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For as long as she remembered, Hermione lived in fear.
When she was younger, she remembered how afraid her parents were. They never let her out of their sight, and Hermione was constricted to their little cottage. At the time, she didn’t understand what they were afraid of, but she emulated their fear to this day.
Hermione always recalled one particular memory that made her seldom leave her house as an adult. Her parents had let her outside for a bit in their tiny backyard. She had ended up wandering off, and her parents panicked.
“Hermione!” her mother yelled at her, “Don’t go too far! It’s too dangerous!”
She had obeyed, never having heard her mother yell like that before. That night, her parents sat down with her to explain everything: their heritage, the danger of being a fairy, and how the house protected them.
Even now, at twenty years old, Hermione remembered the fear she felt, knowing they were being hunted down. That fear continued to follow her. Sometimes, she couldn’t even go out of the house without shaking intensely.
Hermione was not a child anymore. It felt irrational to be so afraid especially since she was able to defend herself now.
Steeling herself, Hermione made the decision to venture further than she ever had.
She started slowly. Every day, she would wander just a little bit more than she had the day before. Soon enough, she was exploring the forest around her little cottage and made it her goal to venture into the village nearby.
The area Hermione lived in was remote. No one wandered so far into the forest, which made it a perfect place to hide. Her parents had chosen to live there when fairies first began to be hunted. When they died, Hermione inherited the house.
Knowing the safety the forest provided her, Hermione grew complicit. She thought no one would wander near her home. That was her mistake.
The day started normally. After waking up, she got ready to explore for the day and headed out as soon as she ate breakfast. She made use of her little adventures, collecting medical herbs or food.
Distracted as she was, she never saw the shadow following her, watching her so, so carefully. As her back was turned, she never saw anyone approach her, and their footsteps were so silent, Hermione wasn’t even alerted to their presence.
She only turned around when the presence was right behind her. She was too late. She felt everything going black, and before she lost consciousness, she heard a voice.
“I’m sorry.”
Severus Snape had many regrets in his life.
His biggest regret was, of course, joining the Dark Lord. It felt even worse because it was his arrogance that led him down this path. He had foolishly believed in the wrong person so it was his responsibility to bear the consequences and to at least try to redeem himself.
Severus hadn’t always felt that way. It was the death of his best friend, Lily, and her family that made him change his path. Lily had only been 21 when she and her wretched husband had been murdered by Voldemort for her being a fairy. Even their half-fairy son, Harry, wasn’t spared.
What made it worse was the fact that it was all his fault. He had led Voldemort to them without even meaning to, and now, his best friend lay dead because of it.
After that, Severus lived in a haze. He kept serving the Dark Lord, feeling more trapped than ever between the two sides. The Dark Lord continued to order him to capture fairies, and he obeyed. Severus, to this day, did not know how the Dark Lord knew where the fairies were hiding. He seemed to be able to sense them, but how, Severus had no clue.
It’d been many years since Lily died. His Lord sent him to capture yet another fairy, this time in a remote village. Severus picked a disguise and started living amongst the people there, hoping to either catch a glimpse of the fairy or hear rumors of where it lived.
He eventually discovered, about a week into his mission, that the fairy lived in the woods. It wasn’t much of a surprise since fairies liked to remain isolated, especially because they were being hunted, but Severus was able to pin down a more precise location.
He cast a Disillusionment Charm and set off.
His trek seemed to go on forever until he saw her. Severus could openly admit that fairies were attractive creatures. They had this lure to them that came with being a magical creature, but Severus swore he never saw a fairy as beautiful as the one in front of him.
She has bushy hair that was braided into a crown on her head. Flowers were woven into the braid. When she turned around, Severus was able to see her face properly. She was young, probably in her 20s, the same age when Lily died.
Severus felt a pull to her but pushed the feeling down. He had done this many times before and he would not stop because he found one fairy pretty.
He continued to watch her for a couple more days. Severus followed her back to her little cottage to see where she lived, but he mostly caught her adventuring outside her home. She would always go a bit further than the day before, but Severus was always able to see where she went.
She would spend most of the day outside, picking herbs and wildflowers. Fairies had their unique magic, different from a human’s, and it showed in the way nature flourished around her. She had no trouble finding what she needed, and animals would often flock to her.
It was about a week after discovering the fairy that Severus decided to act. The Dark Lord would not be pleased if he waited too long so Severus resolved to make his move the next day, no matter how his heart sank at the thought.
It was very easy to sneak up on the fairy. She was often caught up in her little world, and Severus, with the help of some spells, was able to get even closer than before.
