Snape stayed sitting behind his desk, hands gripping the side of his chair as he watched the door close before him. He would have a swooned when she turned her head back to have one last glance at her potion master before the weight of the door separated them from each other, but he couldn't. In the past, her words were liquid gold to him, pure and unique, with a beauty and grace no woman would have been able to formulate. Whilst his trust was limited, he trusted her like a blind man, willing to follow with great satisfaction whatever it was she was saying. However, as the one who taunted his dreams left his office, poring lies about the liability of her wand, Severus knew her soul had changed.

Wizards knew very little about the afterlife or even the functionality of souls. The only witch he had ever met that taught the art of umbra* was Sybil, and to his eyes, she was nothing but a painful fraud introduced as a teacher at Hogwarts purely for Dumbledore's amusement. Yet as his clock chimed five in the afternoon, Severus knew that he needed to place his convictions aside and question the previous divination teacher about souls.

"What are we going to do then? If Professor Dumbledore doesn't remember anything?"

Groaning at the incessant questions coming from his student, Severus stood up and walked towards his kitchen counter, in mind of preparing tea. "Mr Potter it's needless to say that whoever is Seraphina's acolyte it must have done something to alter his memory. For now, I must find a way to get to these Horcruxes from his office."

"Have the paintings seen anything?" Asked Ron while his fingers played with the edge of the time turner's box, "for some reason I feel like I'm grieving and at the same time seeing the ghost of my lost friend."

Once the teas were ready Severus flicked his wand and walked back to the sofa's, the pots floating behind him before settling themselves before the three wizards.

"She can't know, either way, it will put her in danger. I can't get through Seraphina, she's tough." It irked him how impressively well she battled the imperious curse, her teeth clenching and shoulder quacking while the walls on her mind faltered yet blocked out the essential. He felt like he had lost everything, his lover, his happiness but also his strength and power as a wizard. "I recall you mentioning something about Draco, Mr Potter."

Lips on the rim of his cup, Harry nearly choked on his tea at the mention of the silver-haired Slytherin. "Well he is working on a vanishing cabinet, isn't he? Well while we were in the room of requirements we -"

"What the bloody hell were you doing with Malfoy of all people in the room of requirements?" Shrieked Ron, refusing to piece two and two together, befuddled. "Don't tell me you were playing hide the wand!"

This time both the dark-haired wizards in the room chocked on their drink, the infusion spilling out of their mouths and nose at the unexpected words utter from the frightened looking Weasley. While the chosen one's face has turned crimson, all the blood from this libs rushing to his head, Snape was sweeping a cloth over his mouth and nose, his lips quivering while trying to contain a burst of laughter.

"Well Mr Potter," taunted Snape, his eyebrow raised as if inquiring something, "what have you been doing?"

If the situation was different Harry would have been marvelled by the fact that Severus was teasing him, yet like a deer caught in headlights, he stood silent.

Noticing the discomfort floating in the air Severus decided to save the shocked teenager, "Hermione asked him to look into what Draco was doing in the hopes he could change his mind. I can do so much as godfather," he knew he couldn't mention the vow, risking putting the Malfoy family at risk. "Draco is working on a vanishing cabinet, the one Mr Potter must have told you about. I believe they both were trying to find a way to make it work."

Ron signed, relieved to hear that his best friend was not fraternizing with the enemy. "But why would you?" He questioned while scratching his head, the overflowing amount of information making him hungry. "If he is working on finding a way to allow death eaters into Hogwarts grounds to kill Dumbledore, shouldn't you find a way to stop him?"

"Mr Weasley if Draco doesn't forgo his deed not only will he die but there is a high likelihood that whoever is working with Seraphina is a death eater."

"Why would you say that?" Questioned Harry, noticing the conviction coming from his teacher's eyes, "Didn't Hermione tell you that one of the voices spoke ill of Voldemort?"

