A/N: Heads up, I wanted to let you guys know my posting might not be so regular for the next month since I have a few things going on, but I will do my best! Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and comments, especially to GrimmHarry :) I adore all of you!


CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - THE DRAGON

The morning after Christmas, Severus decided it was time to get dressed again, two days in his pyjamas was plenty. As he had taken to doing every morning when he first got up, Severus unearthed the small portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black to see if the old headmaster had any information on Potter. Usually there was nothing, but sometimes Phineas had things to report. Severus shut the door of the walk-in closet and unwrapped the portrait.

"Any news?"

"Good morning to you too, Severus."

"Phineas…"

"Fine, yes. I know where they are."

"And?"

"The Forest of Dean."

Severus considered, looking over his shoulder in the corner where he had hidden the Sword of Gryffindor. It was as good a time as any. Surely the Forest of Dean in the dead of winter would provide some kind of circumstance for a heroic act. Bloody Gryffindors. Severus nodded his thanks to Phineas, ignoring whatever glib comment the portrait made as Severus wrapped the thing back up and buried it in a drawer. He needed to tell Hermione, he had been spying on her friends for far too long without feeding her any kind of information, she deserved to know they were at least alive since it had been a while since the crew had made the news. With a deep sigh, Severus left his room and wandered down to the library. The fireplace was dark and the room empty. Severus waved his hand at the bricks and watched as flames roared to life, licking happily at the black soot spots as if it had been there for hours. Certain he would be unable to focus on reading, Severus made tea at the little table they had set up and paced the carpet in front of the fire. It seemed only seconds later when Severus heard Hermione's shuffling feet in the hall, and he paused his pacing to listen. As he had hoped, she also came directly into the library, smiling sleepily at him. She too was dressed, sporting jeans and an oversized jumper.

"Good morning."

"Hermione." He immediately noticed the green peridot, standing out in a rather Slytherinesque manner against her grey jumper.

"Did you sleep well?" She yawned.

"Indeed. Yourself?"

"Like a baby." Her face shifted in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"There is something I would like to tell you about your friends."

She turned away from the tea table immediately, looking up at him and he was strongly reminded of her younger self, perched in his office, staring expectantly at his shoulder. Except this time her eyes met his and she was no longer a girl, and this was not his office, but a home that they shared. The hesitancy she had once displayed was also gone, and she willingly stood within arm's reach.

"Potter and the Weaslette are safe."

"Ron is still not back?"

"Not as far as I am aware."

"Thank you for telling me, but why now?"

"There is something I must take to them."

"But they don't trust you, how will you get them to accept it?"

"They will not know that it was me. I believe today is best for reaching them."

"Will it help with the horcruxes?"

"Yes."

Hermione nodded, chewing her lip. Severus watched as her contemplation dawned into something else and her mouth popped open, staring at him with realization. He had the feeling he ought to know what she was thinking, but he watched straight-faced as she leapt to her feet and started darting through the library. Severus followed the sounds of her feet with raised eyebrows until she emerged from the shelves, her face victorious and a book in her hands. Severus' interested expression turned into a scowl as soon as he recognized the softly glowing cover of Souls.

"Why would you unearth that thing?"

Hermione returned his scowl, "Don't worry it has nothing to do with us."

Hermione opened the book as she crossed the floor towards him and placed the book in his hands, her own smaller ones overlapping with his for a moment.

"Look." She jabbed her finger at the pages.

It took Severus a moment too long to understand the importance, but there in massive black letters was the heading, Splitting: what it means to tear one's soul, and how to fix it. Severus snorted and closed the book.

"You can't fix making your soul into a horcrux."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "obviously, but the book describes every single known way to destroy them and how they affect the people around them, and how to trap some of that power." She shrugged. "Maybe it would be useful to them."

Severus inhaled sharply at her quiet words. At this point he wasn't sure the group needed any more information except for what the rest of the horcruxes were, but he wasn't going to tell Hermione that. She might be delighted with their progress, but she had chosen to stay behind. He understood her urge to help and perhaps there was something useful in the book they didn't know.

"I will figure out a way to get it to them with the sword."

"Thank you."

