Late One Night

Disclaimer: I don't own incredibly much, though I really wish I did.

Thank yous: anna, ThouandI, yoblossom, orlin, Sarahamanda, iamtherealmaverick, we3, Goddess-Hope, Sasami Tombo, Fallen Angel of Hell, Goddess of Gorgeousness, Diggingupophelia, im-a-daydream-believer, halfblood princess and summer, Hobey-ho, catseye348, and Joji Sada.

ThouandI: I only realised the connection when I read an old Mugglenet Editorial, not that I wanted to admit that he could use his silver hand against Remmie though…

Goddess-Hope: For the answers to your questions, read on!

Diggingupophelia: I'm glad you enjoyed your first trip into the Sev/Rem world! Hehe, you're right, even gay, Severus is possibly the hottest teacher at Hogwarts :-D

Im-a-daydream-believer: Actually, I thought the hand was some other form of silvery coloured metal, but now I'm starting to believe that it really is silver…

catseye348: The only stories I've read where Severus has some sort of family, are usually the ones where Harry is actually his son, instead of James'.…………………………………………………………………………………...

Yes Remus' miscarriage was sad, and I am mean, but you know, if he and Severus accidentally do the dirty near the full moon again, another kid could be in the making.

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One more note: JK Rowling has recently posted on her website that Hermione was nearly twelve when she entered Hogwarts so in accordance with this story (mainly Draco's birthday) she is older than Harry, Ron and Draco. If I have said she is younger in past chapters then ignore that; I will go back and look through them to check anyway. So she was nearly a year old when Harry was born. According to that, at the place this story is at, Hermione is nearly eighteen.

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Chapter 16: Draught of Life

Hermione was sitting at the dining room table in Snape Manor when her father stumbled in one morning, "Where have you been you dirty stop out?"

Severus yawned into his hand, "Not that its any of your business, but Hogwarts." He yawned again, he was so tired, and even though it was the summer holidays now he still wasn't getting much sleep, with all the Order work he was doing as well as visiting his youngest daughter at Hogwarts. "Anyway, get dressed you have to come to the Headquarters with me…" he trailed off into another yawn before leaving the dining room.

Hermione looked down at herself; she was still in her pyjamas even though it was nearly midday. She got up, stretched and then headed off to the staircase to her bedroom on the third floor.

Though Severus and his father had never gotten along, the Snape heir was still given his father's manor upon the man's death. He had let his mother stay there with himself, Remus and the then baby Hermione right up until she died, when Hermione was about three years old.

Snape manor was a massive place, it was much bigger than Twelve Grimmauld Place, but it wasn't quite on par with the Malfoy Estate, as Lucius quite often pointed out. Hermione's bedroom was on the third floor; she was on the same floor as her parents because the master bedroom had been placed on the third floor. But her bedroom was at the opposite end of the manor to her parents' because they quite often 'forgot' Silencing Charms when they were doing the dirty.

And though Remus did not look like a man that truly did live in such luxury, he had done since he was eighteen years old. The main reason for his extra shabby appearance was to just keep up the appearance of being an unemployed werewolf, after all, many wouldn't believe that he had shacked up with the remaining heir to one of the oldest wizarding families. It was still against his morals and his pride to splurge Severus' inheritance money on pointless material objects though, but Hermione was quite happy to do that for him.

……

"I think its stupid that they won't let you two into the Order meetings now," grumbled Ron. He, Harry, Ginny, Fred and George had been kicked out of the kitchen once again so that an Order Meeting could take place. They were all up in the room where Buckbeak was kept.

Ginny ran her fingers through Buckbeak's feathers as she replied, "You heard what mum said, they take qualified wizards. Fred and George both left Hogwarts before they could graduate with their NEWTs."

Fred shrugged, "Yeah well, we can put our talents to better things now, can't we?" Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're turning into mum, you know that?"

"Yeah Gin."

"Shut up."

George snorted, "Anyway, didn't you hear you complaining when the sixth years put in an order for our stuff to get rid of Umbridge."

