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teddy_radiatorSame rules as applied on Part One. Poor Jules! She didn't know what hit her...
Two
Severus stared at his doppelgänger in shock. The clone returned his stare with open, trusting, frightened eyes. His lower lip quivered slightly; he looked as if he might cry. He shifted his gaze over to Hermione, and the look of fear left his face for a moment, and he attempted a brave smile for her. His expression showed complete trust in the girl.
His double was ghastly pale, as if in pain. He was dressed exactly like Severus, with the same torn clothes, the same blood stains, the same bruises. He looked liked someone going to a fancy dress party. The effect was so grotesque it made Severus angry for a moment. His ‘twin’ was also completely calm. There was no ripple of uncertainty, doubt or anger.
Hermione looked up at the clone, an expression of sorrow on her face. “Come now. It’s time.” Her voice was also calm, but the impression Severus got was that of underlying sadness; a grief so deep it took all of the girl’s willpower to keep from falling apart.
The duplicate Snape nodded, and when Hermione held out her hand, he took it like a child taking his mother’s hand, allowing her to lead him over to where Severus had originally fallen. Severus had never watched himself before, except through the filter of other Legilimised minds, which tended to exaggerate or overlook the things that were either important or insignificant to them alone.
In this pure, unadulterated observation, he realised he had never known how he looked as he moved. He was graceful, even dignified, but rather stiff. His eyes saw what his brain refused to comprehend; he saw a tall, unattractive man with eyes that were large and clean and innocent, and -
It was at that moment that he realised that, whoever this was, he was going to die in Severus’ place. “You can’t do this!” he hissed, and tried to step forward.
“Ron!” Hermione Granger shouted, and Weasley, understanding, grabbed Severus from behind, locking his arms by his side. Severus tried to struggle, but in spite of his miraculous recovery, he was still weak, and soon bright spots were fluttering in his field of vision.
“Please don’t fight him!” Both men froze at the deep, masculine voice.
The double spoke in an exact replica of Severus’ own voice. They looked at one another, and the clone whispered, “I have been created for this purpose. You must allow me to fulfill it. Please don’t injure yourself, or you will make me redundant.”
There is a difference, thought Severus. In the clone’s voice was no trace of own his sardonic, biting tone, no irony or sarcasm. He spoke with sincere, honest concern. It was Severus Snape’s voice, only a more perfect version of it.
Stunned, Severus sagged against Weasley, who murmured behind him, “Sir, I promise we’ll tell you what’s going on, but now isn’t the time or the place.” The boy released Severus, but remained close.
Severus grew still, and to his astonishment, his clone approached him, wide-eyed and guileless, like a dog. Those eyes would have never looked back at him the bathroom mirror. He had never been that innocent as an adult. He had never been that open, even with himself.
His double placed his hand on Severus’ shoulder, a warm, comforting weight. “Please be worthy of what she has done,” the Severus-clone pleaded, and he turned to Hermione, who had followed him. He took her hand again in that curiously child-like way that made Severus feel queerly jealous. “I’m ready,” the duplicate Snape declared with resolute finality, and his hand slid from Severus’ shoulder, leaving him feeling curiously bereft.
Weasley and Severus watched as Hermione led him back to the spot from which Severus had risen only moments before. The clone knelt on the floor, then lay down in Severus’ place. The girl leaned over, like a mother telling a bedtime story. The false Snape took a large, almost sobbing breath, and Granger smoothed his damp hair back from his pinched, white face.
Severus, baffled, said, “Does he – “ For the first time, Hermione Granger whirled on him, and he could see the anger from her, and grief. Her voice, however, was flat and low.
“Professor, please. Enough.” She turned back to the clone, but not before Severus saw the bleak grief in her eyes. “He’s very frightened.”
“But why is he – “ Severus turned to Weasley, willing someone to answer him. “Why is he dying in my place?”
For a moment, Severus thought the boy had not heard him. He took a breath to ask again, but realized the young wizard was crying silently. Unexpectedly, the answer came from his likeness. “Because Hermione asked me to.” He looked up at her and took a deep shuddering breath. “Thank you for creating me.”
