The Twenty

by Leyna Rountree

COMPLETE! Hermione and an unlikely Pansy form an elite group of witches, and possess one unusual commonality. Facing their most carnal desires, they will harness a power not seen in an age, to save themselves and protect Hogwarts. Can it stay a secret?

16. Count Your Blessings

Disclaimer: Alas, still belongs to Rowling last time I checked.

Here we go! The aftermath, or afterglow… whatever.

Chapter Sixteen: Count Your Blessings

Voldemort was waiting. And he waited, and waited. After ten minutes he was furious. He could no longer discern the rip. There would be no surprise attack. The moment had passed. The leader of the Death Eaters seethed with so much anger he could have spontaneously combusted. But he wasn't into punishing himself.

The snake dismissed his puzzled followers who were patiently awaiting his orders. Voldemort waited for even one of them to speak. His anger was boiling far past manageability and anyone could pay the price for breaking his fragile composure.

Where was Lucius?

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Everyone scattered as Dumbledore and the other teachers tried to gather the students. Melanie quickly administered the antidote to the unconscious Death Eater and bound him quickly with a binding spell. She held his cane sheathed wand firmly in her hand. The DA was providing necessary backup as Draco was quickly gaining on her, wand out, ready to strike.

Melanie turned on him. "You want to hex me? Your father is fine. He's fine!"

"You filthy traitorous bitch…" Draco spat, but ropes bound him before he could cast, courtesy of Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnegan.

She knelt over the bound boy and continued her tirade. "I'm a traitor? What about our parents, Draco? If you were a girl, don't you think your father would've sold you out? Hmm? But he tried to kill everyone in the school. Do you even realize what he tried to do?" She pointed angrily at the middle of the floor where the metallic device was being contained by the Headmaster and Professor Flitwick.

"That's stupid, Malfoy. Really stupid. I don't know what Pansy sees in you." And she stomped off, dragging his father behind her like a sack of potatoes. Arriving before the professors, she dumped him at Lupin's feet with his cane and ran off quickly, avoiding questions she couldn't answer. She had much more to do.

Draco lay immobile, not struggling, but merely trying to comprehend all that she had said. He looked extremely pale. He saw Pansy there. And Millicent. Hell, about half of them chanting were Slytherins. He heard Goyle go on about his adventure with Granger and speculated what they'd ask Malfoy to do when it came his turn to take the mark. Goyle hadn't looked nearly so pumped when he was bragging. The rumors in Slytherin house had flown about who had beaten the shit out him. He was skeptical himself to believe that it was a bunch of girls. Now there wasn't a doubt in his mind. His mind drifted back to the thought of Pansy. Pansy, the virgin. Shit.

McGonagall called the remaining prefects to escort the students back to their dormitories. Snape looked at the vestiges of the party and noticed two bloody places on the floor where girls had fallen, the small white votives still flickering at the spaces where each girl stood. The lines of the pentacle still glowed a faint blue, but the house elves popped into view, quickly scrubbing out the magical lines. When Winky saw blood on the floor however, she screamed and fainted.

Ron, Harry and Neville were still a bit shaken by their experience. Terry Boot was seated on the floor staring at his wand. Both he and Ron forgot they were prefects. Draco was a bit tied up at the moment.

"Excuse me, Mister Malfoy? Do you think you could get yourself untied and escort your classmates back to the dorms in an orderly fashion? We seem to be short a few prefects this evening," she said tersely to the shell-shocked Slytherin. Seamus took his cue and ended the spell.

Many of the students stayed fixed on their spots, still feeling unable to move since they were first frozen. Some of them were the boyfriends of the casters, and some were still reeling from the unexpected blessings bestowed on them. Snape was one of the latter. Once the students had been herded toward the dorms, Harry and Ron came to their senses and raced to the Headmaster's office. They yelled an tried to get his attention, but there was no polite answer. No lemon drop. The stone guard remained fixed.

"I think they've got enough going on about now don't you think?" Ron said plainly and swallowed hard.

"I can't believe…"

"Me neither. My sister… Hermione… Daphne…" Ron was nearly in tears but he was too stunned to cry.

Harry should have felt outrage, but he was still trying to make sense of it. That spell must have been in the making for awhile. Come to think of it, the rhythmic clapping and toe tapping during class and in the common room had been going on for weeks and weeks. They managed to get to their feet and stumble back to the common room. "Come on mate. We're not going to get any answers tonight." Ginny, please be okay…

"Do you think they're alright?" Ron asked in a worried tone.

"If Hermione set this thing up, you bet they are." But Harry wasn't fully convinced of that.

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Deep in the Forbidden Forest, twenty women appeared in a dark cave where the first of many spells were cast in quick succession. The first charms were cast quickly, warming spells on blankets and the cave where they would sleep.

"Lumos!" They yelled.

"Hermione, where in the hell are we?" Millicent asked.

"Shut up and cast," Pansy thrust the spell duties to people and they all began the lengthy warming spells, drying spells, wards. Insect repellant and portable fires lit at each corner, and tables and cots were transfigured immediately for use. They only had a few minutes before their wands were useless, except to alert others to their whereabouts.

"I suspect we have about three minutes…" Luna said, transfiguring rocks into cots and pillows.

"Maybe less for locator spells…" Lisa Turpin added, as she warded the entrance with an invisible barrier to rodents.

Pretty soon the area was lit and filled with beds, tables, candles and the witches.

"Hermione, we are in a cave," Pansy bit out through clenched teeth. "This was your big plan?"

Hermione was about to speak when she was interrupted.

"Stop arguing you guys. Do you realize what we just did? We did it." Orla said, patting her sisters on the back. Her eyes shone with tears and wept openly with relief. No one had died and everyone was saved. Hogwarts was saved.

Orla's tears opened the floodgates of overwhelmed thanks, gratitude and relief. Most were shaking from their experience. The women held each other, hugged and embraced. Some sat on their cots and wept or sat motionless, still not comprehending what was achieved.

Luna's timer went off. "That's it, three minutes. No more magic." Everyone slipped their wands under their pillows. Pansy and Hermione slipped their wands into their sleeves for emergency use.

"Hermione? What do I do with this?" asked Laura weakly. She held up her bloody glass vial and passed out. Hermione bent over the young Hufflepuff and retrieved the tube with her robes, careful not to disturb the precious contents contained within. She demonstrated in front of the others how to clean the surrounding tube without spilling any and capped it with a rubber stopper she pulled from her bag. She handed out stoppers to each person but two. Not everyone had agreed but it was alright. It was a little surreal seeing all of her partners, dressed in silk, some with blood staining the snow white fabric, all standing in such a dank cavern. Roberta lifted Laura to the cot and covered her with a blanket.

Hermione opened her bag and began pulling out wool blankets and books, clothing and school supplies. With the help of Daphne and Pansy she pulled out an enormous trunk. Hermione opened the trunk and pulled out Hedwig's cage, along with the very distressed animal. Hermione made calming noises to the squawking owl and fed it a leftover treat from her pocket.

Then she pulled out the wooden box she was looking for. She fingered the simple brass lock and opened it, revealing the sections within. Turning with her back to the others, she reached under her dress for what privacy she could find and removed the small glass vial. She held it up and cleaned it carefully, stunned that such normal looking its contents were so precious.

"It didn't hurt as much as I thought," Pansy said quietly to Hermione.

"Which part?" She let out a snot. "Our hymen spontaneously rupturing or trying to fight the desire? Personally, I think we were all too distracted by our own thoughts to notice." She labeled her own tube and slipped it in the first slot. "Does anyone know who fell first?" Hermione addressed the rest.

There was no answer. It would take time. She slipped in Laura's labeled vial and sat on the edge of her cot. After removing most of the belongings of the other girls, she scooted them under their respective sleeping surfaces. The cave looked fairly orderly, for well— a cave.

Marietta and Hannah were tending to the girls in a manner reminiscent of Madame Pomfrey, offering wet towels for them to wash up. Two of their number were trying as best they could to clean up the blood which had trickled down their legs and dried. The towels were cold from the snow, but would have to do until they could get fresh water.

Ginny, Pansy and Hermione stayed in a huddle at one end of the cave, near the opening. "Wish we had done a silencing charm," Ginny said nervously as they all listened to howling and the sounds of insects.

"So what were you thinking?" Pansy asked Hermione pointedly in a whisper, while the other women slept or pretended to. It was late and everyone was exhausted form their ordeal. But most were too exhausted to sleep.

"The Forbidden Forest is still so…"

"You mean this is the Forbidden Forest? Are you out of your fucking mind?" Pansy hissed. "Things will come eat us!"

