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And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After	By : ElizabethStump Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 90306 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 112
- 113
- 114
"And They Didn't Live Happily Ever After"

Chapter One Hundred Twelve
"Paying the Piper"

Disclaimer: Sing to "Wheels on the Bus"
The disclaimers in the fanfic go;
"This isn't mine; Rowling owns Potter; not a penny made"
The disclaimers in the fanfic go
"Rowling owns Potter," all through the fic.

The authors of the fanfic go;
"Hack, hack, hack; spell check, spell check; proof, proof, proof"
The authors of the fanfic go;
"Write, write write," all though the night.

The betas of the fanfic go;
"Edit, edit, edit; fix, fix, fix; clean it all up"
The betas of the fanfic go;
"Make it readable," and deserve lots of praise.

============

Severus landed in London and immediately exited the Portkey office. He ignored the obvious stares and hushed whispers that rose like the susserations of an autumn wind in a wheat field upon their seeing the exonerated Death Eater, who had been pilloried by the Daily Prophet. He was a silhouette of billowing black robes as he crossed the atrium floor of the Ministry as if running for his life, which he essentially was, cursing he could not Apparate directly to Hermione's flat from within the Ministry. So instead, he headed towards the row of fireplaces and called out his destination before throwing down a handful of Floo Powder, his wand at the ready.

Emerging from the fireplace of his old flat, Severus stopped in his tracks.

There was Lavender, still unconscious and bound upright in a kitchen chair, yet another version of Lavender was standing over Hermione holding a small vial of something over her open mouth, while her wand kept a small mirrored compact aloft close to her head with a Levitating Charm. Hermione was still unconscious, her mouth hung open slack and wide. Severus also saw Draco and Ginny still bound upright in chairs as well.

"Recognize what I hold, Death Eater?" the conscious version of Lavender asked.

Severus immediately understood that it was the standing and talking version of Lavender who was the impostor, and the real Lavender was unconscious in the chair. The cadence and accent was wrong, and Lavender would never address him as such, nor look as unkempt as the one threatening those who were most dear to him.

Looking at the clear glass vial held in the impostor's hand and the way the early evening sun glinted off of it, he recognized it. The sparkling reds and oranges that danced within were unmistakable.

"Death of a Thousand Suns," he ground out in a murderous tone.

"Good, then you understand that if my hand just happens to slip, should you try to disarm me or worse, the vial slips into her mouth and she dies a painful death, that not even your bezoars, which you no doubt have shoved in your pocket, could cure. And without the right antidote administered within seconds, she will die an extremely painful death within minutes. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal," he growled, staring at the witch with deathly contempt.

"Good. Then I'll lock the Floo and ward the doors and windows shut so we'll be undisturbed," she demanded coolly.

"How do you know I have not informed anyone of your threat and that they'll be here at any moment?" he asked calmly, hoping to gain further information and stall for as long as possible.

"Your interview with The Quibbler gave me inspiration, thanks to your little mirror spell. Once I heard that this Death Eater and his whore wife were coming back, I placed mirrors within various offices and places of business of people who even remotely appeared slightly sympathetic to you that you might have alerted. I have several of these all charmed so I could listen in." She nodded her head slightly to the mirrored compact still floating by her head. "Even in Lavender's office, where I overheard how the elf here would be away and these two would be coming over to Hermione's flat tonight," she said, gesturing towards Draco and Ginny. "That's when I knew to strike." Flicking her wand, the imitation of Lavender had the small floating compact mirror fold close and slide down into a deep pocket. "You were good to make sure you didn't notify anyone, else I would have heard. There was no chatter except a few saying they spotted you heading straight from the Portkey Office to a Floo."

"Clever." Severus quirked his brow.

"Yes, now hand over your wand." She redirected her wand to point directly at Severus' chest, all the while keep the one hand holding the poison poised above Hermione.

Seeing as how the vial was tipped slightly towards Hermione's mouth and could easily be poured down her throat, Severus felt he had no option but to comply. Reluctantly, he tossed over his wand, which landed with a soft thump on the rug by the threatening witch's feet.

She retrieved his wand with her own wand, pocketing it so it could not be easily Summoned.

"Now, let's wake everyone and begin the evening." Aiming her wand at Draco, she cast a Stinging Hex which awakened him with a scream.

"Who are you?" Draco tried to ask, gritting through the pain of being woken with a painful hex.

"Haven't figured it out? Let's see if your traitorous cunt wife can guess."

The copy of Lavender turned her wand to Ginny, yelling, "Furnunculus!"

Ginny woke with a blood-curdling scream, having been burned by the spell hitting her shoulder and causing boils to appear.

"What do you want? STOP IT!" Draco demanded as he struggled against his bindings.

With a sneer, their captor said with impatience, "We can't begin until everyone is awake."

Lavender began to groan groggily, finally beginning to wake being stirred by Ginny's screams, looking around wide-eyed at the current predicament. She didn't say a word, but only looked to Severus with a plea in her eyes to help them.

Severus moved a step forward, but the witch holding them all prisoner, or at least it might have been a witch, looked at him and gave him a threatening glare. With a tilt of her hand, she reminded him that she would easily tip the poison into Hermione's throat if provoked. Severus stepped back and held his hands up.

"Polyjuice Potion?" he asked, his lip curling into a sneer.

"If you could use it to escape, as the Daily Prophet correctly surmised in their expose, then I figured so could I."

