A Body Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

Thanks once again to those of you who have taken the time to read this story and review it.

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks as always to June for all of her help and suggestions.

Chapter 14 – A Body Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

Ron had spent almost an hour helping Hagrid feed the Hippogriffs, a few of the unicorns, and one caged manticore in the pen. As he was getting ready to leave, Hagrid asked him to take the body of a newly dead gnome to the Potions classroom. The half-giant knew that Hermione used the blood and intestines of gnomes for some healing potions. Not knowing of the battle brewing back at the classroom, Ron made his way to the dungeons.

~*~

Voldemort-as-Severus came out of the Potions storeroom with Severus' wand drawn. Hearing him walking out of the small room, Lucius turned to see a wand pointed straight at him.

Lucius narrowed his eyes.

"You, of all people. You betrayed me, Lucius?" seethed Voldemort.

Lucius snorted. "Well, I see that there's no point in denying it. Yes, I betrayed you."

"I'm looking forward to killing you, Lucius. I wish I could strangle the life out of you, but I have better things to do with my time." Now Voldemort smiled. "Like making your pretty little wife my whore."

Lucius lunged at Voldemort who was fully aware that not only did he have a battle physically, but he had an inner battle as well. Severus was using all of his experience with meditation to mentally cast Voldemort down in his place.

"I blame myself," Lucius said as he grabbed Voldemort by the neck and pushed him against the wall. "So many chances to kill you and never taking any of them."

Voldemort was thankful he'd taken over a body with such strength, as he kneed Lucius in the stomach.

"That's right; you should have killed me when you had the chance, Lucius!" He grabbed Lucius by the back of the head and slammed his head on one of the desks. "Rest assured, I will not let any opportunity to kill you pass."

Lucius saw stars as his head hit the wooden desk. He felt himself grabbed from behind but used his elbow to deliver his own blow.

Voldemort doubled over and kneeled, trying to catch his breath. At that moment, Severus was able to move into control of his own body.

"Lucius," Severus said as he raised his hands. "Get Albus. I can't control him much longer."

Lucius' eyes nearly shot out of their sockets. He quickly turned and began to run towards the door, but before he could make it out he was knocked down. He fell forward heavily as Voldemort-as-Severus stood behind him clutching a cauldron in one hand. Hearing footsteps coming down the hall, the Dark Lord quickly dragged Lucius' unconscious body behind a brewing table.

Voldemort looked around quickly trying to find Severus' wand, which had been knocked out of his hand. Before he could locate it, he heard the latch on the door click and the door opened.

~*~

At that moment, Ginny was making her way towards Hogwarts. After Hermione didn't come back to Malfoy Manor, she Flooed her father to ask if she was still there. Arthur informed her that she'd gone to Hogwarts. Ginny immediately ran outside to the Manor's Apparition point. Being pregnant didn't keep her from Apparating; it was only Floo travel that didn't agree with her present state. As quickly as she could she walked towards the castle and made her way to the dungeons.

~*~

Hermione had gone to Severus's rooms. She knocked at the door.

"Severus," she called. After knocking for several minutes she let herself in. There was a mess of potion bottles in the bathroom. She gathered he'd been looking for something he was out of, and she decided Severus would most likely come to the Potions classroom to see if there was any stock of whatever potion he was missing.

Voldemort-as-Severus spun around as he heard Hermione's voice.

Hermione entered the classroom now and walked slowly towards him but kept her distance, uncertain whether it was Severus or Voldemort in control of Severus' body. So far, so good.

"I...I needed to speak with you about something." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "First, I want you to know that I know it wasn't you that...that..." She opened her eyes and looked at Severus, who now stood near the door.

"That raped you?" finished Voldemort. He approached her slowly.

Hermione moved back slightly as he corralled her towards the far end of the classroom. When her back was against the wall, she was trapped. There was an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Severus?" she asked as her voice cracked and fear now gripped her.

"No, not Severus." Severus' face smiled as his eyes now exuded a faint red glow.

She grabbed her wand and pointed it towards Severus' body.

"I don't suppose you would care to go another round?" taunted Voldemort.

Hermione's hand was shaking.

"Leave him alone, get out of his body!" she yelled.

As Voldemort approached her he once again felt dizzy and dropped to his knees.

