A/N: *yawn* Good morning at this ungodly hour. Combining chapters 23 and 24 to make a decent-length update.

Anti-Litigation Charm: I do not own.

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Hermione found later, after she was shaken awake from where she lay slumped on the floor of the Headmaster's office, about the final outcome of the battle. Bill Weasley was still in the hospital wing from having his face torn up by Fenrir Greyback, but he was certain to be alright. Others had minor injuries. Seamus Finnegan came away with nothing more than a broken nose. The Ministry had arrived long before the Death Eaters fled, but they were all distracted by the Death Eaters they had been attempting to pursue. Some were captured. Three were killed—one by fire, two from being eaten by a dragon. The majority of them got away, though few of them managed it without burns or bites. Charlie had gone after them like a cat in a roomful of mice, and if he was anything like Norbert, it was sure to be an unpleasant experience for them—he was, after all, very venomous.

The Headmaster had found Hermione curled up on the floor, the broken pieces of Ravenclaw's diadem clutched tightly in surprisingly cold hands. She didn't remember how she got there. She wasn't sure how or why she had ended up like that, though she did remember stabbing the horcrux. Gryffindor's Sword was lying on the floor next to her. She jerked awake, nearly kicking Dumbledore in the shins as she lashed out in surprise.

"You did it," Dumbledore said almost wonderingly, as Hermione slowly got to her feet. The broken diadem was carefully placed on the desk. "Amazing…"

There was a muted murmur of assent from the portraits and, from his corner, a slight chuckle from the Sorting Hat.

And then he sent her off to the Infirmary.

"Has anyone found out how the Death Eaters got in?" Ron asked, sitting on the edge of Seamus's bed and tugging at a Chocolate Frog wrapper. The other Gryffindor kicked him in the side of the thievery, but Ron only took the card and gave up the frog.

"It was the Shrieking Shack," Ginny said. "I saw them leave while helping put out the fire down by the Forbidden Forest." She gave Harry a secret sort of smile. "That's how one of them tried to get away, but the tree whomped him first. Dolohov, I think. That's how he got caught."

Hermione rubbed her temple. "And then?"

"Well, then Dumbledore brought everyone to the Great Hall to inform them about what happened," Neville said, picking up the story. "I dunno where you were then, but a couple of the students volunteered to help with the clean-up while the rest of us got some food from the house-elves."

"And Charlie?"

"He's back with Hagrid, though he's still off the chain. Not that it matters," Ron said with a chuckle, "he's been asleep since then. Smug git." He turned to Harry. "I still can't believe he let you ride him like that, though."

Harry picked up a Chocolate Frog by the bedside and began unwrapping it. "He's not that bad, for a dragon," he muttered. "I could get used to having him around."

"If he hadn't crashed into the clock tower when he did…"

"I thought he was going to set the entire castle on fire."

"He nearly did," Hermione clarified. "It's lucky Hagrid's house was fireproofed, too—it took multiple hits."

"The Forbidden Forest didn't fare so well, though," Neville pointed out.

"The damage isn't that bad," Ginny said. "It's just the edge. Hagrid says it'll grow back."

~o~O~o~

The first thing Hermione did when she saw Severus the next morning—after the cleanup had been concluded, after a second debriefing, after a meeting with the school-assigned Aurors and the Minister of Magic, after finding Selenius and reassuring herself that he was really alright ("Geroff me, mum," had been his muffled, sullen response)—was to pull him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around him. They were in her classroom, where she was finally starting to pack up the classroom to prepare for the summer. And he, being the Head of Slytherin house, had finally found a moment free of his own particular set of duties to seek her out.

"I'm so glad you're alright," she whispered, burying her face in his chest.

"You knew I would," he said.

"Not like I used to. Not like when I still knew the future."

He stroked her hair. "I just went to get the students from the Astronomy tower. Take them back to their dorms, and then do a headcount of my own House. You already knew that."

"Yes," Hermione said, closing her eyes with a relieved smile. "Yes, I did. But naturally, things didn't go as planned."

"Perhaps it's for the best," Severus stated. "It did give me an opportunity to solidify my position within the Dark Lord's ranks while also getting the next Horcrux."

"That's five down," Hermione said, breathing a sigh of relief. "So close. We're so close…"

Her eyes suddenly snapped open.

"Did the Dark Lord know the difference between the diadem Bellatrix brought back?" she asked suddenly.

"I don't know," Severus said quietly. "I shall find out the next time he summons me, shan't I?"

