Harry disguised himself for Bill and Fleur's wedding. As soon as she arrived, Hazel wished that she had done the same. The whispers, the stares, the bold direct questions, all of it annoyed her. No, she didn't know where Sev had gone. No, she didn't know that he had been preparing to kill Dumbledore, the very person who had vouched for him, redeemed him in front of the entire Wizengamot. No, she didn't know why he had done it. Despite it all, the wedding was a welcome distraction from her work and from wondering where Sev had ended up. For a few hours, she had looked forward to the festivities.

When she was cornered by a couple of Weasley cousins, the group peppering her with questions, it was an old friend who came to save her. "Hazel? I haven't seen you in what, nearly twenty years?" Xenophilius Lovegood, clad entirely in yellow, broke through the crowd to hug her hello. Luna floated after him, in matching yellow robes. "How have you been? You look well. I know you've met my daughter. She speaks very highly of you. I knew she would, but your class on Ghoul Studies has really inspired her to go into that line of research. I wish we'd all seen each other before Pan passed away. Last time - it was right after Luna was born, wasn't it?" He steered her away from the group, telling her not to worry. "I know you had nothing to do with this. It's a shame, really, but there was no way you would have known and not stopped it. I saw the statement the Auror Office put out clearing you of all the accusations. It seems like the rest of the world didn't bother to read it. I've re-printed it in the Quibbler though."

"They don't believe it, Xeno. They won't. It's like asking everyone to trust You-Know-Who's family. There's no way. Even if they haven't done anything, they're... tainted by association. It is good to see you again, though. Thank you for saving me from them." They moved to stand in the corner of the tent that Molly had made the boys put up in their yard, watching the crowd on the dance floor as they talked. Every so often, Hazel would look out to the dance floor, wondering what the wedding would have been like if things were different. Dumbledore would have dropped by to say hello, even if he didn't stay for long. Hazel would have tried to convince Sev to wear something other than black, probably with little success. But he would've asked her to dance, pulling her to the dance floor for a couple of slow songs, much to the surprise of their students. They would've stayed near the edges of the party, but it would've been fun nonetheless.

Their conversation was cut short by a silvery-white light bounding in. A lynx, made of silvery magic. Kingsley's Patronus. Oh no. She'd seen it before, their system of sending secret messages back in the old days. "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

People started disapparating immediately. Hazel turned to Xeno and Luna, telling them that she had to go. She was bristling for a fight, but if the Death Eaters saw her there without a disguise, they would likely turn on Sev, wherever he was. "Be safe, both of you. Luna, I hope to see you back at school, but if you don't think it's safe -"

"I'll be there, Professor," she promised, reaching for her father's hand. "Now go."

Hazel ran for cover, disapparating and appearing right in front of Grimmauld Place. It was time to go. There was nearly a month left until the start of the fall term, but she had to pack her things and get out of there. If anyone had traced her, they would be able to detect the hideout. Besides, she had been there for long enough.

Racing through the house, she changed into Muggle clothes, waving her wand through each room to clean everything up and gather her things. When she had amassed a suitcase and a bag of books, she stepped outside and disapparated again, this time appearing in Hogsmeade. She could stay there until school resumed. It wasn't the safest place in the world, but it was something. A lot safer than any of the other little wizarding enclaves dotted across Scotland. Living in the shadow of the castle gave the village a bit more protection, even if it hardly meant anything anymore.

It was on the streets of Hogsmeade where she first read the news. She had been walking down the main street when the Prophet headline caught her eye. Severus Snape Named Hogwarts Headmaster. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that he was indeed safe. They would be watched more closely than ever, but he was safe. "Hey, lady, are you gonna buy that or not?"

"Yeah, sorry." She tossed over a Knut, reading as she walked.

Professors were to be back at Hogwarts a week before the start of term so they could get their classrooms in order and prepare their first few lessons. Hazel arrived right on time, returning to Ravenclaw Tower. Hagrid had picked her up from Hogsmeade, insistent that he walked back with her and give her a hand carrying her things when he saw her trudging down the road with her suitcases. Filch made sure her things found their way up to the tower, Hazel on her way to her office when she was intercepted. "So this is her." A man with a natural scowl stopped her in the middle of the corridor. "Amycus Carrow." He extended his hand, Hazel noticing the Dark Mark on his other arm. "This is my sister, Alecto. The Headmaster is looking for you. I assume it's you, anyway. Red hair, still in Muggle clothes from traveling..."

"Most likely me he's looking for, yeah. Nice to meet you both." Both of them glared at her, still skeptical despite all of the faith that Snape and the Dark Lord had placed in her. She was an ex-Auror, which bred natural suspicion. And a Ravenclaw at that. Not as bad as she could have been, but suspicious nonetheless.