Hermione leaned down, and Snape’s duplicate kissed her. It was a kiss of deep, abiding love, as innocent as a boy’s first kiss. It seemed to last for ages, but Severus could not look away. No one had ever kissed him like Granger kissed this version of him, not even Lily. Especially not Lily. He was watching his first kiss...
Finally, after an eternity, Hermione straightened and took a deep breath. With a wave of her wand, the double made a startled, pained sound, and he began to bleed. He gasped in distress, obviously feeling his life’s blood draining away. Severus squirmed; he remembered the feeling so well. It was awful. Until it was too late.
His clone fumbled for Hermione’s hand. “Hermione?” he whispered, clearly terrified, and the girl shushed and soothed the man on the floor, calling him pet names, calling him precious, beloved, sweet one... She was weeping openly, and the dying man gasped and began to cough.
Severus moved until he could see Hermione’s face as bent over the clone. She gently wiped away his tears of pain and fear. There was such loving tenderness in the way the girl touched his likeness, it disturbed Severus. No one had ever touched him with such kindness and devotion. He could not tear his eyes away from Granger’s loving ministrations. He could almost feel her fingers brushing his own cheek, and it rocked him to his core.
In that voice, so like his own, Severus heard the clone whisper plaintively, “Will I dream?”
“Bloody hell,” Weasley whispered. He turned away, wiping his eyes.
Hermione smiled tremulously down at the duplicate Snape. Her voice shook. “You can dream all sorts of lovely dreams, and I’ll meet you in my dreams, and we’ll talk about them. It’ll always be sunny, like it was that day in Dungeness, remember?”
“I remember,” he said, and reached up and stroked her face with trembling fingers. I have nice hands, Severus thought randomly.
“Can we have cake and chocolate, like on my birthday?” the double pleaded, his voice sounding sleepy. It was such a funny, sad question, Severus felt a sharp pain that he suspected had little to do with his injuries.
“You can have all you want,” Hermione replied, tears running down her face. Her voice sounded broken and desolate, but she tried to be cheerful for his sake. “You can have ice lollies and sugar quills and raspberry truffles. All you want, precious. And then we’ll walk on the beach and look for seaglass, and mermaids, and...” Her voice broke, and she hiccoughed.
The dying man nodded. His grip on Hermione’s hands tightened. “Will it hurt, Hermione?”
She stifled a sob, and Severus felt his stomach churn. He glanced at Weasley, who was facing the far wall, holding onto himself as if it hurt to breathe. Severus inched closer to the tableau on the floor.
Hermione nodded at Severus’ twin. “It might, dear heart. I’m sorry. But I promise you I’ll be here. You won’t be alone.”
Almost comfortingly, the clone, reached up and touched her face. “Please don’t cry. This is why I was created. You needed me.” The clone looked past Hermione to Severus, and their eyes met.
Hermione wept openly now, and the clone tried to comfort her, even as he started to die. His voice grew slow and slurred. “Don’t cry anymore. It doesn’t. Hurt, I mean. Why don’t you leave with the professor now, love?” Hermione shook her head, sobbing.
The duplicate murmured, “I don’t want you to watch me. I don’t want you to cry. I want you to be happy.”
“I’m sorry, but can’t help it. I’m going to miss you so much,” Hermione sobbed. “I won’t go until-” she sniffed, and tried to compose herself. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“You must, sweet Hermione.” At the sound of the nickname, Severus felt his own throat tighten.
He then smiled. It was the smile of a frightened man trying to be brave, and wanting to be remembered for his bravery, and not his fear. Severus gasped. Both Granger and Weasley ignored him. Hermione bent over the dying man and kissed his forehead, his ridiculous nose, and finally, gently and slowly, his lips. “I will never forget you, dear heart. I will always love you.”
The man on the floor did not answer. He was gone.
Realisation hit the girl, and her hands flew to her mouth, as if to hold in her grief. She rocked back and forth for a moment, and a soft, mournful sound of grief keened in the air. It was the saddest thing Severus had ever heard.
Finally she pulled herself ungracefully to her feet. Weasley moved to comfort her, and she allowed him, but pulled away from him after the briefest of moments and walked out of the room, wiping her eyes. She never looked back, and Severus thought to himself, It takes either a very strong, or a very cold woman to walk away from someone she loves and not look back.
