Insomnia

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from the books or the movies. That privilege belongs to the gracious J.K. Rowling. I do not make any money from writing of this story. Again, that privilege belongs to the gracious J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Sorry everyone for not updating sooner. I have gotten a job and it is time consuming but I WILL finish this story. This is going to be a short chapter in comparison to my other chapters but it is important, I think… Just to let everyone know, I will NEVER put up a chapter just to put up an author’s note. All authors note will be on a real chapter. Now on with the show!

What We Fear is Fear Itself

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When Severus woke up there was a chill in the air, an uneasy feeling rippled throughout his body. Something was wrong. He turned towards Hermione and found her still sleeping. He gently shook her until her eyes fluttered open. “Severus, what’s wrong?” Hermione asked groggily. The Dark wizard was unusually tense and alert. “Something is wrong Hermione. I cannot explain it only that I feel a disturbance in the air around us. Get dressed, quickly.” He said. There was something about his tone and the look in his obsidian eyes that made Hermione comply with him. Both sprung out of bed and rapidly dressed. In a few minutes, both were already dresses and ready to go. Snape grabbed both of their wands and literally threw Hermione hers. “Keep your wand out at all times. I don’t know what we’re dealing here.” He said. Snape grabbed Hermione’s hand and dragged her out of the house. Before leaving, he heavily warded the house just in case if anybody tried to snoop in his private labs. The pair quickly walked to the center of town. He did not want to apprate in the house. If something happened, he wanted to leave no traces of their magical signatures. Making their way through the crowd, Snape had chosen a dark and uninhabited alley. “Hermione I want to apprate to Diagon Alley and use that to throw off anybody that may be following us. They’ll get confused with all the signatures of everybody else.” Hermione nodded to make sure he knew that she had understood him. She was not sure that she trusted her voice but she trusted Snape with no doubt. He squeezed her hand and both of them apprated into the heart of Diagon Alley.

Not a moment later, after they had arrived, Snape knew he had made a wrong choice. Death Eaters were everywhere. Diagon Alley was a mess. Shops were damaged, some were on fire and the streets were littered with broken glass and lifeless bodies. Snape looked around and some Order members were caught in a battle with a handful of Death Eaters. Hermione grabbed him and Snape tried to apprate away but he could not and they were stuck there. He pondered why he was not told there was going to be a raid. Maybe the Dark Lord did not trust him anymore. His attention was turned to the Order members that were dueling. He saw a flash of green light and watched a woman fall. One of the men saw that and rushed to her side. Snape knew he was feeling rage and the man’s rage was getting the best of him. Snape and Hermione watched as the man flung casting the Killing curse at his opponents. He managed to get three before he was bathed in green light. The man fell as well, never to get back up. Hermione let out a sob for the dead man and woman that made Snape console her. He too felt sorry at the lost of the man’s life. “Hey someone’s over there!” One of the masked figures shouted. Shit, they had found them. He turned towards Hermione who had a look of determination on her face and her wand ready. He stroked her stomach and kissed her, fearing that this would be the last time he would see her and his unborn child.

“Look, it’s Snape!” One said. At the name, all five Death Eaters pulled their wands at their pair and more were gathering. Snape saw multiple red jets of light hit the death eaters in the chest. They had walked into a battlefield and they had no choice but to fight. Thirty minutes later, Severus and Hermione knew they were fighting a loosing battle. Hermione let out a scream. A jet of purple light had hit her in her chest. She crumpled down and Snape, not caring about anything else except Hermione’s welfare, stopped to stop her from falling. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Hermione unconscious form.

