Chapter four

He had taken to bringing the girl with him as he went into the woods to find food. Being a Potions Master, he had no great trouble separating edible mushrooms and berries from poisonous ones. Luna, surprisingly, seemed to have a real knack for it too. As it turned out, she was a rather good cook as well, as long as she did not try to edit existing recipes to fit her bizarre personal preferences.

Ollivander, meanwhile, did not leave his bed often. He had been so severely weakened by his imprisonment at Malfoy Manor, that even to stand up was already a difficult feat for him. Under Luna's kind care, he was growing a bit stronger, but only the most immediate of his health problems were taken care of. Snape felt deep within it was a lost cause. However, neither he nor Luna were willing to give up on Ollivander – he deserved to live as much as they did.

And so Ollivander rested while the girl and he went out to find food. Luna was surprisingly good company, as long as one ignored the oddness of several of her remarks. Snape was actually finding that he quite enjoyed discussing imaginary creatures with her, and he liked listening to her talking about them with such utter conviction that they existed.

He had knelt down in a clearing where several mushrooms grew, while Luna had drifted off to take a closer look at the berries on a nearby bush. Whenever he found something that he deemed more or less edible, he threw it into the basket they'd brought with them. Truth be told, all three of them were getting fed up with the diet of nothing but berries and mushrooms, and the occasional rabbit. However, going into a village to buy food – even a Muggle village – was much too dangerous. And he did value his life and sanity enough to want to stay out of the Dark Lord's hands.

The wizarding world was on the brink of the abyss, and he was out in the woods gathering mushrooms. The mere thought pained him. To be out here, live in this pretence of peace, while he was growing ever stronger – wasn't that cowardly? Wasn't it hypocritical? And all the while, Potter and his sidekicks were somewhere out there, risking their lives for the cause, and he hadn't even succeeded in the one task that he'd been left – to give them the sword and tell Potter that he needed to die.

Giving Potter the sword would be easy. True, it needed to be obtained through a courageous act and all that, but seeing as Potter liked risking his life, that would not be too much of a problem. However, Snape was not looking forward to telling the boy that he needed to die. Hell, Potter would probably blast him to pieces before he'd even opened his mouth – now there was a problem.

He hadn't noticed that Luna had returned to his spot in the clearing, but all of a sudden he felt someone kneel next to him.

'What's troubling you?'

He did not answer immediately. The girl could not solve his biggest problem – the fact that he was useless while there were people dying out there. And either way, that had been his own choice. However … she might be able to help him deliver the sword to the Brilliant Threesome. If there was any way of finding out where they were …

'I need to talk to Potter.'

There was some movement next to him: Luna had sat down in a more comfortable position. 'Why?'

'Firstly, there is an object in my possession that needs to be passed on to him. Secondly, there is something he needs to know if he wants to have any hope of defeating the Dark Lord.'

Luna tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing a somewhat tarnished radish earring. 'Well, there is a way …'

His gaze snapped toward her. 'Do you know where he is?'

'No,' admitted the girl honestly. 'But I have this.'

She fished a golden Galleon out of her pocket, smiling. Snape stared at it in a somewhat estranged fashion.

'And what is that supposed to do?'

'Why, relay messages, of course,' she said, as though communicating through coins was the most regular thing in the world. 'I'm not sure whether Harry still has his on him, but Hermione will have hers, for sure. It was her idea, after all.´

Something clicked inside Snape's head. 'This is how the DA communicated?'

Luna nodded. 'See those numbers? They usually refer to the goblin that made the coin. In the DA's case, they are a date. When Harry changed the numbers on his coin, they automatically changed on the others' coins, too.'

'But sending a date will hardly be useful.'

'It should be possible to send words, rather than numbers,' mused the girl. 'We did not truly use them to speak to one another, if you will, because that would have been much too conspicuous.'

'How do you know Granger's coin will respond to yours? I thought they were all synched to Potter's?'

'True, but the fact remains that they are linked together. I could use a different spell to make sure Hermione gets my message.'