"Padma," Lavender exclaimed with shock knowing exactly who would intend all of them mortal harm.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mounga finally landed at the London Portkey office. Once he had his feet firmly on the ground, he ran over to the nearest Portkey agents and demanded, "Where are the Auror offices! This is an emergency!"

The poor wizard, somewhat stunned by this large wizard with an American accent looking serious and quite threatening, merely pointed a shaking finger towards the exit and squeaked out, "Second floor."

"Thanks, dude," he exhaled and took off running as fast as he could.

As he reached the second floor, Mounga stood there uncertain where to go. He did not want to barge into anyone's office. Instead he inhaled a great breath and cupped his hands around his mouth. In his great booming voice he used when addressing thousands atop the volcano once a year, he called out, "HARRY POTTER! HARRY! I HAVE TO SPEAK TO YOU IMMEDIATELY!"

Every Auror who had stayed late that night immediately popped their head out of their office door to see who was bellowing loudly enough to rattle the interior windows of the Ministry department.

Mounga spotted a head of messy black hair, the scar and glasses on a slightly below average height wizard – just as Ginny once described – pop out of the door next to him. Grabbing him by the shirt collar, Mounga hauled him out of his office into the hallway.

Harry, thinking he was being attacked, drew his wand and pointed it at the large, strangely dressed wizard who was nearly as large as Hagrid once was.

"We can't talk here," Mounga whispered quietly as possible. "Your office is probably bugged, and Severus, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, and Lavender are all in danger."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Padma was too preoccupied with the vial of poison held above Hermione's lips to notice the mirror behind her was now shrouded black on the other side. The shock that Padma Patil, Parvati's sister, was the one threatening them distracted Severus from noticing such details as well.

"At last, we need to wake this Death Eater fucking whore who has denied me justice by allowing you to go free. It was probably you who told Macnair when and where he could abduct my sister," Padma fumed with seething rage.

"No, I would never tell them. I would have done anything to have prevented–" Severus began to plea his innocence, but was cut off.

"LIES! You're a fucking liar, just like when Goyle said he didn't kidnap my sister!" Padma removed the poison from near Hermione's lips and stood back, pointing her wand at the unconscious witch, screaming, "CRUCIO!"

Hermione woke to a searing pain crushing her skull and screamed at the top of her lungs. Amid the pain, through the haze of the spell that shrouded her in a sickly yellow, she could see Severus and wasn't sure if it was the curse causing her to lose her mind so quickly or that he really was there. Padma did not relent, and Hermione eventually passed out from the pain.

Severus, could almost feel the pain of the Cruciatus Curse himself. His body lurched forward, and when Hermione passed out, he slumped forward on the floor and was pulled into unconsciousness once more.

Severus found Hermione on the ground twitching as lightning crackled across the ink black night. Not even stars were visible. He rushed over and pulled her into his arms while kneeling on the cold, dank ground. He saw her eyes flutter, looking about but unable to focus on him.

"Hermione," he said, trying to bring her around and assure her he was there for her, even if they were on some unknown plane of existence yet again.

"Severus?" she asked with uncertainty, not sure if she had seen him before she blacked out or not.

"Yes, I'm here. I'm in the flat with you trying to save you and the others," he said, trying to remain calm as he brushed her hair away from her face.

Hermione's eyes finally focused and they were filled with remorse. "I'm sorry."

They both knew what she was apologizing for. The evening after the tea ceremony at the Malfoys, Hermione wanted to renew their bonding. She had bought a pomegranate at the farmers' market that morning. That evening, after dinner, she had crushed the seeds and extracted the juice.

In silence, they had shared the cup of pomegranate juice, understanding their intent and the symbolism behind the gesture with Hermione being separated from Severus once again. It was their promise to remain connected together through their souls until Hermione could finally rejoin Severus permanently.

It was this binding that had dragged Severus into their other sphere when he was in the midst of trying to save their lives when Hermione was hit by the Cruciatus Curse.

Severus shook his head, for she had nothing to be sorry about. He had equally wanted to renew his bond to Hermione for their long parting. "Don't be sorry," he whispered. "I'm not."

As Severus went to wipe a tear from Hermione's cheek, he suddenly vanished, leaving Hermione alone in the dark as skeletal fingers of lightning still crackled across the endless night.

"Wake up!" Padma shouted as her boot made contact with Severus' jaw.

Severus' head snapped back. He opened his eyes as the throbbing pulse of pain spread along his jaw. When he tried to move, he discovered that he had been bound by a Binding Spell as well, but was now laying on his side. This was too similar to the time Lucius hexed him, which jogged his memory.

"There is no way I could have let the Death Eaters know where to find Lavender and Parvati. Before they were taken, I was already laid up in the Infirmary suffering from some nearly lethal hexes by Lucius Malfoy. Looking back, it was no doubt an attempt to stop me from warning the Headmaster, in case I may have overheard their conversation of what they planned to do," Severus said as fast as he could before Padma could scream for him to shut up or hex anyone else again. To his relief, Padma was no longer holding a vial of poison above Hermione's mouth, but his lover was still unconscious from the curse.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Lavender insisted. "When they brought me back to the infirmary, I found him laid up, just like I told you," Lavender's voice was cracking and wavering from the overwhelming fear building in her gut.

"Give me Veritaserum. I will tell you the truth," Severus offered, willing to profess his innocence.

"No! It's too late for that. You're going to pay. It's all your fault." Padma's hand was starting to shake, and the tip of her wand bobbed up and down slightly as she continued pointing it at Severus.

Severus could see now that no amount of reason could be had with this witch, as she was hell-bent on dishing out her revenge focused at him, even if it was misplaced.