"We are technically still on school grounds, and safer here than we would be in the Muggle or other parts of the wizarding world," Hermione attempted to explain her logic.

"Well, 'technically'," Pansy gestured with her hands sarcastically, "I'm still a virgin and yet am holding this bloody tube." She handed it to her with the wax pencil. Hermione rolled her eyes and slipped it between hers and Ginny's, in the second slot of wooden dividers.

Technically.

Technically— they weren't virgins anymore, but still innocent. Technically— they were women, though many didn't feel like it and most all were minors. Technically— they were fugitives, but had saved the day.

Technically— the school was safe and its other female students protected, but they weren't included yet among this number.

Technically… they really hadn't left the grounds. But they felt far enough away from the safety of the castle halls that they could be in Tibet and it would feel no different. Squirreled away in a deep recess of a cave in the Forbidden Forest, it was certainly cold enough, and Hermione was glad they had over prepared.

"I bet everyone is looking for us. They'll never think to check so close to home." Ginny agreed. She was still looking a bit absently toward the wall, thinking about Harry and how he looked at her. How he looked at her when she blessed him… She closed her eyes and tried to burn his image into her memory.

"Ginny?" Hermione touched her arm. "Are you okay?"

"No. I'm not. But I will be." Ginny rolled over under the covers of her cot and shut her eyes tightly, willing sleep to carry her into the next day safe and sound.

Hermione was restless. She didn't know what to do. She took the portable fire by her bedside with her to the mouth of the cave and sat at the entrance. Pansy joined her.

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Hermione asked.

"You lasted way beyond the thirty-six seconds. You looked, just painful… terrible, wonderful… I don't know." Pansy looked at her seriously.

"I could say the same about you. You lasted a long time too. It must have been difficult with Malfoy being so…" she saw the tearful look in Pansy's eyes and decided to stop. "Your song, Fallin'? That was awesome. I thought after that, you may not be able to do anything else. You looked— wiped."

"Thanks a lot," Pansy said sarcastically.

"No, I mean it. You were incredible. You should have seen everyone's faces. Even Malfoy."

"It was all Monica."

"Monica didn't cast that spell." Hermione said seriously.

"No. And you've dodged your question long enough. How did you last so long? You were shaking. I saw you, you were… muttering."

"I was praying. I just kept telling myself, 'It's not real. You can't have that. It's not for you.'" The last phrase was articulate on mere breath. Hermione gasped a sob and bit her lip. She was good until she had to face her own issues. Hermione was good at taking care of everyone else. She wasn't good at handling her own stuff.

"What do you mean 'not for you'? How do you know? Have you even told him?" Pansy asked.

Hermione just curled in her knees and cried heavily into her hands. Pansy rubbed her back and fished a clean handkerchief from her pocket. She left her weeping there. They both needed their privacy. What was becoming very clear is that for the next few weeks, there would be no privacy in the modest living arrangements for twenty women.

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Back in the Headmaster's crowded office sat Remus, Severus, Poppy and Dumbledore. Lucius Malfoy had been turned over, again— to Aurors Tonks and her partner. He would not be handed over to the Ministry. Lucius was currently locked in the dungeons after a look see by Poppy. The fewer questions the better, and Albus didn't quite have a pat story down yet. There were too many students to contain it.

Minerva finally brought in Melanie who had been retrieved from Hermione's room.

"Miss Lawson, would you care to explain a few details to us?" Dumbledore inquired. Melanie approached his large desk and pulled a parchment from her robes, handing it to the Headmaster. She made to turn and leave without a word, but saw only McGonagall's chest and a stern looking Professor Snape, and sat in the offered chair.

Albus Dumbledore gently laid the document before him next to the snowy Granger retreat and looked at her over rectangular spectacles.

"Well. How long has this been going on for?" He prompted.

"Since before I returned, sir. The letter should explain a lot." She didn't know what it contained. Melanie hadn't read it.

"I would prefer to hear it from you, my dear," Albus said somberly.

"There are twenty girls. They formed a group called the SOS."

"The SOS? And what does that stand for?" Minerva asked.

"Save Our Selves."

All of the teachers were thunderstruck. The students had gone out of their way to make sure everyone thought them experienced, promiscuous even. Most of the twenty had steady boyfriends, and were seen frequently in public with them, many caught in closets by McGonagall herself.

"Maybe you should read the letter, Professor. It's really complicated. I'm really just an honorary member…" the Slytherin dodged.

"Oh really? And what are your duties?" Snape inquired dryly.

Melanie looked at her feet. She steeled herself and faced her interrogators. "I came to deliver that letter to you, or execute their wills." Minerva was losing her equanimity at that statement.

"And I have to look after their familiars. They couldn't take them along. Do you think Professor Hagrid could help?" She looked hopeful. Melanie loved Hagrid, any excuse to be around the other exotic animals he kept.

"Yes, I'm sure something could be arranged, Miss Lawson." Melanie stifled a yawn. "You may go, thank you for your help. Though I may call on you again soon."

"Thank you, sir." And she excused herself, relieved she had gotten off so easy. But the air was hanging so thickly in that room it suffocated her, and the Ogden's was about to flow.

Dumbledore broke the wax seal and read quickly, trying to digest the contents of his student's letter.

They were trying to process what had happened and still not getting the full picture.

"If they hadn't performed that spell correctly, they could have all died." The DADA teacher's voice was a whisper.

Snape sat in Dumbledore's office, listening to events retold from Professor Lupin's point of view. Remus had gotten a better look at the book than he did, and made several observations about the magic invoked that evening.

"They cast multiple spells… so complicated. They have to be memorized and said precisely. The result of a poorly cast spell could've resulted in their deaths."

Poppy gasped. Minerva was shocked. She could hardly believe her girls had done such a dangerous thing. At the same time though she was so proud that they would join together to do something so selfless for the school and to continue the war against Voldemort.

"What can you tell us about the spells they cast?" Snape inquired silently, examining the whiskey in his glass.

Remus answered but Dumbledore watched with interest at the carefully asked question from his potions teacher. Snape did not ask things in that tone when he didn't have specific concerns. "They cast the circle of protection first, which effectively borrowed all of the magic within the circle for the purposes of erecting the wards. None of us could move, or cast which was for their protection as well as our own. I expect that after erecting the wards on the castle, they have become able themselves to apparate or disapparate through them— the only exception to the rule. The Great Hall is likely imbued with special magic from that spell and since all of the girls tried hard to make certain everyone was inside the pentacle, I am almost certain that all of us possess some type of protection from it."

A knock could be heard on the door and shouting. Dumbledore had changed his passwords quickly and he hadn't selected a sweet. Dumbledore released the ward and the out of breath duo burst in.

"What happened?" Harry said. They couldn't take it anymore. The boys lasted only five minutes inside the common room where all of their classmates were talking, before they turned and ran back.

"We were just discussing that. But I assume neither of you were told of their plans?" Dumbledore inquired.

"NO!" They shouted simultaneously. "Where did they go?" Harry asked. "Ginny… Hermione…"

"Hermione always said that you couldn't apparate or disapparate from Hogwarts. How did they portkey out of here? I thought all that stuff wasn't supposed to work on school grounds!" Ron was asking the question as much as he was accusing Dumbledore of not protecting his sister and best friend.

"Well that answers that question. Ron, Harry— please sit." Minerva transfigured two chairs for the distraught pair. "None of us knew what they had planned as I am sure you noticed. Incidentally, they left me a note telling me they would be okay, but they will not give us their location at this time for their safety as well as for ours." Lupin, Snape and McGonagall looked on in shock at this revelation. He had not yet shared news of the letter's contents. Dumbledore voice was quiet and begged patience.

"Something happened after they finished doing… wh-whatever it is they did. Ginny… she touched my head and told me…" Harry said, Snape listening to every word.

"Don't say anymore!" Lupin interrupted, his furry eyebrows furrowed sternly. "You must not speak of it. Better that no one knows. Harry, I kind of suspected, but didn't know for sure. You and others who received the blessing received a very special gift. Do not tell anyone what Ginny said to you."

"What do I do with it?" Harry asked, eager for more information. Snape listened closely as well.

"Do nothing. It is a spell of protection, giving you a guardian to help you when you have need. You will know when you can use the magic provided. Only you can call this being into service, and this magic can be used against you if you reveal the name of your guardian. Do you understand?"

"Kind of. I won't discuss it." Harry agreed. "I feel… different. It's strange, I can't explain it."

