Innocence | Severus Snape x Reader

14 - Dear (Severus' POV)

"Its good to see you, Severus! Isn't it great that Draco is trying Quidditch this year?" Lucius Malfoy said to me as he entered the observation stand. He took the empty spot next to me and waited for the game to start.

"Yes, wonderful indeed," I said in agreement. I didn't mind Lucius but of the options between solitude and conversing with him I'd pick the first.

"Ibe heard that there have been... attacks in the school. Is this correct?" Lucius continued to pester, I had no choice but to answer.

"Yes. The Chamber Of Secrets has been reopened... we have no clue who the culprit is." I explained. A silence fell over us once the game started.

For a while the game was nothing out of the ordinary, except for Slytherin winning Gryffindor.

However, there was a bludger that had clearly been tampered with. Its target seemed to be the Potter boy.

Draco ended up falling off his broom after he and Potter chased the snitch, and the game ended once it was announced that Potter caught it.

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I was never able to get any mandrake root from Professor Sprout, nor could I leave the grounds to buy any.

I sent a letter home to Y/N's mother alerting her of the situation, which I never got a response back for.

Every single night I snuck into the Hospital Wing to see her. Sometimes I'd even talk to her. Tell her about my day, anything that she would have found humorous, and on a kite rare note I'd tell her sweet nothings. I'd apologize to her, tell her I missed her, and tell her that I'd get her out soon. And I most always ended the night with a kiss on her head.

One day, early in the morning, I went outside to the greenhouse. It was early enough to where no one would be awake, but there was still the peak of daylight in the sky.

I rummaged around until I found it, some reserved mandrake root. I took only what I needed, nothing more and nothing less, then put everything back the way it was found.

I came back to my chambers and attended to the brewing antidote that had been sitting for a few months now. Adding the mandrake root and letting it boil for two days time would be enough to finish it.

"All students are to return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers to the second-floor corridor immediately." An announcement sounded, it was McGonagall's voice. I went out as soon as I could, making my way there. 

All of the teachers got there at the same time and we were all faced with a message on the wall. We were in the same place that I had found Y/N as well. 

On the wall written in blood was: 

Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever.

I couldn't;t help but assume the worst, seeing the location of the message, but I waited for Minerva to speak up. 

"As you can see the heir of Slytherin has left another message. Our worst fear has been realised, a student has been taken by the monster. into the chamber itself." She went on to explain. My chest felt even heavier now, I had hoped the student who was taken wasn't Y/N. "Students must be sent home... I'm afraid this is the end of Hogwarts." 

Footsteps from the right brought our attention, Lockheart in a gold suit approached looking peachy as always. I didn't trust him, let alone believe all his stories. I didn't bother to pick up a single book. I knew he was a fraud, Y/N agreed with me on that. 

"Sorry about that, dozed off, what have I missed?" He asked, oblivious to the blood on the wall.

"A girl has been snatched by the monster. Lockheart, your moment has come at last." I said bitterly and almost sarcastically. 

"My m-moment..?" He stammered out, his facade showing through itself. 

"Weren't you saying just last night you've known all along where the entrance to The Chamber Of Secrets is?" I continued to interrogate him, waiting to see what he would do. It was my way of toying with him. 

"That's settled, we'll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy," McGonagall said, seeming to be playing the same game I was. "Your skills, after all, are legend." 

"Very well." He said bravely, which made me feel sick. "Ah... I'll just be in my office getting um... getting ready." His face went pale as he turned and walked away. 

"Who is it that the monsters taken Minerva?" Madame Pomfrey asked the very question that was stuck in my mind. 

"Ginny Weasley..." She answered. I felt the pressure in my chest vanish, only for anxiety to kick in. If one student had been taken, there may be more to come, and the next could be Y/n. 

Minerva and the rest of the teachers walked away. After giving the wall one last look, I walked away back down to the dungeons. 

What I was planning on doing was risky, without the treatment being brewed properly, the effects could be permanent, but I was still willing to take the chance that administering it to Y/N now would be good enough. 

Once in my chambers, I took a vial of the remedy and put it in my pocket. 

I made my way back up to the Hospital Wing and walked in. Thankfully, Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen.

 I went over to Y/N, who had been in the same position for months now. I took the vial from my pocket and took off the lid, I moved her mouth open a bit and poured the liquid in. Closing her mouth with my hand, I let the mixture settle and waited for the results. 

As I stared, I could see life and colour return to her eyes and skin. Her chest heaved up and she finally blinked she looked around and smiled. 

"Oh my god I can speak now... that was awful." She sat up and stretched, and finally she looked to me. She held back a big smile as she looked at me, which brought a smile to my own. 

Suddenly I was engulfed by something warm, and the smell of lavender and honey became the most potent it has ever been. "Thank you, Severus." She whispered in my hear before resting her head on my shoulder. 

It took me a moment but I finally gave in to everything I had felt throughout the entire year. I hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of her form in my arms and her body against mine. 

"Come with me," I said standing up and taking her hand in my own, separating the hug in the process. Without question she stood up, gaining balance for a second before walking with me.