The Hepatic Hex

Hello all,

Well it is finally here, the last chapter before the epilogue. I must say this whole process has been incredibly exhilarating despite the constant exhaustion and headaches I have suffered from trying to keep you all on your toes…From your last rounds of reviews I am pleased to note that I seem to have succeeded in that respect…The only thing I have to add before I get to my acknowledgements is that I have considered your varying offers of bribery and with much debate have decided on how this is going to end…It is fruitless now for you to try to change my mind…don’t even try…having said that, you all should know by now to not underestimate me…I do intend to draw out your anguish as long as possible…

Daya: My sweet, what is there that I can say to you that I haven’t already…Ahhh… I know…Mercy is for the weak m’dear…I as the Mistress of this story am far from being the weak party here…No mercy will be shown..*evil cackle fills cyberspace”…Begging does not become you, so get up off your knees now…It will not save you from the coming evil…*waves*..Thank you for an entertaining effort nonetheless…

Kiri: Yes, yes I am. And I gave serious consideration to your enticement…Most tempting indeed…. You will find out if your offering has been accepted soon…

Rilla: Starting to become a little forceful in your demands aren’t you?…Have to say it is quite amusing not to mention arousing to know I am causing that much frustration to someone who has the exact same effect on me…Tragedy may be the best thing to happen really, considering everything, then again….You will find out soon enough…

Lady Aidil: Sorrowful and dark is like a requiem to my ears…I thank you for the kind praise and hope that this posting does not spoil you opinion of me…

Alia: You should not offer yourself up so freely to someone of my morals…You never know what position you may find yourself in…The Chinese, like the rest of us tend to be right about half of the time…We shall see how so shortly…

Dama: It is always refreshing to receive new reviewers, the make for such tasty sacrificial offerings…Am pleased to note that I am not the only one who laughed like they were deranged at the end of that chapter…I found your review to be quite articulate (no fear there my sweet) and I thank you for your kind words …

Tigress: I hate you too…I hate everyone…that is why I have only 2 “friends” (in “normal world” present company excluded) and go about my life as though I am Queen of the world…But at the same time I love you…so I find myself in a quandary…Do I or Don’t I…the answer to that will be reveled soon enough…

Now on with the show.....
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Chapter 23

Snape paced through the deserted corridors of Hogwarts for the third night in a row. He had been unable to sleep much over the past few days and stalking the castle prevented him from losing himself to the insanity he felt within his private rooms and its engulfing silence. Where once he would have found peace and contentment within the vast solitude of his dungeons, all he felt now was sorrow and emptiness. Every darkened corner of his rooms permeated the memory of Hermione.

Three days had past since she had disappeared. He had been unable to find her, her handkerchief port-key charmed against tracking spells. It had been three days in which he should have been rejoicing with the gift of new life she had given him; instead he had found only a modicum of comfort in his ever-faithful confidant of firewhiskey. He may have just died on that day. Despite Suzie Owen and the last of the Death Eaters being defeated easily, he had no reason to celebrate, he was now lost for a reason to simply exist. No more the Death Eater, no more the cunning spy. Just a sour old Potions Master, who had momentarily experienced joy and love, only to have it taken from him. Fate he concluded was against him. The Gods were cruel.

The final battle on Hogwarts grounds had been swift. The anti-apparition wards, Albus had explained afterwards had been weakened by the illness draining even his magic that sustained them. By not re-installing them immediately after receiving the cure, he allowed Suzie to apparate into the boundaries and lured her into a well-devised ambush he had formulated while Snape and Hermione had been researching the cure. The destabilized wards had falsely led Suzie to believe that Dumbledore himself had weakened enough for her to be successful in her attempt to storm the castle and over- throw him. She had not counted on an entire school body of children and their Professors, not to mention a dozen or so Order members being cured and being in possession of full strength magic again.

The Death Eaters had been sufficiently exhausted by their apparation to Hogwarts to be unable to throw even the slightest dark curse. The look of abject horror on Lucius Malfoy’s face when he was hit with a tickling charm by a hyperactive second year after his Cruciatus curse fizzled had been priceless. It was undoubtedly a memory that, in any other circumstance, would have him rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter, gasping for air and cursing the stitch he was sure would develop. As it was, the thought managed to only cause a slight upturning of his pursed lips. In the end the student body had dealt with the Death Eaters by themselves, gaining much pleasure in throwing the most embarrassing and imaginative charms, spells and hexes they could come up with. No one intervened to put the hapless Death Eaters into body binds and call the Aurors. They were students after all and as so needed to practice their skills.

Dumbledore, Snape, the remaining Professors and Order members had been left to deal with Suzie herself. Facing 30 or so menacing looking full-powered wizards and witches obviously shocked the crazed witch who quickly (~‘and wisely’~ thought Snape) fell to her knees in defeat. Dumbledore had some pleasure in the short time afterwards tormenting her in his merry little way, cheerfully mocking her underestimation of him and the loyalty and sacrifice those on the side of the Light were willing to make in order to defeat her. The expletives that haoodeooded from her after that had caused even him to flinch. Where on earth she had learned that many uses for the varying orifices of the human anatomy he really didn’t want to know. After sometime of hurling abuse and cursing any number of God’s, she turned to Dumbledore and questioned her fate.

