Hello everyone! It's been ages, but as we've been enjoying our new home, but we suddenly have so much free time! I hope you are all safe and well and that you enjoy this chapter. We're jumping around the summer. xx.


Chapter 30

Ninety minutes later, Hermione shrunk their trunks, shoved them in her beaded bag, and the three Gryffindors were sprinting down the Hogwarts grounds to meet Snape, fully aware that they were late because Ron hadn't completed his packing last nigh. When they arrived at the front gates, Snape was standing there, looking disgruntled, but not nearly as imposing as usual. Aware that he was meeting muggles who despised wizards, he had ditched the teaching robes and frock coat for a black leather moto jacket and his white shirt was open at the collar. The boys looked gobsmacked at their professor's appearance while Hermione was panting, from the exertion, and the sight of his arse in those trousers. Turning to his lover, he arched his eyebrow and grabbing a stone, transfigured it into a cup, filling it with water from his wand and passed it to her.

"You really shouldn't be running like that in your condition," he murmured, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear while she gulped down the water.

"The midwife said it was fine. I'm young and healthy. No placental problems or pre-eclampsia. Don't worry, I know my limits."

Severus grunted, indicating that he didn't agree with the doctor, but held his tongue before turning to the two boys. "Which of you wasn't packed?" he growled, "We don't have all day."

Ron raised his hand sheepishly, and Severus gave him a scathing look before barking instructions. "I will apparate side-along with Harry. Hermione and Weasley, you can apparate on your own, unless Weasley thinks he'll splinch himself?"

Ron protested, saying he was perfectly capable of getting himself to Privet Drive on his own and so Snape opened the gates and had the two of them step through and apparate before he grabbed Harry's arm and followed.

Standing on the pavement, Severus stared at the dull, boxy brown brick homes of the Surrey suburb with disdain. To think that Petunia Dursley thought this to be a step up from the row houses they had grown up in Cokeworth. They may be detached homes with a front and back garden, but these flat-pack homes were just as uniform and bland as Spinner's End.

He gave Hermione and Ron a once over to ensure they were not splinched and then looked Harry in the eyes. "Let me do the talking; I have to explain to your Aunt and Uncle that we will be moving them into hiding. I know this will be an awful two months, but it will be the last two months you ever spend in this miserable neighbourhood."

Harry nodded, and Snape strode ahead of the trio and rapped sharply on the front door. Standing in the doorway was a man Severus could only presume was Vernon Dursley. The big beefy man narrowed his mean little eyes and appraised the tall, lank man in front of him, sneering at the black hair skimming his shoulders.

"Hello Mr. Dursley," Snape drawled, "I suggest that you invite me into your home, lest your neighbours get suspicious."

At that, Vernon's face started to turn purple, and his eyes narrowed into slits, "And why would I do that. I have no idea who you are."

"Ah, let me correct that. I am Professor Severus T. Snape at Hogwarts…"

Severus barely finished saying Hogwarts before Dursley slammed the door in his face. Turning to look at Harry with an unspoken question, the Boy who Lived just shrugged as if to say, "Typical." Sighing, Severus pulled out his wand, "Magic it is then," he muttered.

Grasping the doorknob, Severus cast an unlocking charm and opened the door, striding into the small entryway, the three Gryffindors scampering behind him. Vernon Dursley stood next to the staircase, next to Harry's old cupboard - the vein in his temple was pulsing violently. "Now see here," Vernon started, before Severus cut him off.

"Where is Petunia? She and I grew up together."

When Vernon didn't reply, Severus continued. "As I was saying, I am a Professor at your nephew's school. The school has been forced to close a month early, and I am here to bring Harry home."

"What?" Vernon spat, finally registering for the first time the presence of Harry and his friends. "You can't just bring him home early. Dumbledore agreed last year that we'd just have to deal with him for July, then the boy would be out of our hair for good."