"Fine, take your revenge out on me, but let the others go," Severus countered. "They had nothing to do with your sister's unfortunate assault."

"NO!" Hermione screamed, finally waking to hear Severus' offer. "No, Severus, don't!" She knew if Severus stayed, Padma would kill him.

"Unfortunate assault? You call being beaten, raped, Crucio'ed to the point of madness and impregnated by that Death Eater scum an 'unfortunate assault?'" Padma said, her voice rising to a shrill scream as her umbrage rose.

"What?!?" yelled nearly everyone in union, unaware of Parvati's resulting pregnancy.

Swiveling to point her wand at Lavender, she snarled, "How would you know about it. You were too busy staying in school to finish your seventh year and take your NEWTs to care that she was pregnant."

Lavender did a quick calculation in her head. She remembered the attack took place in late September when the Headmaster was considering whether to allow weekends to Hogsmeade to continue or not, while allowing only seventh years who could Apparate to leave the confines of the castle. Given the time of her rape, Parvati could have given birth before Lavender finished school and saw Parvati for the first time at St. Mungo's in mid-June.

"Nobody told me!" Lavender screamed back. "Nobody told me anything!"

"Because my parents disowned her after they found out she was raped and impregnated!" Padma bellowed back. "I was the only one who could speak for her when no one else could! And then after giving birth, I was saddled with that hell-spawn brat when I got back from Hogwarts!"

"But the elixir Madam Pomfrey gave her to stop conception?" Severus spoke up, knowing the school policy procedure for such tragic occurrences.

"Seems they are only good if they are taken before fertilization occurs in some instances," Padma spat at him. "And St. Mungo's was too busy with the war to follow up to make sure she wasn't impregnated. They couldn't stop the pregnancy by the time they bothered to notice the vegetable in the permanent ward was not fat, but carrying that bastard!"

Parvati was gone a few days, long enough for fertilization to occur if she ovulated about the time of her kidnapping. After a certain point in the pregnancy, the magic of the child would prevent any attempt to end it. Thus, aborting was not an option without killing the witch in the process, as the magical link between mother and child was too strong to break.

Lavender, Ginny, and Hermione could not bear the thought of Parvati not only suffering what she did, but carrying a child to term in her mental condition as well. They all openly wept in sympathy for their old friend and classmate.

Draco hung his head in shame, unable to comprehend such a horror being foisted upon the poor witch.

Severus felt like he had been kicked in the gut with this new revelation. He knew that some Death Eaters engaged in such sick sport, but to impregnate their victims was just beyond the pale. It seemed almost contradictory considering how they went on about blood purity, but had taken no measure to prevent them from spreading their seed to those considered impure or blood-traitors.

"The others had nothing to do with this most heinous and tragic event. Let them go," Severus insisted once more.

"No? Draco is a fucking Death Eater, just like you! Probably helped them find her!" she screamed back at him.

"He was just a boy who took the Dark Mark against his will," Severus retorted, pleading Draco's case since he was still too dumbstruck to speak in his own defense. "His father held his wand against his temple and said he if refused or embarrassed him any further in front of the Dark Lord, Lucius would end the Malfoy line right there and then. Draco joined to save his own skin, and then joined the Order immediately to help Dumbledore and Potter win the war. There isn't a day that goes by he doesn't regret being forced to take that Mark!"

Padma did not want to accept any of their reasons. Storming over to Draco, she held her wand up and pressed it to his temple. As the point dug into his flesh, Draco flinched, his eyes shut tight. With a sudden glacial calm, Padma suggested, "Maybe I should just Imperio Draco to rape Lavender. And after that, Hermione too. And then I can Crucio them afterwards until they lose their minds as well. Maybe they'll get pregnant just like my sister and go through what she did."

"No, please, there is no reason for you to do this," Draco begged.

"I have plenty of reason," Padma snarled. "Every day I see that bastard my sister birthed and every day I see Macnair's eyes staring back at me, mocking me. This is the only way!"

"But why hurt Ginny? What did she do to you?" Hermione asked, hoping she could at least get her best friend freed through the use of logic, though it seemed Padma was impervious to it.

"Because she ran away with a Death Eater who should have stayed here and died, just like I poisoned Goyle!" Padma screeched.

"You?" Draco asked with disbelief, flummoxed yet once more. "You poisoned him?"

"Yes, and it was glorious to watch him die so painfully," she hissed with vitriolic delight. "The way he begged for mercy to kill him, and the way he thrashed and suffered."

"I thought Alan Parker..." Severus let slip aloud.

"I saw Alan Parker poisoning a Death Eater one night in a back alley some years ago. And it was beautiful," she confessed with relish. "So I figured, I'd copy him. And if he got caught, he would be blamed for all those deaths, though most of them were his work. But I helped with several over the years on my own."

"Parker is in Azkaban," Hermione volunteered foolishly.

Padma spun around on the spot. "How did you know?" she asked, her eyes dancing with a madness Hermione had seen only once before. Tilting her head to the side, Padma quietly said as her face began to contort with anger, "You sent him there, didn't you?"

Before Hermione could refute by saying that Harry had caught him and sent him away, in her fury, Padma cast yet another Cruciatus Curse at Hermione.

Hermione thrashed and bucked against her bindings as the pain raced through every nerve, until she slumped against her bindings.

Severus was unwillingly drawn into the ethereal abyss once more.

Clutching to Severus, Hermione ruefully whimpered, "I don't know how much more I can take."

