To Save A Serpent

A/N: Dear reader, thank you for your wonderful reviews. Please just bare with me in these next few chapters. Thank you.


“How in the bloody fuck did you get in here?” she hissed, but his lips covered hers before she could continue her verbal interrogation. But she pulled away. “If the boys find you here, they’ll kill you!”

“It will have been worth it to see you…” his lips ravaged hers again but he jumped back all too quickly upon hearing the footsteps and then the clattering pan. He sighed when the elf nodded to him.

“Master Snape,” Kreacher said and picked up the pan. “Would you be liking something to eat?”

“No thank you, Kreacher,” he said. “Only your discretion on my being here.”

“As always, Master Snape,” he said and tottled off toward the kitchen.

Hermione’s eyes were wide at him. “You’ve been here before?” she frowned.

“Don’t look at me like that, Hermione, you know why…” he muttered and kissed her lips.

“How did you even get in here?”

“Don’t worry about that, I haven’t much time, but I needed to see with my own two eyes that you were alright…”

Hermione felt her heart well up and gush over. “You’re too much for me, how did you know to find me here?”

He frowned. “I didn’t. I was hopeful. After listening to Potterwatch—”

“What’s Potterwatch?” she asked.

“It’s a radio program that one of the older Weasley brothers has started in an attempt to make sure member of the good side of things can still keep up to date on things in a most secret way,” his lips were quick to claim hers once more. “I’d heard things about your capture, and you need to be alive if you’re going to help Potter take down the Dark Lord.”

“Don’t I look alive enough to you?” she narrowed her eyes and kept her arms tight around him. At any moment Ron and Harry would be back with the ingredients for dinner that she’d sent them to fetch.

“Yes,” he whispered and held her in a tight embrace. “Please, take care of yourself, Hermione Granger.”

“You do the same, Severus Snape.” She kissed his lips once more and sighed as he disappeared out through the door and disapparated. It wasn’t but moments later that the boys came back and were bustling with news they’d heard while out gathering food.

~*~

Her eyes gazed wide eyed at the figure in the door, disbelieving, a wave of confusion sweeping over her. “But you’re— you’re supposed to be—”

“Dead, I know, and I am sorry for my deception but it was the only way for my son to remain safe until Fenrir was taken care of. If he thought I was dead, then he assumed the child would be dead too…” Remus Lupin gave her a small sad smile. “How are you holding up?”

She looked down to her feet. “I’m laying in his bed wondering why I haven’t just offed myself, and then I keep asking myself, what if he’s happy with Harry’s mum on the other side? I’m trapped in hell either way I go…” she said.

Remus frowned. “I am terribly sorry,” both arms extended to hug her.

“Thank you,” she muttered limply in his arms. “I just—” her tears started to form again. “There was so much he needed to know, so many chances when I could have told him and I didn’t. I just don’t know how all that time could have passed and not once did I tell him…”

Remus frowned again. “Hermione, these are difficult times for all of us…the Weasley’s thought they lost Fred, and then I—”

“But you’re all just fine,” she sniffed. “Fred somehow miraculously sprang back to life and you were just hiding out as dead!” her voice carried into a wail. “I mean I’m very grateful you’re both fine, but why hasn’t Severus come back to me? They don’t even know what happened to his body! It was there one minute and the next…” she trailed off just breaking down into unintelligible sobs.

“Come on, Hermione, it’s time…” Remus said and helped her to her feet. She did not argue, only whimpered as she wiped her eyes and slowly followed him from Severus’ chambers and up the dark dungeons until they’d entered the great hall. Everyone was seated, the casket laid out once more at the head of room, only it was no longer black.

Gold and scarlet draperies donned the coffin along with many, many flowers, but the lid was half open and she couldn’t bare to look inside as she moved to the front row of people. It was strange seeing Ginny and Harry crying so hard, in the row just behind where she sat. A warm and friendly hand came onto her shoulder and she turned and saw Fred smiling at her. “It’s going to be alright, Hermione, it isn’t that hard.”

Confused she just shook her head and looked forward. Remus was seated on her right and she was almost shocked to see Tonks leaning her head on his shoulder and next to that, Sirius Black kicking his foot idly at her. “What’s going on?” she asked, turning to Fred but then she saw him. “Severus!” she cried.

His long black robes billowed behind him as he walked slowly down the aisle between the chairs where everyone sat, heading straight toward the coffin. “Severus!” she cried again, but he paid her no mind. Try as she might she found it impossible to move herself from the chair in which she sat.

Tears streaked down his cheeks as he stopped, standing over the coffin. She could hear the sound of crying filling the room. He slowly leaned over the casket and blinked, trying to fight back the weeping that threatened to roll forth from within him. “I’m so sorry, my love, I’m so sorry, Hermione.” His lips descended slowly to the cold, lifeless face of Hermione Granger, who lay still as death itself inside the Gryffindor colored coffin.