"Password's 'lemon drop', by the way," Amycus called after her as she set off down the hallway.

Nothing had changed, at least not until she reached the gargoyle in front of the Headmaster's office. "Lemon drop," she said, impatiently waiting for it to move. The gargoyle spun slowly, revealing an office that was largely the same, save for the portrait of Dumbledore that sat behind the Headmaster's desk. And the man sitting at the desk itself. He sat alone, buried in work, but dropped his quill as soon as he saw her.

Sev couldn't help but smile. It was the first time he'd allowed himself to smile in ages. He stood, nearly tripping on his cloak. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms, holding onto her for an eternity before gently leaning in for a kiss. "I've missed you," she whispered into his shoulder, everything hitting her at once. "Merlin, I've missed you. I'm glad you're alright, Sev."

"I've missed you too. I wish I could have found you earlier, but I knew you couldn't have stayed, and that only would have made it worse." That was as much as he was willing to admit, at least there.

"Sev -"

"Not here. Come with me." He took her hand, leading her past the walls littered with portraits. Dumbledore smiled at her serenely, as if to assure her that everything had indeed gone according to plan, even this. Sev pulled her into a room behind the throne-like chair that sat at his desk, closing the door behind them. So this was where Dumbledore slept. The room had been redone in black, punctuated with a fair amount of green and silver. Books were piled everywhere, much like Sev's quarters in the Slytherin dungeons. "My chambers are the only place we can talk freely. I put up all of the warding myself." He sat down on the bed, looking at her. "You have questions. I know what you're going to ask, but you will probably feel better if you actually vocalize them."

"Was Dumbledore dying part of his plan?" It had been nagging at her all summer. "Did he really tell you to do it?"

"That was his plan, to make sure the Death Eaters believe that I am who I say I am. To keep Draco from having to do it. To keep Potter and his friends on the run so they can collect and kill off all of the fragments of the Dark Lord's soul, until he is weak enough to be killed himself. We have our work cut out for us keeping him alive until then, but Potter is already out there," Sev explained. "For now I'm tasked with keeping an eye on him and maintaining order in the school. It's going to be a challenging year. I trust you have met the Carrows already?"

"Yeah." Hazel paced the room, Sev's eyes following her intently, trying to drink up the sight of her that he had missed for months now. Too restless to sit, she walked the length of the room. "Loyal Death Eaters for sure. What are they teaching?"

"Amycus is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, which I presume he is going to turn into an instructional Dark Arts class. Alecto has made the interesting choice to teach Muggle Studies, though it will be a very different curriculum than Professor Burbage's."

"And what do you want me to do?" She came to a stop in front of him, Sev reaching for her hand again.

"You will continue to teach Ghoul Studies and do nothing to alarm the Carrows, which means you may have to stand by as they implement rather draconian forms of punishment. Undermine them, but do not confront them. Keep our students alive and largely in one piece. And do not get caught," he told her, stress lining his face as he looked up at her. "There is one more thing."

Hazel raised an eyebrow as Sev pulled her to sit next to him. "What?"

"Stay," he requested.

It wasn't even a question. After everything, there was no way she could go now. "I'm not abandoning Hogwarts. Not now."

"No, stay here. With me. With Dumbledore gone, you are the only person in the world who knows the truth. It is going to be... until Potter succeeds, it is going to be a very different Hogwarts than what we are used to. A very different world. Not only would I like you here, I would like - I need - you by my side," he implored. "Hazel, I'm completely alone. You're the only one who knows the truth, the only one who... Please, stay here with me. I'll have Argus bring all of your things up, if you want. Of course you are under no obligation to stay, and I completely understand if you would rather... go back to Ravenclaw Tower and remain there, and hardly see me outside of meals and in the halls, but I would like it if you stayed."

The loneliness shone in his eyes, though he would never admit it. He had been completely alone in that little house on the Scottish coast. When he stayed at Malfoy Manor he was surrounded by Death Eaters, people he had known since they were in school together. But either way, he dreamt of her almost every night, of the walks they would take around the castle, the late nights in Ravenclaw Tower, the trips to Hogsmeade. Between the nightmares, he willed himself to think of her, to remind himself that he was doing this so he could see her again. "Of course, Sev." She gave him a kiss, laying her head on his shoulder. He put an arm around her, every atom in his body not wanting to ever let her go. "I'm scared," she admitted, her voice hollow. "I feel like this is the start of a whole lot of awful things. It's already started outside, but I feel like the castle isn't safe any more. Not like it used to be. I'm scared, Sev."

He held her close, his worries only quelled by her being there. "Me too."