Hello my fellow fanfictionatics! I know you are all patiently waiting on the next chapter for 'Storm' and I have been working on it. I seem to have gotten distracted with a new show I am watching on Netflix and have been binge watching the episodes...even at work.

I started trying to work on my challenge fic and this was just rolling around in my head and needed to come out. So instead, I went ahead and wrote this little one shot of fun. It is just one fun way I decided to save our lovely and sexy Severus Snape. At this time, this story is a one-shot little to do and I have no more planned. That may change in the future but I guess we will see.

Any and all Harry Potter references are not my own by belong to the infamous JKR! I hope you all enjoy this little snippet while I work on my other fics.

Always

~Tempest

Hermione stumbled out of the castle entrance closest to the Great Hall and into the dawning daylight. After the darkness of the night and the flashes of battle, the sun warm on her face was a welcome feeling. A feeling she did not have time to indulge in or even really enjoy. Skittering down the stairs and over the piles of rock and debris, Hermione set off at the fastest run she could muster after such an exhausting night. She had only thing on her mind…Professor Snape.

Passing the bodies of fallen members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters alike, all Hermione could think was how much of a waste all this carnage really was. All this death and destruction for a wizard who had lost his way and his mind a long time ago seemed utterly pointless. Even with the muggle history to show her that prejudice and hate could lead to vast destruction, she still had a hard time wrapping her mind around someone supposedly as brilliant as Tom Riddle would buy into and then propagate such a ridiculous and wasteful mind set. It only proved to her more and more that hate really did bring about blindness and utter stupidity.

Racing out of the court yard, Hermione turned and headed down the hill and across the simmering green grass with her lungs heaving and her heart pounding. Her legs ached from all the fighting and running she had already done all night long and this sprint against time only pulled at her sore muscles until she felt like every inch of her body was lying in a dull fire and all she could think about was the moment she would be allowed to collapse and sleep.

Taking the stairs down the side of the mountain two at a time, her hand gripping the wall firmly to keep from tripping and rolling to her death, she reached the Black Lake and skirted around the edge until she came to the building she had been racing for the entire time…the boathouse. What felt like only a few short minutes has passed since she, Harry, and Ron had been hiding outside the windows as Tom Riddle has ruthlessly attacked and killed what he thought was one of his loyal subjects for the mastery of a wand that was never meant to be his. Keeping her eyes on the shadows of the two most powerful wizards living at the time, Hermione had had to bite into the arm of her jumper to keep from crying out when the Professor was thrown to the wall and then viciously attacked by that thrice damned snake.

Even knowing or believing at the time that he had betrayed them, Hermione could not conceive of her strong and formidable potions Professor ever being taken down by anyone or anything. Up until he had killed Dumbledore and even some nights beyond, Hermione had believed that Professor Snape had always been on their side. Dumbledore had told them so many times that he trusted Severus and with that knowing gleam in his eye, Hermione always felt that was a loaded statement none of them would ever understand…not until now.

Using her self-taught legilimency on Harry, Hermione had seen the memories as he had and pieced the same conclusion together. Professor Snape had not always been on the light side but from the moment Tom Riddle had killed the only woman he ever loved, the supposedly brilliant Dark Lord had lost the loyalty of a great wizard. Now Hermione was going to do all she could to return that love and loyalty by saving his life. No one had really thought about it but Professor Snape was a brilliant potion's master and just plain brilliant. There was no way in her mind he had not planned on being attacked by Riddle and/or that damn snake. As long as it was not an Avada, Hermione believed he would have been ready for all possibilities. Just because they thought they saw him die did not mean he was dead just yet. And so she ran, as fast as her legs would let her and then a little more to try to reach him before it really was too late.

Having arrived at the entrance to the boat house in record time and with Mad Eye's constant vigilance ringing in her head, Hermione entered quietly with her wand at the ready to defend herself and her Professor if need be.