Severus heard Hermione's voice. He knew that Voldemort wouldn't think twice about killing her. He hadn't been able to keep the monster from hurting her the first time, but now he was prepared to do anything to keep him away from Hermione. He knew what he had to do. With what felt like the last bit of energy he had left, he once again took control of his body.

"Hermione." His breathing was heavy as he looked up at her through the dark curtain of hair around his face. "You have to kill me, Hermione."

She cried, shaking her head. "No, I can't, Severus I can't kill you, please." Hermione frantically began to pat her chest. Finding the page she'd torn from Voldemort's spells book, she took it out and shook it towards Severus. "I know what the hex was. It's here. We can figure it out together, Severus, please. We could find an answer. You don't have to die."

Severus stood and walked towards her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Don't you see Hermione, it's the only way. If I'm dead, he has no body to control. I die, he dies with me."

"But..."

"Do it now! Please, Hermione, do this one thing for me. Free me of this curse once and for all." Severus caressed her tear-stained cheek. "Hermione, I've lived almost my entire life serving a man who is more demon than human. I can't live like this anymore. If you love me then you will do this one final act of mercy towards me." He leaned down and kissed her softly on her trembling lips, then backed away from her.

Hermione raised her wand, wondering how she was going to find enough hate inside of her to cast the Killing Curse.

Severus stopped near the door that led to Hermione's office.

She knew she loved him, more than she would ever love another man in her life. In such a short time he had come to mean everything to her. Severus was the one man she knew she could spend the rest of her life with; he was all she wanted and needed. And now she had to kill him because of the dark soul inhabiting his body. Voldemort. How many hundreds of thousands had he killed – men, women, children. He'd raped her brutally, and then taunted her. Because of him she now had to kill Severus. Allowing the hate to fill her body she formed the words.

"Severus," she said brokenly.

"I love you, Hermione," whispered Severus.

"Avada Kedavr..."

Suddenly, Severus' body was thrown back against the office door with such force that two of his ribs cracked and his shoulder was dislocated. His body slid down the door, as Hermione dropped her wand and rushed to him. She cried as she held his limp body against her and rocked him.

Just then, Ginny burst into the classroom. She looked at Hermione, crying and holding Severus' limp body. As Ginny took a step towards them, she heard a moan near a long table she remembered using when she was a student. She looked on the ground and noticed someone lying against the wall. Rushing towards the body, she then realized it was her husband.

"Lucius!" Ginny dropped to the ground and lightly touched her husband's face. "Lucius, my beautiful man, what did he do to you, love?" She noticed blood on his hair.

Lucius turned towards Ginny's voice and opened his eyes. He was seeing double as he looked at his wife. Luckily, when he was hit with the cauldron, Voldemort only grazed him slightly – enough to knock him out but not enough to do any permanent damage. He thought he heard crying in the distance.

"Ginny, get Albus," he said before he blacked out.

Ginny stood and walked towards Hermione. She placed her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Hermione, I'm going to get Albus." She quietly exited the classroom and began walking to the Headmaster's office.

"Oh, Severus, what am I going to do without you?" As Hermione brushed the hair from his bruised cheek, her thumb touched the vein in his neck. She felt a pulse. She stopped when she heard a moan escape his lips.

"What the hell?" groaned Severus.

"Severus!" She shook his body and he groaned again but louder this time, as he was clearly in pain. "Severus, you're alive! But...you should be dead."

"I felt him...shift inside of me. As you were saying the curse, something happened. Hermione, I think he's...gone." Severus tried to stand. Hermione helped him get to his feet only to have his knees buckle. Severus fell to the ground again, only he didn't fall hard since Hermione was holding on to him.

"I don't understand, Severus. The hex, it said that you both would die."

"Let me see that paper you were waving about." Severus placed his hand on his rib cage as the pain throbbed.

Hermione picked up the page from the floor and held the paper in front of him as he read.

"It says that reversal would cause death," said Hermione.

Severus looked at the torn page. "No, you read it wrong. Some of the words are faded, but it says, 'Reversal can only come on fear of death.'" He looked at her.

"But I hit you with an Unforgivable," said Hermione.

"You didn't finish saying the curse. Voldemort knew you were going to kill me and my body would die. He did the only thing he could, he fled."

They both looked around the classroom.

Lucius had woken up again and moved around the corner of the table. He held his injured head and looked at the witch and wizard now eyeing him.

