It was strange to be back; it was as if she had lived a whole other lifetime since she had last been here. Hermione gazed up at Hogwarts castle, strong and beautiful against the morning sky. She had been gone for just shy of three months, but her whole life had forever changed in the space of that time; never again would she doubt anything in this magical world. Slowly walking up the path from Hogsmeade, Hermione had felt like a different person – more mature and aware of what life held for her outside of the confines of her old institution. She knew that whoever saw her like this was going to notice the change, especially Ron and Harry. She sighed as she thought of the inevitable, difficult conversation. 'And just what am I supposed to tell them when I see them? They'll ask who I was with of course. They know that I was doing research, that much I told them in my letters. And when I do tell them I was with Severus Snape, ohhhh I can see Ron's face right now, and Harry will likely explode…'
Hermione had reached the Entrance Hall before she knew it; she had been lost in thought, fretting the whole time she walked the old worn path. She paused on her way up to the tall, heavy doors in an attempt to compose herself. Knowing the doors were sealed against would-be intruders, she whispered the words that would lift the wards. The low thrum of magic shifted, allowing its master entrance. Pleased the incantation was still the same; Hermione quickly slipped in and turned to reset the protective barriers behind her. As she headed up to the Head Mistress' office, everything was oddly quiet – even the portraits were subdued. It was unnerving to say the least; the empty halls echoed with the witch's every step. Hermione again thought about how the students had been sent off, there was no school here this year, and Hogwarts was now the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. 'It's so strange being here when I know school should be in session, yet all I hear is the echo of my own footsteps,' Hermione thought, almost all the way to Minerva's office.
"'Mione!"
Startled that they could sneak up on her like that in the silent halls where she was sure she would hear them coming, she stopped and closed her eyes, and began mentally preparing herself for the confrontation she had been dreading. 'I'm not ready for this; I need to think about how I'm going to tell them. Oh Gods!' Quickly composing her emotions and smoothing her face of the panic she was feeling, Hermione hastily turned around with a bright, excited smile on her face. It felt strange, but she had to consciously try to act normally around her best friends; it was hard for her to hide her current emotional state. Being separated from her love was very painful, not just because of obvious reasons – but because of the magic involved as well, and she was afraid that Harry and Ron may pick up on something being not right. Hopefully, they would just see same old Hermione; boys were for the most part very thick about female emotions. They likely attribute her behavior to "that time of the month", or something along those lines. She would hide her secret from them for now, until she came up with a good way to tell them – if that was even possible.
"Harry, Ron! I've missed you both so much!" That truth was not hard to tell, and she opened her arms to launch herself into a great big hug with both of her best friends.
"Hey, we were beginning to think you'd never be back! Must have been doing research with some tall dark bookworm, hey, 'Mione?" Harry teased her, not seeing her cheeks blush as she was trapped in the three-way bear hug. She kept her head down, buried in between the two boy's shoulders.
Ron laughed, and it echoed boomingly off the walls of the empty corridors. "Yeah, that's bloody likely! Hermione, with a tall dark stranger – and one that likes books as well? I don't think such a thing exists…Ooof!" He doubled over from the sharp elbow in the ribs delivered deftly by Hermione.
"Happy to see you too, Ronald. And I'll have you know that my research partner has proven to be essential to our Horcrux research. Before I left this morning, we had devised a way to destroy all of the Horcruxes," she paused as Harry's eyes lit up in eager anticipation, "And hopefully, if you two had any more leads since last time we wrote, we shouldn't waste time picking on my research?" Hermione grinned at Harry's triumphant look.
Harry and Ron looked at each other, both obviously elated at the news Hermione brought. "That's excellent! We're pretty sure of most of the locations, but we need your help with the cup. Also, this has to be planned out very carefully. We don't want to risk the chance of Voldemort picking up on what we're up to, and giving him a chance just to make more of the bloody things," Harry began speaking a mile a minute, pausing only as he bent down to pick up Hermione's bag. "And of course, there's Nagini; No clue as to how we'll get in to destroy her royal self as of yet. Are you going up to speak with McGonagall then?"
"Yes, I have to let her know what I found out," she watched them look at each other and realized their shared impatience. "I'll let you know as soon as I can, but the Order needs to know first, you know how it is."
Harry nodded in agreement, knowing better than to argue this point and Ron mumbled something about things not being fair under his breath. "Alright, but we have to get together after dinner, and get caught up. Compare Horcrux notes, all that. All this research," Harry griped while playfully punching Ron in the shoulder, "It's been cruel and unusual without you!"
She smiled at Harry's words, and turned to laugh at Ron. "Quit your grumbling, Ronald. Honestly! You know I can't keep a secret from you two." She hoped in this case that she could, for the time being anyway. For now though, it did seem that the boys were satisfied with her acted normalcy upon her return.
The boys said goodbye, happily talking about Voldemort's destruction as they carried Hermione's bags up to her room for her. Turning down the hall to continue to Minerva's office, her heart began to sink again as she returned to the task at hand. She really would have to tell them, there was no way she could keep it from them, especially when Severus was now so pivotal to the Order's plans. 'They're never going to forgive me! I wonder if I should tell Minerva everything…maybe she can help me? Or, more likely still, she'll hate me! Oh, gods, who can I talk to? What if she thinks that Severus took me against my will and bewitched me? That would just get him into more trouble, oh dear…' She continued to fret the rest of the way.