The lightning raced across the sky, a mirror of the electric signals of pain racing through Hermione's nerves.

Severus held Hermione tightly to his chest. He knew if he did not do something, Hermione would not keep her mind intact much longer. It seemed Padma wanted revenge, and he would give her the satisfaction of it if it meant that the others could live.

There was no more escaping his past crimes that he had long lived in remorse over. Now was the time to clear his debts.

Severus knew if he died, because of his soul being bound to Hermione's, he might drag her along to the depths of hell with him. He was doing this so that she could live. As much as he regretted it, he knew it had to be done.

"You must live, Hermione. I cannot let you follow me where I must go. I release you from your binding to me," he murmured softly into her hair as he held back his tears.

Hermione began screaming for him not to go, crying hysterically as she called out his name over and over as he evaporated from her arms like mist.

Severus opened his eyes to find Padma staring at him curiously.

"I have a proposition," he began, his voice calm and businesslike. Severus figured this was Fate's way of saying he could not escape the sin of killing his wife and unborn child, and this was his only possible way to atone for it. "Kill me. Torture me as much as you want, but let all the others go without further injury or harm. I give myself to you freely if it means you'll let the others go."

"Is this some trick?" Padma asked. Her eyes were dancing with the prospect of the wizard she'd hated for so long giving himself over to her sadistic delights she had mentally entertained all those years, hoping if she ever had the chance.

"No, no trick. But you must let everyone else go," Severus stipulated. "Lavender, Ginny, Hermione, and yes, even Draco. Or do you want to be called a monster on par with a Death Eater for taking two mothers and a father away from their infant children. Kill them or drive them into perpetual madness, and you're no better than the Death Eater who tortured your sister. You'll only just breed more witches and wizards who want to exact even crueler revenge on you on behalf of their parents. The cycle of hate will never end, and on and on it will go. Kill me and end it now. I offer myself up to you to put an end to this madness that lingers after the war."

As much as Draco wanted to live for his children, he did not want to let Severus die either. Looking over at his mentor, he saw the resignation in his old friend's face. Severus was offering himself up so his godchildren would grow up knowing their mother and father. And Draco knew that to speak up might risk having Padma kill them all, which meant Libra, Phoenix, and Sebastian would have no parents or godparents to raise them, in addition to Josephine never knowing her mother. Draco began to weep wishing he could save his family and Severus, but knowing that Severus had made the decision for him.

"Fine," Padma agreed. "But I want them to watch as you die, so they can remember with horror every day of your death and be haunted with it every day, as I am haunted with the sight of that monster my sister birthed."

Padma didn't even bother to wake Hermione up, not noticing she was still unconscious.

Severus closed his eyes, tilting his head back, exposing his neck in submission to and acceptance of her wrath.

Behind his eyelids, he saw a bright flash of light.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With a loud crack and a blinding flash, the door to the flat splintered wide open, momentarily distracting Padma from finishing her spell. Before she could re-aim her wand from Severus to the intruder, she caught a Stunning Spell directly to the center of her chest.

Severus opened his eyes, to find Potter, Kingsley, and – to his even bigger surprise – Mounga rushing through the door while Padma, still Polyjuiced as Lavender, slumped to the floor.

There were a few more Aurors who rushed in afterwards, but Severus was too flooded with relief to notice who they were.

"That's Padma Patil Polyjuiced as me," the real Lavender Weasley spoke up as her bindings were removed with the ending of the spell.

"We know, Mounga here filled us in on what he overheard," Harry volunteered.

Mounga was bent over Severus, freeing him from his bindings and helping him to his feet.

The bewildered Potions master asked, "How did you know since..." His question was stopped short when Mounga removed a miniaturized mirror from his pocket and produced it for Severus' inspection. He recognized it as the charmed mirror from Severus' house. In the miniaturized mirror, he could see the flurry of activity about the room with the other Aurors freeing Lavender, Draco, Ginny, and Hermione from their bindings from the alternate perspective. The note was still tacked to Hermione's mirror.

"I blocked it so she could not hear or see us from this end and made it look like the mirror on your end was shrouded, so we could continue to watch and listen in," Mounga said with a smile of relief. "I got your keys from Halulu and your message, and figured out what was going on before taking a Portkey here. And because I knew the Auror offices were bugged, I yelled for Harry to come out of his office so I could fill him in. Sorry we took so long, but it took a while to get through those wards."

When Severus found his legs and was finally standing, he momentarily hugged Mounga in gratitude of this friend's quick thinking, but immediately stopped and went over to Hermione, who was still unconscious.

He scooped her up in his arms as Kingsley was tending to her, and the others were being freed and assessed for injuries. "Hermione, wake up. It's all right," Severus said earnestly as he stroked her face, trying to revive her. "We made it, I'm alive. Hermione?"

Fear began to grip him, and his hands began to shake as he caressed her cheek.

Kingsley took Hermione from Severus' arms and laid Hermione on the floor flat on her back. Harry and Kingsley both began to perform spells to revive Hermione and determine if she was injured beyond suffering from the Cruciatus Curse.

Draco held Ginny in his arms as both stood by, watching the Aurors try to awaken Hermione. Ginny and Lavender both began sobbing once more in fear for their friend's life.

"No," Severus breathed with disbelief at the conclusion that raced through his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The room was deathly silent except for the odd noise made by the children. It seemed even the infants were keenly aware of the somberness that pervaded the hospital room.

Hermione was laying on her back, still and eyes shut as if she had drunk the Draught of Living Death. The white sheets were crisp and stark in contrast to her dark undulating waves and curls of hair that had been brushed out by the attending Healers.

