He was sitting at his kitchen table when they arrived the next morning. He had made tea, with two cups sitting in front of the chairs across from him. When the door closed behind them, he winced, and he was pinching the bridge of his nose when they walked into the kitchen.
"You look like hell, Severus," Minerva spoke first.
Oh, I feel it. He grimaced, "Yes, lovely I am sure, Minerva. Thank you."
Hermione pulled one of the chairs around next to him and sat in it. What? His tired face must've asked the question aloud.
"We are not here to lecture you," She said quietly to him and put her hand on his knee.
"Potter will be moved July 27th," Minerva sat across from him, "And I am here to lecture you just a wee bit... Alcohol is a depressant, Severus," When he rolled his eyes, "Don't you dare roll your eyes at me boy. You very know well know that. It will only exacerbate the negative emotions. Please... take care of yourself. You're no good to us drinking yourself into a stupor."
He smirked just slightly, "Yes, mother." She kicked him under the table, "Christ, woman! How very Slytherin of you," It was Minerva's turn to smirk.
She continued, "The plan is that Potter will move his family to a new safe location that same day, and the Order will move him after they've left. The Order will arrive in pairs of two, with Hagrid being the extra," She said. Snape listened intently.
She tapped her finger on the table, "One of each pair will take a Polyjuice Potion containing Potter's hair. There will, effectively, be seven Harry Potters. When You-Know-Who mounts his attack, it will be impossible to tell which Harry Potter is the real one."
Snape looked at her face, studied it, and then nodded, "Very well. I suppose that will draw enough attention away from the boy and create a sufficient distraction so as allow the Order enough time to move him."
Minerva looked nervous, and swallowed, "Yes, I quite agree."
What is she on about?
"Severus..." Hermione said. Oh, fuck. I know that voice. I'm not going to like this at all.
"What?" He asked.
"I am going to be one of the seven Potters." No. No. No.
"No, Hermione! No!" He bellowed.
"Severus... I've protected him before and it wouldn't exactly be the first time I've put my life on the line for him. I've been doing that quite steadily since I was 11."
"This is different!" He jerked his chair back and stood, "This is different! Taking that! Becoming him!"
She nodded, "I understand the dangers."
His eyes stared daggers at her, "No. I cannot allow it."
Hermione merely crossed her leg over the other and sipped her tea, "Well, I guess it's good then that I wasn't asking for permission."
What the fuck is wrong with you?
That infuriated him, "No one will know it's you and not him!"
"Yes, that's the point," She snapped.
"I told you he would take it well," Minerva raised an eyebrow pointedly at Hermione.
"You! You're fine with this?!" Snape roared at Minerva.
"No at all, boy, but I simply accept I cannot change her mind and instead, I choose to focus on how I can help her succeed."
He bent down on a knee next to Hermione and took her hands in his, "Please, don't do this. Don't do this. They will not know if it is or is not Potter. None of them will. They will kill you - all of you. I will not be able to tell which one you are. I will not be able to protect you. Please, Hermione, please. Please do not do this," He rested his forehead on her knee and the tears fell. Please, they'll kill you. They'll kill you.
"This is something I must do, Severus. This is part of my position," She put her hand in his hair, "Besides, I will most certainly let you know who I will be with!"
His hands shook in hers, "Hermione..."
She stroked his hair and then pulled him up into the chair next to her, "I will be okay, Severus. I will have plenty of people looking out for me, and I'll have you too."
He shook his head, "You... I cannot... Hermione, this might possibly be the least intelligent decision you've ever made."
She scoffed at him, "Oh, please. That's highly unlikely."
"How are you so calm about this?!"
"Because I have to be, Severus, for Harry. Because I have to be," She gritted her teeth, "And I trust you to take care of me no matter what. You promised me that." But...
He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again, "Hermione..." He searched her face, but found no weakness there. No. You will not change your mind. Foolish Gryffindor bravery. Foolish...
He put his hand through his hair. She stared at him, "You will protect me, won't you, Severus? Protect all of us?"
His head snapped toward her, "Of course I will. What level of success I will be able to achieve remains to be seen," He scowled.
"Were you already to be a part of this attack? Or were you given a choice?" Minerva asked.
"What choice I may or may not have been afforded is irrelevant now, isn't it?" His voice was icy.
"Severus, Hermione and I thought that..."
"Oh, this ought to be good. What else did you two think of? It will be difficult, though, to top the absolutely fantastic idea of sending the woman I love into certain death disguised as the bloody Boy Who Lived you've just presented me!" He growled.
"Severus, stop!" Hermione yelled.
"Oh, no, I've heard about all I can take from the two of you today! No more bloody ideas!" He grabbed his cup of tea and smashed it into the sink.
"Shut up, you foolish man!" Hermione screamed at him, "We're trying to help you!"
He gripped the sink edge until his knuckles were white, "Just how does you putting your life in even more danger help me?"
"It's not about that," She was standing behind him now. He hung his head while he continued to grip the sink.
"Severus..." Hermione said, "Please don't be angry with me. In my shoes, you'd do the same."
He turned to her slowly. He glanced nervously between the two of them and then focused on Hermione. When he spoke, his voice was so quiet that both women barely heard him, "I cannot lose you." It came out as a plea, a fearful declaration, and held within it, all of the loneliness of the boy he had once been.
"I know you're worried and scared. I know. I understand. I'm worried and scared, too. We all are, but have time to prepare, okay?"
He said nothing. His lip trembled and his hands shook. He said nothing. Please do not do this. When she noticed this, she stepped closer to him. She grabbed his hand in hers and kissed his knuckles.
"We have an idea as to how to make Hogwarts a bit less hostile for you," Minerva said.
Severus didn't respond. The tiny boy he had once been stood in the 6'2" frame of the man he had grown to be. Hermione moved closer to him, rested her shoulder on his chest, and he tilted his head down so he could smell her hair. His entire body was trembling. Please don't do this.
"It's okay, Severus, it's okay," She crooned to him. McGonagall watched her with him, and him with her, with utter heartbreak on her face.
A year ago, she would have blown Snape to hell for being near a student, and blown him beyond hell for being with Hermione. She watched them now, watched her comfort the man she had known for so many years. She watched him allow himself to be comforted. People are not always as they appear to be.
"Severus, what would you think about bringing more people in?" Minerva's voice was sympathetic.
He raised his eyebrows and looked at her curiously, "In?"
"We think it might be easier if we brought more people into this... circle... So that you would have a couple more allies whilst you're at school," Hermione pulled back a step to look at him.
Oh, no. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Hermione..."
"Not all of them! Not all of them! Just the House Heads! So, really, just Flitwick, Sprout, and Slughorn at this point," She gestured to Minerva.
"Are you taking the mickey out of me?" His voice was low and heavy with fear.
"No. No. Never," She said.
Bloody hell, Hermione.