Vows

Chapter 15 Sliver of Hope

Hermione donned one of the young girl’s habits as Harry and Remus pulled him through the panel opening, change the archbishop clothing to a nightshirt and got him into bed. Propping up his head on a pillow he looked dead.

“How are we going to make him look alive?” one the sister asked as the others crowded around the bed looking at corpse.

“We’ll find some color to make him look better. Perhaps some beet juice or paint?” Staring at the man she killed.

Remus was already in brown robes and one of the sisters got Harry a priest robes.

Hermione followed the sisters through a hidden door behind one of the tapestries. She went with one of the sisters to get herbs to show the allusion of making healing ointments, elixirs, and infusions.

~ ~ ~

Hermione and the sister came back with arms full of ingredients. They started to brew the elixir to help with breathing, just for good show and an old beet.

One of the nuns cut the beet in half and lay it on the archbishop’s cheeks.

Remus kept the lights in the chamber dim and all of the other nuns kept a vigil waiting for the other nuns who had to have their skin replaced.

Hermione kept looking over at the corpse swearing she saw him move, as she made her brew.

Harry came up behind her and she jumped.
“Are you all right?”

“Yes I’m fine,” she said to quickly holding back tears of guilt. Was there any other way she could have stopped him.

“Perhaps you should lay down,” Harry said with worried tone. “You been on your feet all this time and I think you need to take it easier.”

“Take it easier? Harry I killed a man. I have blood on my hands. I’ve condemned myself to hell.”

Harry started to put his arm around her to comfort her and she grabbed on to his robes as though they were a lifeline and tried not to cry but she was shaking.

He held her tight, kissing her forehead and murmured, “Everything was going to be all right,” several times.

Remus came up to behind Hermione and placed his hand on her shoulder. He said, “Come child,” as he took her hand. She slipped out of Harry’s embrace.

Harry caught her arm and halted her,
“Wait a minute, where are you going?”

“To comfort her,” Remus replied.

“I was doing that,” Harry commented.

“Not the way I can.” Remus informed Harry.

“And what way is that?” Harry asked. His tone had a bit of green eye monster in it.

Remus wrapped a sash about his neck and said, “I can hear her confess her sins and give her absolution.”

Harry let go of her arm. Hermione came back to him and kissed him on the cheek leaving a tear on his chin.

~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione knelt down in the corner of the room next to Remus and crossed herself whispering as she sobbed, “Bless me father for I have sinned,” and she sobbed a little louder covering her mouth to quite her cries. Trying very hard not to break down she took a few moments to compose herself.

“How have you sinned my child?” Remus asked.

“I’ve killed Father. I’ve killed the archbishop to save myself and my unborn child.”

“You regret this action?” Remus asked.

“Yes. But Father if I hadn’t he would be beating me until I bled and then force me into his bed, making me his victim, his slave and an adultress.”

Remus was silent for a while. He got up and went to the back into the closet. She heard him move the panel. He came back a few moments later.

“My child you saw no other way to resolve the situation?” Remus said in a strange tone.

“No father. I saw no other way.” Hermione declared.

“I see you have suffered and others have suffered as you have,” he said looking around the room at the other nuns. “Look inside you heart child and say a prayer of thanks to God that you have a hearty spirit and loving family and a child in your body and cherish all that God has given you.”

Hermione looked up to see Remus’ tears fall as he made the sign of the cross over her, “Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.”

“Amen. Thank you Father,” Hermione said softly with relief and wiped the lines of tears off her face with her sleeve. She felt a weigh lift off her shoulders and her heart.

The other nuns came over and hugged Hermione. No words were said. None were necessary. In their eyes she was their angel of mercy, their savoir that God sent to them, one of there own, who left for love, but came back to free them and herself.

Hermione slowly broke away from the sisters and into Harry’s waiting arms.


Hours went by and the place was silent. The nuns hoped and prayed that the other sisters would show up in time.

Then late in the dark hours of morning the tapestries moved and a nun came stumping into the dimly lit room. Every body turned and looked at the sister. Her white habit had a bloodstained on the back.

She looked at everyone in the room, her face pale and wet with perspiration.

The nuns rushed to her and without saying a word pulled off her veil wimple and undone tunic.

Hermione went over to the bed and uncovered the archbishop and drew back his nightgown and looked at the fresh skin that was grafted to his body.

Hermione looked at the wound on the young girls back. It was one long sliver of skin. She touched the blood the came from the seam of the wound with her wand.

She went over to the dead body and found one long sliver of inserted skin. She said the incantation to remove the flesh. She cleaned her wand of the nuns blood and then dipped her wand in the still blood of the archbishop and removed the dead skins on the ill novice’s back and replaced it with her own skin. Meanwhile Remus put the flesh back onto Snape’s body.

One of the nuns gave the girl some wine, but she refused to drink it staring at the archbishop in the bed.

“What has happen here?” the novice asked.

“The archbishop has … fallen …ill and we are here to pray for him,” a nun in the group said.