"Didn't work though, did it?" replied Ginny, "Oh god, what's to bet she'll be back again in September?"

Harry was about to grumble out a reply when the door opened and Hermione appeared, "Hey Mione."

"Hey guys," Hermione came into the room and closed the door. "How are you?" She got a mixture of bored and grumbled replies.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Ron curiously.

"Nice to see you too, Ron." Hermione sat down on the floor against a wall. "Dad didn't want to leave me at home alone so he brought me here with him, despite the fact that he left me home alone all of last night… So, what have you been doing since the summer started?"

"Cleaning this hell hole again."

Hermione wrinkled her nose; "I'm glad I chose to go home then. How's Sirius enjoying freedom?"

Harry shrugged, "Not sure, he hasn't really mentioned it much, which is a bit odd. He hasn't left this place yet, either, despite how much he wanted to."

"Maybe he doesn't quite believe it's really happened yet," suggested Hermione thoughtfully. "But I suppose once it finally does sink in, you can get away from the Dursleys forever, right?"

"That's the plan." Harry grinned. "What would be good, is if he goes and tells them what's going to happen. I would pay good money to see the looks on their faces when the mass murderer from Television turns up on their doorstep."

Everyone else laughed and nodded in agreement.

"What have you been up to since school finished?" Ron gazed at Hermione intently.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him; the way he and Harry had been looking at her recently was really beginning to worry her. She decided she would have to ask Ginny about it, to see if she had noticed as well. "Not much, did my homework, been to see Maria, that's about it."

"How is she?"

Hermione sighed, "She's awake. Poor thing can't move much though, and there's a full moon on Friday, its going to be hell for her." She had never been this worried about her sister before, because her parents had always been there for the little girl. But now, she could tell that both Severus and Remus were starting to fall apart at the seams, she was worried that they'd both crack under the pressure and the stress of this war sooner or later.

Ginny frowned, she could see that this subject was a bit touchy for Hermione, so she decided to change the topic quickly. "Anyway, what do you reckon is going to happen to Pettigrew now?"

"Moony wants him put down," said Hermione smirking. She had taken to calling Remus 'Moony' in front of her friends now, so that it didn't confuse them too much every time she said 'dad'.

"I could agree with that," said Harry seriously.

"You know what," started George, "We overheard mum and dad talking about that after he had been caught."

"You overheard them?" Hermione raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Ok, we were eavesdropping," continued Fred, "But anyway, they mentioned something about Dumbledore not letting the Aurors kill him or giving him to the remaining Dementors yet, so that someone else that would particularly like a word with him could…well, have a word with him."

Hermione gazed at Fred thoughtfully for a moment, Ah so that's the plan. He's going to let James have a go at Pettigrew before they do away with him. "Fair enough. I wonder who it is."

"Yeah, we thought it was Sirius, but he's already been to the Ministry holding cells to attack Pettigrew," said Ron, "He was nearly arrested for it."

"Clever."

"Everyone we can think of that would want to hurt Wormtail even more has already done so," said Ginny thoughtfully. "But there could be more people that were close to your parents though, right Harry?"

"Could be, but I've never heard Sirius or Remus mention anyone else," replied Harry. "Have you, Hermione?"

Hermione thought for a moment, "Moony never really mentioned many other friends, I mean, your mum must've had close friends as well. I'm sure they'd probably want revenge."

"Mm, I might ask Sirius sometime."

The six teenagers continued talking for a while longer until they were interrupted by Romulus opening the door.

"Hermione, you have to come with me."

Hermione pulled a face, "Why?"

Romulus rolled his eyes, "Don't be too cheerful about it." The others snickered. "By order of your father, whom I do not plan on disobeying because he scares me, I have to take you home and keep an eye on you."

Hermione grumbled and got to her feet, "I can look after myself."

"Death Eaters, hun, I don't think you'd be able to hand yourself against a group of them," replied Romulus, he needed towards the hallway. "Come on. I'll see you lot some other time."

"Bye!"

