Minerva stood at the front door of the Lupin's in the dead of night, meowing three times every two ticks as was the password for her while in feline form.

Severus had apparently gone off his rocker, but as far as she could tell he was telling the truth. Maeve had been fully exorcised in a way Minerva hadn't seen. The Christian version she'd heard her father speak of on occasion had been a little less elaborate, but it had worked in the same way. However, Severus had come back hysterical, no Dark Mark, babbling on about meeting Satan and the castle being rid of all evil. She had witnessed herself the extensive wards on the place. As soon as she left the gates, the castle was nowhere to be seen, and looked like what she expected Muggles saw when they looked to where Hogwarts was.

Finally, someone answered the door, and she completed the test question before entering the house and turning human again.

Remus looked awful. The moon had been just out of Full phase, and he must have just recently turned. With both Maeve and Severus out of the picture, it had been impossible for him to get his hands on any wolfsbane potion for several months. Nymphadora looked spry despite her recently finished pregnancy, but with an undercurrent of sadness. Andromeda and Ted were apparently still asleep, which was for the better.

"Professor, what brings you here?" Remus asked.

"I'm here on Hogwarts Business. Earlier today, both of the Death Eaters in Hogwarts were murdered by a demon who had been possessing Maeve. We need a proper Defense teacher, have lodgings for your whole family if you so desire, will provide you with one and a half times the salary you received last time you taught, and free monthly wolfsbane."

"Wait, the two Death Eaters in Hogwarts? What about Snape?" Nymphadora asked.

Taking a deep breath, Minerva plowed on. "Severus has been relieved of that status earlier today. He tells me it was a gift from Satan, a part of the exorcism."

Both of them stared at her for a long moment.

"He met Satan?" Remus asked. "Blimey, I'd heard exorcisms were intensive, but I'd never…"

"And you expect us to believe this? Why?" Nymphadora demanded plainly.

"Hogwarts will be the Orders new safe house, all order members, especially those in hiding will be housed there. We need a Defense teacher, but that's second priority to your safety. The other teachers are out collecting as many of the Order members as they can find tonight before word well and truly gets out tomorrow about what's happened. The wards are absolute, I've seen them, and Severus has… well he's gone a bit off in the head, but I think he's finally alright."

There was a long silence. "We need to be there as soon as possible?" Remus wondered.

"Yes, if you please," Minerva replied.


Maeve woke up to the sounds of several people talking at once, but the main voice she heard was that of her Uncle. Severus was speaking in those nice low tones which reminded her so well of her childhood, to… Pomona Sprout? Since when did they talk? She opened her eyes very slightly, taking in the scene before her. Severus was sitting at her bedside (which she belatedly surmised to be in the Hospital Wing), cloak and coat off, sleeves rolled up, hair pulled out of his face by a ponytail at the base of his neck, and then her eyes landed on his forearms. They were pale white, unblemished by… the Dark Mark! Where was it? She swept the cobwebs out of her brain and thought long and hard about what had happened.

The presence of the Dark was no longer with her, she had felt it's crushing embrace for so long it was like a breath of fresh air, and she remembered distinctly a pair of hands dipping into her very soul and gently disentangling the demon from her being, and it left with a white noise like screech of agony before she woke up here. Severus' familiar liquid black eyes were now on her, and he smiled a small smile, the kind one mostly puts into one's eyes, with a slight stretching of the lips.

"Good evening," he told her.

She stared at him. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A week today."

Blinking, Maeve turned this over in her mind. Minerva was on Pomona's other side, along with… Lupin? "What did I do?"

Sighing, Severus swiped the stray hairs out of her face. "You didn't do anything. The Dark eclipsed you and… used your vessel to kill the Carrow's."

Breathing for a moment, Maeve inquired "Did they suffer?"

"No."

"Anyone else?"

"No."

She sighed. "Okay. Why is Remus Lupin here?"

"He's the new Defense Teacher."

Staring at Remus for a long moment, in which he didn't look at her once, and was still speaking with Minerva about something, she processed what this meant. "Is the war over?"

Severus laughed, full and loud, which grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. "No, but it has in Hogwarts for the time being. It's over inside you and me, most definitely, but not outside, no."

Maeve nodded. She felt like a million galleons. No more Dark demon, no more Dark Mark, no more Death Eaters, Remus Lupin in house, happy Severus. What more could she ask for? Well, except Hermione, of course, but that was fantasy at best anyways.

"Not to pile much on you in your weakened state, but we're also out a Muggle Studies teacher. You were a muggle half the time… and if I remember correctly you took apart cleaned and put back together a car in front of examiners for your practical freestyle Muggle Studies N. E. W. T."

She blushed at this. "Any mechanic can pull that off. I'll do it."

"Mmhm."

"How are you feeling?" Pomona asked. She'd been fond of Maeve as a fellow Hufflepuff.

"I feel fantastic," Maeve replied happily.

"Good," Severus said, and stood to exit.

