enchantement - SOULBOUND I̲̅ || SS/HG ✔️

44. The Devil's Lair

"Kiss me" purred the voice, his lips hovering above hers, "I know you feel it too."

"I can't" she mumbled back, her hungry eyes flickering, reflecting the blazing fire behind his.

Licking her lower lip tentatively, the man insisted, "I know you want to, you can't resist me, right Hermione?"

She tried to push him away, shrugging the pulsating feel in her chest or the way her body ignited by the simple contact of his skin.

"Hermione." Repeated the voice.

"Hermione," she heard the pleading voice of her lover, before feeling his lips meeting hers pleadingly, quivering against her own. "Please my love, wake up."

Opening her eyes slowly, she was met with the ebony orbs of Severus, staring down at her with the most loving gaze she had ever seen. She reached upwards and cupped his cheek, removing the tears that rolled down his face. "Why are you crying?"

"You still don't remember me," she heard a voice scream in her head, causing her to yelped in pain. Severus instinctively leaned forwards and pressed his forehead to hears, mumbling soothing charms and calming spells. She felt light-headed as if someone had knocked her down and left her unconscious.

Gently turning her head around, she noticed she was resting on Severus' knee, who was on the floor beside her - his cloak covering the ground beside him like a lake of darkness. Not far from where she told, Harry was staring back at her with a worried look on his face. Noticing her smile, he stood up and brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed it, causing her to frown in confusion. It seemed all to familiar to her, this gesture, yet it was the first time Harry or anyone for that matter had ever kissed her hand this way.

"I'm glad you're okay Hermione, do you remember anything?" Asked the Chosen One. She noticed the small cut on his lip or the way he was trying to find a comfortable position on the ground. He seemed pained, uneasy.

"What's wrong, what happened?" Trying to stand up Severus helped her, only to wrap his arms securely around her waist, towering behind her - sheltering her from something, or someone.

Peering around, she noticed they were standing in the middle of the restricted section, two strong lights illuminating them. "You don't remember?" Questioned Harry, scratching his own head, mirroring her actions. "I hoped you could tell me what happened."

"I have" she heard in her head, before shrugging the voice away with a light shook of the head. "I don't. All I remember is entering the restricted section, and that is all."

She could feel Severus tense from behind her, his grip tightening from around her. His heart was drumming in his chest, vibrating in her back. Harry appeared anxious, overwhelmed by the events. She tried to remember anything from the evening, yet although she felt something was missing, her mind had been emptied from any memory, leaving her completely baffled.

"Someone erased our memories" she finally said, causing Harry's head to snap her way. Suddenly her eyes caught something from behind her friend, yet she seemed to be the only one who detected it. Like a fog, it appeared and disappeared behind the endless rows of books.

"Hermione someone out there has virgin blood, and Harry believes that this person might have realized we were trying to find some information about it and erased your memories," Explained Severus, his chin now resting on her shoulder. This sign of solace from his usually cold potion master warmed Harry's heart.