Snape looked at her, mildly surprised. 'You seem to know a lot of obscure spells.'

'Well, I do invent many of them myself, just like my mother used to do. I'm only hoping that mine won't backfire.'

Snape observed the girl – the pale face, the blue eyes, the butterbeer cork necklace. He had known that her mother had died, of course – it was more or less common knowledge in the wizarding world. However, he was not certain he had ever been aware of the precise circumstances under which she had died. At last he said: 'Can you try to contact Granger?'

Luna nodded. 'Yes. I will have to look up the proper spell in my notes, first, though.' Her forehead creased. 'And Mr Ollivander still needs to be fed.'

'I will help him eat,' offered Snape, eager to make contact with Potter as soon as possible.

Luna looked at him interestedly for a few seconds, then said 'Good', got up, gathered the basket in which they had put their berries and mushrooms, and wandered off into the direction of the tent. Snape followed her example and also stood. The girl was still within sight, and Snape took care to not let her out of his vision, though he remained at a distance. It was more pleasant to watch her walk than to walk next to her. She had a spring in her step that made both her hair and the basket bounce in a very intriguing way.

Once inside the tent, she pointed into the direction of the pan that contained that night's dinner, then began rummaging through her possessions. Snape scooped some of the mix (he did not know precisely what it contained, other than mushrooms) onto a plate, and made his way toward Ollivander. The wandmaker looked somewhat surprised to see him, but did not comment on his presence.

Feeling decidedly awkard, Snape scooped up a spoonful of the food, and presented it to Ollivander, who did not hesitate in taking it. The poor man's hands were now shaking so badly that he could not hold anything for fear of dropping it. Snape knew Luna had been doing some research in hopes of keeping the shaking to a minimum, but so far, she hadn't been successful.

Snape silently fed all of the food to Ollivander, glad that the other wasn't attempting to make conversation. When Ollivander had finished his food, Snape was about to get up, relieved at the relative ease with which the process had passed. However, at that precise moment, Ollivander began to speak.

'You have changed,' he said, piercing Snape with those damned blue eyes. Snape did not reply: the comment could be taken both ways. Ollivander, apparently realising this, said 'I am beginning to see a different side of you.'

'Ah,' said Snape, unwilling to make more of a comment.

Ollivander looked at him sternly. 'However, I am still not fully convinced of your loyalties, young man. I know that Luna trusts you, but I can only say that I wish she was more careful with her judgment.'

Snape got up from the chair. He did not want to have this conversation – especially not now that Ollivander was actually berating Luna, albeit indirectly. The girl had been a blessed relief, a change from all the hate that constantly surrounded him, and he wasn't about to hear anything bad about her.

Luckily, Ollivander did not pursue the topic further. Just as Snape put the plate away in the kitchen, Luna returned from outside.

'I did it,' she said, smiling. 'I sent Hermione the message.'

'Good,' said Snape. 'Where are they?'

Luna shrugged. 'I don't know. She hasn't answered yet.'

Snape sighed, and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. 'Are you quite certain she still has that Galleon on her?'

Luna nodded fervently. 'Oh, yes. I'm not sure why, but she's always kept it. Maybe she likes the memories that are connected to it. That's why I kept it, you know. Being in the DA felt like having friends.'

Snape had to quell the urge to look away at the painfully honest statement. Still, he could not help but value it – honesty was something that one rarely came by, and Snape had reason enough to deem it important.

Luna's bulging eyes widened, and moments later she had removed the Galleon from her pocket.

'What is it?' he asked.

'Hermione has sent a reply,' Luna said simply.

'And? What does it say?'

'It says that she doesn't know if she can trust me, and that I will have to prove that I am who I claim to be.'

Snape let out his breath through his nose. 'Of course.'

Luna looked up at the pessimism in his voice. 'Don't look so depressed,' she berated him. 'I can convince her.'

He watched as she took her wand from the back pocket of her jeans, waved it around in several complicated movements, and said 'Incidere'. For a moment, words glowed bright red on the coin – then they faded again. Luna slid the coin back into her pocket.

