Disclaimer:- I neither earn anything from nor own the world of Harry Potter, I merely enjoy taking the characters out to play and having some fun, then carefully putting them back where they belong.

sSs

A/N:- Thank you to each and every one who has reviewed, made this story a favourite or is following it. I appreciate each of you. So, without further ado, on with the story…

hHh

Chapter Three – Can I Find You?

After Draco left Grimmauld Place that night, Hermione went home and simply sat, thinking about all the information she had learned since meeting with Minerva that afternoon. Draco hadn't been able to shed any further light on what Hermione already knew, however, he had told her that if there was a chance his godfather was alive he would do everything in his power to help.

He did put one of Hermione's fears to rest though. He was adamant that if Severus Snape was alive he would never have just abandoned them. "If he is alive, he'll be in limbo somewhere, unable to contact us," the blond Slytherin had said, "Considering the fact that we never did find a trace of him—and believe me, I tried—anything is possible."

They had all agreed in the end that since Hermione—and she wasn't about to explain exactly why—was the only one who seemed to have had any contact with Severus since his 'death' then she was the only one who may be able to solve the mystery.

Really the only feasible way to do that was for her to spend the night at Hogwarts and see if the dreams came again. To a certain extent she needed to do that anyway before she decided whether to take the professorship Minerva was offering. Hermione shivered, the desolation in those dreams was something she had never wanted to experience again, ever. Then she reflected that they were only desolate because of the thought that it could never happen, wasn't it possible that with new insight they might yield a different outcome.

Another factor was that twenty years had passed; surely her adult mind could cope now with the tauntings of her fantasies, and it was entirely possible that her adult mind could have an insight that her teenage mind had not. After all, she was now a fairly accomplished Legilimens, nowhere near as good as Severus had been, but perhaps this might work to her advantage.

Her thoughts led her to her favourite occupation - research. There was a book on dreams she knew of in her library, and it was no ordinary book on explaining the meaning of dreams. This was the witch's companion to dreams, a book she had read in her last year at Hogwarts but found she didn't understand very well. However, this time when she read it, it was most illuminating, especially when she reached the part on soul-bonds.

However, the information contained within this section, most certainly did not fill her with any warmth, because if it was true, she had been truly negligent. She read it forcing the logical side of her mind to remind her that not only didn't she know whether Severus was actually alive, and at the time, she most certainly hadn't believed it was possible that he was her soul-mate.

Thinking about this led her to a book on soul-bonds which made her even more eager to prove or disprove what the book on dream had said. It told her that the only circumstance where a partner from a destined couple called out to their mate in dreams was when they were separated with no escape, but life continued.

"Oh no," she muttered, reading further, she gasped again and abruptly started pacing, with the discarded page still open to the line that she had left it. It was all starting to drop into place, had it been his spirit that had been trying to guide her to where his body was?

All those dreams that last year of school, she went back to the book and read, "…Your mate is most likely to be appear to you in the place where you felt most connected." The book made the last piece fall into place. "Hogwarts," she gasped.

Then she abruptly sobered. If all this was true, she had let him down badly. He had saved her and she had forsaken him in return. Hermione realised that even if she did make contact with him, he would have been hanging around in limbo for twenty years. With his legendary temper that could only translate into one outcome—even if this was somehow true—she'd blown any chance she ever had with him, without even knowing she had a chance.

Hermione plopped back into her desk chair, feeling defeated. She felt a great pain settle over her, and scrubbing her hands over her face and all she just wanted to do was curl into a ball and give into it. How could I have lost any chance I had? As much as she wanted to subdivide this in her head, a jaw cracking yawn took control of her and she realised it must be terribly late. Glancing up at the clock, she grimaced, Strike that, she thought, it's terribly early, ugh. Resolutely pushing down her emotions, she took stock. "Okay, what do I need to do first?" Her mind scrambled for routine to overcome her greater urge to cry. "Call in sick? No, today's Saturday." She thumped the heel of her hand on her forehead. "Great now I'm talking to myself as well, get a grip, Granger."

xox

Hermione arrived in the Great Hall at breakfast time, being a Saturday morning, and so early, there were very few children present when she arrived and even less teachers. Minerva was there though, and welcomed her warmly. "Sit down, have some breakfast," she offered, and then looking at her closely, she asked, "Have you actually slept at all?"

Giving the headmistress a tight smile, Hermione laughed, "Of course, Minnie."

Minerva chuckled as she poured Hermione a cup of tea from her own pot. "You're cheeky, Hermione Granger, I know you haven't. You've been up all night researching, haven't you?"