"Does Ginny love you?" Lupin asked intently.

Harry looked a bit embarrassed at the question, especially in present company. "Yes, though she hasn't said it in so many words. We've talked about things. I thought she might have changed her mind, because she's been avoiding me for almost two weeks."

Ron looked at him in shock. Ginny— in love? She's fifteen!

Lupin laughed a bit. "That's understandable Harry. Don't take it personally."

"Why not?" Ron asked. Harry was in a right state these last two weeks.

"Because Ginny wouldn't have been able to participate in casting the spell if she continued to expose herself to the object of her desire, in the flesh." Lupin explained, hoping they would remember some of their lessons.

The light dawned in Harry's eyes, remembering his and Ginny's previous conversations. He swallowed hard. "I w-wo-wouldn't have…" Harry began to explain.

"Ah, Harry my boy. Don't misunderstand me. Even though your intentions may be honorable, it would have been difficult for you both to resist the lure. You see, each of the girls had to center themselves on their attraction and feelings toward the object of her desire. That would help them in their preparation for the spell, you see? The strength of the incantation is more effective because it is a public attempt to resist their strongest carnal desires. They increased the potency of the spell by doing this, and if Ginny was avoiding you… it was likely because she was more afraid of what she might do, rather than yourself— and at the same time increasing her desire for you… someone she could not permit herself to have."

Harry turned scarlet. "Oh."

"You said every girl had to do this?" Ron was pink as well. He didn't want to think of his sister that way. And Hermione. And Daphne. And the other girls… Ugh… Millicent Bulstrode.

Snape's mind was racing. Dumbledore talked with the boys and excused them.

"Harry, Ron. We will do everything in our power to try and locate the missing girls. But they have made it quite clear that they do not wish to be found, so please—no heroics. No plotting, no midnight search parties on brooms and under cloaks or anything else you can devise."

They were grumbling as they left, still grappling with the concept that their friends were gone. That Ginny was gone. Hermione the third of their trio, vanished.

Dumbledore asked the next question. "Did we see which persons received blessings?" he asked the group but his eyes did not waver off of the figure of Professor Snape.

"I did." Lupin said, "Terry, Neville, Ron and Harry, received blessings. I don't know about others."

Snape remained silent and Dumbledore noticed, but allowed him his privacy.

Albus cleared his throat, "Let me read to you now then, the letter which Hermione Granger and Pansy Parkinson left for us.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

We are very sorry that we had to leave without explaining our actions. I expect a lot of the semester's events have explained themselves in light of what happened this evening. If everything went well, you are reading this letter, instead of twenty painful ones each of us had written to you and our families in the event of failure.

We did this for us. We did this for Kendra, and we did this for Hogwarts."

Minerva and Poppy choked a sob into their handkerchiefs. Those poor girls. They couldn't have been prouder.

Dumbledore continued. " I assure you, that while you may find the age of some of the students who participated shocking, each one of them personally weighed their choice to participate and did not receive any pressure from other members of our group. At any time one of us could have ended it. Even at the last.

As for the spell, there are three things to keep in mind. First, the Great Hall if at all possible should be the sanctuary of any major attack on Hogwarts. The spell performed protects each person standing inside the casted circle, and that spell of protection is stronger still for each person if they stand within the bounds of the pentacle where it was originally cast.

Secondly, we have brewed several healing potions for use of Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape. They can be located in the left drawer at the desk Malfoy and Pansy sit at in the potions lab.

Thirdly, there is a special incantation, very personal in nature, which has affected only a select group. The purpose of this protects both the receiver and the caster. It is crucial that these persons do not reveal the information passed to them. Several blessings were bestowed on strategic members of the casting circle. If you know who was blessed, please do not make their names common knowledge. The wards are still vulnerable to attack. This is a safety measure to prevent that from being breached.

We will not be using any magic. So it is pointless for the MOM to trace our wands. If worse comes to worse, either Pansy or I will cast. I am of age and both of us are willing to face consequences of our actions at a hearing. We will not let any harm come to these students. At the first sign of danger, we will return them to Hogwarts immediately.

Please do not look for us. We are safe, and planned well for our retreat. When possible, we will submit our coursework until it is safe to return. We have appointed senior members of our group to supervise the younger student's studies. I will bring more news to you when I am able. Make nothing public knowledge until you absolutely have to. The more unknowns to the magical community and to the Death Eaters, the better for us to remain hidden.

Sincerely,

Hermione Granger and Pansy Parkinson (Co-Leaders of SOS)." Dumbledore finished a bit choked up. Minerva was sniffing and touching a handkerchief to dab her eyes.

The signatures of the remaining 18 girls lined the bottom of the letter.

"They'll send us their coursework? Does that mean they'll be gone until after the beginning if spring term?"

"It certainly would appear that way, Minerva." Dumbledore sighed.

"Twenty blessings. Merlin." Lupin said in wonderment, his eyes a bit glazed over.

"Not necessarily twenty, she said 'several'. What does it mean?" Snape asked.

"It means, that each virgin blessed another with a Goddess to protect them. Each goddess has a different characteristic power that aids them. I imagine either the girl in question or the recipient of such a gift can call upon the Goddess at will." Dumbledore explained.

"But only once." Lupin added.

"Once?" Minerva asked.

"It is for emergent need only. I suspect since the spell of desire was cast, that the virgin can call upon it by harnessing her own desire when she is in great danger, or if her counterpart is in danger, they could call it as well. And while it is there to serve the person who called it, Goddesses are quite free thinkers, and can and will act independently." Dumbledore explained this as if it was common knowledge. It certainly was to him, he loved mythology.

"Remus, how do you know so much about the spell? I thought you hadn't read so far into the book?" Snape sounded tired, too weary to sound angry enough to strike out at anyone with his usual biting remarks.

"There are smaller ward building spells based on the same concept, just on a much smaller scale. For example, using the blood of one witch… instead of twenty? This was totally different."

After a fifteen minute silence and reflection, the teaching staff adjourned to their quarters, trying to come up with what they would tell the students.

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Draco Malfoy sat in his room with the door shut, he warded it and eventually cast a silencing charm as his Slytherin peers kept approaching him, banging on his door, demanding answers— the inside scoop from the son of a known Death Eater, and now known terrorist.

"Nothing will keep him out of Azkaban now," he heard a third year student say.

"Do you think the Dementors will kiss him?"

"No chance, man. His dad's too slick for that."

Not all Slytherins were supporters of Voldemort, though it was foolish to identify any particular political preference. However, all students including himself were more than a little worried about the rift they saw. The security measures of Hogwarts the fortress was the stuff of legend and every student felt safe here, until last night. Actually, that wasn't true. There had obviously been at least twenty-one people who harbored some concerns on that score.

Draco was about to return home tomorrow, well— today. What would he tell his mother? Did she know all along? His father wasn't known for including all of the family in on his decision making. Of course— Voldemort appeared to be calling a lot of the shots these last few years.

" If you were a girl, don't you think your father would've sold you out? Do you even realize what he tried to do?"

Draco wasn't at all sure. As a younger boy he could be a bully to his peers, being raised to believe that he was not only better than most everyone because of blood and breeding but also because of his socioeconomic superiority. He looked up to his father immensely, a tall, handsome leader— involved in all manner of politics. Everyone listened to him, even some other adults appeared to fear him and as a young child, Draco admired him. Lucius Malfoy always had a wink for him, a pat on the back.

Looking back on those childhood moments through the eyes of a young adult, Draco wondered if he had misinterpreted his father's actions. Perhaps other adults weren't afraid of him, they loathed him and what he stood for. Perhaps the Dark Mark wasn't as invisible as he was led to believe, something no one talked about but everyone saw.

All of that pride felt utterly destroyed the end of last year when his father was named a Death Eater at the Department of Ministries. It was quickly hushed up, and he was surprised that such a large story wouldn't spend more than two days in the paper. Soon enough his father was home, but when he returned things weren't the same between them. Draco was embarrassed for himself only at the time, of how it made him and the family name look, but not really absorbing how it was changing his family.

The only time he really got to spend with his father was at family social engagements, and even then his father didn't seem like the father he remembered. The one who taught him how to ski, ride a broom… the one who cheered for him in the stands at Quidditch matches.

Draco waited until everyone was asleep and snuck out of the common room to see the Headmaster. He had not often sought out his counsel. Nor had he really been dragged before him for discipline. Recalling how his father wormed his way through the pending inquiries of last year made Draco wonder if some of those liberties extended to him in some way. He was not exactly a model student. Oh he had excellent grades and other kids did what he said, and he was a prefect. But he had fractured an occasional school rule.

