Once again, not mine…
The Letter
Minerva's Point of View
What a long day. Cleaning up after disasters is never fun, but when the disaster is the death of a friend, a confidant, someone I thought of as eternal, well, cleaning up after that kind of disaster was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Walking into my chambers after a long and tiring day, I noticed a roll of parchment on my pillow. Odd, I know it wasn't there when I left this morning.
Picking up the parchment, I notice it bares a handwriting I thought to never see again.
Snape!
How did he get something into my chambers?
Hurriedly, I unfurl the letter, hoping to read the words that I will make sense of the terrible loss we are all feeling. And yet I'm afraid to hope, lest my spirit be dashed upon the rocks again. I have been strong for the children, for the community, and for the Order. Here, in the privacy of my own rooms, I weep.
Reading through his letter, I feel as though my hopes and courage have been given wings. There is nothing in the world I love so much as understanding a puzzle. The memories he mentions are like water in the desert of my despair. For once, I don't even notice the tears making tracks down my face.
In my rush to get to Albus' chambers which are still undisturbed after recent events, I barely notice the house elf that has come with tea. "Leave it there for me, Nena. I'll be back for it later."
"Yes, Professor." She smiles at me, seeming happier than usual, but that could be a spill over of my own elation.
As I enter Albus' rooms, though, my depression returns. Albus and I had been close. He had been one of my professors at Hogwarts, and I had taught under him for 37 years.
It was but a moment before I opened the cabinet under Fawkes' perch, taking out a rack of vials that were clearly memories.
Returning to the Headmaster's Office, I took out Albus' Pensieve and proceeded to loose myself in the memories of my friends. Carefully, I looked through the memories of plans, of triumphs and failures, of all the pain that both of those courageous men had suffered. In that moment I knew why Albus had always trusted Severus. And I knew how broken slaying Albus must have made Severus. Decision made, I continued on to my next task.
I all but ran to the dungeons and the Potions store room. On Severus' desk I spy what I need, a quill and parchment, so I decide to sit at his desk to pen my reply.
Severus,
Today has been a revelation for me, and it has caused me to reconsider some of the methods we have employed in the past. Not the least of which is having only one person privy to the most closely guarded information. That will be changing. To that end, I am appointing myself an assistant. She will need to meet with you in person. I will arrange for her to be in room seven of the Leaky Cauldron on Saturday after 4 pm. I realize that your time is not your own. So she will remain in her room from 4 in the afternoon Saturday until 4 in the afternoon on Sunday, leaving only for meals in the common room.
It will be up to the two of you to work out the details of communication.
If this is acceptable, please send a note in the same method as the last one, and I will make the arrangements.
Severus, take care of your self. We need you, and believe it or not, we care about you. That was the worst part of what happened, the feeling of betrayal from someone we trusted.
Gods willing, I will see you on the other side.
MM
Folding the parchment, I pressed my wand into the wax to seal it and placed it on the cabinet as he had instructed.
Then, clearing away the mess I had made, I left the dungeons to return to the warmth of Gryffindor Tower. I didn't notice the small elf taking the letter and leaving to deliver it.
When I returned to the tower I placed a floo call to Headquarters.
"Hermione?" I called into the library.
"Professor McGonagall?" I heard her voice answer from the other side of the couch.
"Oh, thank goodness I found you so quickly. Could you step through, please, Hermione. I have some things I need to discuss with you and show you. I have a job for you. A job that I cannot entrust to anyone else, including Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley."
"Of course, Professor. I'll be right through." I pulled my head out of the flames and stepped back to give her room to come through.
Within a moment, my fire turned green again and through stepped the small form of my favorite student.
"Hermione. Please, sit down. Would you like some tea?"
"That would be lovely, Professor McGonagall."
"Hermione, it has come to my attention that you and the boys are not planning to return to Hogwarts in the fall. Is this true?"
For a moment, Hermione would not look me in the eyes. Then, seizing her courage, she looked up defiantly, and said, "Yes, Professor, that is correct. We have another mission to focus on."
"Hermione, while it saddens me to think that you will not be completing your education here at Hogwarts, you know as well as I do that you could take your Newts tomorrow, and get the highest score in a century. I am not asking to pressure you to return." I paused, noting her puzzled look. "No dear, I was being quite serious when I told you I had a task that only you could do."