Hermione had the grace to look sheepish. "Yes," she admitted, "apart from anything else, this whole mystery is intriguing." Pausing, she bit her lip and looked around as Professor's Vector and Flitwick came in for breakfast. After standing to greet both her former professors, Hermione sat back down with Minerva, and leaned forward to speak candidly. "My research has been most… enlightening, and I wish to ask a favour of you before I tell you whether I can take the position you've offered me."

Minerva was now also intrigued, but was determined her favourite student should eat before they left, and placing a plate she'd prepared in front of Hermione she nodded. "Eat up and then we'll go to my office."

Being too occupied before and too unsettled now, wondering what she might discover with a night's sleep, Hermione had forgotten to eat. As the plate arrived in front of her, her hunger made its presence known in no uncertain terms. She inhaled deeply as her nasal passages were filled by the wonderful aroma of good elf cooking, and her stomach informed her that she needed to eat.

xox

Feeling like she'd eaten altogether too fast, Hermione walked with Minerva, in silent thought as they approached the Gargoyles.

Once they were seated, Hermione quietly—without the hysterics that had come upon her at the Potters—explained exactly what had transpired from her capture to her last year at Hogwarts, and then how she had never been able to excise the wizard who had saved her from her heart.

Minerva sat listening, a grave expression on her face. When Hermione had finished, her mentor rose and walked over to her. Minerva pulled Hermione out of her chair with a strength her former student would never have thought her somewhat frail body would have, and drawing her into an embrace she said, "Oh child, why did you not tell me?"

A shocked Hermione stuttered, "I s-saw no point." She took a shuddering breath trying to suppress the emotion bubbling up to the surface. "As far as any of us knew, he was d-dead." her voice faltered, and clearing her throat she said, "I forced myself to get on with life." She swiped at a tear that had escaped her control and snorted ruefully. "Granted, I chose exactly the wrong person to do that with but…"

"Hermione, you only have to look at the two fine individuals that currently attend this school to see that your marriage did indeed produce something good."

"Yes I know, but if it's at all possible, I would like..." She inhaled deeply, "That's if I haven't buggered up any chance of… and of course if I'm right to start with."

"Well where would you like to start?"

"I guess the quarters I shared with Severus in the three months before the final battle would be the best place to start," Hermione said, wondering how Minerva would react to this request.

"Ah, yes… well there may be a problem there. The quarter's Severus used when he was here as Headmaster are these rooms, but they are not the same," Minerva explained.

Hermione's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"The Headmaster's quarters sealed themselves when they were under threat. Soon after Mr. Potter had left just before the battle, I presume."

"You mean like they did when that Umbridge woman took control?"

Minerva nodded, "Yes, except when I took the position and the office re-opened, well the living quarters were bare. It is possible that somewhere in this sentiment building all of Severus' belongings lay in storage, because nothing has ever been recovered." The elderly witch thought for a moment. "It's like the castle is protecting his belongings," she said with a frown on her face.

xox

Later, when Hermione walked out of the office, her mind was swimming with yet more information. She was on her way to check out the Potions professor's quarters and the classroom. There was a thought that kept whispering to her. Perhaps the castle is protecting him as well, but how?

Stopping in front of the familiar door to gather her resolve, she took a deep breath. "Don't be an idiot, Granger," she chided herself, and drew her wand. The door to the classroom was only protected with basic security wards, but as soon as she opened it, her senses were reeling.

There were some minor differences but the smells assailing her nose were the same as they'd always been. The accident had happened in the private lab, so everything here was as it had been from the time she'd been a student here, with only minimal change from successive teachers and the march of time.

Walking through to the office door, she opened it cautiously, and for some reason she had a pang of disappointment even as she breathed a sigh of relief that the office was empty. "All right, get it together, he's not going to mysteriously jump out from somewhere, just because you think he's alive," she muttered.

Mind you she did get a fright when she opened the door to the private quarters, and she saw something dark move in her peripheral vision. "Lumos," she commanded quickly, and saw that for some unknown reason there was a raven perched on the back of the desk chair. However, on closer inspection, where upon the raven also scrutinized her, she discovered that it was a bird she thought she knew. "Saffie?" she questioned, making the bird caw. "Oh my giddy Aunt," Hermione muttered and without looking away from its beady bird-eye she aimed her wand at the floo and called, "Minerva, could you come here as soon as you can, please?"

Minerva walked almost instantly through the floo. "What is it?" and her eyes followed where Hermione's were still fixed. "Oh dear Merlin, where did she come from?"

"It is her, isn't it?" Hermione questioned almost wildly.

"Well I've never known another familiar who perched like that on the back of their master's chair with quite that devious expression on her face," Minerva looked at Hermione, "Have you?"

Hermione was absently shaking her head. "She must be hungry," she said finally.

