enchantement - SOULBOUND I̲̅ || SS/HG ✔️

61. Decision

Since he became a death eater, Severus Snape learned the art of deception, excelling in altering his appearances in order to please those he was asked to deceive. It had frightened his entourage, the growing pack of dark masked man gaping in utter marvellement as he gracefully swung his wand, battling with such prowess, demonstrating his mastery in the Dark Arts. Within seconds he had become the most untouchable wizard, isolating himself from the outside world as he focused on training day and night, building from the ashes the armor that sheltered his heart.

Once he had stepped foot out of Hogwarts, freeing himself from the regular taunting from the Marauders, like a shadow, Severus disappeared away from the Ministry's radar. No one searched for him, worried for his wellbeing, not even Lily. With grinted teeth he had watched as she had walked into a small muggle church not far from Godric's Hollow, her lips tinted with the brightest shade of red from the palette of crimson hue. As he allowed his eyes to roam her figure draped in a long voluminous white gown, Severus vowed to never allow anyone near his heart ever again, sealing the lock for what he thought would have been an eternity following blindly Tom Riddle's bloodthirsty troops. But, like thrunder, he was blasted with the last devilish blow when he entered the shattered home of the woman he used to call a friend, destroying any remainder of faith he had in those he believed had a true purpose. Holding onto her dying body, her piercing green eyes vanishing as her pupil dilated, the void now taking over the young mother's soul. The cries of a frightened baby had ripped him out of his torment, the tears that rolled down his wounded cheek now drying as he turned around and lifted the child out of his cub. As if on instinct, he had wrapped the boy with a scar in his ripped robes, warming his trembling body.

"You need to stay calm 'Mione, we think we might understand what those flashes you had yesterday afternoon were," he heard the now teenage Harry Potter reassuring Hermione as she lifted herself and sat against the infirmary's bedpost.

His eyes drifted away, memories of the orphan child aching his heart. It was at that instant, when their eyes meet that somber night that Severus vowed to protect him, using his armor as a shield, knowing that soon enough, the Dark Lord will rise from hell's raging fire, his wand at the ready to strike Harry Potter, the boy who lived. It was for Lily he told himself, an uncountious way of seeking forgiveness from the above for his actions and recklessness.

But for the first time in years, Severus Snape had lowered his guards, allowing creases and dents to form on his usually impeccable armor, permitting himself to care, to love. Hermione winced beside him, Harry's explanation leaving her distraught while Snape drowned in fear, the possibility that the soul bond vow was intact, slowly eating her vivacity until death takes her away from him. The nod in his stomach tightening painfully while his ears buzzed as if an army of wasps decided to stung his audition.

There was movement by his side, the woman he grew to love shivering beside him, her hand reaching for his and intertwining their fingers together, seeking for his comfort. His heart swelled at the tenderness, their interlocking hands a beautiful reminder of the romance developed between them in little time.

Time and fate had played with him like a puppet, life creating obstacles on his thorns covered road, his destiny long shattered as the Dark Lord's wand's venom caressed his forearm, poisoning his half-blood, ripping out any remainder of his humanity.

"I have to go back then! If I don't we could both die!" Hermione screeched beside him, her hand shaking in his grasp, panic taking over her usual composed self. "What if he's in danger? There was blood Harry, someone might be trying to sacrifice him or worse. Can't I use the time turner to get back?"

Flinching at the idea of losing her, a feeling of betrayal creeping its way to his beating heart, Severus tore his hand away from her and stood up, leaving the infermery, his whole being isolated in the secret comfort of his mind, unable to hear the pleas and cries behind him.

"You reckon he will come back?" Asked Ron worryingly as he patted the crying woman's back, "he is worried Hermione, if you leave he will have no one, our 'Mione never showed any interest in him."

Removing her face from the dome of her moistened hands, Hermione wailed "what do you suggest I do then? My husband is still alive, possibly captured and bleeding, silently hoping I find him, our souls now a ticking time bomb waiting to burst if we aren't joined in time."

Harry sat on the bed beside her, his eyes analyzing hers, "unfortunately we don't have much time, you must go back in order to live. Snape doesn't know how to alter its destination and believes only Dumbledore does. It's too risky to try ourselves, we could put in jeopardy your soul and our Hermione's. Maybe she is by his side, you never know..."

"I feel so dead inside Harry, it's like I can feel his despair...My body was heavily wounded during the war, weakened by hexes and cuts. You said it yourself, she could be in limbo, stuck in my body unable to take over it or simply leave, the new vessel using her energy to stay alive."

Remembering Trelawney's class, Ron shrugged, "so the vow is connected with your soul, not your entire being, including your body?"

Nodding back at him, Hermione gave out a long sigh, "while I was focused on Severus, I gave up on so much! My role was supposed to changed the future, help Dumbledore and I haven't seen him in weeks! He was supposed to contact me yet never did, and I simply forgot...how can I be so reckless, thoughtless, heart-"

"-we get it 'Mione, your mind was somewhere else," interrupted Ron his hand covering her mouth, halting her blabbering, "let's focus on what we know. A male and a female are after you, has altered your memories and separated your souls."

Letting out a confused moan, the now awaken Gryffindor fiddled with her fingers, trying to compose her thoughts. "I'm certain that my time traveling has nothing to do with them," she explained, "Severus' eyes were glistening, covered in tears. He was sacrificing himself to save me, sending me away from him in order to protect me. There is no doubt in my mind he thought he was going to die, he knew the vow and its implications, and you know him, his not a risk taker."

A faint smile drew on her lips as she spoke about him. It pained her to think she had to leave this timeline's Severus to get back to her husband, yet she had no choice, the mission was doomed to fail at this point, the longer she stayed here, the closer to her deathbed she was. "I need to talk to Dumbeldore, about the war, I need to prepare him. I can't leave knowing I haven't been able to save lives..."