"See you, guys." With that, Hermione traipsed out of Buckbeak's room and followed her uncle along the hallway to the stairs. "What's dad doing then?"

"He's talking with Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus about something," replied Romulus shortly. "It may take a while."

Hermione hesitated before ploughing forward with a hunch she had just gotten, "The Draught of Life, right?"

Romulus stopped dead and turned to her, "How did you know about that?"

"I snuck a look at dad's notes in his office one night, and he caught me at it," she replied confidently. Hermione could tell that Romulus thought they had been listening in on the meeting, mind you, with Fred and George around, the adults had a reason to be suspicious. "I've been taking down his notes and helping him collect ingredients and stuff. I know it's for Harry's dad, and no, I haven't told anybody, especially not Harry."

Romulus looked a little unsettled but he quickly got over that, "Ok…make sure you don't mention it as well. Its possible it might not even work."

Hermione frowned, "I witnessed some of the tests dad did on animals with it, it brought them all back to life… Anyway, if we're not meant to mention this where someone can hear, why are we talking about it right here in the hallway?"

"Shut up and walk."

………

It was late that afternoon now; Romulus and Hermione were in the middle of a heated game of Chess and an argument about Quidditch, of all things, when Remus entered the living room the two were occupying looking absolutely awful.

Hermione flicked one of Romulus' pawns off the chessboard, "The Chudley Cannons are terrible, you dimwit, or have you not noticed that?"

Romulus laughed, "Ooh, feisty, aren't we?" he looked over at Remus just as his brother fell into an armchair and yawned. "How did it go?"

Remus yawned again, "All right, Sirius was shocked, but that's to be expected." He turned his eyes accusingly towards Hermione. "And you, why didn't you tell me about this Draught of Life?"

Hermione shrunk down into her chair a little, "Dad swore me to secrecy…"

"That's never stopped you from talking in the past."

"He said he'd lock me in one of the old torture chambers in the Hogwarts dungeons and leave me there to rot if I told anybody," replied Hermione pouting a little. "And I wouldn't put it passed him either."

"No, neither would I."

Remus gave them both a very dirty look before standing up again, "I'm going to go and get some rest." He left the room and headed off upstairs.

Hermione bit her bottom lip guiltily, "I think we upset him…"

"I think we did." agreed Romulus quietly.

……

Remus headed into the master bedroom of the manor, Severus was already up there and by the looks of it, he had passed out already. The dark haired man was sprawled out on his stomach in a simple white shirt and black trousers, his breathing was quite slow so Remus assumed that he was asleep as he pulled off his own robes.

"Are you going to continue ignoring me, or do I have to beg for forgiveness before you speak to me again?"

Remus turned to Severus and saw that his lover was watching him out the corners of his eyes now, "I'm not ignoring you, I'm just annoyed that you didn't feel the need to tell me about this thing. I mean, you let Hermione in on it and-"

"She was sneaking through my notes," interrupted Severus, he lifted his head and propped it on his hands. "Anyway, if I had told you, would you honestly have kept it a secret from Black?"

Remus hesitated, "I…well…I mean…" he sighed. "No."

Severus raised his eyebrows slightly, "My point exactly. Dumbledore did not want anyone to get their hopes up in case it didn't work, and of course, I would be at fault again in Potter's eyes if it didn't work, because I was the one that created the potion in the first place."

"Since when have Harry's feelings ever mattered to you?" asked Remus, as he sat down on the bed beside Severus.

"They don't." Severus rested his forehead on his arms, "But he has a knack of turning Hermione against me."

Remus absentmindedly played with some of Severus' hair, "I'm not going to be sympathetic, you do bring that up on yourself." Severus huffed. "Why would you think he's turning Hermione against you? She adores you."

"I have my reasons."

Remus frowned, he could see he wasn't going to get anywhere with this discussion, so he changed the subject. "So, this potion…it will work, won't it?"

"You doubt my potion making skills?"

Remus rolled his eyes, "Of course I don't, but you haven't tested it on a human, have you? You can't be positive that it will work on a man."

