Chapter 23

Raven let Hermione slip from his fingers, nearly dropping her onto the cave floor. He fired off a bolt of energy at Voldemort. It passed right through him as if he were a specter.

"Severus," it continued like a recording not even aware of the spell that had passed through it, "you always were resourceful. No other wizard could trip this spell. If you are here, then by some amazing miracle, you have beaten my best and me. I can only assume Potter has done me in. I trusted you as I've never trusted anyone, and I didn't trust anyone. I knew you'd betray me."

Raven, realizing it was some sort of memory, bent to pat Hermione on the face.

"Hermione, come on, wake up. It's only a faded memory."

Hermione opened her eyes and sat up, and he helped her to her feet. They stood arm in arm and watched the memory play out.

"Betrayed by the little, forgotten, poor boy who was tormented by his peers. Murdered by a child. So much power in the Dark Arts...that's what has been my end, simple love. Love is something that I never had. Love is a weak emotion. There is so much power in the Dark Arts. You understood the power of knowledge. Your love of Lily was your undoing. Her sacrifice for Harry is what banished me that night. And you, Severus, who could love a murderer of their own father? My only consolation is that you are in the same forgotten place that I am. Do not assume that it will be easy to find what you're looking for because you passed through the wall, but it is here. At one time in your life, you truly thought I was your master. Love has made you weak and pathetic. Your associates are weak. You cannot remember who you are, and they do not have your skills. You would do well to leave here and not come back... Beware."

The image wavered and began to fade. Then Voldemort was gone.

"He's wrong, Raven. You are loved, and in that respect so is Severus Snape," she said. "There will be deadly traps in this place. We have the advantage, and we can watch each other's back."

They stood their ground for some time and lit the huge room with their wands. Seeing torches along the wall, they lit those magically. This was the room Severus had seen when he was younger. This was Voldemort's lair. Here in this room, if they were careful and cunning enough, they would find the hidden parchment with Voldemort's and Snape's handprints. Once the blood oath was destroyed, they could then look for the spells to recover Severus' memories and possibly Harry's as well. Hermione hoped it was all the same magic and that they might even restore Neville's parents to him.

Hermione finally agreed that they could cautiously move a little, but they stayed together and didn't touch anything. She used her wand to try to detect wards placed on objects. This place had so much in it. There was more wealth than any person alive had seen: treasures, statues of antiquity, paintings, and artifacts. There were books long forgotten and some Hermione had only read about...Dark Arts books that even she might admit needed to be destroyed. The jewel-encrusted chests probably contained gold and jewels. As they looked around, they realized that Severus' treasure was tiny compared to this one.

Hermione said, "When we are done with this place, we can turn it over to the Aurors. They will finish breaking any curses and can catalog this for museums, libraries, or wherever else it needs to go. Personally, I'd like to see some of the families damaged by Voldemort or his minions compensated monetarily."

"Always wanting to help," Raven said softly, placing a kiss at her temple. "It's one of the reasons I love you."

"Do you think we should call for help?" He said it in a way that let Hermione know it was the last thing he wanted. "I could not bear it if you suffered anymore injuries."

She tried to joke with him. "Yeah, why am I doing most of the bleeding around here?" But she immediately regretted it when she saw the grimace on his face. "I'm sorry, Raven. I was trying to be humorous. That image of Voldemort scared the hell out of me. Besides, you obviously duck faster than I do. These injuries could have just as easily happened to you. The pain is fading and the bezoar is finally taking effect. I'm much better now."

They moved a bit further into the room. Raven kept an eye on the floor, and Hermione watched the room for spells. They could still feel the dark magic emanating from this place.

Hermione saw something coming toward her out of the corner of her eye and sent up a shield. It was some sort of insect the size of a clenched hand. The thing had a deadly stinger on it. Its wings were gold-colored, and it had a red body. It buzzed around tearing holes in the shield, and she kept putting more up to push it back.

Raven yelled, "Incendio," and it caught the thing and burned it up. The ashes fell to the ground.

They took another step and the floor began to melt like quicksand, and Raven sunk waist deep. Hermione sent a special levitation spell combined with a shield to protect Raven from the elements around him. They'd found the spell in Snape's journal. She clambered up on a box close by. Snakes of all shapes and colors poured from a hole in the wall. Hermione froze some snakes. Raven incinerated some. They trapped others and vanished more of them. They kept coming. In the end, Hermione managed a seal spell on the hole, and Raven burned the rest of them up. They both sat atop the box panting, coughing from the smoke. Unwilling to move until they recovered some strength, Hermione pulled out a kind of baked protein bar that Dobby had brought, some water, and another Pepperup Potion.

They stayed back to back so they could watch the room around them. About an hour after entering the room, it suddenly went dark, and the torches went out. There was a skittering sound, and Hermione felt a dread she hadn't before. "Lumos Maxima," she cried out. They were surround by huge beetles with red and black shells, black beady eyes, and three-inch-long pinchers. Before they could react, one climbed the box and took a slice from Raven's leg. He jumped up and shook the thing away, and more swarmed up the box, several taking slices from his hand and face. He screamed in pain.

Hermione pulled the broom out, and they jumped on and flew up higher into the top of the cave. The entire cave floor was filled with beetles. Hermione used a spell that crushed them. Raven knocked them off of anything higher than floor level, and Hermione continued to crush them.

They cleared the floor with a vanishing spell, relit the torches, and finally settled back to the floor of the cave.

