01 Mar 1999
Hermione paced outside the Hospital Wing waiting for Madam Pomfrey to let them know Ron wasn't going to die from the poison he had accidentally consumed in Slughorn's office. Harry had replayed the events of that morning to her and Ginny. She'd been sleeping when Ginny woke her up to tell her that she didn't know much but that Ron was in the Hospital Wing. They'd ran to see him but weren't allowed inside. Luckily, none of the professors minded that they were missing class.
Instead, they stood outside the double doors and listened as Harry told them about Ron accidentally ingesting a love potion and then Harry taking him to Slughorn's office for the antidote. A few people passed by and she knew the news about someone trying to kill Harry Potter's best friend would spread like wildfire through the school and she wanted to find Draco as soon as possible. There was nothing she could do for Ron now and she doubted they'd be allowed in until the evening.
They didn't have proof that it was Draco's poisoned wine that Ron drank, but Slughorn did mention to Harry that he'd planned on giving the bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas. Unfortunately, Harry had forgotten about Draco's unsuccessful attempt on the Headmaster's life and had not stopped Slughorn from pouring them all a glass. And proof or not, she knew Draco would blame himself.
"I'm going to go find Draco," she told Harry and Ginny.
Ginny gave her a hug. "Tell Draco I don't blame him for this, and neither will Ron."
Hermione nodded and went to walk away when Harry stopped her. He handed her the Marauder's Map. "Take this."
Nodding in thanks, she opened the map and searched for Draco. He was just coming out of the Slytherin dorm so she headed towards the Entrance Hall. She waited until he passed the alcove she was standing in then followed him up the stairs. As soon as she saw the corridor they were in was empty, she quietly called his name and directed him into an empty classroom. She probably didn't have to be so secretive, but she thought having people see them together right after Ron was poisoned would raise too many questions.
"Is he okay?" Draco asked as soon as the door was shut behind her. "Was it the bottle I gave to Rosmerta?
Nodding, she pulled him into a tight hug. "Most likely. Professor Slughorn said he meant to give it to Dumbledore. Harry said that Ron will be fine. Madam Pomfrey told him that he was given a Bezoar quickly enough that she doesn't think there'll be any lasting damage. I'm sure we'll find out more tonight or tomorrow."
"This is my fault. I almost killed him."
"No, you didn't." Hermione took a small step back so she could look at his face. "This was your aunt's doing, not yours. We all knew the bottle was still out there and this might happen. We just have to be grateful that Ron survived."
Draco gave her a small nod but she could tell he was still blaming himself. "We need to end this war, Granger."
Severus sank onto his sofa as the clock on his mantel tolled eight times. He had spent the last twelve hours working with Madam Pomfrey to brew the potions needed to keep Mr Weasley from having any long term effects from the poison he ingested. Mr Potter saved his life with the Bezoar, but it could only do too much. Luckily Severus knew the poison used and he was positive Mr Weasley would have no long-term effects.
Pulling the small coin from his pocket, Severus sent a message to the group asking them to meet in his office in thirty minutes. He was exhausted, but they had things they needed to do. Seeing Mr Weasley lying lifeless on the hospital bed reaffirmed that they needed to be working with urgency to bring the war to an end.
He called Dobby to his chambers to bring him dinner so he could eat something before everyone arrived. He mentally went through a checklist of everything they needed to do. One thing they had been neglecting was Draco's assignment from the Dark Lord. Easter break was only three weeks away and he knew the boy had nothing to show for his actions besides a cursed girl and a poisoned Weasley. Whilst both of those things might humour the Dark Lord, he would want to see progress on getting Death Eaters into the castle.
The first knock sounded on his office door as he entered from his chambers and he lowered his wards, calling for them to enter. Hermione, Harry, and Ginny came together and Draco knocked just moments later. As soon as they were settled, Severus began.
"We have fallen behind on things. Draco, you need to be figuring out a way to get the Death Eaters past the castle wards. What have you been working on?"
He could tell Draco's first instinct was to deny that he had come up with anything, but after a few seconds, Draco spoke. "There is a broken Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Hidden Things. It has a match in Knockturn Alley. Before Christmas, I was trying to repair it."
"You need to start again."
"I can help you," Ginny said.
"Do you know a lot about Vanishing Cabinets?" Draco asked, sounding doubtful.
"Not about them specifically, but you don't grow up with six brothers and not learn a thing or two about fixing broken furniture before your mum gets home. I'm great at repairing charms on magical objects."