Severus grumbled and rolled onto his back, he propped himself up on his elbows and scowled at Remus, "Have some faith in it, will you? I may not like whom it is meant for, but I have made sure that it will work. That and it is hard to find a person willing to be a test subject for something that will only work if they are dead."

"I'm sure there are some people crazy enough to volunteer," replied Remus seriously.

Severus raised an eyebrow, "Like our daughter you mean?" Remus' expression turned to one of surprise. "She did volunteer, but I didn't think you would appreciate it if I took her up on the offer."

Remus shook his head; "No I wouldn't have… And see, there's another example of why Harry isn't turning her against you. She obviously has a lot of trust in you if she was willing to be a test subject."

Severus smirked, "Either that or she's spending too much time with Lucius."

"He is brighter than you give him credit for," said Remus, he got up and headed into the bathroom. "Are you two still going to be giving 'Mione her lessons this summer?"

"Hadn't thought about it, to be honest," mumbled Severus, he was starting to fall asleep.

………

"Morning…" yawned Hermione as she stumbled into the kitchen the next day.

"Afternoon," replied Severus, he was pouring over the Daily Prophet on the table with his customary cup of black coffee.

Hermione fell down into a chair and Crookshanks immediately jumped on her lap for a fuss, she glanced up at the clock and yawned again, "I thought you were going to wake me early?"

Remus poured her coffee; "We only got up an hour ago. Rude awakening, mind you."

Hermione opened her mouth to question his last statement but upon hearing another voice from somewhere in the bottom of the manor, her question was answered.

"What rooms did you say, Remus?"

Remus sighed, "Any on the second floor!"

Hermione gazed blankly between her parents; "You weren't going to tell me, were you?"

Severus raised an eyebrow, "We didn't know until we got up, why do you deserve forewarning?"

"Because I'm your daughter and you love me," Hermione sipped her coffee. "Why?"

"Are they here?" replied Remus to Hermione's question. His daughter nodded and cuddled her cat protectively. "My mother does not seem to think that we can cope, or something to that effect."

Hermione pulled a face, "Cope with what? I mean, its not like you're both going round the twist or anything…well, not yet."

Remus leaned back in his chair and folded his arms; "I'm inclined to think that the news about Maria and my miscarriage has finally reached her."

Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly, that was the first time she had heard Remus mention his miscarriage since it had happened. Other people had mentioned it to him since but it had only served to upset him. "Can I move back into Grimmauld Place, please?"

Remus smirked, "Anyone would think you didn't enjoy your extended family's company."

"Oh yeah, I just can't get enough of it," said Hermione sarcastically. "How long are they staying?"

"I would think until you two go back to Hogwarts," replied Remus. If there was one thing that really did annoy him, it was his mother's domineering protectiveness over him. He hadn't minded it to start with after he had been bitten because he had only been young then, but as he had grown older she got worse. All she did was boss him around, and she hadn't let him go and see his friends in the summers away from Hogwarts, on top of that, now that he was an adult she kept criticising the way he raised his children or the man he chose to be with. He loved his mother, he really did, but she could just be so irritating sometimes, and when she decided to call for a visit his sisters and their families tagged along, and his three sisters were just as bad. Romulus was the only family member he really got along with, but even then the two of them fought a lot. His nephews and nieces were also very annoying when they were around, in fact, he didn't think his own girls were that bad. Maria was extremely quiet and well behaved for a five-year-old, and Hermione talked a lot and she was rather pedantic but then so was he and Severus. "Then hopefully they will go back to their own little lives." He got up and headed for the door. "Try not to make anyone cry, you two."

"Well I won't have to make anyone cry if they stay away from me," muttered Hermione after Remus had left the kitchen. The last time she had seen her cousins they had annoyed her greatly, especially the oldest of them who would be about sixteen now.

"I don't think you have much choice there," said Severus from behind his paper. He had kept quiet because he knew if he said something derogative about Remus' family, it would only serve to upset his lover. Remus on the other hand, would quite happily insult his own family; its just no one else was allowed to. "You aren't busy tonight, are you?"