"Professor, perhaps you could explain what this task is?"
"Of course, dear. First, I want Madame Marchbanks to administer you Newts. I want you to be a fully qualified witch, no matter what. Harry and Ron can take them when they are ready. Secondly, I wish to make you my assistant with Order business. I have realized the folly of Albus' need to not share his information. If something should happen to me, someone else needs to know everything that has been going on so that the Order does not waste time on accusations. Someone who is equally free to act in the outside world. I have recently been directed towards Albus' memories of the more dangerous conversations he has had in the course of running the Order. Without these memories, many things did not make sense. I wish to share them with you, and have you be my contact person outside of these walls. Tonks is too busy being an Auror. Molly has too many other responsibilities, as do any of my other choices. Harry has too volatile a temper, as does Ron. You are the only and best choice. I know it will mean no being able to participate with Harry's quest, which I don't know all the details of. But, Hermione, you can help him with research, and you would be contributing so much to the cause. Of course, you cannot discuss this with anyone. No one can know the information you would hold. Do you need time to make a decision?"
It was a long speech, but Hermione was brilliant. I knew she would be able to follow along and process everything I was telling her and everything I wasn't. I was asking her to make a sacrifice, in a way, but also for the only cause she cared about. Justice. She was, after all, a Gryffindor like myself.
Taking a deep breath, she looked me straight in the eye and said, "Yes, Professor McGonagall, I will do whatever is needed for the Order."
I felt my breath and tension escape me in a rush. "Hermione, since you are no longer a student, I think you should call me Minerva."
"Thank you, Minerva, for your confidence in me. How shall I begin?"
"Begin by getting some sleep. I will arrange for you to take your Newts beginning tomorrow. Be here by 9 in the morning."
"All right. I'll see you tomorrow, Prof…err…Minerva."
And with that, she threw a pinch of powder in the flames and returned to Headquarters. Realizing that I would have a very busy day tomorrow, I went to bed. As I was slipping under the covers, I realized for the first time since Albus was killed, that I was looking forward to sleep and had new hope for the future.
Snape's Point of View
The next morning I awoke early and decided to use the Dark Lord's permission and do some research in Spinner's End. Leaving the confines of Riddle Manor, I hurried to my home in Muggle London.
Upon entering, I called out, "Nena!" for the house elf. Moments later she arrived.
"Master! Nena has a letter for Master. Nena was going to give it to Master Draco like Master said, but he was asleep when Nena got back to the Refuge. So I have it right here for you Master." At this, the little elf held out a scroll of parchment sealed with an intertwined MM.
With a sign of relief, I took the scroll, broke the seal, and quickly read the letter.
For once I was glad that Minerva was a Gryffindor to the core, willing to always consider fairness and justice as the most important things in the universe. I spent some time wondering who she would send to me. Minerva had called her "she" so that left only a few Order members. Most of the active Order members were men, after all. It couldn't be Arabella since she's a squib. I figured the most likely candidates were Molly and Tonks. I sincerely hoped for Tonks. Molly is too full of righteous wrath to be reasonable on most occasions. Tonks, for all her clumsiness, is capable.
Saturday, though, was coming up quickly. I would have to find a disguise. After all, a wanted man like me couldn't just stroll into the Leaky Cauldron, although I did have the invisibility cloak. That would probably be the best choice.
Quickly, I penned a reply and sent it with Nena.
Hermione's Point of View
I returned to Headquarters after that strange conversation with Pro…Minerva not sure what I was getting myself into. But Minerva seemed convinced that it was necessary. I had trusted Minerva for 6 years, and she had never led me wrong. So I would trust her in this, too.
I was getting ready for bed when I realized that at 9 the next morning I would begin sitting my Newts. Oh My God!
But as soon as I began to feel myself panic, I realized that I didn't need to. For the first time, I saw taking my Newts not as an affirmation of my place in the Wizarding world, but as a means to an end. I would pass, that was all that was important. Quite a revelation; Harry and Ron would be proud.
Harry and Ron! Well, I had been sworn to not tell. I would verify with Minerva tomorrow what I could and couldn't tell them. It would keep.
Deciding I needed a good nights sleep; I lay down in the bed and practiced some mental exercises to fall asleep quickly.