He went to cast a Stunning Spell on her, but before he did, she turned to look at him. She looked surprised to see him, but before she could do anything, Severus cast the Stunning Spell on her.
She looked horrified as she lost consciousness, and before Severus realized it, he spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
Severus was surprised to hear himself say that, but it made him feel worse. He didn’t want to capture fairies anymore, knowing what would happen to them. Every time he tried to save one, the Dark Lord would inevitably find out and send them to the dungeons to be tortured and then killed.
Severus didn’t know if the Dark Lord knew he was trying to save them so he erred on the side of caution. It would do him no good for his Lord to discover his treachery.
He picked the fairy up, intending on taking her to his home. He would try to save this one, he realized. Just once, Severus wanted to be able to save one.
Hermione woke up in an unfamiliar home and immediately panicked.
She sat up straight on a soft bed, fear taking hold of her. It was her worst nightmare. Her mistake had cost her dearly, and she trembled at the thought of what awaited her.
Before she could do anything though, the door to the room opened to reveal a man. He had dark, slightly greasy hair and dark eyes that led into the abyss. Hermione couldn’t help but think the man was oddly attractive.
Besides his physical appearance, he held this authority to himself, a soft command that drew her in. Hermione blushed at the thought.
“I see you are awake,” the man spoke, his voice calm and quiet.
Hermione was surprised at that, having expected a sneer and cruel words. Her kidnapper looked almost sympathetic, which made Hermione skeptical.
“Where am I?” she demanded, pushing aside her fear.
“My home,” the man replied calmly. “You’ve been unconscious for a day now. I never expected your body to react that badly to a Stunning Spell.”
Hermione was confused at that. She had not heard of humans having magic as isolated as she was.
“You have magic?” she ended up blurting out.
The man seemed surprised at her words as if expecting her to know that.
“Do you not know who is capturing you, little girl? The Dark Lord has been on the hunt since before you were born,” the man sneered at that, but Hermione could tell he was surprised at her ignorance.
It wasn’t like Hermione was trying to remain oblivious. She loved learning and doing new things, but there was only so much one could learn in the woods while fearing about going too far and getting captured.
Now she was captured. Hermione had grown too complacent, and now this man was going to send her off to be killed. She felt her blood go cold at that thought.
“What happens now?” she asked, feeling bold.
The man hadn’t hurt her yet, and he continued to make no move towards her. He stayed right near the door, preventing her from escaping but that was it.
The man sighed, pulling out a wooden stick and waving it. A chair appeared, which surprised Hermione, but considering she just learned humans have magic, Hermione rolled with it.
“I am only going to explain this once, so listen very carefully. I do not like repeating myself,” the man told her, his voice becoming more threatening despite how quietly he still spoke.
He proceeded to tell her all she needed to know. About the Dark Lord who he refused to name and how the wixen had been at war for over twenty years because of him. He told her about how the Dark Lord was set on capturing fairies for their magic and how he was the one to help with that.
Hermione was initially scared to know that this human — no, this wizard — had captured so many fairies, but looking closely at him, he seemed tired. Not in the sleep-deprived way but bone-deep exhaustion. This man was not proud of what he had done.
When he finished speaking, there was silence as Hermione tried to come to terms with what she learned. There was only one question nagging at her.
“Why are you telling me this?”
The man looked her in the eye. In those eyes, she saw the same exhaustion as before but also a new fire. The wizard was determined to do something, and Hermione did not know what that was.
“I already failed many times. This time, I just want to save one person. If I could do that, I…”
He trailed off and refused to speak any more of it. Hermione didn’t push and watched as the man stood up to leave. Before he left though, Hermione had one question.
“What’s your name?”
The man looked back at her, and Hermione thought he wouldn’t answer. The man looked away and spoke.
“Severus Snape.”
Then he left immediately, leaving Hermione a bit confused before realizing what he told her. She repeated the name in her head several times in contemplation.
Severus Snape. The name suited the wizard.
Hermione continued to live with Severus.
The man treated her kindly, letting her have free range of the house and do whatever she wanted. The only restriction he had was that she could not go outside without him. Hermione, still aware she was a prisoner and afraid of angering Severus, obeyed.
A month quickly passed as Hermione got to know her capturer. Severus was an enigma. He was kind to her but was always ready with a sharp comment at any moment. He had his dark sense of humor that at first disturbed Hermione, but she quickly found the humor in it.