Draco and Ginny sat in one corner with their three infants, unwilling to be parted from their children after recent events.

Lavender and Ron were also in attendance with Josephine in the portable bassinet being gently rocked by a charm. Lavender was looking unkempt and tired, too upset and scared for Hermione's well-being to bother with her appearance. Ron looked even more worried than his wife, dark circles and bags under his eyes. He had come home the night before to find his wife gone with no note as to why she wasn't there, knowing she should have been home by then.

Albert was there as well, looking drawn and quite old, concerned over the fate of his apprentice who had become like a daughter to him and a dear friend.

The Drs. Grangers sat on chairs along one side of the bed, holding Hermione's left hand, having been brought there by Lavender to be by the bedside of their daughter. Lavender had received quite the tongue-lashing from Christine that Hermione's parents were not immediately kept in the loop when their daughter was laid up in St. Mungo's the last time, and they were brought in right after Hermione was admitted this time. Hermione's Aunt Christine and Uncle Tim were also there, with Auberon being held in his father's arms.

The staff at St. Mungo's had demanded most of the people in the room standing vigil wait outside of Hermione's room or go home to await updates, but none who were there would budge nor be quelled into leaving.

Severus and Albert pooled their enormous talents together to try and think of some brew that would revive Hermione, but nothing they suggested to the staff of Healers worked any more than the Healers' standard procedures.

The Healers once again were at a loss as to why Hermione would not wake. They said it seemed very similar to the incident from last summer, stating that it seemed she had lost the will to live.

The last time Severus saw Hermione, he had let Hermione go, indicating he was willing to die to let her live. She had not awakened to discover that he did not die, and therefore must still be on that alternate sphere, thinking he was dead and gone.

Severus tried to rejoin her in that other plane they had shared before, but because he had willingly cut those ties that bound him to her to save her, he could not find the thread of deep consciousness with which to reconnect with her.

There was only one other option Severus could think of that might bring Hermione back to him.

All heads turned when the door to the hospital room creaked open.

Severus looked up from his spot by Hermione's bedside, unable to let go of her right hand those many hours to see his salvation walk in.

Harry was escorting Zhubanysh into the room. She was holding their son, James, in her arms.

For the first time, Severus willingly left Hermione's bedside and went over to greet Zhubanysh.

Before he could plead for her to help him, she said, "You must be Severus."

"Yes," he choked out, his voice hoarse from the fatigue of being awake all night, unable to sleep as he kept vigil by Hermionie’s bedside. "Please help. You're the only thing left I can think of. You healed your husband with your songs. You stopped Hermione's nightmares. Please save her, please sing to her."

Zhubanysh handed James over to Harry and took Severus' large and calloused hands in her small ones. "My songs will not heal her."

Severus sunk to his knees in front of her, still holding her hands, and piteously begged, "Please save her. Anything. You're the only one." He broke down in sobs, his shoulders slumped and heaving, no longer carrying about his dignity. His pride was shattered and he let himself be seen willingly crying by the others, unable to hold in his sorrow any longer.

Seeing Severus broken like this, Ginny began to cry silently once more and buried her face in Draco's shoulder. Draco could not hold back his silent tears either.

"My singing will not heal her, but your singing will," Zhubanysh said as she reached down and tilted his tear-streaked face up to her and smiled beatifically at him. Sorrow tinged her smile, for she was quite sad for what happened to her adopted sister, but she still had hope.

"But, I don't know your language, I don't know the melodies," Severus said, not wanting to do it wrong and fail to bring her back.

She pulled at Severus' hands indicating he should stand, which he did. She guided him back over to Hermione's bedside. "My songs do not possess magic that you do not already have within yourself," she informed him. "In our tribe, we learn to sing songs as a way of soothing and healing those dear to us. It is your love sung through song that will heal her, not the song itself."

Zhubanysh had Severus sit by Hermione's side once more. "Take both her hands," she gently instructed him.

Hermione's parents carefully handed Hermione's left hand to Severus' outstretched one, placing her care in his hands while hoping he could bring their daughter back.

Placing her hands on his heart, Zhubanysh said, "Close your eyes. Now all the love you have for Hermione, imagine that it is a mountain. And I can tell it is a very large mountain. So tall it touches the top of the sky and rises high above the clouds. Can you see it?"

Severus closed his eyes and tried to imagine all he felt for Hermione represented in a mountain. It was so tall he could barely imagine seeing it all in his own mind. He nodded.

"Good. Now from the top of this mountain flows a spring. That is the purest form of your love for her. The more you love her, the more it flows, like a great stream falling down the mountainside. Now as you imagine your love flowing down the mountain, it also flows from your heart down your arms," she guided him, moving her hands from Severus' chest, radiating sideways and began trailing them down his arms to his hands that still held Hermione's. "It flows to a valley, a valley where Hermione's soul resides."

Severus could feel a tingling warmth radiating from his chest and down his arms as Zhubanysh coached him.

"Now," she said softly so as not to break his concentration, "find a song that speaks of your love for Hermione and begin to sing it to her while you imagine your love flowing down your arms like a mountain spring and into her hands, feeding that valley where Hermione's soul is. Let those waters from your love and song make that valley lush and green."

Severus thought of one song that meant something to both of them. Taking a deep breath, he began to sing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione lay there crying in utter isolation, knowing that Severus had broken their bonds to free her and offer himself up in her stead yet again. She did not want to go on if she could not have Severus there to share it with her. In her grief, she decided to seek out Severus and join him. She and Severus had debated theories that the plane they had met on was one between life and death, a sort of limbo.