He had no idea the password, but somehow the Headmaster knew of his arrival for the majestic stone bird turned to reveal the staircase. When he arrived it was nearly two am and he saw Professor Snape and Lupin were filing out.

"Mister Malfoy, please have a seat. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"No, sir," he said more tersely than he had wished. He and his friends had always referred to Professor Dumbledore as an old fool, but the Headmaster was notoriously fair minded and somewhat lenient in certain circumstances. The rumor that he gave preferential treatment to Gryffindors was all talk.

"I apologize, I am quite certain that a confection will not resolve what concerns you at this hour." Dumbledore looked at him thoughtfully as if he were his own family.

"Sir, what happened to my father?" Draco was nervous for the answer, wondering if he would be told anything.

His father always gave him half answers with no real depth. When asking his father about the Death Eaters his father's reply was, "If you're old enough to ask that question, then you're old enough to serve." That shut Draco up.

Dumbledore looked at the boy with kind and sad regard. "Draco, you deserve to hear the truth so I will tell you as much as I am capable." Draco was already surprised at the opportunity for candor. "I am afraid that your father has crossed one too many boundaries with his escapade this evening. He had already had an altercation with the Ministry that had not resulted in the removal of his position from the school governing board and now he has used his position to place the school and its students in danger. I am afraid I have had to detain him myself, for I am not at all confident at this time that he would be properly punished by the Ministry where he undoubtedly has influence. As of yet, I am still trying to discern the purpose of his visit at the Ball, which I am sure had nothing to do with monitoring the school's extracurricular activities as he had purported."

"What was the brass staff and that… space?" Draco said uncertainly. He wanted concrete answers and Draco was well aware of his influence at the Ministry. Draco wanted to know what his father had done.

"It appears that he used the device to break open a tiny gap where our school's rather impressive wards could be breached."

Draco paled. Rumors were spreading saying as much, but to hear it confirmed by the Headmaster was unsettling. Draco's heart almost stopped as he tried to imagine what would've happened if he had succeeded. Voldemort, war at Hogwarts… there with all of his classmates.

"Yes. Now you see." The headmaster responded to the boy's unspoken thoughts. "Draco, it is a horrible thing to hear this spoken of a man you must admire and care for. Even though he may not have said it in so many words," Dumbledore was thoughtful, "I know he is very proud of you."

He said this with the sad twinkle in his eye which conveyed that Dumbledore was proud of him as well. His eyes and statements made him seem more knowledgeable about relationships than he was. The truth was, Dumbledore was just incredibly intuitive, a good listener who read people well. He didn't need Legilimency to aid him in that regard.

"What do I tell my mother? Have you talked with her yet?"

"I regret that I have not yet had time to do that. If it is alright with you, I would prefer to wait until morning so that I can speak to her myself. I am sure the Ministry will be here momentarily with questions of their own," he sighed wearily. As all of the surrounding pictures of former Headmasters and Headmistresses snored, and Draco wondered how many a sleepless night Professor Dumbledore had when dealing with these issues.

"Um, that would be alright, sir. Is he alright? He was hit with some dart or something…"

"Quite alright, I assure you. Poppy has evaluated him and determined that the antidote Miss Lawson administered completely reversed the poison contained on the dart."

"And the girls, they… what happened to them?"

"Ah Mister Malfoy, I believe that is where your guess is as good as mine. I was hoping that as a Slytherin prefect you might be able to shed some like on some of your classmates, but I am finding out that this was somewhat of a 'girls only' club. Have you spoken to Melanie or Pansy?"

Draco gulped. "Melanie talked to me afterward. Well, she yelled at me sir, which is why I came to you for answers. Pansy… I was um... rude to her recently and we haven't been speaking." Draco's voice was quiet as he thought about it. Dumbledore's face looked long and sad as he felt the weight of the burden on young Malfoy's shoulders. This young man had a lot on his mind. I wish I could tell her that I am sorry. Instead he said, "Can I see my father?"

"Not just yet, Draco. But soon. If you would like, I can have Professor Snape come get you before we move him. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"No sir. Thank you." His voice was hollow, but he was grateful and left toward the Slytherin common room.

"And Draco?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I am always here, if you have need of me," Dumbledore said in his sincerest voice.

"Thank you, sir."

Severus Snape wasn't far off, having continued his conversation with Remus in the foyer, speculating as to where the girls may have gone. He saw Draco and watched him hang his head, shuffling his once proud feet to the dungeons. Perhaps this would be the opportunity for him to see a different side of things. The younger boys never really comprehended the life of a Death Eater until they were required to serve.

As a child, becoming a Death Eater appeared almost romantic and noble— like a knight, a privilege to be in the company of other influential people. Powerful people. Then when asked to murder others for the cause, torturing Muggles, participation in revels held by members you once called friends, one begins to see another side of humanity best left unknown. Before the new member realizes it, the horror becomes a part of them and they can no longer consider their own actions apart from it. Draco at least had the good sense to be afraid for his future, but had seemingly resigned to joining at his 17th birthday.

Best to let him be, Snape thought as Draco walked off to contemplate his fate.

Snape remembered what Hermione had said about saying no. Could Draco refuse the mark? And if so, where would he go? He thought again about his brief conversation with her in the infirmary. "He could say no. It's just that there are consequences that come with refusing. You just have to ask yourself if it's worth it." Seeing the spell cast in this mind again, he felt a lump in his throat at the first realization that perhaps she was speaking about her own decision to remain celibate instead of his decision to become a Death Eater. Gods.

Snape was sitting again, in front of his fire holding a snifter of brandy. He lost himself in the swirling liquid, and decided to make use of his Pensieve. He wanted to relive part of the evening, try to look at it more objectively. He pulled the long silvery strands of thought and let them pool into the basin. Prodding them, they began to swirl and he allowed himself to enter the Ball again.

He walked up to Malfoy who was striding toward the middle of the room. Snape noted who the girls were, where they were standing. Glimpsing one of the candles, he saw Melanie fishing in her pocket for the dart. Malfoy pulled the brass stake from his coat and Snape examined it more closely. It was of course, dipped in the Haustum Vigor potion. The end of it was tinged with blood. Everything clicked in place.

Dark magic. Connecting the object to the School by using a student's blood, and a virgin's at that. Hermione— her tissue.

Goyle retrieved it that night for the tear in the wards. Voldemort of course, knew Hermione was a virgin now. At least Snape wouldn't have to fake knowing, after the public declaration.

He would be called soon. Instead of taking in the entire scene, he focused on Hermione's face. The woman who had blessed him. Why?

He heard the familiar Latin phrases, said too quickly for him to catch fully earlier. They were said again now in the familiar rhythm and as he picked up fragments of the incantation, it both aroused and chilled him.

"Create desire… like a flame…Refuse each calling to the light…

Certain and pure, I keep my control…

No to passions which tempt me…

Build a wall to protect me like no other…

…the power of a thousand virgins…

The strength of goddesses...

We are ready… Challenge us!"

The light nearly blinded the spectator as it arched toward him. Hermione and the others all appeared like angels, bathed in the glow of their incantations, their faces shone with their own desire. Hermione appeared relatively focused this term. Who was she focused on? He looked right at her and the Pensieve Hermione stared straight through him. He looked behind him, as if he could identify the object of her affection. Her eyes glistened with tears and determination. Sheer nerve.

He stood close enough to hear her distressed mutterings… 'This isn't real. You can't have that. It's not for you.'

It was difficult to see her again, tremble and fall. It had already happened, but is seemed an invasion to watch her this way again. Each girl had exposed a side of themselves he was sure they'd rather keep private.

Severus watched his other self lean over her, trying to see if she was injured or hurt. She lay beneath him, propped up on one shaky elbow, her face glistening with perspiration, cheeks lined with tears shed from her considerable efforts to refuse whatever desire possessed her.

Bringing her shaky hand up to his face, her thumb brushed his forehead softly as she whispered with round pink lips,

"Blessings of Gaia be with you Severus…"

He felt a warmth spread through his limbs again and stared in shock at the concerned face of the woman who had honored him.

Severus felt a renewing of the same powerful magic at that moment. He felt it like a deep ache in the pit of his stomach and spread throughout his being. He didn't feel alone, in fact he wondered if the goddess Gaia herself was with him, waiting to be called. His dark eyes were still locked in the doe brown of his student's, but he didn't see the young stubborn girl any more. Instead, staring back at him were the eyes of a young and beautiful woman, silky white gown clinging to her skin outlining her mature features.

