Disclaimers: Please refer to chapter one for full disclaimer write-up.
When Living is No Longer EnoughChapter Twenty-Three
The dawning of the new day came swiftly on the heels of Hermione's unexpected announcement. She had eagerly related the key points of her idea to Severus and the recently reunited lovers had discussed the merits of such a plan for several hours. Finally, just before the blackness of the night gave way to the demands of the dawn, they fell asleep wrapped in the comfort and safety of each other's arms.
Several hours later the couple dragged themselves out of bed and, after having a light breakfast of scones and coffee, made their way to the headmaster's office. There were plans to be made and time was short.
"Sour gummy worms," Hermione announced in a clear and concise voice to the vigilant gargoyle guarding the entryway. Her facial features twisted slightly to form a small grimace as she contemplated the headmaster's current password. 'Where does he come up with these passwords?' she asked herself wondering why anyone would want to eat anything that had been modeled in the image of a worm.
The young couple entered the spiral stairway and soon faced the entrance to the comfortable office.
"Ah, Severus and Hermione do come in. We were just talking about you," Albus declared in a fatherly sounding voice as he welcomed his newest arrivals. Raising a heavily robed arm, he drew their attention to the presence of two young men who were also currently occupying the room.
Turning her head in the direction indicated by the headmaster, Hermione gasped as her mind took in the identity of the other occupants. "Harry! Ron!" she exclaimed running over to hug each of her childhood friends. "What are you doing here?"
Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. He noted the smile on her face and while he would have liked to think it rested there on account of his and Ron's presence he knew that such a wish was only partially true. He recalled the sadness her eyes had carried the previous day while she was away from Hogwarts. 'She really does care about him,' he thought in amazement. It was in this brief yet infinitesimal moment that a new awareness permeated both his mind and his heart prompting him to make a split second decision. A decision he fervently hoped wouldn't prove a mistake in the long run. Simply put, Harry promised himself that he would make every effort possible to get along with Snape. After all, Hermione was one of his most cherished friends and it would be better for all concerned if they could put aside past differences and at least attempt to remain civil. It was, he decided, the second scariest thing he had ever done in his life only to be surpassed by his previous confrontations with the Dark Lord himself. Turning his attention to the black robed figure that had silently witnessed the unexpected reunion with little more than a raised eyebrow, Harry offered his hand in greeting. It was a tentative gesture that bespoke of peace and civility and the young man nervously hoped the potions master would recognize and accept it as such. "Hello professor" he said quietly.
Severus stared at the young man standing before him and allowed his obsidian eyes to rest momentarily on the outstretched hand. This boy had been the bane of his existence for seven long years and Snape would have bet half his fortune that the two of them would go to their graves as nothing more than distant enemies at best. But the boy had grown up and within his eyes the older man could see the signs of maturity as clearly as he saw the spectacles on Harry's face. The person standing before him was no longer the reckless child that had scampered throughout the castle corridors under the cover of an invisibility cloak while flagrantly disregarding rules and consequences. No, in his place Severus was surprised to see that a quiet young man had immerged. A young man who, as a result of both age and necessity, had learned the value in taking the time to give thought to a situation before leaping directly into danger's path. Unbelievable as it may seem, the potions master was forced to privately acknowledge one very definitive fact: Harry Potter had grown up. Even more unbelievable was the fact that the young man had taken the initiative to step forward in an attempt to establish a tentative truce. A truce forged not for himself but for the simple reason of making Hermione's life a little easier. Snape's regard for the Boy-Who-Lived reluctantly raised a notch. "Good morning Mr. Potter," Severus answered taking care to omit the customary sarcastic tones from the timbers of his voice. Firmly clasping Harry's outstretched hand within his own, Snape silently accepted the young man's offer and their unspoken truce became a reality.
Hermione had been speaking with Ron as she witnessed the brief exchange between her lover and her best friend. Her heart swelled with pride for both men and while she wasn't convinced they would be able to maintain a civil façade for any great length of time she was nevertheless grateful they had at least put forth the effort.