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed reassuringly while Severus advanced on Uncle Vernon looming over the man. "Albus Dumbledore died three days ago, which is why the school has shut down. Now, go find your wife, and we will all sit down and speak, like civilized adults."

When Vernon made no move, Severus pointed his wand at the man, causing Dursley to quickly turn calling out, "Petunia dear, we have company."

The kitchen door opened and there stood Harry's aunt, wearing rubber gloves, clearly halfway through her weekend deep clean of all kitchen surfaces. Her horsy face registered nothing but shock.

Breaking through the silence, Severus said: "Hello Tuney, it's been a long time."

"Severus," Petunia spat, "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, so Harry has never spoken to you about his Potions professor?"

"Of course not," Petunia said, "We forbid – I mean to say – the boy never talks about school."

"Indeed. Well, let's assume that you have invited me and Harry's friends into your sitting room for a cuppa. This will take a while."

Petunia returned to the kitchen, followed by Hermione, while Harry led Snape and Ron into the sitting room, followed by a grumbling Vernon Dursley.

"Can I do anything to help Mrs. Dursley?" Hermione asked. Petunia seemed startled at the girls' presence but just pointed to the kettle on the hob. Hermione picked it up, filled it in the sink and set it on the hob to boil while Petunia completed her clean-up of the counters and deposited the rubber gloves to dry.

The two women then just stood and stared at each other awkwardly, waiting for the kettle to boil.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Petunia asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Hermione Granger," she said earnestly, sticking out her hand. When Petunia didn't take it, she awkwardly lowered it and let it hang by her side.

Finally, Petunia spoke, "Your parents are dentists? I've spoken to them at King's Cross. You're my nephew's muggle-born friend?"

"Yes ma'am. My parents had a practice in London."

"Had?"

"Yes, ummm, Professor Snape had them sent into hiding. You-Know-Who threatened their lives."

"..and that's why Severus is here today."

Hermione nodded.

Petunia sighed, "I knew this day would come. The moment the first letter came." Looking at Hermione with her beady eyes, she said, "He killed my sister, hated her for being a muggle-born. They will hate you too. You'll be safer if you run, leave the country."

Hermione nodded, but looking at the woman hard in the eyes, she replied, "Of course, but Harry's in danger, and I could never live with myself if something happened to him, and I wasn't there."

"You're noble, just like her, like Lily."

Hermione's stomach sunk a little at that comment, being equated to Lily Evans Potter just reminded her that Severus had loved her. Thankfully, she was spared any more talk as the kettle whistled. Quickly pouring the hot water into the prepared teapot, and putting it on the tea tray, she fled to the sitting room, allowing Mrs. Dursley to carry the tray on her own.

It was surreal to Harry to be passed a teacup by his formerly despised Potions Master while he sat on the sofa in his aunt's sitting room. He had never been allowed to drink from the fancy china, it was for a company only. While Ron stuffed a teacake into his mouth, Hermione daintily sipped her tea and Uncle Vernon refused to take his eyes off of Severus, while Aunt Petunia gave him a look of loathing. Severus held the teacup but did not drink before raising a sardonic eyebrow at Aunt Petunia that only caused her scowl to deepen.

"Still a snob after all these years, Tuney?" Snape snarled, "You'll be surprised, but I've become quite elevated in wizarding society. No longer the snivelling boy from Spinner's End."

"You're one of them," Petunia hissed, "Lily told me when she came home that summer, and you weren't hanging around anymore."

"Indeed, I was, but I am reformed, a condition of my employment at Hogwarts, where I've been a teacher for seventeen years. I'm currently the interim Deputy Headmaster. Albus Dumbledore died three days ago when Death Eaters stormed the castle. We have closed the school early, and that's why we have brought Harry home, where he will remain until just before his birthday. When we come to retrieve him in July, you and your son must go into hiding."

