Severus closed his eyes trying to quiet his own furiously beating heart. Everything around him felt way too loud as he pressed closer trying to drown out everything else. He couldn't even understand what had gotten his heart beating so fervently.

He took a breath and counted silently in his mind, 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...There! His own heart thumped heavily with hers when he heard the faint flutter.

He clenched his jaw and counted again, 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...thump...

Severus frowned deeply, it was slowing down. He pulled back looking over her frame. He tested their normal connection and found it open but it worryingly quiet. He swallowed thickly, "She's alive...just barely..."

"Oh, Severus... I'm-"

"Sorry?" He hissed finishing her useless words for her, breaking from his reverie. He turned towards the teary eyed woman, his face holding no sympathy for her lament.

"Severus-"

"Don't." His tone was venomous, his posture ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

"I-"

"You never should have brought her here." His voice rose with the anger boiling to the surface inside him, "You Gryffindors and your senseless ideals! Always forever playing in the lives of others, never getting your hands dirty until it's time to shine like the hero they all worship you to be!" His control broke away filling the room with his caustic energy.

"Severus she would have died there!"

"And you call this living?!" He rounded on the lounge, thrusting out his hand open palmed in the direction of Hermione's prone form.

"Forever trapped in an endless sea of torment, never knowing from one moment to the next when your last breath will be taken from you?!" The passion in his words betrayed his own experiences on the matter as he stared down the tartan woman.

"You gave her a chance!" She pleaded, "You gave her hope!"

"Hope?" He barked with a bitter snort, "Do you know what the most torturous, infuriating, feeling in the world is?" He leaned down closer to her, his eyes sharp like steel his voice dropping dangerously low, "Do you know, the most painful word in all of the spoken language?"

Minerva took a shuddering breath against his wrath. She couldn't help but quiver like a young first year under his gaze, completely overwhelmed by his power. The deepness of his heartbreak showed so vibrantly in his dark eyes. She knew she was witnessing the breaking of the strongest man she had ever known and the fault landed squarely upon her shoulders.

"Almost." He leaned in close whispering it viciously between his snarled teeth. He said it with such force, the word itself washed over the elder witch and in that instant, she knew all his anguish, all his suffering, not just in that moment; but over the course of his entire life. She could feel it down in the very deepest part of her soul; it left her with a cold void inside her heart.

The room went still as his words swept through the elder witch. She lowered her eyes a small tear rolling down her aged face. She shook her head slightly but was unable to refute his statement.

Harry watched as the two fought against each other. Also, a bit cowed by his words. He now understood so much more than his heart could even possibly handle. He felt it rise in his throat before he turned his green eyes towards Snape. He had his hands clasped as if in prayer, desperation filled his voice thick with emotion.

"Please, sir." Harry turned his gaze up into those hard onyx eyes. The look Snape gave him pierced him like a knife to his heart, "Please..." Harry shuddered trying to find his voice. "Please...don't give up..."

Severus felt an unusual feeling in his stomach as he turned his searing gaze to the young man. His words fell on partially deaf ears though as he pleaded with him again, he felt lost in the familiarity of his eyes. The boy's face shifted before him causing his brow to twitch. The hard features of a man melted away to the soft features of the woman he could never forget.

"Please...save her..."

He took in a tense breath hearing Lily's words over his. He stayed still for a very long time watching as her face faded from her son's. His eyes vellicated a bit more before he turned his head away; shaking it slowly, his mind turning as he looked over Hermione's bruised form.

She wasn't unconscious, she was somewhere oddly in between. Sort of like being awake while dreaming at the same time. He wasn't sure he'd even be able to enter her mind in that state. Entering someone's subconscious was tricky enough on its own. The mind could be a dangerous place when it was given free reign. The subconscious was much more discombobulated than the conscious. It was like trying to follow someone else's thoughts that were constantly spinning in and out re-shaping constantly like a kaleidoscope.

Minerva stood immobile in her grief, watching as so many things washed over his face, her tears had slowed their silent descent against her aged face. She wondered how much strength he could possibly have left inside him; after all this time.

Severus moved slowly back towards Hermione, carefully sitting down on the lounge. The back of his hand lightly grazing hers as he settled. It was growing cold as her body struggled to circulate. He was about to pull away when he felt a small spark, like static, ran over the ridge of his knuckles. He paused, his brows dipping deeply before he brushed again more firmly this time. A similar spark greeted his senses and he opened the connection between them.

