Another Kind Of Magic - A Severus Snape Fanfiction

Forever

Second to last chapter :) Sorry for not updating sooner.

Madam Pomfrey was, without a doubt, one of the best healers he knew. He had never doubted her abilities at all. In fact, she had cured each and every one of his wounds, even when others had given up, she had been able to mend him. Yes, she was the best. Tonight, however, Severus swept past the infirmary, hurrying towards his private chambers. He didn't want to get her involved. Not this time. He had to do this alone. He needed to.

When he reached his quarters, breathing heavily, he muttered a secret password and the solid wooden door flung open immediately. He rushed in, sealing it from the inside with several spells. One could never be too careful. Uninvited visitors were the last thing he wished to deal with now.

His hastened steps led him past his reading area, where flames were slowly eating away at the wood in the fireplace, casting eerie shadows onto the ancient walls that began to flicker when Severus whooshed by.

His robes billowing around his ankles, he headed straight to the bedroom. With the utmost care, he laid down his precious cargo onto the large four-poster, tucking it in underneath a pile of blankets.

Professor Snape stood still for a few heartbeats, his worried black eyes resting on the motionless red-haired young woman. How had this happened? It was his fault. As always, his fault. He had done this. And now, now he had to undo it. Fix it. Make her whole again.

Her.

His most aggravating student. The most incompetent witch. The girl who had so effortlessly bewitched him. The girl who...

What was he doing, still staring at her? He scolded himself for wasting so much time. Determined, he stormed back into the living room, rummaging through his vast collection of books, until he was sure he had found the right one. Tucking it under his arm, he also grabbed several empty vials from a small shelf, before rushing to the potions classroom.

In the flickering light of torches, his already sallow face seemed even paler, the deep frown on his forehead even more sinister than usual, as the thick gray fumes from the bubbling cauldron wafted around his tall frame. With expert proficiency he cut, squeezed, pulverized, and measured one ingredient after another, his long, skillful hands adding tinctures, ground bone, powdered herbs, and, of course, half a Phoenix tear, in precise order to the seething mixture until a faint lilac shimmer signaled him that the potion was ready.

Severus didn't bother cleaning up the mess he had fabricated. He didn't even care that one of the flobberworms had escaped its cramped prison and was now wobbling towards the edge of the table in an obvious attempt to flee. It would have been easy to just pick it up and return it to the jar he hadn't closed. Yet somehow, he felt sorry for the poor creature that was in such obvious distress, so desperate to save its own life. Just as desperate as he was. And besides, he could always go out and collect one of those slimy animals, if he needed one; Lena, however, he would never get back if he failed tonight.

His vials filled to the brim with radiant purple liquid, the Potions Master sped back to the dying Slytherin. He carefully sat down next to her, gently lifting up her body, pulling it into his arms. He let her head rest on his chest, on the mark that spelled out her name.

"Come back to me," he whispered into her ear, his voice hoarse and pleading. "Come back, Lena."

His fingers brushed tenderly over the ice-cold skin of the girl's cheeks, before he opened one of the vials and carefully administered the potion to her. Drop by drop by cautious drop. He knew she was unable to swallow, but the tissues of her mouth should be able to absorb enough of the healing liquid to revive her. At least, that was what he hoped.

Lena had to survive this, she had to live. Especially after everything she had confessed in the Forbidden Forest, while he was carrying her weak body back to the castle, right before she had lost consciousness.

I love you, Professor.

His arms tightened around the girl, holding her closer to him as he studied her lifeless features, waiting desperately for the healing to set in. Yet, as the minutes ticked by and her eyes remained closed, his heart sank, terrifying awareness chasing away every bit of hope.

Why wasn't it working? Had he missed an ingredient? Had he not stirred the potion well enough? Or had it simply been the wrong one?

"Don't go," his trembling voice begged quietly as the palm of his hand cupped her cheek. "Not now, not tonight, not like this. Wake up, Lena." Fighting back the overwhelming realization that his efforts might have come too late, he lowered his head until his warm breath touched her frozen skin. "Please, wake up."

Severus was unable to handle this; emotions he had stored away and kept hidden, for no one else to see, suddenly broke free, drowning every bit of him in the merciless rage of grief and anguish. He needed to hold on to something, if he didn't want to be swept away by the forces of this all-consuming heartache.

He covered the girl's mouth with his, laying everything he was feeling into the kiss.

Her lips were so cold. So incredibly cold. A salty layer of tears clouded his eyes as he whispered against her mouth. "I love you."

Severus immediately pulled away when he felt a movement. It was so subtle, he might as well have only imagined it.

But no, there it was again. A slight twitch of the girl's hand, followed by barely comprehensible words.

"Where am I?"

Severus' eyes fell shut and he inhaled deeply, as an immense wave of relief washed over him.

"Don't worry," he mumbled, pressing her tightly against him. "You're safe."

As much as he tried to suppress it, a small, muffled sob left his throat.

Lena weakly pushed herself up, leaving his embrace to look at the wizard.

"What is wrong, Professor?" she asked, confused and still a little dazed.

"Nothing," he swallowed hard. "Nothing at all, my dear. All is well."

"But," Lena stammered, obviously struggling to fully return to the world of the living. "But you're crying." Her tiny hand reached out to him, softly wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye, before it could run down his cheek.

This was too much to take. The girl had only barely escaped the greedy claws of death, and yet all she was concerned about was him, doing her best to comfort him.

Completely stunned, Severus gazed at her, taking in every little detail of her beauty. "I don't deserve you," he whispered. "And yet, I'm too selfish to just walk away from you."

"What..." Lena began, but he didn't let her finish.

"I will never let you go." His arms snaked around her waist, desperate to feel her again. "Ever. If you will have me."

For an agonizingly stretched-out moment he was convinced that Lena would reject him, for she was just staring at him with wide eyes, kneeling on his bed, not moving at all. But then, her soft hands laid around his neck, as she gave him her answer with a longing kiss.

That was when he knew. He knew this was forever. And she needed to know it, too. His arms held her firmly against his chest, his mouth trembling under the sweet caress of her lips.

"I love you," he breathed heavily, intoxicated from her tenderness, before he lost himself completely in her searing kisses.

Both lovers almost didn't notice the strange silvery bands that were forming around their bodies, tying knots around them that were as indestructible as their love for each other.

Lena was the first to see them. "What is happening?"

Severus smiled, tucking a stray lock of red hair behind her ear. "Your necklace," he said gently. "It is finishing what it couldn't do before."

She raised her eyebrows in confusion, apparently not understanding. "And what is that?"

"Forming a bond," he explained, cupping her chin. "A bond that is meant for eternity. Now, you are truly mine," he muttered, stealing a kiss from his witch. "And mine alone."