that important?"

"In an unconventional way."

Lilith leaned back in her chair, acceptance. The world was watching another war grip the country. There was a collective understanding that Voldemort wasn't going to stop with the British Ministry of Magic. He was an actual and existential threat to everyone. "Why is she important to you?"

Lilith. Lily. The name had been part of the reason he was so quick take to the medicine woman. "Let's just say she reminds me of someone in a similar situation I couldn't save," he explained, looking away to study Hermione. "I'll warn you, she can be obstinate. If she learns the truth, she'll risk herself to return to Harry. You have to keep her from finding out. Or obliviate her if she does."

Lilith stood, set her tea down. "It will be several months at least before she'll be on her feet. An infection like this, it's feeding on her. I'll take care of her. We'll hope you can do your part and end this all."

Snape would never be accused of optimism. Whatever hope he did had was dwindling by the day. If Harry Potter didn't focus on destroying the horcruxes, Voldemort would never be truly defeated. Removing Hermione from the equation may not be the answer. It was the only one he had.