This only made her hold him tighter, if for no other reason than there were no words to express herself. The Know-It-All, as he had once infamously dubbed her, was speechless. She was vaguely aware of his hand leaving her hair, and a moment later, there was a gentle bell-like sound as he lifted the rose on her desk out of its vase, the stem bumping against the glass as he snapped it in half. Then she felt him sliding it into her hair.

"I planned it out carefully," he murmured into her ear, as he affixed the rose to the loose, messy chignon resting against her neck. "Even if the Dark Lord notices, he will simply believe that someone else got there first—and left a fake in its place. There's no room for suspecting me. Even if he works through the Memory Charm I placed upon her, he will believe it was Potter—Potter acting under Dumbledore's orders, because that's what the Dark Lord believes he does."

"You'd better be right," Hermione said quietly, placing a light kiss on his chest.

He let out a dark chuckle. "I've been watching my step for nearly twenty years, Hermione. I haven't survived this long out of sheer luck."

Hermione cocked her head for a moment as though considering this, and then startled him by laughing.

"I contest that. I'd say surviving wild dragons in Romania for your apprenticeship relied on luck."

"You weren't there," he muttered.

"I was there when I almost caved your head in the first time you came home after being Summoned," Hermione reminded him.

Severus's expression soured. "That wasn't the welcome home I was expecting."

Hermione's eyes glittered at this as she remembered other times—other moments—of that summer they had shared at Spinner's End. She caressed his chest for a moment, and then at last, her hand fell upon the buttons.

"The students will be on the train in a few hours, once the Leaving Feast has concluded," she said, thumbing one loose—and then a second— with a secret sort of smile. "It'll be just like old times—back when I used to teach…"

"Stolen moments," he agreed quietly, his eyes darkening with interest. "The library was always a favorite."

She nuzzled the tiny strip of pale flesh now visible at the top of his chest, and then jerked away, her ears twitching visibly as she heard footsteps approaching the classroom. Severus's expression immediately turned disinterested and blank, and the two of them took a step away from each other just as the classroom door opened.

Draco Malfoy stood there, a letter clutched in his hands. He blinked as he took the two of them in, and realizing they weren't about to throw him out, walked in and quietly shut the door behind him. He wordlessly crossed the room, and held out the letter.

Hermione took it, unfolding it. Her eyes scanned it for a moment, her eyebrow rose ever so slightly, and then she handed it to Severus.

"I—Professor Faulkner said I could spend the summer working with him," Draco said stiffly.

"That's good," Hermione said, looking pleased. "It means he's taking your apprenticeship request seriously."

Severus folded up the letter and handed it back to its original recipient. "My guess is that your mother already knows. Nevertheless, he's given you a week to prepare, so I recommend you take advantage of the opportunity."

Draco nodded, stuffing the letter into his pocket. If Hermione didn't know better, she would have suspected he was frightened. As it was, she knew from experienced that he was merely nervous and trying to contain it.

"I—I just wanted to thank you for tutoring me this year," he said, his tone surprisingly cordial. "And I wanted to confirm that you'll be tutoring me next year, as well."

"If Faulkner says you need it," Hermione said seriously. "It's quite possible you'll impress him enough that additional tutoring won't be necessary."

Draco shook his head.

"I learned more from you than I have in most of my classes," he said, not quite meeting Severus's gaze. "Even if I don't need the extra tutoring, if you would be willing to give it to me, I would—I would greatly appreciate the additional tutoring."

Hermione gave Draco a considering look.

"Well, I always do appreciate a student willing to go the extra mile," she said at last, and for the first time since she had begun working with him, she gave him a small, genuine smile. "We'll see how things are come next September."

~o~O~o~

A celebratory feast was had at the Burrow that night. Bill was still recovering from his run-in with Fenrir, but the scars were healing over, and he was well enough to join in, helping set up the tables outside with Fred and George. Harry and Ron ended up playing Exploding Snap with Ginny while they waited for dinner to be served. Hermione tried to stay out of Molly's way while she cooked, but after assurances that another hand would be more than welcome, she ended up watching the stew to make sure it didn't boil over.

"Congratulations on surviving another year," Molly said, charming a knife and cutting board to start systematically chopping up vegetables. When Hermione raised an eyebrow, Molly quickly clarified, "As the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, of course. You'll be teaching next year, won't you?"

