Saving your life

Not entirely sure as to why, she had finally decided to give Severus the golden Galleon. She could see a hint of hatred in his eyes every time he spoke of Draco, but she knew he was the only one that could help him. Even after what had happened between them, she knew she could trust Severus, and it was out of that trust that she had activated the Portkey and sent him to Draco.

She stared at the spot where he had been standing seconds before for a few moments, hoping she had made the right decision. Even now that she knew everything Draco had told her had been a lie, that he had been sent to her, ordered to spy on her and kill her, she could not bring herself to hate him; he had helped her, he had saved her life and that of her friends. She had done as much as she could for him now; had asked Kingsley to protect him, and now Severus as well. She only hoped it would be enough.

After a few moments, her thoughts left Draco and turned to Severus. They had not had a civil conversation in a long time, and it had felt good. She had been surprised by what he had said made him turn to Voldemort at first; the power, the ideas. Still, what had surprised her most had been the honesty in his answer. It felt as if, for only a moment, he had let his guard down

Although she had been getting ready for dinner when he had arrived, she did not feel hungry anymore; still, it would be best if she joined the others downstairs, even if only for some tea. Harry and Ron had been nagging her with questions for days, and she knew it would get worse if she stayed in her room; they probably knew about Severus barging into her room already.

Remembering she was still only in her underwear, she took off the robe and put some jeans on, then reached for a top and a pair of shoes. Only when she tried to open the door did she remember Severus had locked it; he had run inside the room, and she had heard voices out there before he had cast a silencing charm. She briefly wondered if whoever had knocked on the door then was still waiting outside.

With a few flicks of her wand the door was unlocked; the wards Severus had used were easy to break from the inside, but almost impossible to get through from outside. She slowly opened the door, not sure what she would find outside.

“Where is he?” Kingsley asked, as soon as he saw her. She was glad the only other person by the door was Molly.

“You had us worried, dear; is everything all right?” Molly asked her, while tilting her head and craning her neck, trying to see inside the room.

“Everything is fine; there is nothing to worry about.”

“What happened?” Kingsley asked her.

“Nothing, he just needed to talk to me,” she said, throwing him a warning look, hoping he would drop the subject at least until Molly was gone.

“Well, then why don’t we all go downstairs and have some dinner? Ginny and the boys are already there waiting.”

“Of course,” she said, starting down the stairs before Kingsley could say anything.

“Kingsley, are you staying as well?” she heard Molly ask behind her.

“No, I have work to do, but thank you,” he said, walking down the stairs and catching up with her as she reached the kitchen door.

“What happened?” he asked her, in a low voice.

“He needed to speak to Draco.”

“Why?”

“I am not sure yet.”

“Is there anything I should know?”

“No, I don’t…” she started, but stopped when Molly walked past them.

“Well, let’s go, dear,” she said, walking into the kitchen.

“I have to go,” she told him, walking after Molly.

“We will talk later,” he said, and she nodded. “Good night then.”

“Good night.”

As expected, everyone in the room seemed to know what had happened, from Severus walking in injured to him running up the stairs and locking them both inside her bedroom. Although she was still not hungry, she decided questions were avoided more easily if she was eating, so she did just that. Molly helped as well, asking the boys to leave her alone, although she could see the way the woman was looking at her, curiosity clear on her face.

As soon as she finished dinner, she excused herself and went back to her bedroom; she was spending an awful lot of time in there lately, but that seemed to keep Harry and Ron away.

She tossed and turned in bed for what must have been hours, the memories of what Severus had told her replaying in her mind. She wondered just how much Voldemort knew about what had happened, about Bellatrix’s death, about Severus’ true alliances. When Ginny walked in the room she pretended to be asleep, ignoring the other girl when she whispered her name, asking if she was awake, and after a few more moments of lying still sleep finally took her.

She heard the door to her room creak open and turned around in bed, covering her eyes from the light that came from the hallway, thinking it was just Ginny walking in, but then she remembered Ginny had gone to bed earlier; she could even hear her calm breathing to her side.

Suddenly awake and alert, she sat up in bed, turning to the door, but although she could see a figure standing on the doorway, she could not tell who it was. That is until he spoke.