"Nope. Why?"

Severus finally looked over the top of his paper to his daughter, "The Draught of Life, its being administered tonight."

Hermione squealed, "You're letting me come?"

"It's only fair, you did help, after all."

Hermione grinned and hugged her father, knocking Crookshanks growling loudly off her lap in the process. "Thanks!"

Severus smirked as he watched Hermione bounce happily out of the kitchen; it didn't take much to excite her, especially if she was able to witness something that had never been done before.

………

That night at Twelve Grimmauld Place Sirius was getting ready to go somewhere, not that anyone knew where though.

"Where are you going?" asked Harry curiously.

"That Harry, is none of your business."

Harry frowned at his Godfather, "Why not? Don't I deserve to know where you keep disappearing to?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, there were a lot of curious faces watching him, "I'll tell you eventually, but not now. And I'm not going to where I usually go to tonight, anyway. Also, what's happening tonight will benefit you greatly, Har, I assure you."

"I'm confused now."

"You're not the only one," agreed George.

"And now I must go, I'll see you guys later," said Sirius before he left the kitchen of Twelve Grimmauld Place.

……

"I didn't know Hogwarts had a cemetery…" commented Hermione as she followed her parents to that particular part of Hogwarts.

"I thought you'd read Hogwarts: A History," replied Remus questioningly.

"I have…maybe I should read it again."

They soon got to the school's cemetery where Dumbledore was waiting for them with Sirius at his side.

"What's she doing here?" asked Sirius upon seeing Hermione.

"She has a name," replied Hermione in slight offense.

Dumbledore had the usual twinkle in his eyes, "It is my understanding that Hermione has helped with some of the potion making, am I right, Severus?" Severus nodded. "Right well, I suppose we should excavate the coffin now."

Dumbledore went over to the gravestone that had James Potter engraved into it, he pointed his wand at the ground and muttered something. The ground shook a little as the dirt started to vanish and an ornate oak coffin started to rise out of the ground.

Hermione wrinkled her nose slightly as the coffin settled down on the ground next to the big hole, "Its been nearly sixteen years, wouldn't his body be a bit…decayed by now?"

Sirius frowned and then he looked to Dumbledore, "That's a fair point actually, Dumbledore."

Ignoring Severus' mutter about 'stupid Gryffindors', Dumbledore answered, "After James' body was taken out of the ruins of the house, I had it placed under a charm that would stop the decay of time. So now he will still be in the state of someone that has only passed away in the last few hours."

"Cool."

Remus and Sirius both gave Hermione funny looks.

"What?"

"Morbid little madam, aren't you?"

"Hell yeah."

Severus had already removed the lid of James' coffin, and he was digging through his pockets and pulling out various vials and a few other things. He wasn't that fond of being around dead bodies, especially the dead body of someone he wasn't too fond of.

Sirius and Remus had moved over to James' coffin to watch closely at what Severus was doing. In the meanwhile, Hermione had crouched down in front of a plaque on the ground and wiped the dust and dirt off it.

Lily Evans-Potter

Loving wife, mother and friend.

May she rest in peace.

Hermione frowned a little, and her natural curiosity took over once again, "Why doesn't Lily have a gravestone?"

Dumbledore went over to where the teenager was, "Lily requested that she be cremated upon death, which is also why we can only use this potion on James." Hermione looked up at him. "She enjoyed the ocean, which is where she asked for her ashes to be scattered."

"What exactly does that do?" questioned Sirius; he was practically shadowing Severus who was getting more and more agitated at the constant questioning.

Severus ground his teeth together, "Black, if you do not get out of my light, I will be jamming this syringe into your eye socket." Sirius moved away quickly and stood on the other side of Remus. "And if you must know, this vial of potion will get his blood circulating again without his heart pumping it."

"Oh…"

After he had administered the Circulation Potion to the dead body, Severus waited a few minutes for it to take affect before he started looking for a suitable vein in one of James' arms.

Unbeknownst to the people in the cemetery, they were being watched by someone from the bushes and trees surrounding it.