"If Albus has no objections," Hermione said easily, but they both already knew the answer to this. Of course Dumbledore would have no objections: Hermione would be returning to Hogwarts. The sound of chopping grew harsher, more staccato, and Hermione asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Why is every year harder than the last?" Molly asked wearily, now slicing strips of ham for a pie.

Hermione understood what she meant. "It's always the hardest before the end," she said quietly, still stirring, though she knew the stew didn't really need it anymore. "It was like this before the Dark Lord fell the first time. The beast that knows its dying fights all the more ferociously before its end."

"They'll be safe at Hogwarts," Molly said. "At least, I thought they'd be. But if even Hogwarts isn't enough to keep You-Know-Who out, then what is?"

"I'll be going through Hogwarts over the summer, sealing off all the secret passages," Hermione vowed. "I know the castle better than anyone. There won't be another loophole like the Shrieking Shack."

"He'll just find another way," Molly whispered fearfully.

"Not without breaking through the wards, he won't."

When dinner was finally served, Hermione was relieved to see that Selenius had finally deigned to join them. He had been oddly quiet since he got off the train, and the moment they arrived at the Burrow, he had gone up to the room he had shared with Harry and Ron and hadn't been seen since. Hermione had gone to check up on him twice and to bring food, to find him sitting on the floor against the bed with a book, clearly wanting to be left alone.

Sirius arrived five minutes late with Remus and Tonks, and Buckbeak could be seen milling about the garden as the three of them found their seats.

"There was a spot of trouble at the Ministry," Tonks confided, as she sat across from Hermione. "Reporters badgering us for information about what went down at Hogwarts two nights ago, and they finally picked up the story about how Hogwarts is keeping a dragon. Scrimgeour didn't need to deal with them right now, he's got a lot on his plate, so it was up to us to escort them out."

"What's Scrimgeour saying about the attack?" Arthur asked, helping himself to a slice of mince pie.

"He said there was an opening in the defense that he's certain the school will take appropriate measures to fix, but that you lot acted admirably under the circumstances," Tonks said without skipping a beat. "I'm also fairly sure he wants a word with you, Harry—Hermione."

"Not without Ron," Harry said firmly.

Ron, whose expression had soured visibly at the exclusion, immediately brightened at this.

"Yes, I did expect there would be some things they'd want taken care of," Hermione said, before taking a bite of food. She took a moment to chew it thoughtfully, and then swallowed and added, "If the Prophet is giving Scrimgeour a hard time, this is where he's going to ask Harry to come in. And after thwarting the Dark Lord again—"

"I thought they got what they came for," Remus said with a worried frown.

"No, they were tricked," Hermione said, eliciting looks of delight from the others at the table. "He hasn't found out yet, I don't think, but it won't be long. But because of that, he's at a disadvantage—we're backing him into a corner, so to speak." She set her fork down. "Now would be a good time to work with Scrimgeour and make sure we're all on the same page."

"Will we have Kneazles at Hogwarts next year?" Ginny asked.

"Hope so," Harry said. "I quite liked them. And they were actually pretty useful."

"There's nothing like taking down Bellatrix Lestrange in the middle of Hogsmeade with an angry Kneazle," Ron remarked dryly.

Hermione chuckled. "I agree. I'm fairly sure we'll employ them next year, hopefully with the same pair of Aurors."

"What are your plans for the summer?" Sirius asked, glancing over at Selenius who was moodily taking a stab at his meat pie with a fork.

"I'll be returning home," Hermione said. "I need to sort out some things first, but I'll know my own plans better after that." She paused, and then quietly admitted, "I thought of paying my parents a visit, to reassure them, but…"

"But what?" Ron asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"It's been over twenty years since I last saw them," she said, struggling to keep her face expressionless—but the way her words were choked out still gave away her distress. She covered her mouth with her hand for a moment, and then said, "I don't know what they think happened to me, but I can't be certain they would maintain my cover, and it's—I can't risk it."

"At least you have parents to go back to," Harry said quietly.

"Do I really, Harry?" Hermione asked, giving her best friend a sad smile. "I think you sometimes forget who I am—sometimes, I forget who I am," she added, her brow furrowing. "I don't really remember who I was, back when I was Hermione Granger—it was such a long time ago for me."

"Twenty years is a long time to be away from home," Remus agreed softly. "Especially when your parents may not even recognize you."

"Not even Barty Crouch Jr. recognized me," Hermione said, her lips pressed together in thin amusement. "That's the only reason I was able to trick him into working with me, because he thought I'd changed so much."

