Hello, my dear readers and most faithful supporters.
The plagiarized story has been taken down! I count this a major victory and I thank everyone who reported it. Gods, the amount of supportive messages I received was overwhelming and I just love you all. However, the author has more stories up that I think might be plagiarized also. (For those who don't know, the author is "welshgirl1148") If you recognize them, please report it!
So. This chapter is long, and plenty of it is almost verbatim from OotP but with Hermione's thoughts. So it's long. Which is good, because it is all that is probably going to come for a good long while. Explanation at the bottom.
I'm typing this on Thursday evening after 12 hours of flying- I went to the college that gave me the awesome full ride and that involved six planes to and from and a day FILLED with activities.
Summary: Hermione meets with Rita Skeeter and Harry and Luna for her Daily Prophet triumph. Dumbledore is still an amazing example of a jerkface, and gets Severus so worried and protective that he accidentally reveals to Hermione how much he actually cares about her, and they sit and sleep together. Plantonically.
Voila. The Chapter That Is 11,000 words!
Chapter 29
For all that he did, the castle was worse without Dumbledore.
The dissolution of the DA had been beyond anything Hermione could have ever expected. She hadn't thought betrayal would be possible with the spell she had placed on the parchment that bound them all together. It had been supposed to foster group spirit and a sense of commitment- but Hermione had underestimated . She had not been one of the ones Hermione had handpicked, and for a reason too- her thrice damned mother.
So much was ruined, now. Harry's support group was defeated, there was no proper Headmaster in the castle, and Umbridge was ruling with an iron fist.
Severus had been furious for three weeks, intensified by what Harry had seen in the Pensieve. "We were godamn lucky that the first memory he saw was of my fifth year and he was too preoccupied by his parents to notice anything else," he had hissed angrily at Hermione, pacing with his robes flapping ominously behind him. "The next memory was of my interactions with his mother, and then-"
He stopped himself, but Hermione was curious. "And then what?" she had probed cautiously, a bit wary of his temper.
"Then the two of us," he had snapped. "I doubt very much that Potter would have been able to leave my office without cursing me after he saw me snogging you against a wall."
Hermione had colored, raising a hand to her warm cheeks. "Oh," she had said in a voice that resembled a squeak. "Oh. Yes. Good thing, then."
"I don't want to see the idiot alone again," Severus had said dismissively. "You will have to take over his lessons from now on."
"Of course," Hermione had sighed. "I told Dumbledore that something would happen sooner or later and it just happened to occur after he left. I'll keep working with Harry."
At least the Easter holiday made it easier for Severus; there were no classes so he didn't have to face the son of the man who humiliated him as a child. Hermione enjoyed them as well, using her time during the day with Harry and Ron and on the flip side spending most of her time with Severus, curled up in her chair with reports floating around her as she copied and sorted them. The Potions Master sat at his desk and graded papers or in his chair, doing calculations for his potions project. When his potion was simmering for hours or reducing, he read with a cup of tea at his elbow. Sometimes, when the reports could wait, they read together.
Those were some of the most relaxing afternoons and evenings and nights. It has started after the one day when she had fallen asleep to his voice, warm in his arms and in his love (no matter if he called if affection or regard or just liking she had seen into his mind and felt his emotions and had been floored and honored and joyous) with the sound of his voice in her head and rumbling through her bones. It had been glorious, beautiful, calming.
They had woken up in the middle of the night, stiff and a bit sore but... quiet. Together. She had twisted in his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his neck before untangling herself and leaving. Her back was still warm where it had been pressed against his front and she was still full of the smell of him and the warmth of him and the comfort that the hard chest and soft blanket had filled her with.
When she was standing and he was sprawled on the floor, his limbs askew and sleep and confusion still on his face. It was only an instant before the confusion melted off and Severus' alertness was upon his visage once more, but in that instant she had looked down on him like a child. It was plain on his face that he was missing her an her warmth and with his legs sprawled before him and his head cocked to the side in want and not-knowing he had been a beautiful boy, a young man who was still a youth, a god with an open face who had fallen asleep in a field and awoken without his lover. She looked upon that god with a tenderness that swelled and made her heart ache with a wish to hold him and return to his warmth, their shared warmth.
Of course then when he tilted his head the other way and the sparse light from the fireplace embers hit his face and he was no longer that youthful innocent but Severus Snape, the man she had always known, that had been with her and by her side and guiding her for years. Stern face, harsh nose, mouth that belayed its softness with the cruel words it so often spewed. And those eyes, dark and wanting and violently sure.
He had stayed there, prone, exposed, watching her leave.
That memory stayed buried, something she only thought about when she woke in the middle of the night and her bed was cold and her legs were cold and she was lonely. Then she remembered that one night- not even a full night, just a few hours- of quiet and sleep and warmth.
It also flooded her senses when she listened to him read to her, his voice smooth and deep and beautiful. She would curl up in her chair and listen to him, watch the way his long fingers turned the pages or how his face softened a bit when he read.
Once or twice she took the book from him, reading when he was tired and he closed his eyes and just listened to her voice. The first time this happened he fell asleep in his chair- not fully asleep, more of a light doze that ended the moment Hermione stopped reading.
It floored her anyway- that not once but twice this spy, this man for whom every moment was a potential danger, had trusted her enough to sleep in her presence. She loved him more for it, these quiet moments of calm and trust within a school that was turning madder and madder each day.
O.W.L.s were fast approaching and Hermione was glad that she already knew the material she would be tested on backward and forward. It would be easy to excel but harder to appear normal.
"Don't be normal," Severus advised "You need to be brilliant. You need to scare some people. And perfect O.W.L. scores will give you something to get a job with later in life."
"What did you get?" she asked, turning the page of her book without looking up at him.
He gave her a rare smile. "I'll tell you when you get your results," he informed her loftily. "I don't want you setting goals that are too high."
She scowled and went back to her books. "Or you don't want me to set to beat you in every one," she muttered, earning her a small laugh.
Harry did a few stupid things in the time after Dumbledore left. It as obviously difficult for Harry, Dumbledore leaving after ignoring him all year. However, that sympathy did not extend to breaking into the Headmistress' office, nevermind if that Headmistress was Umbridge and there was a "perfectly good reason."