Severus watched his godson agree to her help and the two of them left the office and headed towards the seventh floor before turning back to Harry and Hermione. She was already writing out a list of action items in a Muggle notebook she had pulled from her bag. He took a second to admire how sexy he found her organisation skills before getting back to the problem at hand.
"I think we need to coordinate with Draco and the rest of Phoenix Reborn to decide on a date to tell the Dark Lord the cabinet is fixed," he told them. "We'll let his loyal followers enter the school but they won't be leaving."
"You want us to kill them?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes, I do. They will try to kill you. If you can't stomach it, then incapacitate them and we can have the Aurors take them to Azkaban. But Potter, you will need to come to terms with the fact that people will be dying at your wand. You need to decide if our world is worth the sacrifice."
"Won't that split my soul? I don't want to be damaged like Voldemort."
Severus knew the boy's fear deeply. The decision that you would be able to kill someone was a heavy one and he was glad to see Potter taking it seriously. "It depends on you. There is a difference between killing someone in cold blood or for gain — like the Dark Lord has done — and killing someone in battle. Do you consider the people who fought in World War II to be murderers?"
"No," Harry answered quickly. "They did what they had to do for their country."
"It is the same thing for us. We're fighting for the freedom of people we love. Who we're fighting may be different, but we are still soldiers."
"I think you make a good point, Pro–" Hermione cut herself off mid sentence and pulled out the Sickle from her pocket.
Severus pulled his own out and looked at the message along the side. 'RoR NOW! -DM' Pulling out his wand, he Disillusioned Hermione and told Potter to put on his Invisibility Cloak, explaining that it would look suspicious for all of them to be going to the seventh floor together. As soon as they were ready, he hurried towards the main staircases and hoped the castle would be on his side and not delay them on their way.
Ginny was waiting for them in the hallway and didn't explain why they had been called, just paced in front of the empty stretch of wall until a door appeared. He followed her into a room he hadn't seen since his student days when he had needed to hide evidence of a prank he'd pulled on Sirius Black. He was so used to seeing the Room of Requirement turn into bedrooms or sitting rooms that the clutter caught him off guard. There was more stuff, but he knew the place at once. Ginny walked deeper into the room and it wasn't until Hermione spoke that he figured out the reason they had been called.
"Gin, why are my earrings getting hot?" Hermione asked.
Once she called attention to her jewellery, he noticed that his ankle bracelet was also warm against his skin.
"Have you found it?" Severus asked before Miss Weasley could answer.
She pointed to where Draco was standing between the broken Vanishing cabinet and a bust with a tiara on it. It had an eagle and the inscription was familiar. He tried not to show the shock on his face when he realised it was Rowen Ravenclaw's lost diadem.
"How are we going to destroy it?" Harry looked around as if the room would give them the answer.
"They're destroyed using Fiendfyre or Basilisk venom. Since we don't have any venom, I can cast the Fiendfyre. I can't do it in here with all this rubbish though. It sometimes has a mind of its own."
"Can't we just go get some venom?"
Nothing but his love for Hermione, and the fact that he was trying to be nice to her friends, kept him from rolling his eyes at the absurd question. "I don't have any, Potter. It's very rare."
"I killed that one in the Chamber of Secrets in second year. Wouldn't it still have venom?"
Severus thought for a moment. If the Chamber was cool enough, the body of the serpent might not be too decomposed and there was a strong possibility that the venom sacs would still be full.
"It might," Severus answered. He conjured a leather sack and levitated the diadem into it in case it was cursed. "If nothing else, we can destroy this there safer than in here." He left out his internal musings about how he hoped there was venom that he could harvest. There were so many potions he could experiment with if he had one of the rarest venoms in the world.
Hermione closed her eyes and five brooms appeared. He raised an eyebrow at her in question. "Last time they had Fawkes to help them out of the Chamber," she explained. "We'll need brooms."
It was hard to hold back his groan of delight when Severus filled ten - 100ml phials with the venom he was able to extract from the dead serpent as well as an eleventh with a few drops in it. There had even been dried venom on the stone floor that he had been able to scrape up. Basilisk venom was so rare, potent, and almost impossible to extract that he would be able to sell it to any apothecary or private potioneer for well over a thousand Galleons per drop. Quickly calculating the fact that each bottle was about two thousand drops, he realised he had more Galleons worth of venom in his hands than he'd ever seen.