'And now what?' he snapped.

'Now we wait.'

Luna sat down on one of the shabby chairs around the kitchen table. After a few moments of hesitating, Snape followed her example.

'What did you tell Granger to convince her?'

'I told her that when she first introduced me to her friends, she referred to me as 'Loony' Lovegood,' said Luna calmly. 'Not in as much words, though. I don't fancy that would've fit onto the coin.'

Snape raised an eyebrow. 'She called you Loony?'

Luna nodded. 'I don't blame her. Most people call me that.'

'I –'

Luna, however, had started, and the next moment she had taken the Galleon from her pocket and was studying it.

'They're in the Forest of Dean,' she relayed. 'Hermione tells us to come quickly, because she's in trouble.' They both got up within an instant. Luna hurried over to Ollivander's bedside. 'Mr Ollivander, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to move for a bit.'

As soon as Luna had escorted the wandmaker outside, Snape waved his wand, and the tent folded itself up neatly. After shrinking it and putting it into his pocket, he took a firm hold of both the girl and the old man, and Apparated all three of them into the forest of Dean.

As soon as they arrived, he let go of the other two. Ollivander, on his right, vomited violently, and Luna hurried over to take care of him. Snape looked around. He recalled dimly that the forest of Dean was rather large, and he wondered how Granger ever intended to find them. Before that could become a problem, however, some of the bushes on their left rustled, and the girl appeared, looking very haggard. Her wand was pointed in front of her, and, at the sight of Snape, she raised it somewhat higher.

'Oh, hello, Hermione,' said Luna on his right.

Granger's eyes flicked toward Luna. 'What is he doing here?' It was clear that she meant him.

'He saved my life,' replied Luna, her eyes never leaving Granger's face. 'And that of Mr Ollivander here, too.'

Granger had begun to circle them, her features taking on a paranoid look. Snape noticed she looked exhausted, and, on top of that, her clothes were dirty and ripped in places. She looked as though she hadn't slept for days. 'Really?' asked Granger, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Her wand was still pointed firmly at Snape. 'Because I think this is merely a trap. He is holding you hostage, isn't he? Isn't he?'

'No, Hermione, he is not,' said Luna, taking a few steps in Granger's direction. 'Listen, I know you don't trust him, but you have to believe me when I say he's on our side. I don't know if you've heard about it, but just before Christmas, I was kidnapped by the Malfoys. Volde –'

'The Dark Lord!' snapped Snape.

'The Dark Lord then ordered my execution. And if it hadn't been for Severus, I would have been dead by now.'

'He killed Dumbledore!' shrieked Granger, flailing her wand about dangerously.

'I do not deny that, Miss Granger,' said Snape, cautiously stepping forward. 'However, the only reason I did so was because Professor Dumbledore explicitly asked me to. He was already dying, and he merely preferred to be killed at my hand than at Draco's. He wanted to spare the boy's soul.' Snape could not keep some bitterness from seeping into his voice.

'Prove it,' ordered Granger.

Snape sighed. Then he removed the Pensieve he'd taken from Dumbledore's office from one of his pockets. After returning the Pensieve to its original size, he put it down on a flat rock in the clearing. He then put his wand to his temple and extracted the precise memory he wanted Granger to see.

'Go ahead,' he said.

Granger observed him warily. 'How can I be certain this is not some trap? You might attack me the moment I dive in.'

'Well, tie us up if you need to,' snapped Snape. 'But do make it quick.'

'Fine. Drop your wands!'

Snape and Luna dropped their wands. Granger Summoned them, before waving her wand. Ropes appeared around all three of them.

'Careful!' warned Luna. 'Leave Mr Ollivander some air.'

Granger took a look at the wandmaker, then, seemingly deciding that he was no great threat, loosened the ropes around him somewhat. After casting one more wary look at all of them all, she dived into the Pensieve.

'That went rather well,' said Luna.