Fred and George Weasley left Hogwarts on the first Monday after the Easter holidays. Hermione was sad to see them go, despite the fact that they had been little burrs on her side for the past several years. That Marauder's Map alone was enough to give her conniptions- she had been forced to seek the help of Sirius and Remus, the Map's creators, in order to create a spell that would leave her blind to the map's tracking charm. She used it whenever she was visiting Severus, almost second nature by that point.
But despite that, the school shrunk further. First Dumbledore, then two more strong personalities.
It was two more weeks before there was yet another surprise. This surprise was somewhat larger than the others, and went by the name of Grawp. The first time Hagrid showed them the half-giant, he had given Hermione a thinly veiled significant look that told her that he didn't particularly want the Order knowing about his brother. Hermione had sworn (using some words that made Harry looked at her with shock) under her breath and then sighed and accepted it. Severus was the one who was outraged.
"A bloody giant! In the fucking Forbidden Forest!" he had shouted, a furious light in his dark eyes "Is Hagrid raving? Or just unbelievably fucking stupid?"
As much as she liked Hagrid, she had to admit that if she hadn't been as fond of the half-giant she would have made the same accusations. "Grawp could be useful," she hedged. "If used in the right way. We'll just need to incorporate him into our back up plans."
Severus had shaken his head. "Bloody fucking giant in the Forbidden Forest," he had muttered.
The next day when Ron said the exact same sentence when Harry and Hermione had told him, Hermione had to hide a giggle.
But O.W.L.'s were fast approaching, as was the culmination of a plan Severus was slowly working on ferreting out from the Dark Lord and his fellow Death Eaters.
Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were collaborating with the Dark Lord on a special project. They were gleefully aware that Severus was not to be informed of the plan, and were lording it over him at every opportunity. He was well aware that something that was to affect Harry was underway and he was also very aware that any blatant attempt on his own part to find out what it was would be regarded by the Dark Lord as a sign of his disloyalty.
One night in early June, in the midst of testing, Severus was called away at four in the afternoon was gone until six the next morning. Hermione found him during lunch to take his report and offer the use of her Time Turner so that he could sleep.
"No, no," he had said brusquely. "I don't need it. I have my potion. I'll just sleep early tonight."
She sighed and nodded. "Fine. So what did he need?"
Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "He let me know that he was planning something involving the Ministry. Knowing what we know, I am certain it is the Department of Mysteries. He said that he needed my aid in getting the strangest thing- memories and photos, current ones, of Sirius Black."
That surprised Hermione, who had been expecting almost anything but. "What an odd request," she murmured. "What did you show him?"
"My most recent memories of Black, of course," Severus snapped. "I tried to avoid the memory of the Occlumency lessons, but he saw it. He remembered you."
Ah, thought Hermione. That would explain his particularly intense gaze and the furrow in that brow of his. "He's known who I am," she reminded him.
Severus scowled at her. "He didn't know you would be as forward as to touch me. He is curious, which is the last thing we want, Hermione."
He continued with his report, and she continued to take it down, the only sounds in the room being his voice flowing and the nib of her quill scratching at her reports notebook.
When the lunch hour ended, they both started. Severus stood, weariness evident in his face for only a moment before he pulled an expressionless mask over his face. Hermione followed suit, heaving her overly large book bag over her shoulder.
On impulse, she reached out and hugged him, slipping an arm around his waist. "It's okay, Severus," she said quietly. "I probably won't see you tonight, so get some rest. Get in bed at a decent hour."
He had stiffened when she touched him, but carefully returned the embrace for a moment. "Why won't you come see me?" he asked.
"Because you need to sleep," she said sternly. "I'm not going to keep you up."
His nose was pressed to the top of her head, and his arm around her shoulders was heavy and comforting. "And if I wanted you to keep me up?"
"I would tell you that you were being silly and needed rest more than you need incessant Gryffindor chatter." Hermione answered. She took a breath, adoring the smell of Severus and potions and herbs. "And I have my Astronomy O.W.L. tonight and I don't want to use my Time Turner any more than necessary."
"Fine then," he said, a touch of grumpiness in his voice. "Off with you."
She went off, a touch of giddiness in her belly.
That night Hagrid was attacked and left with Fang. McGonagall tried to prevent it, and fell with four Stunners to the chest.
Without them, the castle felt even emptier.
Busy scribbling at her History of Magic O.W.L., Hermione didn't notice when Harry fell asleep. She was three to the right and four seats up from him, her back to the boy savior. But she did notice when there was a thump approximately four seats back and three to the left. She whipped around her seat to see Harry sprawled on the floor, eyes wide and breathing hard. Through the fringe of dark hair on his forehead, she could see the stark red outline of his scar, swollen and red.
The Dark Lord's plan, Hermione realized, a sinking cold feeling deep in her belly. Today. This is it. She could only hope that Harry wouldn't go off without her and Ron. He was in no condition to do so, as he had to be helped out of the Great Hall by one of the examiners.
Hermione tried to crush down the panic that was threatening to rise up and consume her in a wave of cold fear, starting deep in her belly and spreading outward to her numbing, ink-stained hands.
"Nevermind that!" another examiner chirruped. "You have less than twenty minutes left! Continue!"
Hermione finished the last two questions with answers that were much less fleshed out than her other ones, her mind more on Harry and on Severus. She needed to warn him- but she couldn't use her wand here on her watch, not in the middle of an exam. She also didn't know if she could use wandless magic, or if the examiners would detect it and rule her test void. If they caused a fuss that would mean Harry would get impatient and leave.
When the test was declared finished and the examiners had finished taking an agonizingly slow time in collecting the tests, Hermione was able to leave, almost bolting out of the room ahead of the rest of the fifth year students. To her relief, Harry was waiting for her and Ron outside the Great Hall. He looked frantic and out of breath, and the scar on his forehead was still a bright red.
"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and towing her away. Hermione reached out and grabbed Ron's wrist, dragging him with her as Harry pulled them through a twisting set of corridors to an empty classroom.
When the door was shut and the only sound was their breathing stirring the dusty air, Harry faced them and spoke. "Voldemort's got Sirius."
"What?"
"How d'you -?"
She and Ron had spoken at the same time. Harry looked in no mood to elaborate, heaving a great sigh before saying, "Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam."
"But - but where? How?" said Hermione, feeling the blood draining from her face. The Dark Lord made him fall asleep from miles away. And showed him- Sirius, apparently.