“Miss Granger,” Severus said in a low, barely audible voice.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, in the same hushed voice, turning to look at Ginny on the other bed to make sure she was still asleep. Memories of the night he had snuck into her bedroom came to her mind, but she quickly pushed them away; the last thing she needed was images of that heated, passionate encounter.

“I need to give you something; there is not much time.”

She could hear the urgency in his voice, even if she could not see the expression on his face, and she knew it must be something serious for him to go see her in the middle of the night.

“What is it?”

“Not here,” he replied curtly, his face tilting to Ginny’s bed for a second. “Downstairs,” he said, before turning around and walking away.

She quickly got out of bed, reached for her robes and wrapped them around her body as she moved down the stairs. He was waiting for her in the library.

“I need you to keep something safe. It cannot be found in my possession,” he said, as soon as she stepped into the room.

“Of course,” she replied, and waited for him to explain himself.

“Do you still have that cup you showed me in your possession?”

“Yes,” she said, not sure where the conversation was going.

“Has it been destroyed yet?”

“No, not yet; basilisk venom is not easy to find.”

“There are other ways,” he replied, reaching inside his robes. “I need you to take this,” he said, retrieving a rather small, shiny object from his pocket and holding it in his hand for a few moments before placing it on the table. “I am sure you know what it is,” he said.

She took a step closer, her eyes narrowed as she tried to see it better in the almost completely dark room. Seconds later she gasped in recognition.

“Is that… is it…?” she started, unable to finish the question as she stepped closer still, amazement and surprise evident on her face as she watched the beautiful diadem.

“Yes,” he simply replied.

“Where…how did you find it?” she asked, turning to him and only then noticing his torn clothes, and his bleeding legs. “What happened to you?”

“None of that matters. I have to go back to the Dark Lord soon, and I do not know if I will be able to return. I need to know it will be destroyed.”

“What do you mean by not being able to return? Will he send you on another mission?” she asked, noting something strange in his voice, in the way he had spoken.

“He sent me to make sure the diadem was safe; now I have to go back and tell him it had been taken before I arrived there. He will not be pleased,” he said, and although he did not sound worried, she knew there was much he was not telling her. He might not return; those words kept echoing in her ears, as if she were trying to find a hidden meaning to the short phrase. “Can you make sure it is destroyed?”

“Of course,” she replied quickly, looking at the beautiful object again, amazed that something so beautiful could contain something so awful.

“Good, then…” he trailed off, and she turned to him just in time to see him stumble slightly.

“Are you sure you are all right?” she asked, slightly worried. She could see, even in the dim light, that he looked paler than usual.

“Yes,” he replied, and her attention soon went back to the diadem.

It really was beautiful, and it seemed to capture all the light in the room, shining more than anyone would think possible. She slowly, tentatively, reached out to touch her, but just as her fingers were about to make contact she heard Snape gasp loudly.

“Hermione, no; don’t touch it,” he yelled at her, instantly halting her motions.

She turned around to face him, a slight frown on her face that morphed into a worried look as soon as she saw him standing incredibly still, eyes wide as he held his hand in front of him, the tips of his fingers slowly turning black. She stepped closer to him, not sure what to do, and watched him stumble backwards and then fall, as if in slow motion, hitting the side of the table and knocking the chair over before reaching the floor.

“Severus,” she screamed, as she ran to him. She took his hand in hers, and saw now the fingers had turned completely black, and his hand was beginning to darken as well. “What is it? Was there a curse? Poison? What can I do?”

She watched him gasp for breath, trying to speak, but his voice was weak and she had to lean closer to hear him.

“Bezoar. Pocket,” he breathed, and she quickly let go of his hand to search his robes, trying to find the stone.

She instantly reached for her wand and tried summoning the bezoar; his robes seemed to vibrate for a moment as she spoke the words, but nothing else happened. There probably was some kind of spell preventing things from simply being summoned away. She knew she would have to search the robes herself, but her hands were shaking so badly she had trouble reaching inside his pockets, and for some reason his robes seemed to be made of those.