Uncle Vernon had been surprisingly quiet throughout this entire exchange, his beady eyes shifting between his wife and the foreboding wizard, but now he erupted. "Now wait just a second," he shouted, "you want us to leave our home? Why would we do such a thing? You just want the house for the boy! He'll rob us blind."

Harry rolled his eyes, and Severus shot Vernon a scathing look. "It may have escaped your notice while you fabricated lies that James and Lily Potter were good for nothing vagabonds and grifters, but James Potter came from one of the wealthiest wizarding families and left a substantial inheritance to his only son. He doesn't need this miserable middle-class suburban dwelling.

"What do you mean, wealthy?" Vernon said, his eyes glittering, "We fed and clothed the boy for sixteen years, never received a single pound for his care. Had to make sacrifices…"

"Spare me, Dursley. I am fully aware of your treatment of your nephew and that is why I'm here. Harry will have access to all of his belongings and his owl during his stay here. You will feed him properly and if Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger and myself do not hear from him every other day I will return before the end of July. You'll no longer need to go into hiding because no one will ever find your miserable body every again. Do I make myself clear?"

Harry shivered at the neutral, matter of fact tone the man used while he examined his perfectly manicured hands, barely giving Uncle Vernon the time of day.

Vernon sputtered and started to rage again when Petunia placed her hand on his forearm, whispering in his ear, before looking back at her childhood nemesis. "What arrangements will be made," she asked coolly.

Severus nodded perfunctorily, getting down to business, "You know about the blood wards. No one can harm Harry or anyone in your household until he is of age, which is this summer when he turns seventeen. Then, the Dark Lord will be able to breach the threshold, and kidnap Harry. As muggles and relatives of Harry Potter, you are of no consequence to him, so he'll kill you. You will have two months to make arrangements with your solicitors and pack a carload. Everything else must go into storage. Two members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's resistance organization, will go into hiding with you as protection. We are currently in the process of securing a safe house. It will likely be a small cottage large enough for you, your son and the two wizards."

Petunia digested all of this while Vernon muttered under his breath about work and is very valuable to his company. Petunia ignored him and said, "How long?"

Hermione interjected at this point. "We don't know, but hopefully no more than a year."

"And we'll be safe, our Dudders will be safe?"

"If you follow my instructions to the letter," replied Severus, his eyes boring into those of a woman who he despised and who despised him in turn.

"Lily trusted Dumbledore to send her into hiding, and she died anyway," Petunia continued to argue, her fear and mistrust evident.

"Lily and James went behind Dumbledore's back and trusted someone they thought was harmless and unassuming, but who was a double agent. I know all of the Dark Lord's followers, the same mistake will not be made twice. This is your only chance. Quite frankly, I don't care if you live or die, but Harry has asked for us to protect you, Tuney."

Petunia Dursley's beady little eyes opened wide in shock at her nephew, who refused to return her look, staring at the wall behind her.

With the arrangements sorted, Ron, Hermione and Severus stood to leave. Ron clapped Harry on the back and ruffled his hair playfully, telling him they'd be at the Burrow together soon for Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Hermione ran into his arms and hugged him so tightly to her body that he thought she'd break his ribs and whispered, "Make sure you write ok?"

While Harry murmured, "take care of yourself and the little one' Mione.

She nodded vigorously and moved to stand in front of the door with Ron. Then Severus appeared, looking down at Harry just as he had for the last several years, except this time his face had softened slightly, a sign of their new relationship. "Every 48 hours Potter. If I do not see that owl of yours once every 48 hours, I will be on this stoop blasting down the door, so make sure its an emergency only."

"Yes sir," Harry nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. It was still so bizarre for him to realize that Snape cared. Dumbledore had never bothered to check in on him to make sure he was being treated properly, and now … sixteen years after he had arrived on Privet Drive, about to end his childhood sentence here, an adult cared and could take action. Without realizing what he was doing, Harry closed the gap quickly between him and Snape and squeezed the man around the middle. Looking up at the man he had hated for so many years, he whispered, "Thanks for caring, sir."

