Lacerations of the Soul

I see a lot of views, and I hope you guys are liking this.. I enjoy writing it... Sorry for the double post of the story, unfortunately when I deleted the second story I deleted the one with the more reviews >.< Please enjoy!

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Chapter 3

Ron felt like he had been hit with the foulest smelling dungbomb of all time. It was if his whole world were falling through his fingers, and it was all his fault, if he hadn’t kissed Hermione that last time she and her parents might have… no if he hadn’t kissed her that last time, he would have surely lost her too, but for some reason it didn’t make her pulling away from him now any less horrible.

He wanted to help her, he wanted to make her feel that he would never ever let her down, but she didn’t want him. She only wanted his family, and his friends… If that was they way she wanted it, that’s what she’d give him, and maybe when she felt better after the whole ordeal with her parents was over, she’d go back to him. He could only hope.

Ron didn’t realize that he’d been crying, until he felt a tear drop strike his hand he licked the offending drop away and then wiped his face. It would do no good crying for her, if she didn’t want him, she didn’t want him. He was pretty sure there were plenty of available witches in Hogwarts that would love to be with him.

With that he stood up and reentered the burrow, walked right past Harry comforting his girlfriend and upstairs to his room, where he lay down on his bed, waiting for night to come.

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“Harry, what am I to do? How do I go on without them…? I want him to pay for what he’s done... to me, to everyone... Please kill him Harry.” Hermione pleaded with her best friend, needing some sort of vengeance to help her through this trying time.

“I will kill him Hermione, but I’m afraid their deaths won’t be the only ones in vain, there have been so many already. Sometimes I feel like the entire wizarding world feels as you do, and that if I don’t kill him, that no one will be happy again. I’ll kill him, not only for your family, but mine, and everyone who has ever been hurt by the bastard.” He was seething again, this time with hatred at the biggest bigot he’d ever known, and he wanted him to die a slow vicious death, but however a well placed killing curse would do as well.

For the time being the man in the kitchen was forgotten, at least he was forgotten until his voice broke through the self imposed silence given by the two youths.

“It’s good that you should say that Harry, because the time is growing nearer.” Severus Snape stood still rather shakily just inside the door to the living area.

“Hermione, move quickly, there’s a bat that needs to be dispatched.” Harry seeped acid with every syllable, his hate causing bile to rise up to accentuate the situation. “Why are you here?!” Harry bellowed, his anger causing the house to quiver, his magic was growing around him blue light seemed to encircle him.

“Harry, my boy, calm down,” Arthur called from behind the potions master, “It’s not what you think.”

“Then someone better quickly tell me what to think before I kill him just for speaking to me.” The light grew brighter, and Hermione stepped away from her friend, afraid for her own life. Afraid of the man at the door, afraid to take a breath, she was just really afraid. “This traitor killed Dumbledore, all along he was a death eater, but We trusted him the same, that’s what we get for trusting this greasy git.”

“Harry be calm.” A familiar voice said loudly cooling the situation with his presence. Harry’s color faltered a bit, going lighter blue, but the anger was still evident as the magic crackled like energy around him. Albus Dumbledore stepped through the door way that led into the kitchen, and as soon as he was visible, Harry stopped glowing he looked resigned.

“Harry, I’m very much alive. Severus couldn’t honor my request; he has too much good inside him to kill me. He did an excellent job of securing his role as a spy for the order however, by saying the words, and forcing me off the ledge, luckily what he and I only know was that he didn’t have the hatred to cast it effectively and only knocked me unconscious. It was in effect the killing curse, but without the want of it’s implication, I was only knocked out. Luck would have it, that Severus had secured a flying carpet just over the side of the tower, and I was quickly laid to the ground to appear that I had fallen. I’m sorry that you had to be duped by this, but I had to make sure Voldemort believe that I was dead.”

Albus paused stroking his long beard. “I do hope you understand Harry, if you are captured, or any of the order members are captured, without the use of occlumency I’m afraid that our cat will be out of the bag, so I must impress the importance of the act. Severus will be helping your two friends to learn the art, and to help you brush up as well as long as you are willing. Miss Granger I’m so very sorry for your loss.” She nodded at the headmaster with tears renewing in her eyes.

“Albus, I’ll be returning to the order shortly, I need to—“ Severus was interrupted by a very animated Molly Weasley.

“Severus you will stay here tonight, you are still to weak to apparate, I know you can do it, but I don’t want to have to pick up the pieces of you when you splinch from leaving my house! You will stay here, I have plenty of beds, and they are all comfortable. You can head back to the order in the morning with the rest of us.” That was the final word on that. Nothing else would do.

Severus bowed his head in resignation. “Now I will have supper on in a jiffy, then we could all use with a good butter beer or fire whiskey, and an early night.” Molly rushed out of the room and started to cook dinner, but what the others didn’t see were the silent tears that slid down her cheeks. The poor girl had lost so much, and she too was afraid she’d lose just as much or all.

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“I think I will go up to my room.” Hermione said in an automated response. “I just want to be alone for awhile.” She slipped out of the room and upstairs until she got to where she assumed she would sleep, she crawled into the bed and curled into a small ball, the pain and sadness engulfed her as she cried.

An hour or so later, she felt cried out, no more tears would come. Her depression hung around her like a black cloud ready to rain out at any moment, but the despair wouldn’t allow anymore rain to fall, she felt as though she were a basket case unable to control her own emotions. Then she felt better. Not greatly better, perhaps only a marginal amount. But better, she had friends to help her through her pain, and she still had family, she decided she would put her feelings behind a strong metal box and continue on as if nothing had happened.

This was a recipe headed for disaster, but she did not know that then.

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Severus walked up the rickety steps that creaked at his weight, groaning in places, and then laughing… Well he realized the laughing was probably the ghoul from the attic causing all sorts of havoc in the Weasley home. He opened the door to the bedroom Molly had granted him, and saw the most amazing sight. Hermione was laying on the bed her hair falling about in soft waves, as she wrote in a bound book of parchment. She must not have heard the door open and he watched her write for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes.

Severus cleared his throat rousing the young witch. How did she become so beautiful? When? He hurt for her, wanted to help her with the pain that was weighing on her shoulders, wanting to offer his life history with her, but none of that would come.

“Oh hi Professor, am I in the wrong room? I’m sorry I’ll go…” She seemed a bit nervous.

“Well, I’m not your professor any longer Hermione, to keep up with this charade I’ll no longer be teaching at Hogwarts at least for the time being.” Was that a look of sadness on her beautiful face? No it couldn’t have been. “With that being said, if we are not in the presence of anyone other than ourselves…”

“You mean if we are alone?”

“Yes precisely, you may call me severus.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, but only if I am allowed to call you Hermione… I would hate to continue to call you Ms. Granger when you are calling me by my given name.” She blushed at this revelation.

“Of course I’ll call you Severus, and you may call me Hermione.” She smiled an actual smile, and then thought badly for having it.

“Hermione, never hide that smile, if you feel as if you should smile, you should. Albus wishes that I spend some time with you, and I think, no I know that I should now. You and I are a lot alike, and we might be able to help each other.” He smiled at her, an honest sincere smile, and she smiled back. Yes, this might work. Perhaps the old coot knew what he was doing after all.