Never the Two Shall Meet

Three things are apparent to me as I slowly struggle to wake up. First, I am now in a bed instead of on the floor, and judging by the sounds I am in the Hospital wing. I can hear Ron and Harry, and can tell they are worried about me by the tone of their whispering voices.

“Do you think she’ll be ok?” Harry asked.

“Why do think she was leaning on Snape that way?” Ron added his own question.

“She will be just fine, Harry, she just needs some rest,” Dumbledore suddenly speaks behind them. “She also may need a little reassurance that all is well.”

“I don’t know about all being well, we lost quite a few good people over this war,” Harry said with resignation.

“That we did young Harry, but the ones she cares about most are alright. That will help.” Dumbledore turned to Ron. “Your question will have to be answered when she is ready to explain. It is a very interesting story I might add.”

I feel someone lean close to my ear, before speaking.

“He is going to live. Now you must hurry to wake so you can be at his side.”

I feel Dumbledore straighten himself drifting off to speak with Madam Pomfrey.

“What did that mean?” Ron was talking to Harry again.

“Don’t know mate, but I guess we have to wait to find out. I think it must have something to do with the fact that Snape was trying to help her when she was hurt.”

“Yeah, I wonder why he did that.”

As Dumbledore’s words sank in I finally managed to open my eyes, looking around wildly trying to find Severus. I spot him on the next bed. Jumping up I race past Harry and Ron’s shocked faces to his bedside.

“Severus, I thought I was going to lose you. Please wake up. I need you.” Tears are flowing unchecked down my cheeks as I sit on the edge of his bed clutching his hand, waiting.

“Ummm…Hermione what is going on?” Harry questions softly, afraid of my reaction.

“I nnneed him to wwwake up.” I stutter between tears. “I nnneed to know he’s alright.”

Suddenly I feel his hand squeeze mine. A new wave of tears fall as I watch his eyes slowly flicker open. His gaze falls on mine as he sighs with relief to see me. Without thinking of the consequences he pulls my face to his giving me a lingering kiss.

“I almost lost you,” he whispers. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I won’t,” I promise with another kiss.

At the sound of someone clearing their throat we both look up. Harry and Ron are staring at us as if we had just sprouted tails.

“I guess we have to explain now huh?!” I say to the two of them, feeling Severus squeeze my hand again in encouragement. “I will explain this, but you still need to explain how you are still alive Harry. What happened when you went into the Forest?”

“Snape took me to Voldemort just as Dumbledore said he would. Voldemort did his thing killing the portion of his soul that was inside me, then I just pretended to be dead, waiting until no one was paying attention before slipping my cloak on. The rest you already know since you were there.”

“But how did you become a Horcrux?” Hermione asked.

“Dumbledore and I figured it out a few months back,” Severus suddenly spoke up. “We figured by the time he tried to kill Harry when he was a baby, Voldemort had already said the spells that would help him form the Horcrux he wanted to make with Harry’s death. So when the spell hit Harry and rebounded killing Voldemort, for all intents and purposes, the spell still did its job in a way. The broken piece of his soul that he had ready needed a place to go. It went into Harry, being the only living thing there. That was what truly connected the two.”

“How come you didn’t tell me? I was so upset, I thought all was lost when I saw Harry lying there.”

“Dumbledore thought it best not to tell you. He didn’t want to take a chance that you would give it away by not reacting enough to Potter's death.”

“Wait, is that what you’ve been holding back Harry? Every time I asked what was wrong was that it?” I ask suddenly catching on.

“Yes, it was hard not telling you that I knew I had to give myself up, but it was the only way,"Turning to Ron he adds, “I guess we know who Dumbledore’s spy has been. I wonder how long ‘Mione has known though.” He looks pointedly at me.

“I take it its my turn to talk?” I say a little nervously.

“I told you what you wanted to know so, yeah, I believe it is your turn.”

“Oh, alright. I guess now is as good a time as any.” I say with trepidation. It was one thing to want my friends to know, it was another to have to tell them. “The summer before last I was doing some research in the library. As you know Dumbledore gave me permission to come here that summer to help try and figure out ways to get rid of Voldemort. Well, as I was about to leave the library I heard Dumbledore and Severus in the stacks talking. Stepping a little closer I could make out what they were saying. They were talking about you, Harry. Severus was filling Dumbledore in on what Voldemort was going to do. Planning to have Malfoy trick you into meeting somewhere then using the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement he was supposed to take you to Him. As you know that never happened, Severus stopped him. I wasn’t sure what to do as I stood there listening. I pondered for a moment too long though, as Dumbledore and Severus walked out from the stack catching me unaware. I hurried to apologize, but Dumbledore said it was alright. He took me to a table to explain how Severus became a spy for the Order right before your parents were killed. He felt guilty for being the one to pass on Trelawny’s prediction. As soon as he realized his childhood friend and her son where in danger he sought to help as best he could. Unfortunately it was too late. So he has spent his life looking out for you. Not much of a task when you were with the Muggles, but once you re-entered the Wizarding world it was a very big task indeed.” I stopped to take a breath after my long speech.