Hermione shuddered and looked away from the coffin when she saw her dad push the sharp needle of the syringe into James' arm. She really did hate needles, and seeing them being put into people or feeling them being put into her made her very squeamish. She walked over to the edge of the cemetery so that she didn't get curious enough to watch what the syringe was doing. She heard a few twigs break in the vegetation but she didn't really pay it much notice.

Over at the coffin, Severus sat back on his haunches waiting for the telltale signs that his potion was working on the prone body of James Potter. He hated failing so he was rather hoping that his potion would bring this man back to life, despite the fact that he hated the man.

And then it happened, a whitish glow started to appear around James' body.

"It's working," said Severus before he lifted James' arm and felt for a pulse on the man's wrist. It took a few moments for him to find it, as it was so weak. "There is a very weak pulse there."

Before anything else was said the four men surrounding James' coffin heard Hermione shriek and then they heard the groan of a man. They spun around to see Lucius Malfoy stumble out of the bushes holding his nose.

"What the-"

"Bloody 'ell 'Ermione…"

Hermione quickly covered her mouth to muffle her giggling.

……

A little while later, everyone was in the Hogwarts Infirmary. James had been levitated onto a bed where Poppy Pomfrey (ever the hard worker) injected a Rejuvenating Serum into his blood stream. After that she had to tend to the bloody nose of Lucius Malfoy.

"Do you have no respect for your elders?" questioned Lucius once he was able to speak properly again.

Hermione snorted, "You snuck up on me in a dark graveyard, what did you expect me to do? I was protecting myself." She rubbed the knuckles of her right hand, which did hurt a little, but probably not as much as Lucius' face did. "Not the first time I've punched a Malfoy…"

"What were you doing here anyway, Lucius?" asked Dumbledore suspiciously.

Lucius gingerly touched his nose, "Sirius mentioned this potion…I was curious."

Severus was forcing himself not to laugh at the fact that the one and only Lucius Malfoy was nearly knocked out by a teenage girl. Remus wasn't entirely sure whether he should reprimand Hermione for smacking an adult in the face or whether he should laugh. Sirius had already had a good laugh at the blond's expense and now he was sitting beside James' bed.

Hermione on the other hand was glancing back and forth thoughtfully between Lucius and Sirius, putting two and two together from the clues she had been picking up since Pettigrew's capture. Then she gasped, she'd figured it out, "You and Sirius are shagging."

Sirius snickered at the dumbstruck look on Severus' face; it was obvious he hadn't figured it out, "Putting it bluntly, yes."

"This is going to bruise," said Lucius to no one in particular. Ever the narcissist he wasn't too fond of having something like a big bruise on his normally flawless face. He fixed Hermione with a cold look.

"I am not apologising for something that could have been avoided had you not snuck up behind me," with that, Hermione went over to her little sister's bed to see if all the commotion had woken the five year old up.

Sirius looked to Dumbledore, "When are we telling Harry?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment, "I think it would be best to leave it until James is better recovered," he looked to Severus. "Do you have a rough idea of how long it will take?"

Severus folded his arms and leaned against a wall, "Not really, it took about an hour and a half for a mouse to recover adequately but as there is a rather big size difference, it could be any amount of time. My estimated time for him to wake up would be around a week, a time for him to recover fully would be hard to predict."

"Very well, we will wait until he wakes up before we decide when to tell Harry," said Dumbledore finally.

Very soon everyone started to leave the Infirmary, Maria in tow this time (with Severus carrying her), as the full moon was only a couple of days away and she would probably be able to handle it better in familiar surroundings. Hermione was still giggling over decking Lucius and Sirius had high-fived her for the achievement.

……………………………………………………………………………………

A/N: How was that? Long enough for ya? Oh yes, and the reasons for James' ressurection will be explained soon.

Next Chapter: More on Maria and James' respective recoveries. Severus, Remus and Hermione are invited for dinner to the Malfoys'and Remus and Lucius have something up their sleeves. Also, the Lupin clan.