Severus awkwardly gripped the back of Harry's neck, pulling him slightly closer to his body, his mind wandering, questioning if this was what it would be like when he said goodbye to his own son one day. "I'm sorry I didn't care sooner," Severus replied.

Then the moment was over, Severus sent a look of loathing to Vernon Dursley before nodding curtly to Petunia, and the witch and two wizards were on the pavement once more. Hermione looked like she was about to burst into sobs, so Severus wrapped her gently in his arms and looked at Weasley and said: "We'll meet you at the Burrow." Ron nodded silently and disapparated with a loud crack, then Severus followed with Hermione clutching his wool coat.


Molly had insisted that Severus and Hermione stay for dinner at the Burrow. The entire family, minus Charlie, plus Remus and Tonks were there after the funeral. It seemed as though Molly had decided to accept Hermione's pregnancy and was going to stuff her with as much food as possible. Hermione didn't seem to mind. She also insisted that Hermione remove her glamour charm, which she did gratefully. The further along in her pregnancy she got, the more exhausting it was to sustain, and the witch was grateful that now that Hogwarts was closed, she'd be able to stay at home or in the privacy of the Order most days.

When she removed the charm, Remus growled under his breath but was otherwise silent thanks to the glare Severus levelled at him. Everyone could sense some tension in the room and surprisingly it was Ronald who broke it. "Hey Snape," the boy said cheekily, "Have you seen dad's shed of muggle stuff? You and 'Mione are likely the only people who know what half the stuff is. Let me show you."

Hermione gave Ron a strange look but quickly figured it out when the boy mouthed "R.A.B." and the witch jumped up off the sofa and agreed, "Yes, I could do with a walk and some fresh air Severus."

Confused, the wizard followed the two out silently, and when they got to the shed, Ron shut the door and cast a muffliato. Hermione quickly explained the fake Horcrux Harry and Dumbledore had retrieved and the note. "Do you know any former Death Eaters with the initials R.A.B?"

Severus' face had turned ashen, and he whispered, "Reg…"

"Who is Reg?" Hermione asked.

Clearing his throat, Severus looked at them both, "Regulus Arcturus Black… Sirius' younger brother. He was a year behind us in school, a Slytherin. We were close friends, became Death Eaters at the same time… the summer after Reg finished Hogwarts, he disappeared out of nowhere. Everyone assumed the Dark Lord killed him…but no one knew why. He knew. Reg figured it out…"

So if Regulus is dead, how do we find the locket?" Ron asked.

"Grimmauld," murmured Hermione. It must be at Grimmauld Place … under our noses the whole time! We need to search for it."

"We'll go tomorrow," replied Severus, we've had enough excitement for today.


The next morning, Hermione and Severus left Spinner's End and apparated to the Burrow. None of the Weasleys asked where they were going with Ron, but they assumed it had to do with Harry. Once they arrived at Grimmauld, and a basic summoning charm failed to produce the locket, they systematically searched every single room in the house. When Hermione got to the drawing-room and saw the large cabinet, she froze and shouted for Ron and Severus to join her.

"What in Merlin's name, witch?" Severus growled.

"Two summers ago… two summers ago, when we all lived here," Hermione stammered, "We were throwing out dark objects. There was a locket in that cabinet. Nobody could open it and we … we …"

"You what?" Severus asked.

"We threw it in the rubbish," Ron answered. We passed it all around, even Mum couldn't open it, so we chucked it."

Severus groaned, but Ron continued grasping, "Kreacher nicked loads from us though remember, he kept skulking around, stealing things back. He stashed everything in his cupboard in the kitchen."

The three of them ran down the stairs two at a time, praying for the slender hope that the locket was in Kreacher's nest. Ron, the fastest of the three, reached the kitchen first and skidded the length of the kitchen, wrenching the cupboard door open. There were dirty old blankets where the house-elf had once slept before Harry banished him to Hogwarts, but there were none of the glittering trinkets that Kreacher had once salvaged.