I awoke the next morning and headed down for some breakfast. Harry and Ron were both up and sitting at the table, bowls of oatmeal in front of them.
"Hey, guys."
"Hermione. Where were you last night?" asked Harry.
"I was at Hogwarts, talking to Professor McGonagall. In fact, I'm going back today to do some research. I think I may be staying there all week."
"Oh? Well, would you like us to come, too?" Ron asked.
"Um, no, that's OK. You don't much care for the library. Now that we aren't going to be students, I am going to search the Restricted Section for information on Horcruxes, and how to destroy them. Professor McGonagall also mentioned that I may be able to take my Newts early, since we won't be returning to school in the fall. She said she would try and arrange them. For you guys, too, when you're ready. After all this is over, I assume."
"Hermione, when this is over, I hope to play Quidditch. I want a break," Harry said, looking at his bowl of oatmeal. Ron was vigorously nodding in agreement.
"Yes, well, I think the world will understand that. I'm off. I'll owl you if I'm going to be there at nights, but you should probably assume I will be."
"All right, we'll see you later, then. And if McGonagall got them arranged good luck on your Newts. Frankly, I can't believe how…calm…you are about that," Harry was smiling at me.
"Thanks. I'll see you later," I decided not to touch on his comments about my nerves, or lack thereof.
With that, I got up and headed to my room, gathered clothing to last a week, just in case I was there that long, and Apparated to the school gates.
Seeing Hogwarts so soon after leaving made me feel like a student again, even though I knew I was coming to take exams that would forever end my status as a student.
Going inside I ran into Filch, who was cleaning the entrance hall.
"Back again?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm here to see Minerva. Can you tell me where I might find her?"
"Like as not she's in her office. You know where that is?"
"Yes, Mr. Filch. Good day."
I left him there, staring after me. I realized I may have been the first Gryffindor to call him Mr. It's a sad thought.
I headed as quickly as I could to Minerva's office. I had been there on numerous occasions, after all. Some good, some bad. But enough, over the years, to never forget how to get there.
Arriving at her office, I found the door open and Minerva and the elderly Madame Marchbanks seated inside.
Minerva must have caught the movement outside of her door, for she called out, "Hermione! Come in! Madame Marchbanks, this is Hermione Granger, the student we were discussing. Hermione, are you ready? Madame Marchbanks has agreed to administer your Newts."
"Madame Marchbanks, thank you so much for agreeing to this. Yes, Profess…Minerva, I am ready."
"Miss Granger, we will be administering the tests in Minerva's classroom. I have a few things I would like to discuss with you," Madame Marchbanks, for all her apparent age, was still fit and mentally quick. It was clear she had not been told who she would be testing from her abrupt start of surprise at my name, but equally clear that she recognized it and my…relationships with Harry. It was also clear that she agreed with the need for my testing. I had to wonder if she was an Order member of some kind.
"All right. I appreciate your time in testing only me, so I will do whatever I can to accommodate you."
"Well, Miss Granger, since we are only testing you we will be following a somewhat different format. While you can take up to the time limit to complete your tests, if you finish early, we will go on to the next test. We don't have to wait for your classmates. Therefore, I goal is to complete all of your Newts by Friday. I realize you are taking more than most students, but given what I know of you, this should still be doable."
"I'll head down to the classroom now, then. Minerva, will we be having lunch in the Great Hall?"
"Yes, I believe so. Good luck, Hermione, I'll see you at lunch time."
And with that I calmly left to walk to the Transfiguration classroom right down the hall. A few minutes later, Madame Marchbanks joined me and closed the door, and my testing began.
By noon of Friday I was exhausted, but finished. I had completed Newts in Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes. Had I completed my seventh year of studies, I may have tried for more, but those were the important ones, the subjects I had enjoyed. After lunch in the Great Hall with Minerva, Madame Marchbanks, and the other professors who remained at school over the break, I shook the examiner's hand and thanked her again for testing me.
"Madame, I really appreciate your taking the trouble to come back to Hogwarts and test me alone."
"Miss Granger, it was a pleasure. You are quite a brilliant witch. I dare say I learned something from working with you on your tests, and I have been doing this nigh on a century. Well, Minerva, thank you for your hospitality and the opportunity to meet Miss Granger. Good luck in the coming year. Portus." Without warning, she activated her portkey and left Minerva and I alone in the Great Hall.
