Redemption I

Chapter 55

Hermione stood upon beautiful rolling hills of endless green. The sun shone bright and warm. Nothing but a gentle breeze through the tall wildflowers to be heard. Her head turned down slowly, and she found herself standing in a modestly gorgeous white dress. Gold inlaid in the fabric sparkled in the sun, though when she rose her hands she found two large tarnished steel manacles weighing her down. There was no chain, but she could feel their power. Even here she wasn't free.

When her tear-filled eyes rose again, she became aware that she wasn't alone. A dark figure was coming towards her. The rational part of her brain told her she should be afraid, but her heart stayed her feet. As the sun shifted around their visage her mouth dropped open with confusion.

"Miss Granger."

"Pro-Professor?"

Her head tilted back as he came to his full height before her. Dressed in his traditional clothes, sans the cloak, he looked as though he couldn't have belonged there. Just as she was about to ask exactly where they were, her eyes shifted to a woman standing beside a tree on the hill. She couldn't see her face but she recognized her hair from the photos Harry had shown her. It was then she got her answer and her heart skipped a beat.

When her eyes turned back to the man before her, she saw such deepness in his eyes, emotions she could never name. Her brow flexed as she tried to find her tongue but when his hands took her wrists she found herself wordless. The shackles that had weighed her down glowed brightly beneath his palms and when he pulled back, she watched with astonishment as the metal burst into tiny silver orbs that floated into the void.

Before she could process, his hand reached out again taking hers tightly in his own. It felt so right, so complete, like two halves of a broken vase. Her eyes rose one last time into fathomless black, a small sliver of gold shining through and she felt her world turning dark again.

Snape jolted back into his worldly body; his eyes opening to mere slits against the first rays of sunlight that filtered in through the boarded windows. Every inch of his body felt mysteriously weightless as his soul reunited inside him. His arm burned like fire but he didn't have the ability to call out. His hand twitched against a tangled mass that laid heavily in his palm.

As his vision cleared, he gradually became aware of a weight resting over him. His head turned slowly, he expected the pain but when his eyes turned down he hadn't been prepared for the emotional blow to his already damaged soul like a knife searing straight through his heart. Granger's body lay over his own, her back and legs twisted in a most unnatural way. The mark on her neck pulsed with blue lightning forcing her stilled heart to beat again. The weight under his hand became more clear when he turned his head further.

Her eyes were closed, lips parted but no breath passed their bruised opening. Carefully, as if handling fractured glass, he forced his hand to lift her head. His eyes turned dark with deep sorrow as her head rocked in his palm, completely unrestricted. His gaze shifted to the brand upon her neck that was gradually burning itself out. The crackling lightning working its way inward leaving only smooth unraised skin beneath the tattoo.

"No..." His voice was barely a whisper grated through the remains of his throat. It sounded broken even to his own ears. His brow shifted furrowing deeply as a tear welled in the corner of his eye. Her body remained still in his hold and could no longer bear the sight of her.

With all the strength he had inside him, he pulled her limp form up into his chest shielding her head from the growing rays of light. His lips pressed down upon her head and he closed his eyes tightly as he tried to understand just how he could possibly save what was so seemingly lost.