Punching the wooden door, Ron let out a visceral shout, "It's empty, damn house elf! Kreacher! Kreacher!"

Severus silenced the boy with a spell, "The house-elf won't come for any but his Master. Harry needs to call him."

"So we send Harry a message! Call him, get him to call Kreacher!"

"We can't owl this information, it could be intercepted. He could telephone Harry, but again, he can't do much. I think we wait until we retrieve him." Severus said calmly.

Ron still silenced kicked the cupboard door repeatedly, frustrated by the dead end. Severus gripped the boy by the upper arm and whirled him around. The redhead looked like he was going to struggle against the Dark wizard, but hesitated by the look in the man's eyes. Without removing the silencing charm Severus spoke, "Get a hold of yourself Weasley," he said, trying to keep his voice neutral, knowing the boy would not listen to the derision he was used to hearing from his former teacher. "We have four Horcruxes to find, and they could be spread around Europe. So far, Albus has left us with no information but a few clues, and you need to be in this for the long haul. You can't be hiding from Death Eaters when the ministry falls and lose your temper after every single setback because there will be many. Understood?"

Looking chastened, Ron nodded and Severus removed the charm.

"Sorry sir," Ron mumbled.

"No matter," Severus said, brushing the apology aside, "You're allowed to be angry, but you need to learn to control your temper. You and Potter are such hotheads, and it will lead to danger for all of you, and I won't allow that to happen to Hermione … or you and Harry, I suppose."

Ron and Hermione both looked surprised at Severus' vow to the boys and stared at him gaping.

Finally, Hermione composed herself, "alright, we can't ask Kreacher about the locket until July ... so what now?"

"You two try to research the artifact from Ravenclaw and try to figure out how to destroy the Horcruxes while I try to find out where the Dark Lord has hidden Hufflepuff's cup," Severus said.

"Alright. I have some books to research, but what if I run out?"

"The flat in Vienna has the best books in my collection. Just don't let Weasley touch anything, and you can go there most days."

Ron let out a small groan at the realization that he'd be spending his summer researching with Hermione, which quickly turned to a sheepish grin when his friend glared at him."


'Maybe this isn't so bad,' Ron thought to himself after the first few days of research with Hermione in Snape's flat. They had agreed that four days a week, Hermione would apparate from Spinner's End to the Burrow to retrieve Ron since the wards wouldn't admit anyone without Hermione and Severus' opinion. She would apparate them to the sitting room of Spinner's End and then they would floo to the flat in Vienna.

Snape had a house-elf, and Ron's only exposure to house-elves were Kreacher and the Hogwarts elves. Pepper treated Hermione like she was mistress already and, as her guest, kept Ron well-fed with pastries, meats and cheeses much to his delight. For the most part, he was rubbish at research, though and was mostly responsible for pulling down and re-shelving Hermione's books since Snape wouldn't let her lift them herself, and her magic was becoming a little erratic and unstable as she entered her third trimester. Apparently, it was normal, not that he'd been exposed to many pregnant women, his Mum having Ginny when he was still in diapers himself. It was another reason they needed to wait until the baby was born. Without Hermione's skills, Ron knew they were dead.

When Ron wasn't re-shelving Hermione's books, Snape let him practice in his duelling room. The man had sneered on the first day and said that there was nothing to break in there since it was heavily warded and empty except for defence dummies, so he figured the redhead would do the least amount of damage there. It also let Ron practice is magic for the first time outside of school and helped him burn off the pent-up energy he usually burned off playing Quidditch in the summer. Ron was still shocked that he was spending most days in a posh house owned by Snape, that Snape was decent, and that Hermione was pregnant. Maybe instead of cursing Hermione, Hermione had him under some spell, Ron thought to himself, not that he understood what Hermione would see in Snape. She wasn't one to care about house-elves and posh houses, it was probably the books, Ron realized. Their kid would be such a swot.