"I dunno how," Harry said, voice shaking. "But I know where. The Department of Mysteries, there's a room there with rows of shelves all filled with glass balls. He's at row ninety-seven, with Sirius, trying to get what he wants. He's torturing him, and he's going to kill him!" Harry stopped, sitting on a desk. Hermione noticed his hands were shaking. "How're we going to get there?" he asked them.
There was a moment's silence. Then Ron said, "G-get there?"
"Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Sirius!" Harry said loudly.
"But - Harry…" said Ron weakly. Hermione was frozen, her mind trying to race ahead and figure out what to say, what to do.
"What? What?" said Harry.
He looked frantic, unreasonable. "Harry," said Hermione, letting some of her fear leak into her voice, "er… how… how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realizing he was there?" That was the most logical thing she could find to point out.
"How do I know?" bellowed Harry. "The question is how we're going to get in there!"
"But… Harry, think about this," said Hermione, taking a step towards him, "it's five o'clock in the afternoon… the Ministry of Magic must be full of workers… how would Voldemort and Sirius have got in without being seen? Harry… they're probably the two most wanted wizards in the world… you think they could get into a building full of Aurors undetected?" It was becoming more and more evident that reason might not work.
"I dunno, Voldemort used an Invisibility Cloak or something!" Harry shouted. "Anyway, the Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever I've been -"
"You've never been there, Harry," said Hermione quietly. "You've dreamed about the place, that's all." She knew how real the dreams seemed to him, but they weren't true dreams. They were the Dark Lord projecting images into his brain and that was all.
"They're not normal dreams!" Harry shouted in her face, standing up and taking a step closer to her in turn. He wanted to shake her, she could see it in his eyes and his mind. "How d'you explain Ron's dad then, what was all that about, how come I knew what had happened to him?"
"He's got a point," said Ron quietly, looking at Hermione. Of course, back him up now when it is vital that he not go!
"But this is just — just sounds unlikely." said Hermione desperately. "Harry, how on earth could Voldemort have got hold of Sirius when he's been in Grimmauld Place all the time?"
"Sirius might've cracked and just wanted some fresh air," said Ron, sounding worried. "He's been desperate to get out of that house for ages -" Now is NOT the time, Ronald!
"But why," Hermione persisted, "why on earth would Voldemort want to use Sirius to get the weapon, or whatever the thing is?" It made no sense to her- Sirius wasn't part of the prophecy, he couldn't pick it up anymore than Bodrick Bode could have. The only reason Voldemort would have taken Sirius to the Department of Mysteries would be to lure Harry there.
"I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!" Harry yelled at her. "Maybe Sirius is just someone Voldemort doesn't care about seeing hurt -" Of course that's true, Harry, but you don't know anything!
You know what, I've just thought of something," said Ron in a hushed voice. "Sirius's brother was a Death Eater, wasn't he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!" Hogswash.
"Yeah - and that's why Dumbledore's been so keen to keep Sirius locked up all the time!" said Harry. He gave Ron an appreciative look, one of camaraderie. Ron swelled, but Hermione gave a short screech of anger.
"Look, I'm sorry," cried Hermione, "but neither of you is making sense, and we've got no proof for any of this, no proof Voldemort and Sirius are even there -"
"Hermione, Harry's seen them!" said Ron, rounding on her. He and Harry, standing next to each other, were facing her down. It was like a nightmare she had endured before, of the two of them joining against her to do some stupid thing that would get them all killed.
"Okay," she said, drawing herself up to her full heigh. "I've just got to say this -"
Harry recognized the confrontational tone and posture. "What?"
"You have a saving people thing, Harry," she said calmly. "This is not a personal criticism, but it something I've noticed."
He glared at her. "And what's that supposed to mean, 'a saving people thing?'"
"Last year, for instance, in the lake during the Tournament. You didn't need to save that little Delacour girl. You got a bit carried away."
A wave of hot, prickly anger swept through Harrys body; how could she remind him of that blunder now? Hermione felt it at the same time he did, through their eye contact.
"I mean, it was really great of you and everything," said Hermione quickly, feeling her confidence draining just as she needed it. The Hermione of her second year would be positively petrified at the look on Harry's face. "Everyone thought it was a wonderful thing to do -"
"That's funny," said Harry through gritted teeth, "because I definitely remember Ron saying I'd wasted time acting the hero… is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero again?"
"No, no, no!" said Hermione, looking aghast. "That's not what I mean at all!" Gods, he just isn't getting it.
"Well, spit out what you've got to say, because we're wasting time here!" Harry shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. Ron winced.
"I'm trying to say that the Dark Lord knows you, Harry!," Hermione said furiously. "He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, it's the kind of thing he does, he knows you're the - the sort of person who'd go to Sirius's aid! What if he's just trying to get you into the Department of Myst—?"
"Hermione, it doesn't matter if he's done it to get me there or not - they've taken McGonagall to St. Mungo's, there isn't anyone from the Order left at Hogwarts who we can tell, and if we don't go, Sirius is dead!"
She decided not to mention Severus, knowing that Harry's current mood would not react favorably to the mention of the Potions Master. "But Harry - what if your dream was - was just that, a dream?" She softened her voice, appealing to him with kindness, with softness.
Harry let out a roar of frustration. Hermione actually stepped back from him, her heart jumping into her throat. Harry's green eyes were alight with anger and through their maintained eye contact she could feel it surging at her, wishing to take her by the shoulders and shake her...
"You don't get it!" Harry shouted at her. "I'm not having nightmares, I'm not just dreaming! What d'you think all the Occlumency was for, why d'you think Dumbledore wanted me prevented from seeing these things? Because they're REAL, Hermione - Sirius is trapped, I've seen him. Voldemort's got him, and no one else knows, and that means we're the only ones who can save him, and if you don't want to do it, fine, but I'm going, understand? And if I remember rightly, you didn't have a problem with my saving people thing when it was you I was saving from the Dementors or Voldemort or -" he rounded on Ron "- when it was your sister I was saving from the Basilisk -"
Anger rose up in her at his words. It has been me who's been saving your sorry arse for years and you don't even know what I've sacrificed for you! You arse, you bloody arse!
"I never said I had a problem!" said Ron heatedly.
"But Harry, you've just said it," said Hermione fiercely, "Dumbledore wanted you to learn to shut these things out of your mind, if you'd done Occlumency properly like I've been teaching then you'd never have seen this -"
"IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO ACT LIKE I HAVEN'T SEEN -"
"Sirius told you there was nothing more important than you learning to close your mind!" Hermione cried back. "I've been telling you and Dumbledore's been telling you! If you won't listen to us, then what about to him?"
