Chapter 35

Hermione pounded her pillow for the tenth time. She could not sleep without Severus. This whole ordeal was going to be difficult to get through. She had finally slipped into a light sleep when she felt the bed move behind her, and familiar arms slipped around her waist.

"Severus?" She turned around to face him.

"It better be me, or someone else is dead," he drawled.

She grinned and moved in for a slow, long kiss. "Merlin, I missed you."

"Me too." He laid his cheek against her chest, snuggling into her.

Hermione soon realized he'd fallen asleep, and she let herself drift off in the safety and comfort of his arms.

A hand making lazy circles across her belly woke her to the dim light of sunrise. Lips touched her cheek softly.

The hand slid up to gently caress a breast. "Mister Snape, what do you have in mind?" she whispered.

He grinned against her cheek. "I thought a good shagging would be nice. You up for it? Sorry, I don't have a lot of time. The boys will be in the lab in 30 minutes."

She caressed his hair and said, "I'm always up for a shagging." Her laughter rolled over him like beautiful wind chimes.

He rose half above her and then attacked, giving her a thorough kissing. She clung to him, letting her hands roam his body, which she now realized was naked. She hadn't had the nerve to sleep alone in someone else's house without her gown on, and she now wished it was gone.

But it didn't take long for Severus to remove it. Their bodies pressed against each other, and their hands stroked arms, legs, stomachs, and other, more sensitive spots.

Hermione arched against his fingers. She threw her leg over his hip, and he slipped in, pressing himself into her. Their bodies moved slowly and deliberately, slipping deeper and deeper into their need to go over the top. The climax was a hard one, and Hermione muffled her screams of pleasure against his lips. His cry echoed around in her head. They clung to each other as their breathing slowed and their heartbeats settled down.

Hermione found tears sliding down her cheeks, and Severus held her while she cried. He did not have to ask her why. He knew being in the Malfoy house brought back bad memories, and she missed being with him all day. He felt her loss as much as she did his. He knew she worried they wouldn't be able to help Molly and Arthur in time.

"Thank you, for coming here last night, Severus," she finally whispered.

"You're welcome, but it was as much for me as it was for you. I couldn't sleep without you, my love." He pressed a kiss onto her forehead. He started to move away, and she clung to him.

"Five more minutes, Severus," she begged.

He sighed and settled down to hold her close. After the five minutes passed, they got up, took a quick shower, and dressed. She kissed him goodbye, and then he reached into his pocket and took hold of the Portkey and was gone.

Hermione blinked back tears and took a deep breath. She headed down for breakfast and then up to Voldemort's library to work.

*****

When Severus entered the lab, Albus and Scorpius were already there. They looked tired, and he eyed them suspiciously. "Did you sleep?" he asked pointedly.

The boys nodded. He could see it wasn't all the truth, but he didn't admonish them. They'd probably been in the lab for hours already. He could see that Scorpius had already crossed off a few of the potions he had wanted to test the night before. He rolled up his sleeves and joined them.

Late in the afternoon, Scorpius screamed, "This one works!"

Severus rushed to his side and watched as he demonstrated the potion on small mice they had infected with Molly and Arthur's blood. The water the mice had to constantly sit in to stay alive stopped being drawn into their bodies at the alarming rate that it had been before the potion. Scorpius had to turn the flow of the in-feed way down. This mouse looked healthier than it had. Its thin body retained a more normal fluid level and did not overfill, as some had previously.

Severus grabbed the boy and hugged him. He clapped Albus on the back. Great job, boys. "I must get this to St. Mungo's immediately." He took a generous supply of the potion from Scorpius' cauldron and placed it in a bottle, which he slipped into his cloak pocket. Then he reached into his other pocket and took hold of the Portkey for St. Mungo's.

Upon arrival, he shouted for Miriam Strout as he came into the hospital foyer. The staff had been alerted to the fact that he would come suddenly, and they quickly took him to the room where Molly and Arthur were being treated. Healer Strout grabbed the potion, did a few tests, and within minutes administered a dose to her patients.

Severus stood back and watched.

His friends had aged years since Severus had last seen them. They looked at him with hopeful, but terrified, eyes. Harry and Ginny were there in the room and stood holding on to each other as they saw the potion change Molly and Arthur. The hollow, dried look about their faces slowly vanished, and their wrinkles started to disappear. The tubs they were suspended in started to overflow, and the healers reached up to turn the taps off.

"Severus, was that a cure?" Molly asked.

Severus shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, but it will give us time."

Ginny put her arms around her mother, and they cried huge sobs that wracked their bodies. Tears of hope and relief.