One day in the middle of June, Ron was in the duelling room panting after having his arse kicked by a duelling dummy when he heard Hermione shriek. Bolting out of the room, he found Hermione, hands in the air, dancing around the library screaming. She saw Ron and ran grabbing him around the middle as best she could with her large belly. "I know how to destroy them," she screeched at a pitch Ron was pretty sure only dogs could hear.

Grabbing her upper arms and holding her away from him, Ron gazed at her excitedly. "Breath Hermione, and tell me in a normal voice."

"Basilisk venom destroys Horcruxes," she breathed, "And Severus has access to a castle that just so happens to be sitting on top of a Basilisk corpse."

Ron hugged her tight and kissed her on the cheek. "You're bloody brilliant 'Mione."


Severus didn't know how he'd survived the last two summers without Hermione to come home to every night. This summer was particularly brutal as the Dark Lord grew even more dangerous and deadly.

He immediately accepted Severus' plan to break out the ten lieutenants out of Gringotts. One week after the death of Dumbledore, Severus led a team consisting of Bellatrix, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Thorfinn Rowle, Corban Yaxley, and Draco Malfoy to break into Azkaban. The Dark Lord had called the Dementors back to his side with the promise to roam free throughout Muggle London, feasting on the happiness of such a large population, and they fled the wizarding prison immediately. Severus communicated the date to Kingsley and Tonks, who notified the spy the time of the changing guard. During rotation, they had five minutes to break through the wards and escape with Death Eaters in tow.

Severus was grateful for sticking charms when he arrived at the fortress in the middle of the North Sea on nothing but his old Cleansweep Nine. A powerful gale blew him off course, and he gripped the broom handle trying to reach his position. Carefully removing one hand, he set the timer on his battered old muggle watch and pulled out his wand. Sending red sparks in the sky to notify the others, Severus quickly began dismantling the wards on his side of the Tower. The wards fell quickly thanks to Kingsley's work that afternoon and spotting Lucius, his old ally, gripping the bars of his cell; Severus yelled: "Back away Lucius." His words died in the wind, but Lucius understood the message well enough and huddled in the corner of his cell furthest from the window as Severus blasted the stone wall apart.

The stone blew apart, much like the astronomy tower a few weeks before, and Severus flew into the cell. Lucius looked stunned to see his old friend and didn't need to be told twice to jump on the broom.

Lucius gripped Severus tightly around the middle, shivering in his prison rags. He was gaunt, his usually shining blond hair brittle, and his perfectly manicured nails jagged and broken. Severus was also shocked at the stench coming off his friend, mingled with the heavy salt air.

They flew 5 miles southwest of the prison island and waited for the others. Severus looked down at his watch and up at the twilight sky, six dots small dots in the air rushing towards them, the Dark Mark glittering bright green in the sky.

They approached, and Severus hissed, "quickly, we need to hit land. Rendez-vous in Aberdeen and then apparate to the manor."

They all nodded in agreement, though Bellatrix regarded him with hostility and picked up the long flight Scotland.

Returning to Malfoy Manor hours later, Severus knelt before the Dark Lord. "Well done, Severus," he hissed as he put a long finger under Severus' chin and raised his gaze to meet glittering red eyes. "I am pleased. If you continue like this, my faithful servant, I will make you Headmaster of Hogwarts when this is all over. Would you like that, successor to that old fool Dumbledore? His portrait, sitting there every day while my spy, the man he thought was his own, sits on his throne?"

Severus bowed his head and gave a tight smile. "You honour me, My Lord. Surely I am not worthy."

"Ah Severus, still with the self-loathing, all these years later. You have always been one of my greatest triumphs. We are cut from the same cloth you and I."

That night Severus returned home to Spinner's End, Hermione safely in Vienna and threw up until nothing but bile came up. The Dark Lord was right, he had been cut from the same cloth, but he hoped that Hermione and his son would remake him. He did not want to be anything like that monster.