Overall, she enjoyed her time with the man. He was rough around the edges, sure, but he still tried his best. Hermione had never felt as safe as she did with Severus. It might seem weird to others, but Hermione cherished the time she spent with him, and Severus seemed to feel the same.
He even allowed her to look at his vast book collection which Hermione devoured, almost forgetting to eat with how absorbed she was in the books. Severus had to drag her down to the kitchen. She still remembers the feeling of his hand holding hers.
Hermione wasn’t used to such feelings. Lately, she felt her heart race when she was near Severus, and every time they accidentally touched, she would blush.
It may have been Stockholm Syndrome. Hermione had read about it in order to understand what she was feeling but it felt more than that. Despite being captured by him, she wasn’t a true prisoner anymore.
Severus had been allowing her out more after teaching her how to defend herself. Her fairy magic wasn’t quite like his magic, but it was close enough that he was able to teach her how to stun someone and how to make herself less noticeable. He still preferred if she went out with him, but as long as Hermione disguised herself, she had more freedom than she ever had in her life.
There were still some days she felt afraid that Severus would betray her. He would reassure her as if he was speaking to an idiot, but it calmed her nonetheless.
Today was one of the days she would go out. Severus had warned her to be careful because the Dark Lord he served was becoming impatient, but Hermione felt confident, especially since he would be going with her today.
“It’ll be fine, Sev,” she reassured him for the millionth time.
He gave her a dubious look which she felt was undeserved. The Dark Lord wouldn’t suddenly attack them today. Hermione was sure he would give Severus more time, and Severus reluctantly agreed with her.
Going to the market was nothing new to her now, but it still made her excited every time she went. She enjoyed dragging Severus to each stall to buy something, and Severus followed her indulgently. If she saw a small smile on his face, she didn’t mention it.
Hermione had just dragged Severus to another stall when it happened. There was the sound of several pops as people suddenly appeared, surprising the Muggles living in the town. There was smoke gathering near the center, and when it cleared, Hermione saw the Dark Lord for the first time.
The Dark Lord looked exactly like Severus described him. A serpentine creature, more snake than human. He seemed to look right at her, and Hermione felt her magic reach out to him.
The Dark Lord was a fairy.
Hermione had heard of dark fairies, but she had never met one before. Dark fairies were known to use dark magic and were shunned by other fairies because of it. It explained many things about the Dark Lord, like how he was able to find fairies so easily. Fairies were able to sense their kind and reach out their magic to them.
Around her, people were screaming. She saw green flashes which could only be the Killing Curse Severus had told her about. The Muggles, the ones she had grown familiar with, fell to the ground, dead.
Severus stood in front of her as the Dark Lord approached. Hermione wanted to scream. She wanted to attack this man, kill him for the massacre that was happening, but she was frozen in fear.
It was always fear she felt. No matter how much she tried to overcome it, Hermione was always afraid.
“My Lord,” Severus was saying, bowing to the serpentine man before them.
“Severusssss,” the Dark Lord hissed, sounding calm. It was easy to see he wasn’t.
“You have disappointed me,” the man continued.
“What have I done wrong, My Lord?” Severus asked calmly though Hermione saw him gulp.
“Tell me Severus,” the Dark Lord spoke, ignoring the man, “what is it I have ordered you to do?”
“To capture fairies and bring them to you.”
The Dark Lord smiled at that. His red eyes glinted with cruelty and before Hermione knew it, Severus was on the ground, writhing in pain. Hermione went to step towards him but was suddenly held back by two Death Eaters.
The torture continued for a few moments before Severus was released.
“It’s a shame that you have betrayed me, Severus. If only I could do so much more to you than the curse. However, there is no time. Goodbye,” the Dark Lord said before casting the same curse Hermione saw earlier.
The green light hit Severus and before Hermione knew it, he lay dead before her. The man she had grown to love was dead before she could do anything about it.
Hermione felt cold. The Dark Lord was coming towards her but she didn’t notice. All she could feel was icy rage and grief. She felt something build within her and Hermione released it, somehow knowing it would help her.
Her magic burst out in a wave of green, knocking everyone back. The two Death Eaters holding her back were knocked unconscious, and the Dark Lord was on his knees, struggling to get up.
Hermione didn’t care. She ran towards the body of her beloved. As she got closer, she saw something she couldn’t believe. He was breathing. Severus was still alive.
Knowing she was surrounded by danger, Hermione picked up Severus and called her magic again, causing them to disappear from the town.
Miles away in the forest, Hermione heard Voldemort scream in rage, but she didn’t care. She had to save Severus, no matter what.