Ron, for his part, looked around the room in obvious confusion. He had missed something but he couldn't quite put his finger on what that something might be. He could feel the usual undercurrent of tension sweeping around them. After all, it was the same undercurrent they had always felt whenever they were in the presence of Hogwart's formidable potions master. But this time it was different somehow. This time it was laced with a feeling of…well, he couldn't quite tell what it was laced with but he knew that whatever it was it was just downright strange. Harry was actually going out of his way to be nice to Snape. 'Why?' he wondered. And if that wasn't strange enough, Snape was making an effort to be nice in return. 'The whole world is going daft' he told himself in an effort to explain away his current situation. Daft or not, it was definitely something he would ask his friend about later. In the meantime, the headmaster had told them Hermione might very well be in danger and that was definitely their top priority. Nodding briefly to his ex-teacher, Ron returned to his chair and waited for the headmaster to reveal the purpose behind their unexpected visit. Comfortably seated, he looked toward the woman in question and wondered what type of trouble she had landed herself in that was grave enough to warrant Dumbledore's interference. He was so caught up in his musings that he barely managed to suppress a gasp of astonishment when he saw the young witch voluntarily draw her own chair a little closer to 'the greasy git.'
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Albus Dumbledore had watched the exchange between the Gryffindors and his potions master with great interest. He was glad to see that Severus and Harry at least seemed to be making an effort to be civil to one another although, considering how important Hermione Granger was to both men, he wasn't too terribly surprised. Mr. Weasley however, would take a little more time to adjust and the older wizard expected to hear some very colorful words from the red-haired man once he discovered the true nature of Severus and Hermione's relationship. However, he would save his musings for another time. Right now there was business to be discussed.
"I suppose you are wondering why I requested your presence here today?" the headmaster asked, directing his question to Harry and Ron.
"Well, you said it had something to do with Hermione's being in danger," Ron blurted out and unconsciously inched further back in his chair as he saw Snape's disapproving glance.
"Yes. Sadly, we have every reason to believe that Professor Granger has become the current focus of Lucius Malfoy's vengeful attentions," Dumbledore answered. He then relayed, in detail, the events of the past several weeks as well as those of the previous night. Any mention of Snape's attempted suicide was omitted from the list of events portrayed to the young men.
"So you want us to remain here at Hogwarts and watch over her?" Harry questioned instinctively knowing that the young witch would be less than pleased by the thought of a round-the-clock patrol.
"That is precisely what I want you to do," the headmaster replied. "I have already cleared your schedule with the Ministry for the next few weeks. As far as they are concerned, you have been temporarily assigned to Hogwarts. Hermione will not be allowed to roam unattended throughout the corridors before or after classes and by no means will she be granted permission to leave the grounds. It is simply no longer safe for her to do so."
"What about the evenings?" Ron asked looking over to his friend with a hint of apology when he saw her eyebrows rise at his question. "Will she be alright alone in her rooms?"
Snape replied before either Hermione or Albus could respond. "That matter has already been taken care of Mr. Weasley." He calmly returned the young woman's questioning glance by way of a small smirk.
"Yes well," Albus intervened sensing that Ron was about to retort to Snape's dictatorial treatment of the situation. "I believe that Severus and Hermione also have some news they wish to share with us regarding their progress on the potion for Voldemort?"
Amazed yet again by the wizard's uncanny penchant for knowing everything that transpires within the walls of the castle, Severus gestured for Hermione to begin recounting their research for the 'reptilian cocktail'.
"Wicked," Ron praised and then looked to the professors with an air of confusion. "But how do you plan to get it to Voldemort?"
"Well," Hermione began "after watching the memories in the pensieve last night I started thinking about the polyjuice potion and how it really can trick a person into thinking that you're someone else. So I figured that if we use polyjuice to impersonate Emily Saunton then we would be able to visit her home during the Easter holidays and be there for her meeting with Voldemort. No one would know that it wasn't Emily so she wouldn't be in immediate danger from her father and that means she could remain at Hogwarts and finish the school year. We could slip the potion to Voldemort and come back here to monitor him and devise our attack while the potion has time to work."
"But Hermione," Harry said with a frown, "someone would quite possibly have to spend several days pretending to be Emily Saunton. And in her own home no less. Aside from the fact that the polyjuice potion must be taken every hour, don't you think her parents might get suspicious? After all, she is their daughter."
"Well, we have two weeks until the Easter holidays. That would give us time to work with Emily and learn any relevant information we might need to carry out our plan," she answered while looking to the potions master for confirmation that Emily would assist them in their endeavor.