After a few moments he started coughing, his body shaking as if convulsing, and his now entirely black eyes rolled to the back of his head. She wanted to cry out in fear and desperation, but she knew there was no time for nonsense; she had to do something fast. She was not sure how many pockets she had searched so far, but suddenly her fingers reached something solid, and as she pulled it out she sighed, relieved to have finally found the stone.

She kneeled by his head, slipping her hands under his neck to lift him up just enough so he could take the bezoar and not choke. She rested his head on her lap, and moved her hands to his face, gently trying to push his mouth open, but to no avail. He had his jaw clenched, probably in pain, and she could not force it open. The thought of simply using magic crossed her mind, but she would not risk doing that; she had no idea how a spell would react to whatever was affecting him.

“Severus,” she whispered, trying to calm him down, hoping he could hear her. She did not know what else to do. “Severus, can you hear me?” she asked, caressing his face, and saw his eyes flutter open for a second before closing again. “Open your mouth,” she whispered close to his ear. “You have to open your mouth so I can give you the bezoar.”

She saw his jaw move slightly, and then heard him groan in pain.

“It is okay,” she said, soothingly. “It will just be a second. Just take the bezoar please,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes as she watched his body still shake, his face contorted in pain. “Severus, please,” she repeated, and smiled slightly when after a few more moments he parted his lips, emitting another pained groan as he did, but taking the bezoar she gave him.

He kept shaking for a few more seconds, and then his entire body went completely limp. She looked at him panicked for a moment. From what she had read about bezoars so many years before, their effect was immediate. Something had gone wrong.

“Severus,” she said, shaking him slightly, trying to wake him up, but received no response at all. She looked back at his hand; it was completely black now. Lifting his arm, she rolled up the sleeve and saw the curse was still working, although it seemed to be doing it at a slower pace now.

Still, she knew there was not much time, and she had no idea what to do. All she knew was that apparently the curse had been on the diadem, but she had neither the time nor the knowledge necessary to find out exactly what curse it was.

She needed help, but from whom? The only ones in the house that night were Harry and the Weasleys, and she could not see how they would be of assistance. She could not take Severus to see a healer, and the only one she knew was the Hogwarts matron, and although the witch had been summoned to headquarters when she had been stabbed by Malfoy, she had no idea if she would be able to help him now.

Unable to think clearly, she let her instincts guide her, and called the one person she trusted and thought could help. She reached for her wand and conjured a Patronus, sending it away with a message, just like she had learnt to do only days before. After what felt like hours but had probably only been minutes, the flames glowed green, and a tall figure stepped out of the fireplace.

“What happened?” Kingsley asked alarmed, his deep voice slightly tainted by a hint of sleep.

“Kingsley,” she called, not even turning around to watch him.

“What it is, what’s happened?” he asked worriedly, as he walked closer to her.

“I don’t know what to do, I can not wake him up,” she said, feeling all the calmness leave her now that there was someone else there to take charge.

“What’s happened to him?” Kingsley asked, kneeling in front of her, on the other side of Severus’ head.

“I think it is a curse. He said not to touch it, and then I turned around and he fell to the floor. I did not know what to do,” she said, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

“Calm down, Hermione. I need you to tell me exactly what happened if you want me to help him.”

“His fingers turned black first,” she said, reaching for his hand to show him. “Then the rest of his hand. Now his entire arm is turning,” she continued, rolling up his sleeve again. “He told me to give him a bezoar and I did, but then he went limp,” she explained.

“You gave him a bezoar and then he went limp?” Kingsley asked, and she nodded. “How long ago was that?”

“I don’t…I’m not sure. I couldn’t find the stone, and then he wouldn’t open his mouth. But I called you when he went limp, I didn’t know what else to do,” she said, feeling like she was about to break down. She had to help him, she had to save him. “Please, Severus, wake up,” she whispered, gently taking his head in her hands, oblivious to Kingsley’s surprised eyes. Her hands were almost shaking as she held him and she couldn’t remember being so nervous, so scared for someone; not even when she had found him bleeding to death in his house so long ago.

“Hermione,” she heard Kingsley call, his voice barely audible. “Hermione.”