“If you were protecting me why have you always been so mean?” Harry couldn’t help but ask.

Severus answered with a wry smile,“Dumbledore and I thought it best that I continue to act as a follower of Voldemort. Death Eaters did not take kindly to what you did, albeit by accident, to their master. So naturally I would have to hate you. It was for the benefit of those students who could go back to their families to report on my behavior. I do not regret my behavior as I noticed the harder I was on you the more determined you were to beat me at my own game. Each time I ridiculed your potion you were more likely to make it right. I knew Hermione was helping you some but you also had your pride that didn’t want me to make you look like a prat. So you studied and worked hard. No, I don’t regret being tough on you at all.”

“Anyway, I started tentatively asking Severus some questions. Slowly we began to trust each other. Sometimes when you thought I was in the library studying last year, I was actually in Severus’ office. We would talk about the past, his friendship with your mother, his time at school. He even told me how he ended up with the Death Eaters and things he had done. Not pretty pictures either. As time went on our feelings started to change. I noticed it but didn’t want to say anything at first. Figuring I was too young and he would never look at me in that way. Towards the end of the year though, I finally got up the nerve to tell him. I was shocked to find out he felt the same. Of course I was still too young, being only sixteen. So we decided to remain friends. He would send me owls almost everyday last summer. Just little notes letting me know he was thinking about me.” I smile at him as I remember the sweet things he had said. “I had made my mind up that we were meant to be together. I just had to convince him. So as soon as we came back to school I started working on him. He wanted to give in so bad, I could see it. As my birthday approached I reminded him I was nearly an adult in the Wizarding World.” I paused for a moment as Severus continued.

“I decided to speak to Dumbledore about what I felt were inappropriate feelings to have for my student. I explained that I had not done anything that we should feel bad about, but we had confessed our love for each other. I couldn’t help myself, I seem to not be able to hold back when it comes to her.” He smiles at me now. “To my surprise Dumbledore pointed out the same things Hermione had been saying. She was almost seventeen and with a mind like hers she was not likely to make her feelings known if she had not sorted through them already. So after making me feel better I went back to ‘Mione to tell her that I would wait for her to finish school, then we could explore our feelings. On her birthday I asked her to be my wife.”

“I gladly accepted. When Severus again went to Dumbledore to tell him the news, he got quite a shock.”

“Dumbledore said with the war approaching he saw no reason why the two of us should have to wait. If things were going to be tough on everyone he wanted to make sure we all had something to live for. So he offered to marry us over Christmas holidays.”

“After you left to go to the Burrow with Ron and all the students had left the school, we had a private ceremony with the teachers acting as witnesses,” As I finished I whispered the spell. My ring appeared on my finger the same as Severus’ did. This time there would be no need to make it vanish again. “So there is our story for you. Now I know you are going to be upset with me, but please understand I knew what I was doing. I am very happy with Severus and nothing you say is going to change that.”

“I knew you were hiding something, but I didn’t dream it was this big,” Harry was still in shock. “I thought maybe you were sneaking off to meet Malfoy or something. I was trying to deal with the idea of that. I never entertained the thought that it would be Snape you were meeting. Just give me a little while to process things.”

“I don’t know what to think. He has helped make our lives hell, Hermione. Then you go and marry him so we’re supposed to just forget all that?" Ron questioned angrily."How could you let that slimey git touch you? I thought you were smarter than that!"

"I am smart enough to know what I want and to go after it, Ronald. If you don't like it that is your problem! But as my friend I truly hope you will see how good a man Severus is. When you are ready to forgive and ready to move on let me know," I yelled back at him using up what little strength I had.

"I don’t think I can forgive that fast. Not the man who has made our school years a nightmare!” Ron was yelling now,too. "I've got to go now. I have to see how my family is," he said before storming out.

"Don't worry about him, Hermione. You know he can't stay mad at you for long. He'll come around. I think I need to adjust to this a bit as well." Harry tried to sound encouraging.

“Take all the time you need. I want you to get to know the real Severus. For me. But I don’t want to force you.”

Harry excused himself to go check on the other injured people and to help start the clean up, leaving Severus and I alone in our little corner of the infirmary.

“Whew… am I glad that’s over. Now I just hope it doesn’t take them long to come to terms with things,” I say weakly.

“At least I can do this out in the open now,” Severus says as he pulls my head down to him again for a quick kiss.

“You can do that anytime you want,” I smile back, as I curl up next to him on the small bed, needing to be close after the past few days. We drift off to sleep happy to be in each others' arms.