The woman scooted back and kept eye contact, fiddling with something near her neck. Before she disappeared he could hear a 'goodbye' barely spoken above a whisper. Perhaps it was his own voice he heard. He couldn't be sure. She was gone.

The Pensieve discarded him into his empty dungeon. He gripped the workbench to steady himself, retrieving his drink from its spot on the nearby table.

Remembering her potions, he scurried to the desk as if to claim the clue that the girls left behind, a solid object that might remain in his stores signifying a promise to return. He opened the left drawer and removed the cloth covering them. There were 9 antidotes and 12 healing potions in all, carefully labeled by Hermione of course. Most of the antidotes were pomades, two of them pastes made from bellflower petals and other rare flowers. There was no note, but in essence that was what he was looking for. His note, his personal explanation addressed to him. Snape had seen Hermione regularly throughout the school year. Why couldn't she confide in him? He of all people would have been useful to approach for advice and help, more so than Remus who he had seen her regularly with.

She had sacrificed everything for their safety this evening. In his mind he could still see the Great Hall, everyone around him was moving again, the murmurs getting louder, but Snape remained stationary for a moment, still adjusting to all of the events that transpired and how changed he felt.

She knew. All this year. The bellflowers, The Brownheimer Antidote… She coordinated this, no doubt with Miss Parkinson. They went out of their way to make sure he thought they weren't candidates for the Dark Lord, and despite the secrecy of the Order, they had known everything— enough to prepare as they saw fit. They had seemed the pivotal members of this group of women who had just publicly shed their virginity in front of the entire school.

The details of the year were visiting him already. When had he last seen her? Last Wednesday night, her last independent study day. And what had he said? It will still be here, Miss Granger. She had been giving the potions classroom one last look, finishing as much of the project as she could before she said goodbye. When was she coming back?

----------------

Talking to Molly and Arthur Weasley about Ginny fleeing Hogwarts was a lesson in crisis management. Molly was hysterical.

"I knew, I told you this would happen last summer!" she howled, jumping to conclusions before Dumbledore could explain.

It was his decision to tell them first about her disappearance and then elaborate on the spell. Well, hindsight is 20/20. The spell in and of itself was complicated enough to explain. Molly always was a formidable woman, does amazing things with a wand… charms, transfiguration. It was a sheer miracle Dumbledore had left the Burrow as a human being and not an amphibian.

At least she changed him back.

It took Arthur's constant attentiveness to his wife and slipping her a calming drought in her tea to get her to a point to listen to the rest of the story. That took a good thirty minutes. After Dumbledore explained, even the calming drought couldn't help the poor woman.

"YOU MEAN SHE LEFT ON PURPOSE! HOW IN MERLIN'S NAME COULD SHE EVEN LEAVE HOGWARTS THROUGH THE WARDS?"

The cursing and profanities about his questionable parentage and mental status ensued until Molly was sobbing. Her baby. Gone.

He really should have brought Ron with him. And if he did say so himself, it was an incredible piece of magic that. Molly had only some relief realizing that Ginny was not alone and that she and Hermione were together with 18 other girls… Merlin knows where, but they were together.

After that, Dumbledore decided to send owls to the other families, and particularly slow owls to the families of the Slytherin group. He hoped to ensure enough time between the girls departure and the receipt of those letters so that they would be settled into hiding before the search parties and dogs were sent to locate them. He wanted the Death Eaters to be notified at the last possible moment. The twenty girls would become targets.

-----

The dawn crept up through the trees and bathed the dark cave in natural light. There was quite a glare from the reflection of the sunlight off of the snow, it's shiny surface hard from the morning light melting the surface slightly.

Hermione pulled out a cauldron and motioned for others to join her. They needed to collect snow to melt and boil for drinking and washing. She found it hard to stand and her bones ached wickedly. She popped her back and hips.

"Oi, Hermione! How old did you say you were?" Millie teased.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Ha, ha, it is to laugh," she said dryly. "Remind me never to use rocks as objects to transfigure into beds."

She pulled the first rations from her all-purpose luggage. Pastries, fruit and pumpkin juice were offered courtesy of Dobby. But she would've killed for a decent cup of coffee.

Dobby was kind enough not to remain and ask questions. Hermione suspected he might be pressed to give information of his own about their whereabouts, but Dobby was sworn to secrecy.

"So how long do we have to stay here?" Susan asked.

"Three weeks at least," Pansy replied. "Don't ask why. Suffice it to say that the wards still have a potential to be broken if we return too soon."

Many of the girls looked discouraged, still hoping they could return to a normal life before Christmas.

"I miss my family," Emma admitted tearfully. Felicia and Laura put their arms around her shoulders in a sisterly embrace.

"We do too," Natalie said.

"But for now, we're all the family you'll need!" Millie said, and everyone laughed. It was hard to imagine her converting from Millie, Mistress of Desire to big sister.

Hermione sorted out the rest of the vials and ordered them. She pulled out a large pot of prepared cream. The last ingredient the healing pomade would need is a drops of their blood. It would be the strongest healing balm yet. Hopefully, we won't need to use it. She put in a drop of each girls blood and mixed it with a clean glass rod. It turned pink as the blood interacted with the white substance and then changed to an odd pale blue. She replaced the cap and shut the box of blood for future use. She needed to hide it somewhere safe and knew what she'd do with it.

So far, everything seemed to be going well. The animals outside came by the mouth of the cave sensing something amiss, but unable to cross the barrier Lisa had erected. Most of the girls played Checkers, Chess or read books they had packed. Hermione knew three weeks was a long time and fervently hoped they didn't run out of things to do. Sooner or later, everyone would go stir crazy.

Pansy sat reading the Power of the Innocent, regretfully the only literature she'd brought with her besides her school books. It was fascinating enough. She read the smaller ward breaking spells they hadn't performed and yet other potions that could be made. She came across one spell, whereby an object could be used to break wards, creating a tiny opening by enchanting an object and anointing it with the blood and tissue of a virgin.

"SHIT!" Pansy looked around, because she had everyone's attention. "Sorry." Pansy looked down embarrassed. "This is good," she added. Everyone turned back to their books and games, but Hermione did not. 'Good' didn't quite capture it. Hermione was immediately sitting on the side of Pansy's bed. "Not here," Pansy whispered, and she inclined her head toward the mouth of the cave. They threw on jumpers and heavy cloaks and exited the mouth of the cave taking a little walk, mindful of any creatures which might be lurking.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked.

"I think the Dark Lord has his own copy of this book." Pansy handed her the book, opened to the page she was reading.

Hermione read quickly, "Oh God. Shit. That's why…"

"I bet Goyle didn't even know what he was doing. He's too thick to comprehend that."

"But what's this, the Haustum Vigor?"

"That's what I was trying to figure out. That's no normal potion. Look." Pansy pointed, but Hermione already knew.

Snape had brewed it and she inhaled some of the fumes. She said nothing, still trying to put it all together. He wouldn't have. He didn't know. Snape was surprised in the infirmary, he didn't know what Goyle had done. Severus had protected her in the classroom, he didn't want to cause her any harm.

"Well," Hermione said. "There's nothing we can do now, except find out what else You-Know-Who knows if he has that book. We need to know what else he is capable of."

"Well, I bet he didn't know that we were doing that ward erecting spell at the same time Malfoy was trying to break in. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if we hadn't cast exactly when we did." Pansy shuddered. Armageddon.

Hermione didn't either. They went back to the cave, determined to finish the rest of the book, torture methodology and all.

-----------

After an uneasy breakfast, most of the students had left on the train home to their families, though many decided to stay behind. In particular, Harry, Ron, Neville, Draco, Terry and several others waited if only for the opportunity to see if their paramours would return. Surely, they would come here first?

With the fall term over, the staff had nothing else of importance to concern themselves with other than the missing students. Dumbledore was certainly getting a lot of pressure from the Ministry, but a reaction to change the current government of the school would be a mistake and Fudge knew it. Those girls needed a safe place to go, and even though Dumbledore was in the dark, they had managed to convince Fudge that the members of SOS would trust Dumbledore for help before the Ministry. Certainly Fudge's appointment of Umbridge seriously called into question his ability to choose someone suitable for the job.

They had been gone nearly two days, and there had been no word, except for a scroll left for Dumbledore. They had read it several times, trying to find any hidden meanings. Each of the girls dormitories had been overturned, looking for clues about their disappearance. The Ministry was tracking any magic performed by their wands, but no magic had been practiced. They had covered their tracks well.