Hermione found the contrast between the beauty of her surroundings and what she knew to have happened here was bone chilling. The water lapped peacefully against the sunken boats the first years would normally ride in and the side of the docking area. The sound was something Hermione had always associated with breezy spring days lazing along a river bank. Now the sound made her think of sailors sinking below the waves as their boat drifted to the sea floor in defeat. The sun shone so very bright through the windows and illuminated the old wood and the beautiful symmetry of the structure, reflecting off the water and causing a perfect replica of the boat house to appear upside down on the surface like it was a glass mirror. Her footsteps echoed in the silent stillness until she came to an abrupt stop at the pool of tacky looking blood that had flowed and then congealed several feet from her Professor's body.

Carefully approaching him, Hermione sank to her knees pulling her beaded bag into her hands. Using her wand, Hermione began to cast every monitoring spell she had learned from Madam Pomfrey to check the Professor's vitals. Everything she did only proved what her eyes were trying to tell her…he really was gone. Digging in her bag, Hermione yanked out a large tomb of healing…dark and light. Flipping quickly through the pages she came to the spell she was looking for. It was one that could detect all fluids, including potions, in a witch or wizard's body.

Careful to do the wand motions perfectly as she recited the words, Hermione watched as a stream of magical vapor began to fill the air above the Professor's chest. Ingredients and words she did not necessarily understand began to form in the vapor, swirling into and out of existence so fast that she was sure she had missed a few. She did catch the main ingredients to Draught of Living Death and viper venom. There also seemed to be some sort of mixture with the viper venom that she did not understand but was pretty sure was the Professor's anti-venom he created several years before.

Flipping through more pages, Hermione began to clean the wound at the Professor's neck and to stitch it up magically. She was not sure how much of the Death Draught he had consumed and she hoped she would be able to pull him back from the effects but in order to ensure he lived, she had to get the wounds closed and his blood lose stopped.

Working for hours on end, physically and magically exhausted Hermione sat back on her heels to look at her Professor. She had not only cleaned and healed the wound to his neck but had cleaned his robes and his hair and had made him presentable again as she knew he would hate to be seen in a state of such disarray. She had levitated him and transfigured a pallet of blankets under his body and a pillow for his head…all in black of course because she would not let him find fault in her bedding choices either. With that thought, Hermione broke into a slightly insane laugh and realized the lack of sleep and the expenditure of magic had finally taken its toll. Thinking to rest her eyes for just a moment, Hermione lay down next to the Professor and curled into herself. Within moments she was fast asleep as the day began to pass on without her knowledge.

Hermione came awake slowly to the gentle lapping of the Black Lake against the planks of the boat house. For a moment she could not remember how she had gotten here and she was so very comfortable lying on Ronald. Of course she did not remember him every smelling of potion flames or jasper. Cracking open one eye, she was met with midnight black fabric and as her eyes traveled up the clothed body, she jerk up and away as she realized she had somehow rolled over and was cuddling up to her seemingly dead potions Professor.

With a little squeak of fear, Hermione scrambled back from him just waiting on the cutting remarks she was used to receiving from his lips when she did something so utterly Griffindor. Looking up at him again, her brain finally caught up to the rest of her and she remembered that he was under the powerful effects of the Draught of Living Death and that even though she had healed his physical wounds, she had no idea if his magic was damaged or if internally he was injured…nor did she have any idea how to wake him from such a strong potion.

Casting her patronus, Hermione gave it instructions to deliver her message to Harry.

"Harry…I am okay. Fell asleep like a ninny. The situation is not yet fixed. Keep everyone occupied. I will get back to you as soon as I have the answers I seek."

Watching her little otter bounce through the air and then swim away into the night, Hermione realized she had lost a lot of time with her little impromptu nap. Now she was behind on what needed to be done to get Professor Snape up and moving and to a safe location. Until they could prove his innocence, Harry and Hermione had agreed she would hide him away from the rest of the wizarding world.

