13 Jan 1999
Once again, Hermione couldn't sleep. It was just before midnight and she'd been lying in her bed for the two hours since she'd talked to Harry. She needed to speak with Severus, tell him how her conversations with Harry and Ginny had gone. She knew she could wait until the morning but she didn't have Defence and it would be harder to be seen talking to him without raising suspicions.
Getting an idea, she silenced her bed and called softly, "Dobby?"
The elf appeared with a loud crack. She felt bad using the elf so often but she really didn't know any other way to get what she needed. Plus, he had told her over the years to call him if she needed anything. He was currently standing on her bed, his ears wiggling in a sign that he was happy.
"Harry Potter's friend be needing Dobby?" he asked.
"You can call me Hermione, Dobby," she told him.
"Dobby be thanking you for allowing him the honour. How can Dobby be helping you, Hermione?"
"I need to talk to Professor Snape. Is it possible for you to take me to his rooms?"
"Dobby can be taking you anywhere. Would you like me to make sure he is being alone first?"
She nodded and Dobby disappeared with another crack. Wanting to be ready in case Severus was available and he didn't kick her out after they talked, she summoned a fresh uniform for the next day and tucked it into her beaded bag along with her toiletry kit and school bag. She knew they were playing a risky game. Not just her sleeping in his rooms but with wanting to split away from Dumbledore. They would need more people on their side than just the two of them, Ginny, and most likely Harry and Ron.
Dobby returned quickly and letting her know that Severus was waiting for her, he held out his small hand for her to take. Making sure her bag was in her hand, she gripped his, letting him lead her through space until she landed on Snape's sofa. She thanked the elf and he disappeared.
"Welcome," Severus said, pulling her from the sofa and into his arms. His lips were on hers at once and she sighed, melting against him. "Long day?"
"Very," she admitted. "I talked to Ginny and Harry. I told them everything. Well, I didn't tell Harry about us, of course. He would have had a stroke."
"But Miss Weasley knows?"
"She does. But she won't say anything."
He nodded and pulled her towards his bedroom. They got into his large bed and lay facing each other as she told him about her two conversations and how each of them had reacted. He was interested to hear that Ginny could sense magic and agreed with her that they could use that gift to find Horcruxes if they got any leads on where they were.
She was on a long tangent about how to search for the items when he ran his hand up her hip, causing her to cut off mid-sentence.
He kissed her and pulled her flush against his body. "Why don't we talk more about this later? I need you, witch."
"Does that mean you're not sick of me?" she teased.
"Not in the slightest. But the only words I want to hear for the next hour are your screams."
14 Jan 1999
Hermione had breakfast in Severus' rooms before leaving him a boneless mess after blowing him under his table. Throwing a wink over her shoulder, she made sure the coast was clear and exited his chambers and made her way to class. As she entered the Potions' classroom, she joined Harry at one of the tables.
"Can we talk after class?" he asked quietly.
"Of course," she told him, thankful they had a free period next.
"And I think we should tell Ron." He braced himself like he thought she would yell at him.
"I agree. We'll talk about how to do it after class."
The class passed quickly and Hermione bottled a few phials of her advanced healing potion before taking a sample to Slughorn's desk. He looked at it in the light and told her it looked perfect before sending her back to her area to clean up. When the bell rang, she walked behind Harry and Ron as they made their way out of the dungeons. When they got to the top of the stairs, Lavender's loud screech of Ron's name echoed around the Entrance Hall and she smirked as Ron groaned then bid Harry goodbye.
They were making their way into an empty classroom on the first floor when Ginny spotted them and Hermione waved her over. As soon as the door was locked and warded, Harry was talking.
"Ginny, I have to talk to Hermione about something private and–"
"Ginny knows," Hermione cut him off. "Not about everything, but about what happened to me. I told her yesterday before I talked to you."
"You told her first?"