Severus didn’t think of Hermione Granger as being cold.
He turned back to the figure on the floor. His blood was dark, almost black, against his skin, and he could see the pus-yellow venom staining the collar along with the blood. In death, he was pale and still. Severus felt irrationally glad that the clone looked at peace.
“Come on, Professor,” Weasley said, sniffing, his hands gently grasping Severus’ arm. “Let’s go. We’ve got to get ready to go back.”
Severus barely heard him. He was too fascinated with the still form on the floor. All he could think about was Hermione Granger’s gentle hands touching his likeness, kissing his dying lips, loving him, yet willing to sacrifice him for Severus Snape.
Two
Severus stared at his doppelgänger in shock. The clone returned his stare with open, trusting, frightened eyes. His lower lip quivered slightly; he looked as if he might cry. He shifted his gaze over to Hermione, and the look of fear left his face for a moment, and he attempted a brave smile for her. His expression showed complete trust in the girl.
His double was ghastly pale, as if in pain. He was dressed exactly like Severus, with the same torn clothes, the same blood stains, the same bruises. He looked liked someone going to a fancy dress party. The effect was so grotesque it made Severus angry for a moment. His ‘twin’ was also completely calm. There was no ripple of uncertainty, doubt or anger.
Hermione looked up at the clone, an expression of sorrow on her face. “Come now. It’s time.” Her voice was also calm, but the impression Severus got was that of underlying sadness; a grief so deep it took all of the girl’s willpower to keep from falling apart.
The duplicate Snape nodded, and when Hermione held out her hand, he took it like a child taking his mother’s hand, allowing her to lead him over to where Severus had originally fallen. Severus had never watched himself before, except through the filter of other Legilimised minds, which tended to exaggerate or overlook the things that were either important or insignificant to them alone.
In this pure, unadulterated observation, he realised he had never known how he looked as he moved. He was graceful, even dignified, but rather stiff. His eyes saw what his brain refused to comprehend; he saw a tall, unattractive man with eyes that were large and clean and innocent, and -
It was at that moment that he realised that, whoever this was, he was going to die in Severus’ place. “You can’t do this!” he hissed, and tried to step forward.
“Ron!” Hermione Granger shouted, and Weasley, understanding, grabbed Severus from behind, locking his arms by his side. Severus tried to struggle, but in spite of his miraculous recovery, he was still weak, and soon bright spots were fluttering in his field of vision.
“Please don’t fight him!” Both men froze at the deep, masculine voice.
The double spoke in an exact replica of Severus’ own voice. They looked at one another, and the clone whispered, “I have been created for this purpose. You must allow me to fulfill it. Please don’t injure yourself, or you will make me redundant.”
There is a difference, thought Severus. In the clone’s voice was no trace of own his sardonic, biting tone, no irony or sarcasm. He spoke with sincere, honest concern. It was Severus Snape’s voice, only a more perfect version of it.
Stunned, Severus sagged against Weasley, who murmured behind him, “Sir, I promise we’ll tell you what’s going on, but now isn’t the time or the place.” The boy released Severus, but remained close.
Severus grew still, and to his astonishment, his clone approached him, wide-eyed and guileless, like a dog. Those eyes would have never looked back at him the bathroom mirror. He had never been that innocent as an adult. He had never been that open, even with himself.
His double placed his hand on Severus’ shoulder, a warm, comforting weight. “Please be worthy of what she has done,” the Severus-clone pleaded, and he turned to Hermione, who had followed him. He took her hand again in that curiously child-like way that made Severus feel queerly jealous. “I’m ready,” the duplicate Snape declared with resolute finality, and his hand slid from Severus’ shoulder, leaving him feeling curiously bereft.
Weasley and Severus watched as Hermione led him back to the spot from which Severus had risen only moments before. The clone knelt on the floor, then lay down in Severus’ place. The girl leaned over, like a mother telling a bedtime story. The false Snape took a large, almost sobbing breath, and Granger smoothed his damp hair back from his pinched, white face.
Severus, baffled, said, “Does he – “ For the first time, Hermione Granger whirled on him, and he could see the anger from her, and grief. Her voice, however, was flat and low.
