Five

Seventh year was a blur. The Horcruxes were found with help from Severus. Hermione had been able to convince Harry to tell him what was going on. They were lucky that they did so, because deep in the Malfoy library, Severus found a potion that would remove a Horcrux from a living being. He thought this would only be useful on Nagini if she did turn out to be a Horcrux and so put it out of his mind.

The basilisk venom was quite useful to destroy the Horcruxes. Severus was almost drooling when he saw the well-preserved carcass of the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry told him that he could have whatever he harvested, that destroyed any last pretense Severus had of Harry being anything like James Potter. The elder Potter would never have been so generous.

As they had decided, Hermione cast a spell over the Horcruxes to make sure that they had the correct items. The spell, as created by Severus and Hermione, would make any Horcrux glow with a purple light. They were horrified once they cast the spell to notice that Harry’s scar was also glowing. They were dismayed, almost unable to function with the pain of the thought that Harry would have to sacrifice himself, when Severus remembered the potion. They were able to brew the potion successfully, and Harry was no longer carrying a Horcrux.

They trained as well as they could, and when Voldemort finally attacked Hogwarts, all the older students, including those Slytherins who did not want to be associated with the Dark Lord, took their places.

When Voldemort saw Severus fighting with the students, against him, he targeted him almost immediately. Severus fell and was taken to the hospital wing. No one knew if he would live or die.

As distraught as Hermione and Harry were when Severus fell, they continued to fight. And when the chance came to kill Nagini, Neville managed it, with a garden hoe. And Ron saw this, and ran over with the potion to remove the Horcrux. He had just poured it over the snake when he was struck by a curse cast by Bellatrix. When Ron fell, Molly Weasley ran over and cast the Avada Kedavra at the insane witch. She then picked up her son and Apparated to the hospital wing.

By this point Severus was awake and asked how things were going.

“It is down to Harry and Voldemort,” Molly replied. “Ron was struck pouring the potion over Nagini.”

At that moment a great cheer went up. Molly rushed to the window and said: “Oh, thank Merlin. Harry is victorious!”

“And Hermione, Molly, can you see her?” Severus asked almost desperately.

“No, no, oh, yes, there she is. She looks bloody, but alive.” Molly turned to Severus and smiled. “You truly care for her, don’t you?”

“Yes, Molly I do. I realized back in her third year that she was exceptional. Each year, her courage and heart amazed me. Last year when we worked together, we became friends. I said nothing of further feelings this year, because so much was going on, but she has become everything to me.” Severus thought Molly would be disgusted by his confession.

“That is wonderful, Severus. I gave up on the idea of her and Ron after Lavender last year, but I was afraid she would just get lost in her books. I’m glad to see that you and she were able to find something deeper.” Molly declared this more cheerfully than one would have expected, but for all her faults, Molly had raised seven children quite well. She had to have a bit of realist in her.

Hermione had walked in during Severus’s statement. She walked over to his bed and asked him, “Did you mean it? Do I really mean that much to you?”

“Yes, love. Had you died out there, I would have gone, too. You mean the world to me.” Severus’s simple statement caused more than one heart to sigh.

Hermione bent down and kissed him as though nothing else in the world mattered. And you know what? Nothing really did.

Many, many thanks to Annie Talbot for the beta!