I don't feel the need to apologize for the length of this one because it ended where I felt it should, but if you feel like it's short, remember it was supposed to go with the other one. The songs are just so opposite of one another :)

Song for this chapter: Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park

SBPOV

My gut had already been in knots when I had to leave Hermione on her lonesome in the hospital wing once more. I was frustrated that we hadn't found the diadem, and despite the fact that the night found me sitting nervously in the cottage trying to carry on a halfway decent conversation with Remus my mind remained in that room full of lost things. I did not feel even a smidge better when I could not immediately return to her the next day. I could not spin a story that made being her walking buddy pressing, and Lily had chosen that day to speak to me about how she felt, and how to go about repairing her relationship with her husband. So I stayed until the next day, despite the fact that it made it feel as if there was no air in my lungs.

My gut was still twisting when I apparated back to Hogwarts. It did not improve when I hurried on to the hospital and immediately noticed that Hermione was not present. I would not have immediately panicked, instead assuming that she had begun her search without me, but Poppy was nervously pacing in front of the empty bed with a note clutched in her hand. It set my heart off at a sprint, and I quickly closed the distance between us.

"What has happened?" I asked her brusquely. "You look as if… well as if someone has died."

"Oh no, nothing so grave," she said, stopping her pace to lock eyes with me. "I've lost a patient however, and Albus will be quite upset about it."

"Lost?" I pushed her.

"Hermione…" she sighed, sitting down on the bed. "She left in the middle of the night. Maybe she had been coming to wake me for something. I'm not sure, but she did see this note on my desk and I think she read too much into it. Without a full conversation, I think it would be easy to mistake the tone."

"May I read it?" I asked.

"I'd rather you didn't," she said honestly. "But I can summarize. Albus asked me to keep her here despite her quick recovery. He wanted to move her to a safe house, and I think she felt he was intending to remove her from whatever her position is with the Order. She also said she was needed at home, and that one line made me realize how little I know about her. I had assumed she lived alone."

I nodded, not sure what to say.

"I mean honestly," Poppy went on. "What brought her here? What is her motivation in all this? And what is waiting for her at home?"

"She doesn't talk about herself much. Hermione is very focused on the fight. She wants to bring light into everything she does," I said with a slight shrug. "I know she was born in Italy, but as for her home life I have never heard about anyone in her family. Maybe she cares for her parents, or has a husband, or perhaps she even has a child. I am not sure if it is our place to ask honestly."

"Don't you consider her a friend? It would be your place to ask," she pointed out.

"I am pursuing a friendship with her yes," I nodded. "But it is a fledgling friendship. I haven't told her much about myself either. She knows about my family only because of the funeral."

"I suppose you're right," she nodded looking down at the note. "You don't think she's a single mother do you? What a scary thought. I would understand being in a rush to leave then. I don't even want to think about the possibility of a small child left abandoned at home for a week while her mother was in the hospital."

"I don't want to picture it either," I told her honestly. "Hermione is a smart witch though. I think she will be able to keep herself safe without going to a safe house. She will know to be very careful going outside after what happened to her."

"Albus was adamant that I keep her here," Poppy pointed out. "He so rarely gets angry, but I worry that this one… this will make him angry."

"If he is, you know it won't be with you," I told her. "He might become angry with Hermione for taking the risk, but even that will be forgiven eventually."

"Perhaps you're right," she said standing from the bed and smoothing her hair back into order. "I guess she won't be needing a walking partner today however. Sorry you made the trip out for nothing."

"Oh not for nothing," I said as I offered her my most flirtatious smile. "A trip to see you is never wasted."

"You are incorrigible," she said with a nervous laugh. "Get out of my hospital wing young man."

"Alright Poppy, I'm going," I laughed as I turned and started to make my way off the ward. "One day you will give in to reason and realizing you are completely in love with me."

Her laughter followed me out, and helped to soothe the anxious feeling boiling up in my stomach once more. The question now was: did she find the horcrux before she had to abandon ship? Would I be better of trying to search that room again while she was gone, or should I speak with her first? In the end my mind was made up for me, because I had absolutely no idea how to get back into that room without her. She as casually as I could, in case anyone was watching me, I walked down to the gates and prepared to go somewhere I had promised I would not go again.

With a quick bout of apparition I found myself standing on the Snape porch once more. I was smarter and far more sober this time around, so I quickly cast a ward around the porch that would obscure me from the view of the neighbors but leave me in plain sight of Severus or Hermione. Only then did I reach out to knock on the door. I managed one quick knock and then the door flew open to reveal a scary looking Severus standing in the doorway.

He was wearing his typical black, but his hair was all over the place, his skin drained of color, and his eyes so full of worry that I hardly recognized him. He reached out with a shaking hand, grabbed my wrist, and yanked me inside the house before slamming the door closed. He immediately released me and put space between us.

"I cannot believe I am actually saying this, but I am so happy to see you right now," he said as he ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. "I've been summoned, and well you know quite well what happens to someone who does not respond to a summons, but Hermione should not be left unattended right now."