"Potter," he said, looking around for the boy. Unlike Hermione and Draco, who were examining the large serpent, he was talking quietly to Miss Weasley who still looked distraught to be back in the Chamber. Snape had told her she didn't need to come, but the young witch had been determined. He walked toward the two of them. "You will need to come back to my lab after this so we can sign paperwork over how we'll split the sale of the venom. Since you killed it and I extracted and will preserve it, I am thinking a sixty-forty split in your favour."
Harry looked at him nonplussed. "You can keep the money from the sale, sir. I don't need it."
"It's over twenty million Galleons. Depending on the exchange rate I just extracted more than a hundred million Muggle pounds, Potter."
The boy's eyes went wide as the value of the venom started to sink in.
"Merlin arse-fucking Morgana!" Ginny exclaimed. "I had no idea or I would have taken a fang or two in my first year."
Snape couldn't help but laugh at her exclamation and it had seemed to pull Harry from his inner thoughts. He looked from Ginny to Severus and then pushed his glasses back up on his forehead.
"I don't need the money," Harry said, "but I'm sure there are families that do, or will after this war is over. Maybe we can set up some kind of fund with some of the proceeds. Are you keeping any of the phials for your own research?"
Severus nodded. "I was hoping to keep some. I will pay for it with my portion of the sales."
Hermione and Draco walked over, interrupting their conversation before Harry could do more than nod that he was fine with the agreement. As soon as they were all standing around together, they went quiet, no one seeming to want to take charge. It was finally Draco who broke the silence.
"So, who gets to destroy it?" he asked.
Severus looked around the room. All of them had reasons to want to be the one to destroy a piece of Voldemort's soul. His eyes landed on Ginny, pale and clearly uncomfortable returning to the room where she almost died, but brave enough to face it. He thought maybe killing part of the person that had possessed her when she was a child might be healing for her.
"Miss Weasley, would you like the honours?" Severus offered.
She hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure? Harry–"
"I've already destroyed one," Harry cut her off. "Your turn to have a go."
Opening the leather bag, he dumped the diadem onto the floor and took a step back. He pulled the almost empty phial of venom from his pocket and handed it to Ginny. There was no way to know how much venom it would take to destroy it. Potter had used a fresh fang on the diary, which would have contained a significant amount of venom and, according to him, it had died fairly quickly.
"I think we should start with two drops of venom, just in case," Severus told her. "If it doesn't look like it's working, we will add more."
Ginny didn't speak, just looked a little green as she nodded. They gathered around her and the diadem as she pulled the stopper from the bottle and poised the eyedropper over the headpiece. He watched as she took a deep breath then squeezed the rubber tip, allowing two large drops to fall before quickly capping it again.
Hermione was standing next to him and she gripped his hand when a loud, angry scream emanated from the diadem and it began to spin faster and faster. Ginny jumped back and Harry wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in his chest. There was a loud rushing noise and Severus looked up just in time to see a huge wall of water rise from the long pools in the Chamber.
He tucked Hermione against him and pulled Draco close so she was safely sandwiched between them. He had just enough forethought to cast a wandless Cushioning Charm over the five of them when the water fell. They were soaked through but at least they hadn't been injured by the weight of it. Stepping back from Hermione and Draco, Severus pulled out his wand and they were instantly dry. He noticed that his ankle bracelet had cooled back to its normal temperature, confirming that the Horcrux was destroyed.
The ground around the diadem was free from any water, but a thick blood-like substance was oozing from it. He quickly vanished the sludge and returned the jewellery to his leather bag. He wasn't sure what they might need it for in the future, but he thought it was probably better to hang on to it until the Dark Lord was truly dead, just in case. If nothing else, the venom had only damaged one small part on the back which meant the relic could be saved and put on display for all Ravenclaws to enjoy.
"Three Horcruxes down," Potter said, still holding Ginny and rubbing her back. Severus could tell the girl was crying. "Let's get out of here and start planning what to do next."
06 Mar 1999
Severus stared at the letter in his hand from Lucius Malfoy as he ate his breakfast in his chambers. His old friend wanted to meet at the Malfoy summer home in Cornwall for dinner. He knew from Draco that his father had been checking in on his son more than normal but he didn't see why Lucius wanted to meet with him. Since the Dark Lord had returned, they hadn't met outside of Death Eater meetings or directly following one. In the years between, they'd had dinner at least once a month, but times were busier.