Severus drank down the rest of his tea while Hermione made her own. When he was done, he scourgified the cup and set it back on the table.

"I should be back for lunch."

Hermione nodded at him, and he returned upstairs to his suite. He tucked the sword against his body next to Souls and, after a moment of deliberation, grabbed the scarf Hermione had made for him and coiled it around his neck. The only time he had worn a scarf in his adult life had been to quidditch matches, but there was something about knowing Hermione had made this specifically for him that made him willing to add the garment to his appearance. It was wonderfully soft and well made. And it smelled like her. Not that he really noticed that last bit.

The Forest of Dean was cold and barren, winter had truly dug its claws in here. Severus cast a warning charm on himself, suddenly grateful for the scarf. He removed the sword and the book from his cloak, glaring at the latter before waterproofing it and attaching it to the sword. He levitated both to a nearby small lake and watched as the sword pierced the ice and sank. Covering his tracks as he went, Severus moved to a discrete spot behind barren scrub bushes and lifted his wand.

"Expecto patronum."

Severus' eyes bulged at the silvery creature before him. Elegant, large, and ferocious the dragon was beautiful to behold, but it was not what he needed right now. Severus dispelled the beast with a slashing wave of his hand. He needed his doe, Potter would follow nothing else into the trees. Closing his eyes, Severus pulled forward every good memory of Lily he possessed, silently praying for the doe as he cast again. He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled in relief as the familiar doe stood before him, sniffing at the snow, though it seemed less powerful than it used to be. He sent it to find Potter and waited, trying his very hardest not to think about the dragon that had come from his wand. There would be a time for that, and it was not this moment. It took a bit longer than Severus expected before Potter emerged through the trees, following the doe with a rather stunned expression. He stopped at the edge of the lake and Severus knew the moment the boy saw the sword. Considering his job done, Severus moved away from the lake, finding a spot to apparate back to Wilmet.

Once past the inner gate, Severus let himself consider the meaning behind his change in patronus. His had always been a doe because that's what Lily's was, but why would it change now? For a brief moment he panicked that it had changed to match Hermione's, but then he remembered her playful otter diving into the musty rug at Spinner's End. Concerned that he had perhaps imagined it, Severus cast the spell again with the same amount of minimal effort he typically used. Severus frowned at the dragon as it shook its head and blew out a curled flame of silvery smoke. It snuffed along the edges of the hibernating trees then took to the skies, vanishing in a few beats of its wings.

"Well, that's different. I like it, it suits you."

Severus turned to fix Hermione with a steady stare but she seemed unaffected by it.

"I've heard patronuses can change but I've never seen it."

"It is rare." He admitted.

"I made us lunch."

Severus nodded, glanced at the spot where the dragon vanished and followed Hermione into the manor. They ate in the kitchens at the barstools gathered around the island counter and Severus relayed Potter's apparent health to Hermione. When they finished, they retreated up to the library where Severus found several books on patronuses and started his research. By the end of the day, he hadn't found anything terribly useful. The reasons for change in a patronus form were always the same: love, loss, or a distinct change of character. Severus thought there had to be an alternative since he was quite certain he had experienced none of these things recently. The only passage that held any hints was found in a book dedicated to research in the relationships between a person and the form their patronus took (if it took one at all).

Muggles tend to consider dragons symbols of evil, however witches or wizards with this patronus are known for their immense magical power, great strength, and undying protectiveness. A witch or wizard with a dragon patronus may be considered a guardian, either of secrets, people, or both.

Hermione was right, the dragon suited him. Though it might have always suited him, he still didn't understand why the change had occurred. He glanced over the top of the book at Hermione. Was it possible this… acquaintanceship they had built was something strong enough to change a patronus? He might have always been a guardian of secrets, but now he was also her guardian, whether he had chosen it or not, Severus protected her and saved her. And she protected and saved him, his eyes fell to the ring she wore on the middle finger of her right hand just as he did. How different were snakes and dragons really? Heaving a sigh, Severus snapped the book shut, drawing Hermione's eyes to him.

"Anything helpful?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not in the slightest."