"WELL, I EXPECT HE'D SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT I'D JUST-"
The classroom door opened. Harry, Ron and Hermione whipped around. Ginny walked in, looking curious, closely followed by Luna, who as usual looked as though she had drifted in accidentally. Fuck, thought Hermione. More people.
"Hi," said Ginny uncertainly. "We recognized Harry's voice. What are you yelling about?"
"Never you mind," said Harry roughly.
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "There's no need to take that tone with me," she said coolly, "I was only wondering whether I could help."
"Well, you can't," said Harry shortly.
"You're being rather rude, you know," said Luna serenely.
"Wait," said Hermione suddenly. "Wait… Harry, they can help." We need to get time to calm down and get real information. Sirius may be there- I doubt it but he might be- and we need all the help we can get it we are to coordinate this properly. If I can stall Harry while I get the Order ready and warned...
Harry and Ron looked at her. "Listen," she said urgently, "Harry, we need to establish whether Sirius really has left Headquarters."
"I've told you, I saw -"
One part of her wanted nothing more than to shout that she didn't give a rat's arse what he had seen, that she didn't believe it was true for a second, but that was not the tactic to take at this moment. "Harry, I'm begging you, please!" said Hermione desperately. "Please let's just check that Sirius isn't at home before we go charging off to London. If we find out he's not there, then I swear I won't try to stop you. I'll come, I'll d - do whatever it takes to try and save him."
"Sirius is being tortured NOW!" shouted Harry. "We haven't got time to waste."
"It's not a waste of time if this turns out to be false," Hermione shot back. At Harry's hurt look, she sighed. "It might be real. But if this is a trick of Voldemort's, Harry, we've got to check, we've got to."
"How?" Harry demanded. "How are we going to check?"
"We'll have to use Umbridge's fire and see if we can contact him," said Hermione, frowning as she tried to work out the logistics of how, exactly, they were going to do that. "We'll draw Umbridge away again, but we'll need lookouts, and that's where we can use Ginny and Luna."
Though clearly struggling to understand what was going on, Ginny said immediately, "Yeah, we'll do it," and Luna said, "When you say 'Sirius', are you talking about Stubby Boardman?"
Nobody answered her.
"Okay," Harry said aggressively to Hermione, "Okay, if you can think of a way of doing this quickly, I'm with you, otherwise I'm going to the Department of Mysteries right now." There was only seriousness in his eyes, and Hermione swallowed hard. It would be difficult to find a way to warn Sirius and keep Harry in her direct sight at all times.
"The Department of Mysteries?" said Luna, looking mildly surprised. "But how are you going to get there?"
Again, Harry ignored her.
"Right," said Hermione, twisting her hands together and pacing up and down between the desks. "Right... well… one of us has to go and find Umbridge and - and send her off in the wrong direction, keep her away from her office. They could tell her - I don't know - that Peeves is up to something awful as usual"
"I'll do it," said Ron at once. "I'll tell her Peeves is smashing up the Transfiguration department or something, it's miles away from her office. Come to think of it, I could probably persuade Peeves to do it if I met him on the way."
It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Hermione made no objection to the smashing up of the Transfiguration department. With McGonagall gone, it wasn't the same anyway. And she would put it back to sorts herself if she needed to.
"Okay," she said, her brow furrowed as she continued to pace. "Now, we need to keep students right away from her office while we force entry, or some Slytherins bound to go and tip her off."
"Luna and I can stand at either end of the corridor," said Ginny promptly, "and warn people not to go down there because someone's let off a load of Garrotting Gas." Hermione was surprised at the readiness with which Ginny had come up with this lie; Ginny shrugged and said, "Fred and George were planning to do it before they left."
"Okay," said Hermione. "Well then, Harry, you and I will be under the Invisibility Cloak and we'll sneak into the office and you can talk to Sirius -"
"He's not there, Hermione!" Harry snapped.
Hermione glared right back. "I mean, you can - can check whether Sirius is at home or not while I keep watch, I don't think you should be in there alone, Lee's already proved the windows a weak spot, sending those Nifflers through it."
It appeared he took her determination not to let him out of her sight as an offer of support; either way, he looked at the round and muttered, "I… okay, thanks."
"Right, well, even if we do all of that, I don't think we're going to be able to bank on more than five minutes," said Hermione, feeling relieved that Harry seemed to have accepted the plan, "not with Filch and the wretched Inquisitorial Squad floating around."
"Five minutes will be enough," said Harry. "C'mon, let's go -"
Hermione nodded. "You go and get the Invisibility Cloak and we'll meet you at the end of Umbridge's corridor, okay?"
Harry made to leave, but she reached out and grabbed his arm. "If you leave without me, Harry, you'll regret it," she said in a voice too low for anyone else in the room to hear. "I'll help you- I just want to make sure we're not rushing into a trap."
Harry looked at her for a heartbeat longer, but didn't answer, flinging himself out of the room and beginning to fight his way through the milling crowds outside.
"You guys go on ahead," Hermione told the rest of the group. "I need to- to do something else. I'll be at the corridor waiting for you."
Ron and Ginny gave her identical suspicious looks, but Hermione waved them off. Perhaps it was Luna who was already wandering out the doorway or the determination in Hermione's face, but neither of them questioned her. Before they were gone, Hermione was pulling her Time Turner from its resting spot between her breasts, flipping it over to give herself two hours. Any more would be dangerous, and she wasn't sure if she would need to use it later that night.
Two hours in the past was in the midst of her O.W.L. in History of Magic, so Hermione had to make doubly sure that no one saw her creeping the corridors. If she had guessed correctly Severus had a prep period that was just ending-
Drat it. Students were already filing into his classroom. There was a fifty percent chance that Severus wasn't already inside, and she didn't know if he would feel his pocket watch from the pocket of his robes. She had to try- she pressed all her urgency into the tap of her wand only to hear a muffled curse from a few feet away.
It was him- Severus was fond of making an entrance in his classrooms and it appeared that he had yet to enter. It appeared that she had put perhaps a bit too much force- there was a charred section his robe and there was an icy glare directed her way.
She revealed herself, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a small niche despite his temper. "It's today," she said quickly, making eye contact with him. "The Dark Lord's plan- it's happening today."
All of the anger instantly disappeared from Severus' face. "From when did you come?"