“What?” she asked, lifting her eyes to his for a moment.

“I asked you if you knew what he touched?” he repeated, and when he saw her confused expression he added, “You said he told you not to touch something. What was it?”

“The diadem,” she answered, absently.

“What diadem?”

“It’s there, on the table,” she said, pointing at it for a moment before her attention switched back to Severus.

She barely noticed Kingsley get up and walk to the table, but the flashes of light coming from behind her made her turn around.

“What are you doing?” she asked him.

“I am trying to figure out what curse they used.”

“Bill,” she gasped, earning herself a confused look.

“What?”

“He is a curse breaker. Maybe he can help.”

“He is away on a mission with Charlie, you know that. There is no way to contact them,” he replied, his attention back to the diadem as he kept trying different spells and charms, apparently not getting the result he was hoping for. “There are many curses set,” he told her after a few more minutes. “As well as some poison. I can stop some of the curses, but I do not know all of them. The bezoar has slowed the effect, but it will not stop it or give us much time.”

“Maybe he knows,” she muttered.

“Who?”

“Severus. Maybe he knows the other curses. Can you wake him up?”

“I could try, but I do not know how that will affect the other curses. It might make them start to work faster.”

“Is there another option?”

“We cannot take him to a healer, and I doubt many would know what to do with him.”

“Then I think you should wake him up,” she told him, firmly.

He looked at her for a few moments, considering, and then nodded and walked back to where they were, kneeling by his head once more.

“I need you to hold him still. If he wakes up before I am done then I will need him to be still,” he said, and she nodded, moving her arms to his shoulders. “Ready?” he asked, and she simply nodded again. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest as she wondered if she had made the right decision or she had sentenced him to death.

The tip of Kingsley’s wand glowed blue against Severus’ chest, and she heard him mutter a few words she couldn’t understand, but nothing happened. Then Kingsley moved the wand to his forehead, and it glowed white. She felt Severus shiver slightly, but he still did not wake up. She was getting more and more nervous by the minute.

Kingsley took Severus’ blackened arm and rolled up his sleeve. The entire arm was completely black by then, so the Auror’s hands move to his chest, hurriedly undoing the cloak and then the shirt, pulling it open and baring his shoulder and part of his chest. The curse had already reached there. She watched silently as Kingsley placed the tip of his wand to the line that divided the parts the curse had blackened and his unmarred skin.

“Hold him,” he said, looking at her for a moment before turning back to Severus and whispering a few words.

The wand glowed bright red, and Severus arched from the floor, screaming in pain. Blood dribbled from the place the wand had touched, although there was no visible wound on his skin.

“Hold him still,” Kingsley yelled at her, as he slowly started moving the wand along the line, but Severus was too strong, and she could not stop him from moving.

“What’s going on here?” an alarmed voice called from the door, and she turned around to see Harry standing there, still in his night clothes, his wand held firmly in front of him.

“Potter, help her. Keep him still,” Kingsley barked, before going back to muttering in a low voice.

“Harry, please,” she said, still trying to halt Severus’ motions.

It took Harry a moment to react, but then he ran to her side and threw his wand to the floor, both hands joining hers on Severus’ shoulders. The both of them together could keep him calm enough for Kingsley to finish, leaving Severus’ shoulder and chest covered in blood.

“That is as much as I can do,” he said, his eyes fixed on Severus’ shoulder. “It will hold it back, but I do not know for how long.”

“Wake him,” Hermione said, before hearing voices getting closer. “Damn,” she cursed under her breath, taking her wand and twisting around to vanish the diadem before anyone else got there.

“What is going on?” the twins asked from the doorway, and as she turned to them she saw Ron, Ginny and Molly join them there, all looking shocked and with their eyes apparently locked on her and Snape, whose head was still resting on her lap as she absently caressed his cheek.

“It is nothing,” Kingsley said, hurriedly walking to them. “Please just stay outside for now,” he told them firmly, closing the door and walking back to her.

“I am not sure if he will be completely conscious,” he said, standing at Severus’ feet.

“Just wake him, Kingsley, please,” she said, and he nodded.