"Okay, so the girl helps and you go to her house. How are you going to slip the potion to Voldemort?" Ron asked.
"We have yet to figure that out Mr. Weasley," Snape answered, "as we have not quite finished creating the potion itself. The final listing of ingredients will dictate, at least in part, the means of delivery. I have made some progress while Hermione was visiting her mother but there are still details to be finalized and experiments to be run."
"We also have to complete research on the tracking spell," Hermione told them.
Albus Dumbledore had quietly listened to the ongoing conversation. He wasn't worried by the incomplete status of the project or by the fact that time was extremely limited. He knew from experience that neither Severus nor Hermione would have suggested such a plan had they not been relatively certain they could deliver the completed potion in time. "Severus, do you have enough polyjuice on hand to accommodate several days worth of deception?" he asked knowing that it would otherwise take a month to brew the concoction.
"Yes Albus," the potions master answered. "My seventh years recently completed the brewing process as part of their curriculum. I always bottle and store the best of the samples so there should be enough to last four to five days.
"Who were you thinking of sending?" Harry asked looking at Snape and Hermione. He allowed his gaze to linger momentarily on his friend as he noted the telltale flush that had risen in her cheeks.
"No Hermione," Harry said in a tone that plainly stated there would be no argument. "You cannot be the one to take the polyjuice."
"And why not?" she asked in her bossiest voice, reminding him of some of their school day disagreements.
"Because it's too dangerous. If Voldemort senses that you aren't Emily then there's no telling what he will do to you," the Boy-Who-Lived reasoned.
"Pain and death probably and lots of it" Ron muttered.
"Well, you can't go Harry. I mean, you can't even really guarantee that you could use your wand against him properly. Remember what happened in your duel with him during our fourth year? And Severus can't go because Voldemort would know him instantly on account of the dark mark" she logically pointed out.
"What about me?" Ron asked, visibly gulping at the thought of facing the Dark Lord. The fact that he would be masquerading as someone else did little to ease his fear. "There's no reason I can't go."
"If I remember correctly," Hermione answered in a voice that reminded him of their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express so many years ago, "Your last attempt at impersonation didn't go too well."
"What?" Ron practically screamed out in irritation. "You can't be referring to that incident with Malfoy back in our second year. I mean… blimey 'Mione we were TWELVE! And besides, I don't remember that night as being one of your finest hours either."
Harry knew from the look on Hermione's face that the ill-timed reminder of her disastrous experience with the polyjuice potion had resulted in her reaching the end of her patience. He remembered that look as it usually foretold of an impending exit on her part to be followed by dumbfounded looks on his and Ron's part. He glared in warning at the red-haired young man with a fierce expression that clearly said 'Shut Up!' while jabbing his loud-mouthed friend in the ribcage with his elbow.
Ron, for his part, knew he had gone too far when the chestnut haired woman fixed him with a look that could instantly freeze water. Leaning over to the Boy-Who-Lived he quietly whispered, "She's been working with Snape too long I tell you. Now they even have the same facial expressions."
Unfortunately he hadn't spoken quietly enough for, upon hearing these words, Hermione stood and threw up her hands in gesture of complete aggravation. With a muttered explicative she turned to the headmaster and made her excuses stating that she needed to continue her research on the tracking spell. Giving the red-haired Gryffindor a hellish glance she turned and stormed out of the room.
"Good going Ron," Harry verbally chastised his friend. 'This is going to require some damage control,' he thought wearily wondering if Ron would ever learn to think before he spoke.
Snape, for his part, had sat back and watched the scene between the two men with increasing amusement. He knew that Hermione was planning on drinking the polyjuice and impersonating Emily Saunton as a means to gain access to Voldemort. He had, in fact, argued strenuously against that very idea the previous evening but to no avail. Even the suggestion to allow an Auror to deliver the potion was met with a firm rebuttal from the young woman who had stubbornly argued that if something were to go wrong one of them would need to be there to try and save the mission. He sighed as he yet again acknowledged the logic of her argument. Somehow he would have to think of something that would keep her safe. But what? Allowing himself a small smirk at the squabbling young men he bid the headmaster goodbye, reminded the bickering Gryffindors that their charge was now roaming the corridors alone, and followed the fuming young witch out of the office.
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TBC