“What did you do to me?” the novice squeaked nervously.

“You were hurt and we gave you aid,” Hermione told her. “Now drink the wine it has herbs to help you heal faster.”

“Is he dead?” The young girl stared at the archbishop’s body.

Hermione put her arm around her and turned her away from the bed. “Did he … touch you?”

“He beat me. I’m a horrible person. He was going to guard me on the right path to God,” she said to Hermione and then whispered, “He frightens me.”

“But has he touched you … down there? Has he taken you to bed with him?” Hermione asked.

“Oh NO. NO. He is the archbishop. He was trying to help me to be a better nun, to walk in the light of God,” the girl said.

Hermione looked at the naive girl and knew he hadn’t taken her to bed.

“You do walk in the light of God and you are a good nun,” Hermione said, “You will do wonderful things for God and for your order.”

The girl smiled at Hermione, a hopeful smile, and asked, “Do you think so?”

“I know you will,” touching her cheek, “you have his light in you.”

The young smile widened and Hermione hugged her.


Dawn came and no other nuns found their way to her archbishop’s chamber.

There was a knock on the door and then they turned the knob. The nuns straighten up as they prayed. Hermione stirred the brew.

The person in the other side of the door tried to open it but the bolt was still across the door.

Remus unbolted the door and opened it.

A priest came in and stopped short, “What is going on here?”

“The archbishop has fallen ill suddenly. The nuns are here to help praying and making a tonic.

The priest looked around at the group of them. “When did this all happen?”

“Late last night.” Remus said.

The priest looked confused, “Why wasn’t I told?”

“We weren’t sure how serious it was,” Remus told him.

He gazed that the body in the bed and stared, “Is he alive?”

“Just barely. We are hoping the tonic will help,” Remus informed him.

The priest leaned over and touched the archbishops cheek, “I’m afraid it’s too late for the tonic,” he sighed, “He’s gone.”

Every one made the sign of the crossed and murmured prayers. The priest started to perform the last rights.

Remus nudged Harry and nodded toward Hermione who had stopped stirring the brew.

Harry walked over to Hermione and whispered, “It’s time to go Hermione. No one else is coming.”

Hermione nodded and looked at the sisters who were gazing at her now. Their eyes full of tears, not for the archbishop, but for her, their sister who set them free from an evil man that was draining their souls and darkening their lives.

One nun came up to her and said, “You are one of us.” Her eyes glowed in a light.

Harry put his arms around his wife and said, “She was once and now she has left and carries our child so we must go.”

The nun step back as she nodded.

Harry and Hermione made their way through the mazes of secret passages to the outside. In the dim morning light they quickly walked through the yard and down the street to the waiting ship.

Harry threw off the robe he was wearing and tried to help Hermione with hers. She slapped his hands away and said,
“I’m not wearing my clothes under this habit. It‘s just the habit I’ve got on.”

“Sorry!” He laughed.

“Where Remus?”

“He’ll be right along, he was going to talk to the nuns just incase anyone did come forward.”

They got to the ship and Sirius was waiting for them, “At last ... Where’s Moony?”

“He still there tying up loose ends,” Harry told him.

“You two look like you need some sleep, go down below and get some. I’ll keep an eye out for Moony.” Sirius told them.

Hermione was changing out of the nun clothes and Harry stopped her.

He peeled away the veil, the wimple, the ropes, belts, and the tunic He then slowly exposed the flesh beneath the undergarments. Harry caressed her bare skin and exhaled panting, “Let me love you now.”

She smiled.

His arms pulled her into a tight embrace and Harry’s mouth took hers. She let him take her mouth then her breasts and then the whole of her as they fall onto the bed.

Hermione had her eyes open all the time to see him, her husband Harry with his green eyes and black tousled hair and lightening scar on his forehead. They made love until the sun came up and they couldn’t see straight.

~ ~ ~


“We’re home,” Harry’s voice whispered in her ear as his chest pressed on her back and he kissed her cheek.

Hermione reluctantly open her eyes as she rolled over to look at Harry who was standing over her.

She blinked at him and asked,
“Home? We’re not going back to the…”

“Sirius is going out to sea for a few days. We’ll be totally alone... and when they come back they’ll finish our part of the house.” Harry said as he picked up her clothes and handed them to her.

Hermione started to pull on her undergarments, “Our part of the house? We’re not getting an island of our own?”

“Sirius thinks it’s better if the baby has family close by. This island is hidden. The other islands are not.”

Harry held her dress while she stepped into it, “Sirius always wanted a big family, he just hasn’t found the right woman, so his crew and anyone that comes across his path that is lost and needs a home finds one here.”

He waved his wand on her hooks and they fastened themselves up. He continued talking, “Besides I’d feel better while you were pregnant that we have access to a midwife and a nurse. They can come by floo powder in an emergency.”

Harry gave her another kiss on the cheek.
“If it makes you feel better Harry then we’ll do that,” Hermione agreed and kissed him on his lips.

There was a banging on deck and Sirius yelled, “All a shore that’s going a shore.”