"You're still the same person to me," Harry argued.

Hermione smiled in a way that was meant to show her gratitude, and then looked away, not quite able to meet his gaze. How was she supposed to convey to him how differently time had passed for her? Her best friends—the people around her—they all knew her at different points in her life, in different contexts, literally in different timelines. How could any them hope to reconcile what they knew of Hermione Granger with who she was now, Hermione Snape?

"I don't mean to change the subject," Molly said, though it was very clear to Hermione that she did, and Hermione appreciated this, for it felt as though they had wandered into strange waters, "but your letters should be arriving in about a month—"

"Yeah, a month," Ron said, helping himself to some home-made raspberry-and-rhubarb ice cream.

"Nevertheless," Molly said, looking slightly harried, "Hermione will already know what supplies you'll need, so it might not be a bad idea to go early…"

Harry said nothing, out of politeness, but it was Fred who said what they were all thinking.

"Oh come on, mum, let them have their summer before they start thinking about school again," he said, taking his own serving of ice cream. "It'll still be there in a month."

"That's what we thought about Ollivander and Fortescue, and look at what happened to them!" Molly snapped.

Hermione raised a hand, hoping to quell the oncoming argument, but she needn't have; Harry's fork thunked to the table as he dropped it in surprise.

"Wait," he said. "What happened to them?"

"Death Eaters," George said in a low voice. "Yesterday, in Diagon Alley. Everyone saw it. They tried to drag Ollivander off, and Fortescue went stop them, that's how he got tangled up in it."

"Brave man, Fortescue," Remus said, looking more careworn than ever. Seeing the looks on Harry, Ron, and Ginny's faces, he added, "He was killed, of course, though Ollivander got away. But he hasn't come back." He rubbed his tired eyes. "Probably in hiding now, that would be the smart thing to do. Fortescue's funeral was yesterday."

"Then why would we want to go to Diagon Alley now?" Ron demanded.

"Because the Ministry's assigned more Aurors to the district after what happened," Hermione filled in, chewing on her bottom lip unconsciously. "The first few days after an attack are the safest, that's when everyone's on high alert."

The whole table fell silent at this, and then Bill said at last, "If Hermione gives me a list of what you guys need next year, I can drop by and get them on my way from work tomorrow. You won't need robes and potions refills until the end of the summer, and shopping before school will go quicker if that's all you have to get."

Molly threw her oldest son an immensely grateful look, and the conversation was thankfully dropped.

~o~O~o~

Hermione returned to Hogwarts the next day and began doing her rounds, after sending Selenius to Tine Cottage to be with Sirius. She didn't need the Marauder's Map to find the passageways, since she already knew them by heart, so she didn't bother asking to borrow it from Harry again. Severus accompanied her as she made her way to the Shrieking Shack.

"The Dark Lord hasn't summoned any of us since the attack on Hogwarts three days ago," he said quietly, as Hermione began drawing a magical line around the Whomping Willow. Severus stood by the knot, ensuring the tree would stay frozen while Hermione worked. "He did order Macnair, Dolohov, and the Lestrange brothers to kidnap Ollivander, but he hasn't called them to punish them for failure yet."

"Do you have any idea where he is?" Hermione asked, as the line flared gold. A wall of light rose up around the tree, encasing it, and Hermione began inscribing runes into it, using her wand like a stylus.

"The Headmaster suggested he may be checking on his other Horcruxes," Severus responded silkily. "I can't confirm this, naturally, but given that he's gone through the trouble to retrieve the Diadem, it's not a far-fetched guess."

Hermione frowned as the runes lit up against the backdrop of the ward, and then disappeared. Magic crackled along the tree, and then the entrance to the tunnel below began to glow. Beads of light came together, combining until it created a solid wall of golden glow, and then suddenly transformed into stone. The entrance was now blocked, and nothing short of tearing down her wards would remove it.

"Does he know I have the ring?" she asked, casting a spell along the ward to check its strength.

"I don't believe so."

"If the ring is the first one he looks for, he'll know it's missing soon enough," Hermione said, as they turned to leave. The tree behind them gave a little shake, and they quickly ducked as it stretched its branches and took an almighty swing at them. "At the very least, he'll find out some of his Horcruxes have gone missing, and he'll be very angry. Very angry indeed."

Severus winced. "I don't want to be there when that happens."

