Forever Yours

Chapter 28: Forgiveness Begins the Healing

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or places that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OCs (Katherine, Septimus, Serenity, Helena, Christoph, Elisa, Henry, Nick and any name you don't recognize, and isn't from the HP universe) are entirely my own.

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Pain.

So much pain, that his body still felt like it was on fire. His muscles spasm under their own accord. Fingers clenched and unclenched; teeth ground against each other. His stomach rolled as nausea washed over him. He could feel the vile rising in his throat, and swallowed hard to force it back down. His chest throbbed; his heart thumping wildly within. His limbs felt heavy, and his head pounded.

Then, all of a sudden, it stopped.

Severus could feel his heart resume a steady beat; his breathing calmed and his muscles relaxed. He could feel a cool breeze wash over him. He could smell grass and fresh lake water. He frowned, for Severus knew that they were nowhere near a lake. And he couldn't smell the sunflowers either.

Cracking open his eyes, he found himself staring at a bright blue sky. But that shouldn't be, he thought. He remembered slumping forward, and Katherine's arms wrapping around his person.

"Katherine," Severus gasped, bolting upright into a sitting position. He looked around frantically; his eyes scanning the surround area quickly to find her. But she wasn't there.

No one was there.

No Christoph.

No Elisa.

No Serenity.

No Wakanda.

And no Katherine...

No Katherine at all.

Then Severus saw something that made his heart stop all together. A castle...a large castle with towers and turrets; sitting in a valley, with sloping lawns in front of it. Mountains surrounded the valley; a large lake sat to the south, and an eerie, dark forest extended around the west side of the fortress...Hogwarts.

"No," Severus whispered, as though the wind had been knocked out of him. His stomach rolled again; he knew it was too good to be true. Fate had been cruel to him once again; giving him a bit of happiness for almost a year, only to have it ripped away from him. Had it even been a year, he thought. Maybe only a couple of days...hours...or worse, minutes.

"No," Severus said a bit more loudly, as he ran his hands through his hair and gripped the strands tightly between his fingers. His breath was becoming ragged again, and his eyes scanned the area rapidly. "NO!"

His yell echoed through the valley. Severus quickly got to his feet, and reached for his wand, only to find it not on his person. Something wasn't right; he never went anywhere without his wand. He spun on his heels swiftly and noticed something else. There weren't any students or staff members walking about the grounds. Hagrid's hut was dark and the chimney smokeless; the Black Lake eerily still. Even the breeze had stopped.

There wasn't a sound to be heard, except for the beating of his, own heart. Severus closed his eyes as he felt the tears weld up in his obsidian orbs. The mere thought of never seeing his wife or children again, made his throat swell up and a straggled sob to leave his person.

Suddenly, the wind picked up again, blowing a cool breeze across his pale face. A faint pop sounded behind him, causing Severus to spin on his heels towards the noise. Shock was replaced with anger, as he stared at the sight before him.