'Oh, really?' he snarled. 'Because getting tied up was not part of my plan.'

'It wasn't?' asked the girl, looking faintly surprised. 'Then why did you tell Hermione to tie us up?'

Snape turned his head into a slightly more comfortable position and refrained from answering. They remained silent for several minutes, and all that could be heard was Ollivander's heavy breathing. Then there was a disturbance, and Granger returned from the Pensieve. She immediately used her wand to untie them all, and gave Luna and Snape their wands back.

'I'm sorry,' said Granger, looking on the verge on tears. 'I didn't know.' She turned her face toward Snape, looking apologetic. 'Sorry.'

'It's okay,' said Luna. 'Now what was that trouble you told us about?'

He had not deemed it possible that Granger could look any more miserable than she already did, but it happened in that instant. Her whole body seemed to slump.

'It's Harry,' she said, sounding miserable. 'You see, Dumbledore left us this task' (Snape frowned. It had already been harsh enough for Dumbledore to leave adult people tasks, how could he possibly even have considered concerning mere students with his problems?) 'and we went to Godric's Hollow, because we thought going there would help us. However, he showed up too – You-Know-Who, that is – and he brought his snake with him. We managed to escape, but Harry … Harry got bitten.'

'He got bitten by Nagini?' interrupted Snape.

Granger nodded meekly. 'Yes. He is very ill. I … I'm afraid he's going to die.' A tear leaked from her eye.

Luna met his eyes, the unspoken question in them clear. Snape turned to look at Granger. 'Take me to him.'

'Can you … can you save him?' The hope in her voice was almost palpable.

'I don't know,' said Snape, honestly. 'But I will try.'

'Quickly,' said Luna, helping Ollivander up. 'We'd better not waste anymore time.'

Granger nodded and led the way. Snape increased his pace, so that he was walking next to her.

'How long ago was he bitten?'

'Two days.'

Snape frowned. Two days was much too long a time. By all rights, Potter should be dead already. However, the boy had long since shown that he was anything but ordinary. In this case, it appeared to be to his advantage. Nagini's poison usually worked quickly, and it was difficult to counter the venom – but not impossible. Arthur Weasley's bite had taught the wizarding world a lot about this particular kind of venom, and Snape was almost certain he knew how to brew an antidote. There were only two problems: he needed to find the right ingredients, and Potter needed to stay alive long enough to receive the antidote.

They had reached a second clearing. Snape, not seeing anything of interest, was about to continue, but Granger held out her arm to stop him. She waved her wand in complicated motions, obviously undoing earlier spells. Moments later, a tent flickered into being. As soon as the whole group had stepped into the circle surrounding the tent, Granger began to do the spells up again. Snape did not wait to watch her, instead opting to go inside the tent and have a look at Potter.

It was not hard to spot the boy. He was in one of the beds, trashing about wildly. When Snape neared him, he noticed that Potter was sweating all over. He felt the boy's forehead, not surprised to find that he had developed a fever. He pulled away the blankets that still partly covered the boy. By this time, the others had entered the tent.

'Where is the wound?'

Granger hurried over and raised Potter's shirt, under which dressings were visible. The blood had leaked through them. Snape removed the dressings and observed the still bleeding wound. The flesh was raw, and, what was worse, the skin around it was beginning to colour green. The infection was rapidly spreading – Potter could not hope to survive another day.

'Did he immediately lose consciousness after being bitten?' Snape asked, waving his wand to make more dressings appear.

'No,' said Granger, taking the dressings and beginning to cover the wound. 'He was still awake for a few hours. He said he was in excruciating pain …' her voice broke here. 'He lost consciousness after about four hours. I tried everything, but I just couldn't find anything on snake venom in my books …'

'I doubt you would have found the antidote even if you had been in the possession of the correct books,' said Snape. 'Nagini's venom is very special and hard to counter. However, I have developed a potion that should be able to reverse the effects.'

Granger's head snapped up. 'Do you have it with you?'

'No, I will need to brew it. I trust you have a cauldron and equipment?'