"Don't look so hurt, Harry. I knew Ginny would understand what I'd gone through because of the diary and I figured if you didn't believe me or hated me, at least I could have someone on my side."
"You really thought I would be angry with you? But I'm your best friend–"
Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically. "–And yet you and my brother have treated her like shite on more than one occasion because you tossers seem to forget that friendship is more important than things like brooms or a Triwizard tourney," Ginny chastised him. "Can you really blame her for being hesitant?"
It was times like this that Hermione wished she and Ginny would have become better friends earlier. She was a fierce friend and there were times she could have used it. They started their friendship the summer before her fourth year when Hermione stayed in her room at the Burrow for the World Cup but they grew closer when they spent almost the whole summer together at Grimmauld Place. They'd stayed up late almost every night talking, and whilst she spent most of her time at school with Harry and Ron, Ginny was her closest girlfriend.
Harry looked sheepish. "You have a point." He turned to Hermione. "I wanted to let you know that I have thought about it and if you trust Snape, I will work with him."
"So now all we need to do is tell Ron and then I think we should meet with Professor Snape tonight," Hermione said. "I want us all to be on the same page before Saturday so that doesn't leave us much time."
"Why don't I talk to my brother?" Ginny said. "I know how to handle his temper, and I won't hesitate to hex him if I need to. When and where should we meet?"
They decided they would meet up at nine in the Room of Requirement. It was before Ginny's curfew so they wouldn't get in trouble being in the halls but it was after Severus' office hours so no one would notice if he was missing. Luckily for them, Dumbledore was on one of his absences from the school so they wouldn't have to worry about him.
Hermione hesitated. She hadn't told either of them about Draco yet. She wanted him to be involved in their plans since there were some things — like Dumbledore's plans to have Severus kill him — that he was involved in. And, unlike the Headmaster, she wanted to make sure all cards were on the table.
There would be no secrecy in their new group.
Well, except the part about her fucking her professor's brains out. There were some things Harry and Ron didn't need to know about.
"There is one more person I haven't told you about," Hermione said. Time to rip off the plaster before things went on too long. "I know you won't like this, but he went through some of the same things I did, including being potioned repeatedly by Bellatrix. He and I have become very close friends and I trust him as much as I trust you two. I know that being a Death Eater is not what he wanted. He has already talked to Dumbledore, who also trusts him, and has asked him, along with me, to be an Order spy."
"Who?" Harry asked.
Hermione thought about summoning his wand before answering but refrained. "Draco."
"Malfoy?" Ginny asked incredulously. "You trust Malfoy?"
Colour was rising up Harry's face like he was a cartoon character and Hermione started talking fast to cool him down.
"I do," she answered firmly. "Yes, he is a wanker, and yes we've been fighting with him since first year. I know he believed everything his parents taught him about blood purity, but I also watched as Professor Snape gave him the antidote and he had to relive the memories of what being a Death Eater truly meant. The same memories I have to live with, by the way. He's changed. I know it's hard to grasp, Harry, but I promise you that he has. He and I had to do horrible things, and we did them together. But, we're both determined to not let actions that we didn't choose define us."
Ginny stayed silent as Harry began to pace around the room. She moved towards Hermione and took her hand. That simple gesture said more than any words could. Ginny was on her side.
"First Snape and now fucking Malfoy," Harry grumbled. "You really know how to test my fucking limits, don't you, Hermione?"
"At least it's not Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle?" she said with a slight laugh. If Harry was bitching, he would come around soon.
"How much of an arsehole would I be to not trust him until he takes Veritaserum?"
"I think if that's what you need to do to trust him, then that's what you need. Draco will understand."
"You know it's creepy that you call him Draco, right?" Harry shuttered. "Next are you going to tell me that you're shagging him now?"
"I'm pretty sure you'd notice if I was shagging anyone right now, Harry."
Ginny snorted and the three of them dissolved into giggles. Hermione pulled Harry to them and wrapped her arms around her two friends, hugging them to her tightly. She knew it would be a long road ahead, but if they could stick together and get more allies, they could get through anything.