Getting back to the task at hand, Hermione pulled out her potions book and began to read on the Draught and how to counter the death like sleep and bring her Professor to the land of the living again…or was that awakened? Hermione wasn't sure so deciding not to dwell on something so utterly useless, she read on into the night.

Several books and spells later, Hermione got to her feet in frustrated tears. The longer he stayed under the potions effects the harder it was going to be to bring him back and nothing she had read or tried had yet to work. She did not understand at all. She had done everything right and she knew it! Something else was keeping her magic from working…she just didn't know what!

Leaning against the walls of the boat house and tipping her head back she let the tears fall from her eyes and down her cheeks. She hated to fail at anything but this was the moment in her life were her over achieving nature should have served her well and she was failing completely. If she did not find a solution, she was going to lose him forever. All of his sacrifice and care were going to be rewarded with darkness and death instead of light and life. Whether he would accept it or not, he deserved a chance to live a normal life without a dark wizard at his throat and a self-absorbed light wizard at his back. He deserved a chance to make friends and live and maybe even love again and if it killed her she was going to find a way.

Walking back over to him and taking his limp hand in hers, Hermione ran her finger across the back of his hand before turning it over and following the lines in his palm up to his wrist.

"I know you can't hear me Professor and it's probably a good thing that you can't but I am not going to let you just slip away into the void. You deserve a chance to live a life you want and not the crap one the gods handed to you."

Leaning her head down till her forehead touched his chest, Hermione let her tears fall again. She never realized how much she admired or cared for her snarky Professor until she knew he had willingly gone to die to protect her and her friends. It seemed that act of selflessness was enough to erase all her hatred and pain over his cruel remarks throughout the years and she didn't know how to handle not being able to return the favor and save his life now.

"You have to help me Professor. I can hear your voice so clearly berating me about my potion consistency and smell and color. I know that the answer is right here somewhere in these damn books. Please…please give me a hint. If you can hear me at all…please just give me a hint."

Her tears falling harder now, her gasping words seemed to echo all around her as she buried her head further into him robes, gripping the extra fabric in her hands through her plea.

"I find you humans and your capacity to care and to love to be utterly enthralling."

The lyrical voice cause Hermione to cry out in surprise as she jerked herself up off the Professor's body , turning her entire body in a defensive position over him as she pointed her wand at the intruder.

The creature sitting a few feet away on some of the boxes was like nothing she had ever seen before. She was obviously a female with her voluptuous curves encased in a sleek and revealing dress. Hermione wasn't sure but the dress almost looked like it was made of woven Phoenix feathers, the colors shimmering in the moon's glow with a hint of flickering firelight. Her skin looked smooth and silky to the touch but had an odd pattern almost like that of tree bark and shone with a silvery sheen like the moon itself was just under her skin.

Her hair fell in long waves down her front and back in the many shades of a tree's leaves changing colors in the fall. The reds and oranges and yellows were so interwoven that you could not tell what color it had more, though as she tilted her head to the side to glance at Hermione with eyes that swirled from black to deep blue and many colors in between, her hair seemed to take on a darker red the color of drying blood…the same shade as Hermione had knelt in earlier when she had first found the Professor again.

Holding her hands to the side to show she was unarmed, the creature lightly hopped off the boxes, her feet making not one sound as she landed on the wooden floor. Her dress floated around her as if on a silent breeze or like the motion of flames in a fire pit. The back and forth sway held Hermione captive for a moment before she shook her head and stood to keep this new possible enemy in her sight.

"Who are you? What are you and what do you want?" Her voice trembling slightly, Hermione held her ground over her Professor and hoped this moment would not be their last.

"So many questions that have so very many answers. Shall I give you the answers that are the easiest to comprehend then? My name is not important nor would you be able to understand or say it. You may call me…Rayne. As for what I am…you already know that don't you Hermione Granger?"