The rest of the holiday was just as peaceful. Severus gave up on his search for any meaning to his change in patronus rather quickly and returned to reading his usual topics. He noted that Hermione always wore the necklace and when they went for walks on the grounds, or on their rare trips to the village, he found himself wearing the scarf she made simply because the way she looked at him when he did, pleased him. On new year's they stayed up until midnight toasting with scotch and watching the small fireworks show from the village. Hermione cast her own sparklers from her wand, watching him with a light in her eyes he couldn't fathom. The reality that awaited him when he returned back to Hogwarts haunted him the next evening, but if Hermione noticed his shift in mood, she mentioned nothing. Severus could admit to himself that the warless bubbles the two of them kept finding themselves in were precious moments, fractions of contentment scattered through his troubled life. Hermione never asked about his past or brought up the topic of their bond, which made it all the better.

Of course, good things never lasted for him, so he could not say that he was surprised when his forearm burned in the middle of the night before he was supposed to return to the school. He gathered his things, shrunk them and tucked them away in his pockets, and left the suite. Severus took one long look down the hallway to where Hermione slept, his finger sliding over the ouroboros ring in thought, before rushing to the gates and disapparating away to his first Death Eater meeting of the new year.


Hermione woke to an empty manor. Out of hope, she searched for Severus but eventually had to concede that he had left. It only made sense that he had to return to Hogwarts before everyone else. She took her time eating breakfast and packed up all of her things the muggle way. When she was ready, she walked down to the gates, closed her eyes and disapparated to King's Cross, the green peridot pressed between her fingers. The train station was abuzz with life and frantic afternoon traffic. Hermione's eyes scanned the crowd, but the hustle and bustle seemed to belong to muggles alone. It was a strange sensation coming here without her parents, knowing that when she crossed the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, Harry and Ron would not be on the other side. Taking a breath, Hermione ran at the wall and to the other side where the Hogwarts' Express puffed smoke as cheerily as ever, although the surrounding scene was not as welcoming.

There were fewer people at the platform than she had ever seen before and there was a distinct separation between families who were terrified to let their children return to a school infiltrated by Death Eaters and those who were much more at ease with the idea. She found Neville easily, who to her surprise was talking quietly with Remus. Hermione wove her way towards them, noticing others who returned and those who hadn't. Her eyes locked with Draco Malfoy's, and they watched each other in passing as his mother continued to speak at him. When Hermione reached Neville and Remus, the former greeted her with a relieved sigh and a hug and the latter with a hug and a tired smile.

"'Thank Merlin you came back Hermione! I was worried I'd have to do this on my own."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I haven't seen Luna yet, have you?"

"No, actually."

Remus cleared his throat uncomfortably and took a shuffling step away from them. "You two ought to board the train and I should be getting back to Tonks."

"Of course, it was good to see you Remus."

"You too, Hermione." He planted a firm hand on her shoulder before turning and disappearing into the wall.

Hermione led Neville onto the train and into one of the carriages.

"Where's your gran?"

"She was attacked by Death Eaters! I mean she's completely fine, obviously. That woman is way too terrifying for her own good. She went into hiding and wanted me to go with her but…" Neville shrugged.

"I understand. I'm glad she's safe."

"Me too. How's your family?"

Hermione stared maybe a moment too long. "Oh, they're safe."

She tried to smile but her skin felt like it stretched too tightly over her face. No one besides Severus knew exactly what had happened to them, and she was suddenly less willing to share the secret than ever before. She couldn't afford to think about that, not now and so for the first time since last term, Hermione practiced her occlumency, pushing away those feelings for a later date, whenever that may be. Luckily, Neville was willing to switch topics and they chatted about various subjects on the long train ride back to Hogwarts, only really falling silent as they climbed into one of the horse-drawn carriages with Blaise Zabini and Dorothy Greengrass who both watched them with unfaltering looks, only glancing away to exchange sly whispers. As soon as the carriage stopped, the two Slytherins were gone before Neville or Hermione had even stood up. Hermione trailed into the Great Hall with some trepidation, her eyes drawn to the Gryffindor table first.

