Senses

Chapter 35

Wamrth and soft lavender filled Hermione's world. Her entire body heavy but painless. The constant ache, the burning need for release; gone. A soft cloth soothed away everything that had come to bring her to her knees. The magically infused water that surrounded her healing all that she'd endured that day.

Her soul felt as though a weight had been taken off of it. The air in her lungs more freeing, filled with possibilities. For the first time, in a long time. She felt human. Her mind, her will, her body; completely under her control. Though it made the void in her memory more noticeable, the presence beside her stilled all fear.

Her eyes opened slowly, her head turning into the hand that pulled the cloth from her cheek. She didn't want to sleep, though her body desperately called for rest. She didn't want him to disappear while she slept. A worry that kept her body in an odd hazed state.

"You need to rest." Severus set the cloth he'd been reverently cleaning her with aside. He was sure she'd passed out sometime between moving her from the bed to the bath, but when she would periodically open her eyes he found himself perplexed and concerned.

The dragon had come free without resistance. She hadn't even so much as sighed when he'd pulled it out. It had been coated red and initially he had believed it to be blood but when he'd looked closer he'd realized that the stone had pulled the poison from her somehow. He had returned it to the sheath before taking her to the bath. He'd been exceptionally gentle when cleaning between her legs and had been so relived when she hadn't reacted at all.

"Don't leave me..."

"You still want to go?" Severus couldn't stop his fingers from gliding over her cheek, moving the hair from over her eye.

"Yes..." Hermione closed her eyes to his touch, a small smile forming before she pressed her heavy head into his hand.

Before she'd realized, she was encased in cushioning fabric. Her body curled against his chest as he walked with her. Her brow twitched as she tried to open her eyes but her body was stronger than her will. The last thing her brain clung to was being laid down on familiar sheets and a heavy blanket being laid over her. It was simply a fight she could not win.

Severus let out a slow sigh running his hand over his sore chest, his eyes turning towards the clock silently ticking away over the fireplace. A little under six hours left. There was so much to do. Though despite the weight of the tasks before him, his success with removing the poison had given him the energy he needed. A small bit of hope that he so sorely lacked.

He set a charm for two hours. The time he would need to make sure that if he was going to do this. He was going to do it right. With one last lingering glance, he turned away.

oOOo

Chirping. Why could she hear chirping? A cold fear sparked in her stomach at the thought that everything she'd just experienced, everything she'd just gone through, had been a dream, a devilish trick. That she was back in the forest. Back in the hands of the man who sought to tear her apart. It took a few seconds for the rest of her senses to assure her that she wasn't, in fact, outside. That she was resting on a soft warm bed.

When her eyes finally opened to confirm her thoughts, she found herself alone. Her brain officially caught up then and she found herself sitting up in bed with surprising strength. A sharp pinch on the back of her hand turned her eyes down and her brow furrowed as she noticed the small end of what she would have called an IV sticking out of the back of her hand. It was no longer connected to whatever it had been but it was still a very curious observation.