Granger nodded, and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. 'It's all over there.'

'And Potions ingredients?'

'Only the basic ones.'

Snape sighed. 'Listen to me carefully. You will need to go into the woods and look for ingredients. I do have some of the ingredients that I need with me, and your basic ones will cover for most of the rest, but there are some things that I cannot do without. We are lucky you chose this forest – all of the ingredients should be around here somewhere. I will compose a list of what we need. Miss Granger, you and Luna should leave immediately. I will start on the potion in the meantime.'

Both Luna and Granger nodded, the latter a bit shakily. Snape took a scrap of paper from his pocket, and after Granger provided him with a pen, he composed a list of the ingredients needed.

'I trust you know what these look like?' he asked, handing the list to Granger.

She quickly scanned it. 'Yes.'

'Then leave at once, and find those ingredients as quickly as you can.'

Granger and Luna collected their coats and then left the tent. Ollivander, meanwhile, had sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. Snape also entered the kitchen, and began to open drawers and cabinets. He found the cauldron, equipment and ingredients Granger had told him about. He created a fire on the stone floor, and placed the ingredients and equipment on the kitchen table.

For the first time, he noticed the absence of the Weasley boy.


Luna hurried after Hermione as she dashed through the woods.

'Right,' said Hermione, sounded rather distracted. 'We'll need to find Asphodel root, valerian, fluxweed, daisy roots, hellebore and Aconite. Most of which are poisonous. Why does he need so many poisonous ingredients?' Hermione sounded panicked.

Luna put a hand on the other girl's arm. 'I'm sure Severus knows what he's doing,' she assured Hermione. 'But I thought fluxweed needed to be taken at full moon?'

'Only if you want to use it in Polyjuice Potion.'

'I see. Look, there are some daisies over there!'

Hermione's head snapped in the direction of the daisies, and they hurried toward the plants. They knelt down in the grass and began to pluck the best-looking of the flowers. They then put the flowers into one of the boxes Hermione had taken with her, and continued on through the forest.

'So, where did Ron go?' Luna asked, attempting to make conversation.

It was clear that she'd pulled the wrong string. More tears appeared in Hermione's red-rimmed eyes. 'Oh, he left a while ago,' she said, attempting to sound airy. 'Said he didn't want any more to do with Harry and me. Well, we don't need him anyway. Stupid idiot.'

Luna did not say anything in return. As they scanned the floor for more ingredients, Hermione's tears fell onto the forest ground.

'Are you all right?'

Hermione shook her head. 'I don't know what I'll do without him,' she whispered. 'I don't know how I'll go on if Harry dies.'

Luna put her arm around the other girl, hoping to provide some comfort.


Snape found himself cutting up ingredient after ingredient – however, the potion was highly complicated, and so many different ingredients were required, that even though he was cutting as fast as he possibly could, he was not advancing nearly as quickly as he would have liked. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and ran down his nose as he threw chopped up roots into the cauldron above the fire.

Olivander had been looking at him for a while. The old man finally cleared his throat, causing Snape to look up at the sudden disturbance.

'I …' began the wandmaker, sounding weak. He waited a few moments, then spoke again, his voice more steady this time. 'I could help you, if you want.'

Snape observed the old man for a few moments, then, letting his eyes drift over the unprepared ingredients, said: 'Well … I suppose. No slicing, though, I think …'

Ollivander nodded in agreement, observing his shaking hands. Snape shoved several things that looked like potatoes onto a plate, and handed the whole bunch to Ollivander.

'If you would please peel them.'

Once again, Ollivander nodded, and set to work. Snape returned to chopping up roots. Together, they worked in companionable silence, Ollivander cleaning and peeling, and Snape cutting and slicing. Ollivander's hands didn't even shake as badly as they usually did. On the bed behind them, Potter was trashing in his sleep – more and more frequently. Snape cast worried glances in the boy's direction from time to time – other times, he looked at the entrance of the tent, so as to see whether there was any sign of Granger and Luna yet.

