Battle of Evermore

A/N: To all my readers: Thank you for sticking around and waiting for my slow update--it is much appreciated and I couldn’t continue this story without your support. I also wouldn’t have a story without my team, Lariope, Lulabelle72, and RedSkyAtNight--they are always so encouraging and patient. I also want to give a special thanks to nastygrl for her help by reading through this chapter and giving me some extra ideas.

As Severus stood at the bottom of the stairs that led from the dungeons up to the main floor, Hermione’s threat echoed in his mind.

“To do what I should have done a while ago--I’m turning myself in to Dumbledore about the Beauxbatons situation! And I’m telling him that you had the Horcrux the entire time and are a filthy traitor!”

A small part of Snape knew that the exposed Horcrux was meddling with their psyches, damaging all rational thought, but there was nothing he could do to fight it. All he could think about was getting back what belonged to him--no matter the consequences.

He slipped his wand into his magical pocket, knowing that if he used his wand against Hermione, he would kill them both because of the magic surrounding the book.

“I will only say this once,” he growled, hand out. “You can either hand me the book, or I can take it from you.”

“Piss off,” she snapped before she fled up the stairs.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he raced after her. Their steps clattered loudly as each of them ran across the empty entrance hall towards the grand staircase. Before Hermione started up the stone stairs, she whirled around, flicking her wand at him.

“Stupefy!”

Snape had half a second before the jet of magic would hit him squarely in the chest. He dived to the right, tumbling onto his side and rolling across the cold floor. He snapped his head up just in time to see her running up the stairs.

Disregarding his previous rationale for not using magic, Snape flicked his wand out of his pocket, aimed it at the stairs, and quickly transfigured it into a smooth surface. Caught off guard, Hermione yelped as she fell to her knees and slid down the ramp, landing in front of him again.

Snape lunged to his feet and headed towards her once more, his wand pointed directly at her heart, as the power of the Horcrux taunted him once again.

Turn your wand against her…

Snape’s concentration faltered, and Hermione took advantage of his momentary confusion to shoot a jelly-legs jinx at him. He crumpled to the ground, cursing as she transfigured the ramp back to stairs and sprinted away from him.

“Finite Incantatem!” he shouted, putting a stop to the curse that she had placed on him.

Snarling, Snape scampered to his feet, but instead of running, he took flight and rapidly closed the distance between them, his arms outstretched and reaching for her.

“GIVE ME THE HORCRUX!” he roared, gripping a handful of her bushy hair and yanking her towards him. He landed several steps away from Hermione, who was falling backwards into his body, crying out in pain.

“Get off me!”

As he attempted to pull the book away from her, she kicked him in his shin, and he lost his balance. They both stumbled down the stairs, grunting in pain as the rough stone steps hit their bodies on the way down. Snape landed with a hard thud on the third floor landing, and Hermione crashed on top of him, her elbows stabbing into his ribs.

Hermione, moaning, lifted herself off his body and stood over him, pointing her wand at his chest. As she took a breath to say the spell, Snape kicked her hand, knocking her wand out of her grip. It toppled over the stair rail, and Hermione gasped in horror.

“My wand!”

Snape clumsily got to his feet and gripped Hermione’s shoulders, swinging her around and slamming her into the large portraits hanging on the wall.

“H-help me! Alert Dumbledore that this treacherous man is attacking me!” Hermione shouted to the portraits behind her.

A wizard with a bright purple robe and long white beard chuckled from behind Hermione’s hair. Snape looked at him, frozen in fear that he was going to go to Dumbledore. But then he realized that it was a fellow Slytherin in the portrait, and he knew at that instant he had nothing to fear.

The other portraits milled around in each other’s frames, muttering to one another as they deliberated what to do. But it was the Slytherin in the purple robe who spoke. “No, Miss Granger--we are only bound to the Headmaster. You’re the one who got tangled up with the Slytherin.”

Snape grinned wickedly, baring his crooked teeth before he forcefully kissed her, pinning her against his body, claiming his victory. She squirmed and moaned, trying to escape him.

“You’re mine,” he growled as he released her lips, pulling the book from her grip. He took a few steps away from her. “As is this,” he said, referring to the book.

Her cheeks were flushed, and she had a dreamy look in her eye--the same look she got after they were intimate. He knew his kiss had dazed her, and he chuckled at the power he had over her.

Tears immediately flooded Hermione’s eyes, shocking Snape--he had expected her to forget this nonsense and fall back into his arms.

He was such a fool.

She whirled around, hunched over, mumbling under her breath.

“If you have something to say, face me and say it!” he angrily shouted.

Hermione instantly stopped crying and stood up straight. Before Snape knew it, she had ripped a smaller portrait off the wall, turned on her heel, and forcefully struck him across the face with it. The portrait shouted at the sudden impact, and Snape stumbled backwards, his left cheek searing with pain. Instinctively, he covered his face, trying to protect himself against the wooden frame that Hermione was hitting him with.

Furiously, Snape grabbed the portrait from her and threw it down the stairs. As he did so, she darted past him, heading towards the next floor. Just as he had last time, he levitated himself, rising off the stairs and up to the next floor. As soon as Hermione reached the next flight, he was there, waiting. Startled, she gasped and attempted to turn and run back down the stairs. Snape snatched at her hair, snapping her head backwards and stopping her from running.

“Don’t touch me!”

He wrapped his hand around her upper arm tightly and flew off the ground, rising higher and higher above the stairwell. The paintings raced by incredibly fast, and he could only see blurs of colours as he flew as fast as a flying snitch.

“Please--stop! Put me down! P-please!” she begged, shouting at the top of her lungs.

The book warmed in his grip, taking a hold of Snape once more.

Drop her.

He looked down--they were at least up to the seventh floor by now, nothing was beneath him but the air between his feet and the bottom of the stone stairwell.

Drop her! Make her face her fears, just as you do everyday!

Rage bubbled inside him, and he couldn’t control it--the Horcrux was too close to his body. Hermione, his light, was too close to his heart, and it was all too much for him to handle.

Snape growled in frustration as the power of the Horcrux and the love in his heart warred within him.

Not knowing what else to do to stop the madness in his mind, he released the book.

And Hermione.

As soon as he released her, Snape watched in horror as she fell. It was if she was in slow motion at first; she almost floated for a second before she began dropping like a stack of books. Her screams pierced his ears, and the look of terror on her face shattered his heart. Her hair fluttered widely around her face, and her hands reached above her head, grasping at nothing.

Not able to believe that he had allowed the Horcrux to take hold of his mind and had let Hermione fall to her death, Snape dived after her, arms outstretched, reaching for her.

But before he could grasp her, there was a flash of pale blue light from below and Hermione instantly slowed down and floated to the landing on the third floor. As he lowered himself to the ground, he realized that Hermione was curled in a small ball, crying.

Standing next to her, looking incredibly livid, was Dumbledore.

And he was holding the Horcrux.

I know, it’s short, but it’s action-packed, right? Can you believe he dropped her! Muwhahahahah.