Dumbledore ever the showman and comedian merely smiled down at her and called over Potter.

‘Bloody Potter again. He WOULD have to have is moment in the spotlight, poor forsaken, supposed- to- be -destroyer of Voldemort. Of course the world would not be saved properly until Potter cast the final blow.’ Snape thought again unkindly.

Dumbledore had obviously been a busy wizard Snape has realized. Whilst he and Hermione had been researching the cure, Dumbledore had not only been researching the ritual and planning the trap to catch Suzie but also training Potter in the spell that he decided would be perfect vengeance for his niece. It was actually a slightly altered version of the magic destroying curse she had cast herself. It was however non-lethal and because of Hermione’s sacrifice Suzie Owen would never be in possession magic again. Snape thought it was actually quite a suitable punishment, and was almost grateful to Potter for being a Parselmouth to actually carry it out. Almost grateful mind you.

The strong and permanent memory-wiping spell Dumbledore had cast afterwards had been the icing on the cake, so to speak. Once it was all done Suzie Owen had no recollection of where she was, or what she had been doing and was most importantly powerless. Dumbledore had escorted her back to the Muggle world, where she had resumed her post as an Anatomy and Physiology lecturer at a nursing University. From all accounts she had reverted quickly back into her previous role, finding sadistic enjoyment in setting impossibly difficult exams and frustrating assignments for her students.

There had been almost non-stop revelry throughout their world and not in the least through Hogwarts in the days since the final battle. The Death Eaters had been taken into custody to be administered the cure before being fed to the Dementors. Snape had a hard time grasping the reasoning behind this. He reconciled himself with the fact that was the Ministry after all, and nothing of sense ever actually occurred there. Actually if he was going to be brutal, and honestly he was never anything but brutal when it came to the Ministry, sense and the Ministry were so much of an oxymoron that they couldn’t rightfully be used in the same sentence. Or breath.

However if he was to be fair, as much as he hated the thought, the Ministry had managed to vaccinate most of the population to date. Only a few remained to receive the cure, the number of dosages had been calculated perfectly by Dumbledore and there would be none left over to fall into the wrong hands. Not that was an issue anymore with Artemis De la Rosa having an innate control over the population anyway. He really didn’t want to think about THAT whole situation at all. However, just to prove a point it would seem, or for their mere enjoyment at his expense, the fates once again intervened for as he approached the Great Hall he found himself face to face with Archibald De la Rosa and a pretty young witch he assumed was his daughter.

“Severus, so good to see you again. You’re looking much better then when I last saw you.” De la Rosa started.

“Indeed.” replied Snape coldly.

“Now, now, no need to be like that old man.”

\'Old man? I’ll give you Old man you self righteous, pompous, ugly…\'

“I’ve come to introduce you to my daughter. Artemis, this is Severus Snape, Severus, this is my daughter Artemis.” De la Rosa announced proudly.

Snape took a moment to study the girl who was legally his betrothed. She was not stunningly beautiful, but still more than plain. She was close to his height with a cascade of long auburn hair, violet colored eyes and a large full-lipped mouth. Her complexion was pale, her body waif like and when she smiled at him he noticed small dimples form at the corners of her mouth. No, she was far from unpleasant to look at and she held herself regally.

“It is an absolute pleasure to meet you finally Severus” Artemis said.

‘Be civil Severus.’

“Like wise Madam.” He replied as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it as the gentleman he liked to believe he was.

“Well, excellent. I do believe the three of us have much to talk about. If we may adjourn to your chambers Severus?” De la Rosa asked

‘No. I. Do. Not. Want…’

“Of course. If you like to follow me.” Snape offered his arm to Artemis ‘gentleman Severus’ who beamed brightly at him.

Silently the three disappeared into the dungeons.

…Hermione stood at the doors of the castle summoning up the courage she needed to walk in the doors. The past three days had been in all respects the most painful in her life. The pain of the ritual, the agony of having to leave while Snape was begging her to stay, the torture of her recent transformation and most of all the deep angst she felt about being separated from Snape, compounded a hundred times by her fear of his reaction over what she now was. She could only hope that he could see that she had done it for them. For him.

Drawing a deep breath she allowed herself to push open the great doors, thankful that they moved silently and did not give away her arrival. Cautiously, she looked through the blackness of the entry hall, her new eyes negating the need for lighting. Relief, albeit, unnecessary relief flooded though rough her when see studied the castle on her way down to the dungeons, and realized everything seemed to be the way it was when she had left. This place was her home, for anything more to change in her life at this point would make it unbearable. She hoped through eternity that it would remain as it was, not caring if that was a selfish thought on her behalf. Surely she had earned the right to be a little selfish about the walls and stone she loved so much.