"About five," Hermione answered, checking her watch. "Um- yes. Five fifteen. At about five thirty we'll be breaking into Umbridge's office-"
Severus held up a hand to stop her. "Wait. Let me give my second years something to do before they start rooting around in my supply cabinet and then we'll talk in my office."
From her usual chair in Severus' office she could hear the silky voice of her spy drawl, "Unlike the fifth years, you do not have O.W.L.'s today. However, you do have a surprise test of everything you've learned this term thus far. Get out parchment and quills and put away your cauldron, Ashby, we are not brewing today. I want you to write down everything you remember studying- hopefully your homework was done on your own and and through your own research. Flint, I expect you'll have a … slight difficulty with this task and yet still I insist that you do not look at Gill's paper because if I find anyone cheating I will not only give you no marks but I will also give the Headmistress my personal assessment of your character and of your knowledge retention that will give the strong impression that you should be held back a year. Begin!"
When he entered the office the fearsome persona he had just put on display for the students held, wavered, and then dropped completely. "Alright," he said, dropping into his chair. "What, exactly, is happening?"
It was the work of moments to fill him in on what had happened after four in the afternoon. Severus absorbed it all with no outward sign of worry that anyone but Hermione and perhaps Albus Dumbledore would have been able to first notice and then interpret. When she finished, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We are in a dangerous situation, Hermione," he said in a rough voice. "But there might be a way to turn this to our advantage."
Hermione leaned forward, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm listening."
"Potter is prepared to rush off to the Department of Mysteries without looking back," Severus said, obviously thinking ahead as he spoke. "There is probably a band of Death Eaters waiting there for him, having slaughtered those on duty at the Ministry after calling away as many as they could. Malfoy probably paid Fudge to short staff the Ministry today so that there would be as few people as possible. Now they sulk in the bowels of the Ministry, waiting. For Potter to come, for him to pick up the prophecy..."
This was nothing new to Hermione. "Yes, yes," she said impatiently. "He, Dumbledore, the Dark Lord, and the Seer are the only ones who can pick up the prophecy." She was quiet for a moment, than began to think out loud. "He can't lure Dumbledore there, it would be impossible. For some reason, he doesn't want to risk taking the prophecy himself. The Seer- she must not be easily accessible or she's dead, so that leaves Harry..." Her mind flashed to a conversation with Severus earlier in the year.
Hermione wrinkled her nose. "I agree. Why does Dumbledore even keep Divination as a class? If there was a competent teacher, maybe I'd understand but-" Hermione stopped, clear eyes focused on Snape's face. He felt an urge to look away, but held her gaze. "Severus. There's a reason, isn't there."
"Hermione-" Severus sighed, bringing up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "There are things that Dumbledore does that no one can explain."
The bright lights of the potion lab made him look older, wearier. Hermione tilted her head up to look at him. "Severus. There is a reason. And you know it."
He glared at her. "Yes, I do. And you do not." She glared at him in return.
"Is it important?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms. Why would Dumbledore keep an incompetent teacher? He wants to keep her close- she's a Seer, so maybe... but she's never predicted anything big. Unless- the Order is guarding a prophecy. Maybe she knows who made it?
Severus frowned at her. "Yes, it is. No, I'm not telling you. If you want to know this one, you'll have to ask Dumbledore. We are finished here." He enunciated each word clearly, making his tension clear.
"Of course," she breathed. "The Seer was Tre-"
"Quiet," hissed Severus. "You don't understand what you speak of!"
Hermione leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow at him. "Then you'd best explain quick because I have a nasty feeling I'm going to be risking my life for whatever this prophecy is in a matter of hours."
Severus flinched- she had gotten him. "One moment." He carefully warded the office, blocking all sound in or out, stopping the door, and laying the fire to rest. Once he was sure that no one could listen in, he began to speak. "The prophecy is the reason Potter is what he is," he said tersely. "It foretold the first downfall of the Dark Lord. He only ever heard part of it, the part that told him who and how he would lose. The last part is what he seeks. That deals with the present war and the Final Battle."
There was an even greater solemnity in his words, in his expression, in the tense way he held his body. There was more, she knew, but for now it was just progress that she had gotten that much. "I think I should hear this prophecy sooner rather than later," she said after a moment, "but not right now."
Severus sneered at her. "Obviously not. We need to plan for tonight."
"Should we try to stop Harry from going to the Ministry?" Hermione asked urgently. "Should we try to stop it?"
They were both quiet, and when their eyes met again it was clear that they had made the same decision. "No," Severus said at last. "This plan we know about in advance. The next, we might not. Here we know the time, the place, and we control when Potter enters the building. They are waiting, we can be on the attack."
"We could also have a chance to destroy the prophecy," Hermione said, nodding. "If it drops when no one sees or hears it. That way... he stops looking for it, or believes that it is still out there and goes crazy looking for it with no hope of success."
Severus sighed. "An option. If you can. But we need to stall for as long as possible. Evening, night if possible."
"I agree," Hermione said, twirling a brown curl around her finger as she thought. "We need to make them wait, make them antsy. The more off kilter they are, the better the chance that we have."
"And the sooner we can get word to Dumbledore," Severus muttered. "The Order won't go to the Ministry without his order. They would never trust my word."
"And mine?" Hermione asked. "That could work..."
"No," Severus said harshly, a glare not directed at her in his dark eyes. "The complaint society will only listen to him. McGonagall might have convinced them, but..." His glare intensified. "How are we going to stall?"
Hermione grinned, barring her teeth. "Easy," she said. "Like I said, Harry and I are going to be breaking into Umbridge's office shortly. If we get caught..."
It was plain that Severus agreed. "She'll have to question you to find out what you were doing there," he said, tracing the outline of his lips with his index finger. "And when you won't answer truthfully, she'll call for some Veritaserum."
The grin on Hermione's face widened. "And for Veritaserum, she needs a Potions master," Hermione said gleefully. "So she'll call you and then we can 'get a message' to you. Once we can get an official message out, we can leave. I don't know how we'll get there- but knowing Harry something will turn up out of nowhere and we'll get the Ministry. Hopefully the Order can be there, waiting for us."
"I'll contact Dumbledore, then," Severus said, heaving himself up. "The old bugger is supposed to check in with Black at four, so I'll try to get to him then."
She stood as well, on shaky feet. The fear that had gripped her gut earlier was slowly returning now that the meeting- and the calmness and familiarity that came with planning with Severus- was coming to and end.