Minerva came up beside her and took Severus' place. "There are a few things that have happened while you were asleep. The school is now the Order Headquarters, Severus has explained himself with the backing of Veritaserum, and the castle is being protected by a supernatural force for the next year and a half or so. The whole Order has been spirited here overnight, and they're all housed on an unused floor of the castle, very close to your new classroom and quarters."

"So you know I lied to you for him."

"Yes," Minerva's face was inscrutable.

She nodded her head, closing her eyes. "Are you angry with me for it?"

"No. I'm angry with Albus for keeping it from me and making the both of you go through with this alone. I would have been glad to help."

Maeve smiled. "Thank you for understanding. I'm sorry I had to lie."

"I am too."

Minerva patted her on the head and took her leave with everyone else, who waved goodbye to her. Maeve got up and gathered her belongings to get dressed for the rest of the day and possibly make it to dinner with everyone else. She walked down the hallway, which was unusually busy and buzzing with life, students smiling back at her (foreign at this point) and adult Order Members bustling about to get to whatever it was that they did. Severus met her at the Teachers entrance side door to the Great Hall and they took their respective seats. She found on her right Remus, who grinned at her, and on his right was Tonks and an adorable little boy in her lap gurgling and spilling oats all over his front.

As soon as the entire school was gathered, the atmosphere by far more relaxed and happier than it had been since Maeve had come to the school, Severus stood, and silence fell over the entire hall.

"Classes are now scheduled to resume as usual in the morning, and we have a few improvements to the staff. Remus Lupin will be rejoining us as the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor," the students gave him a round of applause, "and Maeve Snape will be taking the Muggle Studies position as a full time Professor."

Another more enthusiastic applause sounded, this time with whistling and whooping, which turned Maeve's face a light shade of pink.

"Clubs will return come monday next, signup sheets will be in your common rooms when you return to them, students in the Hospital Wing will be affored their chances to sign as needed. The Order of the Phoenix is in house as I'm sure you're aware. You are to be respecful of all of them, do not plauge them with questions and take up their precious time with school work, however I'm sure if you are in trouble they may lend a hand. Finally, ten residential Counselors have been hired to staff-" he directed attention to the extra ten people on the now extended staff table, "which every student must make an appointment with for some time in the next two weeks. Do not allow your pride to get in the way of your mental health. This is a war, and you are it's victims, and as such it is not shameful to have been affected. Carry on." Finally, the food appeared and Severus took his place once more, tucking into the steaming pot roast that had appeared before him.

Maeve sat in half awe. The students, however somewhat melancholy, were talkative, as were the teachers and accompanying staff. Students actually ate instead of picking at their food. Severus had an appetite, which was rare these days in any case unless he'd gone without anything at all, and Maeve felt. . . alright. Which was more than she could have said the last time she was awake to be truly honest. The war was still happening out there, and being planned for in Hogwarts, but for the most part for the atmosphere and immediate danger, they were in their own bubble of peace.

She sat and ate her roast, savoring the flavor of each bite, content.


Neville was recovering from the onslaught of student/teacher warfare as well as could be expected, and he was glad to have his friends around for support. As the impromptu leader of the D.A., he often had meetings with Maeve about student welfare, improvements that needed to be made, and the progress of recovery. He grew less edgy around her despite her relation to a man Neville might never trust fully, and they could speak alone at peace with their safety around one another.

Often, the people given to Hogwarts as refugees would bring news f the outside world, what had happened, sightings of Harry Ron and Hermione, people who had died. Neville listened to every account personally, making sure he got the news straight form the horses mouth so to speak, and kept a log of the reported dead and missing from the radio Fred and George reported on with Lee Jordan from outside the walls. Studies back on track, he excelled once more at Herbology, no longer having to face constant obstacles, and Professor Sprout discussed the opportunity of apprenticing with her or at the Herbologists Guild in North Ireland. He was thrilled about the opportunity, but still had half a mind on his Gran, who had yet to be recovered and brought to safety due to her hiding off in the Himalayan Mountains.

In the Room of Requirement, which had become a refuge and meeting ground for students - especially the D.A. - during the Carrows time at the school, Neville sat in his old Hammock throwing a ball of rubber bands back and forth with one of the First years, Henry Middleton. It was Nevilles turn to keep watch for new refugees coming through the portrait tunnel, and he wasn't surprised when a bell rang to signal he needed to lead another straggler through the tunnel to safety. Walking quickly, he peered through the haze at the new recruit, only to find that there were three of them - and that they were vaguely familiar. As old Aberforth opened the portrait of the pretty girl who walked with him back and forth sometimes to the end of the tunnel when he was alone, Neville was bowled over by two very familiar yet unusually scrawny teenagers, none other than Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Waiting patiently for a turn, Hermione Granger stood with a wide teary grin just behind them, and Neville embraced her lightly as well, so happy to see the three of them alive and well.