"What is going on with her?" I asked. "Did she find the horcrux? Have her injuries healed? Is she alright?"

"Just shut up for a second alright," Severus shouted at me. "The horcrux has been destroyed, and Hermione made an attempt on the Dark Lord's life. She was not successful, because I would not let her be. I don't have time to explain that to you right now, but I will when I return. If I return. Right now she is unconscious, and she is unlikely to wake until tomorrow at the earliest. This is a backlash, a drain from the necromantic spell she attempted. I need you to watch over her."

I nodded, not daring to speak while I tried to process what he had said.

"There is another strengthening solution on the bedside table as well as some water and food under a stasis charm," he explained as he opened a cabinet and pulled out a dark robe and began to put it on. "If she wakes make sure she takes the potion, and eats everything. I don't expect her to wake though. So please just keep an eye on her. Don't let her get to hot or too cold. She ran an awful fever the last time something like this happened, and that spell was nothing compared to this one. If it gets too bad there is a fever reducer in the bathroom cabinet, but a cool cloth should be enough."

"I can take care of her," I promised him. "Just come back. It'll do her no good to wake up if you are gone."

He choked on a strangled laugh and I wondered what had happened with them. I hoped Hermione hadn't shared her opinion on what would happen if she died with him. I said nothing, just watched him as he quickly brought himself from the husband crazed with worry, to an emotionless death eater in full regalia. His eyes seemed dead behind the mask when he looked at me again.

"If I do not return," he said, his voice slightly muffled by the mask but still clear. "Get her out of the country. Please."

And then he was gone. For the first time in my life, while standing in the living room of the man who had once been my enemy, I truly connected with the fact that I was an adult now. Childish grudges no longer mattered, and so much was swinging in the balance of this war we were fighting. I felt old. I felt bone weary as I climbed the stairs, assuming that the bedroom would be found up there.

I was not disappointed. The first open door I encounter lead me right to Hermione. She was ensconced in the bed, and she reminded me of the silly muggle story Lily had once told me about a sleeping princess locked in a tower. The only mar to the pretty picture she made lying in that bed was the sweat glistening on her brow and wetting her hair.

Severus had covered her with sheet, and even from the doorway I could see that she couldn't be wearing much beneath it. She looked ill, and in some ways worse than she had in the hospital wing. An old memory of Narcissa and I both sick with Dragon Pox as children flashed through my mind. She lacked the rash of iridescent scales erupting across her flesh, but other than that she looked exactly as we had. Immediately I turned my wand on her and cast a powerful cooling charm. That had always made me feel better when I was sick with fever.

I settled in on the chair that had been pulled up beside the bed, and I watched over Hermione while she slept. I lost track of time, but I knew that I was sitting there for a very long time and Severus hadn't returned yet. It was a strange feeling to worry after the health of a man that I used to spend the majority of my time tormenting.

It had gone dark by the time I heard the pop of apparition downstairs. I had long since lit the overhead light in their bedroom so I could keep careful watch over Hermione. I had alternated between covering her with a blanket and applying cold clothes to her, but there hadn't been much change thus far. She continued to sleep, and I continued to watch her.

There was a quick pounding of feet on the stairs and then Severus barreled into the room. His robes and mask were gone, and the worry back in his eyes. He immediately rushed to the bed and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. He then checked her pulse before turning to look at me.

"When did she transition from being unconscious to dreaming?" he asked me.

"I hadn't realized she had," I admitted. "I've been so focused on regulating her temperature, that unconscious or asleep didn't even register with me."

"Did you perhaps notices when her eyes began to track like this?" he said without malice, pointing at her eyes.

I felt like an idiot for not connecting that with dreaming. I had seen it the moment it started, but I had been so concerned with dealing with the new crop of sweat on her forehead.

"I've not kept the best track of passing time," I told him when I met his gaze once more. "But that started before the sun went down. If I had to guess I'd say it was roughly two hours after you'd gone."

"Okay, that makes it pretty clear then," he nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking Hermione's hand in his. "His health is directly affecting her ability to wake. I thought it might be which is why I administered the strengthening solution to the Dark Lord after I brewed it for him. Well that and not wanting to be murdered."

"Did whatever she did to him have an effect then?" I asked.

"A substantial one," he nodded, a pained smile tugging the corner of his mouth before it went away. "She very nearly killed him. He was unable to move about or get out of bed when I first arrived at the manor. I think he used up what little magic he was able to wield in summoning me, and currently seems unable to do more. It is the perfect time to make a final strike against him, but I don't feel comfortable doing it until Hermione wakes. Right now they are so closely tied together, that I'm afraid killing him could somehow lock her in this sleep."

"What did she do exactly," I asked when he stopped speaking.

"She attempted to—" he stopped himself, pain rippling through him before he froze in place attempting to gather himself. "She attempted to use the sacrifice of her own life to kill him from a distance."