It was here the loss of students was the most obvious. Where the tables used to be packed, hardly anyone was left. And although Slytherin had maintained the most students, even their numbers were slightly diminished. As Hermione followed Neville up the aisle to their table, she allowed herself to look at the staff table. Most of the staff had returned, Hermione knew out of defiance and a will to protect the students who remained. Seated regally in the middle, passing the knuckle of his pointer finger back and forth over his bottom lip was Severus. He looked tired and worn, though perhaps she guessed not many others would notice, but as she had only just celebrated new years with him, she marvelled at the change that had befallen him overnight. Was it possible he had been summoned? Hermione could barely take her eyes off of him the whole meal, and sometimes his dark gaze met hers then flicked away. She noticed the way his thumb passed over the ring on occasion and realized this was a new habit. Was it possible he was more worried than before about needing the antivenom?

Just before the feast ended, a collection of owls swooped low over the tables dropping off packages and letters. Hermione stared at the nondescript school owl that dropped a small roll of parchment next to her plate, took a bite of her food, and took off. Who would send her anything? Surely Harry or Ron weren't so foolish. Hermione pulled the parchment open and read, resisting the urge to raise her eyebrows to the summons.

It was just after eleven-thirty when Hermione slipped out of her bed and past her sleeping dorm mates, the Marauder's map clutched in her fingers. She would probably be early to the midnight meeting Severus had summoned her to, but she never knew how many odd turns she would have to take to avoid the Carrows or Filch. Tonight, as it turned out, was a challenging night to be sneaking about even with the map, and Hermione was two minutes late to the meeting, shoving the map into the pocket of her jeans as she entered the office.

Severus was nowhere to be seen and so Hermione made her way to the secret nook the castle had established. There, a fire roared in the fireplace, a tea tray sat on the table, and Severus was laying on the couch, his head draped over one arm of the sofa, his arms folded across his chest. Hermione crossed the room, aiming for the armchair to avoid disturbing him when Severus shifted, bending his knees so the end of the couch was free.

"Sit."

She did as she was told, watching in detached fascination as he relaxed his knees again and his toes slid under her thighs like she had done to him a hundred times before. His sleeves were rolled up, his robes and frock coat tossed over the back of the armchair she had been aiming for. He didn't say anything for a long time, his thumb passing over the ouroboros ring, his eyes focused somewhere below her chin.

"Were you summoned?" Hermione finally asked, starting to feel a tension that she normally didn't.

"Yes. I wanted to talk to you about what I learned there."

Severus sat up suddenly, leaning his elbows on his knees as he waved a stasis charm off the tea tray but didn't reach for a cup. There was something strange about him tonight that Hermione couldn't quite put her finger on. He lacked even more formality than he typically did when they were alone, but almost like he had drank too much. Though from what she could tell, he was as sober as ever.

"What did you learn there?"

"Luna Lovegood was kidnapped leaving the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross at the start of the holiday."

Hermione sucked in air.

"She is being held at Malfoy Manor."

"Is she…?"

"She is fine, as far as I know. Potter and crew were nearly captured by snatchers. Xenophilius Lovegood tried to exchange them for his daughter."

"That's insane."

"Indeed. The Dark Lord was furious."

A new panic gripped Hermione. Was Severus acting weird because… "Were you tortured?"

Severus made a noise in the back of his throat. "A bit."

"Are you okay?"

"Of course. I have had worse."

That still didn't explain his strange demeanour. Needing something to do with her hands, Hermione reached for one of the teacups, prepared her cup, then as an afterthought, prepared Severus'. When she leaned back on the couch again, she passed Severus' to him. He reached out to take it, his fingers lingering over hers longer than necessary, his eyes boring into her own. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was trying to use legilimens on her. After a moment that felt maddeningly long, Severus slipped the cup from her fingers and looked away. Hermione waited, it would be easy to ask questions, but she felt certain that if she was quiet enough, Severus would say something.

"Hermione, the Dark Lord has ordered the student resistance to be squashed. Particularly you."

"And by squash you mean…"

"He wants you dead."

"Well, that's nothing new. What do we do?"

His eyes met hers again, dark and severe and full of something she couldn't name. "This is not like what you are used to. It is different for the Dark Lord to want you dead because you are in proximity to something he hates, and him directly ordering it."