Muttering the password to the office, the gargoyle that guarded the stairs jumped out of the way, and let Hermione up the stairs.
As the young witch approached, Minerva had immediately sensed that something was different with Hermione. It wasn't anything awful or bad, instead it was as if she had transformed into a more mature Hermione. At any rate, it seemed as though Albus' portrait noticed the difference too. He was there, twinkling away at Hermione, asking how she was feeling and if she was happy to be back. Minerva shook her head, smiling faintly. Albus hadn't changed a bit, even though his portrait was only a reflection of the wizard he was. She missed him terribly, and always would.
"Hermione, welcome home my dear. Would you like some tea?" Minerva put her arm around the young woman`s shoulders and ushered her towards a comfortable looking armchair.
"Oh, yes, thank you."
After the tea was poured, Hermione went on to report everything that she had found out to Minerva. She voiced Severus's growing fear that an attack could happen somewhere nearby on or close to Halloween, as well as how the Dark Lord was beginning to summon his followers on a more regular basis. Now that the briefing was complete, Hermione began to debate how best to talk to her former head of house regarding the feelings shared between herself and Severus.
Noticing the distracted look on Hermione's face, Minerva prompted gently, "If there's something else you wish to discuss…"
Looking up, Hermione slowly nodded. Taking a breath, she looked into the older woman's eyes. "I do, but I really don't know where to start. I can't tell this to Harry or Ron yet, because they just won't be able to handle it, especially after I tell them who I've been with this past month. And of course I'm afraid of your reaction." Hermione nervously set her teacup down on the side table, and stood up abruptly. Beginning to pace, she could feel her emotions starting to run high. Determined not to cry or breakdown in anyway, Hermione steadied herself. "Oh, I'm just going to say it because I don't know how else to do it. Severus and I…well, we…we fell in love." Her voice had dropped to a faint whisper at the last bit, and the older witch had to strain to hear it.
Minerva's eyebrows shot up, and Albus grinned exuberantly within his frame. "Severus. In love?" she asked, her face confused as she tried to match the two concepts together.
Hermione nodded, her eyes downcast. "Please don't hate me, it just happened, and I-"
"Well, I certainly am surprised, but of course I could never hate you dear. How could I? You've always been special to me. But are you sure of this? How did this happen? He didn't bewitch you, did he?" McGonagall was suddenly suspicious, analyzing Hermione's quick but emphatic answer.
"No! Honestly he didn't, I –"
"Now now, feelings can sometimes be confusing, and I don't want to see you hurt. Does he reciprocate these feelings?" Minerva had gone over to Hermione put her arm around her, and led her back to her chair.
Wordlessly, Hermione took the amulet out from against her skin, and showed it to her. "He gave this to me. It is a Prince family heirloom, and he charmed it so he would know if I were in danger. And…I think our souls joined."
Minerva took in a sharp breath while examining the amulet, lying in the younger witch's open palm. "The bond…What makes you think that, Hermione?" she asked almost absently as she examined the jewel.
"I remember reading about it somewhere before. All the signs were there. At our first touch, there was this powerful feeling – like electricity. It was like a connection; it's really had to describe how it made me feel, but I still feel it – it hasn`t gone away. I can feel him, in a way too," Hermione started to turn pink, but decided to continue. "And, well…when we, umm…well, suffice it to say that I know it happened." She wrung her hands more than a little embarrassed, and not wanting to tell Minerva everything that had transpired. Besides, from the look on the older witch's face, she knew it already anyway.
Sighing and still looking perplexed, Minerva nodded. "Well my dear, this is undeniably your decision on how you go about telling your friends. Good luck with that by the way," she added wryly. "The truth is always the best of course; however in this case, you may want to omit some of the more…intimate… details until they can get over their initial shock. You are a woman, Hermione, and have been of age since you turned 17. I cannot and will not tell you what to do. But know that as always, I trust your judgment. You know that I am here if you need to talk ever."
Smiling, Hermione felt much better now that she had confessed her secret to someone. At least she'd always have Minerva to talk to; she was like a mother to her and always had been. "Thank you so much, Minerva. I think I'll get it out of the way and talk to the boys tonight. We can't waste any more time, Severus is positive that things are coming to a head. This isn't going to be easy," she added, biting her lower lip, "but I'll convince them somehow that Severus is still with us. Has Harry come up to see Dumbledore's portrait yet?"
Minerva shook her head. "We thought it best if you were here with him, as your and Albus' stories will corroborate each other's. Let me know when you're planning on bringing Harry up; I'll be here, and I'll call Remus and some of the others too."
"Thank you Minerva, but perhaps it had better be sooner, rather than later. After dinner?" Hermione was determined to get this over with, so that no time was lost in the destruction of the Horcruxes.
"Of course. You do know we still dine together in the Great Hall? We sit at the same table of course. Dinner is at 6 o'clock, so it will have to be after that. Hmmm," Minerva thought aloud, "perhaps I will invite Remus and the others to dinner, which would be better..."
Leaving Minerva talking to herself, Hermione excused herself, and made back to her rooms to get ready for what she knew was going to be one Hell of a confrontation with her best friends.