This shook Minerva out of her thoughts. "Oh yes, I guess she would be," she turned towards the fireplace and said, "Kitchens."

"This is being Tindle, Mrs Headmistress ma'am. How is Tindle being able to help you?"

"Tindle please bring food suitable for a raven, and water in a cup, to the Potions professor's quarters."

"Yes'm, right away Mrs Headmistress ma'am."

Minerva took a log from the wood box by the fire and Transfigured it into the most ornate perch and stand Hermione had ever seen, by then the elf had arrived with the food, Saffie cawed, as if in thanks, and wasted no time digging right in. "This really is becoming quite a mystery, isn't it?" Minerva said, looking at the bird, but talking to Hermione.

"It certainly is," Hermione agreed, absently stroking the sleek bird's midnight-black feathers as she ate. "How long since the explosion?"

"Wednesday, so this is the fourth day." Then she cackled, "Come to think of it, the workmen told me that something was stealing their lunches, perhaps we've just found the culprit."

Hermione laughed, "Well she certain is a good Slytherin familiar, she was a sneaky bird back when I was living…" she abruptly stopped talking and cleared her throat. Shaking herself Hermione said, "Minerva, I've been thinking this ever since I left your office," she sighed, "Do you think it's possible that the castle has somehow saved Severus, and is waiting for us to do the right things to find him?"

Minerva's eyebrows shot up, "Well, I suppose anything is possible."

xox

After pottering around for the rest of the day, it was finally early evening, and Hermione was exhausted after not having slept the night before. She'd spent the day wandering aimlessly, she was unable to settled and wondered if she would actually manage to sleep at all when she finally tried.

Minerva had optimistically assigned Hermione an elf and had left her—by Hermione's own request—to eat in the quarters. She didn't actually want her children to know too much yet, in case she decided she couldn't deal with the position, there was no way she could explain why.

The bird, Saffie also seemed to be just as unsettled, and this troubled Hermione. First off she couldn't understand where the bird had arrived from, after not being seen for twenty year. True, she was obviously good at hiding, but for twenty years? No, it was more likely that something had made her return from somewhere.

It was then she had decided that she should read the section in, 'Hogwarts A History', on the properties of magic imbibed into the actual castle building; in fact, she wondered why it hadn't occurred to her earlier.

Sitting in a comfortable armchair she pulled her favourite book from her bag and enlarged it. Even after all these years of reading it, every time she looked in this book she seemed to find something new, and tonight was no different. She started reading, but soon her eyes grew heavy and her head slumped forward.

Almost immediately her mind was filled with images and sound. There was an unmistakable voice muttering in her mind. "If I ever get out of here, I'll curse that old buzzard from his grave so I can kill him all over again… voluntarily this time."

The other person in the room she'd landed in had his back to her, but he was so instantly familiar to her that her knees wanted to buckle at the sight of him. He appeared to be staring into the distance out a long window, with his forearm raised and leaning on the window frame. Hermione noticed that the night sky she could see over his shoulder, matched what she imagined it would be tonight overhead.

Hermione moved closer, creeping silently, skirting the edge of the room. Not watching where she was going she stubbed her toe on a chair, and as pain shot through her, without thinking she yelped. This was despite her brain registering that she must be dreaming, and it could not have possibly hurt if this was the case.

Then knowing she would have been heard, her eyes came back up from glaring at the chair she'd tripped on, just in time to see a magnificent ripple of black robes flaring out as the owner span around on hearing the noise she'd made. Hermione stood there like a rabbit in headlights and watched him advancing on her, stalking like a panther.

"Who are you?" he demanded, instinctively moving to his wand.

But Hermione was entranced watching him coming closer to her. Finally she raised her hand as if to touch him, but thought better of it and she said airily, "Are you real?"

"What do you mean, real?" His eyes… his fathomless, velvet-black eyes were on her face. They held many things, but the most prominent of these was confusion. Without warning he raised his hand and gently touched her cheek. "You look like a girl I used to know…" his eyes panned up and down Hermione leaving a trail of shivers in the wake. "But you're a woman…" His expression changed to disappointment and he turned away muttering to himself, "Of course she can't be real… If only I'd seized that moment before that accursed snake…" and he shook his head.

Hermione was having trouble comprehending what he was saying, but suddenly it clicked, she was just starting to say, "I am that girl…" and she felt herself being dragged backwards with a thumping sound that dream Severus didn't seem to be able to hear.

As her dreamscape became misty, she saw him turning back around in response to her "Nooo, I've just found him. I have so many questions," but it was too late she was opening her eyes. She was sitting in the chair and someone was pounding on the door. "Damn," she cursed, and placing her still open book on her chair, as she hurried to the door.

Draco and Harry stood on her doorstep; the latter was just raising his fist to bang on the door again.