As she approached the doorway to Snape’s chambers, she once again reassured herself that he loved her enough to accept the decision she had made about her life for the both of them They would be able to share a somewhat normal life together if he understood. She could never regret her choice if he accepted, dark as it may be. Never would she have even entertained the idea before. It would have horrified her. But now it offered to be her, no their, saving grace.

As she drew closer to his chambers Hermione noticed the outer door slightly ajar and a soft light radiating from the room. She could vaguely make out several voices she recognized, Snape of course, Archibald De la Rosa and, Artemis?

‘Artemis?’

Their conversation seemed to be excited to say the least. There was laughing and sarcastic retorting on Snape’s behalf. Curious, she decided to just listen for a while. She was interested to know what her best friend was doing there, but more interested to know how Snape was responding to her. After all she was going to be a major figurehead in their world and if everything worked out the way she hoped it would, Artemis and Snape would be seeing a lot of each other. She was brought out of her musings though when she heard a questionable comment come from De la Rosa’s mouth.

“So, let’s get on with the formalities of the arranged marriage you are bound to and get about the business of preparing your wedding Severus.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped. Tears welled up in her eyes.

‘What arranged marriage?’

A squeal of delight came from Artemis and Hermione, wanting to get to the bottom of what she overheard barged into the room. She was confronted with the image of her best friend being embraced warmly by the man she loved.

It was the last thing she remembered as blackness engulfed her.


…Hermione grady woy woke to the sensation of lying in a soft familiar bed. His bed. It was unmistakably his bed. Gradually she fluttered open her eyes and found herself surrounded by three of the people she adored. Smiling gently at them she asked how long she had been asleep.

“You have been unconscious for half an hour Hermione. You fainted.” Snape answered. \'It is so good to hear his voice again\' she mused, \'but hang on, did he say fainted?\'

Hermione bolted upright as the memories of what she had witness pounded violently to the front of her mind. She snarled as she took a long breath and found the courage to speak.

“How could you not tell me about the bloody arranged marriage you were in. You made me believe that there might be a chance for us to have some sort of permanency together. I cannot even begin to express the relief I feel at knowing that I didn’t give myself to you and was able to perform that ritual. God’s if I had let you take me…Urgh…I am such a bloody fool for believing that there was something more to the bastard Potions Master. You are truly that Severus. I never want to see you again. Ever!” Hermione bellowed at him. She was too agitated. She needed to calm down. She couldn’t let him know now. Her eyes were blazing like fire, the blood within her seething to be replenished.

“Hermione don’t…”

“Just shut it Snape!” Hermione felt herself losing control; she wouldn’t be able to stop it now. As she felt her body transform through her fury, she lost the urge to fight him and instead broke down. “You have no idea...” she whispered, “How I feel. What I made myself because I thought you loved me as much as I loved you. I wanted so badly to be with you that I made myself into what was needed so we could experience every intimate desire I thought you wanted to share with me. Now, I realize it was all for nothing and I should have just gone and killed myself instead. I have no need or desire to be this anymore.” Never had she cried as hard as she was at that time.

Snape was utterly confused. That was until he took a close look at her. More specifically a close look at her mouth, and her more than usual pale skin.

“Oh my Gods Hermione. What have you done?” Snape took hold of her shoulders and shook her as he spoke. He really didn’t need her to answer though. He already knew.

Hermione had regained some composure at his reaction, her her rising anger was apparent as she replied. “I don’t know why you care, but if you must know I went to Lilliana. I had her make me into what she is. In warlocks, during the time that the physical body dies, their magic dies with them. Once they rise with their new life as a vampire, their physical body remains stable in the state it had been prior to their actual physical death. For this reason the ritual will always be safe now. I was hoping that you would understand my decision to do this was purely out of desire to be with you in everyway, however now I see what a mistake it was. I did it for us; obviously there is no chance of being an \'us\' anymore. I never want to see you again Severus . And you two,” Herm sai said scathingly turning to her best friend and her father “had better leave my sight now before I loose what little control I have left in me and drain your bodies past the point of death, damn what the consequences to me would be.”

The three traitors in her eyes gawped at her, unmoving and unable to respond. Realizing that they were still in shock over her revelation Hermione decided she would save them the trouble and left the room herself. She needed to be away from the whole disastrous situation. She did not stop when the three called after her. She needed to be alone. The night was still young and she had plenty of time to kill before she needed to retreat to a darkened space for her sleep. That is if she decided to retreat. The thought of simply sitting by the lake and watching the sun come up and die as a consequence was very appealing to her at that point. Death could be her new comfort. Every reason she had to live had been taken from her in three days. Exhausted from the mere thought she sat down next to the lake where she found herself and cried long into the night.

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Mwahahaa...Evil indeed..

Lets not forget that there is still the unknown quality of the epilogue to go before you all decide to flood me with flames...or howlers for that matter...until next time....

Shem xxx