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Chapter 12

Severus trailed behind Harry and Hermione, listening in on their conversation.

"Harry, how's Ginny been?" Hermione asked, a knowing smile on her face.

Harry blushed. "Oh, she's good. Umm, great. Yeah, I've, ummm, well..."

Hermione laughed, the sound of bells filling the hallway. "Spit it out Harry."

Harry glanced a look at Severus, blushing even more.

Hermione caught this and sighed. "Harry, just tell me. Severus won't care." He remained silent. Hermione glared at him. "Tell me now Harry Potter!"

Harry froze. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He handed it to Hermione.

Hermione grabbed the small box, a smile playing on her lips. Opening it, she gasped. "Oh, Harry! This is so beautiful!"

Inside the velvet box was a small ring. It was simple, but perfect. It had a gold band, with a ruby nestled in between two smaller diamonds.

"Harry, Ginny is going to love this!" Hermione shouted as she pulled him in for a bone crushing hug. "Ohh, when are you going to ask her!"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know yet. Soon, I think. Hopefully she'll say yes."

At this, Severus chuckled.

Harry and Hermione turned to him, a confused look on their faces.

Severus rolled his eyes. "She'll say yes Potter. Everyone can see that she has eyes only for you. Especially last year, when you two were off saving the world. It was Harry this, Harry thought. She is smitten."

Harry blushed even deeper. Hermione chuckled, elbowing Harry in the ribs. "See, Harry, it'll be fine. I'm very happy for you."

Hermione's smile faltered when she realized she would never have a normal life like Harry and Ginny. She would never get married, or have children. She would never grow old with anyone.

The thought of never having children tore through her. She barely gave any of that any thought, until now.

Hermione had wanted children for as long as she could remember. She had always imagined little redheads, a home full of laughter.

Now, the image was filled of black haired children, a home full of books and knowledge.

But either way, she wouldn't have it. And nothing could change that.

Frowning, she closed her eyes. Hopefully the pain of that would fade with time.

As if sensing her distress, Severus reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it slightly, as if to let her know that everything would be all right.

Harry watched on, curious about what sort of relationship the two of them had together. She seemed somewhat happy with him, and that made him happy. But at the same time, he was cautious of Severus. He had seen Snape's memories, and knew for a fact he was a true member of the Order. Harry knew where his loyalties were.

But at the same time, Snape made him uncomfortable. He knew from the memories, that Snape was in love with his own mother. Which made him feel very awkward. The whole unrequited love thing was strange, and Harry didn't know how to make heads or tails of that.

And he watched the man, who he thought was hung up on his Mum, make eyes at Hermione, as if she was the only thing he would ever need. It left him confused more than anything. He vaguely wondered if Hermione knew about Snape's relationship with Lily Evans. He figured he might mention it later on.

Hermione was different, Harry could see that. But at the same time, she was still so normal. Harry wanted to stay around her, and be involved with her life. Harry knew that whatever she was going through wasn't going to be by any means. He wanted to support her.

He hoped that Ron would come round, but in the back of his head, he knew that would never happen.

The three of them sat across from the headmaster, who had looked as if time was finally catching up with him.

"So, you have news for me Miss Granger?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes, during my last blackout, the voice that I hear, it mentioned a name. The pain was more intense this time, as if my punishment was increasing."

"And what did the voice say?"

Hermione closed her eyes, letting herself relieve what had happened. "Hurting people is in our destiny. It's what we are made for. You must fulfill your purpose Mudblood, before Dimitri loses his patience with us."

Silence filled the room. She looked to Sev, who shared a look with her. Turning to Harry, she saw he was upset.

"It's obvious whoever is controlling this situation believes in pureblood ideals. Most likely a supporter of Riddle.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think that's it Harry. I mean, I know this sounds far-fetched, but if Dimitri is in charge, and is the one who turned me..."

She paused but continued when Dumbledore nodded to her, eager to hear her input.

"Well, he would have to be old, very old. Powerful. And, well, I think it was the other way around. I think Voldemort may have followed and supported Dimitri."

Harry shook his head. "That just doesn't make any sense. Riddle didn't seem like the type to be a follower. I really think he was a leader."

She shrugged, "Maybe he didn't follow him directly, but I think most of his beliefs were gotten from Dimitri. It just seems as if that would be true."

Severus spoke next. "We can't know anything for sure because we know nothing about this Dimitri character."

Albus sighed. "Tom was a follower, in a way. When he was younger, you could tell that he really admired some people. Through his admiration, he became of follower. I know for a fact that he admired Grindewald. His beliefs were founded by Grindewald's."

A light bulb turned on in Hermione's mind. "Professor, you were close with Gellert Grindewald, weren't you?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. And I know for a fact that Gellert was friends with Dimitri."

Harry gasped. Severus just narrowed his eyes. "So you know exactly who we're dealing with? You've know this whole time, and haven't even tried to fix it!"

Hermione could feel Severus' anger. "Sev, it's okay. I'm sure he'll explain."

Dumbledore nodded. "It's a long story."