Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Severus opened his eyes and was surprised to see nothing but white. It was a bright white... rather misty. It felt cool on his face. He sat up and glanced down at himself. He wore a white Wizarding robe. White wasn't really his color, but, he was glad to have something on at all. He continued to look around. The haze seemed to be thinning somewhat, and he began to make out shapes in the fog. He stood and started walking around tentatively.

He finally began to recognize his surroundings. It was the Room of Requirement. He was in the room where Hermione and he had spent so much time. It looked brighter somehow, though. He wondered where he really was. Thinking back to what he could remember before he passed out, he was shocked to realize that he was dead. He remembered Lucius screaming Avada Kedavra, and everything had gone black.

Crap, he thought. Now I'll never be with Hermione. He frowned and fell into melancholy, but the intense grief he expected from that realization didn't come. Perhaps incredible sadness did not exist in this place.

He wandered over to a white couch that was now completely visible and sat down. He wondered what he was supposed to do now.

The door to the Room of Requirement opened, and a woman walked in. She was beautiful. She wore a white flowing dress that fell in layers. It swayed around her as she walked. Her eyes were green, and she had a white rose in her beautiful, long, red hair.

"Lily?" he said.

She came to him and embraced him. "Severus!" she said enthusiastically.

"Why are you here, Lily?"

"I have come to be your guide," she explained.

"Guide?"

"Yes," she said. "Your guide to the beyond."

"Oh," he said flatly. "Why you?"

"I requested it, Severus. I wanted to be your guide because I am indebted to you for the things you did to help my son. You have been a true friend to him and have saved his life numerous times."

Severus only nodded and looked down.

"Aren't you ready to go on?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head no.

"It's because of Hermione, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Lily, I waited for her for so long, and when I finally got her, I got killed. It's just not fair."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I know what you mean. James and I were so happy to have Harry, and then before we knew it, we were pulled from his side."

"I tried to save you," he told her.

"I know."

Severus raised his head and met her eyes. "Lily, I'm sorry for the way I acted at school. I wish I had never yelled at you like that."

"Sev, you already apologized multiple times." Lily squeezed his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I forgave you a long time ago, I just should have told you that I had, but life seemed to get very busy, very quickly, and I never found the time."

Lily paused for a minute. "I'm sorry that I was so cruel to you. I should have forgiven you sooner. I don't know what came over me. I was just so hurt by your words and the thought of you becoming a Death Eater. Even though I knew you had been really embarrassed and that's why you called me what you did, I couldn't bring myself to make amends with you." They sat quietly for a moment before Lily continued, her voice very soft. "I was so very impressionable back then, Sev. I let my other friends influence my feelings for you. That was wrong. You were my first Hogwarts friend, and I threw that away because my other friends couldn't accept you. It was incredibly immature of me. Will you forgive me for that?" she asked him tentatively.

He stared at her for a while, surprised at her admitting that she had fault in their 'breakup.' He then slowly nodded, showing her his acceptance of her apology.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lily asked.

"Of course," Severus said.

"If you had your choice, would you continue on, or would you return to the land of the living."

"I would return immediately. I am not complete without Hermione. She is everything to me." Severus glanced around. "Even a pleasant place like this seems lackluster without her. I have lost her again. It seems that we only ever have a short time together before we are separated." Severus sighed and looked to the ground again. "Now she will go on alone and live her life. She's sure to find love elsewhere. She will not want to be with me after death."

Severus' shoulders drooped in defeat. The sadness he knew would come was starting to drip into his soul, like a cancer. Once again Lily's hand rested on Severus' shoulder.

"If you want to return, you may."

Severus' head snapped up, and he looked at Lily.

"What do you mean? I thought once you were dead, there was no going back. I have no desire to be a ghost, Lily."

"You're right of course. Once you are dead, there usually is no going back. But I have a way to overcome that." She smiled at him and continued. "You see, Severus, when I used my magic to protect Harry, we somehow became magically joined. Harry owes you several life debts. Being joined with him, I can pay back those life debts just as much as he can. I choose to pay you back by restoring your life to you."

