A/N: Uhm..I have no excuse. I just forgot to update this one, because I have been busy writing a Fruits Basket story. If any of you know what that is, you should totally check it out. Also, I am shamelessly self promoting: my roommate and I are writing a blog. If any of you are interested, want to follow, or comment, go to blogspot and type in, "Pace and the Larpers." Thanks, guys!

Breakthrough

"Severus, you're replacing me," Lily said sadly, running her hand over the rippling grass. "It's been almost three weeks. You used to come see me every night."

"Of course not, Lily," Severus said, placing his hand over hers. "I have just been very busy. I often fall asleep before I remember getting into my bed." As he spoke, a wave of guilt washed over him. He had been rather forgetful lately, so wrapped up in his project..not to mention the extra work that he and Hermione were doing on the side to try and research the damages. Between regular classes and nightly work, he was so wiped out that he couldn't even think of anything but his pillow. And recently, his dreams had been far more pleasant than they had used to be.

"Are you sure there is nothing else? It feels like you are hiding from me, Severus..we used to be so open and free with each other. No secrets, remember?"

"I remember, Lil.." He bit his lip. Why was he keeping his project a secret? He had never hidden anything from her before. What made this so different? Perhaps it was the volatile nature of these dreams, and the sensitive project. At any rate, he had not seen fit to inform Lily about it, and wasn't sure he was ready to. And anyways, these dreams were meant to be time for them to spend together peacefully, not tensely.

"I believe you," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. Will you come see me more often? There…there isn't someone else, is there? You promise?" Severus looked at her. Someone else?

"No," he said. "There is no one else." After he spoke, he paused. There really was no one else, right?

She had been working in the library all night, courtesy of Madam Pince. It had taken quite a bit of coaxing, but in the end, she had gotten the strict librarian to crack and let her stay, much to Hermione's delight. Checking her watch, she shut the large leather-bound tome in front of her. It was almost time for the library to open, and she didn't want to be spotted by the students looking the way that she did. Quickly, she stuck the books in her bag and hurried out of the library.

"Late session, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked, coming to walk beside her.

"Yes," Hermione sighed. "Professor Snape and I have managed to restore only one wall. The rest of the room is still so damaged, and we're having a hard time figuring out what it is that is making it so difficult. Dark magic, of course, but we can't even track its origins." Professor McGonagall paused for a moment.

"I am sure that you two can figure it out. I've never seen him this determined on anything. I have no worries that it will not come together. If you'll excuse me, I have a class to get to." The woman disappeared down the corridor, leaving Hermione to herself. With another sigh, she entered the Defense Against The Dark Arts room and into her quarters. Right now, all she wanted was to slip under the covers and not emerge for a long time.

"This is impossible," Snape snapped, dropping his hands. "Without knowing the origins of this magic, we have no hope of reversing the damage. It may even be irreversible. The Death Eaters knew complex, ancient magic. The downside of having an army of purebloods, I suppose, all of the families just pass on their secrets." Hermione gasped.

"That's it!" she cried. "Professor, you're a genius!"

"For what reason, Miss Granger?" he drawled, staring at her. Her brown eyes were bright with excitement.

"This was done by the Death Eaters, who, as you pointed out, were all pureblood. Maybe the reason we can't find the origin of the magic is because it's family magic. But now that they're all in prison, and Voldemort is gone, who is to stop us from accessing their histories? Just because they've been hidden from other witches and wizards, doesn't mean that they're gone all together, right?" She stopped and took a breath. How had they not thought of that before? They had so much access to documents that others didn't. Surely within those documents, there would be something about the Death Eaters.

"You..may be on to something, Granger," Snape said, the surprise evident in his voice. Annoyed, Hermione said,

"Like I've never had a good idea before? Seriously, professor, you make it seem like I've never said anything intelligent before." He made a noncommittal noise and examined the room again. It looked like they were about to do more after-hours research again.

By the time they had gained all of the information they could, they had gone through six candles, three quills (Snape had a heavy hand,) and many feet of parchment. Hermione sat back in her chair, stretching her cramped hand. She hadn't realized just how many Death Eaters had been involved in the Battle.

"How should we go about figuring all of this out, sir?" Hermione asked, rereading what they had written. There were thirteen Death Eaters in particular that they wanted to get a background on, including Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. Neither of the families were particularly open to discussion, and Hermione never wanted to see Bellatrix again. Despite the fact that she was securely captured behind bars, the very idea of her made Hermione feel sick.

"I..haven't quite gotten to that. Hand me that quill, would you?" he asked, pointing. She picked it up and handed it to him, still reading the list absently. Her head snapped up when their hands touched, and she quickly dropped it into his waiting palm. "Sorry," she muttered, staring more determinedly at the parchment in front of her.

"Not a big deal, Granger," he said, not quite making eye contact with her.

They didn't speak the rest of the night.

"Are you happier today, Severus?" Lily asked, braiding and unbraiding her red hair. She watched him carefully. Something was different about him, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Mm, I suppose," Severus replied, realizing it was true as he said it. This breakthrough that he and Hermione had made had boosted his mood quite a bit. Now that it appeared they would be able to make some headway, he was less discouraged.

"I am glad," she said, scooting closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I've missed the old Severus." Giving him a little kiss on the nose, she dropped her arms and danced away from him.

The old Severus? He couldn't even remember who the old Severus was. All he could remember was the different personalities that he adopted, according to whichever master he was serving. Had Lily ever truly known the "old Severus?" Had he ever truly known the "old Severus?" He looked up when Lily stopped dancing.

"I thought you told me there was no one else," she said accusingly.

"There is no-,"

"Professor?" He turned around to see the speaker, although he knew the voice all too well.

Hermione?

A/N: I am not a big fan of this chapter, but somethinggg needed to be put up, just to let y'all know that I haven't forgotten about you! Thanks to anyone who actually reads this, and pleaseplease review! Pleeeeease! Also, check out the blog! :)