He had almost declined the invitation. There was no way of knowing that Lucius had up his sleeve. Being invited to their beach home — a place he'd only been to once and was only accessible by Portkey — was a risky move. The two of them had been friends since their Hogwarts days, but Lucius was good at hiding his real intentions and there was always the chance that Severus was walking into a trap.
Deciding that he would risk it, he sent back his reply in the affirmative with Lucius' owl and readied himself for the day. He would meet his friend, but he would make sure to make an arsenal of potions, just in case.
Severus stepped out of the secret passageway out of Hogwarts and gripped the seashell Lucius had sent him. It was set to activate in a minute's time and he wanted to make sure he was steady on his feet. He kept his wand in his sleeve but he was ready to use it at a moment's notice if he needed to.
The shell shone a brilliant blue and he felt the familiar pull behind his navel as he was pulled from Scotland to the south of England. He slammed into the ground but kept his bearing and looked around. He could hear the waves crashing against the cliff the house stood on and the smell of sea air filled his nose. Lucius was standing in the dooryard, his long hair whipping in the wind.
"Welcome, Severus," Lucius greeted him. "It's been a long time my friend."
"I saw you at Christmas, Lucius. Are you so attached that you can't go more than a few months without seeing me? What will Narcissa think?" Severus teased his friend, keeping his tone dry and sarcastic until he knew what Lucius wanted.
"She'll probably ask to watch." He smiled as he stepped aside and motioned for Severus to enter the house before him. If Lucius was making jokes about their sex life, he Severus was pretty sure he was there for dinner and not a trap. There was no way Lucius would talk about Narcissa sleeping with anyone but him if there was a chance someone would overhear.
They walked up two flights of stairs until they reached the dining room. The back wall of the room was glass and the sun was just starting to dip below the horizon. The table was already set and Severus discreetly cast a spell to see if anything had been tainted with. The scan came back clear and he sat at the table. They ate in silence for a few minutes but he wasn't concerned, Lucius would bring up what he wanted when he was ready and not a moment before.
It wasn't until the dessert course that Lucius finally spoke about why he'd invited him over. "I'm worried about my son, Severus."
He took a drink of his wine before answering. "He's doing well in his studies. What has you worried?"
"Things have seemed… off with him lately. And Narcissa. I can't put my finger on it. At first I thought it was because I wasn't home with him over the last two years, but I don't think that's it. I noticed his letters were different before he came home for Christmas." Lucius paused to take a drink of his wine and Severus knew he was deciding if he could trust him with the rest of his tale. "We did a family ritual to tap into our magical core. Since then, things in my mind have felt… chaotic? I'm not sure how to describe it, they're a swirling mess. I worry the same has happened to him."
Severus had a decision to make. Lucius' description of his thoughts was almost the same as what Hermieon described her own thoughts to be after the ritual. Was it possible Lucius had been given the same potion as Hermione and Draco? He hadn't seen his friend much since he'd returned from Azkaban, but the changes in Draco had been subtle too. If he hadn't known about his godson's friendship with Hermione, he never would have suspected anything.
He didn't have any of the antidote on him, but he hadn't needed it with Hermione to find out at first. All it took was some of his blood to break down the first defences. He knew Lucius was an excellent Legillimens but was he willing to risk the life of Hermione and the rest of Phoenix Reborn on him? The man lived with the Dark Lord, after all.
Deciding to risk it, because he could always modify his memory if he was wrong, Severus flicked his wrist and Lucius was put into a Full Body-Bind.
"You can be angry with me later," he murmured. Lucius might not be able to move, but Severus could feel the anger rolling off him. He gave himself a small incision on his index finger and slipped it between Lucius' partly open mouth. Using his wand, he magicked his blood down his throat before pulling out his finger, sanitising, and healing it. "I need to see if you've been given any potions that are affecting you."
He entered his friend's mind. This was not his first time entering it and he walked purposely down the familiar halls of Malfoy Manor.
"You could have asked," Lucius spoke in his mind.
"I could have but you would have said no," Severus told him. "Show me the night you came home from Azkaban."
They entered the Master bedroom and Lucius was sitting on his sofa, Narcissa clinging to him. His hair was still damp from a shower and the couple was whispering words of love to each other. He saw Bellatrix enter and raise her wand. They went stiff from a body-bind hex and he watched as Bella poured the familiar potion down both of their throats and spoke to them about Voldemort wanting them to be loyal followers again.
