*grunt* *sniffle* I'm still alive! I would have posted this earlier but I was struck with food poisoning AND the stomach flu and have been giving offerings to the White God (AKA Porcelain Throne) for the past week and sleeping, and missing a week of school.

Anyway, I'm not that happy with the first half (the shopping half) because I wrote that second and while sick, so yeah, and the second half is kind of angst-y, so there's that. But enough about that! Thank you for all the Reviews, Follows and Favorites! Keep it up!

~Creelluka

(Edited as of 10-3-2105)

If you've come here from chapter 16, you can just read until the first page break line!

Disclaimer : I made up Spirit Flowers, but other than that I don't own anything. Also, 'The Book of Artifacts' is from Dungeons & Dragons and 'Identifying and Breaking Curses' is by John Eckhardt.

July 17, 1997

Hermione's Hogwarts letter was delivered to her room that morning and though she and Ron were still planning on running away with Harry, she still planned on buying her supplies. Who knew, maybe there would be some helpful spells in the 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7' or something about destroying Dark Artifacts in 'The Book of Artifacts' and 'Curse-Breaking: Identifying and Breaking Curses.' Plus it would seem strange if she didn't buy her supplies, especially since this was the day of her first outing. She could always put off sending her Confirmation of Attendance letter since she didn't plan on actually attending (some things were actually more important than school, and keeping Harry and Ron from poisoning themselves or getting killed is one of them). But as she looked over her letter again, she noticed something different about the letter. At the top it read as the Headmistress being Minerva McGonagall, followed by her titles, but at the bottom was the spidery signature of 'Severus Snape, Deputy Headmaster.'

Oh Merlin and God, both. What will Harry and Ron do when they read their letters? And how am I supposed to keep our plans for running away secret from a known, powerful Legilimens?

Looking at the papers in her hand, she realized there was something she missed, another letter behind her school supplies list that when she read it, she groaned in disappointment.

Dear Ms. Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the prestigious position of Head Girl of Hogwarts. Your academic record, positive feedback from your fellow Prefects and classmates, and your overall upholdment of this Institution's values have spoken for themselves. You have proven that you can lead others, solve any issue you may encounter, and able to use logic to complete any objective you are given.

We are certain you will continue to be a model for your peers and take your new responsibilities seriously. Enclosed you will find your Head Girl badge which should be worn on your school robes at all times. Congratulations on your achievement, please owl if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Hermione groaned again, she would have to owl Professor McGonagall and decline the position, there couldn't not be a Head Girl, and McGonagall would need time to find a new candidate.

She took a piece of parchment from the desk, one not marked with failed attempts at her parents eulogies, and penned a quick letter to the Headmistress.

Dear Headmistress,

I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept the position of Head Girl, I apologize for any inconvenience but I plan to concentrate on my studies and I feel that the demanding position of Head Girl would keep me from doing my best.

Sincerely,

Hermione Granger

It pained her to do so, she had always wanted to be Head Girl ever since she found out about Hogwarts but with Voldemort and the Horcruxes still in the world, some things were more important than being Head Girl. She sent her refusal back to Hogwarts with the same owl and moved to get ready for her shopping trip.

"There, now no one will recognize you." Remus said, satisfied. He had just put the finishing touches on the glamours that disguised Hermione.

She looked in her pocket mirror at her new face. Remus had turned her choppy brown hair black, her eyes were changed to a dark brown, her skin had been changed to a full shade lighter. Remus had also done some complicated charms to change her entire facial structure so that her face was more squared, her lips thinned, and her nose was sharper. All in all, Hermione Granger looked like the teenage daughter of Severus Snape. A terrifying thought and image indeed, for both Hermione, the wearer of the glamour, and for Severus, when he saw her glamour.

"Just what possessed you to think that this," he gestured to Hermione. "Would be acceptable, wolf?" He had growled.

"You two are going to get the shopping done and I'm going to be watching the perimeter, I thought that it would be better if Hermione were disguised and looked similar to you, it would look less suspicious. This way, she can pretend to be your daughter or niece, and no one would be the wiser." Remus calmly explained, darkening Hermione's hair a bit more.

"Remus, you are being excessive. I don't need to be 'related' to Professor Snape, a regular glamour would work just as well." Hermione argued and Snape grunted his agreement.

"Too late, get your bag Hermione, time to go!" Remus said cheerfully, pocketing his wand. Both Hermione and Snape scowled.

Ten minutes later, the three of them were in the front yard of Prince manor, ready to Apparate to the next Muggle town over, Guildford. Cokeworth was an ugly place, filled with factories and industries, and people who were doomed to failure. Not at all suitable for their day's agenda.

They were all dressed in their Muggle clothes, Hermione-still glamoured as a Snape- was wearing a modest denim skirt and green T-shirt with cloth trainer's. Remus in a faded red button-up with the sleeves rolled up a bit, and pressed denims, and surprisingly, had donned a pair of sunshades.