Severus' eyes grew wide. "You... you would do that for me?" he asked her simply.

"Severus, you were my best friend in school for a very long time. You have been a best friend to my son. I am indebted to you just as much as he is. I would gladly do that for you."

Severus threw his arms around Lily and hugged her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered.

She patted him on the back. "I am happy to do it, Severus... to finally be able to do something for you after you have done so much for me."

She pulled back and looked at him carefully. "Now remember," she explained to him. "This is a one time thing. If you go and get yourself killed again tomorrow, you are stuck here."

Severus laughed at her. He certainly wasn't planning on getting himself killed again anytime soon.

"Thank you, Lily," he said as everything started to get dim around him again.

oooOOOooo

The first thing Severus noticed was that he could hear again. He heard Hermione hysterically sobbing nearby. Harry was soothing her from somewhere above him.

"Hermione, you need to come with me. You can't stay here any longer. He's gone," Harry pleaded.

"NO!" Hermione cried. "I will not leave him again. I won't, I won't," she sobbed.

Severus tried to move, but found himself still immobile. Trying to speak, he found he could not. Slowly he began to get feeling back in his body. He felt Hermione on top of him. He could tell her arms were surrounding him, and she was holding on to him as if her life depended on it. He wondered if he would be able to breathe with her holding him so tightly. Then he realized he was already breathing shallowly. Finally, he flexed his fingers and realized his paralysis had gone. He put his arms around Hermione and entwined his fingers in her hair.

"It's okay," he told her as she picked her head up and looked at him.

oooOOOooo

Pushing herself forward so she could get a better look at Severus, she shakily extended her hands and felt his face. She touched every part of it as he looked at her. By some miracle he was looking at her, and he had spoken to her.

"Oh! You're alive!" she finally squeaked and put her head down into his chest again and sobbed.

"You're alive! You're alive!"

She looked back up and began to kiss him furiously. Severus smiled at her and said, "I'm alive," between her furious kisses.

Harry was watching the scene in disbelief. "But you were dead," he said incredulously. "We all saw you!"

Severus looked over at Potter and stopped kissing Hermione. He studied Harry's face for a moment before speaking.

"Your life debts are paid," he said succinctly.

He could speak no more, for Hermione wouldn't let him. She showered him with kisses and hugs and cried on his shoulder for quite a while as everyone else slowly left the room to give them some privacy. Hermione finally calmed herself and decreased her crying down to sniffles. Severus and she sat up. He pulled her into his lap as she studied his face.

"How, Severus? You were dead, I'm sure of it."

"Very dead," he conceded.

Hermione touched his face again, making sure he was real. Severus told her everything... about meeting Lily in the beyond and his choice. He explained how he had felt at peace, even though he knew he would not be with her. He looked at Hermione and stared into her eyes.

"I chose to come back to you. I didn't want to be separated from you again," Severus told her. "No matter how peaceful and beautiful it was there, Hermione, it was nothing without you."

Hermione stared into the eyes of the man she loved. He chose me. He chose to return to me and give up all of that beauty and peace... for me. Would I... Could I have done the same? His eyes looked back at her. Those eyes had just been vacant, but now were filled with passion and adoration for her. She knew she'd come close to never seeing those emotions in him again. She knew she would have done anything to be right here with him again, watching him look at her like that. It would have been an easy decision.

"Did you feel like this when I left?" she asked him quietly.

"Feel like what?"

"Like your entire life had deserted you. Like the rest of your days would be bereft of happiness and nothing would ever change that."

Severus smiled grimly at her. His hand came up to her cheek. "I did. Hermione, I was shattered when you left. It took a long time for me to feel whole again. I, however, knew that we would be reunited again. With my death, you had no such reassurance."

"I wished I had died too," Hermione whispered.

"You mustn't ever think that way, love. What we have should be cherished, not turned to tragedy."