His eyes lost focus as he tried to envision the thread that had grown between them. His hand shifted taking hers to strengthen their connection warming it in the process. His eyes closed and he tilted his head just a bit, the line slowly grew inside his inner eye, it was thin, like a sewing thread, the light dimly pulsing every few seconds.

Severus focused, the world around him falling away and he walked along its line, in his own space. He found himself moving towards a border, a thick white line between his mind and hers. He looked up into the deep eternal darkness before him. It wasn't what he had expected. He had expected a chaotic assortment of colors or sounds.

It was still and cold, even as he stood before the boundary, he could feel it seeping outward. He turned his eyes back down to the thread, its light illuminated very little inside the abyss but he knew, deep inside, that if he followed it, it would lead him straight to her.

Severus pushed himself through the boundary, a feeling like stepping through water washed over him before he found his feet resting on the flagstone. The light from his soul broadened his view of the space; its deep red light only adding to the thick shadows shading the tall shelves that towered down over him as he took another step.

He chanced a glance behind him seeing his own mind space gone. The large elaborate door he had pulled her through bringing her back into the waking world stood strong and solid behind him. Everything was as he remembered it to be, which was odd given what he had gleaned about her state of being. He shouldn't have been able to stand on solid ground at all, nor see what he could. He swallowed down the feeling in his throat and turned himself forward once more.

He moved mindfully into the ominously quiet space. The only light coming from the cracks of his soul and the thread that pulsed slowly. He walked for what seemed like ages before he rounded one of the many shelves, be pausing when he heard something crunch underfoot. The sound echoing harshly in the space.

He shifted his gaze down trying to discern what it was. The darkness was thick and he had to lean over to illuminate it properly. Wood? He shifted his foot hitting something else. He moved a bit more, using his soul to light what he couldn't see. He took in the torn page-less books covered by what he could only assume to be pieces of wood from the shelves.

Severus' heart thumped in his throat as he came to a wide clearing. A small frustration gathering in his chest. Just what had happened? Where was she hiding? If he found her curled up in the center chamber's chair just sleeping away he might just shake loose what was left of her mind!

He turned his hawkish gaze over all he could see. A wide swath of destruction seemed to extend in both directions and he could feel the dark magic still lingering in the air. The anger that had swelled suddenly extinguished like a candle snuffed out by a sharp zephyr. This wasn't normal. He took a cautious step to the center of the clearing raising his hand, running it through the air. He was able to feel the remains of a dark energy that lingered.

Something had happened, something extremely powerful. His clenched jaw ground as he turned away from the thread, his sharp eyes able to just make out something at the edge his red light. He glanced behind him to the thread that dissolved down the path swallowed by the powerful darkness. He narrowed his eyes before turning away from it.

His keen mind focusing on what was closer to him. His steps measured as he navigated the debris. He let his hand run through the residual energy that lingered in the air, the powerful dark magic was contaminated with something. Something strong. He tried to focus on it before he noticed his steps had led him to a large circular vault door.

His spacial reasoning told him that the area behind the door must have been immense. The large steel looking structure appeared impenetrable. He lingered briefly over the idea that Granger could have designed it herself but when his hand hovered over its design he knew that something much worse had placed it there.

His mind turned and he shifted his stance trying to bring more light against its design, his hand pausing as he felt the same power that had contaminated the dark energy before. He leaned in just a fraction, the poor light made it difficult but he could swear there was a large arching cut over the center of the door. He foolishly touched his finger tips to the surface trying to examine it further. What he got for his trouble was a sharp nasty jolt of power down his arm. He hissed sharply and pulled back a few steps pulling his tingling limb to his chest.

There was no question in his mind, that this was where the creature had been hiding during her few lucid moments. He would also hazard a guess, that it was where it was hiding now. He turned to look back over his shoulder at the thread. What had she done to make the creature lock itself away in its own prison?

He turned back from whence he came, following the thread even further down the path of destruction. He stepped carefully over a large piece of a shelf when his foot stepped into something wet and cold. He paused, leaning back over to investigate.

His entire being ran cold as he looked at the crimson puddle he had stepped in. It was large and seeped into all the cracks of the stone spilling over their crevices. He shifted his footing sliding in the wetness slightly before righting himself.