After the lightning ceased, Hermione found the strength to get up off the ground and begin the long chthonic journey. If she did not tarry, she might be able to find the bridge to the afterlife and meet up with Severus once more, and they could cross into the afterlife together hand in hand, no longer separated.

Onward Hermione trudged through the darkness for what seemed like hours, possibly days. As she continued walking, a faint light on the horizon to guide her, the path turned into one that followed up a ridge line. The ground on either side of her gradually subsided until she was walking along the spine of a hilly range.

Off to her left, she saw a valley shrouded in mist. It looked exactly as she had imagined Hades to look in her many readings of Greek mythology. There was a dark mauve-colored fog that thickly obscured everything from her view high atop of the ridge.

"Severus, I'm coming," she said to herself.

As she turned to walk down the hill, quickening her pace, she saw a figure emerge from the fog. At first she thought it was going to be Severus meeting her, but in the dim light she finally realized it was another woman.

Halfway down the hill, the woman with long light chestnut hair greeted her. "It's not time for you yet."

"But I'm here to join Severus," Hermione insisted, not letting this person get between her and Severus.

"I know, but you're headed in the wrong direction."

Before Hermione could refute, insisting that she was certain Severus would be coming along this way, she heard the wind pick up, and on the wind was the lingering of a familiar melody.

The woman with intelligent and curious brown eyes pointed a finger back up the hill from where Hermione came from. "That is where you will find him. Go, he's waiting for you."

As Hermione turned away, the stranger added, "Take care of him."

Hermione began running up the hill, making her legs go as fast as they could, wondering if there was yet another valley of Hades she had not seen – a valley that Severus was crossing into without her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"My love waits there in San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea..."

Severus stopped singing, his eyes still shut tight as he imagined that mountain stream as a raging torrent. "It's not working," he whimpered with defeat.

Zhubanysh, who had stood by him with her hand on his shoulder, shook her head. "You're wrong. Look."

Hermione's chest was beginning to rise and fall more noticeably, compared to the dead stillness she exhibited earlier.

Zhubanysh moved closer to Hermione. Grabbing Severus' hand, she guided one of his hands to cup Hermione's cheek and the other to rest on her chest above her heart. "Keep singing," she urged him.

Severus tried to think of another song that had meant something between them until he finally remembered yet another. He began singing, "At last, my love has come along..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Hermione was near the top of the ridge where she once stood, the wind ceased and so did the ethereal music that lured her back up the hillside.

Stopping, in need of the whisper in the wind to guide her, she turned her head, trying to listen for any sound to give her a direction to follow. "No, no. Don't stop. Not now. Come on, where are you? Guide me, dammit!"

To her relief, the wind picked up once more, and she could even see a light on the other side of the ridge begin to glow. Not only did she hear the music once more, but a looming glow on the horizon that must have been the sun approaching in which to point her the right way.

Finally as she approached the top of the ridge, her breath stopped in her chest. Before her loomed a huge mountain that had not been there before. She had never in all her years seen anything as majestic or as beautiful as the tableau before her, looking like some idealized version of a mountain jutting up from the plain that spread out before her as it rose up sharply towards the brightening sky. At the base of the mountain was a valley that was slowly turning from brown to green as it was fed from a roaring torrent of water that cascaded down the side of the mountain, pooling at the bottom. The lake that was growing in size at the base of the mountain in the valley was still shrouded in darkness, as the sun was still behind the mountain and below the horizon. The lake looked refreshing and tranquil. Hermione wanted to bathe in those waters. She wished Severus was there with her to swim with her in that lake that was placid and inviting.

Bounding down the hillside, Hermione wondered if this was the paradise that was meant for her and Severus to spend the rest of their days together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Halfway through the song, Severus could not remember the lyrics. He heaved a sob, as Hermione was still not coming around, just breathing, which is what she was doing before. Severus took a sign of Hermione's chest moving up and down as a sign she was barely able to hold on and would not much last much longer despite Zhubanysh's insistence he was doing fine.

Severus was losing hope.

Placing a hand on his cheek, Zhubanysh said, "Find a song, a song that speaks of your deep love for Hermione and how you feel about her right now. A song that speaks about how boundless your love is for her."

Severus could only think of one song, and he knew it by heart.

Closing his eyes, he poured his heart forth as he began to sing in a loud and clear voice,

"A wizard called Eòin Greumson
Of bonnie Blackbriar Dornoch
Was bid to fight the goblin horde
Rebellion rose an' duty call'd

He left his love, fair Maighread
His promise: a gowden ring
That they should wed 'pon his return
No later than the spring"

All around the hospital room, tears began to fall, most of the visitors all too familiar with the lyrics of the song. Hermione's parents, aunt, and uncle began to quietly sob, moved by the lamentable nature Scottish ballad being sung with profound sorrow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As Hermione happily skipped towards the lake filled with sparkling clear water, she stopped, finally hearing the voice on the wind. This time she could not only discern the melody, but could hear Severus' voice on the wind. She knew this song, she had heard it before.

Looking up the mountain that loomed before her, she finally understood she was not supposed to swim in the lake, but to climb the mountain before her. There she would find Severus.

"I'm coming, Severus. I'm coming!" she said as she began running faster.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus sang on, putting every ounce of his emotions into the song as he continued to imagine his love flowing down the mountainside. His one hand caressed her forehead and cheek, the other was firmly placed over her heart, his arms feeling like they were almost glowing with warmth.

