Author’s Note: Many, many thanks to Rhiannon for her wonderful beta-reading on this! All stories AU after OotP and HBP. The song, broken into italicized passages, is “Collide” by Howie Day.

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Collide, Love Song I


The dawn is breaking
A light’s shining through
You’re barely waking
And I’m tangled up in you.


She woke uncomfortably, struggling to breathe. Groggily, she attempted to sit up, but found a great weight pinning her down.

“What—?” In the distance, voices called, and from all around came an unfamiliar stench. Suddenly the memories came flooding back to her.

Harry.

He had done it. They had done it. Voldemort was defeated at last. But, oh – people had fallen, students had fallen, and … and there was that terrible feeling in the back of her head. Something she had—

“Professor Snape!” She immediately knew what – no, who – was pinning her down. Praying she wasn’t too late, she tried to lift him off her, but was too weakened to do much. Frantically, she lifted her head and, dropping her wand, struggled to find skin under the piles of robes.

She was relieved to find a weak pulse beating against her fingers.


But I’m open, you’re closed
Where I’ll follow, you’ll go
I worry I won’t see your face
Light up again


She bit her lip worriedly. He wasn’t waking up, and his strength was slowly draining away. He had always been thin, but his current state bordered on fatal. He wasn’t responding to any of her calls. The periodic body scans she performed showed a huge loss of energy.

And she was scared for him.

He was the person who had snapped at her during every Potions class, demanding she please stop irritating him. He was the person who had overcome his own prejudices and fought alongside his former enemies, Remus, Harry, and Sirius, just for the good of the Wizarding World. He was the person who returned from Death Eater revels, stifling his groans of pain and horror while she gently healed him and took care of him.

He was the man who had swung himself in front of her at the very last minute, blocking her from Voldemort’s own curse.

He was the man who had covered her fallen, unconscious body with his own to shield her from approaching Death Eaters.

He was the man she had fallen in love with.


Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find you and I
Collide


He was late for class. Blasted Hufflepuffs had had a row and were all paying for it with detentions, but he still seethed at the thought of it. Five students had been splashed with the painful concoction and lay moaning in the Hospital Wing. Had an extra ingredient been added, they could have been killed.

His own arm had been splashed with the stuff, but he had found a small amount of pain relieving potion in his quarters. He scowled. He’d had a bad enough night as it was, unable to sleep because…

He refused to think about it. Thinking would only cause further trouble for him, and he was in enough trouble just for thinking about it. No need to accidentally act upon—

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as someone barreled into him, sending him to the ground and falling on top of him.

“What in the bloody—“ He stopped short as he looked up. His breath caught. Her.


I’m quiet, you know
You make a first impression
I’ve found I’m scared to know I’m
Always on your mind


His breath was ragged as he dragged himself through the corridor. He stopped and, catching his breath, swiftly looked around for any students wandering the halls at night. His head ached and he could smell the blood lingering on his robes. He forced himself not to vomit. His eyes were losing focus, his knees giving way, and if he didn’t know better, he could swear that that student running towards him was—

“Miss Granger.”

She knelt down next to him and laid her hands on his shoulders. “Gods. What did they do to you?”

He shrugged her hands off, stifling the sudden pain that arose. He hung his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “Go—go back to bed, Miss Granger. You shouldn’t be wandering around after curfew.”

She ignored him, looking up and down the corridor for any students.

He looked up at her through muddled eyes and thought she was the most bea—

“Professor, are you able to walk? Madam Pomfrey needs to heal your injur—”

He released a breath of dissent, and she stopped. “I will not have her look at my … scratches. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” He rose and staggered, leaning against the wall for support.

She bit her lip. “Don’t be stubborn. At least let me look at them, then.”

He sighed. He knew, as she did, that he would relent. Why he always did, neither knew.

“Very well, Miss Granger. Follow me.” He tried unsuccessfully not to limp as he led her to his quarters and shut the door behind her.


Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
And somehow find you and I
Collide


She placed her cool hand on his burning forehead. He stirred. Her eyes widened and she waited, but he didn’t wake.

“No luck?”

She turned to see Harry and Ron at the doorway. She shook her head.

Harry sighed. “We’re sorry, Hermione. We’ve looked everywhere—”

“We even tried the library,” Ron added.

Harry nodded. “But we still can’t figure out who cursed him or what he was cursed with.”

She smiled tightly and nodded. “Thanks, though. You guys have been a lot of help already.” She turned and looked for any signs of change in Severus.

Ron shifted uncomfortably. “Hermione?”

“Hm?”

He took a deep breath. “There’s one thing we found in a book…”

She turned around and looked at him. “What?”

Ron nudged Harry to continue for him. After throwing him a dark look, Harry sighed. “Have you—have you kissed him yet?”

She stared at him.

He winced. “Well…we found it in a book…I can’t remember the name of the curse, but it said something like…only True Love’s first kiss would break the spell.”

She laughed in shock. “You expect me to believe that? Honestly, Harry, you should know about fairy tales!”

He shrugged helplessly. “I asked Ron, and he said he’d never heard of it. It’s apparently not well known in the Wizarding World. And we all know Snape would never—I mean, would…” He broke off, suddenly sweating nervously. “You know, people would never think he’d get…get kissed.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“But,” Harry went on anxiously, “we know that isn’t true. But we can bet anything that whoever cast the curse didn’t know.”

She bit her lower lip thoughtfully. “And you’re sure he’s cursed with that?”

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. “Well,” Ron began, “we decided that it wouldn’t really do any harm to try.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

They nodded solemnly and left, leaving her alone with her charge.

“Well, Severus,” she said, turning to him with eyes finally full of hope, “maybe we can save you after all.”


Don’t stop here
I’ve lost my place
I’m close behind


She lovingly held his pale, ghastly thin face in her hands. Tears ran down her cheeks for the first time since the battle.

“Please come back. Please come back to me,” she whispered, and, for the first time, laid her lips upon his.

After a few moments, she pulled away. From far off, she could hear people running down the hall.

She looked desperately at his face for any sign.

The door burst open. Three mediwitches stood at the door, staring past her with shocked expressions.

“What are you people doing—” She stopped and spun around as she felt a hand grab hers.

“Severus!” She wrapped her arms around him and cried, as he held her with a similar joy rushing through his veins.

The confounded mediwitches stayed at the doorway, gaping at what they had thought was a hopeless case.


Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find you and I
Collide