The last thing the Headmaster of Hogwarts expected was that his impenetrable school, protected with apparition barriers and prevention of portkey travel, had been so easily breached by twenty school age girls. They had finally deduced that since they were the ones that cast the spell renewing the school's wards, the loophole existed that they could pass through them.

"Twenty women, all over 14. Ginny, Hermione and Pansy, Millicent and Lisa at the five points." Remus shook his scraggly head. "They did so many things with a single spell… but I am still trying to figure out all of the nuances of it. They could've killed themselves. Amazing. Bloody amazing." Lupin shook his head, still mystified by the outcome.

"Hedwig is missing, we can assume they may use Harry's owl to contact us at some point," Minerva added hopefully.

"That's just speculation, Minerva. We have no way of knowing how long they'll be gone," Snape droned. He was finding no comfort in Remus' comments. They had been over and over the same information multiple times with no new ideas.

"They can't stay away from Hogwarts too long… how will they live? Especially without magic. These are all young women, and while I have confidence in some of their abilities to tough it out, I have a problems in believing that all twenty will be able to remain secluded," Poppy said.

"Perhaps…" Dumbledore said. "But there are several witches among them born in the Muggle world, I imagine they'll have little difficulty improvising."

He dismissed them but Lupin and Snape remained glued to their seats. They sat, unmoving not speaking. It was the Christmas break and everyone had left except for a few students.

Ron and Harry were leaving for the Burrow for a few days. Molly Weasley was in quite a state, but after they explained again what happened, she was relieved and proud of her daughter, who she knew was at least in the clear from being used for You-Know-Who's purposes. The danger had not quite passed though, and so she'd have to wait before her daughter and friend were returned safely. Ron and Harry were still pretty hot that Ginny and Hermione kept them in the dark about something which had been in the works since summer.

"It makes a bit more sense now," Harry said.

"How exactly does it make any sense?" Ron said angrily. "Hermione and Ginny and 18 other girls sacrificed their virginity in front of the entire school, portkeyedout of the supposed Hogwarts fortress," he said with disdain, "are Merlin knows where, doing whatever the heck they do when we're not around. How is this making sense?"

"Ron, I mean all the things this term. The rumors about how promiscuous certain girls were. I mean didn't you wonder why Daphne turned you down after you found out she liked you?"

"Well, yeah. But now we're dating…"

"And Hermione, we knew she wasn't seeing anyone, but there were rumors of her sleeping with no less than three different guys…"

"I can't believe I fell for that."

"Yes, Ron. You overreacted." Harry rolled his eyes. "We all did. Fell for it hook, line, and sinker." He laughed uncomfortably.

"They got us pretty good huh? Reckon they're alright?" Ron asked, the worry returning to his face.

"They know how to take care of themselves. I bet they have a contingency plan for everything. Especially with Hermione there."

"She'd mad you know. Mad. She and Ginny both." Ron shook his head, whistled and twirled his finger around his temple.

---------

After evaluation of the circumstances, Dumbledore felt it was in the best interests of everyone to let Lucius Malfoy go. He and the rest of the staff were not happy. If he tried to prosecute him for trying to break the wards, then all anyone would remember was that they were breached, that Hogwarts was no longer safe. Or that Dumbledore deliberately sacrificed the lives of twenty young female students for the sake of the school, or that he didn't know what was happening in his own school. Painfully, he had to admit, the latter was true.

The students would be withdrawn from school and he would be ousted. Or others would try to break the wards, especially after the brass staff treated with the Haustum Vigor and Hermione's blood was produced into evidence. Poppy had tested it, and indeed confirmed the blood and tissue found on the staff was Miss Granger's. Dumbledore would not risk the publication of the method used to break the wards.

No memory modification was necessary as Lucius was out for the spell casting, and soon enough the Daily Prophet would eventually post the names of the missing.

Dumbledore sighed. It was the best he could do to have Malfoy tailed by Snape. Of course Severus, with his obvious skill, suggested death by poisoning. He was quite serious. It would be painless, though alternate arrangements could be made. Regrettably, Dumbledore vetoed the idea and Severus was left with nothing but his thoughts.

At least he wouldn't have to repeat the conversation he'd had with Molly about Ginny, with Narcissa about Lucius.

----------

Christmas came for Ron and Harry, who elected to stay at Hogwarts if only for the desperate hope that St. Nicolas would deliver back their friends in their stockings. There was no such luck, and despite presents under the tree from families and friends they would have traded all of it for word on the girls. Just some kind of confirmation that they were alright. Harry had used the Marauder's Map to see if they were hiding somewhere in the castle, but no luck there. They used location spells to no avail and Ron and Harry couldn't seem to come up with a rescue plan.

Harry had gone to Dumbledore to suggest some Muggle methods of detection, the police, contacting her friends to see if she'd turn to them for help. He had dashed Harry's hopes, saying that if the police found her it might be possible that the wrong people would be notified of her whereabouts first.

He and Ron were depressed. They held hot chocolate Dobby brought them, and held the mugs absently, not drinking.

"Right about now Hermione would be asking us to sing Christmas carols," said Harry.

"Yeah, and Ginny would be making popovers with Mum." Ron sniffed. "You think they're alright, Harry?" Ron asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah Ron. I bet they're having some hot chocolate right now." Harry reassured Ron and himself, not believing it was true. Of course this had been Dobby's second delivery, so in actually they were sharing a cuppa, just five miles away.

They started only slightly at the knock on their door, when the Fat Lady's portrait opened, they were surprise to see the face of Melanie Lawson, SOS Special Emissary. Their first thought was, a Slytherin has the password to our common room.

"Happy Christmas! Special delivery for you I think, but if you want to focus on your hot chocolate…" she playfully turned to leave the depressed pair.

"Oh no, no, no! Come in. We're sorry," Harry shot Ron a scolding look. They had obviously not given her the warmest welcome.

Melanie felt a little like Santa Claus bringing toys and goodies in her book bag. She pulled out a pair of gifts each for Ron and Harry and they were much happier to see to four notes she pulled out. "Hey where's Neville?"

"He's gone to see his family. He should be back later this week." Neville had left to his grandmothers, for his visit to see his parents at St. Mungo's.

"Oh. Well, I'll save his then," she said pocketing the gift wrapped in green paper.

"Would you like to stay and have a hot chocolate?" Harry offered politely, but truly wanting to tear into his letter.

"Wow, you're nicer than I'd have been in your shoes. Thanks, but I have other deliveries. See you." Melanie left happy, and wondered if this is was owls felt like when they delivered birthday presents.

Ron and Harry read quickly and then again more slowly, savoring every word. Ginny's letter to Harry, explained a great deal and Harry nearly had to scramble for privacy for his blushing. She had professed her love for him, in a moment of her strongest emotions. She had obviously been wrestling with a lot of feelings, and Harry found his doubts prior to the Ball were completely unfounded.

Hermione's letter to them both had been more apologetic and tactful, showing that she also had been under a lot of stress, though she hid it well. "I am so sorry we kept so much from you, but trust me when I say it couldn't be helped. There is so much I want to tell you, and yet so much I still can't say. I'm sure Dumbledore told you not to look for us, and I can't stress that enough. Don't. For our safety, don't look for us. We'll come back when we can. We love and miss you. Hermione."

It infuriated them to no end that they wouldn't tell them when they were returning. But it was comfort enough that they would and that they were safe. The letters were dated, and Harry and Ron knew that they were written before the trip out. Finally after their third read through, they opened their packages. Ginny gave Ron a charmed box to hold unlimited collectible Chocolate Frog Cards. Ron had an impressive collection, and Luna was teaching her the more complicated charms. She gave Harry potions. He looked closely and was puzzled at such an unromantic gift and then saw her card.

"Harry, I made these for you from the book we've been using regarding virgin spell casting and potion making. These are healing potions made from flowers I picked and my own blood (don't be too grossed out, they are really potent). I wonder if my love for you will make them any stronger than potions made by any other witch. Use them well. Love, Ginny."

Hermione as always was practical. She gave them both a copy of Advanced Charms in Defensive Magic: from Antiquity to Now. Her enclosed card was, "Now don't get all huffy that I got you a book! Luna does incredible things with her wand and some of the stuff in this is wicked cool. I think you should have Lupin and Flitwick do a presentation for DADA. Incidentally, the book helped Ginny make Ron's Christmas present. When Luna returns ask her to show you the spinning wand thing on page 387. You won't believe it. Hermione."

They turned to the recommended page and were immediately jazzed about the new opportunities for learning.