"You're in trouble, aren't you? Because of the DA?" She was choosing not to hear him; she could think about the kill order on her life later.

Severus sighed impatiently. "He is displeased with me, yes, he believes three full grown adults should be able to take care of a few miscreants. But that is not the point."

Severus enunciated the last few words slowly, each one their own sentence.

"He wants you to do it..." Hermione breathed.

Severus' only response was a slight nod. They were silent a long time again.

"Well just make it quick." She tried to tease, but her voice scratched against her throat.

"Stupid witch, I am not going to kill you. I passed the responsibility on to the Carrows. You will have to be more careful than ever; they are not as powerful as I am but they are a cunning pair. If they get you, I cannot stop them."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "I think I can manage that. Neville and I had something set up in case it got this bad."

"Good."

"This probably means that it will be harder for me to come here though." She didn't think before she said it and her eyes widened with surprise at herself.

Hermione cherished this time, short secret meetings in the fake library nook of the headmaster's office. They were moments of respite, and more they were moments with Severus, time that he willingly spent with her. She had no idea how much more time they would have, and Hermione felt the urge to stock up, to hoard the good memories with him. She imagined that if they both survived this war, Severus would want to be anywhere but here, and whatever companionship they had built over the years would be enough to make him stay. And he certainly wasn't going to fall in love with her. Her heart ached at the thought, and she shoved the pain back, forcing up occlumency walls quicker than she was used to.

Severus turned to look at her, the earnest way in which she seemed to want to spend time with him. And the rapid passage of something like yearning across her features before the solid neutral slam of occlumency he knew only too well. Yearning for what? And why was she so eager to hide it? He searched her face for a long minute, longer than he should have, before he turned his attention to his luke-warm tea. They drank in silence, eventually Hermione mentioned she should sleep and when she stood, Severus stood with her. He had the strangest urge to walk her back to her dorm, for safety, but this year was not like last, he couldn't be seen doing such a thing. His eyes drifted to the green stone resting against her sternum, unable to decipher the familiar squeeze in his chest he got every time he realized she still wore it.

He walked her as far as the office door, his eyes skimming the portraits of supposedly sleeping headmasters as he took a single step outside. He reached out and gripped her shoulder, watching the way she dragged her eyes up his form to meet his gaze. A torrent of words flooded his mind, a million things he ought to say, or perhaps shouldn't though he wanted to.

"Be safe." It came out like a command.

She nodded, a smile pulling on one side of her mouth. She placed her hand over his and squeezed and then she was gone, the crinkle of parchment the only sound she made as she moved down the dark hall. Severus returned to the couch in the nook and lay out as he had been before Hermione came. He thought about the warmth of his toes under leg, understanding now why she had always done it to him. He had been so shocked the first time, though perhaps not even as much as she had been. Severus dug his fist into his forehead, trying to push back the complex feelings that had been threatening his composure all day. His occlumency, which had always been more than enough had almost failed him during his summons, the vicious I want her dead, had chilled his blood. Severus had been able to kill Dumbledore, even if he had not been bound to do so, there was enough history and frustrations there. But Severus Snape could never kill Hermione Granger. However, he couldn't save her either, but he could do his best to protect her, what little that meant and what little he could give when he was trying so hard to protect the school and his position as spy as well.

Severus scoffed at the ceiling. The protector. Somehow, he had gotten so good at that role he hardly thought of himself as a spy anymore. Severus lifted his left arm above his head, studying the Dark Mark that stained his skin. Hermione never seemed to notice it. The first time he had rolled up his sleeves in her presence, her eyes had dropped down to the mark and had returned to his face without so much as a flicker of emotion. She had been curious, surely, but not disgusted or afraid, and she had never spared so much as a glance at it again. Hermione was like that with all his transgressions. Even after he had murdered Albus, she had sought him out, embraced him, told him she didn't believe he was a cold-blooded killer. She had never brought up the topic again, never asked why, just as she had never looked at the Dark Mark a second time.

She really was good, truly good. And Severus realized he had been drawn to her like a moth to the flame, as if her brightness was enough to alleviate some of the darkness from his shadows. Lady of the light indeed.