The thread pulsed a bit slower now as he moved closer. He started slightly when his light illuminated a frail blood stained hand. He pushed himself forward more earnestly. He didn't hesitate to move down to his knees beside her crumpled form. The cold blood seeping into his projection but he paid it no mind as he looked down upon her.

Hermione was laying on her side, her head resting in the crook of her outstretched arm. Her hair had fallen over her face obscuring his view. The blood stained arm that it rested on laid stretched just beyond the macabre pool it had created. Her other arm laid bent closer to her chest, her wrist bent forward, the back of her hand resting in the wetness that had grown beneath her.

He shifted carefully to take in the rest of her. He noticed her clothes were tattered and torn along her chest and side, soaked through from wounds that must have laid underneath. Her legs were twisted over the other leaving her hip turned most awkwardly; they too, appeared to have been lacerated by the force that had felled her.

He let out a tense breath, his hands reaching out hovering over her still form. He paused as he remembered just what exactly must have done this to her. He took a deep breath narrowing his eyes through the darkness. Everything remained eerily still. The only sound coming from his heart beating in his ears. He turned his attention back down, an agonizing look crossing his features. He had never been prone to tears, but in that moment felt the sudden urge to release his unease.

A steadying breath filled his chest before he leaned down over her head. His hand jerkingly reached into the deep chestnut curls, his finger tips flinching as if scalded when their soft wet texture grazed the pads. Another deep breath brought more resolve and he carded his fingers through pulling the mass away from her face.

His face broke its stoic facade as his distress attempted to break through; a sob rose in the back of his throat but he stubbornly swallowed it down. Blood had dripped down from the back of her head, wetting the curls that had shielded her. The side of her face painted red, running down over the ridge of her nose and through the valley of her closed lips.

He closed his eyes briefly as he swallowed down all the hopelessness of the situation. His face pinched with the tears he refused to let fall. Very carefully, Severus reached under, turning her face towards his own. The other side was heavily shadowed mirroring the bruise that had fallen over her physical form.

His hand felt so big against her cheek. Her head heavy in his palm. He cradled it with the utmost care while his other hand moved downward. Her clothes were frigid from the macabre wetness that had soaked them. He wrapped his arm around the small of her back, pulling her from the shelf she had landed against.

Hermione's body sagged discouragingly, rolling backward to lay somewhat flat. Her legs were still twisted leaving her shoulders flat but her hips turned. It reminded him of her tortured body lying heavily against the floor of Malfoy manor after she had survived more rounds of the cruciatus curse than anyone left with a sane mind should have been able to endure.

Severus' hand languidly retreated, falling sticky down to his side. The thread of light pulsed more brightly for a moment before growing dim again. His eyes traveled up her body, a new light having joined his own. It was dark, almost like a black light. It ran from the center of her heart like a window that had a stone thrown through it, a single large line pulling out from the rest; bifurcating her chest. From the top of her shoulder down to her twisted hip. It was wide and winged by lesser hairline spider webbed cracks.

Severus leaned over, his hand moving of its own accord. His first and middle fingers tracing the dark lighted line.

"Miss Granger..." His voice held nothing but deep remorse.

The thread between them pulsed brightly at his words though he paid it little attention as he felt suddenly awash with the feeling of being so overwhelmingly broken. He could actually hear his own soul cracking under the weight of his suppression.

He felt so tired, so heavy. Each breath a strained effort. His eyes moved to her face, it looked almost peaceful like she was simply sleeping, waiting for someone to bring her round again. He let out a thick heavy breath and for the second time in his life, he pulled the broken body of an exceptionally altruistic woman who was completely undeserving of their fate to his chest.

What he would have given to feel her arms reach for his neck one more time as he pulled her heavy frame closer. Her head fell back over his arm as he shifted her up against his chest. His hand went to the back of her head, never minding the cool wetness that pressed against his palm as he held her to his heart. His other arm wrapped tightly around her back pausing only briefly to pull her tangled legs closer.

He hadn't meant to care, not this way. She was merely a task for him to complete. A simple duty of honor. He hadn't even realized the young woman had wrapped herself so tightly to his core. Not until this moment. Not until the very real reality came that he would actually lose her. He had failed not only her but himself. His lips pressed into the coppery crown of her head as he finally released all that had built inside him.