"We can't just smuggle Potter into Hogwarts. The place is crawling with Ministry workers repairing the damage to the Astronomy Tower, not to mention the professors and Minerva, who will certainly wonder what's going on. Once Harry is out of Privet Drive he will not be free to move around."

"Well Ron says Harry could only open the Chamber of Secrets through parseltongue!" Hermione shouted back.

Tensions were running high between them as the summer dragged on. The previous discovery of the basilisk venom was muted by their inability to harvest it. As for the other Horcruxes, the only heirloom of Ravenclaw's she could find mentioned in Hogwarts, A History was Ravenclaw's diadem, which had disappeared in the founders' lifetime and never discovered since, another dead end… There was no chance Lord Voldemort had found a 1000-year-old missing artifact.

Ron sat at the table, eating the spread Pepper had once again laid out for them when he tried to interrupt and started choking on a biscuit. The pair stopped and turned their gaze to the redhead. Hermione rushed to his side while Severus thumped him on the back. Wheezing slightly, Ron looked up at them. "I could try you know. Harry talks in his sleep. Often hissing. Our fifth year, when he kept dreaming of the door to the Department of Mysteries especially. I reckon he was hissing 'Open,' or something."

Severus rolled his eyes while Hermione looked hopeful. "I suppose it's better than nothing," Severus muttered.

A day later, the trio flooed from Spinner's End to Severus' quarters at Hogwarts. While Ron looked around curiously, Severus hit the boy with a disillusionment charm and then Hermione. They exited Severus' third-floor quarters down one level to the girl's second-floor lavatory, the scene of Harry's attack on Draco months earlier.

Ron quickly went to the tap with the tiny snake engraving and began to make a horrible strangled hissing noise. Severus grimaced at the sounds while Hermione encouraged him to continue. After a minute or so and several attempts, the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move. The sink sank out of sight, leaving a large pipe wide enough for a man to slide into exposed.

Hermione cheered while Ron looked on in disbelief before gathering his wits "Pipe looks a lot smaller now …"

Severus rolled his eyes, "Get your broom and go down, Weasley. I'll follow. Hermione, stay here."

Putting her hands on her hips, Hermione protested, "I have just as much right to go down there, Severus Snape."

Levelling her with his best Potions Master stare Severus looked on, "Of course you do and in any other circumstance … but Hermione…"

"Snape's right 'Mione," the cave partially caved in thanks to Lockhart, there are rubble and bones. You could hurt yourself and the little one. Stay here and hang out with Myrtle."

Hermione looked like she'd rather face another troll rather than spend time with Myrtle, and pulled the fire topaz pendant she had not taken off in months out from her t-shirt. "I have the best protection against poison. I'll be fine. You're not leaving me behind just because I'm pregnant."

Ron just looked at the couple and shrugged, jumping down the pipe. Severus grumbled but acquiesced and said, "Fine, but you're not sliding down that thing like Weasley. I'll fly us down."

"Fine," Hermione said primly as she wrapped her arms around Severus' waist, and he levitated in a cloud of black smoke and descended miles under the school.

Wands alight, Ron led them through the tunnels to the rock wall that had been created four years earlier by Gilderoy Lockhart's incompetence. Severus quickly moved the massive stones away, and they arrived in the large open cavern, the statue of Salazar Slytherin sneering at them as the carcass of his monster lay beneath it in a pool of stagnant water. The flesh had mostly disintegrated in the intervening years, and the snake's bones were exposed, fangs set in its jaw. Severus pulled out his best set of silver knives and gave one to each of them as they began to hack away at the bone and tissue to harvest the fangs. When they had collected every last tooth, Hermione packed them gently in a basket, and they quickly flew out of the Chamber.

As they walked the stairs back to the third floor, Hermione whispered to Severus, "I want to check the Room of Requirement." Nodding imperceptibly, the headed for the seventh floor.