Looking over her again and digging deeply into her memories, her eyes widen even more as an obscure passage comes to her mind from one of the magical creatures books she had read during her third year.

"You're…you're one of the fae…one of the major bloodline fae if your size and look is anything to go by. And that would make you of either the Seelie or Unseelie fairy court. By everything I read, neither one tends to be a good thing for a human, witch or not, to run into." Her hand shaking as she drops her wand knowing her magic would be useless against the creature now, Hermione steps over Snape and closer to the fae to keep her away from the Professor.

"Then I guess, little Griffindor, it is a good thing you did not run into me but that I came to you isn't it? Tell me…why do you lament so over such a mean and dark wizard? I can hear the echoes of whom and what he was so close your mouth before that denial slips past your lips and you lie to me. I do not tolerate liars!"

Hermione snapped her mouth shut as the words of protest died in her throat. Rethinking what she wanted to say to make sure she was honest, Hermione tried again to answer the question.

"Yes…he was a horrible man to us throughout the years. He was a spy for our side of the war but had to play the part of a muggle hating death eater for Voldemort. I do not know what he was like before I came to school and I have no idea what he is like deep within that role he played but he saved our lives many times over and he does not deserve to die like this… here…as some pathetic, hated villain."

Raising one burnt sienna eyebrow, the fae stepped closer causing Hermione to have to force her feet to stay still and hold her ground. Up so close, the eyes were a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of color and Hermione kept looking anywhere but there to try to keep her wits about her.

"So even though he was an awful man to you…and even though he willingly and happily joined the ranks of these death eaters when he was younger…you still want to save his life now? How fascinating. And tell me little Hermione…what would you give to save his life?"

Glancing down to the still form of one of the bravest and strongest men she had ever known, Hermione said the first impulsive thing to come to mind.

"Anything…I would give anything to save his life."

Tsking at her before giving a very beautiful but chillingly cold smile, Rayne waved her hand and sat as a throne that looked like a small oak tree bent and formed behind her. The limbs curled up to hold her body like a lover would and the leaves hung gently down to caress her skin, making Hermione yearn for a moment to be sitting in her place. Shaking her head of the magic pulsing in the air, she took a step back to give herself some breathing room.

"Do be careful what you say to one of my kind Hermione. We take any and all offerings to heart even if you have no idea what you are truly offering us. You are so very lucky I am not a Seelie or you would already be under my thrall and my slave and your Professor would be left alive but as he is now and I assure you he would hate that."

Waving her hand again, a throne just like hers formed catching Hermione behind the knees and causing her to fall into the seat. As the branches wrapped around and along her body, if felt more like a cage and a lot less like the lovers arms she had fancifully imaged just moments ago.

"What do you mean as he is now? What is wrong with him? I thought I had healed the damage done!" Worrying at her lip, Hermione actually looks at Rayne in the eyes only to realize they have settled to a deep forest green to match the leaves on her throne.

"He is alive…sort of. He is right at the precipice of death though. If you had managed to pull him from the sleep of death he is in, he would have perished almost instantly. His magic has been damaged from the snake's magical venom and a wizard without his magic intact is already dead. You healed the bite wound but the venom burned away some of the pathways he would need for blood to flow to his body and heart correctly. With the damage being so well hidden it is not something you would have known to heal….and you cannot heal his magical core. That takes a very long time and he would have to do that himself. As it stands, he does not have enough strength or magic left to do so even if you gave him the time. I am sad to say he is going to die young one and you will have to say your goodbyes."

Looking back and forth between Rayne's eyes Hermione bite at her lip until she tasted blood in worry before speaking again.

"You can heal him though can't you? You would not have said what you said about the Seelie if you could not. If I remember correctly, fae favors or help always comes at a steep price and most refuse to pay it…is that correct?"

That same cold smile comes back to her face as Rayne inclines her head in agreement, her beautiful red hair falling forward like a waterfall of raining blood before it shifts to a darker shade of black with hints of red.

