Kiss me and I'm yours - A Severus Snape story

Chapter 36: You did what?

The first thing Severus asked me of course was to how I got hurt. I told him it was an accident but he wouldn't believe me. "Minerva told me she wasn't allowed to tell me where you went. Where were you?", he asked me with his serious voice. "It is none of your business. Dumbledore's orders", I replied. That was a stupid answer. I didn't mean to sound rude, but I guess I did sound rude, at least a bit. I knew he would figure it out. Maybe not in this moment, but when he would change clothes, and he has to changer sooner or later, he will see that the mark is no longer on his left forearm. "So. To be clear, you just show up here and I saved you and now I don't even get to know what happened?", he inclined. "Well yes. You're not my boyfriend anymore, remember?", I snipped back, and I knew I hurt him with that sentence. He took a deep breath. "No, but... If you helped the Order in some way, I need to know. We both know I must return to him eventually. I need to know what happened", he pressed the matter further. When he mentioned the Order, my face flinched lightly. I mean, I had no task from the Order. I took this task upon myself, so that I could pressure Dumbledore into helping me save Severus's life.

"What! What is it?", he continued to ask. It didn't matter when he found out. The sooner, the better I thought. I'd rather have him find out now, while I am still here in the room. I sighed in defeat. "Okay. You win. But first, I want you to know that I did what I did because I saw no other way. You might describe me as selfish now, but I just...", I took a deep breath. "All I wanted was to protect you. I don't expect you to understand. You can hate me all you want but it can never undo the choice I made". I took a deep breath again.

"Roll up your sleeve", was all I said. That was all I could manage to say. Confused he rolled up his left sleeve. My face looked down at my feet, not being able to handle it.

Severus eyes widened in shock. He rolled up his sleeve just as she had asked him to do and there was... nothing. The Mark... it was gone. It's like it was never there. "How... how is this possible", he breathed out. I nervously bit my lip. I slowly looked and rolled up my own sleeve. There it was. Pitch black and clear for him to see. The Dark Mark. His mouth fell open and for a second, I thought he would lose consciousness. "How... How is this possible", he raised his voice a bit. "I... I can explain", I stuttered. "Oh, and I am dying to hear it", he answered. "When I found you laying there lifeless in the ministry, I brought you back to the castle. I took you to Madame Pomfrey and she examined you. She told me that you likely had a brain injury and that she didn't know when you would wake up or if you'd ever wake up. You... you were crashing several times. Poppy always managed to bring you back. It took me too long to realize what was happening to you but when I did realize it... I... I... I had to protect you. So, during my free time after our breakup I experimented with a spell. I had never practiced it before but when you were crashing it was my chance to save you, not only from dying but from you having to return to him. I took the mark upon myself". I said everything fast and for a second, I feared that he didn't understand everything I've said.

"YOU DID WHAT? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?! I can't believe you did this", his face was buried in his hands. "No, no, no, no, no, no. NO", he screamed. He looked up and looked me directly in the eyes. "Why on earth would you do that", he wanted to cry, I could tell but he was trying hard to keep it together. "What choice did I have. It was either to save you or letting you die", I fought back. "Then you should have let me die", he responded. "Oh hell no. You cannot make me feel bad about my decision. I regret nothing. Do you know what I've been through? Do you know what happened at the Manor? No, you don't have the slightest idea. Do you think I wanted this? No, I didn't", I argued back. "Then why in Merlin's name did you", he yelled at me.

"Because I couldn't let the love of my life die", I blurted out.

He looked at me. He needed a second to process this information. He couldn't believe what he heard her say. "I... you what?", he was more confused than ever. "There was no chance in hell I would have just continued sitting there watching you die. I had to become one of the sooner or later and you know it. At least this way I was able to save you and keep you away from him, at least for a while. Do you know how heartbreaking it was to see you crash? No one knew if you were gonna make it. I sat by your bedside every day from then on. I held your hand. I talked to you, tried to soothe you. I... I even put the ring on", and I held up my left hand, showing him the ring. He saw it was the exact same one he had, and he instantly knew what the ring did. At first, he just thought it was a gift with nothing specific to it, but now, seeing the exact same ring on her finger, he knew exactly what kind of rings they were wearing. "I tried everything. Taking the mark was my only chance to save you. Besides, who would protect Potter, if not you? Aren't you doing this all for her, so that her son can live at peace at some point in life?", I questioned him. "No. Yes, I started to do it because of her, but when I fell in love with you, I knew I had to let her go and I did. Yes, I am still keeping my promise, but all I want is for you to be safe and happy", he exclaimed.