Hermione nodded and smiled wanly at Severus. "Thank you, Severus. Thank you for giving up all of that for me. I couldn't have gone on without you."

He smiled boyishly at her, and she saw the seventeen-year-old Severus hidden behind his older face. "Now you never have to," he said smugly before his lips met hers.

oooOOOooo

Hermione and Severus slowly made their way out of the gallery. They met Draco waiting patiently for them outside. His face was drawn into a tense frown. He was here to say a final farewell to his father, whose body still lay on the Art Gallery's floor.

"Draco, I'm sorry about your father, he gave me no choice. I knew he would kill me, if I didn't kill him," Hermione explained to him sadly.

"I understood what could happen when I agreed to help with this mission. I loved my father, but I was aware of his shortcomings. I just wish I could have convinced him to be a better person."

Hermione pulled Draco into a hug. She felt him stiffen within her embrace.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I would have liked to see him be a better person, too. I wish it could have ended differently."

Slowly he took his hand and patted her on the back.

"You did what you had to do. I don't blame you."

Hermione pulled away and released Draco. She gave him a sad smile and turned back to Severus. She gripped him tightly, afraid that if she didn't, he would disappear. Draco slipped by them and entered the gallery. He wandered up to the lifeless body of his father and knelt beside it, a single tear sliding down his face.

oooOOOooo

Hermione and Severus continued down the hall and back to the site of the battle. Neither of them was quite sure what had gone on during the battle, they only knew that they must have prevailed, or half the Order would not have been surrounding them when Severus had come back to life.

They found Harry, who was giving orders and guiding people to the Aurors who would take the prisoners. Harry turned to them and smiled widely. His grin soon dissolved as he looked to Severus. His expression became serious, and he threw his arms around Severus.

"I'm glad to see you alive again, my friend," he told Severus.

Severus embraced Harry. His voice was filled with emotion. "I am not done making your life miserable yet, young man."

They patted each other on the back and separated, Harry looking a bit embarrassed by his emotional reaction. Severus looked to the ground, not wanting to acknowledge the display either.

"What happened back there?" Harry asked his friend and mentor.

Severus brought his gaze even with Harry's. "I met your mother."

Harry's eyes grew wide.

"Evidently, her magical bond with you gave her the opportunity to use the life debts you owed me to restore my life."

"You saw my mother?"

Severus grinned and nodded. "She was as beautiful as ever, Harry."

"Did you tell her I love her?" Harry said softly.

Severus put his hand on Harry's arm. "Harry, she already knew. I could tell."

Harry smiled to himself at Severus' remark.

"So, I guess we won?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. He looked at Hermione curiously. "What happened with Lucius in the Art Gallery? We found three bodies including Malfoy's."

Hermione sobered. "Severus killed one of the body guards, but we were still fighting against Lucius and the other one. When Lucius killed Severus, something snapped in my head. I killed them both with one Killing Curse."

Both Harry and Severus gazed at Hermione in amazement. "One Killing Curse?" Harry asked in disbelief.

She nodded. "I can't even really remember casting it. There was a flash of green light and then everyone was on the floor but me. I could tell they were all dead."

Harry looked over to Severus. "Have you ever heard of anything like that happening before?"

Severus shook his head. "Never," he said.

Harry looked back at Hermione. "Wow," he uttered.

"Very eloquent," Severus murmured.

Harry glared at Severus before rolling his eyes. Hermione had grown to like the sarcasm that went along with Harry and Severus' relationship. Each seemed to live for the chance to one up the other.

"Now, boys," she said as she hooked an arm through each of theirs. "How many times have I asked you to play nice?"

Harry looked over Hermione's head at Severus. "We had better watch ourselves, Severus, or she may kill us both with a wand wave," he said in mock fear.

Severus looked back at Harry. "Kill you maybe, she actually likes me," he snorted.

Hermione laughed as they walked arm in arm out of the Mansion.

A/N: Next up: A surprise visit from Ron

So, am I forgiven? You guys are great. Big thanks to my beta Lilith Kayden for turning this around almost instantly.