“Professor, please. Enough.” She turned back to the clone, but not before Severus saw the bleak grief in her eyes. “He’s very frightened.”
“But why is he – “ Severus turned to Weasley, willing someone to answer him. “Why is he dying in my place?”
For a moment, Severus thought the boy had not heard him. He took a breath to ask again, but realized the young wizard was crying silently. Unexpectedly, the answer came from his likeness. “Because Hermione asked me to.” He looked up at her and took a deep shuddering breath. “Thank you for creating me.”
Hermione leaned down, and Snape’s duplicate kissed her. It was a kiss of deep, abiding love, as innocent as a boy’s first kiss. It seemed to last for ages, but Severus could not look away. No one had ever kissed him like Granger kissed this version of him, not even Lily. Especially not Lily. He was watching his first kiss...
Finally, after an eternity, Hermione straightened and took a deep breath. With a wave of her wand, the double made a startled, pained sound, and he began to bleed. He gasped in distress, obviously feeling his life’s blood draining away. Severus squirmed; he remembered the feeling so well. It was awful. Until it was too late.
His clone fumbled for Hermione’s hand. “Hermione?” he whispered, clearly terrified, and the girl shushed and soothed the man on the floor, calling him pet names, calling him precious, beloved, sweet one... She was weeping openly, and the dying man gasped and began to cough.
Severus moved until he could see Hermione’s face as bent over the clone. She gently wiped away his tears of pain and fear. There was such loving tenderness in the way the girl touched his likeness, it disturbed Severus. No one had ever touched him with such kindness and devotion. He could not tear his eyes away from Granger’s loving ministrations. He could almost feel her fingers brushing his own cheek, and it rocked him to his core.
In that voice, so like his own, Severus heard the clone whisper plaintively, “Will I dream?”
“Bloody hell,” Weasley whispered. He turned away, wiping his eyes.
Hermione smiled tremulously down at the duplicate Snape. Her voice shook. “You can dream all sorts of lovely dreams, and I’ll meet you in my dreams, and we’ll talk about them. It’ll always be sunny, like it was that day in Dungeness, remember?”
“I remember,” he said, and reached up and stroked her face with trembling fingers. I have nice hands, Severus thought randomly.
“Can we have cake and chocolate, like on my birthday?” the double pleaded, his voice sounding sleepy. It was such a funny, sad question, Severus felt a sharp pain that he suspected had little to do with his injuries.
“You can have all you want,” Hermione replied, tears running down her face. Her voice sounded broken and desolate, but she tried to be cheerful for his sake. “You can have ice lollies and sugar quills and raspberry truffles. All you want, precious. And then we’ll walk on the beach and look for seaglass, and mermaids, and...” Her voice broke, and she hiccoughed.
The dying man nodded. His grip on Hermione’s hands tightened. “Will it hurt, Hermione?”
She stifled a sob, and Severus felt his stomach churn. He glanced at Weasley, who was facing the far wall, holding onto himself as if it hurt to breathe. Severus inched closer to the tableau on the floor.
Hermione nodded at Severus’ twin. “It might, dear heart. I’m sorry. But I promise you I’ll be here. You won’t be alone.”
Almost comfortingly, the clone, reached up and touched her face. “Please don’t cry. This is why I was created. You needed me.” The clone looked past Hermione to Severus, and their eyes met.
Hermione wept openly now, and the clone tried to comfort her, even as he started to die. His voice grew slow and slurred. “Don’t cry anymore. It doesn’t. Hurt, I mean. Why don’t you leave with the professor now, love?” Hermione shook her head, sobbing.
The duplicate murmured, “I don’t want you to watch me. I don’t want you to cry. I want you to be happy.”
“I’m sorry, but can’t help it. I’m going to miss you so much,” Hermione sobbed. “I won’t go until-” she sniffed, and tried to compose herself. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“You must, sweet Hermione.” At the sound of the nickname, Severus felt his own throat tighten.
He then smiled. It was the smile of a frightened man trying to be brave, and wanting to be remembered for his bravery, and not his fear. Severus gasped. Both Granger and Weasley ignored him. Hermione bent over the dying man and kissed his forehead, his ridiculous nose, and finally, gently and slowly, his lips. “I will never forget you, dear heart. I will always love you.”
