Hermione pulled back slowly, a knot forming in her stomach as she realized just exactly what she had done. She swallowed, licking her bottom lip before turning her eyes up into his. Her heart beat heavily in her ears as she looked into the face of someone she had never seen before.

His normally terse and focused brow was uneven with confusion and fear. Uncertainty lined his cheeks and his lips parted as if he were going to speak before slowly coming closed again. She allowed herself to come back down onto her heels though her eyes never left him; she bit her bottom lip nervously letting her hand slide down to his chest, slipping into his coat as if she was afraid he was going to turn and run.

What she never expected was his hands to come up and hold her in place by her waist. A smile ticked against the corner of her lips as she watched him desperately try to sort out all he was feeling. She never broke away, showing him all of her heart.

Let go...

Severus' ear twitched as he felt the brush of Lily's words against his very soul. He stared into the eyes of someone who had so bravely done something that no one ever had in his life. Something he had been desperately searching for since the moment he could walk. The feeling felt so strange settling into his heart wrapping around its cold exterior.

He struggled to give it a name. His lips parted once more before closing again. Acceptance. She had accepted him, all of him. His dark and his light, without a second thought. His head tilted as if he were to shake his head before coming to a stop.

How could this be? How could his life turn out like this? He was so undeserving of what she offered to him, but his heart desperately clung to it refusing to let it go. He swallowed down all the harsh words that his protective nature threatened to throw into her face.

His brow twitched. What could he possibly do now? What would possibly make sense? He felt his body moving of its own volition; his lips pressing gingerly into her forehead. He allowed his eyes to close; he could feel her thoughts, all of them, swirling around through his own. Everything he had seen in her face was genuine and it hurt. It ached so deeply, to realize that someone had really done what he thought could never possibly be done. Something he could never possibly make penance for. His eyes twitched as a solitary tear slipped free running down his cheek, he forced himself back into control.

Hermione just held him closer. Her own tears were still freely falling from her eyes and when she felt his lips against her forehead, she smiled sadly. She could feel his pain, his logic as he tried to rationalize something so foreign to him but more than that—she felt him see her, her true self, beyond all that had been taken from her. He could see her true nature.

Her hand tightened in his jacket to keep herself steady at the dizzying feeling of his thoughts swirling through her own. It was so intimate. So powerful. To feel exactly what someone else was feeling the moment they were feeling it. The way they felt about you. Her heart gave a rough shudder and she gasped. No. Not now.

The creature inside was waking and it was furious. She could feel the cracks in her soul creaking against their new found connection and the metal of the vault screamed loudly in her mind. She felt him pull back as her eyes started to roll back. She fought against the creature's overwhelming pull to drag her into unconsciousness.

"It's free..."

It was the last thing to pass her lips before she collapsed forward against him. Severus' eyes widened in shock as he caught her tightly, pressing her small frame against his own to keep her from crashing to the floor.

'It's free.'? His breath quickened and he adjusted his hold pulling her up by her underarms. It was awkward and difficult but he managed to get her over to the bed laying her out over the foot. His mind was still in a state of chaos as he tried to digest her words. His eyes ran all the way down her frame before spotting a bit of blackness seeping into the bottom of her sweater.

He pulled it up carefully, exposing her fluttering stomach indicating her struggle to breathe. The scar on her chest was pulsing with a deep black light as something poured through the seam. He had seen that very same black substance from her ear and knew—now, what it must have been. It had to be the creatures evil magic.

He bared his teeth as he tried to get his mind functioning again. During the time that he lingered, a drop of the blackness rolled along his finger and seared his skin. He hissed jerking his hand back holding the tainted limb. If it was doing that to him, what must it be doing to her? He had to remove it. Quickly.

He snarled and cast out his wand arm towards the bathroom. A hand towel quickly flew into his outstretched hand and he cautiously pulled back her shirt pressing the clothe into the wound.

It felt hot, melting hot, under his hand, he pressed and pulled back, shifting to a cleaner part of the towel. It was spreading, slowly cutting up her chest back under her shirt and around her shoulder. He knew what he needed to do he just didn't want to.

Severus tensed his jaw as he slipped his wand from its holder into his palm. He parted the front of her shirts leaving them to fall, covering her more intimate places before pulling the towel up higher. He pressed firmly to stop the bleeding. Her breathing was still harsh against his ears and he moved to press into her sternum. He could almost hear the monster's growl in his own ears as if it was seeping through the opening wound.

The black gave way to red when he pulled back. The towel in his hand burned and he tossed it to the side summoning another. He shook his head to clear it and used the larger towel to cover more area, her breathing had slowed now and he could feel her heart struggling to beat beneath his fingers.