"So I ask again Hermione Granger…what are you willing to give to save your Professor?"

Settling back into her throne like chair, Rayne seems to stop moving entirely and Hermione knows that this is a monumental moment not just for her but in wizarding history. Of all the stories she has read, not one of them was as dire as life and death and the penalty paid had been quite hefty then as well. Realizing that no matter how steep the price, she would never forgive herself for not trying she looked back at her Professor before repeating her earlier answer in a whisper of voice.

"Anything."

The rustle of leaves and then fabric brought Hermione back around to stare into the face of the Unseelie fae that was now standing in front of her and bending over so they were nose to nose. Her eyes had taken on a glow the color of the full moon on a cloudless night and her skin was glowing with the same silvery magic.

"As my one boon to the fates during this season of ritual and sacrifice, I give you Hermione Granger the power over life and death. With this kiss, I bestow on you the ability to do exactly what you want to do. Delivered with a kiss of surrender to the recipient, you can save his life at the cost of something you hold just as dear. Choose wisely little witch for once the gift is given by you, it cannot be undone. The price will have been paid and you will be unable to take it back. My boon ends with the rising of the sun and your beloved Professor will move on through the veil and outside of your reach. Do you understand and accept this boon?"

Licking her dry lips as her fear tries to overtake her, Hermione ruthlessly pushes down the logical voice screaming in her head to say no and nods her head yes instead.

"So mote it be."

As the beautiful Unseelie leans in and places her lips gently on Hermione's own the rush of power and earthen magic floods into her body filling her until she feels like she will fly apart any minute. A darkness rushes over her eyes and for a breath it feels like she is being pulled under a rushing, raging river to drown before with a gasping deep breath in she is throw back into her own skin with the magic humming just beneath her skin.

"It is done. The final decision must be made before the sun's light touches your Professor this day. If you do not bestow the kiss to him, he will die and the magic will fade. I will be watching little witch to see what you decide and how far your altruism takes you. I bid you a blessed day."

With another final wave of her hand, the fae is gone just as quickly as she had appeared and Hermione is left alone with a body thrumming with energy and a still partially dead Professor. Taking a deep breath, Hermione kneels down to the side of Professor Snape and closes her eyes. Not truly knowing what is coming but having to believe she will survive the magic, Hermione casts her patronus one more time.

"Harry…I think I found a solution but I am not sure what the outcome is going to be. If for some reason this goes badly, please don't be angry with me. It was worth it. I love you so very much. You were the brother I always wanted. Be happy."

Sending her otter off, Hermione did not even give herself time to think before leaning over and gently placing her lips to Professor Snape's. Holding her balance with one hand on his chest, she waits as the magic thrums like a whirl pool inside her. Just as she is about to pull back thinking she did something wrong, the magic gives a burning pulse and rushes up and out of her through every place her body is in contact with his. The force is so powerful that Hermione collapses fully against Snape, her hands gripping his robes to try to keep her grounded.

With each rush of magic, Hermione can feel her consciousness start to dim and little by little memories of her life trickle across her closed eye lids as she relives her happiest moments of childhood, her years at Hogwarts, and her time spent with Harry and Ron. As the last memory slowly plays out of her hugging Harry just after the defeat of Voldemort, Hermione feels the last of her aware state fade to darkness. With that darkness, she never receives the returned patronus or hears Harry ask her to wait and let them get to her.

Severus comes to a conscious state the same way he seems to do everything else in life…abruptly and with little patience. The last thing he remembered doing was trying to measure the amount of Draught he needed to take from the vial to keep from dying fully with blurry eyes and weak limbs. Now as he assesses his body, his confusion seems to grow. Not only is he not bleeding or hurting, he does not seem to be injured at all. He can also tell he is lying on a soft bedding of sorts with a pillow behind his head.