The man on the floor did not answer. He was gone.
Realisation hit the girl, and her hands flew to her mouth, as if to hold in her grief. She rocked back and forth for a moment, and a soft, mournful sound of grief keened in the air. It was the saddest thing Severus had ever heard.
Finally she pulled herself ungracefully to her feet. Weasley moved to comfort her, and she allowed him, but pulled away from him after the briefest of moments and walked out of the room, wiping her eyes. She never looked back, and Severus thought to himself, It takes either a very strong, or a very cold woman to walk away from someone she loves and not look back.
Severus didn’t think of Hermione Granger as being cold.
He turned back to the figure on the floor. His blood was dark, almost black, against his skin, and he could see the pus-yellow venom staining the collar along with the blood. In death, he was pale and still. Severus felt irrationally glad that the clone looked at peace.
“Come on, Professor,” Weasley said, sniffing, his hands gently grasping Severus’ arm. “Let’s go. We’ve got to get ready to go back.”
Severus barely heard him. He was too fascinated with the still form on the floor. All he could think about was Hermione Granger’s gentle hands touching his likeness, kissing his dying lips, loving him, yet willing to sacrifice him for Severus Snape.
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no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 04:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 04:56 pm (UTC)Greedy little thing...
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Date: 2011-08-23 07:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 06:22 pm (UTC)It is obvious that Hermione and Ron both loved him (her?) very much. But how did it all come about? Why did they decide to come back and save Severus? How many times did they come back to make sure they had the details right? Who is taking his place and how was he made? What is the connection between Hermione and the clone? How will this affect her relationship with Severus down the road?
So many questions....
I love how Severus was describing what he saw in himself as a clone. How he noticed the subtle differences between the two of them, the way he spoke, and especially the difference in his eyes. Blew me away...
It was Severus Snape’s voice, only a more perfect version of it. Is it possible? A more perfect version of his voice? Surely there is no more perfect voice of Severus Snape!
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Date: 2011-08-19 10:27 pm (UTC)I know the arc of the story, but it's not all written yet.
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Date: 2011-08-20 03:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-19 09:10 pm (UTC)“Please don’t cry. This is why I was created. You needed me.” Clearly she had come to love this clone, and he seemed to contain the best of Severus' characteristics as Hermione saw him. This can all go terribly wrong, can't it?
I felt so sad for Clone!Severus when he came to Severus and told him, “I have been created for this purpose. You must allow me to fulfill it. "Please don’t injure yourself, or you will make me redundant." Severus himself was overcome with sadness, and even Ron was torn by what was about to happen.
Dayum, woman, you write great stories!
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Date: 2011-08-19 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-20 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-20 02:00 am (UTC)LOL Thank you, sweetie. I was hoping I'd get a few sniffles here - but I'm also enjoying everyone's reaction to the clone!Snape - he is a sweetie, isn't he?
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Date: 2011-08-20 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-20 02:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 02:48 am (UTC)'You're welcome, everyone.'
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Date: 2011-08-20 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-20 03:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-20 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 06:59 pm (UTC)In this case, created for death to save another. In many ways, we are all created to die after fulfilling some purpose.
I am thinking that the clone is similar to a child, or a pet. Who knows. But THAT was an excellent dying sequence, and thanks for not turning Ron into a jerk.
One thing I can really relate to here is the aspect of Snape watching himself.
Lovely lovely heart wrenching angst and drama. You go!
--wondering where Harry is...---
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Date: 2011-08-21 07:08 pm (UTC)You totally, completely irrevocably, GOT IT. Every bit of it. Everything I wanted to say, to feel, to imagine, to experience. You wrote down every single, solitary thing I wanted to convey in this chapter.
Your comment is almost a spiritual experience for me. For perhaps the first time in my writing career, someone has told me all the right answers to the questions I've raised. Thank you.
I'm not being sarcastic or flippant. This is a very intense moment for me as a writer, and I'm near tears about it. Thank you.
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Date: 2011-08-21 07:31 pm (UTC)I am huge freek on magics and sci-fi meets HP.
Secondly this fic makes your readers think, this is a good thing.
it's nice to actually be able to read something.