"Well, Hermione, it's finished. You are officially not a student any longer. Would you like a nap, or are you ready for your next task?"
"I'm ready."
I struggled out of the Pensieve one more time, to sit silently for a moment processing what I had just witnessed. Minerva watched me, a look of understanding on her face.
"Dear God. If you hadn't found those memories…we would have never known. I understand now, why you want someone else to know everything, just in case…"
"Yes. You understand now. You understand just how crucial your role will be. And why I can't let you wander around after Harry. Help him research, yes. But not go on some of his escapades. And it has to be you. Molly is not of the correct temperament, nor is Ron or any of his siblings. Harry has enough on his plate. Tonks, too with being an Auror, and really all the rest of the Aurors in the Order. Besides, spending that much time at the Ministry would be a risk. Lupin's a werewolf, and so his word would be meaningless. Moody, besides being an Auror is to set in his ways. Dung is…untrustworthy. In the extreme…"
"Minerva, you don't have to explain more. Although I will be seen as a child by the people at the Ministry, and a Mudblood by most of them, too."
"You have more credibility than you know. Madame Marchbanks was impressed. You took your Newts a year early, and you did well. Madame Marchbanks' opinion carries a lot of weight. And she talks. People will respect you. I think it's likely you'll get quite a few job offers when word of this accomplishment gets out."
"So, Minerva, what is the plan? I assume you want me to contact Severus in some way."
"Yes that is exactly what I want you to do. You will be going tomorrow to the Leaky Cauldron. Tom is going to put you in room 7. You are to stay there until 4 pm on Sunday. Severus is going to try and get away and meet you there. You can take meals in the Common Room, but otherwise, take some books and stay in the room."
"So I can spend the night tonight with the boys at Headquarters, and Apparate there in the morning?"
"Yes, that would be fine. Now about what to tell the boys. I want you to tell them you are working for me directly as my assistant. That I realized I needed help in keeping things organized and all functioning smoothly and that you were the best choice. You can give them the reasons I eliminated the others if they press you. Tell them that you cannot discuss the details, and they can talk to me if they have a problem with that. And tell them that it is too dangerous for you to go with them on their adventures, but that you will be doing all of the research, so that if something does happen, again, someone is there to pick up the pieces."
"Ok. If they don't buy it, I'll play on their notions of what girls shouldn't do. Usually they drive me crazy with their need to be protective of me, but this time it may work in my favor."
"Ah, Hermione, what are two Gryffindors like us doing plotting all this deviousness?"
"I don't know, but it's a good thing we only have to fool other Gryffindors!"
"Look, guys, nothing will keep me from your side when the time comes. It's the other trips that you don't need me for. Can't you see that your talents are fighting and mine are researching? The advice that Crouch, Jr. gave Harry about playing to your strengths still holds. Someone needs to be the know-it-all, the just-in-case so that if the unthinkable happens, the next group doesn't have to start from scratch!"
"I understand, Hermione. It just seems strange to not have you there with us."
"Harry, when you go to face him, I will be there. But someone has to stay behind for the rest of it, to make sure things are not over looked. Professor McGonagall thinks that I am best suited to that task, and she had lots of reasons…"
"Harry," Ron interrupted me, "we are going to be doing some really dangerous stuff. I think this is for the best." His eyes looked me over once, and I realized he had figured out my back-up plan. I always did tend to underestimate Ron's grip on strategy. But it seemed he agreed, this time, and was on my side.
"All right, I give. Just be careful, Hermione, I couldn't bare to loose you."
"Harry, that's the point. You're going to be in much greater danger."
"Oh…OH!" The light went on in Harry's eyes as he finally caught on to my implications.
Shaking my head in exasperation, I began to fix dinner.
That evening, as we were sitting at dinner, we received a floo call from Professor McGonagall.
"Is there anyone there?" her voice rang out from the fire place.
"We all are," Harry answered her.
"Harry, we need to call an emergency Order meeting. Lucius Malfoy has broken out of Azkaban."
"We'll have the room ready," he answered, his voice steady even if his face was pale.
As Ron and I cleaned up the kitchen, Harry began assembling chairs and drinks. One by one, the Order members began Apparating in.
That night Harry, Ron, and I were officially made members of the Order of the Phoenix.