They took their time, however, and Snape was just throwing the last of the ingredients he'd prepared into the cauldron, when the tent flap was pulled aside and both girls entered. Luna shot him a smile – he did not know why, but seeing her return made him feel calmer.

Luna put the fresh ingredients down on the table, and he immediately began sorting them, separating the bad ones from the good ones. The girls had done a surprisingly good job – hardly any of the ingredients were ruined. Luna, meanwhile, escorted Ollivander (who had nodded off a while ago) back to bed, and Granger hurried over to Potter's side – to hold his hand, no doubt.

As soon as Luna had put Ollivander to bed, she returned to the kitchen, and took the place at the table that Ollivander had previously occupied. She, too, pulled some of the ingredients toward her, and, after asking Snape how he wanted them, began to prepare them.

They worked in silence for a while, until Luna finally spoke. 'Do you think it'll be finished in time?'

Snape threw another look into the direction of the boy. Even from this distance, Potter was looking pale and sickly. Granger was sitting next to him, looking extremely worried.

'I don't know,' he said, meeting Luna's gaze. 'I did not want to tell you before because Miss Granger was listening, but these are not precisely the ingredients I need. I had to substitute some things, because they cannot be found in these woods. I believe this will work – but I cannot be certain.'

Luna lightly put a hand on his arm, and said, 'I know you are doing your best.'

Then she went over to Granger and knelt down next to the girl, conversing quietly. Snape threw the last of the leaves into the cauldron, then extinguished the fire beneath it. All there was left to do now was to wait for the potion to cool down. Snape looked into the cauldron – the substance had at least assumed the right colour, texture and smell.

A cool hand was placed on top of his own, and one of his vials was pushed into his hand. Luna watched as he took a spoonful of the potion and filled the vial. Then he carried it over to Potter's bedside. Granger quickly scooted out of the way, though she did not let go of Potter's hand. Luna lifted the boy's head and tipped it back, and Snape gently pried Potter's lips apart and slipped the potion into his mouth. He massaged Potter's throat to make him swallow.

Then they waited. After several long moments, Granger asked, 'How much longer until the potion takes effect?'

Snape did not reply. He watched the boy's face, searching for any kind of change. Potter looked as pale and sweaty as ever before. Was it possible that he had a mistake regarding the potion? Was one of the substitutes used not adequate? Or was Potter simply too far gone to be saved?

Granger let out a strangled sob, and Luna pulled the girl into her arms. Still Snape sat gazing at Potter's face, waiting for anything to change. There was a slight pressure on his arm. When he turned his face, he discovered Luna had pulled one arm away from around Granger, and had laid her hand on his arm. She shook her head minutely. Snape, however, did not remove himself from the boy's bedside. He could not have been mistaken – there was no reason why the potion shouldn't work. Unless … the boy was known to be a special case – but certainly not so special as to not respond normally to potions?

'Severus,' came Luna's voice, holding a slight warning. Snape, however, put up his hand to silence her. Some of the colour had returned to Potter's face, and, leaning in close, Snape discovered that the boy's breathing had returned to semi-regular. His fever was breaking.

Granger, having freed herself from Luna's embrace to see what was going on, let out a strangled scream, and nearly threw herself on top of Potter. Snape pulled her back roughly by her shoulder.

'Try not to suffocate him, Miss Granger. I would hate to see my efforts wasted.'

The girl had the decency to look embarrassed. 'Will he get better, now?' she asked, tentatively.

Snape chanced another look at the boy. The colour was returning steadily to Potter's face. He returned his gaze toward Granger, meeting her red-rimmed eyes. 'Most likely,' he said, coldly.

'Thank you,' she whispered, tears spilling from her eyes once more. Snape got up, leaving both girls with Potter. He went outside to get some air.


Luna sat gazing at Hermione, who was still clinging onto Harry's hand for dear life.

'You might consider loosening your grip a bit,' Luna advised her. 'Or you'll leave marks.'