Hermione was standing in the hallway outside the Room of Requirement, pacing back and forth as she waited for Severus and Draco. Harry, Ginny, and a disgruntled Ron were already waiting inside.
According to Ginny, Ron had not been happy when she told him everything. He had yelled, stomped around and even conjured a vase to throw against a wall, but after getting all his frustrations out, he'd sat down with his sister and discussed the next steps. When Hermione had seen him as they walked into the Room, he had been a little short with her but hugged her anyway.
He said his biggest complaint was that he'd had to hear it from Ginny and not her, even if he could understand her reasoning. He'd given her a hug and apologised for not being able to stop Bellatrix from capturing her but promised that, irritated or not, he would fight alongside her as long as she promised he wouldn't have to become friends with Malfoy.
Footsteps sounded from around the corner and Hermione stepped back into an alcove until she saw it was Severus and Draco. Stepping out, she pulled Draco into her arms, hugging him tight as she looked at Severus over his shoulder.
"They're inside," Hermione said. "And they've promised to listen and not hex you."
"Like Potty or the Weasel could hex me," Draco huffed, then paused. "Maybe Weaslette could. She's wicked fast with her wand."
"Do I detect some admiration in your tone, Draco?" Hermione teased. "I can put in a good word for you."
"I can secure my own women, thank you very much."
"Let's take this inside," Severus grumbled. "Some of us still have work to do."
"I don't know how you stand sleeping with him," Draco whispered into her ear loud enough for Severus to hear. "He's always so grumpy."
"He has a huge cock and I put his sharp tongue to good use." Severus smirked as Draco's mouth fell open at her words. "Now come on, they're waiting for us."
"Settle down," Severus said as soon as he walked into the Room of Requirement and saw Miss Weasley and Harry mock duelling. "I don't have all night."
"Severus," Hermione snapped and he turned to look at her. Her face flushed when she realised she had used his first name but she held her ground. "When we are in this room, everyone is equal. Everyone's voice matters and I won't stand for anything less than respect. From all of you." She eyed each of them individually.
He said nothing, but she flushed again which meant he knew what she was thinking. That he was going to spank her arse for not telling him how she wanted the meeting to go beforehand.
"Yelling at Mr Potter is a natural response," he told her. "I will work on controlling myself. Now, everyone here knows how Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy came to be given the Dark Mark and that this was not a decision they made?" They all nodded. "Good. And you have all agreed to trust me and Mr Malfoy, even if you don't like us?" They nodded again and he reached into his pocket, pulling out the phial of Veritaserum. "Do any of you require we take this to prove that we are not lying?"
They all shook their heads and Hermione smiled brightly.
"Wonderful," she said enthusiastically. She reached into her bag and pulled out a Muggle notebook. "I made an agenda so let's get started."
Everyone but him settled into chairs and sofas that had appeared around a coffee table. Severus watched as Hermione handed out a stack of Sickles that were charmed to communicate with each other. She had explained how they differed from the coins she had made three years before. Anyone who had one of the coins could send a message to everyone, or to just one specific person, all with the tap of their wand.
He could tell the next item on her agenda was to tell Harry that he was a Horcrux by the way she started to twist her hands together. He wanted to go to her, to take her in his arms or hold her hand to keep her calm but he knew he couldn't. Maybe one day, when the Dark Lord was dead and she was done with school, they could publicly be together. For now, he would be happy with their stolen moments in his rooms.
Acting as if he was just pacing, he moved behind her and let his fingers tug on her hair as he passed. His touch must have calmed her because she took a deep breath.
"We've all had interactions with Headmaster Dumbledore," she began. "One thing that has always bothered me is that he likes to keep secrets, only give partial truths, and manipulates people to do his bidding." Severus saw Potter was about to argue, but Hermione held her hand up. "I love you, Harry, and I know you trust him, but think about it. Do you honestly believe that the obstacles set up to protect the Philosopher's Stone in our first year were as powerful as they should have been? And did you ever wonder why Hagrid was the one to tell you about Hogwarts the same day he had to go to Gringotts to get the stone?
