Disclaimer: I only wrote the story, everything else is property of Warner Bro. and J.K Rowling
Chapter 15
Severus withered in pain on the floor at the feet of the Dark Lord. Lucius Malfoy approached Severus at the command of the Dark Lord and grabbed him by the arms.
As the older Malfoy stood Severus up, the Dark Lord ravaged his mind. The Dark Lord was looking for something and Severus did his best to project the false
memories. He hid Hermione from this deranged madman. The Dark Lord nodded and Lucius dropped Severus onto the floor. Voldemort smiled an evil grin and sent
another curse Severus's way. Severus withered in pain on the floor. Voldemort sat back upon his throne, Lucius sat down beside him. He was in the Dark Lord's good
graces and that is where he intended to stay. Severus lifted his head and crawled toward the throne and kissed the bottom of his robes. Severus stayed there until
the Dark Lord allowed him to move.
Severus knew that the Dark Lord had looked into his mind. He knew that he had a moment of weakness; hopefully the Order and Hermione's secrets were safe. The
Dark Lord smiled at Severus and said "my dear boy, get off the floor and sit at the table."
Severus did as he was bid and pulled himself into the chair. The Dark Lord informed Severus that he would be making him a potion for the next few days. The Dark Lord
had all of the ingredients brought to the Manor, so they could get right to business. Voldemort told Severus that he wasn't going to be gone for long; he didn't want to
attract anyone's notice. Voldemort told Severus that he would have constant supervision while making the potion. Severus realized in that moment that he loved
Hermione more than any person he had ever known and he would gladly give his life to protect her. Severus would have to find some way to send Hermione a note to
explain his absence. He knew that Hermione would be worried for his safety and he knew that she would try to save him. He needed to make sure that she stayed
where she was safe.
The next morning when Hermione had awoken, she felt a sadness and emptiness in her chest. She knew that Severus hadn't come back, because he hadn't come to
her. Hermione decided that she needed to talk to the Headmistress. Hermione sent a fire call to Minerva's office and waited for a response.
"Hermione, you are always more than welcome in my office. You are no longer a student, but a colleague. I like speaking to you, because we can be honest with one
another"
Hermione went to her Minerva's office and sat down. Hermione didn't know how to say what she was thinking, so instead she asked for some tea. The headmistress
called an elf and ordered them both tea. The elf popped out and the Headmistress asked "Miss Granger, what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Professor, I need to speak to you about something. I do not know how to tell you, I do not want to betray any secrets. I am in love with Severus Snape. He has gone
on a mission for the Dark Lord and has not returned."
"Hermione, I know that he left last night. Sometimes he is gone for days. I did not know however your feelings toward Severus. Are they going to affect your job or
your membership within the Order?"
"I do not know. I am just worried. I don't know what to think. What if he is dead? I don't know how I will be able to handle that. "
"Hermione, I know. Our tea has arrived, why don't we sit and enjoy a cup. No more talk of Voldemort until we are done with our tea. I have just been to see Hagrid
and he has offered to take us on a guided tour of the Forbidden Forest in a few weeks. It would be an excellent time to gather potion ingredients. "
"That would be lovely, as there are parts of the Forbidden Forest that I haven't had a chance to explore. This is very exciting news, there are many potion ingredients
that can only be recovered from the Forbidden Forest."
"Hermione, calm down again and drink your tea."
"I apologize Headmistress, I am just a little high strung today."
Minerva and Hermione spent part of the morning and early afternoon, sitting in her office talking about the War and to the previous Headmaster's portraits like Albus
Dumbledore. Hermione felt better knowing Albus was still watching over them all.
Hermione decided to join the teachers at lunch. She followed Minerva to the Great Hall, once the food arrived; Hermione noticed that she was famished. She ate her fill
and then excused herself to her room. She spent the rest of the afternoon rewriting the student's textbook. Once she was done rewriting the textbooks, Hermione
came up with a spell to change all of the books to the same book she had written.
Hermione decided the best option for showing students technology and the way that muggles lived. Hermione decided to go and visit Ginny and Harry and maybe go
on a day trip to London. Hermione packed a small overnight bag and then sent an owl to Harry to tell him she was coming. Hermione walked back up to the
Headmistresses office and left a copy of her book and also the spell to change all the other textbooks. She wrote a note and left it on the desk as well.
Headmistress,
I have gone to stay in London for a few days. I want to take pictures of Muggle things so that I may show the students. I've left a copy of the textbook that I've
rewritten and a spell to change the rest of the books so students won't have to purchase new books. I will be able to be reached at Harry's house. Thank you for
calming me down this morning; I will let you know if Severus contacts me.
Hermione walked out the front doors of Hogwarts and looked to Hogsmeade. She remembered last night when Severus had walked out that way before appearing to
the Dark Lord. Hermione hoped that Severus was alive and he would be back soon. Hermione apperated to 12 Grimmauld Place and walked into the house. It felt like
she was coming home,
Severus had pulled himself to his feet and then stood beside Voldemort. Severus knew that while he was in the Dark Lord's presence, he couldn't risk thinking of
Hermione. He wanted so much to see her face so he would do the Dark Lord's bidding as quickly as he able. The Dark Lord told Severus to walk closer, so limping the
entire way, Severus stood in front of the Dark Lord. Voldemort explained to Severus that he wanted to create another Horcrux, one that could contain the remaining
six Horcruuxs that he had created. Voldemort knew that Dumbledore had sent the brats on a mission to find the remaining pieces, but they had only found one other
and they hadn't destroyed it. Voldemort informed Severus that he was to get back the one piece that was in their custody.
The Dark Lord handled Severus a port key and explained that he was to go to a specific set of locations to retrieve the remaining Horcruxes. Severus was faced with a
very difficult decision, should he return these to the Dark Lord or should he turn them over to the Order? If only he could get this information back to the Order. He
would be able to kill the Dark Lord. He grabbed ahold of the portkey and was sucked into a small cave. In the center of the cave was pedestal. On this pedestal were a
rock hammer and a jeweled nail. The hammer was meant to break the jewel into a million pieces. The Dark Lord's soul was contained in the smallest crystal of the
broken jewel.
Severus used the hammer and broke the jewel into a million pieces. He used his wand to pull out the smallest piece of the jewel. It was a smaller shard of a ruby. It
had once been part of a larger jewel that was on Salazar Slytherin's cup. Severus put the jewel into the pouch the Dark Lord had given him. Severus grabbed the
portkey and was taken to the next place.
If you spot an error, please let me know so I can fix it. Thanks.