Severus was the most surprising Muggle dressed of the three, probably because Hermione had never seen him out of his teaching robes, even in his own home. Well, except for when he had woken her up from her first nightmare, that first night to give her the Calming Draught and Dreamless Sleep Potion. But even then he had been wearing a black dressing gown and Hermione had not been nearly as observant then, in the dark, crying in terror, as she was now, in the light, outside. No, she had had no reason to see her Professor not in his intimidating, swathing robes, so of course she was immensely surprised to see how different he looked.

Dressed simply in black slacks and a dark grey button-up, he was a little shorter than usual without his dragonskin boots, but his posture and broad shoulders made up for that fact. He was clearly uncomfortable with the amount of scrutiny he was receiving from Remus and Hermione, for he demanded irritably, "Can we go now?" Hermione and Remus composed themselves and fidgeted guiltily, Hermione inspecting a short black strand of hair that had escaped its bobby pin, and Remus cleaning his sun shades. Severus internally scoffed.

When Hermione got her bearings after Apparating- she had always hated the feeling of being squeezed out of a toothpaste tube- she was surprised to see that they were behind a Marks & Spencer's store.

"Marks & Spencer's, Professor?" she asked, a smile gracing her lips.

Snape didn't say anything, instead striding away towards the front of the shopping complex.

The shopping trip started out well enough, Hermione got her toiletries and feminine products, occasionally seeing Remus out of the corner of her eye, apparently doing his own shopping. Professor Snape trailed after her, for all purposes looking like a dejected father taking his daughter shopping, inevitably thinking of the amount on the tiller at the end. Though Hermione had assured him that she had the funds to pay for everything she needed (an emergency credit card from her parents).

"I need to get some robes for the wedding and my Hogwarts supplies from Diagon Alley, would that be possible?" She asked, considering a blouse before putting it back.

"Might as well." He said, monotonously.

Returning to Prince Manor, all three occupants were exhausted, stumbling up to their rooms for an early night. Shopping was tiring. Hermione had gotten everything she needed, Remus, it turns out, actually had done some shopping while in the Marks & Spencers, and Severus had bought some reagents from an apothecary on the edges of Knockturn Alley while Remus and Hermione looked at books and tried on dress robes for Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Well, all but one got sleep. Severus was clutching his forearm and apparating to the Dark Lord.

Harry Potter sat frozen in his chair at the kitchen table of Grimmauld Place, shocked. "They're dead."

"Mister Potter, I'm sorry for your loss, yes, they were killed sometime after the fifteenth-"

"And you've just got around to telling me!" Harry hollered, interrupting McGonagall, who pursed her lips.

"The Order only found out early this morning, Mister Potter, the assigned surveillance detail was only required to check on them every few days. They were well off on the day of, but then they were found dead this morning. The Order will provide a service-Muggle of course- for your Aunt, Uncle and cousin, and you will be allowed to go-with protection- to their funeral."

"Thank you, Professor, may I be excused now? I kind of need to process a bit." Harry asked numbly.

Professor McGonagall's expression softened, "Of course, Mister Potter, take the time you need."

Harry nodded and excused himself to the back garden.

Of course, the 'garden' was really more like a large, dead, courtyard-sized planter box, decorated with the skeletal clumps of dead rose bushes and neglected magical plants. Harry ignored them all, instead weaving through a curtain of dead ivy that hid the real reason Harry went to the garden. Sirius' flower.

Every wizard has a flower and when they die, it grows in the place where their tie to the world was strongest. Harry had found Sirius' completely by accident, he had been wandering around searching for a quiet place where he could be alone and had discovered the small alcove behind the lattice of dead ivy. Sirius' flowers were small buds that when flowering, were four, red petals with a second, inner layer of golden yellow petals-Gryffindor colors- and small green leaves that had purple edges. They were called Epimedium Grandiflorum, or fairy wings, or Sirius. Harry kneeled in front of the small patch of flowers now, whispering to them his feelings.

"They're dead, Sirius. My last family members are dead. I know they were horrible to me, shutting me up under the stairs, then locking me in Dudley's room of junk, but they were still family, they fed me enough to survive, and got me my glasses, and clothed me, even gave me money to buy gifts for holidays, and I got a couple presents from them as well. Did you know that of all my years at Hogwarts, I got a fifty pence piece, a toothpick, and a tissue from them for Christmas?" Harry chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, and they put bars on my window for half the summer before my second year.

"Uncle Vernon may have knocked me around some, but that's nothing to what Voldemort's done. And the brief time I was there four weeks ago, Dudley was actually being decent! And now they're dead, just like Hermione's parents." Harry bowed his head. Why did such hardships always occur to him and the people around him? His parents were dead and all his extended family because they had protected him, Cedric was at the wrong place at the wrong time, Sirius himself died saving Harry at the Ministry, Dumbledore was gone, jumped off the Astronomy tower. Hermione's parents were dead, and now Harry's aunt, uncle, and cousin were dead, all because of their association with him.

"Sirius, what do I do next? Dumbledore is gone. What chance do I have of defeating Voldemort if Dumbledore, the one person that he feared, killed himself? I don't have one. I don't know what to do Sirius, what do I do?" Harry sobbed.

Thank you for reading! I'll have the next chapter up when it's up!

P.S. For all those that guessed Tobias? Ding, ding, ding! CORRECT!

You'll see more of him later.

~Creelluka