The Power of Pain

Chapter 25

Severus could feel his hold slipping as her body lifted from the ground, her cries echoing in the vast space as her legs started to become wrapped in the light.

"Please! Don't let go!" Her desperate voice was starting to sound far away as her hands slipped catching on his outstretched arms as he continued to try and hold on. The world around them was starting to warp, the memory beginning to take shape.

Severus held on with all the strength he had inside him as her hands clutched his. He knew—he knew, he wouldn't be able to save her.

The last thing Hermione saw as their hands slipped, was a bright crack splintering down his already cracked visage.

Severus felt himself violently land back to reality, the force of which actually knocking him flat on his arse where he struck the side of his head. He hissed, feeling the blood run down his temple but he paid it no attention, turning his eyes towards Hermione.

Blood was running down from her nose and one eye, evidence of the force of her will against the creature. She was strong, but the creature was stronger. Stronger than them both. Her body was lax in the chair her head having fallen to the side and her hands awkwardly lying in her lap.

He had never felt so helpless as he did in that very moment. Caught between an impassable force and himself. Her words, echoed through his entire being as he felt the first tear roll down his cheek mixing with the blood. Like a cracked dam it fell slowly to the floor before them. He on his knees staring up at the only thing that gave his current life a purpose. He had promised, promised.

His breath felt heavy when he pushed himself up to his feet. His arms didn't hesitate to wrap around her, pulling her up against him. His lips rested on the crown of her head briefly before he turned, taking them slowly upstairs.

Severus could feel the frail young woman trembling against him as the memory played, trapping her in its horror. He didn't hesitate as he moved to his own room, laying her upon his bed without apology. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it gently into the drying blood under her nose, meticulous as he cleared it away. He saw her eyes moving viciously under her lids, a drop of blood from his own wound falling heavily against her long lashes rolling down the side like a macabre tear.

Snape closed his eyes tightly, bowing his head as if in prayer. He could feel the tear in his soul. His fierce need to protect had always led to his immeasurable suffering. He had tried not to care, he really had. But she, she had brought out something inside him none had before.

He had seen it as she grew before his eyes. When she and her friends had broken countless rules endangering themselves in one way or another. He had noticed, it was she, who had always kept a level head. It was she, who had saved all three of them countless times. She was all he could have been. She had made all the right choices. All the hard choices. He inhaled deeply as he brought himself to center, the walls around his heart were cracked but unbroken. He would remain as strong and steadfast as he ever was. He had no choice.

Reaching up, he wiped away his blood watching her eyes that had begun to slow. Was he losing her? Was she fighting it? He could feel their connection wavering back and forth. He could feel her fear but more than that, he could feel her determination. His eyes narrowed marginally and he pushed himself up more, watching her diligently.

Hermione was running, she was always running. But this time around she refused to focus on what chased her. She was compelled by an unseen force to recreate her actions but she pushed hard against it. She just needed to change one thing she told herself. Just one thing, to break the cycle.