Severus' eyes pressed tight when his tears finally broke free. As they fell, he cursed any Gods that stood laughing at him, laughing at the cruel fate they had bestowed upon him. He wanted nothing more than to take her place. To rid the world of his horrid presence. He brought nothing but suffering wherever he was. He was no good for the world anymore, he highly suspected that he had never been. He had well out-lived any possible usefulness he had. His eyes pressed tighter as he clung desperately to her. She had deserved so much more than this. She was worth so much more than the world had given her.

The tether that had pulled them together, started to pulse even brighter. The tears that fell from his eyes illuminated the room around him, though he didn't see their power as he had forced his eyes closed. The light of his tears started to swirl in the air around them, slowly lighting them against the darkness.

The thread that had grown so thin grew with power and strength, weaving an intricate path around them. The floating orbs conjured by his tears swept into her wounds, calling back all the blood that had spilled around them. The light grazed her flesh beneath her tattered clothing healing all it touched.

Severus opened his eyes, the light glowing behind his tightly shut lids finally garnering his attention. His vision blurry he blinked to clear it. It was so bright, like a blazing summer day, his eyes widened just a fraction when he watched the thread swirl around them again. His entire frame shuddered with awe at the magic that had been unleashed around them. His eyes watching as the tiny orbs moved and out of her body before slowly disappearing inside. His hold shifted just a bit and his mind registered that she no longer felt cold. In fact, she felt healthily warm.

He relaxed his hold just a fraction to see her face, his arm cradling its mass in his elbow. The small orbs flowed into the crack in her soul turning the deep black light a brilliant white. His breath hitched tight in his throat as he watched the smaller spider web cracks completely disappear. His souls red light blended with hers, he watched in awe as the remaining orbs swirled between them before pressing into his own soul.

He let out a startled gasp as the light entered him. Running along the surface of his soul melting away the deep red light filling it with the most brilliant white he had ever seen. His own fissure decreased in its width before the orbs completely dissolved inside him. The thread was now wound completely around them, several looping paths having left a most elaborate cage. Though oddly, Severus didn't feel trapped by its design, rather, he felt safe and protected. It was a feeling so foreign to him that it caused him to grow anxious. His hold over Hermione tightened more as he tried to understand just what was happening around them.

"Severus..."

He didn't hear her, not at first, it was like she wasn't using words but something else to whisper his name. His logic rounded on him. Why would she have even called out to him? She had memories of who he was, why would she ever possibly call out to him? No, it must have been a delusion his own mind created to torture his already frayed senses.

He swallowed, snapping his eyes towards her face. It was still passive, her eyes and brow lax. Her lips still closed. His hand moved clinically to cup her now blood free cheek. His thumb lightly brushing against the corner of her lips as if begging her to prove his inner fears wrong.

"I'm here..." His voice too was very soft, no need to move his lips as he caressed his thoughts against her.

Terrible seconds fluttered by as he searched her face. Waiting for her to answer him. He was starting to believe he had imagined it when very slightly her head pressed into his palm.

"I'm here..." He pressed again.

He lifted her head from the crook of his arm, his thumb making a slow arch: brushing over the ridge of her cheek. His breath hitched as her eyelashes fluttered against his wandering thumb and he leaned down just a bit more; his head casting a light shadow over her face. Painstakingly slow, her eyes cracked open twitching against the light that swirled around them. Severus tilted his head just a bit, the arm he had wrapped around her back pulling tighter.

"Severus...?" Her vision was way too bright, it stung her eyes and she couldn't bring herself to open them all the way. She could feel a warmth like never before pressed so tightly against the length of her body. She had heard someone call her name, through the darkness that had invaded all of her senses. Her body felt lighter than it had ever felt. Her chest rose in a sharp gasp as something in her brain told her she needed oxygen. Her chest arched upward brushing against something hard.

Severus was just about to reply when the world around him suddenly crashed away. It left his head spinning like he had been caught in a riptide. He felt himself thump heavily back inside his own inner space, his eyes snapped open and he blinked furiously to clear his vision.

He was back in the sitting room. His chest had lowered down over hers, his forehead resting against hers in it's slumped state. He recoiled as if burnt. Her face came into focus in front of him as he pulled back, the bruise that had formed on her face was gone. He held his breath, his hands moving to cup either side of her face as he waited.

The clock from the kitchen ticked exceptionally loud as the seconds passed. Severus could feel his head growing light but he couldn't find enough focus to even breathe, all his attention was on her.

