Chapter 1 "Obliviate"

She saw him before he saw her. His back was to the window of the Astronomy Tower, wand in hand, thoughtful. As she quietly entered the room Hermione noted the strong stance that he always had and would miss the way he to would turn around and smile at her, something that only in the last careless months she had become accustomed to.

With his vital role in this war that had consumed all of their lives it was indeed a miracle that Snape would find himself smiling at anyone, let alone the bushy haired know-it-all he used to snark at before he took the position of the traitorous Headmaster.

However, things had changed and he knew he was better for it.

His smile was lovely. Even with the stress of being the spy, she had seen a glimmer in his eyes when he spent some precious moments alone with her. It was "a gift" he would tease her, for her alone. Nobody else got to know that Severus Snape could be happy.

Hermione was well aware that there would be no smile this time as he turned to face her.

"Expelliarmus!" she said quickly disarming him, before she could talk herself out of doing what must be done.

He spun around in surprise, back against the open window, wand flying out of his hand and landing swiftly across the room.

His eyes only held a question in them for a fraction of a second before they transitioned into a look of sheer desperation.

"You know what must be done Severus." Hermione said, her eyes welling with tears. She tried her best to keep her voice steady, but there was a thickness to it that gave her pain away.

"Hermione," he said softly in deep voice, as if trying to calm a wild animal, "don't. do. this." He took a deep breath and stared deeply into her eyes as if trying to communicate something deeper through them. She heard the message, but she couldn't let it break her resolve.

"You'll die Severus! You know there is no other way!" She didn't feel as if she were in the same room. Her mind was trying to enclose in on itself, to back away from the pain and go with the easier route. She wanted to be enveloped in his arms, but she couldn't. In the time it would it take him to put his arms around her he would already have his wand back and it would be too late.

"Hermione please listen to me, I would rather die then forget one moment of our time together." He attempted to take a step closer to her, but thought better of it when she refused to lower her wand. He shook his head angrily.

"I'll remember for both of us." She said quietly, tears streaming freely down her face. "I love you." She said, taking a deep breath before steadying her voice. She was out of time. "I'm sorry."

"Hermione don't!"

"Obliviate!" she said softly only lowering her wand after the memories of them being together were removed from his mind. He was knocked onto the floor, unconscious. She dropped to her knees beside him and put her hand to his face one last time. She let out a desperate sob. Her chest felt hollow and cold. It was like any flicker of warmth that had been blew out. She knew she needed to protect him, but the grief still overwhelmed her.

It wasn't just that he wouldn't remember. She had essentially erased every part of them from reality. He was the only one who knew she had been in the castle and not on the run with Harry Potter. Her use of her Time Turner from third year had given her the upper hand in their search for Horcruxes. She hadn't meant to linger at a stop at Hogwarts. And now it was gone. Everything they had done, everything they had to go through to finally be together was all forgotten. She had lost him, but she knew he would live. That was the most important thing.

Even if it killed her. Her Severus would live.