"We're probably going to be fighting in the Ministry," Hermione said, looking him right in the eye. "There is a good chance that I could get hurt trying to protect Harry, Severus."
His scowl deepened. "I know that," he snapped.
Hermione moved closer to him, just within his reach. "I could die," she said clearly, maintaining the eye contact. "You could die. Things are getting serious now. Life or death serious."
"Your point being?" he drawled, crossing his arms.
Sometimes he was such an oblivious bastard. "I'm telling you that this isn't the time for might-have-beens," she said firmly. "I'm going to kiss you now and you are going to make it bloody good because it might be a goodbye. Just in case."
His expression changed minutely. "You aren't going to die. The Order will be there, and we won't let Potter leave until then."
"Plans change," Hermione countered. "Our plan is going to change. Now- I don't know if I can content myself with 'maybe someday after the war,' anymore, Severus."
His eyes flashed with irritation. "We'll talk about this later. After the shit storm that this battle is going to be."
"Fine," she snapped back in response. Hermione stepped up to him, putting a hand on his chest and pushing herself up on her tip-toes to reach his mouth. If he didn't bend to accommodate her, the best she could do was the side of his jaw or his chin. She huffed in frustration, wound her hands in his hair, and tugged him downward.
The look of surprise on his face was hilarious. She laughed, letting go his hair. "Sorry," she giggled. "But you weren't cooperating."
He glared, rubbing his scalp. Then he bent down, cupped her bum, and lifted her so that they were at eye level. Her heart rate picked up with the mischievous look on his face. "If only to stop you from ripping my hair out by the roots," he murmured, turning so that they were braced against the wall and he didn't have to bear her full weight.
She didn't answer, but kissed him deeply, enormously pleased when he responded positively. The fear that had been building in her belly calmed and was replaced with heat, desire for Severus. Now that kissing him wasn't such a novel experience she was able to retain her head better. She was aware of more than mouths and tongues, more level headed.
When he put her down, there was a rare smile on his face. "Did that meet your criteria for 'making it bloody good,' my dear?"
Hermione stroked the soft skin of his neck, smiling up at him. "I'm not quite sure..." she hedged. "Would you like another chance?"
"Minx," he growled and kissed her again, doing his very best to leave her breathless. This time when he was far enough away to look at her, there was very definite satisfaction on his face.
She just grinned at him. "Very bloody good," she said happily.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled back. It only lasted for a moment before the seriousness overcame him again. He pressed a last kiss to her forehead, then pulled away and stalked into his classroom. From his office she could hear him snap at the students, his Professor Snape persona firmly in place once more.
Twigs snapped under Hermione's feet. She couldn't see where she was stepping, not with the feeble light of Umbridge's wand far behind her. She just progressed into the Forbidden Forest, determined. So determined. As soon as Severus had left she had put her plan into action
"How much further?" demanded Umbridge angrily from behind Hermione. She grinned viciously, knowing the woman couldn't see her face.
"Not far now!" shouted Hermione, making her voice as sweet as possible even as her terrible grin deepened. They emerged into a dim, dank clearing. "Just a little bit -"
An arrow flew through the air and landed with a menacing thud in the tree just over her head. Hermione stood rabbit still as the air suddenly filled with the sound of hooves. The forest floor was trembling, and Hermione's thoughts were all focused on Harry, Harry-
Umbridge gave a little scream and pushed Harry in front of her like a shield causing Hermione to hiss in anger. Didn't she know that the boy was their only hope of surviving the war alive? Although she would probably support the goddamn Death Eaters and Voldemort's regime-
Harry wrenched himself free of her and turned. Around fifty centaurs were emerging on every side, their bows raised and loaded, pointing at Harry, Hermione, and Umbridge. They backed slowly into the center of the clearing, Umbridge uttering odd little whimpers of terror. Harry looked sideways at Hermione. She was wearing a triumphant smile, and didn't care if he saw it. Her plan had worked.
"Who are you?" said a voice.
A chestnut-bodied centaur called- Hermione searched her memory... Magorian, yes, that was it- was walking towards them out of the circle: his bow, like those of the others, was raised. On Harry's right, Umbridge was still whimpering, her wand trembling violently as she pointed it at the advancing centaur.
"I asked you who are you, human," said Magorian roughly.
"I am Dolores Umbridge!" said Umbridge in a high-pitched, terrified voice. Hermione fought to hide her smile, not to give it away to the centaurs. "Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!" You just said absolutely the wrong thing, my dear.
"You are from the Ministry of Magic?" said Magorian, as many of the centaurs in the surrounding circle shifted restlessly. One in the back even reared onto his hind legs, baring his teeth at the group.
"That's right!" said Umbridge, in an even higher voice. "So be very careful! By the laws laid down by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half-breeds such as yourselves on a human -"
"What did you call us?" shouted a wild-looking black centaur, whom Harry recognized.
"Bane," he whispered to Hermione.
There was a great deal of angry muttering and tightening of bowstrings around them. Obviously Umbridge had a made a fatal mistake. There was a fine line between getting rid of the woman and getting them all killed. "Don't call them that!" Hermione said furiously, but Umbridge did not appear to have heard her.
Still pointing her shaking wand at Magorian, she continued, "Law Fifteen 'B' states clearly that 'any attack by a magical creature who is deemed to have near-human intelligence, and therefore considered responsible for its actions' —"
"'Near-human intelligence'?" repeated Magorian, as Bane and several others roared with rage and pawed the ground. "We consider that a great insult, human! Our intelligence, thankfully, far outstrips your own."
"What are you doing in our Forest?" bellowed the hard-faced grey centaur Harry and Hermione had seen on their last trip into the Forest. "Why are you here?"
"Your Forest?" said Umbridge, shaking now not only with fright but also, it seemed, with indignation. "I would remind you that you live here only because the Ministry of Magic permits you certain areas of land -"
An arrow loosed by the centaur who had reared earlier flew so close to her head that it caught at her mousy hair in passing: she let out an earsplitting scream and threw her hands over her head, while some of the centaurs bellowed their approval and others laughed raucously. The sound of their wild, neighing laughter echoing around the dimly lit clearing and the sight of their pawing hooves was extremely unnerving. Hermione backed into Harry and gripped his hand tightly.
"Whose Forest is it now, human?" bellowed Bane.
"Filthy half-breeds!" she screamed, her hands still tight over her head. "Beasts! Uncontrolled animals!"