"You stopped her," I nodded, it wasn't really a question.

"How could I not?" he spat at me.

"You had to," I nodded. "She's quite obviously your whole world."

"Why couldn't see she that?" he growled, dropping his head into his hands. "She thought I could just… move on. What is that?"

"I think she may struggle to see her own worth," I sighed.

"I think something like this has been coming since she realized she is a necromancer," Severus sighed, siting up to meet my gaze again. "She believes that it makes her completely evil. She wouldn't see her own death as a loss because our whole life revolves around ridding the world of dark wizards and she puts herself in that category."

"Can I ask you a question," I asked softly. "Is she a muggle born?"

"How?" he said, his eyes boring into mine. "How when we have easily fooled everyone into thinking she is a pureblood have you seen through it. What about her makes it so obvious to you Sirius?"

"Honestly? It isn't obvious," I said with a shake of the head. "But she doesn't seem to understand what necromancy is. It was the one time in my life I remember Albus tipping his own hat to the fact that he was not raised as a pureblood. Those not brought up in the traditional way think of it as dark magic, but those of us that were brought up in pureblood tradition know it's just theurgic magic. It is only dark when you choose to wield it that way."

"Thank you," came a muffled reply that sounded gravelly.

Immediately my eyes shot to Hermione, and I saw that hers were open. She looked exhausted, but she was awake. I offered her a beaming smile, but she only had eyes for Severus as he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"I needed to hear that," she whispered wearily as Severus caressed her face and she allowed her eyes to drift closed in contentment.

"I'm so glad to see you awake," Severus told her quietly. "As soon as you are back on your feet we can plot our next step."

"Why wait?" I interjected.

"I think that would be obvious," he spat at me.

"No, you misunderstand me," I said, trying to keep my cool despite his quick change in attitude. "Why not move forward in a different way? The horcruxes are all destroyed are they not? Why not have someone in the order make the strike? I could do it, or we could even send Albus after him. Hell I'm sure Lily would love to take a crack at the bastard right about now."

"You can't say a word to the order," Hermione sighed.

"Why not," I pushed.

"How would you explain to them that you knew any of this?" Severus asked me. "You shouldn't be in contact with me, and Hermione shouldn't be running side missions without the approval of the headmaster. There is no way to spin it that doesn't end badly."

"Will they really care if it ends the war?" I asked.

"Image will be even more important with the war ending," Severus sighed. "The end of the war can only bring trials, and then for some of us it becomes a new battle, the fight to stay out of Azkaban. Do you really want to put yourself in that group of people?"

"If I am to stand there with the two of you I would be amongst good company," I shrugged realizing I really meant it.

"If we can make these last few days play out right Hermione will not be in that camp either," Severus shook his head. "It's a matter of making both of your hands look clean, but this mark on my arm means that I will stand trial no matter what. I have to hope that Dumbledore will stand on my behalf for bringing him a spy."

"Perhaps my time can be better spent building bridges for the pair of you then," I suggested.

"Do what you can for Hermione please," Severus said quietly. "But like I told you when you first stumbled into my home. No one can know you were here. You cannot know she is married to me. None of it."

"We'll figure something out for Severus when the time comes," Hermione tried to assure me in that tired voice. "I won't let him go to Azkaban, don't worry."

"For now, it is best you return to the safe house," Severus told me. "You've been gone for a long time, and you can't use being with Hermione as an excuse without drawing unwanted attention to yourself. You will need to keep your distance from us for now."

SPOV

I waited quietly, still holding Hermione's hand tightly, as Sirius stood and walked out of the room. Neither of us talked while we listened to his footstep recede down the stairs. I waited patiently, listening for the sound, until there was a pop to indicate he had apparated away. Only then did I turn my gaze back upon Hermione.

"We need to wait," I told her. "He is too linked with you to do it now, but I think I know how we can do it. It will be a sure shot."

"I'll do it however you want," she promised me. "Tell me what your plan is?"

"The Dark Lord is relying on me for potions to heal him," I explained to her. "It is a small matter of slipping him a poison instead of a potion when the time comes."

"I know he is not on par with you as a brewer," she said groggily. "But isn't there a risk of him smelling it before he takes it?"

"We have a few days to find the right poison to do it," I shrugged, masking a poison did not make me nervous, I knew I could do it. "We may have to just slip venom or a poison from an animal into a regular potion to do it, but I know we can."

"That's almost poetic when you think about it," she laughed airily and let her eyes drift closed. "Wouldn't it be? For a man so obsessed with magic and immortality to be struck down by something as supposedly plain as the venom of a non-magical snake."

"I think it is exactly what he deserves," I nodded in agreement, pulling the blankets over her once more. "For now though, let's just focus on getting your strength back. You need to rest."

"Will you lay with me?" she asked me softly.

I could not deny her. I kicked off my shoes and climbed under the blankets with her. Planning out what would come of our future could wait. For now all I wanted to do was hold my living ad breathing wife close to my chest.