His face contorted with pain as he pulled back again. The blood was starting to slow but there was so much. His eyes searched before pressing back down against her stomach.

No, she couldn't do this, not now, not then. He shook his head as he continued to work. Pulling away the clothe that had grown heavy with life essence. He tossed it to the side and grabbed his wand that he had dropped to the bed. He ran the tip into the deep crevice and started muttering every healing charm he could think of until the skin slowly started to bend to his will.

He moved the tip of his wand slowly. His breathing made his head light as he pulled it's healing tip down across her stomach and to her hip. Only when it was fully sealed did he drop the wand away again, his hand came up to feel for a pulse at her neck. It was there, faint, but it was there.

He growled low as he stood back looking at the massacre that had occurred on his bed. He growled low in his throat as he turned away; the outer wall of his room shook in warning as his temper rose. They had been so close! So close to ending it all! This insufferable thing just wouldn't accept its fate and die! He felt so helpless to help her, so helpless in everything. He growled low again his face pinched tight as he tried to control himself. His hands came up curling into his own jacket holding himself back from physically lashing out.

"Sev...rus..."

His eyes snapped open at her voice. He spun on his heel, eyes wide with disbelief. She was looking at him, barely but he could see the honey in her eyes. The hand that had fallen to the side weakly moved to reach for him. He couldn't believe it, there was no way. His hand uncurled from his chest as he moved to her side.

"I'm here..." His hands took hers and he watched her graceful smile grow despite everything she had just suffered through.

Hermione's eyes rolled slightly before coming back into focus, she was fighting hard against the creatures pull. "I'm..." She gave a hiccuped breath before closing her eyes again.

He shook his head. He wasn't going to let her face it alone. He moved to his knees beside her, pressing his fingers into her temples. She'd never fight alone, never again.

Everything swirled by quickly as he fell heavily into her mind space. It was bright, brighter than it had been but not as bright as before. He turned slowly in the void. There were no shelves, no floor, just deep white nothingness. He turned, searching for her.

As he turned he could see the vault, it was cracked, the light that was all around them paled in comparison to what was seeping out from the split down the center of the rounded door. It wasn't open, it was broken, stuck in its current state; a darkness washing out from the bottom of it creating a sort of wall and floor as it pressed back the whiteness.

But where was she? Where was Hermione? He turned again facing another ambiguous direction. There was nowhere to hide in the space. Where could she have gone? He turned again, too afraid to step forward when he saw her. A few feet in front of him. She stood tall with her back to him. He made to call out to her when he realized just what she was staring down.

The creature was indeed free and it was slowly coming to its large back legs. It stood at least half her height over her. Its large clawed hand rose high and it smiled so devilishly down at her.

Severus pressed forward running to her side. He grabbed her shoulders just in time for the claw to swipe by where they had been standing. The force of its missed blow actually knocked them both back a few stumbling steps.

"Move!" Severus yelled into her ear pushing her away from him in the opposite direction, "Run!"

He turned back ducking as another large claw nearly missed his head. He scrambled to his feet giving her another push before finally grabbing hold of her bicep, dragging her with him.

There was no way to outrun the creature, nowhere to shield themselves but Severus had an idea as he pulled them through the space. Maybe, just maybe, if he could get her to his mind space, she would be safe. The problem was, with nothing but the vault as a compass he had no idea where the door to her conscious would be.

Hermione was keeping pace with him, her smaller legs just a step behind as the loud growl grew closer. Suddenly, he saw it, just ahead, he pulled her even more as he increased his speed towards the large illustrious door. He made no hesitation when he pushed through and over the border. He could feel her struggling to get through however, and made to pull even more.

Hermione could feel the creature behind them getting closer, it was enjoying the chase, that's why she hadn't run before. She knew it salivated at the idea of striking terror down into the very core of its victims before it struck. She turned to look over her shoulder, her eyes wide as she saw its tongue shoot out but it wasn't aimed at her, she could tell, it was after Severus.

She couldn't let it get into his mind! She wrenched her arm free putting her feet down just before the threshold when she felt something hard and cold pierce straight through her chest. Her mouth opened in shock and she came to a sudden halt. She felt—cold. Her brows twitched and her hands shook. Her head lowered looking down at the muscle that was curling out from the crack in her soul.

Severus turned when he'd felt her break free. His heart ground to a screeching halt as he stared with eyes wide as her own into her shocked face. His mouth opened and his limbs trembled as he watched her look down. Her soul, which had been the most beautiful white, was growing dark. His brain took three seconds too long to process that it had taken hold of her. His eyes bounced over her shoulder as the creature smiled, starting to pull her closer.