Hermione pulled Harry away from her, hoping to distance the two of them in the minds of the centaurs. "Be quiet!" shouted Hermione, but it was too late.
Umbridge pointed her wand at Magorian and screamed, "Incarcerous!" Ropes flew out of midair like thick snakes, wrapping themselves tightly around the centaur's torso and trapping his arms: he gave a cry of rage and reared on to his hind legs, attempting to free himself, while the other centaurs charged.
Harry pulled Hermione to the ground with their linked hand; face down on the Forest floor, they knew a moment of terror as hooves thundered around them, but the centaurs leapt over and around them, bellowing and screaming with rage.
On the ground is the most dangerous place to be with hooves stomping all over the place- Hermione thought desperately. All she could do was cast a wandless charm as strong as she could make it over Harry's body.
"Nooooo!" he heard Umbridge shriek. "Noooooo… I am Senior Undersecretary… you cannot - Unhand me, you animals… nooooo!"
Hermione saw a flash of red light and knew she had attempted to Stun one of them. Umridge screamed very loudly- she had been seized from behind by Bane and lifted high into the air, wriggling and yelling with fright. Her wand fell from her hand to the ground. Harry saw it at the same time as Hermione, but even as he stretched out a hand towards it, a centaur's hoof descended upon the wand and it broke cleanly in half.
"Now!" roared a voice in Harry's ear and a thick hairy arm descended from thin air and dragged him upright. Hermione was pulled to her feet by another rough arm. Over the plunging, many-colored backs and heads of the centaurs, Hermione could see Umbridge being borne away through the trees by Bane. Screaming non-stop, her voice grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer hear it over the trampling of hooves surrounding them.
"And these?" said the hard-faced, grey centaur holding Hermione.
"They are young," said a slow, doleful voice from behind Harry. "We do not attack foals."
"They brought her here, Ronan," replied the centaur who had such a firm grip on Harry. "And they are not so young… he is nearing manhood, this one." He shook Harry by the neck of his robes.
The centaur holding Hermione peered at her face, and cursed in a language she didn't understand. In an instant a crude stone knife was pressed to her neck. "This one is not a foal! She wears magic to make her appear young!" The knife pressed deeper into her throat. "Remove it!"
She dithered for a moment in her head until the knife pressed harder, drawing blood. "Finite Incantum," she whispered. "There!"
Harry was staring, eyes wide and angry. "Hermione, what-"
Hermione ignored him, thinking as hard and as fast as she could. "Your kind are Seers, are you not?" she called, swallowing against the sharp line of pain at her throat. "You see wars and births and deaths in the stars and the smoke?"
Ronan walked closer to her, saying something the grey centaur that held her. The knife left her throat, but she was still held by a tight hairy arm. "What of it, woman?"
"Then you've seen the rise of the Dark Lord!" exclaimed Hermione, trying to meet his eyes. "You've seen the destruction he will bring to this place if he is not defeated!" She pointed at Harry, eyes beseeching the centaur. "He is the only one who can defeat him!"
Ronan stroked his beard. "And he is still but a foal," he murmured. "We can let him go. Do it!"
The centaur holding Harry glared, but released him. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "I protect him," she said, tears starting to run down her face. "I- I am his guardian. He is in danger, was in danger from that other woman. We need to leave this place-"
"You are not going anywhere," Ronan said, leaning close. "Guardian of the Chosen or no, you still trespassed. You still used us as one uses a plough or the horse that pulls it. You are going nowhere-"
At that moment there came a crashing noise on the edge of the clearing so loud that all of them, Harry, Hermione and the fifty or so centaurs filling the clearing, looked around. Hermione was dropped as her centaur reached for his bow and arrows. Harry hurried toward her as two thick tree trunks parted ominously and the monstrous form of Grawp the giant appeared in the gap.
The centaurs nearest him backed into those behind; the clearing was now a forest of bows and arrows waiting to be fired, all pointing upwards at the enormous greyish face now looming over them from just beneath the thick canopy of branches. Grawp's lopsided mouth was gaping stupidly; they could see his brick like yellow teeth glimmering in the half-light, his dull sludge colored eyes narrowed as he squinted down at the creatures at his feet. Broken ropes trailed from both ankles.
He opened his mouth even wider. "Hagger." Hermione did not know what 'hagger' meant, or what language it was from, nor did she much care. The danger as in Grawp's feet, which were almost as long as Harry's whole body. Hermione gripped his arm tightly; the centaurs were quite silent, staring up at the giant, whose huge, round head moved from side to side as he continued to peer amongst them as though looking for something he had dropped.
"Hagger!" he said again, more insistently. He wants something called "Haggar," thought Hermione. Hag- Hagrid!
"Get away from here, giant!" called Magorian. "You are not welcome among us!"
These words seemed to make no impression whatsoever on Grawp. He stooped a little (the centaurs' arms tensed on their bows), then bellowed, "HAGGER!"
A few of the centaurs looked worried now. Hermione, however, gave a gasp.
"Harry!" she whispered. "I think he's trying to say 'Hagrid-' he hasn't seen him since he left!"
At this precise moment Grawp caught sight of them, the only two humans in a sea of centaurs. He lowered his head another foot or so, staring intently at them. Hermione was shaking as Grawp opened his mouth wide again and said, in a deep, rumbling voice, "Hermy."
"Goodness," said Hermione, gripping Harry's arm so tightly she wouldn't have been surprised if it was growing numb, "he - he remembered!"
"HERMY!" roared Grawp. "WHERE HAGGER?"
"I don't know!" Hermione shouted back. "I'm sorry, Grawp, I don't know!"
"GRAWP WANT HAGGER!"
One of the giant's massive hands reached down. Hermione let out a real scream, ran a few steps backwards and fell over, pulling Harry down with her. On the ground they would be harder to pick up. Devoid of a wand, Harry braced himself to punch, kick, bite or whatever else it took as the hand swooped towards him and knocked a snow-white centaur off his legs.
It was what the centaurs had been waiting for — Grawp's outstretched fingers were a foot from Harry when fifty arrows soared through the air at the giant, peppering his enormous face, causing him to howl with pain and rage and straighten up, rubbing his face with his enormous hands, breaking off the arrow shafts but forcing the arrowheads in still deeper. Hermione winced in pain for him, but still pulled Harry back with her as they scrambled to their feet.