"Well, you can't really be implicated in anything, so he'll have no reason to punish you," Hermione said, sounding rather self-satisfied. "After all, it is Bellatrix's fault she got the wrong diadem, not yours—if that's even an excuse. Perhaps the Dark Lord will believe it was already switched long before she got there. Particularly since you aided her in shaking me off—you've covered your tracks, everything you've done in the eyes of the Dark Lord has been to assist him. It's his other followers who've earned his ire."

"Particularly when they were thwarted by a bystander in kidnapping Ollivander," Severus murmured. "I had absolutely nothing to do with that."

Hermione grimaced. "I feel terrible about Fortescue—we've known him for so long…"

"At least his death wasn't in vain. It highlighted the incompetence of the others in a situation I had no involvement in."

"And Ollivander got away," Hermione said softly, as they ascended the stairs into the castle. "That's good for us."

"The Dark Lord," Severus said, with an air of grim but quiet satisfaction, "will be absolutely furious."

They made their way up to the state of Gregory the Smarmy, and Hermione once again began drawing her golden line along the outline of the entrance to the secret passage concealed behind it.

"Since we don't expect his focus to be on you, perhaps we'll have our summer plans to ourselves," Hermione offered casually, as the wall of light once again appeared. She began drawing in the runes that would hold this particular warding together. "Selenius could actually stay with us this summer."

Severus considered this for a moment, leaning against the statue as he pondered the ramifications of this. "It's possible, but still incredibly risky," he asserted. "We would have to make his presence easy to hide on a moment's notice, which would be a strain on his freedom."

"You're right," Hermione said with a sigh. "He'll have to stay at Tine Cottage."

"Not the Burrow?" Severus asked lightly.

"He'll spend time there, but Tine Cottage is where he's comfortable," Hermione said with a sigh. "There are a lot of reasons, but I think the bottom line is just that there's such a huge age difference between himself and the others—he would feel left out, rather the way Ginny did before she went to Hogwarts. I think he'd prefer to stay with Sirius and Kreacher. And he'll have Buckbeak there, too."

"Is it true that the demented house-elf is actually being pleasant now?" Severus sneered.

"Yes, actually," Hermione said, brightening up at this. "His cooking's also improved, if you can believe it."

"I don't."

"Well, I wasn't asking you to try it."

Hermione stepped back to examine her handiwork, and then they began climbing the stairs, making their way to the corridor of the One-Eyed Witch. They found Peeves sticking gum on the underside of her nose, and Hermione let out a sigh as she pointed her wand at him.

"Go away, Peeves."

Peeves blew a loud raspberry at her, but recalled her from years past, and had already learned his lesson about trifling with her and simply floated through the wall, cackling madly.

"No wonder Filch envies you," Severus remarked, as Hermione examined the statue. "No doubt he's off to unscrew a chandelier somewhere."

"I think he got bored of that during Umbridge's reign," Hermione said, tapping the hump and muttering, "Dissendium." It slid open, and she added, "I want to block it off from half-way to Honeydukes."

"Whatever for?" Severus asked, sounding bored as she began climbing into the hole.

"I'd like to keep as many passages open for use within the school as possible," Hermione said, dangling over it, feet-first. "You never know when you need a place to hide—whoa!"

She let out a tiny shriek as Severus shoved her in unexpectedly, and she thought she heard his laugher as she slid down the tunnel. She landed at the bottom with a bit more grace than she had twenty years ago, but not by much. She tried to land on her feet, overshot just a bit, and ended up tumbling to the side as she struggled to overcompensate for balance. She let out a huff of indignation as she stood up, dusting off her robes. She considered whether she ought to put up a temporary ward at the mouth of the tunnel so that he'd hit it when he came down, but inevitably decided against it, knowing it would mean another exasperating trip to the Hospital Wing. They had been somewhat infamous for it back in school, much to Poppy's enduring consternation, and she didn't need to give the Matron another reason to scold them.

He came through a moment later, landing on his hands and feet without suffering the same tumbling indignation she had. Hermione glared at him, lighting the tip of her wand so they could see.

"I can't believe you pushed me, you prat!" she snapped, as he got to his feet. "Again!"

She let out a yelp of surprise, her wand dropping to the ground and going out as he grabbed her by the front of her robes and kissed her. Further protest was cut-off as tongues tangled, mapping out familiar paths, and she surrendered a moue of almost reluctant delight before he pulled away.

"Yes, you can," he said, sounding rather smugly satisfied with himself as he bent down to retrieve her wand. "You just weren't expecting it. There's a difference, love."