"There are by-laws surrounding who can tell Muggle-raised students about Hogwarts and Hagrid isn't one of them. It should have been Dumbeldore or a Head of House. But he had Hagrid do it because he wanted you to know which vault it was kept in."
Hermione paused and he walked past her again, tugging gently on her hair to let her know she was doing a good job. Potter had a pained look on his face that made Severus believe he was thinking about what she'd been saying.
"You're right," Harry said. "And there are things he tells me and I'm allowed to tell you and Ron, but the rest of the Order doesn't know. I don't understand why not. If he trusts the Order members, why doesn't he tell them everything? More people working on something has to be better, right?"
"More people knowing puts your secrets at risk," Severus said before Hermione could answer. "The fear is that if any of those, say ten people, know then the Dark Lord might find out and capture them. The three of you are protected whilst you're at school. The Weasley home is well protected as well."
"But Hermione's home wasn't," Ron spat. "Just look what happened. Dumbledore didn't even have Order guards there. She is Harry's best friend and couldn't use magic at home until two years ago. Her and her family were sitting ducks! And look what happened!"
"Exactly," Ginny added. "We're lucky Hermione is still alive. And she wouldn't have been if Voldemort and his followers didn't want to use her. I know my mum has been asking for Harry to come and live with us since my first year when he showed up half-starved by his aunt and uncle. But Dumbledore wouldn't allow it."
"That's because of my mother's protection," Harry cut in. "I had to live the–"
"No, you didn't," Severus said. "Yes, the spell Lily cast before she died gave you extra protection and the Headmaster used that to cast strong protective wards on your home, but there were other options. You could have been raised by a magical family and their home could have been protected with other charms. I believe you're familiar with the Fidelius Charm."
"But why would Dumbledore make me live in that home? He had to have known what it was like."
Miss Weasley put her hand on Harry's and gave it a squeeze.
"That leads us into what I want to talk to you about," Hermione said. "I think Dumbledore wanted you to be... humble. To not know who you were, what you meant to the Wizarding world so that he could shape you to be the leader of the Light and follow his direction. I think he knew that you would be so starved for affection from an authority figure that with just a little positive attention you would follow him without question."
Severus could see Mr Weasley nodding along with her assessment. He thought the boy was a lazy student, but Hermione had told him that Ron was a great strategist. If he was, Severus would bet he could see the validity of Hermione's words.
Draco spoke up for the first time. "Pureblood families thought that you killing the Dark Lord when you were a baby was proof that you were powerful. I know for a fact that my parents, along with other families, approached Dumbledore and offered to take you in but he declined. And not all of the families were Death Eaters."
"So he wanted me to be humble?" Harry asked. "I'm not following."
"Dumbledore has watched thousands of children come through this school," Severus said. "Ranging from children like the Weasleys and Miss Granger who came from loving homes, to spoiled children like Mr Malfoy, to children like you, Mr Potter, and me. Children who lived in clothes that didn't fit, half-starved, and friendless. The Weasleys and Miss Granger arrived with a surety that, no matter what, they were loved. Mr Malfoy knew that his father would protect him. But children that come from your ba— our backgrounds… we find an adult we admire and we don't question them. Because we know what questioning, what opening our mouths leads to. We sacrifice everything, even our happiness, to please them."
Severus wasn't sure if anyone but Hermione would have caught the information that he left slip; that he was just as damaged as Potter when he arrived at Hogwarts. He know Potter had seen his memories of being bullied and it was clear to anyone who saw it that he was in old robes and had the look of a neglected child. But to tell the boy that they shared a similar background raked against his self-preservation. But if they were going to work together, Severus was going to need Potter to trust him. And the only way to do that way to show them that he was human.