Grawp yelled and stamped his enormous feet and the centaurs scattered out of the way; pebble-sized droplets of Grawp's blood showered the pair of them as they ran as fast as they could for the shelter of the trees. Once there they looked back; Grawp was snatching blindly at the centaurs as blood ran down his face; they were retreating in disorder, galloping away through the trees on the other side of the clearing. Harry and Hermione watched Grawp give another roar of fury and plunge after them, smashing more trees aside as he went.
"Oh no," said Hermione, quaking so badly that her knees gave way. "Oh, that was horrible. And he might kill them all."
"I'm not that fussed, to be honest," said Harry bitterly.
The sounds of the galloping centaurs and the blundering giant grew fainter and fainter.
"Smart plan," Harry spat at Hermione, having to release some of his fury. "Really smart plan. Where do we go from here?"
"We need to get back up to the castle," said Hermione faintly. She could see that Harry was going mad from wasting so much time. Already the sky was dark and they could barely see three feet in front of themselves. On the bright side, he wasn't focusing too much on what the centaurs had said, or how she suddenly looked much older than she normally did.
"By the time we've done that, Sirius'll probably be dead!" said Harry, kicking a nearby tree in temper. A high-pitched chattering started up overhead and he looked up to see an angry Bowtruckle flexing its long twiglike fingers at him.
"Well, we can't do anything without wands," said Hermione hopelessly, dragging herself up again. "Anyway, Harry, how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?"
"Yeah, we were just wondering that," said a familiar voice from behind her. Harry and Hermione moved together instinctively and peered through the trees.
Ron came into sight, closely followed by Ginny, Neville and Luna. All of them looked a little the worse for wear - there were several long scratches running the length of Ginny's cheek; a large purple lump was swelling above Neville's right eye; Ron's lip was bleeding worse than ever - but all were looking rather pleased with themselves.
"So," said Ron, pushing aside a low-hanging branch and holding out Harry's wand, "had any ideas?" Damnit, Hermione thought angrily. Our best chance was getting back to the castle after wandering around here for as long as possible.
"How did you get away?" asked Harry in amazement, taking his wand from Ron.
"Couple of Stunners, a Disarming Charm, Neville brought off a really nice little Impediment Jinx," said Ron airily, now handing back Hermione's wand, too. She sighed as the familiar wood touched her hand. She reapplied her Glamour hastily.
Ron was still talking- "But Ginny was best, she got Malfoy - Bat Bogey Hex - it was superb, his whole face was covered in the great flapping things. Anyway, we saw you out of the window heading into the Forest and followed. What've you done with Umbridge?"
"She got carried away," said Harry. "By a herd of centaurs." He and Hermione looked at each other, then looked away. Neither of them wanted to know what was being done with Umbridge at the moment.
"And they left you behind?" asked Ginny, looking astonished.
"No, they got chased off by Grawp," said Harry
"Who's Grawp?" Luna asked interestedly.
"Hagrid's little brother," said Ron promptly. "Anyway, never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has You-Know-Who got Sirius or -?"
"Yes," said Harry, as his scar gave another painful prickle, "and I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him."
They all fell silent, looking rather scared; the problem facing them seemed insurmountable.
"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" said Luna, in the closest thing to a matter-of-fact voice Harry had ever heard her use.
"Okay," said Harry irritably, rounding on her. "First of all, 'we' aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second of all, Ron's the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so -"
"I've got a broom!" said Ginny.
"Yeah, but you're not coming," said Ron angrily.
Hermione let them bicker as she tried to think of a solution. She tapped her watch, concentrating on In Forbidden Forest. Safe. You?
Her watch warmed in a moment. HQ. Order there. Go.
She looked up and gasped; standing between two trees, their white eyes gleaming eerily, were two Thestrals, watching the whispered conversation as though they understood every word.
It was only a moment longer before Luna noticed them too. "Yes!" she whispered, moving towards them. They tossed their reptilian heads, throwing back long black manes, and Luna stretched out her hand eagerly and patted the nearest one's shining neck.
"Is it those mad horse things?" said Ron uncertainly, staring at a point slightly to the left of the Thestral Luna was patting. "Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?"
"Yes," said Luna and Hermione at the same time.
"How many?" asked Ron.
"Just two," Luna said dreamily. "You're a handsome one, aren't you?
"Well, we need three," said Hermione, walking toward the other one. She offered a bloody arm for it to lick.
"Four, Hermione," said Ginny, scowling.
"I think there are six of us, actually," said Luna calmly, counting.
Ginny balled her fists in anger. "We're fifteen!" she snapped. "Just as old as Harry is! And sixteen isn't much older!"
Harry frowned at her. "Wait- Hermione, what did that centaur mean when he said you weren't a foal?"
The moment slowed down as she saw all of their eyes on her, questioning, boring into her. She knew this moment as surely as she knew her own name; it was the moment she came clean to them, to her friends. The moment she told them the truth.
This would be the only way they would listen to her, the only way she could make sure that they all would emerge from this alive. She would need to convince them to obey her without question, and to do that they would need to know her position as protector- if not spy master.
Hermione took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something," she said.
So ends Chapter 29.
About Chapters- one of my pet peeves is the chapter thingy going 30. Chapter 31. So I'm going to be naming all the chapters with real names soon. When I have some time.
Because my time will be in very short supply soon. My IB exams are starting in less than two weeks (4 years leading up to this moment), I'm dealing with drama at school (mean girls who I thought were my friends), college stuff (yay!) and school bureaucracy stuff (i'm supposed to be ranked 1 but the school made a mistake and one of the mean girls is valedictorian and I'm 11th, and the school is admitting they made a mistake but refusing to change it. So. I've done better than her in every class but to save her tender feelings (and she's been there for four years and I only 1 1/2) they "won't take this success away from her" or move me up "because that wouldn't be fair").
But on the good side I got offered 2 more full ride scholarships to awesome places. (sticking with the one that a quarter of a million dollars though).
So. I'm busy, stressed, and will be revising my ass off for the next four weeks as I take multiple exams, graduate from high school, and get everything squared away with college. Whoo.
See you all in a while. Hope you like the cliffie.
Reviews would be lovely. (WE BROKE 900!) Once we get to 1,000 I'll do something special for y'all. The amazing support I received from all of you was so touching. It made me feel loads better. I'm relieved and happy that the copy was taken down and just hope that she isn't doing this to anyone else.
Have a great couple weeks! No preview- I don't have the time.