At the fifth tick, Hermione's body suddenly lurched upward, her chest rising from the back rest as she took in a large gulp of air. Her head fell back in his hold but he didn't stop himself from bringing it back forward again. Her chest heaved deeply a few more times and he could feel her attempting to move her head in his grasp but only tightened his hold to keep her steady.

"Severus...?"

Her voice felt like Egyptian cotton fluttering in an open breeze, it's breathy tones passing her trembling lips.

Severus couldn't stop the blithe smile that spread across his face, his thumbs gently ran over her eyelids urging her to open them. He needed to see her, see him. To know without a doubt who was holding her. Her face twitched to his gentle request before beautiful fire amber revealed themselves to the world.

Hermione felt extremely heavy and numb. Her head exceptionally dizzy when she pried open her eyes. Someone was holding her head and she couldn't find the strength to move in their firm hold. Her eyes rolled slowly back into her head for a moment trying to quell the dizziness.

"I'm here..." Severus watched her eyes roll towards the back of her head and felt a cold terror in the pit of his stomach. His grip tightened marginally, his thumbs pressing against her cheeks trying to orient her to his voice.

Severus'  words brushed warmly over Hermione's nose and lips, still parted she could feel his very essence enter her. She pulled her eyes back down carefully bringing them to center on him. Her lids were heavy as they came to focus on his chin. She could see his thinned forever pursed lips and dark hair that curled under his chin. With a maximum effort, she pulled her eyes upward his hooked nose and sallow cheeks came into focus next and she told herself just a bit more, she needed to see his eyes, see his soul.

Severus took a slow breath, his heart felt exceptionally heavy in his chest like a hippogriff had decided to stand on its very center. He didn't dare move as her eyes slowly rose over his features. Though, when her eyes met him all the world disappeared again. Nothing else but she stood before him. The light golden swirls in her iris encaptured his soul as she stared so deeply into him. His throat went dry as he remained locked in her gaze. His hands relaxed against her, though they didn't release her, his thumb did travel down the valley of her small pert nose. A heavy smile started to form on her lips.

"Scintillating man..."

Severus blinked, even he would have to look that word up. His lips twitched just a bit before granting her supposed compliment a gentle smile.

"Valorous woman..." He leaned his head back giving her the proper space to breathe. His hands gently rested her head along the lounge, pulling one then the other away making sure she could hold her head on her own. She had dipped slightly before she was able to pull her eyes back towards his face.

Her hand flexed at her side and she could feel the rough fabric of his coat against her fingers. Her body was slowly coming to rights though she was still very heavy. Night had darkened the room around them and she wondered just how long she had been gone. Her mind felt like a ravaged mess and ached terribly.

Severus moved to give her some much-needed space, though as he made to move away completely, her fingers pulled along the hem of his coat. He glanced down at her trembling digits attempting to hold him in place. His eyes returned to her face, a flash of fear fluttered across and it pulled on him.

He searched his mind for what she needed to hear in that moment. He had never been one for consoling but as he lingered over what he should say the words left his lips of their own accord, "I won't leave you..." He whispered, taking her hand in his squeezing firmly. She struggled to make a sound but his fingers pressed against her lips, "I promise..."

He watched the fear around her eyes dissipate to his words; the lids barely able to stay open. She let out a breathy sigh as she trusted in his words, her hand relaxing in his hold.

"Rest now..." He leaned over her so she could see him in the dim light, "I will be right here..." He could tell the tail end of his words never reached her conscious mind as her eyes slid closed against her will.

He took a deep breath gently placing her hand on her lap. He turned his head towards the chairs to his right. Both, Minerva and Harry were fast asleep, each one holding looks of minor distress even in their resting state. His eyes narrowed at the both of them but even he didn't have the energy to put any true power into his glare.

He noticed that the two of them had various parts of his research spread over their laps. He glanced at Hermione before cautiously leaning from the lounge. Minerva was the closest and she also had the text. He meticulously pulled it from her aged hands; the woman started slightly but didn't wake. He released a thankful breath, he didn't want to deal with her at the moment.

He called his wand silently to him and turned its tip towards the lounge widening it silently before he turned taking his place beside Hermione. The girl shifted slightly her head falling to rest against his arm in her sleep. His normal wont to push it from him died silently inside him as he allowed her to find comfort in his presence. He wasn't sure if ever become accustomed to the idea but he was too tired to really protest.