Considering the boy's words, recalling the discussion he had with Hermione and the fight that followed regarding the Auguendae spell, Severus acknowledge he could be wrong. "Speaking from experience death eater have this inane ability to stab you in the back should you not do as they please. She told me she was a vampire and needed to find a cure but her partner wasn't getting her any until her mission was accomplished. I believe she couldn't wait and therefore searched for a way to obtain it herself. As an act of revenge he gave her Gaunt's ring and -"

"- but isn't that part of Voldemort's soul?" Interrupted Ron, granting him a dark and disdainful look from the cloaked man standing right in front of him. "I mean whoever it is might know a few death eater tactics but would never risk his high and mighty master's life now, would he? Especially for his own revenge!"

The ring from his clock ripped him away from his own thoughts, the silver wooden pointers indicating it was six in the evening. He groaned the loss of an hour purely on recollecting past events irritating him. Since that night in the infirmary where he lost the woman he loved to a horrendous vow, Severus had become a busy man to his own accord. He needed to see his desk full of papers, the need to distract his attention from his loss far stronger than the dark circles ornating his eyes from the lack of sleep. It was inevitable, he knew he needed to face the reality, especially now that Hermione was demonstrating frightening signs of distress, anxiety and physical mutilation - voluntary or not.

Pulling onto the handle behind a rack of books at the end of his office, Severus stepped soundly inside his chambers, reminiscing the time he spent with Hermione. He couldn't contain the smile that grew on his lips as he cornered his dining table, remembering the morning after they first made love - under a lust fragrance of not - enjoying breakfast before discovering the possible dangers their mating could do.

Falling graciously into the sofa, his legs lifting instantly to rest on the small table in front of him, Severus rested his head back while allowing his heavy eyelids to shut themselves. He could still feel her, his fingertips tickling him as if they could recall the sensation of her soft skin under his passionate touch. Greasy hair covering his face, Severus grunted his teeth as he realized that losing Hermione made him throw his dignity and masculinity out the window. His hair never looked dirtier, the amount of potion fog nestled between his twisted locks enough to endanger an entire population. Yet when his eyes were closed and his heart shifted his vision to one of his memories with her Severus felt whole again.

The enchantement.

It had taken him by complete surprise, the sight of her body morphing into a skeletal forme daunting his nights. He could vividly remember the way her skin dropped, enveloping her bones while her flesh lost its natural hue. The glow in her hair had vanished, leaving only loose brown locks draping around her pillow. As his mind flashed that one particular day - on the same sofa he was sitting on - were Hermione's body had momentarily fraught against the spell and displayed to his hooded eyes her weakened form, Severus knew he had been played. Seraphina has shown she had not been the one to cast the spell, and either way, Snape knew she wasn't skilled enough to do so.

'Enchantement' which was French for enchantment was created during the French Civil war in 1570* - right in the middle of the battle - by a Catholic priest who discovered his magic when he was only a child. Being a muggleborn in an environment that questioned religion and the power of God, he decided to be its own messenger by creating the 'enchantement' a powerful spell that would camouflage the wounded, confusion the adversary. Only a few wizards cast it throughout history, yet the spell died down as many forgot about it - having used it only during that particular moment was the necessity to confuse the opponent was important.

Severus knew that caster was strong and could have only know the spell had he worked with Voldemort - making him a death eater. Yet the question still lingered, why would he risk Riddle's life?

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*Umbra: shadow
* The French Civil War is also known as a religious war fought between Catholics and Protestant from 1562 to 1598. It has nothing to do with God and it's an influence on earth (that is my twist for the story) but about money.

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A/N: I'm so sorry I can understand for some of you these chapters must be boring as their romance hasn't even started yet.

Please bear with me, it's a necessity to go through everything, the missing details and organizing the information given in the first book to be able to understand what is going on and what will happen in the future.

I'm sure that some of you skip through paragraphs searching for the juicy part, but allow me to advice you to read everything if you can. This story albeit being romance oriented has a big subplot filled with mystery that creates the entire story. But of course, you do as you please.

Don't forget to vote and comment, I'd love to read your opinion on the beginning of the sequel.

Lot's of love,

XOXO