Disclaimer: This is not mine; the characters are property of the amazing JK Rowling and co.

Warning: This is a Severus Snape and Hermione Granger fic! I repeat Hermione and Severus will be involved! If you don't like that, don't read this!

And with that let us continue on

Chapter 1: Ends and Beginnings

It was finally quiet; night after night of deafening noise was followed by a prolonged and empty silence. Bodies lay piled up atop the red ground, neither friend nor enemy could be distinguished in death. He had never seen so much destruction at once throughout his entire life—and considering the state of his life, that was saying something. Surveying the surroundings he cursed his bad luck at having once more avoided death.

Gradually people began to move, began to gather into small groups as they searched for survivors among them. He had planned to die here; his entire life had been leading up to this battle and there was nothing more for him now. The death he had sworn he would live to see had finally happen, and the cause he had devoted his life to was over, yet he still remained. He stood a lone figure among the moving shadows feeling misplaced. The others were moving to find family and friends, to take back the lives that they had fought to keep— but he had no other life. This had been his life, and a fitting punishment it must seem to have to live now without purpose. His mission was over and yet he must carry on with all the guilt and regret from the deeds he committed to see the downfall of the man he hated. He was doomed to spend the rest of his life in the chains of his past. He might have considered ending his misery had he not known the price of his own life. As it was to keep his life had cost him the willing sacrifice of the only friend he ever had—a price too great to throw away.

He began to accept his fate as he watched friends gather together limping over the battlefield that was still fresh with blood. It had all been too easy; Minerva had found evidence while cleaning out Dumbledore's rooms to confirm that Dumbledore was as involved with his murder as Severus himself was. Minerva sought him out, told him they knew the truth and would stand by him after the war if he stood by them in the final battle. Not planning on seeing the time after the war he had agreed. And he knew then it had been too easy, just as it had been to convince Dumbledore of his true allegiance in the first place. Forgiveness and understanding seemed to mock him with every breath he took; others forgave him when he couldn't forgive himself. Life was a far worse punishment than death.

He still stood there watching the shadows move against the dark sky. The movements began to slow and dissipate, and he watched the last group clear from the field. No one had stopped to talk with him or help him from the field, though he never expected them to and would have thought them mad if they did. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before attempting to move, when his eyes caught a glimmer in the faint moonlight. It appeared that the last group had lingered so long in attempt to remove someone who wished to remain. As he moved closer to the body of what he now determined to be a woman, her pale skin was illuminated by moonlight and he recognized her.

He had seen her countless times before, but never has she looked quite like this. Red stains clung to her white skin and to her hair obstructing the glow of the moonlight. Her face was cast down and her eyes stared straight before her at two bodies on the ground—two bodies he recognized as her best friends.

It may have been an instant or it may have been an eternity that he stood there facing the girl watching her—the only movement was that of the moonlight through her tears. Finally, she turned her face up to meet his, her dark eyes shining with so many emotions that they were fearsome to behold. She uttered one word, the first word she had spoken since finding the two boys this way, and it was a word that was meant for him, one word whispered into the lonely night.

"Why?"

There were a thousand possibilities circling her question, but he knew the only true meaning: why am I still here when they are gone? He studied her face, watching the emotions flicker over her features, sorrow, regret, anger, guilt, countless more, and he felt them all too. Though he couldn't claim to like either boy that lay in front of him, he felt for them remorse—remorse that they had died, innocent as they were, while he stood looking down at them with his blood soaked hands. Returning his gaze back to the girl before him, he fancied that he could see the innocence fading from her features with every passing second, true innocence that was thrust into the world too quickly. And with everything that ran through him that night, one thing one thought struck him now: if she lost the goodness behind her strong features, then she would face life the same way he had for years, alone.

He recognized it now; she was beginning to lose hope. Those she loved had been ripped away prematurely and she was dying inside as they had died before her. Her home had been destroyed, her parents had been murdered a month before and their bodies burned in the rubble of their home along with their possessions, and the second family she had found through Hogwarts had died as well. This could not happen to her! Because for all of her talents, the one which had always stuck out to him was her ability to hold judgment and treat people fairly. She had embodied truth and justice in a time of prejudice and he could not just sit and watch those qualities die.

Before he really knew what he was doing, he bent down and cupped her cheek staring intently into her wet eyes.

"Because in you, there is still hope."

She gasped faintly, whether at his words, his touch, or the intensity behind the moment he did not know, but when he slid his hand down her arm and grasped both her hands, she allowed him to help her up.

"There is nothing more you can do here. There are crews forming now to help those who have fallen, they will be taken care of. But come, you have seen enough for one day."

Though she had not let her group of friends lead her away from this disturbing scene of death, she nodded slightly and allowed him to steer her away from the place. The night had shaken her and weakened her as well, making it hard for her to move through the devastation. When he put a strong arm around her shoulders to guide and stabilize her she silently accepted. He wasn't exactly sure what had transpired that night, or why he had been able to get through to her when no one else could, but he was certain of one thing as they walked slowly off into the night: no matter what happened from this day forth, he was going to protect her and make sure she received the life he never had, no matter what it entailed.

Yes, the first chapter is short but the rest will be longer I promise. This fic should not be too long, but it will be complete. And for the sake of my own sanity, please note that Severus wants to protect the virtues he sees within Hermione right now, but that is it. He has no other feelings for her romantic or otherwise, he was looking for a new meaning and a way to forgive himself, and it is in not letting her lose what he treasures above other things. This chapter was vague, I know, but the rest will be crispy clear. Next chappy will be up in a few days. Reviews appreciated!

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