A few hours later, Snape was yet again experiencing Donoholv’s signature slashing curses. The curse gave him terrible wounds and then almost instantly, healed themselves. It was the excruciating pain you had to endure. The binds he was held up on dug into his arms. Through all this, Snape had not given him the satisfaction of screaming. “You fucking traitor!” He screamed as spittle flew. One could instantly see the insanity glowing in his eyes. He was one that enjoyed the sensation of inflicting pain, next to Lucius and Bellatrix. “Our- I mean my Lord has gave me the honor of making you scream for betraying him and I personally would see to it that you scream for forgiveness,” He said while laughing maniacally. Snape’s head was bent from the pain but he made an effort to raise it. Smiling, he said, “I’d like to see you try.”

Pain rippled through his body. Donoholv had tried but he did not succeed in his task. Angry, Donoholv had left him to get new ‘toys’ while leaving a trail of curses behind him. Now Snape was all alone in the dungeon. He had recognized the dungeon even though his sight was a little blurry. They were in Malfoy Manor. His next thoughts were of Hermione. What have they done to her? He mentally hoped that no harm had come to her but that was a far fetched hope. How did they know of his true loyalties? He pondered on all of this when he heard footsteps approaching. When they stopped, the door had opened and Donoholv had entered. He had a glassy look in his eyes. He reached into his robes and pulled out Snape’s want. He robotically walked over to Snape and handed his wand to him. Once his finished his task, he fell suddenly to the ground. “Finite Incantatem!” Someone shouted. Snape stared wide-eyed at the bizarre situation in front of him. Who in the hell impero’d Donoholv? His question was answered when the mysterious figure stepped out from the shadows. It was another Death Eater. The man pulled his off his mask and revealed himself as Harry Potter! “Potter, what the hell are you doing here?” Snape asked amazed. “Professor, I know about the round ups and the raid earlier. Some of the Order members as well as civilians have been captured. Some are dead and some are luckily still alive. I know how much you mean to Hermione. I could not leave you here. You’re an important part of the Order, sir.” He said. Snape was still amazed. Potter had come to his rescue. He had thought the dunderhead was very much like arrogant James. How wrong was he, but he still would not admit that to Potter. “Where is she being held?” Snape asked. “She’s in the lower levels along with all the other women they rounded up.” He said with a hint of sadness to his tone. Snape guessed that Miss Weasley was there as well. “Then what are you waiting for Potter? I will lead. I know this place almost better than Malfoy himself.” He said. It was true. He had spent most of his Death Eater days down here in the dungeons. He did many horrible things down here that he was trying to forget.

Snape moved with ease in the barely lit dungeons. He knew them far too well. Behind him, Harry Potter was thinking the same thing. “So, Potter,” Snape said, “How exactly did you manage to get in here when there are so many Death Eaters waiting to kill you?” Harry chuckled. “Very easily, actually. Who knew muggle chemical warfare had such an effect on wizards?” Snape chucked to himself. Therefore, Potter really did have balls. Who would have guessed? Suddenly, Snape took a sharp turn to the left and after a couple of steps, he stopped. Harry, not expecting the sudden stop, collided right into the professor’s back. “Sorry,” Harry said as he readjusted his glasses. “We’re here.” Snape said. Out of the corner of his eyes, Snape saw Harry reach into his robes and pull something out. It was a black canister of some sort. Harry tapped the canister three times and then rolled it into the hallway. The three Death Eaters on duty saw the canister roll out in front of them. A loud hissing sound was heard and the canister released a cloud of bluish-greenish gas. The Death Eaters suddenly crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Snape stared at the bodies with a gaze of astonishment. Damn, he really did underestimated Potter. After Harry collected the fallen Death Eaters wands, he and Snape made their way to the dungeons. When they spotted the only cell there, they were amazed to see thirty to forty girls crammed into the cell. Harry used one of the wands to open the lock. “Shh!” Harry said to the girls. They were excited to see someone had come to their rescue and the person was the famous Harry Potter. “Harry!” one of the girls in the back shouted. As she came towards the front, Harry could see the infamous fire-red hair. “Ginny!” he shouted. As he opened the door, the girls spilled out and ran while three tall girls grabbed the wands he had held out for them. Shouts of ‘thank you’ rang from the crowd. Ginny ran into Harry’s opening arms, crying. “Harry, I’d thought I’d never see you again!” Harry embraced her tightly. Neither of the pair had acknowledged the dark wizard. “Ahem” Snape said, demanding his presence to be noticed. “Sorry professor,” they both said. “Miss Weasley, where is Hermione?” Snape asked impatiently. At the mention of her best friend’s name, Ginny started to cry. “She was here but they cam and took her about ten minutes before you showed up.” Snape became enraged. “Where did they take her?” He demanded. “I don’t know but they talked about putting her in her place.” Snape paled. He knew what they were going to do. He had ‘put women in their place’ many times before. Armed with his wand, Snape dashed from the pair to find his wife.