"Harry, you left Hermione alone at Malfoy Manor?" He tried hard not to let his voice sound angry.

"I had another Auror come to keep an eye on her. She will be okay. Ginny sent a Patronus that they were getting worse. I had to come."

Severus cringed at the raw emotion still coming from the women. He felt Harry's hand grab his shoulder, and he turned to see Harry giving him support in the only way he could. "Thank you, Severus."

Severus replied, "Thank Scorpius Malfoy. It was his and Albus' potion. They have been working nearly non-stop for two days."

"Scorpius." He seemed to balk, but then he took a deep breath. "It's hard to get over the prejudices of the past." He looked Severus straight in the eye.

"Yes," Severus said slowly, "but it can be done. Don't you think, Harry?"

"Yes," he said evenly. They both knew they weren't talking only about Scorpius anymore.

"We all did what we had to, what was planned for us by Albus Dumbledore. My role was as difficult as yours," Severus explained.

"More difficult I think," Harry said. "I have a hard time forgiving him for what he asked of us without explaining. I think if we'd had a choice, we would have done the same thing. Don't you think so, sir?"

Severus nodded. "Yes, we would have," he said with conviction. "I must return and let the boys know how it's going. Please let me know immediately if it begins to fail."

"I'll have Ginny send word," he promised the older man. "I'll go back to help Hermione," he assured Severus.

"Thank you, Harry. I do not feel comfortable without you there, but I understand why you had to leave." He turned and left the room.

Harry went to give Ginny a kiss and told her he had to return to Malfoy Manor.

******

Hermione was looking through the desk and shuffling through papers. She carefully examined every item that was in the drawers. She was about to close a drawer when she caught sight of a piece of paper nearly hanging behind the rear of the drawer. She got on her hands and knees and carefully pulled the drawer open as she heard Harry coming back into the room.

"Hey, what did you find? Let me check, please," he said bring his wand out and casting some spells around the desk.

"It's just a piece of parchment, maybe a book page," she explained, annoyed with the constant checking. It wasted so much time. "What happened at the hospital?" she asked, sitting back on her haunches.

"Good news. It looked dire when I got there, but Severus came with a potion the boys made. It helped, Hermione. It really helped." He finished his survey of the desk, lowered his wand, and then stepped back for her to move in.

"I'm so glad." Then she asked, "Did you see Severus?" She was curious about how that had gone.

"Yes, we talked," Harry said, watching her draw the drawer out and fetch the paper.

She stood, and he cleared a place for the page on the desktop. It was immediately clear that this was only a part of a page. The bottom was torn off.

Hermione began to decipher the ancient runes. "It's a spell," she said. "It speaks of darkness, ancient death." Her voice became excited, "receding waters, husk ... Oh, Harry it's not complete; part of it is gone. This could be it, but it's not all here."

She immediately dove at the desk and pulled out every drawer. The rest of the page was not there. She slumped back, her eyes filling with tears.

"Please, Harry, send for Severus. He knows more about Dark Magic. Maybe he will have heard of this. Maybe he saw something when he was with Voldemort."

Harry nodded and sent off his Patronus.

Severus was sitting down to a long-deserved meal with Albus and Scorpius when the Patronus arrived. He recognized it immediately, and his heart stopped.

"Hermione found something, and she asks that you come." Harry's voice sounded excited.

Severus sat catching his breath; she was okay. He felt Albus tug at his shoulder. "Are you okay, Sir? Professor?"

He gulped air and nodded. "I'm okay. For a moment, I thought something was wrong with Hermione," he admitted to the startled boys. "I can't imagine life without her." He didn't see the pain that winced across Scorpius' face. The boy still had some guilt left in his heart for what he'd tried to do to them.

Severus stood. "Please, eat your lunch, and then take some time to relax. Go out and play a round of Quidditch. You deserve it. So far word from St. Mungo's is positive. You can afford an hour or two off." He reached in his pocket as he stepped away from them, touched the Portkey, and he was gone.

The boys grinned and gulped down the rest of their lunch. A game of Quidditch was just what they needed.

******

Severus barreled through the gates as soon as one of the house-elves opened it for him. He raced through the house and up to the tower.

Hermione was studying the parchment page before her with a magnifying glass. Harry was staring at it over her shoulder.

Severus stepped to her side while admonishing them both. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. Is everyone okay?"

"Sorry," they chorused. Harry was turning the page this way and that while she examined it, and Hermione didn't need to give him directions. Harry and Hermione did not even look up at him. He frowned. They had been so close, and they could still finish each other's sentences. He found that nagged at him. He shook the silly thought away. He sometimes let his old, possessive self give sway to his thoughts.

