Chapter 8

This story become very adult in later chapter. Minors, please do not read this story.

Reviews are appreciated

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The force of the explosion caught him mid-chest, and he screamed with agony as the molten potion splashed over him. He fell to the floor, trying to brush the liquid off, and his hands came away with pieces of his garments and skin.

Hermione heard his screams and struggled to her feet.

"Severus!" she screamed.

She turned to her stunned students and said, "Jacobs, go get Madam Pomfrey. Run; do not stop until she comes. Tell her to bring potions for burns."

"But who's burned? Who's screaming?"

The children were all looking around wildly.

Hermione ordered, "Out all of you, NOW!"

They turned and fled their angry teacher.

Hermione brandished her wand and said, "Reproba Tergum."

Severus lay there. His eyes were wild with pain, and his chest was an angry wound of clothing and burned skin.

"Oh, God, Severus." She was on her knees next to him.

"Pain." The word was squeezed out of his mouth through clinched teeth.

Hermione ran to her storeroom and grabbed a pain potion. She was just emptying it into Severus' mouth when Poppy ran into the room followed by Minerva who was moving faster than Hermione thought possible.

"What happened?" the old witch questioned. She stood trembling as she watched the mediwitch work.

Poppy gaped at the horrible wounds that greeted her eyes, and she bent immediately to make a quick diagnosis and send a cooling charm over Severus. He had his eyes clinched closed, and his lips were clamped together to stop the screaming.

The pain medication was finally kicking in, and Severus felt himself start to slip into unconsciousness. He squeezed Hermione's hand to let her know he realized she was there. Then, thankfully, the darkness took him.

Poppy used his unconsciousness to place him on a stretcher and levitate him before her to the infirmary.

Minerva stayed behind to speak to the children who lined the halls.

"Is that a ghost?" one student asked.

Then others chimed in: "Can ghosts be hurt?" "What's going on?" "Hey, that looked like Severus Snape. I read about him in Hogwarts: A History."

Hermione stayed at his side, staring at the white apparition that was Severus. His skin, even without color, looked like an angry, horrible wound.

"What happened?" Poppy asked as she transferred him to a bed and set up a sterile field around him.

"I don't know. I thought he was at my desk. Suddenly, the cauldron I was near sparked. I was about to dive out of the way when I felt shoved. It blew up right next to him."

"What is the potion?" she asked as she used tweezers to extract the pieces of cloth from his flesh. "I'm going to keep him under until the healing can start. These burns are third degree at best. Help me get the rest of his shirt off."

"It was menthol, green tea, and honey. We were making your cough syrup."

Carefully they worked to cut away the shirt and gently remove the pieces that had melted into his skin. Hermione worked, refusing to cry, knowing the tears would burn him even more should they fall on him. She caressed his right cheek, as the other one had an angry burn across it.

Poppy nodded. "He shouldn't get infection from that. The honey was so thick it stuck."

Hermione's voice shook, "Why didn't the spell he was incased in stop this?"

"The shield must have failed. That would mean another layer is gone. It's a very odd spell," Poppy said as she used her wand to clean the rest of the wound. Then she troweled a thick healing paste over his chest, his left cheek, and up and over the bridge of his nose. She finally sighed and stepped away. "I have done all I can. He's strong, and he will heal. The worst should be over by the morning."

Hermione sat down next to the bed.

Poppy said, "You need to let go of the spell. You're exhausted. He will sleep, and I will place a ward over him to let me know if he needs me. You need food and sleep yourself."

"I won't go," she said stubbornly, gripping Severus' hand.

"Alright, but you need to sleep, and it's best if he sleeps, too. Take the bed next to him. I'll have Darby bring up some food, and you will eat and then sleep. Now let go of the spell on Severus."

Hermione leaned in and kissed his cheek. Then she pulled her wand and said, "Reproba Tergum Laxo."

Severus faded from view. Hermione used her wand to move the bed up against his bed, and then she crawled in and held on to his hand.

Poppy smiled sadly at her. She was such a young woman, and she had it bad for Severus Snape, held in a twilight world.

Darby appeared with a stew, and Hermione sat on the edge of the bed. It was awkward because she would not let go of Severus' hand. The food was eaten, and Hermione finally slipped into an exhausted sleep.

Minerva came in quietly and watched the young woman sleeping. Poppy used the spell on Severus so she could see him for a few minutes as she checked him over.

"Will he be alright?" Minerva asked.

"I think so, unless the spell he's under interferes. So far I've not seen evidence of that. His lungs were protected from the steam. The burns are on the skin and top layer of flesh."