After injuring many Death Eaters, he finally got the information he needed. His many years of being a spy had enabled him with the tools he needed to survive and the ruthlessness to get what he desired. Therefore, after many quick interrogations, he finally found the room he was looking for. As soon as he approached it, he knew something was wrong. There was a heavy ward around it. The pattern was familiar, too familiar. As soon as Snape got through the first weave, he recognized the ward. It was Lucius’. He had seen the way he looked at his wife was she was dueling. There was so much lust in his eyes, he had wanted to duel him at the moment. When he got to the last weave of magic, he quickened his pace. With a soft whirl, the wards were gone and Snape opened the door.

The room was dark and dreary. “Lumos” Snape whispered. The tip of his wand glowed and he was able to find his way through the room. Clothes were thrown across the room. He picked a piece and was relieved to find out that it was not the clothes Hermione wore this morning. “Help” a voice called. The sound was coming from a corner. It sounded so weak. Immediately, he rushed to the sound. “Hermione?” Snape asked. “Severus?” the voice said. He was thankful that it was indeed Hermione; no one else had those kinds of curls. “Thank Merlin I found you.” He said as he scooped her in his arms. After planting many kisses on her forehead, he started to inspect her for damages. Hermione let out a moan when he touched her arms. “Severus, my arms.” She said. Snape looked at her arms. They were badly bruised and had several large gashes. He also did not like the way she sounded. It was weak like a newborn kitten. He waved his wand over her arms and muttered something. In an instant, the bruises and gashes disappeared. At that moment, the door opened and in walked the devil himself. “My, this is quite a surprise.” Lucius smirked.

“Lucius” Snape said with a tone of utter disgust. He involuntarily hugged Hermione tighter. With a wave of his wand, Lucius closed the door and locked it. “Well what should I do with the traitor and his Mudblood wife?” Lucius asked tauntingly. Snape turned his wand on him. “Walk away Lucius or I will kill you where you stand.” Snape said. A bark of laughter rang throughout the room. Lucius was laughing! It was not funny or lightly, it was a sinister one. One that they would not forget. “Traitors need to be punished. Avada Kedavra!” He shouted. A jet of green light shot out and hit…Hermione in the chest. “No!” Snape screamed. He touched his wife’s face. Her eyes no longer held their shine and her lips no longer held their plumpness. She and their unborn child were forever lost to him. He yelled to no one in particular; his grief overwhelming him. Desperately and distraught, he clung to her lifeless body. “I see you actually loved her. Very well. I, being the grateful wizard that I am, will let you join her. Avada Kedavra!” Lucius shouted. The wizard’s words had no affect on the grieving professor. The untainted part of his soul was gone. It left when he lost his wife. The green jet of light hit Snape in the chest. The last thing he thought before his eyes lost their life was that maybe he would see his wife and their child again.


The sun poking through the blinds of their room was what eventually woke up Snape. Gasping, he suddenly shot up from the bed into a sitting position. He swiftly turned to his side to see his wife sleeping soundly. Sighing loudly he realized that it was all just a dream, or in his case, a nightmare.

A/N: For all of you who just cried just to realize it was only a dream, I apologize. It was rather horrible of me. Plz review. I would love them lol.