He bent to look at the parchment and read the words aloud.

Duco Vita Coactum

Drawer of a life force, wrought from alchemy,

Bringer of death, stern and dour

Revenge upon thine enemies

Wilt thou take with thy power

Past the time of the caster's death,

this curse ravage to their last breath.

Time given for lessons hard learned

Reversal can be achieved in turn.

Duro Vita Coa...

"It's not complete," Severus said resignedly.

Hermione nodded. "But I think it may only be the last line. It's missing for a reason. That bastard must have memorized it. We can continue to look, but I thought maybe you might be able to work with it. I know you have the creativity to write your own spells."

He nodded, thinking back to when Harry had used one of his own spells against Draco and nearly killed him. "Yes, I will take it back to Hogwarts, and you two keep looking."

Hermione got up and wrapped her arms around him. "If anyone knew that monster, it was you and Lucius. You may have to go see him again."

Severus shuddered against her but nodded. "I will do what I must." He told them that the potion continued to keep the status quo with Arthur and Molly. This was giving them precious time they had not had before.

Harry had stepped back when Hermione had mentioned Severus' abilities to create his own spells. The use of Snape's potion book had been a dark time in his life, culminating with the death of Dumbledore. For months he'd had nightmares of watching the blood watching the blood seep from Draco's body and mix with the water on the floor of the bathroom.

Severus saw his white face, and he had no trouble figuring out where Harry's thoughts had wandered. "Harry, it's the past. Let it go."

Harry nodded, grateful for this new Severus. He actually was coming to admire and like the man. He saw the all-encompassing love Hermione had for Snape, and he trusted her judgment more than his own.

"Thank, you, Sir." Harry let the thoughts go back into the dark parts of his mind he didn't visit anymore. He knew he still owed Draco an apology.

Severus studied the younger man's face and saw all sorts of emotions passing across his face. "Maybe when all this is over we can really have a talk, Harry. We can put all the ghosts to rest."

Harry smiled. "I'd like that, Severus."

Hermione looked with love from her husband to her best friend. It warmed her inside to know that they might actually become friends. She frowned, thinking about Ron momentarily. He was such a git.

She hugged Severus close and offered her mouth. He kissed her and then stepped away. "I need to get back to the lab. I gave the boys a few hours off to play Quidditch. It will be good for them to get in some exercise and sun."

Harry nodded. "Please tell Albus and Scorpius how proud I am of them, and give Albus my love." He laughed when Severus frowned.

Hermione laughed and playfully punched his stomach. "You can do it."

Severus only glared at them and strode away, wondering if he'd able to give Albus Harry's 'love,' to say those silly words to a teenaged boy for his father. I will see when I face the boy, he thought.

Severus returned to his office. He checked the lab and found the boys were still out playing. He stood at the window and watched them practicing. They were both really quite good, but that wasn't a surprise. He knew they would be on a team soon.

He turned to the desk and sat, drew the parchment out of his robe, and began to read through the ancient runes. He made notes and studied the ebb and flow of the verse the spell was written in. If there was a tune, how would they ever find it? He knew a lot of spells with a sort of singing rhythm. He'd invented some of them himself.

He got a couple of the mice they had for experimenting on and sat them in a small cage on the desk before him. He directed his words at one of them and began to chant the spell. At first nothing happened; then, suddenly, the mouse began to squeak and run. His body twisted in agony, and then he turned into a puff of dust and was gone.

Severus sat horrified. The missing parts of the spell were the parts that allowed the victim to linger. He took a shuddering breath and put the other mouse back in a cage. He would have to study it more carefully before he tried that again on another living creature.

He decided it was time to revisit Lucius. If that didn't help, he would have to revisit his memories with Voldemort. Could he see those again, could he stop the evil that was his past from damaging who he was now? Taking Hermione with him could help anchor him in this new life, but he did not want her to see what he'd been.

He stood and left a note for the boys. He went to his and Hermione's rooms and got a few books, some food, clothing, other supplies, and a blanket and headed for the gates of Hogwarts. He'd not confirmed with Draco about whether he'd gotten anything to Lucius or not.

A little while later, standing against the noise and spray of the sea, he took a deep breath and stepped up to the guarded gate.

Lisa, thank you for your Beta work. You keep hanging in there no matter what I ask. I really appreciate the consistancy you bring to my work. I can always count on you.

A special thank you to Ms. Tree. She helped me with the verse above. I very much appreciate the help.

Thank you, Angelea and Becky for your thoughts and comments.