"Well, come on then let's get you three some dinner, eh?" Neville laughed as he brought them through the tunnel. "Things have changed quite a lot since you left. The D.A. has gained over a hundred members, we're housing the entire Order besides our outside sources, and classes are on after that niece of Snape's got possessed by a demon and killed the Carrows. Now things are going pretty well, all things considered; and don't you worry about a thing, you'll have rooms, three meals a day, you can go back to classes if you want, anything!"

They walked up the corridor, Harry looking at Neville with deep suspicion. "So everything's chipper, then? What about Snape?"

"Oh, we only see him every now and again when an announcement needs to be made. He's usually holled up in his office, and nobody really knows what he's doing. The wards that are up, Maeve says he's got control of them, so we can't kill him like we wanted to originally otherwise Voldemort would come in and attack us, so we just leave him alone mostly. He takes walks though sometimes."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared a look of slight confusion and amazement.

"Why are you all here, anyways?" Neville wondered aloud.

"Well, it's apart of Dumbledores mission, and we can't give out any details, but we have to find some things to help defeat Voldemort," Hermione supplied helpfully.

They found themselves standing outside of the Headmasters office, and the air grew apprehensive. Just as Neville was about to knock for the Gargoyle to be moved by an occupant of the Office, a familiar voice drawled from behind them "Going to stand there all day or are you going to let them in?"

Harry whipped around, wand in hand, to find Snape, but faltered at the sight of him. Unlike before, he was at least half way taken care of, his hair clean and tied back, white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal markless arms, and black pants. He looked like a muggle. He also looked bored.

"You!" Harry accused.

"Yes, me. What do you want, Potter?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and giving the trio a look.

"They're here on Dumbledore business," Neville said.

Snapes eyes narrowed slightly, nodding. "Brian," he said in a commanding tone, and the Gargoyle statue leapt aside. "Thank you, Stephan," he said patting the stone, which nodded. Harry was getting more and more confused.

The winding staircase brought them up to the large oak doors which were curiously ajar, where Kingsley Shacklebolt and Minerva McGonagall waited. The trio was immediately embraced by a teary eyed McGonagall, and they all shook hands rather happily with Kinsley before being seated in a large semicircle in front of the Headmasters ornate desk. At this desk was seated rather haphazardly one Severus Snape who was rifling through the papers on his desk, which all looked to be blueprints that Harry's eyes tried not to linger on too long.

"As I'm sure Mr. Longbottom has informed you, we're operating separately from the outside world and we've gotten little news about your adventures. You'll have opportunity to share about these after you've been settled, of course, however first we need to come to an understanding of how long you'll be here, and what you'll be doing while you're here," Kingsley began.

"Er, well I think we've been away too long to go back to doing classes," Ron supplied, a glint in his eye revealing he'd rather not have to do school work.

"That is true," Snape said suddenly in the middle of scrawling something on a piece of parchment before him. "However you will attend Order supervised combat training on a daily basis. Think of it as revision for upcoming finals. You have had quite a few run-ins with Death Eaters and their ilk these past years, however your main goal during the final stand will not be to battle, it will be to defend yourselves and take out the enemy at their source." He handed Kingsley a piece of parchment, which was then passed to Ron.

"Those are your shared quarters with Mr. Potter. Auror Shacklebolt will escort you there."

Hermione looked confused. "Um, Sir, where shall I go?"

"Your arrangements will be made in due time," came the enigmatic reply, and then silence.

McGonagall continued where Kinsley left off "You'll be allowed to traverse the grounds and halls as you please, and make use of the allotted office hours of any Professor or Order member you see fit. Remus Lupin is the Defense Professor at present, and his son Teddy is starting to walk. If you come to Dinner tonight in the secondary mess hall across from the Kitchens you'll see them. That will be all, I believe."

McGonagall rose with Kingsley, but paused at Snape who began to speak.

"The things you seek are within and without, one was quite near the Half Blood Princes book at one time, if you may recall, though you were in too much of a rush to notice it you did see it, because I saw it through you. The one within, however will need to be discussed as quickly as possible in a small meeting including Mr. Potter, myself, and Dumbledore if he decides to grace us with his awoken presence," he scowled nastily at the portrait on the wall behind his desk Harry hadn't even noticed of Dumbledore, who was currently snoozing softly while holding what seemed to be knitting in his unblemished hands.

"And what makes you think I'd sit in a room alone with you?" Harry asked in defiance.

"Because Dumbledore was a right git who thought it amusing to withhold information from his people until the proper moment. In this case he imparted that information to me to give to you shortly following the incident in which his hand was cursed and he began dying."

"But you killed him," Harry whispered angrily, hand on his wand in his pocket.

"I did; and you saw. But what you did not see was him begging me to end his misery, what with the curse effecting his magic, his mind, causing chronic pain and fatigue. You weren't there when he made me swear to kill him before Draco Malfoy had the chance to to save the boys soul in exchange for forfeiting what was left of my own at the time; when he blackmailed me into a veritable hole from which there seemed no way to climb out. He wanted me to drown in it - wanted us all to drown in it. Do not presume to know anything about that man, nor myself for that matter. You are all dismissed."