"Good going, Potter. I told you she'd be asleep, you know what she's like when she gets her teeth into a mystery."

Harry sighed, "Yeh, she runs until she collapses, sorry. 'Mione." He looked past Hermione's dishevelled head to the chair by the fire. "Look there it is, if she can't find the answer anywhere else…"

Harry was cut-off by Hermione clearing her throat. "I know it may be hard for you two to believe, but I am here listening to you. What do you want?"

"All right, there's no reason to be crabby, Granger," Draco smoothed. "We've just done you a huge favour."

"Oh this'll be good," Hermione snarked, her eyes narrowing. "And exactly what have you two done for me?"

"Hey, Severus had a crow just like that?" Draco said, pushing passed her and inviting himself in to see.

"Way to go, ferret boy. You and shiny objects," Hermione scoffed, turning around to watch him.

Draco turned back around and grinned. "Watch it, Granger or we won't tell you we've found a map that tells us where to find Dumbledore's portrait in the castle. When he reached the bird it snapped at him. He rolled his eyes, "You haven't changed in twenty years," he told the bird, who flapped her wings and threatened him again with her head down and her beak open.

"So you think it's Severus' bird, as well."

Draco laughed, "No other bird I know has ever had the same reaction to me. Where did you find it?" Saffie lowered her head and cawing irritatedly, waggle her head at him. "All right, her, her… see, you black feather-duster, I can be civil."

They all laughed when Saffie looked at him with her beady bird-eye like, 'yeh sure' then turning her back and showed him her displeasure in a rather noisy and sloppy fashion, even if the self-cleaning perch vanished it before it hit the floor, it didn't stop the noise or the laughing caw she emitted.

Hermione had been watching while leaning up against the doorframe. Her mind was still firmly with her recently interrupted dream… well whatever it was. She had to admit that her friends had lousy timing, but at least they had been trying to help her. "Somehow I don't think trolling the bowels of the castle will help," she said, pushing off the door. "I actually think that the castle is protecting Severus in some way, and when the explosion happened Saffie managed to get out." Harry and Draco looked at her puzzled. "Has Minerva ever told either of you that none of Severus' belongings have ever been recovered?"

"No," they said in unison, and Harry took up her train of thought. "If you think that then if he is here somewhere, it must be close by."

Hermione nodded, "In the dream I just had, there were windows and an archway like the ones in the Potions classroom."

They both pounced on her. "What dream?"

"The one that your thundering knocks just interrupted." Both men cringed like she was about to hit them.

"Well, quick, go back to sleep and ask him where he is?" Draco encouraged optimistically, pushing her back towards the arm chair.

Hermione smacked his hands away, "It's not that simple, you idiot," she snapped, and digging her heels in the ground, she crossed her arms savagely.

"Okay, we're just going to leave you to your own devices," Harry said, discretely pulling Draco towards the door. "Come over for lunch tomorrow and tell us what happens tonight," he encouraged.

"Yeh, Granger, and if you need the map we'll talk about it then," Draco added as he disappeared out the door.

"Oh, inviting yourself to lunch now are you?" Harry chuckled.

"You know you want me to come, I add a certain…" he never got to finish his sentence, because Harry pushed him up the hallway. "Hey Potty, don't push so hard, get off," and still squabbling light-heartedly, they were gone.

When the troublesome twosome were firmly behind the door, Hermione smiled at their antics, as she collapsed into the chair Draco had tried to push her, and started summing up the situation. "Okay, what do I know?" she muttered, distractedly. She collated all the facts as she knew them in her mind, and finally looked to Saffie. "Where did you come from?" The bird cawed as if in challenge for her to work it out. "Draco's right, you are a black feather-duster," Hermione then returned, irritatedly. She was certain the damnedable bird laughed at her, and the Gryffindor witch took to staring at the fire.

After two hours, she knew she would never get to sleep, so Hermione decided on an impromptu patrol of the corridors. That used to clear her mind when she couldn't settle before. So she wandered, re-visiting all her old haunts, and as she did so she thought. Of course as it often did, this led her to the Library, and of all things she wished to research, she was searching for books about nautical wizardry – if indeed there was such a thing.

Irma Pince furrowed her brow, but directed her to a section related to weather wizardry. Hermione selected several books and headed for the teacher's research area. After about an hour she found exactly what she was looking for, and after memorising the spell and the swish, flick, counter-clockwise half circle, swish movements of her wand, she reshelved the books and hurried back to her quarters.

oOo

A/N:- I know, I'm leaving you all hanging. Now tsk tsk, such language – but I've already started writing the next chapter. Please also remember that this is a mystery, and I might not have thrown in a red-herring yet, so be prepared. xoxox