"They were creepy but not exactly lethal or hard to get rid of." She had no sooner said that when Raven paled and fell over.

"Raven!" she cried out. A clear fluid erupted from the wounds on his leg, arm, and face, and it poured over him like water. But when Hermione reached out, she realized it was hard like Lucite or glass. Seconds later, when Raven was totally encased, she touched him and felt hardness and coldness. He'd been encased in a crystalline substance, smooth as ice. She tried several reversals and then sat down and cried.

********

Raven felt cold but still alive. He tried to talk, tried to tell Hermione that he wasn't dead, but he was unable to move. He realized with horror that this could very well be a living death. He could hear Hermione crying. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. He wanted to stop her pain, but he was forced to listen and was unable to even let her know he was there. He struggled against his bonds and nothing changed. He tried wandless magic, but nothing happened.

She finally lay over him, looking down into his face through the crystal casing. Without Raven, she was trapped in here. She would not be able to get through the wall without his touch. She called out, "Dobby, I need help." This time he did not come. She couldn't get out, and no one could get in. She tried a Portkey, but it just sat there in her hand.

He appeared to be asleep, but she knew with Voldemort's horrible sense of humor that in all likeliness Raven was still alive, still hearing her cry.

"Raven! If you can hear me, I will get you out."

"I hear you, Hermione," he thought.

"Raven!" She looked for something to crack the glass casing, and she found a heavy candelabra. She hit the casing as hard as she could, over and over, until the shock of the impact made her feel like the bones of her arm might shatter. Tears were streaming down her face. She threw herself on him. "Oh God, please help me."

Simultaneously they said, "I will love you forever."

Raven could feel his heart pounding against his ribs. He felt as if his heart would break in two. He felt tears blurring his eyes, and they seeped out the sides of his eyes and ran down his cheeks.

At the same moment, Hermione's tears slipped down over the sides of the casing. The two tears ran opposite each other, and the casing cracked. Hermione's eyes flew open, and she stared at the crack. When she saw Raven's eyelids flutter, her tears turned to tears of joy. As they splashed onto the casing, it continued to crack and then shattered. The sound was like twinkling crystal. Suddenly, Hermione felt pain as the tiny pieces embedded in her face and arms.

"Raven, don't move," she screamed.

"Why?" he asked.

"The glass will cut you to ribbons. Hold as still as you can."

With care, she inched her arm up, and her wand slid into her hand. She used it to levitate herself into the air and cautioned him to keep his eyes closed. As she hovered, the tiny shards fell from her like the twinkling of wind chimes. She used a wind spell to blow the shards away. It didn't stop the glass from cutting them, but it kept a lot of it from embedding itself into their flesh.

Unable to grab him and hold him, she carefully levitated him to a standing position and used the wind to take more of the glass away. She lowered herself to stand before him and withdrew her bag from around her neck. She then took out tweezers and carefully removed the glass imbedded in Raven's face. Using her own breath, she blew shards from his eyelids and hair. Having been above him, she had little on her hair, but her hands were cut, and the blood seeped down her wrists.

In turn, Raven carefully removed the shards he could see from Hermione. Then he used a little of the dittany they had brought with them. The cuts sealed shut, and the bleeding stopped.

After some time, they decided they could finally hug, and Raven gathered her gently into his arms. Their kisses were gentle, and more tears of relief mingled on their faces.

"I was so scared, Raven."

"You were here; you were next to me. You didn't leave me. It kept me sane."

She laughed a bit hysterically. "I'm glad you're free; but ironically, I couldn't have gone anywhere without you. I'm stuck in here. And if I could have gotten help, you would have gone with me regardless."

She kissed him deeply, hungry for his body and confirmation she wasn't dreaming. She felt him laugh with relief as he kissed her back.

"I don't know about you, but I need the loo and some food and water."

She smiled and caressed his face. "OK, but if we deem this place finally safe, you're gonna know how much I want you."

"I'll look forward to that," he said. As he stood up and turned away, a grimace flashed across his face. He knew very well that "he" might not leave this place. Snape might be the one to walk out with Hermione. He felt jealous of himself.

They moved toward one end of the room and discovered a loo of sorts...a side room with a chamber pot. It seemed to have its own vanishing spell. Once finished there, Hermione produced some more food and water, and they ate sitting by the wall.

"What do you suppose broke that spell?" Hermione asked.

"Voldemort mentioned it himself: love. He could never understand it. He never, in a million years, thought I would come here with someone I loved. Your tears broke the spell."

"It was sort of like Sleeping Beauty," she mused.

"Well, I could argue about the beauty part," he said with a snort.

Hermione smiled. "I love you so much."

He kissed her again, letting his cheek remain against hers and feeling her soft skin against his. "I love you."

From somewhere in the room, they heard a sliding stone. Instantly, they were on their feet, wands at the ready. Hermione, having looked around the room before, started forward to see what had changed. A door to a hidden chamber had opened across the room.

Slowly and cautiously, they went toward the open door. At the last moment, they reached their hands out and clasped them together. If something hit them, they wanted to be together. A wall of green light formed at the door, and they threw a few curses at it. Nothing happened. It hit them with quite a powerful wind, but it seemed to lose its power against their joint stand. Shelves appeared before them, and they saw a book and a rolled parchment. Many vials of potions and a few huge jewels that Hermione was certain where enchanted stones lay on the shelves.

Hermione grabbed the parchment and unrolled it. She could feel Raven shaking next to her. There, on the parchment, were two bloody handprints.