enchantement - SOULBOUND I̲̅ || SS/HG ✔️

48. Secrets

There are times in life when passion surpasses one's dread, yet the stronger the love grows, the greater the fear of losing it becomes. Some would say that love is the most powerful emotion ever felt, hindering our senses and leaving space for the heart to speak - the mind long suppressed by the thrilling sensation of a loved one's touch. Nonetheless, such beautiful magic between two souls can only come with challenges that they need to surpass, braving the impossible for the simplest of embrace.

Severus Snape had never thought that he will ever come across love, jump unconsciously inside its interminable maze of wonders and become smitten by the intoxicating sensation of feeling cherished.

Since his mother's death, he had grown into a solitary man, finding solace in silence and comfort in his own presence. Not long after accepting his fate and his place in this life, he had met a beautiful red-head girl, weeping beside an impressive old tree. She had become his hope for a better future, yet life's twisted turns shifted it into one of a soldier of darkness. The resentment and terror towards the light had billowed inside his wounded heart, his love for the cold and eerie sensation of the night turning him into the well-known dungeon bat.

He owned this name, embraced it with his long and magnetising walks down the hallways of Hogwarts - his endless black cloak swinging beside him, like a shadow - while his face braced the sharpest of scowls. What soon became the potion master quickly turned into the masquerade prince. He might go under the half-blood prince, yet deep down he knew that the dejected face and piercing black eyes hid a brooding yet tender man, whose life's decisions condemned him into a life of misery and loss.

Like a blind bat, he travelled through the years, batting his long ripped wings in the hope that he will find a branch to rest upon. Years passed and gloom took over him, chilling his blood and searing his heart, yet when he less expected it, his feeble eyes were blinded by the most powerful of lights. Before he knew it, he was battling against the strongest of winds, trying to go back to the darkness he once called home. Yet the blows were strong, swinging him into the unknown he promptly knew he couldn't live without.

Hermione.

The effect she had on him was immediate, frightful, yet empowering. He long believed that what mattered to him the most was living through the years - following orders - in the hope that one day he could recluse himself into his secluded home in Spinner's end. However, the unexpected as expected stroke right through his heart and awoke the man that hid - like a frightened child - waiting to be loved. She had held her hand to him, beckoning him into a life of love and desire, and although he had been horrified of the undiscovered, the taste of life had been stronger than power.

He could feel his own body responding to her trembling hands circling his, pulling her even closer to his chest while his face hid in the nape of her neck. The smell of lavender reached his nostrils, projecting him in spring - blooming flowers and rays of sun caressing his pale skin while he walked barefooted in an endless field of peace and calmness. Sighing in content, Severus kissed her shoulder before slowly turning his witch around, his loving eyes boring into hers.

"You are beautiful," was all he managed to say as her amber orbs shimmered with the remainder of tears, "so bloody beautiful."

His lips crushed against her hungrily, battling into a frenzied dance of amour and endless affection. Leaning on her tiptoes, Hermione circled one hand around his neck - holding tightly onto the love of her life - while her other hand tenderly rested on his cheek. Chest to chest, both could feel their heart skip beats until they pounded at the same rhythm, as one. The feeling of security and protection overwhelmed them. Their magic surged through their blood up to their skin, before merging into the other by the touch, forever entangled in an unstoppable and unmeasurable love. If soulmates existed, they knew deep down they had found their match and were willing to search heaven and earth until those that wish ill upon them are unearthed and eliminated.