"Love Almost Lost"
Chapter 8 Snape to the Rescue
A/N: Nope, don't own it, never have, never will. Oh well. I said when chapters are somewhat short I will post two of them, well, I believe this is another one of those times. Enjoy, though they may be a bit rough.
Harry's dreams were filled with only thoughts of Hermione as he relived many of the adventures they had been through together over the years. All the good times and the bad times, and how they had overcome everything that had come against them. It all replayed in his mind. He also dreamed of a more recent and gloriously happy event in his life, how he and Hermione had finally realized their true feelings for each other. They would now have to plan for their future, for they would be together for the rest of their lives. Suddenly, as before, his dream was interrupted by that horrible sound.
Harry snapped awake and hurried over to Hermione who was having another one of her spells, but this one was much worse than all the others. She was coughing up much more blood and she had started to tremble. Without hesitation he sprinted to the Healer station for help. Chief Healer Osbourne, Healer Pruitt, and at least two others were at the station. They heard him coming.
When he saw them he cried, "Come quickly, Hermione needs help, please!"
They all took off to Hermione's room at a full run. Healer Osbourne asked Harry to go to the waiting room. He started to protest, but thought better of it as the Healers would need room to work and he didn't want to get in their way. He slowly made his way to the waiting area, but he didn't feel like sitting, so he just paced back and forth. He looked at his watch. It was 3:30 a.m., and where the hell was Snape? He was so bloody sure he would have the potion ready in time. Harry didn't know what to do, he just felt numb.
After what seemed like an eternity, Chief Healer Osbourne entered the waiting room and he could see tears streaming down her face. All the color drained from Harry and tears began flowing down his cheeks.
"No! No! She's not dead! Noooo!" cried Harry.
"Mr. Potter, no she's not dead, but, we've done all we can do, we have exhausted all avenues available to us. Unless we can get Professor Snape's potion, she has less than two hours. I'm so sorry Mr. Potter," said Healer Osbourne.
Sobbing softly, she left Harry alone in the waiting room. Slowly he made his way back to Hermione's room. She lay there in the bed still trembling, her breathing more difficult than ever, and always the trickle of blood. He tried to wipe it away, but it was no use, it would not stop. He gently picked her up in his arms, sat down in the chair by her bed and held her close to him. He slowly rocked her back and forth as tears poured uncontrollably down his face. He had given up any attempt at holding in his emotions any longer. His heart and soul were shattering.
"Hermione, I'm sorry I have failed you. I've done my best to protect you all these years, with the hope that once Voldemort was destroyed you would finally be safe, after he was gone we could finally show our feelings for each other and have a future together. However, I'm now utterly powerless to do anything to save you. Oh Hermione, I love you," said Harry.
He didn't know how long he had been sitting there with her, but he knew time was growing short. Her breathing was getting worse as she was struggling for every breath of air and her trembling was getting more severe. Harry held her close and thought, soon she wouldn't be suffering anymore and she would be with her parents again.
Harry's attention was suddenly diverted by sounds in the corridor outside Hermione's room. There were hurried footsteps, muffled voices, and then he heard a much louder, more familiar voice.
"Where is Miss Granger's room, you idiots?" yelled Severus Snape.
The next instant the door to Hermione's room burst open, and there in the doorway stood a completely exhausted, maniacal looking Professor Snape. For a fraction of a moment they stared at each other and Harry saw something he had never seen in Snape's face, a combination of deep concern and sadness.
Professor Snape moved quickly over to him and said, "Mr. Potter, Harry, we need to work quickly. I need you to put Miss Granger back in her bed."
Harry wasn't sure what shocked him the most with Snape's behavior, calling him by his first name or showing that he sincerely wanted to help Hermione. Harry carefully got up and gently placed Hermione back in her bed. He knew time was running out because she wasn't trembling anymore and he could have sworn she had stopped breathing.
Professor Snape went to work, moving swiftly but very precisely. He produced a large bottle of golden liquid from his robes and placed it on the table beside Hermione's bed. After removing the cork stopper he pulled out his wand and tapped the bottle seven times while mumbling something Harry didn't understand. The bottle began to glow, then without warning a bright golden light illuminated the entire room.
Harry couldn't believe what happened next, as a stream of golden liquid began flowing out of the bottle into the air forming a small cloud that floated over top of Hermione. Professor Snape then pointed his wand at Hermione, and again said an incantation Harry couldn't understand. The glowing cloud floated down towards her and as it approached closer to Hermione, it began to grow and expand until it was about the same size and proportion as she was. All Harry could do was stand there and watch in awe as the cloud completely engulfed Hermione.
While she was covered by the golden cloud, Professor Snape mumbled another incantation causing the cloud to glow so brightly, Harry couldn't keep his eyes open. Even with his eyes tightly shut they still hurt from the bright light. With his closeness to Hermione, he could feel a comforting warmth radiating from the golden cloud. After a few moments, he noticed the brightness had begun to decrease in intensity, until finally the brightness was completely gone. But, Harry hesitated a moment before opening his eyes, concerned with what he might see. He hoped with all his being that everything was okay. He slowly opened his eyes and what lay before him was just short of a miracle. Hermione lay on her bed breathing perfectly normal, her color was back, and she didn't have the thin, wasted look she recently had. She looked like the normal Hermione he loved so much.
After gazing at his love for a few moments he noticed Professor Snape had collapsed into a nearby chair. Just as Harry thought he should do something, Professor Snape weakly raised his head, looked at Harry and spoke in a soft, weak voice,
"Mr. Potter, the Healers will be instructed on how to properly administer the potion and it must be given every eight hours with no exceptions. Miss Granger will need to take it for one week. The Healers have also been informed that if they take it upon themselves not to administer the potion properly by not following my instructions to the letter, I will curse them beyond recognition. Now, if you will excuse me, good day."
Harry stood there speechless as Professor Snape struggled to get out of the chair and then left the room.