He was not distracted by the soft sounds of others in the room crying, moved by the song. He solely focused on Hermione and his feelings for her.

"A year had passed and not return'd
Poor Maighread was waefu'
Her lover fear'd lost for dead
Maighread's breast brokenheart'd

A poison quick upon her lips
The witch did drink 'ere deeply
To see her Eòin on the other side
Join'd e'er in eternity

As Eòin came home, he found his bride
Light fading from her eyes
She thought she had join'd him beyond the veil
And pass'd to the other side"

Hermione's mother sat there staring at the man she had never met who had captured her daughter's heart; she listened as he sang a song that seemed to mimic Hermione's own choice to give up living, most probably convinced her lover was dead. A snotty tissue was clutched in one hand while the other curled limply against her own chest as she leaned into her husband's arms for support, unwilling to believe her daughter might never come back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Her lungs burning as she gasped for breath, Hermione raced up the mountain side. Hermione's legs were sore and felt like lead. Stopping by the water that splashed and tumbled down the mountain, she reached over and cupped a handful of water to refresh herself.

She suddenly stopped, wondering if this was like the story of Persephone and Hades. If she drank the water, would she be trapped there, unable to rejoin Severus? Seeing the water glint and radiate with a glowing light of its own, she could not resist. Sipping the water, she had never tasted anything so heady or ambrosial in her life. It was like her first kiss with Severus distilled into liquid form, it even tasted faintly like his kisses. It made her head spin and her body float.

Breathing heavily from the rush of sensation, she suddenly felt herself re-energized. Hermione leaned over to drink straight from the source, gulping it down by great mouthfuls, unable to quench this thirst that suddenly flared inside of her.

Finally lifting her head from the stream, the hair around her face now dripping with this dulcet mountain nectar, she felt herself renewed with boundless energy.

Like a sprinter, she ran up the hill as fast as her legs could move.

She could see the sun rising to meet her. She knew she had to reach the source of that spring at the summit.

"Wait for me, Severus," she breathed as her feet scrambled against the rocky path that would lead her towards the top, his voice leading her onward.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"No ghost remain'd, her soul pass'd on
Though Eòin was not to be found
She wandered lost without her love
Maighread found no relief in death's bound

Young Eòin gaed to join his bride
His heart could beat no more
In gravely beds, they lie aside
Join'd e'er beyond Grim's door."

Severus finished his song, and to his disappointment, Hermione did not awaken as he had hoped. He hung his head down and began to openly wail. He felt like his own heart could no longer beat.

He made a vow that if she died, he would join her and seek her beyond the veil of death. He found no purpose in living if Hermione was not there with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Just as Hermione reached the mountain top the wind and Severus' voice stopped.

"No, no, no!" Hermione had not run up what seemed like the tallest mountain in the world just to get there to discover Severus was not there and his voice had stopped. She was not going to lose Severus yet again.

"Severus?" Hermione called out, cupping her hands around her mouth, looking about frantically. "Severus! SEVERUS?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus' head snapped up and all crying in the room ceased when Hermione spoke.

"Severus?" she croaked feebly in her sleep.

Hope renewed, Severus gathered Hermione in his arms, his face fraught with apprehension and growing excitement. "I'm here, Hermione. Wake up, please, I'm right here. You're in my arms."

He lovingly stroked the hair away from her face as he called her name again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

To her relief the wind picked up once again and she heard Severus speak her name, which filled her with joy. As she looked to the brightening sky, the sun finally broke above the horizon. It was blazingly brilliant in its luminosity. Its light made the waters pouring fourth from the spring source glimmer and shine as if the water was made of the sun itself.

Hermione looked directly at the sun, unable to turn her gaze away from its indescribable glory.

As her eyes fluttered open, the sun was replaced with the sight of Severus' face close to hers. And in her half-conscious dreamlike state, she could have sworn that there was a brilliant corona of light surrounding Severus' head like a halo of an angel.

He stared at her with wonderment, his face struck with awe as tears streamed down his ruddy cheeks.

"Severus?" she asked, wondering if this was real or if she was still on some alternate plane where she had finally found him.

"Hermione," he breathed and clutched him to her. He opened his eyes to see Zhubanysh smiling down at them, to which he breathed to her simply, "Thank you."

Zhubanysh merely nodded her head and went back to stand by her husband's side, taking James in her arms once more.

The room erupted in a wash of cheers, sobs, and expressions of relief that Hermione would be all right.

Severus rocked Hermione in his arms, unwilling to let her go, while Hermione, with as much strength as she could muster, hugged Severus back, her arms hanging limply over his shoulders.

Someone fetched a Healer, notifying them of Hermione's return to consciousness. It was only when Severus was threatened with being banned from St. Mungo's that he finally left go of Hermione, though he still sat by her bedside to hold her hand while the Healers went to work trying to figure what was the source of yet another prolonged and unexplained sleep.

"How long was I out?" Hermione asked.

"A whole day," Severus said, looking quite exhausted. He had been unable to sleep the entire time, and singing to her nearly took the last of the reserves he had left in him.

Once the Healers were done going over Hermione with every spell and asking her questions, they finally left. But first, they ordered everyone else to leave soon so Hermione could rest, having been close to what the Healers deemed the brink of death.

Hermione's parents promised to come visit the next day, if she had not been discharged yet. Aunt Christine and Uncle Tim also expressed their relief that Hermione would be all right before giving her a peck on the cheek and a pat on the hand as they said their farewells.

