"Would any potions work?" Severus asked again.
"No. There isn't any potion for true love, Sev. There is a way... it's an ancient magic, long forgotten by our world because we thought we were so efficient we didn't need it, but it exists in Meredith's world in their fairytales but she has to believe in its existence."
"True love's kiss..." Severus said and Lionel nodded. "I made fun of her, you know, when she said she firmly believed in it. I remarked she was old enough not to believe in fairytales. I thought she was foolish and that I was the clever one."
"Muggle fairytales writers left one important thing, true love's promise. The kiss functions to seal that promise. The kiss doesn't work on its own; it has no power without the promise of true love. Only you can bring her back, Severus or she'll be asleep until her time comes for her to die naturally," Lionel explained further.
Severus looked at his wife again, she looked peaceful. He wanted to be together with her again, he wanted to wake up looking at that face again. He took her finger, around which her wedding band stayed, and kissed it as he remembered the vow he made to her before he placed that ring on her finger. Entwined with his fingers, he rested their hands on top of her heart. He then whispered in her ear, as the image of him making his wedding vow to her flashed in his head, "I, Severus Snape, promise you, Meredith, to love and honour you with all my heart, all the days of my life, always."
And he placed a firm, passionate long kiss on her lips, like he did during their holy matrimony. He felt her kissing him back as the skin of his hand on her chest felt the strong vibration of her previously faint heartbeat. He broke away from the kiss and stared at the face of the woman whose eyes were now open, albeit weakly, but happiness shone from it, evident from the tears flowing from them.
"Am I in heaven?" she asked.
"You were but God sent you back because you pissed Him off with your scones obsession," he said and they both laughed, glad to have each other back.
"Lionel..." she called as she looked at the man who haunted her nightmares, who almost drowned her today, but it was not a look of anger, it was a look of relief. Reaching out her hand to touch his bended knee, she said in her weak voice, "Thank you."
"I'm sorry. I am truly sorry," he said with a voice full of remorse and guilt.
"I've forgiven you, Lionel, please don't feel bad. Just forget everything and start anew," she patted his knee. "Can we get out of here? Go home? I'm craving for some scones with lots of strawberry jam and more cream," she asked her husband who smiled in returned and planted a long kiss on her head.
He helped her to get up. Lionel got up too. Severus looked at the man with a feeling of renewed love for a friend.
"Lionel, meet Meredith, my wife," he said, as if introducing them for the first time. Lionel looked at him with confusion but Meredith knew what he was doing; he wanted to start anew.