Minerva said, "It boggles the mind that he's here. He spent years trapped in that rundown place. I doubt anyone's gone there since he 'died.'"

"You know, Minerva, the layers of this spell seem to be responding to situations involving Hermione. I find that odd. He's put his existence on the line for her a few times, and layers are breaking down. Granted this time he got hurt by it, but the other two times he was just trying to help, or Hermione badly wanted him to be here. It's tied to them..."

"...because of their feelings," Minerva finished for her. "Voldemort wouldn't have done that."

"No but who?"

Minerva got a nasty gleam in her eye. "I will look into it," she said tersely, turning quickly and heading for the door. "Please let me know when he's awake."

Poppy's eyebrows rose, but she didn't say anything. She knew when Minerva had a bezoar up her butt. She laughed. "I'd hate to be the object of her wrath."

She pulled up a chair and resigned herself to a long night.

******

Minerva stormed into her office. "Albus, you get front and center, NOW. I'm not requesting, I'm demanding!"

The old wizard moved into his portrait and sat in the invisible chair. "Minerva, what's wrong?" he asked.

"You know damn well what's wrong. You did this didn't you?" She pointed a finger at him.

"Minerva, what are you going on about? What have I done?"

"You trapped Severus in this God-awful situation. That boy is down in the infirmary fighting for his life."

"Severus? Severus Snape? He's been dead many years," he said with that damnable twinkle in his eye.

"Dead, my eye. YOU did this! You trapped that poor man in that bubble for 15 years. Fifteen years! I want to know why. After the hell that man went through, he deserves happiness. Why would you do this to him?"

"I did it for his happiness," Albus said with his age-old smile.

Minerva sputtered, "How...can...this be for him. He's in agony down there."

"It was not my intention that he be injured during this growing period in his life."

"Then what was your intention?" Minerva asked, crossing her arms and staring daggers at him.

"I knew Hermione fancied him years ago. I saw that she admired him and wanted his approval. She is the only woman I have even known that could challenge the man and rival him in knowledge. They compliment each other. She was, however, too young. Severus never would have taken to her at her age. This places them on a more equal standing, her being Muggleborn and all."

"But you were dead. How did you manage this?" Minerva asked.

"I placed a spell on Severus' wand before I forced him to take my life. If I owe him anything, it's a life of happiness...don't you think, Minerva? I knew that if anyone went to the place Severus 'died,' it would be Hermione. I used some old magic to bind her to him. One of her tears was attracted to his wand. I did not know how long it would take, but I knew one day she would come back here to take her place on our staff. We are home to her. When she returned, she would go back to the place of his death. I gambled that she would see the wand. One way or another, Severus wouldn't have been harmed. The spell had a life of 20 years, and then he would have been released to continue on a life of his choosing."

"This layered thing, it's monstrous. He was horribly burned tonight."

Albus sat up closer to the front of the frame. "Will he be alright?"

"Yes, Poppy's worth her weight in gold. You need to release him."

"No, I cannot. There are conditions on each layer. He has to give of himself willingly. He must realize that he can love and that someone else can love him. There can be no early release."

"He could have DIED getting through this last layer. He's an invisible man, Albus. If Poppy weren't a proficient healer, she would not have known a spell to make him visible for a few hours at a time. She would have been working in the dark."

Albus looked quite pleased with himself. "I did steer her to that years ago, didn't I?"

"I'm going to tell them." Minerva glared at him.

"No, you can't. They have to break through these layers on their own. If they are to truly find each other, love must be the guiding factor."

"Albus, you've done some damn fool things in your life, but this one beats all. I have a staff member with a 'ghost' living in her quarters. Now the students know he's there."

"It will all work its way out, you will see. Two people who have never had real happiness will find it. Give it some time."

******

Hermione became aware as early morning light filtered through the many stained glass windows in the infirmary. She sat up and looked down at Severus who was visible at the moment. The heavy salve was gone, and he had smooth-looking skin on his chest. He was nearly healed. There was only a bit of scarring. She called to him, "Severus?"

Severus heard her voice from far away and struggled to open his eyes. He recognized the effects of drugs to keep him asleep. He finally pried his eyes open and found himself looking into Hermione's eyes.

She ran her fingers down his uninjured cheek. "How are you, Severus? Are you in pain?" She looked earnestly into his eyes. "I'll get Poppy."

"I'm here," the old witch said, pulling herself out of her chair. "I was just going to check on him."