Hermione took the vinewood, and with a subtle flick, had it lit once more. "Prat," she breathed, but it had no bite behind it, and came out sounding rather like a sigh of endearment than an insult.

"I remember was it was like," Severus said suddenly, sounding rather far away as they began creeping forward through the tunnel. "When we snuck out to Diagon Alley for my birthday."

There were many things Hermione had forgotten about her former life, but that fateful evening was not one of them. A trip to Diagon Alley that had changed her perspective on everything—Severus, school, and life itself—forever was too memorable to fall into the cobwebs of recollection, though she often forgot about it, rarely having the time or energy to fully draw up and savor the wellspring of emotions it created in her.

That illicit trip to Diagon Alley had opened up her eyes to a new world—a world of magic within a magical world. And she had her husband, who had been nothing more than a lonely boy and her best friend back then, to thank for that.

She took a step forward, catching him by surprise as she wrapped her arms around him, drawing him to a halt. He didn't turn around, allowing her to worm her hands around his waist, holding him tightly to her.

She kissed him on the juncture at the back of his neck where it met his shoulder, and she felt an odd little shiver run down his spine as she did so.

"Thank you for reminding me," she whispered, planting another kiss, eliciting another shivered response. "Of the joys from a lifetime ago."

She felt one of his hands move to cover hers, and smiled.

~o~O~o~

Harry very nearly collapsed in the middle of a game of Gobstones with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione three days later. They had been sitting on the living room floor of the Burrow when he suddenly dropped his stone and leaned forward, bent over and clutching his head.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed in an undertone, trying not to draw too much attention to them, with a furtive look at Hermione. "Hermione, what's happening to him?"

Harry's eyes squeezed shut tightly for a moment, and then just as suddenly as he had keeled over, he straightened up again, though still clutching his scar.

"It's—it's Voldemort," he said, his voice cracking. "I managed to block him out, but not before…"

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione demanded, hauling him fully upright. "What did you see?"

"He… he went to an underground lake," Harry said, rubbing his forehead. There was a boat, and the lake was full of bodies…"

Ron and Ginny blanched at this. Hermione felt the hair along her spine begin to stand on end, but pressed on. "And then what?"

"He… he drained a basin full of glowing potion," Harry muttered. "It was green, and there was a locket at the bottom of it."

Hermione's blood suddenly ran cold.

"And then… he opened it… and found a note…"

"What did it say?" Ron demanded.

"I don't know, but it made him angry, really angry…" Harry said tightly. He looked at Hermione. "It… he knows that someone took the real locket…"

"Someone else did," Hermione said quietly. "I already destroyed it. Is that all?"

Harry nodded, panting slightly as he tried to recover from the terrifying vision.

"Spend a few minutes meditating," she instructed. "Clear your thoughts. If the Dark Lord is angry, his emotions will bleed into your mind more easily, if unintentionally. You need to shut him out."

"I understand," Harry bit out, though it was not with anger at her, but with the effort it was taking to lock Voldemort out of his head.

Hermione gazed into his eyes for a moment, gauging what she saw, and then straightened.

"I was expecting him to find out eventually," she said heavily, as Harry's breathing began to even out. His eyes had closed, but it was clear that he was engaging his defenses again, doing everything he could to keep the Dark Lord from connecting to his mind, even by accident. She gave him a small smile of approval, but then her expression grew somber. "Of course, now he'll begin doing a full assessment of how many have already been destroyed…"

"Destroyed what?" Ginny asked, her eyes narrowing at Hermione, not in suspicion but in careful consideration.

"Naturally, you'll remember Riddle's Diary," Hermione said, as Harry's eyes opened again, clear and calm once more. "The Dark Lord made more objects just like it, in an attempt to preserve himself—a step of immortality, if you will."

"And how many have you destroyed?" Ginny asked.

"I destroyed four," Hermione said grimly. Ginny let out a tiny gasp of surprise at this, and Ron uttered a shocked, "Wicked…" as she added, "But with the Diary destroyed, that means the actual count is five."

"And how many are there?" Ginny demanded.

"Seven," Ron said, looking at Hermione in awe. "I just hadn't realized how much progress she'd been making on them…"

"It wasn't easy, I assure you," Hermione replied sardonically.

"Does Snape know about them?" Ron asked curiously, as Harry picked up his gobstone again, determined to continue on as normal.

"No," Hermione lied, her eyes glittering as she gazed at the three of them. "He has no idea."

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~Anubis Ankh