-------------------

She dreamed of him nightly. She suspected the dreams of her peers were also laced with the vivid memories of the spell casting as well as the images of the object of their desire. It was a crowded cave and many girls spent time talking about their love interests, boyfriends and the like. Hermione couldn't bring herself to utter one painful word about it. She would close her eyes at night and he'd be there with her, whispering reassurances in her ear. "It will still be here." It was torture having him kiss her neck and awaken physical responses in her she wanted to suppress. It was cruel, and many nights she woke up in tears. What could she do about her feelings? Nothing. There would be no heartfelt interaction, no outpouring of emotion. No reconciliation of the Ball's events.

She could only send one thing. One personal gift, the significance of which she hoped would not be lost on Severus.

In the early morning hours, Hermione snuck out with Hedwig and her present. "Don't show anyone where we are okay? Deliver this to Professor Snape in his quarters, and absolutely not in public." Hegwid hooted understanding. He was as intelligent as familiars came.

She watched him fly off with her gift, and wished she could have sent a letter containing other thoughts instead of the rather proper one she did. Happy Christmas, Severus. We're okay. I'm still okay.

Hermione was safe, and so were the other girls. Everyone at Hogwarts was safe. She was warm, had food to eat and a place to sleep. She thanked God for these things and counted her blessings. She went back inside the shelter and crawled back in her warm bed for more sleep.

-------------------

It had not been a week since they left and Christmas had come silently. It was a beautiful snowy day, full of clear blue grey sky.

Snape sat alone on his bed where he had not slept soundly for the past three evenings. He had been over and over minute details, trying to ascertain the possible whereabouts of eight of his students from his own House as well as the others. Most of their parents had been very irate with him, insisting that he of all people should "know his own house." What had they expected? Bug all of their rooms? Spy on them? Not even their classmates knew, and their parents hadn't made it very safe for them to turn to their kind and protective families for advice.

Snape suspected they had stayed together, safety in numbers… or perhaps they had split up? At least in small groups? He had really worn his rug ragged as he paced back and forth weighing possibilities. His morning headache was interrupted by a pecking at the window. Annoyed at the interruption as much as acknowledging an impasse in his brainstorming he flung open the window angrily. The owl ruffled his feathers and dropped the heavy burden on the dungeon floor, swooping out quickly with an irate hoot. He made a wide arc to avoid the unpleasant addressee.

Snape ripped open the box to let off some steam, and looked blankly at the copies of his now published work complete with the letter and receipt of deposit to his Gringotts account for his work. He discarded it aside, a bit upset that he could not feel the slightest bit of excitement about something so seemingly inconsequential in the grand scheme of things today.

He scribbled a quick note and shipped off two copies to Katie Renou, the note shorter than it would have been under different circumstances.

After his owl left, yet another flew at his window.

"What do you want…" But his eyes widened when he recognized the snowy white owl so admired by the students. This was Harry's owl.

Hedwig was carrying a heavy box and when he laid it gently on Snape's desk. "Not so fast," Snape grabbed the feet of the angry animal. "Where are they?" he said with malice, but stupid really trying to get the bird to talk. Hedwig squawked loudly and pecked his hand until he bled and let go with a curse. Snape raced to the window to see where it flew, but Hedwig didn't leave the grounds, merely flying to the owlery.

Snape huffed and returned to the box, intriguing really. Plain, simple. No markings. He touched the brass latch and his name appeared in writing on the box lid. "Welcome, Professor Snape." He wondered what it would've read if he wasn't Severus Snape. He lifted the lid and his mouth fell open as he picked up the letter he had been waiting for.

December 25

Dear Professor Snape,

Merry Christmas to you. I am sending you something very important. Tell no one of its existence. None of the other members know that I have sent it, so keep this a secret. Many suspect you to be a Death Eater and I have not corrected them on this count. Before you get upset, if anyone other than you had retrieved this box it would've made a howler look like a sweet valentine. No worries.

I could not bear the thought of performing such a spell without obtaining some more tangible and lasting benefit. Eighteen of the girls participated in collecting their own blood and I ask that you hide it well, so this blood can be used later, for the good of the war and to prepare some of the most powerful healing potions ever brewed.

Snape paled as he looked below at the carefully labeled and ordered vials. They were in the order of most potent to least, in the order that the girls fell. He lost his usual detached composure. She trusted him. With this. With her blood. With all of it. Beyond priceless, the blood inside was dangerous in enormous magnitude and she had sent it to him, the Death eater to protect it. He was speechless.

I give this to you with the understanding that you will never, under any circumstances, use these blood samples for dark magic.

'I would never.'

I know a man in your position must be asked to do quite a few questionable things for the Dark Lord. I want you to know that I am not upset about your assignments over the year. I know you were preparing the list and we did what we had to do to make sure it was inaccurate as possible. We hardly expected You-Know-Who to find another way around matters.

By the way, the brass staff of Lucius' with the Haustum Vigor and what I suspect was my blood was a spell we just read about in the Power of the Innocent. It's pretty ironic to me that Voldemort was using spells from the same text to break a hole in the wards we were trying to erect. Scary. We're looking for others he might use, so far— nothing.

'Gods, what she must think of him brewing the potion. Did she know?'

You may be puzzled about the Brownheimer Antidote, so permit your insufferable know-it-all a moment to show off. I spied the assignment on your desk and researched it before class. See the stone?

He smirked and looked in one of the slots next to the vials and picked up the blue tinged pumice stone. Some of the dye deposited itself on his hands and he dropped it.

Don't give me too much credit. It was in the Power of the Innocent. The dye is absorbed into the stone without affecting the potion. Incidentally, I was wondering if that method would work to the same effect in other potions. Just a thought.

'So that's how they did it. Clever.' Even he hadn't known about it. Than again, they had stolen the book before he had his chance.

Lastly, I am sorry that I lied to you. That is really what I had wanted to tell you that day in the infirmary.

'You're sorry? Bugger all, you saved us. You're forgiven, damn it.'

Don't worry. We'll be home as soon as the danger passes. We are all fine here. If anything I miss besides the familiar walls of Hogwarts, I miss coffee and a good lecture. For now, I must look back on happy memories there and the progress we made on the Veritaserum. For everything that happened this term, the independent study made it bearable. Thank you for that.

Have a Happy Christmas.

Hermione

Severus sat in his chair for forty minutes, trying to settle into what had been told to him. She had happy memories of their time together.

'For everything that happened this term, the independent study made it bearable. Thank you for that.'

She had confided in him. She had apologized. Hermione had wanted to tell him before. And in the end she blessed him. Have a Happy Christmas. Having good wishes passed to him was pleasing that it didn't often happen except from people like Minerva and Albus. He could almost try to have a better holiday than usual, with the exception that now his scar burned ferociously.

That kind of put a damper on good feelings. Snape had some explaining to do, and he had clearly been kept out of the loop on a good many things. It had been four days since the incantation and three days since Lucius was returned to his home. He had no way of contacting Voldemort and really it was only a matter of time before he was called.

He threw on clothes and his cloak, mask in hand if needed and left to the gates. He didn't relish the idea of sharing Christmas with the Dark Lord, but one does what one must.

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Author's Notes:

I had to stop somewhere! More on Draco soon. I hope this answered a lot of your questions. I'm sorry I wasn't more clear on the spell earlier. I was hoping the quotes at the beginning of the last chapter could offer more explanation of what the spell looked like and the spontaneous loss of virginal blood without an object to contribute to it. The vial just collected blood, it wasn't the cause of breaking the hymen.

So many thanks for you lovely reviewers! You have provided much needed encouragement and have been especially thankful for your urgings to write original fiction. That is indeed my intention at some point. Again as always click below to leave flames, suggestions, criticisms or praise! J Y'all keep me on my toes.

e- You only had to wait a couple a days for this. Hope to update soon. Let me know what you want to see happen next!

Kat6528- Thank you thank you! Keep on reading.

Javen Green- Thanks! Here's the new chapter.

SimplyScribbling- Thank you and only a few letters were delivered. The girls are undercover. Can't wait to write more about the girls cabin fever.

Kary Sky- Yay! Internet access. I am jealous of your locale. My favorite vacation ever was driving up with my husband (before our marriage) up to Montreal and Quebec City. So beautiful up there. Truly. I love that glass blowing place by the Funiculaire. Hey, good luck with your fic. I advise you to post it one chapter at a time so that you can receive plenty of feedback as you go. I posted too much of the Burden of Sight all at once. I can't wait to read your stuff.

