Warning: Rated M there will be some lemons in future chapters, also there is Ron bashing, if that's not what you like then this story is not for you... I honestly have no problem with Ron, but that's just the way it plays out in my mind!

*Harry Potter and all characters used do not belong to me, only the plot ;)

May 3rd 1998:

"Please wake up, I need you to..."

He thought he heard an angelic-like voice calling him back to the land of the living. He tried to respond but he felt his throat gurgle and throb. No, it couldn't be though; it was just an empty desire, foolish thinking. He knew it to be true since the agonizing depths of his despair reminded him of his doomed fate.

He didn't deserve to hope.

In the far reaches of his mind he knew what had happened, but he couldn't concentrate on reality. All he felt was coldness, like the chill was a permanent part of his body, settling into his bones dragging him more and more into the land of the dead. Yet, he felt alive, even if it was a horrible way to live. Pain felt like another extension of his body, something he could never get rid of, an old friend that would never leave. Something was wrong, he kept waiting for the blackness of death to take him, but it never did. He fought the fog that had settled around his thoughts if he could just remember… Death couldn't be this agonizing. It was short and permanent, a means to an end, yet... his end felt like it would never come.

His once sharp mind felt muddled and his consciousness felt out of reach, but he was sure something wasn't right. He surmised that he wasn't dead, he could be waiting to die but that also didn't add up, too much time had slipped away, his pitiful life should have been over by now. He tried to put the events he remembered in order, it was like putting puzzle pieces together that didn't fit

Play his part, fight, and die. He had done the first two without fault. So why did he not feel dead? He felt like he was in limbo. Maybe this was his punishment, forever in a state between life and death. How sadistically ironic, such in life he carried over his curse into death.

Time seemed to shift to mean nothing as his body convulsed to the new sensation. Instead of the raging pain that reached over his whole body, it was now replaced with hot sensations that prickled and traveled down his face and over his raw neck. The heat got incoherently worse, at first it was strangely pleasant, each increase of heat caused him to breath just a little better, but as he soon realized, it had a sinister consequence, a burning sensation had turned almost unbearable. Like someone set a fire directly on his throat. Maybe Hell was real and he was dead after all, it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest that he would be on the attendance list.

Time seemed lost to him, it felt like his neck was on fire for decades, really it could've been seconds for all he knew, but then something he wasn't expecting happened. The pain abruptly stopped. He waited, not being a man to give into hope so easily that the burning indeed was gone.

His mind seemed to clear a bit more, making him realize that oxygen was filling his lungs, without any effort or aching for sucking in air to his jagged, sliced neck. Warmth touched his hollow face again, but without the pain he was sure would come. His black eyes flashed open to a very familiar, dimly lit room. When his sight adjusted, his vision was filed with auburn brown curls and wet tears staining delicate flushed cheeks, a face he recognized. A face he didn't think he would be so relieved to see.

The young witch let out a shaky sigh, not seeming the slightest bit bothered at her shared closeness with him. The usual proper Miss Granger now looked disheveled as her small fingers continued their slow sweeping down his lightly stubbled jaw.

"Severus, you're ok."

A/N: Hey guys, it's been a while since I've been on and I apologize! One of the members who help run the site told me I couldn't keep going with my founders story :( so it really discouraged me, but now I have found some inspiration so hope you all enjoy my new story! It is fully complete. Please favorite and REVIEW!