The flash of light that shot from his wand was white this time, and it hit Severus square on the chest. He arched again, his mouth wide open as he took a deep breath, like a drowning man reaching the surface. He started coughing next, and she lifted his head higher, so that he would not choke.

“Severus?” she asked softly, not caring that Kingsley and Harry were there. “Severus, can you hear me?”

After a few moments, he finally stopped coughing and opened his eyes.

“The diadem, it is cursed,” he whispered, his voice low and hoarse.

“I know.”

“Did you touch it?” he asked, sounding worried as he tried to turn around to face her.

“No.”

“Are you sure? It does not take effect immediately,” he pressed.

“Yes, I am sure. But you did touch it, and I do not know how to help you.”

“What happened?” he asked, sounding confused.

“You fell to the floor, started convulsing and told me to give you a bezoar.”

“I assume it did not work,” he said.

“It slowed the curse down, but then you fell limp and I could not wake you up.”

“Do you know what curse it was?”

“No, we don’t,” she said, lifting her eyes to Kingsley for a moment.

“Any other symptoms?” he asked, and she could tell it took great effort for him to speak.

“You hand turned black. It has moved up your arm now, but Kingsley managed to contain it for now.”

He tried to lift his arm, and groaned in pain.

“Let me see,” he said, hoarsely.

She reached for his arm again and carefully lifted it, but as soon as he moved his shoulder started bleeding again, and the skin around it began to darken once more. She quickly let go of his arm, alarmed, and as groaned in pain again.

“No, let me see it. I need to see it,” he insisted weakly, and she lifted the arm again.

“It has reached your shoulder, if it gets much further I doubt there will be much that can be done,” Kingsley told him.

“It is not burned,” he whispered as he took a closer look. “It should look burned, but it is only blackened.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“The Mark,” he said, almost to himself. “The Mark has protected me from the worst part of the curse.”

“So you know what it is then?”

“It is the same curse that almost killed Albus,” he said, and groaned as he tried to sit up.

“Be still,” she said, pressing her hands against his bleeding shoulder when she saw how pale he was.

“But I thought Albus could not be cured,” Kingsley said.

“He could not, but it has not affected me the same way.”

“What can I do then, how can I help you?” she asked urgently, when she noticed his breathing slow, and his eyes flutter closed. “Severus,” she insisted, when he did not respond. “Severus, wake up. You need to tell me how to help you,” she said, caressing his cheek. “Please, open your eyes.”

“Potion,” he whispered, and started coughing again.

“What potion?” she asked him, realising he would pass out any moment.

“My house. Potions cupboard,” he managed to say before another fit of cough hit him.

“What potion do you need? You have to tell me which one.”

“Orange,” he said, as he gasped for breath. “No label.”

“Kingsley, do something,” she pleaded desperately, as Severus started shaking in her arms again.

“Can you get the potion he mentioned?”

“Yes.”

“Then go. He does not have much time,” he said, aiming his wand at Severus, whose body went completely limp once more.

She looked down at him for a moment, at his pale face, his bleeding shoulder, and then she gently but hurriedly moved his head to rest on the floor again and got up on shaky legs.

“How long will it take you?” Kingsley asked, as she started walking to the door.

“Not long, just a few minutes I think.”

“Is it safe? Where you are going?” Harry asked her; she had completely forgotten about him. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No. I will be all right. Just take care of him until I return,” she said, as she opened the door and stepped outside the room, not even listening to the confused questions thrown her way by the Weasleys as she walked past them. There was no time.

She hurriedly walked out of headquarters and Apparated to Severus’ house. Throwing the door open she ran inside and up the stairs, looking for the room where she had found the potions ingredients that one time.

It was the furthest room down the long hallway, but it did not take her long to reach it. As she walked inside she took a moment to look around and cursed loudly; three of the four walls were covered with cupboards.

Knowing she was alone and not caring how much noise she made, she opened the first cabinet to her right, checking every single bottle and vial for the right potion. A few of them fell as she searched, and she quickly vanished the liquid as soon as it hit the floor, worried it might be something dangerous.