She came over and ran a scan over Severus. "The healing is going very well. It's unlikely you will have much scarring," she told Severus, "but you need to lay very still for the remainder of the day. Your new skin is thin, and it will tear if you move too much."

Severus smiled up at Hermione and then closed his eyes and let himself sleep.

Hermione stared down in his peaceful face and realized how much he'd come to mean to her. She could not imagine a future without him in it. Would he eventually feel the same way? Would they be able to free him of this spell and let him live his life? Layers had already pealed away. What had Poppy said? By her accounting, there were two layers left. But what else would it cost Severus to be free of them? This one could have killed him. She stroked his face and kissed his forehead. She heard Poppy say, "Reproba Tergum Laxo," and she watched him fade away.

Severus slept most the day. Toward evening, he was able to sit up. They tried food, but he still couldn't eat. It was just by some miracle that the pain potions had worked. But then again potions were not like Muggle pills. Potions soaked into all tissues by osmosis. Though it was easiest to ingest a potion, the simple fact of getting it into Severus mouth had allowed him to have benefits of the pain potion.

Hermione stayed by his side most of the day. It was Saturday, and she didn't have to teach, but this was not how she had imagined this weekend with Severus.

Toward evening Poppy checked him over. "You can go back to your rooms. I think it's wise not to wear any clothing on your chest for a day or two. Restrict your activities as much as possible. You may bathe if you so desire but with cool water only. Put on soft, cotton clothing if you need warmth. Try not to use a warming spell or get to close to the fire for a few days. Your skin is going to be very sensitive.

Hermione sighed with relief. She was looking forward to her bed. Severus swung his legs over the side of the bed, and Hermione took his arm as he slid to the floor. He was a bit unsteady. His head still fighting off the drugs Poppy had given him for the pain and sleep, but he didn't complain. Magical medications were far better than Muggle medications. He would have been in torture for months in a Muggle hospital with the burns he had experienced less than 21 hours earlier.

"Thank you, Poppy," he said, kissing the old woman's cheek. "This place could not survive without you."

"Oh, go on with you," she said, her cheeks pinking up. "Once I'm gone, another mediwitch will do as well or better."

Hermione hugged the healer to herself for a long moment. "I will take good care of him. I will call you if there are any problems. Thank you."

"No thanks necessary, Hermione." She said to Severus, "You're like my own. We take care of our own, don't we?"

Severus nodded. "Yes we do." He cupped the woman's face with his hand and let his fingers trail gently over her chin. "Now make me invisible, ladies, so I won't scare the children with my half nakedness."

Hermione laughed and said, "Reproba Tergum Laxo."

Holding on to Hermione's arm, he turned and guided Hermione out of the infirmary.

Their progress was slow, and they walked carefully. The halls were empty. "This damn castle is rather drafty, isn't it?" he said, shivering.

Hermione hugged his arm closer. "I wish we could have used the Floo, but Poppy wasn't sure you'd do well with the harsh entrance."

"It's good to be free of that place. I've spent way too many hours in that place or under her care. That woman has patched me up so many times, Hermione, you can't imagine."

Hermione moved a bit faster with him, wanting to get him into a warmer environment. She'd asked Darby earlier in the evening to start a fire in the room so that it would be warm when they got there.

Finally they reached their rooms. Once the door was locked and warded, Severus sank gratefully into the bed.

"Hermione, do you mind sleeping behind me? I'm not sure I can take even the touch of your silk nightgown tonight."

She smiled. "Of course, Severus. Anything you need."

Severus smirked. "I'm not sure how I appear to you, half naked. I'm sorry if it's not a pleasant sight."

She slipped in behind him and pressed herself up against his back. "You can't imagine how good it is to see you without that shirt and cloak on." She pushed his hair aside and pressed some little kisses against the back of his neck. She slipped her arm over his arm and threaded her fingers through his.

Severus smiled and asked, "So, you like what you see?" His voice was husky with desire.

"Very much," she said.

He brought her hand up to kiss her fingers. "As much as I would like to respond to that challenge, we'd best wait till tomorrow night. Poppy's orders." His deep sigh conveyed his own sadness at having to wait to explore their feelings further.

"Sleep, Severus. Sleep," she soothed him. "We have lots of time."

If there at been an observer, they would have seen a beautiful, young woman spooning a pale, handsome ghost...beautiful and tragic in its own way.

As Hermione fell asleep, the spell faded. It now appeared as if she were alone.

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Lisa, your doing an awesome job. I could not do this without you.

Becky thanks for your support and help.