Disclaimer: Well...my birth certificate still says "Aileen" on it...and therefore I must not be J.K. Rowling...sooooo...Harry Potter is not mine.

A/N: Woah. What an enormous turn out for reviews. ::hugs you all::

The marvelous Demoness Mark has kindly provided me with info on the name Adrian and Julius so if you're interested she posted it in a review.

Lone Angel: (nice name btw) Dumbledore is looking at the big picture, he's not really caring about the individuals that are being caught in this war. Severus is questioning his direction, and therefore Dumbledore is questioning Severus' loyalty. It makes more sense later lol.

Jean Marie: Thanks for not complimenting me ; ) lol. It's a great story you should read it. I think we read it in 9th grade English in my school.

- (how d'you pronounce that anyway? lol) Sure I can e-mail you. If I remember. And pancakes...mmm....::sudden urge for a pancake::

Nikki Crawfort: Glad you approve ::grin:: thanks for the suggestion!

Natsuyori: Glad to be of service ::smile:: What story? I wanna see!

June: Eh, Dumbledore's bein a bit ditzy about everything. He thinks he's like God. And he's not. Which is why I find it so funny when all of his plans come crashing down. ::smile::

He had left Hermione at the Manor, under the excuse that he had an 'emergency' to take care of. She had looked concerned, but refrained from asking a million and one questions. The girl had learned well.

Snape Manor was rather nice. Large, cold, overyl green, everything you could expect from a pureblooded family such as his. Once he had shown Hermione to the library, he was sure that he would have no trouble with her wondering where he had gone. Hell, it'd be a surprise if she even remembered he existed while she tried to read the entire contents of the library, which rivaled Hogwarts' in size.

Knowing Hermione as he did, he enlisted the help of the house elves to make sure she ate. She would hate that, but then again, that really wasn't his problem. His problem was making sure that Hermione remained healthy.

He walked around the grounds aimlessly. While he hated the outdoors, he didn't want to be cornered by Dumbledore, who had already tried catching him by the statue of Saint Argrues the lymphatic. Though it wasn't really hard to evade him. He could smell the lemon drops even before he saw Dumbledore turn the corner into the corridor.

Walking around the Whomping Willow, he kept his distance, as he was rather fond of his eyes and attatched limbs. There weren't many students out, save one or two. He thought he spied a few by the lake, throwing rocks into it.

He strode over there, intent on telling them off and deducting points. It was dangerous after all. The giant squid and the mermaids weren't the only creatures in there.

But when he got there, he stopped dead in his tracks. It was Potter.

"Oh, hello Professor." said Harry, rather apathetically.

"Potter." he acknowledged the boy with a nod.

"Dumbledore sent you out here?" the dark haired boy asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Snape crossed his arms, looking down on the boy. "Why would the Headmaster see fit to do so?"

Harry said something, but it came out uncomprehensible.

"Out with it Potter." Snape drawled.

"I said sir, that I had run out of his office." Harry spat, rather angrily.

"Why?" the inquiry was straight to the point.

"He told me that Voldemorte's coming. What I had to do." Harry said, not quite meeting Snape's eyes.

"You already knew this. Or you should have. You're not quite that daft, Potter."

"I don't want to do this anymore."

"I'm sure that the rest of us don't either, but that does not mean that we quit at the first sign of danger."

"Look, I can't do this. I'm a 17 year old kid. There's no way- I mean.." Harry broke off, frustrated. "I'm afraid." he half-whispered under his breath, more to himself.

Snape surveyed the young man in front of him. Far from the cocky, pretensious boy he was in school, he was actually admitting fear. Definately a Griffindor. No way would a Slytherin ever do such a thing. He took his time, weighing his answer before he actually spoke.

"None of us asked for this. I'm sure you feel that you've been wronged, thrust into this unnecessarily, but the fact is that this is your responsibility. You're going to be a part of this, and it's up to you how to go about doing it. You can either shape up and shoulder this like a man, or you can run away, no better than a coward and a traitor." Snape said, emphasizing the last sentence.

Harry kicked some dirt with his foot sullenly, keeping his head down. "Understood, sir."

"I do suggest you get yourself back to the Headmaster's office, lest you miss some vital information." Snape said. It was an order, not a mere suggestion.

Harry nodded to Snape, and walked past him twords the castle. After a few steps, he stopped and turned.

"Sir?" Harry asked.

"What is it now?" Snape frowned.

"Thank you." Harry looked at Snape with intensity.

"Don't try my patience. Get going." Snape snarled. To his surprise, the boy actually smiled. He had to be losing his touch. He belatedly turned and followed Harry's path back into the school.

Severus made his way down to the dungeons. He would need to be available to 'his' Slytherins. If he was lucky, maybe he could convince some of them not to go through with it. But, it was a feeble hope at best.

He went into his office and sat down at the desk, apprehensive. It was at this moment that he fully understood the meaning of the 'calm before the storm'. He'd rather it were here now, instead of him having to worry about it.

He grabbed a book off the shelf, anything to keep his mind clear of all his worries and self-doubts. Where had they come from anyway? Not so much the self-doubts, he'd had them ever since he could remember. But worrying? Him? He needed to relax. There was nothing to worry about.

Flashes of Hermione brought themselves up in his mind. He half-growled, concentrating on his book. She was safe, there was nothing to worry about.

A sudden burst of heat brought his attention to the fireplace adjacent to him. A small, squeaking bundle popped out, rolling haphazardly into the room.

"I is sorry Master! I bes dirtying up your office!" the peculiar thing, now discernable as a house elf, bowed low.

Snape frowned at the intrusion.

"You tolds Caddie to make sure that Missie with the fuzzy hair didn't leave, and Missie with the fuzzy hair did sir!" she exclaimed, nervously wringing her hands.

Severus stood up from his chair quickly. "You mean Hermione left?!" he roared.

"Yes sirs, she did. With the man who smells like Mrs. Skowers." Caddie whimpered.

"Mrs.Skowers? What in Merlin's name are you talking about!" He glared.

"The old man who smelled lemonie, sir." her head was so far down that her nose was poking into her chest.

Severus growled and tore out of the room. Dumbledore.

A/N: Melikes Caddy. Oh, yeah. ::plays dramatic music:: What's in for Dumbledore? Any guesses? ::grin::

Btw...sorry 'bout the shortness. Next chapter'll be longer. Much so.

R/R!