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Chapter Four: The Realm

            "Headmaster?" I whispered as I entered Dumbledore's office. The room felt strangely cold, as if the life had been sucked out of it. I looked around the room and near his desk I found him. It looked as if he had passed out.

            I pulled him up in my arms as I knelt beside him. His face was red and splotchy, but cold at the same time. He was now shaking all over as he opened his eyes and looked at me. The pain I saw in this man was almost too much to bear.

            "I…all my fault… Harry's dead. I felt him go…. they took him from me…. I tried…. my hands…"

            "No, its not your fault," I said to comfort him. He shook his head, looking at his hands before him.

            "Too old…my hands…I have failed…." He looked up at me, tears filling his eyes once again. "I would have loved to seen your children…."

            That hit….

            "He is not dead yet grandfather. I can feel him. I can always feel him. Its like we are connected, probably through Gryffindor. But I must go and find him. He probably won't last much longer. I need to know where they may have taken him. I need to find Professor Snape."

            Dumbledore eyes were half closed but he raised one long finger a jar on his fireplace. He uttered only one word before he collapsed in my arms. "The Realm…"

            I felt him go limp in my arms as I checked for a pulse. Still alive, but only just. Grief can be a deadly enemy. But, I had known better then to come up here alone after today. Madam Promfrey was on her way from the field, and I knew she would take care of him. I laid my only living relative gently on the floor once more and stood, looking at the jar he had pointed to. I crossed the distance quickly and opened it, finding an immense amount of Floo Powder. I now understood what he meant.

            Snape must be in a place called the Realm!

            I took a small handful of the glistening powder and threw it in, stepped into the dancing flames and said. "The Realm!"

            Although Harry had traveled several times and told me all about it, it was nothing compared to what I was experiencing now. I felt like I had been put in a muggle washer on the spin cycle, my stomach beginning to churn. Suddenly I felt something hard below me and I fell forward on to cold damp cement. Shaking my head a voice called out to me. "What are YOU doing here!!!!"

            I knew that icy voice. "Hello Professor Snape." A cold hand grabbed my robes and pulled me to my feet, grabbing my shoulders tightly. "What are you doing here girl! Playing with Dumbledore's fireplace I'd expect! He would never send a student here to fetch me! I….."

            I cut him off by glaring at him. "He would if I was the only hope the school and Harry had! Voldemort attacked! Little behind the times aren't you Severus?"

            He looked at me like I was on fire. His eyes widened and then closed as he drew in a ragged breath. It was like watching a story come to a close as he reached a conclusion he had been pondering over for a long time. "Harry is not the one…"

            He shivered and looked at me darkly. "Who are you?"

            Well, might as well tell him, since it's obvious that Albus decided to leave Severus out of the ring as well.

            "I am Hermione Crow, daughter of Adora Dumbledore and heir of the Order of the Phoenix. And I need your help to save our world. Right now you are the only person that can help me find Harry."

            All this seemed to be too much for him as he could only stare at me. I felt as if I was on display in his classroom and I was the subject of some lesson. But, he shook his head and turned his back to me, walking toward a table in the room I had fallen into. I brushed the rest of the soot off my robes and looked around. It was like a dungeon, almost like the potions classroom that Snape was always in. It had a large fireplace, one table and a shelf with many only dusty scrolls and books. There were no doors or windows. It seemed to be kept well hidden and for good reason as I soon found out.

            "Hermione, this is the room where they all met. This is where your ancestors used to hold their meetings. This is where the Order of the Phoenix meets today as well."

            Snape turned and pulled a scroll from the large shelf opened it, examined it and placed it flat on the table gesturing for me to look myself. I hesitated, and peered at the scroll. It was actually a map. My eyes widened as I looked over its contents.

            "A map to Voldemort?" I asked him.

            He nodded. "Not directly, but to every port key I have used since I have been a spy. Any one of these will take you to him, to where he resides now. None of us actually know the location because of the possibility of a spy. When we go to meet him, we are either told to take the Portkeys or if it is an immediate meeting, such as a strike, we are to just touch our dark mark and say his name. You should be able to take any of these. But, don't expect a warm welcome at any of these places. They are all heavily guarded and you have to have the dark mark to even gain entrance.  There is no other way with these places. I really don't see how you are going to manage to get past the guards, let alone to the Portkey. It is going to be very tough indeed."

            My mind raced. Even now Harry could be dying and I haven't even begun. How was I going to get to any of these port keys? I would have to become a death eater. But how could I do that?

            "Where could we find another death eater rather quickly?"

            He looked puzzled. "Well, the closest now would be Malfoy. He became one last year. I think he is still at the school unless he was called in."

            I smiled. "Perfect! Now, we have to hurry! I need two of your stored potions from the dungeons. A simple sleeping draught and the Polyjuice Potion."

            It became clear to him and he stood straight, folding his arms on his chest. "Ms. Granger, I do believe that is a fair plan. But I am sure you would be capable of making one yourself since you did in your second year!"

            "Whatever do you mean? It takes over a month to make!"

            He sneered. "Just what I wanted to hear. So, you admit you stole from my stores?"

            I shook my head. "If it will get you to move any faster, yes. I needed it to find out who the heir of Slytherin was with Harry and Ron. Can we go now?"

            He now could not hold back a very wide grin. "Ms. Granger admitting she was wrong. I should cherish this moment for the rest of my days."

            I glared back. "Which may only be one week if we DON'T, GET, MOVING!"

I gathered up the scroll and went back to the fireplace. Tucking it safely in my robes, I took an identical jar off the mantle and opened it, pulling out a handful of the glittery powder. Suddenly there was a hand on my own.

            "Are you sure you are able to handle this?" he asked. Was Snape actually concerned about me?

            "I will be fine. I must do it. I have no other choice. I have no control over my fate. Or myself. Everything has been laid out. I really have no idea how I am going to accomplish this, but I must. Alone…."

            He kept his hand on mine and turned me to face him. I looked directly into those dark black pools that were his eyes as he spoke. "You now know of my existence. For I am just like you, alone. But, now, maybe both of us will find some answers."

            He emptied my hand of Floo Powder into his, blew it into the fire and pulled me into the flames with him. "Headmaster," he called out and I felt embraced by him, almost like a brother, as we held on tight through the spinning of our journey.

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Snape understands Hermione? How interesting! Just to let you know ahead of time there is no romance between Severus and Hermione, just an understanding. I hope you like it so far! I will continue once I reach 20 reviews and the next chapter will be dedicated to that one! So R & R!