"So you think he has something planned for me? Something that he thought I wouldn't do if I had been brought up differently?" Harry looked from Severus to Hermione and back. "And you know?"
"I was in a meeting with the Headmaster the other day and he told me something. I relayed that to Miss Granger and we both agreed that you needed to know. You may be the so-called Chosen One, but you still have a choice."
"Tell me."
Hermione looked over her shoulder at Severus and he nodded. If she wanted to be the one to tell him, that was fine with him.
The room was silent as Hermione explained what a Horcrux was, how they were destroyed, and her opinion that the more times you split your soul, the more unstable it would become. She went on to explain to them that she and Severus thought the Dark Lord had made more than one and that the diary and the ring were already destroyed. She explained her reasoning for thinking there were six made so Voldemort would have a seven part soul.
"So we have to destroy them," Ron said. "But why did Harry have to live with his aunt and uncle in order to do that?"
"Because the Dark Lord created an accidental Horcrux," Hermione said quietly. "Remember how he told you after the Chamber of Secrets that the night Voldemort tried to kill you he transferred some of his powers to you? He said that's why you could talk to snakes and that you had a special connection?"
The room was silent as everyone stared at her. It was finally Draco that broke the silence.
"Potter is a Horcrux?" he asked incredulously.
"The Headmaster thinks so," Severus said. "He told me the other night. And because of the prophecy, he believes you need to let Voldemort destroy the Horcrux that is attached to you."
"But won't that kill him?" Ron asked.
Hermione had tears running down her face as she nodded. "In order to destroy the Horcrux, you have to destroy the vessel it lives in beyond magical intervention. The diary and ring were killed with Basilisk venom and the only antidote, phoenix tears, were not administered in time to save it."
"Well, that's not going to fucking happen," Ginny said forcefully. "There has to be a way to get the damn thing out and not kill Harry. So what are we going to do?"
"But if it's the only way…" Harry said trailing off.
"Don't even think about it, Harry. We won't let it happen. Hermione, Professor Snape, what are your plans?"
"The first thing we need to do is determine if Harry actually is a Horcrux," Severus began. "Once we do that, Her– Miss Granger and I think we can come up with a way to destroy it."
"How will you know for sure?" Ron asked. "It's not like you can cut him open."
"I think Ginny will be able to tell us," Hermione said. "And by analysing blood samples."
"How can I help?" Ginny asked.
"Because you can sense foreign magic in people. You could sense the Dark Lord's magic in my Dark Mark and I think you'll be able to feel it in Harry."
"What does she have to do to me?" Harry asked. His eyes were slightly wide like he wasn't sure what was going on.
"I just have to touch you," Ginny told him.
"And we get to watch? Kinky," Draco teased and Hermione glared at him.
Ron snorted and the tension in the room broke.
Ginny reached out towards Harry's face and paused before touching him. She waited for him to give her permission before she ran her fingers from his hairline and down the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Severus watched as both of them shivered and he wasn't sure if it was from the Horcrux or from the way she touched him. Either way, it seemed too intimate for his view and he looked away. Everyone had their eyes focused on Harry and Ginny and he reached out and gripped Hermione by the shoulder, letting her know she'd done well. He felt her relax and he let go before anyone saw.
"I can feel Voldemort's magic," Ginny finally said, her voice thick. "It feels different than your Mark. Stronger, I think."
It was hard to look at the boy and feel sympathy for him when his face looked so much like his childhood bully but Snape pushed that hatred down. He needed to focus on the fact that Harry was his own person and was important to the woman he loved. He knew the lasting agony of losing his best friend and he would not let Hermione go through that if he could help it.
"We will get it out, Mr Potter," Severus said. "And I will make sure you survive the process."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said quietly. He squared his shoulders and Severus recognised the look of determination in his eyes. It was the same look Lily used to get. "Now, how are we going to break away from Dumbledore and win this war?"