"No!" He tried to turn back, his hand missing hers by a hairs width as the creature gave a sharp tug, digging its claws dug into the floor while it tried to wrench the sacred light from her being.

Hermione could feel the tears streaming down her face as a mind numbing pain swept through her entire body. She couldn't move, couldn't resist, couldn't reach out. Her eyes sought his, wanting it to be the very last thing she saw before she died. She knew it was the end. She could feel it so surely as she stumbled back a few more steps. Still so, she fought with everything she had. She was so tired, so unbelievably tired. Her eyes struggled to stay open as she saw him coming to her. She reached out with all she had left in her.

He wouldn't let her go, he lunged forward, his hand taking hold of her shirt before he pulled her to his chest. He could feel the tongue moving against his own soul bringing a harsh coldness. He gritted his teeth, wrapping his arm tightly around her back.

He stared down the creatures waiting jowls before he took hold of its evil tongue. Pain shot through his entire core as a fire grew brightly inside his chest. He roared with pain as the monster struggled to free itself from his hold. Its claws were too far away to reach them and unless it wanted to come closer they were at an impasse. Severus' eyes flared with a power he didn't know he possessed and a flame roared down the creatures tongue.

The Tamashiheki roared and released its hold on Hermione. Its tongue snapping back, it skittered backward hissing and snarling at Severus. It made to lunge at them before another powerful fire shot out from his hand, sending the creature flying from its jump, careening backward towards the vault. The light that had formed in the crack swallowed the creature whole as another deafening roar echoed around the void.

Severus looked at his own hand in awe before down at the young woman in his hold. Her back had arched over his arm, the light in her soul was dim, but he could make out small little stars of light. Her head had completely fallen back, her arms dangling down. He let out a painful noise as he carefully lifted her head, his fingers melting into those soft tendrils.

"Hermione...?" His voice wrought with pain echoed so loudly throughout the space. His jaw trembled as he looked at her partially open eyes. Starring listlessly off to the side. His legs failed him and he slowly lowered them down to the floor, his breath shuddering as the world started to grow dark. No, it couldn't end this way. No...

His eyes opened sharply and the formation of his room came into view. The pounding nor the burning in his arm were paid any attention as he pulled himself up to the foot of the bed. He had fallen and broken their connection. His hands cupped her angelic face, his dark eyes searching for anything, anything at all.

"Hermione..." Her name passed his lips so softly, so naturally. His breath was just a hairs width away from her parted lips.

A pained sob broke through his throat and he lowered his head down onto her shoulder. He had failed her. Failed every promise he had ever made. He lifted his head pushing back the tears that threatened his eyes as he lifted her head just a fraction.

"I'm so sorry..." He sniffled and wrapped his arms around her back pulling her head into his neck as he cried deeply into her shoulder. Years worth of pain surfaced and pushed through, releasing all his lament. It was between near silent gut wrenching sobs that he felt the faintest twitch against his cheek. He pulled back looking into her face with unmasked hope, his labored breath puffing against her lips searching for a sign of hope.

A small flicker near her long lashes caught his attention and he held his breath while he waited for something more. The time passed like years as he waited for anything more. When her eyes gradually parted, lifting up into his, he felt the world wash away into something new. The hope that had filled him swelled and reached all the way to his finger tips. He waited for her smile, for her recognition.

Hermione felt the world around her growing warm again, it was slow but it was there. Carefully her eyes opened but everything was too out of focus. She knew, without a doubt, who was holding her so closely and that thought brought more strength to her internal struggle. When her name met her ears her heart swelled with renewed strength and the soft plea couldn't help but bring a soft smile to her lips.

"Severus..." It was a ghosting breath against parted lips but to him it was unmistakable.

"Hermione." His voice was stronger now as he repeated her name into her smile. It meant so much to her, he knew but until now he hadn't been able to bring himself to allow such vulnerable feelings to take control. He shifted his hold marginally as he waited for her eyes to fully open.

Hermione smiled more as he said it even louder, the feeling in her arms and legs was languidly returning and she brought them up around him holding on as tight as she could. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to break the moment between them but she wanted to feel more of him, more of the man who had saved her life once again.

Severus shifted closer into her hold allowing her to pull him up more onto the bed. He didn't want to press too much into her for fear that the scar on her chest was still raw but he allowed her to bring him as close as he would permit. He felt her take a breath before her words ghosted over his ear.

"Stay with me..."

"Always."