Flushing, Hermione loosened her grip on Harry's hand. The tears were still streaming down her face, leaving damp tracks on her cheeks. Luna observed all of this calmly: Hermione's wild hair, the purple circles beneath her eyes, the thumb caressing Harry's hand. And she drew her own conclusions.

'You're in love with him, aren't you?' It wasn't really a question. How could something be a question when you already knew the answer?

Hermione's eyes widened. 'How … why …?'

'It's rather obvious, really.'

Hermione shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face. 'To be honest, I'm not too sure. I'm just so confused …' Her brown eyes met Luna's. 'Because, at first, I was having all these feelings for Ron, and then, it just didn't feel right anymore … And when he left, I suddenly started noticing all these little things about Harry. The way he smiles, how kind he really is …'

Luna nodded knowingly. 'You love him.'

'Oh, I don't know,' sighed Hermione. 'But the more time I spend with him, the more I'm beginning to become convinced that this is right … When he – when he was so ill, I was so incredibly worried about him. I told you that I couldn't go on without him. And … I think that's true.'

They sat in silence for a while. Luna's eyes drifted over Ollivander's form on the other bed. The old man was asleep. She wished Severus could whip up a potion to fix him, too – but things were not that easy.

'Ron is a good man,' she said, at last. 'But I don't think he's the right one for you.'

Hermione's head snapped up, her expression a mixture of surprise and gratitude. Luna smiled at her, then got up and went outside, just as Snape had done earlier. There was no sign of the man, but Luna wasn't too worried. She hung around near the tent, and after a few moments she discovered Snape's silhouette between the trees, and wandered over to him.

As she got nearer to him, the light of her wand illuminating her way, she noticed he looked positively exhausted. Well, that was no great surprise. She was feeling a bit tired herself, too.

'You did well,' she told him, leaning against a tree.

Snape shook his head. 'The worst is still to come.'

'That's not true,' she replied, in a berating fashion. 'Harry dying would have been infinitely worse than anything else.'

Severus was quiet for a few more moments, then said 'I suppose you are right. However, I foresee trouble when I talk to Potter.'

'Maybe,' she said, trying to make out his eyes in the darkness. 'But at least he'll be too physically drained to attack you. With anything other than words, that is.'

'I am used to words.'

'You never get used to words.' Severus looked up, and there was a question in his eyes. However, this was not the time to answer it. 'Either way,' she continued, stepping closer to him, 'I will be there the whole time.'

'Which will be a real comfort to me, I'm sure,' he replied dryly.

She smiled. Already much of that stern, troubled spy was beginning to fade. Given enough time, he would come to enjoy life again, of that she was certain. And, of course, she was perfectly willing to lend a hand and help fate along.

'It should be,' she said. 'Honestly, though, you can always show Harry the memories. He will understand.'

'You sound convicted.'

'I am. I know Harry.'

Snape shook his head, but did not protest. Rather, he stared off into the direction of the tent. She followed his gaze. Hermione would be sleeping by now – she had been so exhausted. Luna felt as though she could do with a nap herself. And, judging by how he looked, so could Severus.

'I need to sleep,' she said.

'I won't stop you.'

'You need to sleep, too.'

There was no movement from beside her. She allowed him a few more moments to get into motion, then, judging that he was not about to do as she had suggested, she slipped her hand into his and began to pull him along. He went with her surprisingly easily, as though he was a lamb rather than a feared murderer and traitor. Well, she'd always known he wasn't as tough as he liked to appear on the outside.

Still, it would not be a good thing for her to get on his bad side. She had seen the sharpness of that tongue, and the speed with which he could draw his wand. Severus Snape was not a man to be taken lightly, and she would not make the mistake of doing so.

She pulled aside the tent flap and pulled Snape along with her, too. Once inside, she let go of his hand. He ought to be capable of finding a bed – if not, he could simply take the floor.

Without even bothering to take off her clothes, she threw herself down onto a bed. Sleeping with clothes on was a sure fire way to attrack Flipsprigs, but she was willing to take the risk tonight.