Once there, Hermione immediately found the vanishing cabinet she had repaired with Draco and blasted it apart with her wand, sealing off the Death Eater's entrance into the school. Her magic, still a little erratic was a little more forceful than anticipated, forcing Ron to cast a quick protego to protect them from the wooden shards.

Meanwhile, Severus was pacing up and down the alleyways of the room, thinking, searching his memories of this room. Suddenly, he stopped and shouted, "Hermione!"

"What is it, Severus?"

"Just a minute," he said before sprinting down the aisle awkwardly. Hermione and Ron followed after him and Severus stopped in front of an old crate that held a statue's bust with an old wig and a tarnished tiara. "I – I think –," murmured Severus, "that I have just found Ravenclaw's lost diadem.

"Oh my god!" Hermione said, peering at the blue sapphire. "I think you're right, Severus!"

I remember passing through here..." Severus reached out to touch the diadem and pain erupted in his left forearm. Stepping back, he rolled up his sleeve, his dormant Dark Mark wriggle beneath the skin as he recognized a piece of its Master.

"Weasley, grab it," he hissed.

Ron, not wanting to touch the diadem, pulled the wig off and tiara off of the marble bust and laid it on the floor. "' Mione … why don't you? I don't think Snape can …"

Gulping, Hermione pulled a basilisk fang out of her basket and struck the jewel with the fang. A blood-like substance, dark and tarry, started leaking from the diadem. Suddenly, Hermione felt the thing vibrate violently and then break apart. As it did so, a loud scream of pain rang out through the Room of Hidden Things.


Harry found the two months at Privet Drive to be some of the best of his life. Aunt Petunia was so busy packing up their belongings and putting the Dursley's affairs that she had Harry do the shopping and cooking, which he enjoyed, while otherwise leaving him alone. Without Dudley at home that first month, he didn't have to fight for his food, and he was able to control his own portions. Once Dudley returned home and had been explained the situation, he basically stayed away from Harry, though sometimes it felt like he was being watched and he'd turn around to find Dudley trying to hide; Harry would just shrug and return to his chores.

Hedwig stayed in his room all day sleeping and at night would be allowed out to hunt or deliver letters. Harry faithfully wrote to Ron and Hermione every second day. Hermione would reply in turn for all of them, telling Harry that she and Ron were getting a head start on their NEWTS, and she'd share her notes with him when they saw him next. He hoped this was code for research on Horcruxes. She also let him know that she was feeling well, which made him feel relieved.

All in all, the summer was quite boring and relatively relaxing for Harry while he trusted his friends to have things in hand, a stark change for him. He had finally accepted that Hermione and Ron were with him for the long haul through thick and thin, and there wasn't much he could do. He would wake up some nights in a cold sweat from nightmares, and a few nights before his scar had hurt so badly, he thought his skull was being ripped in two, but mostly he tried to come to terms with Dumbledore's deceptions.

Finally, in the middle of July, a house-elf arrived in his bedroom with a scroll. Harry was on his bed reading Snape's defence textbook for the year, brushing up on defensive spells and practicing the wand movements and jumped at the pop of apparition.

"Erm, hello …. How can I help you?" Harry asked.

"Mister Potter, Pepper, be bringing you a letter from Master Snape and Missy Hermione."

Harry scrambled out of his bed and grabbed the parchment saying, "How is H – "and the house-elf disapparated away quickly, leaving Harry clutching the note. "Hermione?"

Sighing Harry read the note from Snape confirming that Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones would arrive on the 27th of July to move the Dursleys. Five minutes after their departure would bring in Harry advance guard. The note finished with a hurried postscript at the bottom from Hermione saying that she and baby were healthy and that she and Ron had loads to tell him about their research. Harry chuckled, only imagining how many notes Hermione had compiled over the summer. Then, he turned to find his aunt and uncle. Snape had made it clear in the letter that Harry was to convey the message to his aunt, using the note as proof that it was from him and then destroy all evidence.