She did not find any orange potion in the cupboards that covered the first wall, and soon she moved to the next one; still no luck. She was beginning to feel desperate.

With slightly shaky hands she moved to the last wall. She was taking too much time, but what else could she do?

Then she saw it. At the very bottom of the top shelf, just out of her reach and so well hidden she would have not seen it if she had not known exactly what she was looking for. Summoning the chair closest to her, she placed it right in front of the cupboard and climbed on top of it, pushing the other vials aside as she reached for the right one. It was so far back she had to get on her tiptoes to reach it, and just as she wrapped her fingers around it the chair bucked, and she started falling back.

Not sure how she managed to do it that fast, she let go of the vial and waved her wand in its direction as it fell, halting it in mid air. She finally hit the floor, hitting her head so hard her vision blurred for a moment, but none of that mattered. Her heart hammered at the thought of what could have happened, at the possibility of losing the potion. That was all she cared about at the moment, and thankfully it was safe.

She slowly got up, still feeling slightly dizzy from the fall, and reached for the vial. She turned around and headed back out of the house, her pace fast but still careful for fear she might trip and fall again.

She held the vial firmly against her chest as she Apparated back to headquarters, opening the door and rushing inside.

“What happened to you?” Kingsley asked as soon as she stepped into the library again. The Weasleys were not there anymore, and she guessed he had asked them to leave.

“Nothing,” she muttered confused, as she walked to Severus.

“Hermione, you are bleeding,” Harry said.

“What?”

“Your forehead. You are bleeding:”

She touched her forehead with her hand, only then noting the pain. She must have hurt herself when she had fallen, she thought. She could not care less. She kneeled by Severus’ head once more, reaching for the vial inside her pocket.

“Is that the potion?” Kingsley asked, and she merely nodded. She moved her hands to his face, trying to open his mouth, but she could not.

“His mouth won’t open,” she said, turning to Kingsley, and he nodded, aiming his wand at Severus again and waking him up. He took a deep breath, like he had before, and then started coughing.

With her hands on his shoulders she carefully lifted him and rested his head on her lap again.

“Severus,” she called, and this time he opened his eyes right away. “I have the potion here. You have to take it,” she said. He opened his mouth to speak, but started coughing again.

“Can’t you stop that?” she asked Kingsley, her voice almost pleading, but he shook his head no. “Severus,” she said then, turning back to him. “The potion. How much do you need to take?”

He coughed a few more times, and then she heard something that sounded like ‘half’.

“Half?” she said, leaning closer. “Half the vial?” she asked, and he nodded. “All right,” she muttered, uncorking the vial. “Are you ready?” she whispered, and she nodded again.

Very carefully, she moved the vial to his lips and tilted it, making sure the liquid would not choke him and giving him time to swallow. It took a few minutes, but he finally drank half the contents down; the effect was almost immediate.

His eyes, that had turned completely black, recovered their previous colour, and his shoulder stopped bleeding. He coughed a few more times, and then his breathing went back to normal. After barely a minute he suddenly sat up and looked down at his arm, frowning slightly.

“Why is it still black?” she asked him, following his gaze.

“It was a very powerful curse; it might take a few hours for the potion to break it completely,” he said, his voice now back to normal.

“Will you be all right, then?” she asked.

“Yes. I appreciate what you have done for me, Miss Granger,” he told her.

“It was nothing, Professor,” she muttered in return, looking away from him as she got up. He looked at her for a second, amusement clear in his eyes, and then he too got up.

“I would like to speak to Miss Granger alone,” he said, as he slowly walked to a chair and sat down.

“I am sure whatever you want to say to her, you can tell her with us present,” Kingsley quickly replied.

“It is okay, he is right. It will be just a few moments,” she said to Kingsley before Severus could reply.

“Hermione, I don’t think…”

“It is all right, Harry; really. Just give us a few minutes, will you?” she asked, turning to her old friend.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she replied reassuringly, and Harry nodded. He got up and walked to the door, opening it and waiting for Kingsley to walk out before following suit. “I will be right here if you need me,” he said, and she nodded. He took a moment to look at Severus, a strange expression on his face, and then closed the door behind him.