Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and friends.

A/N: I can't tell you how happy I am to read your reviews; they just make me all warm and fuzzy inside. I really am glad that you are all enjoying my story. It is definitely getting to the more interesting parts and a lot will be happening. Hope you like this chapter.

 Chapter Nine: Close Calls

Severus walked quickly out of his quarters with his wand grasped tightly in his hand. He almost hoped that Weasley was gone by the time that he got there, only because he didn't want to be fired for killing a student. Severus rounded the corner in the corridor and came to the place where Weasley was supposed to be but instead saw the Headmaster walking away. Of course, he thought to himself, the Headmaster would come to the aid to one of his precious Order member's children. It wouldn't do for him to allow harm to come to those brats and have their parents down his throat when he needed them at his becking call. He needed to get Hermione to a safe place before Dumbledore interfered with her memories. Oblivating people seemed to be his solution to everything.

 Severus was just turning to start back to his quarters when Dumbledore's voice stopped him dead in his tracks. He quickly pulled up his mental walls so that old meddler wouldn't find anything that he didn't want to tell him.

"Severus, so glad that I spotted you." He said looking at him critically. " Perhaps you could tell me why our young Mr. Weasley was stunned in the middle of the corridor. He had a nasty bump on the back of his head but doesn't seem to recall how he got it or even why he was down in the dungeons."

Severus could feel the light probing that the old man was doing when he started walking toward him so he carefully directed his thoughts to the essays that were waiting on his desk for him to grade. Better for Albus to see that thought than the events of everything else that had happened tonight.

"I was just finishing up my rounds when I had heard some sort of ruckus so I was doubling back to see what was the cause." Severus said his voice sounding bored and slightly irritated. " I can't help it that Minerva can't keep her students in their own tower after curfew."

Albus looked at Severus critically. "You didn't happen to come across any other student on your way here did you?"  He asked imploringly glancing down the hall toward the Slytherin common room.

" I am afraid not. Although I can safely say that the cause of Mr. Weasley's situation was not from the actions of any of my students." Severus said calmly. He knew that Albus was suggesting that Mr. Weasley's attacker was from Slytherin and in particular from Harry Potter. "There are proximity charms on the Slytherin entrance, I would have been alerted immediately if someone would leave the common room after curfew with or without an invisibility cloak." Severus said snidely and as of matter-of-fact as he could leaving no room for speculation on the Headmaster's part.

Albus looked at Severus critically. "And there were no other students out and about when you where out doing your rounds?" He said questioningly.

"No. I have not had the pleasure to hand out any detentions this evening for being out after curfew. Pity though, I hear that Filch desperately wants some workers to clean before the Halloween Feast." Severus said his voice tinged in slight amusement.

"Well that is reassuring to say the least, now just to find out who was out of bed in the other houses. After all it would be terrible for an attack like this to go unpunished." Dumbledore said looking at Severus carefully.

"Oh yes Albus, Merlin forbid if one of your precious Gryffindor brats got into a fight and lost." He said sarcastically.

"Now, now Severus. I would be upset if any student was injured by another classmate." Albus said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Of course, I am sorry that I gave you the impression that I thought otherwise." Severus said as calmly as he could. He was seething under his carefully constructed mask of schooled features. He could not let the old fool think that he thought anything was wrong. " I was just pointing out that you seem to favor Gryffindor students than any other of the houses with situations like these."

" Much like you tend to favor your own house students I suppose. Well I will bid you good night then, and let you get back to those papers that you were undoubtedly trying to grade before you made your nightly rounds." Albus said with a knowing look and then he turned and started off down the corridor in the direction that Weasley had taken earlier.

"Yes, of course. You know me so well Albus." Severus said with a fake smile and he to turned and stalked off back to his rooms. When he got out of seeing and hearing range of the old fool he ran back to his quarters and slammed open the door.

Quickly casting locking and silencing spells on his rooms he ran to his bedroom where he knew that Harry was there with Hermione. "Harry, you need to get back to the common room now before Dumbledore goes in to check for who is not in the dorms." Severus said urgently. He started rifling through his dresser drawers looking for the extra invisibility potion he kept for emergencies. Finally he felt the cool glass cylinders under his fingers.

"Hurry, drink the blue one and get back to your room," he said handing two small bottles to him. "When you get there drink the purple one to become visible again. Stay there until I come and get you."

Harry looked sharply at his father, "What about Hermione? You can't take her to the Infirmary; Dumbledore will put two and two together and realize that Ron had done something again. Then he will oblivate her again." Harry said starting to panic.

Severus drew in a sharp breath. "We will discuss this when I come and get you. Now go! I have got to get Ms. Granger out of here." Severus said rushing to his bed. As gently as he could he wrapped Hermione up with a blanket and scooped the still unconscious girl into his arms. Rushing over to the fireplace he turned and watched as Harry drank the potion and then disappeared. We waited until he saw the door open and then close before he stepped into the fireplace. Throwing down a handful of floo powder her whispered for the third time that night he shouted out "Malfoy Manor" and was whisked away in a swirl of green flames ash.

******

Harry ran back to the Slytherin common room and the dived into his bed. He quickly pulled the potion out of his pocket and downed the antidote. Seeing that he was visible again he hurriedly cast off his robes and slid into his pajamas. Glancing worriedly over at Draco's bed he was relieved to see that the blonde boy was already there and asleep.

 It wasn't even five minutes after he has slid under the blankets he heard the door open and watched from under his arm as Dumbledore walked in. He watched as Dumbledore walked past each of their beds making sure that they were all in bed and then walked back out of the room. Merlin that was a close call he thought to himself.

 Harry hoped that Hermione was going to be ok. It was killing him to think of everything that she had gone through since she had started dating Ron. Harry could feel his blood start to boil when he remembered what he had seen when he had ran around the corner after hearing Hermione screaming. Seeing Ron kicking and yelling at the unconscious body of Hermione had filled him with an insurmountable surge of rage and hatred and if it hadn't been so preoccupied with getting Hermione to safety he would have probably killed Ron instead of just stunning him. He just hoped that he would get a chance to see Hermione soon and then he belatedly wondered if she would even recognize him. After all he hadn't even recognized his own reflection in the mirror earlier in his fathers quarters. Just as Harry was starting to drift off a thought suddenly drifted across his mind. What was Hermione doing down that close to the Slytherin common room at four in the morning?