Levans- And yup, the spell took their virginity as a sacrifice to erect the wards, using their combined virginal power. Sound like a joke, where can you hide twenty virgins? How do you hide an elephant in a cherry tree? Paint his toenails red and body green. Have you ever seen an elephant in a bathtub? That's another good hiding place.

Wackoramaco87- Did I actually say "I'll never be back?" Let me look, you made me look twice. Smile I think she thought in response to Snape's "It will still be here,"— Yeah, but I won't. And many people got a special spell/blessing.

MxSRose- Thank you so much. I hope the descriptions improve. I'm going to need to spend some more time developing certain scenes coming up, that will be somewhat dialogue free. I'll let you chew on that though for awhile.

Pallas Athena1- Thank you for the high praise. I promise to update as often as I can. This story will probably take 5-10 more chapters to complete.

Piglet1- Your welcome! Here's the next chapter!

Maxy- Hooray! Thank you fellow goddess! You'll get to see more of Snape and Hermione interactions… sometime. Will update soon.

Athena Linborn- Thank you, and I can identify with the work concentration thing. I've been writing on my lunch hour when I can.

Althea Gray- Thanks and Dumbledore isn't so pissed now that he has answers. Especially now that no one died and they all could have. Thank you for your review!

Romm- Nope. Forbidden Forest. But hey they were forbidden before, and that didn't stop them. What's to prevent them from breaking one more school rule? Haha a convent wouldn't be cool. Too many sexual thoughts flying about the cave. And Draco won't report now, except to wonder what he's gonna do when his 17th birthday arrives. Hope your other questions got answered. More soon!

Steph2bwld- Thanks for the translation reference, I had one that translates a word at a time so I'm sure the conjugations would not be right. I'm sure many reviewers may have actually been smarter, taking Latin in school rather than my French class(didn't do me any good in Texas, mind you). I left the spell in English because I didn't want to butcher it to death. Good observation of Neville. He's chickpea just waiting to emerge from his shell. I imagine Arthur Weasley the same as a boy. Hide in plain sight and they cant find you… you know I didn't even think of it that way, but I guess you're right. Here's the bunny. Thank you. Thank you, thank you for your review!

LilThuggin420- Thanks! Had to have a good girl fight. The calligraphy and firewhisky is a long way away still. More adventures to be had.

Midnightrider- Thank you! Are you happy now? J

Crissy- What do you mean, was that the end?! Hey! That was a long ass chapter! Here's part two! Thanks for your review!

Franflutewitch- You are so right about the Dobb-ster. Don't know about early, but I'll try to post often. Glad you liked the spell. Sisters, united, will never be defeated. Thanks for your review!

Alicat99- Snape had no way to be hard on her because it's too late for lecture, she's gone. And it's paining him to recognize what he's lost. It is slowly dawning on him though. Thanks for your review!

Reddy Cool! Thank you. I feel the same way when I read other fics. I'm flattered by your hockey analogy, alas I did not understand one word of it. It's all about the Astros and Rockets in Houston (baseball and basketball). The Aeros are… hockey wannabes. Melanie was left to deal with the aftermath, but she's a survivor—she can handle it, hard to believe she's still only 14. And whoops, Millie did slip her the Antidote after the darts for her to administer. Shucks. Thanks for your feedback about Snape, he's such a deep character to write. I love it! More soon.

Bertie Bott Thank you for your review, though late… you are forgiven! The button is always there for you though! What do you want to se happen next?

Saturngurl123 - Six OMG's and 5 pleases! That's exactly the response I was hoping for. Thanks! Grin Here's the next chapter!

MA- Sorry I didn't go into more about Minerva's reaction. I think they are more proud and shocked than anything. Minerva's probably pretty sad about their deception and her treatment of them. Of course the girls had deliberately invited criticism and judgment. I love your questions, and I hope this chapter answers most of them. The students gossip and tell stories about the spell but the teachers don't explain it. Dumbledore's hope is for as much misinformation to spread as possible, not wanting an accurate account to get out too soon.

Tiffie101- Thanks! And of course I wouldn't cliffie you without the spell, I've been dying to write about it! Here's the aftermath.

Lyress- I wonder if people find the music cheesy, but I love music (currently listening to Janet Jackson and Anguun). The B-52's rock (lobsta' oooh ahh)! You're close on the disappearing… more later. I'd love for Snape to be safe, but he's far from it. As for Slytherin epiphanies, Draco is no saint but he is looking back on certain details. In front of Dumbledore, I think he's finally beginning to be properly remorseful for his behavior toward Pansy. Draco, Harry, and Ron? Nah… can't picture it yet. Thank you so much for your enthusiastic feedback.

Raindrops on Roses Thanks for your review, Better late than never! The button below is calling you… what do you want to see happen next?

Keket Amunet- Sorry about the quote placement, I thought it was a good set up for the spell chapter. Hrmm, maybe I should've put them in the middle. Thanks for your feedback! Hope the next chapter doesn't disappoint!

Redlady 27 Thanks! Girls rule! At least I always thought so.

WytilYes we do. And unfortunately ol' Tom is too smart to allow himself to come to injury from the Haustum Vigor. Damn. And the girls they left Scotland to go to Scotland. Well five miles from where they were. Teehee. And traceable? Not easily.

Min Hee Hey there! Thank for the review. I wrote the poem myself, an excerpt of the longer full length one in the earlier part of the fic. I'll try to update once a week if I can.

CorrieThanks! And here's the continuation.

Falafelgigglehiney- Thanks Katherine! I still love your penname. Hee! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and now am working up to future intense moments. J

Amsev - Thanks I'm glad you liked the quotes, they were meant to tie in. I love it that Kore formed words like carnal. What a trip.

Skylar Thank you so much! High praise, however I might recommend WendyNat's Cloak of Courage and Dark Ecstasy by Chantal. And maybe about a million others. Um, they have still not ever had sex. So technically, yes they are virgins but not really. Innocent yes, hymen no. Eeek, probably no sequel. Thanks!

Ahiwai Hurray, and I promise not to kill all twenty. That would be horrible. Millie still cool. Now she's the big sister. Mother hen. Haha. Wild.

Alarase You are correct! Thanks for your review. Thoughts, ideas? What do you want to see happen next?

Ezmerelda- Thank you so much for sticking with me, your feedback has been helpful and I look forward to reading your reviews. Hermione was able to stick it out in part because she could not believe that Severus will ever accept her affections, it is too far fetched to be considered. I love the part with Fiona too, I think he's going to be tempted to use that Pensieve a bit more often. He does get a letter this chapter, though the ones for her will hopefully will not have to be read ever. As for Lucius' arrest, pity that. And I love Hermione's blessing of Severus too, I bet the memory of her touch will remain longer than the Goddess.

Celtic Words- Thank you, I hope it continues to be suspenseful!

What's their name- Thank you! I'll try to post once a week.

Cinnamon- Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful feedback, I'm not sure if it was all deserved but I was touched by your comments and read them to my husband. He has been encouraging me for some time to write my own stuff but I haven't yet. Harry and Ron are the type to plot a search party, but they've been put off it. It'll take a bit more for them to push forward. You have Harry pegged. He is stunned that this all happened without his knowledge or help. And regarding Snape, something is changing about him and about the way he's looking at things. That was a main focus of this chapter. Everyone's views are changing about themselves and others.

And I thought the Forest locale was obvious, since Hermione scouted it out when she was followed by the dove and trying to work with Hagrid to have an excuse to go. I hope I answered your question about the tissue that Goyle got as well as the Haustum Vigor. Luna rocks, but there is likely only a little more of her. Thanks again for your lengthy feedback, it is always appreciated.

Michelline- Thanks! I'm glad. I am always hoping it will read as funny or original. I'm always worried it might sound flat or unconvincing. I write boring scripted progress notes during the day, so this is a welcome chance to crack my knuckles and write something totally different.

Tigress12- Hope you like the aftermath. Lucius had to be freed for future plot needs. And he's such a bastard, we have to have our enemies don't we?

Rosmerta- Millie kicks ass doesn't she? Thank you for your feedback. Our ladies aren't out of the woods yet. Har Har.

Azulkan2- Ooh… goody. Goosebumps! I've been writing that chapter in bits from the beginning. I'm not sure it quite turned out the way I intended, but close enough. What I'm really excited about in this chapter is the development of Draco's character. He has a lot to answer for when or if Pansy returns.

Jade- Lucius sure has been had, hadn't he. And here is the aftermath.

Poeetry Chic- Thank you! Any suggestions for what you want to see happen next?

GeekGoddess- Hey! Didn't want to give it all away. The blessings will come into play later, though some of it is explained here.