"Well, don't look at me. I'm not housing the bastard."

Albus, Poppy and Minerva came rushing into the room, followed by Ginny.

"Am I correct in thinking you are now alone?" asked Albus as he looked at Severus.

The former potions professor nodded as he was helped to his feet by the old wizard.

Poppy and Minerva helped Lucius walk out of the classroom while Albus assisted Severus. As they all headed towards the hospital wing, where they would cast diagnostic spells to verify that Voldemort was not in Lucius or Severus, Ginny and Hermione saw Ron's unconscious body behind an iron grate that was next to one of the dungeon's stone pillars. The Minister of Magic's youngest son still clutched the dead gnome's small body against him.

~*~

As Hermione was readying herself to cast the Killing Curse, Voldemort's mind began to race. All those years of planning, sifting through volumes and volumes of books until he found the obscure curse that allowed him to inhabit Severus' body – it would all be for naught. A Mudblood was now going to ruin everything. If Hermione hit Severus' body with the Killing Curse, both Voldemort and Severus would indeed die. Voldemort began to move, he tried to surface, yet he couldn't. Severus was expressing his love to the bitch and his love for her was keeping Voldemort from taking over Severus' body. As Tom heard the words forming in Hermione's mouth he did the only thing his instinct could have him do: he fled.

His soul whirled inside of Severus' body, and then with all his might he willed himself to withdraw. Voldemort went through Severus' body; it was the force of his leaving that threw Severus' body against the wall, not the Killing Curse, as Hermione had thought. He felt his soul move through something cold, then fresh air, and finally...it stopped. Voldemort was inside another body. As luck would have it, he'd found another body. He felt its warmth surround him. He laughed. He'd accomplished much that morning. He managed to get the traitor Severus killed and he was still alive.

Alive in the body of another.

~*~

It took Poppy only a few minutes to verify that neither Severus nor Lucius had any extra company. She mended Severus' ribs and shoulder. Lucius was lucky enough to only have a large bump and a cut on his head; after Poppy closed the cut, he was well enough to go home.

Ginny and Hermione moved Ron into the hospital wing using a Mobilicorpus spell. They floated him to a bed next to Severus. Everyone eyed the young man. Not wanting to contact her parents just yet about her brother's condition, Ginny waited until Poppy examined Ron.

Poppy approached Ron and slowly waved her wand over his body. She sadly looked at the rest of the group.

"I'm afraid that I'm picking up a magical signature just as when I examined Severus."

Ginny gasped and burst into tears. Her brother had been through so much. The blow to his head during the final battle had left him with a horrible affliction, where he'd only had moments of lucidity in the past ten years. But lately, he'd found his life again. The potion Hermione and Severus had developed for him allowed him to have a normal life once more. He was working and was able to perform magic like he used to. All he had to do was drink his potion for breakfast; its effects lasted twenty-four hours. He hadn't experienced any more outbursts with the potion. And now, he was lying in a hospital bed, the host to Voldemort's soul.

Ron began to awaken and immediately tried to sit up. "Blimey, what the bloody hell happened?" he asked as he slowly raised himself to a sitting position. He looked at the somber faces in front of him. Ginny was being held by Lucius as she cried; Hermione was sitting on Severus' bed as he had his arm over her shoulder in a comforting gesture. Albus, Minerva and Poppy all stared at him.

"Ron, how...how do you feel?" asked Albus.

"Like I've been trampled by a herd of dragons, but I suppose other than that I feel all right." Ron was about to ask why everyone was looking at him so, when he felt a movement behind him. He stood and turned to look at the bed. His jaw dropped when he saw what had been moving.

"Merlin's hairy asshole," declared the red headed young man.

Everyone immediately looked to the bed to see what Ron was staring at. Their jaws dropped.

"What the hell are you all staring at?" said the tell-tale voice of Voldemort.

Severus was the first to burst into laughter, followed by Lucius.

"Stop laughing! What are you two fools laughing at?" yelled Voldemort.

Albus stepped forward. "Good lord, Tom, you're a gnome."

~*~*~*~*~*~

I hope you all enjoy Voldemort's new predicament. This story is coming to a close. I was going to post this chapter tomorrow, but I decided to just post it today. I should have another chapter or two ready to post in a few days hopefully.

Thanks for reading.