As Hermione said farewell to Lavender and Ron, Severus went over to speak to the Potters. "I cannot express my deep gratitude in you helping me bring Hermione back," Severus said with humble appreciation.

Zhubanysh handed their son over to Harry before reaching out to take Severus' hands in hers. "It is you who did all the hard work, I merely showed you the way. It was your love that brought her back. I should be thanking you for bringing my sister back." Without reservation or knowing the standoffish nature of Severus, she stepped forward and hugged Severus, wrapping her arms tightly about his ribs, and placed a chaste kiss upon his cheek.

Severus did not flinch, but welcomed the warm affection by this extraordinary witch.

"Thank you, Potter," Severus said without any grudge for once, looking over at Harry.

"Thank Mounga. He's the one who clued me in that something was wrong. I had no idea Padma dropped that mirror in my office to eavesdrop when she came to visit me Monday morning. I'm just glad I was still in the office late when he arrived to find me," Harry admitted.

There was too much of a history between them for either to embrace the other, so the two wizards merely parted with a handshake.

As Hermione and Lavender were speaking, Hermione began breaking down into hysterical sobs. Hearing her in distress, Severus rushed back to her beside.

"Severus, I can't bear it. I want to give up my apprenticeship. I can't stay here in England and finish if these attacks keep happening, and I don't want to be separated from you again," she began to wail, set off by Lavender's comment that she could take as long as necessary to recuperate before coming back to work.

"No, you've put in too much work and come too far to give up. I'm not going to let you walk away from your dream of becoming a Potions mistress," he insisted, trying to be sensible, but also equally unwilling to be parted from Hermione yet again.

"Severus? Lavender? If I may have a word with you both?" Albert said, as he stood holding the door open so they could talk in the hallway.

Severus reluctantly left Hermione's side, but only did so because Draco, Ginny, and even Ron were in there to protect her. His paranoia was at an all-time high that someone was out to get her.

Hermione watched from her bed as Severus gave her one last look and a reassuring nod of his head before he stepped out into the hallway to confer with Hermione's boss and her master.

She couldn't understand what was being said, but she saw the edge of Severus' head through the door's small rectangular window periodically shake in negation or nod in the affirmation.

When the three of them came back into the room, Hermione saw a smile tugging at the corner of Severus' lips, a sign there was hope.

============

A/N: Thanks to my fantastic and hard working betas, JuneW and Hope.

I commissioned Drkav (http://drkav.deviantart.com/) to do a piece of fanart to go with the scene in which Hermione and Severus are on an alternate plane. You can view it on my Tumblr page here: http://atdlhea-betz.tumblr.com/image/156736530880

Did you cry? I did when writing this chapter, in full Joan Wilder "Romancing the Stone" fashion.

And if you want to read something I laid down in this story, back in chapter 42, before I took my multi-year hiatus, go read that chapter once more. Or for convenience, here is the section I am referring to when Severus was still in denial of his love for Hermione:

Once the lift started moving, Draco dropped his hood and confronted Severus. "All right. Nobody else can overhear us now. What do you mean she knows it's you, yet you have not revealed yourself? What sort of nonsense is this? More delays?" Draco asked tersely.

Severus kept his hood up, preferring to keep up his implacable facade of cool disdain. "Hermione needs time to adjust to the knowledge that it is me. She has already agreed to come to dinner as usual Thursday night. Once I feel confident that she will stay and help us, then I shall remove my mask. Until then, she would prefer to keep up the pretense of this little charade."

The lift lurched to a halt at their floor.

Just as Severus was going to reach out and push aside the gate, Draco placed his arm in front of Severus, his hand placed on the wall next to the older wizard, blocking him from exiting the lift. "You mean you'll keep your mask on until <b>you</b> are done with this little charade."

Severus did not bother to hide his harsh glare as he eyed the arm blocking him. He knew just how to break an arm in two with just the use of his hands and one knee. A clean snap, and Draco would not be able to wield his wand until he made the trip to St. Mungo's to have it healed.

"I would think that you, of all people, would understand the need for subtlety in this rather delicate situation," Severus hissed, not bothering to hide his growing anger at being questioned about his tactics.

"I understand, all right," Draco retorted with equal enmity. "Each day that we sit here in England is another day that one of us could be discovered. Then it's goodbye freedom and hello Azkaban. But I suppose if you want to wait until you can bed your annoying little Gryffindor, that's your call."

Severus grabbed Draco by the wrist and twisted him around quicker than the blond wizard could have anticipated. Draco was pinned up against the wall with his arm being painfully wrenched behind his back. Leaning close to Draco's ear so as to make his point clear, Severus snarled, "I would think that someone who is bedding an Auror's wife would be the last person to talk about taking risks and being sent off to Azkaban."

With his cheek pressed against the wall of the lift, Draco said with defiance, "I love Ginny. I'd die without her; I would die for her. What's your excuse?"

Severus was so taken aback by Draco's remark, he let go.

Draco twisted himself free as Severus' grip slackened. The younger wizard stepped out of the lift and faced Severus, who still stood in there. "If you love her, that would be one thing. But if you don't, end this game and get the damn ingredients."

Severus continued to stand in the lift. When the lift started to descend, he didn't bother to try and stop it, instead allowing the lift to descend and ascend once more before going to his office. He needed that time alone just to collect himself and put aside all thoughts of Hermione. If he bothered to analyze how much Draco's comment had unsettled him, he would have realized that he loved Hermione; then he would not have gotten any work done that day.
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And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After