He is not given the time to fully comprehend any of that before he realizes he also has a small but warm body lying across his chest and there is deep breaths being blown across his neck. Opening his eyes he turns his head to stare down into the face of the one Griffindor he secretly admired and liked. Though her face was so very different from the last time he had seen it. Forcing his body to sit up, Severus wrapped his arm around her so that she ended up in his lap as he looked down at the new marks that had formed.

In between her eyebrows, seemingly drawn by magic was the shape of an oak tree leaf done in white with silvery outline. Stretching from there in a perfect symmetrical pattern were small red, orange, and yellow leaves in an arch along her forehead right above her eyebrows. On the left side of her body where her head had been touching him, there was a beautifully feminine design that looked like several tree branches growing from the corner of her eye up to her temple and down her cheek. The flowing lines were devoid of leaves but stopped at swirls on the end of some and sharp points on others. In the very center of her lips was a line drawn in the shape of a very thin hourglass in the same white as the oak leaf.

Overall the mark, which looked like a magical tattoo, was very enchanting to look at but could only cause fear to work its way into his heart and down his spine. Severus had only ever read about marks like that coming from one thing…a deal with the fae. The more the magic and power of the fae or the gift granted, the larger and more prominent the mark. For a mark this size, she had to have been granted something very large. Looking around and finally seeing he was still in the boathouse where he was attacked and holding on to the Griffindor Princess, he was afraid he may be able to guess exactly what she did. The only question now was…what price did she pay?

Being as gentle as he could, Severus shifted until he could gently tap on her cheek to try to get her to wake up. When that did not work, he located her wand on the ground next to them and used it to accio his own wand. Being careful not to use to much of a magical push, Severus used rennervate on the small witch.

Sighing in a sweet and innocent way, he watched her eyes open and stare into his a moment before her brows drew together in confusion and her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. Helping her sit up, he watched her look around herself in confusion before siding away from him a few feet.

"My apologies sir but it seems I may have hit my head or something. I do not seem to recall who you are or why I am here?"

His eyes widening, he takes in her apprehension and tries his best to look less threatening to her as he can.

"What is the last thing you remember Ms. Granger?"

Looking at the man clad in strange, dark clothing holding a stick in his hand, she tries to find an answer to his question.

"The last thing I can remember sir is a strange woman standing at my door with a funny Halloween hat on her head wanting to talk to my parents. After that…nothing. Who are you and how do I know you?"

Closing his eyes on the pain that one statement caused, Severus meets her eyes again and takes a fortifying breath.

"I am Professor Severus Snape…I am one of your teachers…or I was. You are at Hogwarts School or Witchcraft and Wizardy."

Her look of confusion mixed with disbelief had Severus even more worried than before.

"Witchcraft? There is no way my parents sent me to some pagan school instead of the boarding schools we were looking at. What kind of rubbish is this?"

Standing up as her eyes turned angry, Severus cast a quick spell with his wand as he stood only to freeze in horror at the result. Before he could try to assess anything more, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley came barreling into the boathouse, nearly falling into the water in their haste.

"Oh thank gods Hermione…you're okay." Stepping up to her as he said it, Harry was caught off guard when Hermione stepped back in confusion and fear.

"I don't know you. I don't know any of you! Don't touch me!" Retreating to the wall as far from them as she could get, Hermione wraps her arms around her middle with her eyes flying back and forth between them all.

Looking from Hermione to a very pale and worried looking Snape, Harry motions for Ron to wait as he starts to lose his temper and he turns to address the Professor he had hated for so many years.

"It is good to see you are okay sir. Do you know what is wrong with Hermione?"

Standing to his full height and looking at the young girl before turning his weary eyes to look at the son of the only woman he ever loved, Severus gave the only honest answer he could.

"It seems Mr. Potter in her endeavor to save my life, she made a deal with some sort of fae. The marks on her face would indicate a very old and very powerful one. I am not sure what the agreement was but it not only cost Ms. Granger her memories…it seems to have cost her, her magic. As of this moment, Ms. Granger is now…fully muggle."