"What did they crazy bitch give us?"
"The same thing she gave your son and Hermione. I'll explain soon. What did you do to make her and the Dark Lord not trust you? What happened before this?"
The scene swirled around them and Severus was watching Lucius and Narcissa in the shower. She was cleaning his body and they were talking quietly. Severus could just hear Narcissa whisper that she wasn't sure following the Dark Lord was safe anymore and Lucius nodding his head in agreement. She mentioned Draco but he couldn't hear all of it. Lucius mentally nudged him and Severus turned and saw Bellatrix watching them through the partially opened door, invisible to the occupants of the shower.
Having seen enough, Snape exited Lucius' mind and removed the Body-Bind.
"Has she been controlling us this whole time?" Lucius asked.
"Most likely," Severus answered. "But like Draco, I think she just made you forget a few things and modified your actions just enough that no one would really notice."
"That cunt has been controlling my son! I am going to fucking kill her. Unless Narcissa gets to her first."
Severus thought that it was a testament to how much Lucius loved Draco that he was more upset about his son being controlled than he was about himself. He did think that Bellatrix would probably rather Lucius kill her if she had the option. His method would be painful but quick. Narcissa would slowly tear her apart until she begged for mercy and would keep going. Bella might be the unstable one, but Narcissa was a mother.
"You know you can't kill her yet. You and Narcissa will have to play your part. There are many things we need to discuss. I have an antidote and I want to give it to you two as soon as possible. Can you bring her here?"
Lucius nodded and called for Willow. The small elf appeared and he ordered it to bring Narcissa to them as soon as possible. Severus hated to call on Dobby to bring him the antidote but he didn't have any other options. The elf's eyes went large when he saw Lucius and he began to tremble but Severus snapped his fingers, forcing him to focus. He gave him his orders and the elf was gone, back, and out of the house again in seconds.
"Severus?" Narcissa asked when she arrived. "What are you doing here?"
"I have something to talk to you and Lucius about concerning Draco," he answered her.
She looked between the two men. "Is he okay? Do we need to bring him home?"
"Draco is safe now. Let's go to the sitting room and we can talk about it."
They made their way to the top floor and settled into the sofas. Severus gave Narcissa a quick summary of her and Lucius being potioned by Bellatrix and her eyes turned hard. When Lucius confirmed the story she just nodded and accepted the antidote, drinking it down.
"You said my sister potioned me and Lucius, Severus. What does this have to do with my son?"
"I was able to confirm through Legilimency that she had done the same thing to Draco as well as Hermione Granger."
The look that crossed Narcissa's eyes when he said Draco's name was something he'd never seen on his friend's face before. It was almost primal and he could see that inner warrior, the part of herself that she always kept hidden behind her quiet demeanour, was ready to fight, to kill for her son.
Lucius laid his hand on her arm. "Severus, I assume you have given Draco, as well as Hermione the antidote?"
"Yes. They both are doing well now. I have been working with them to go through their memories and process what happened. They are healing. I am sure you can understand that this changes things for them."
"I can't believe I didn't see it before," Lucius shook his head. "I didn't even question seeing Hermione, a Muggleborn, in my home with the Dark Mark. Merlin above, I slept with her. She was under the control of potions and I slept with her."
"She doesn't blame you, either of you, for anything that happened," Severus told them. "I'm sure she would rather the events of the Mabon and Halloween gathering didn't happen, but she was glad to have participated in the Yule ritual. She is interested in the Old Ways."
Narcissa cleared her throat. "Now that the potion is gone, my memories are clear. I knew about Hermione over the summer. I wasn't happy about it, but I learned after the fact and there was nothing to be done by that point. I questioned the Dark Lord sending her and Draco on a mission and by that evening, I was under Bella's control. She didn't change much, just enough to stop questioning. I started to feel more like myself by the time Lucius returned from Azkaban which is why she gave it to me again. I feel awful."
"Hermione is a strong woman and she will recover from this."
Narcissa gave him a searching look before a slow smile spread across her face. "You're in love with her, Severus. How you two came together isn't ideal, but I hope you're able to continue your relationship."
Severus cleared his throat. "Yes, well… We have had many conversations and we have decided to stay together."
"I think she's good for you," Lucius added. "She is very intelligent and I doubt your grumpy exterior will scare her."
"We need to talk about how this changes things," Severus said, unwilling to talk about his relationship with Hermione any longer. "I am confident in your abilities to keep the Dark Lord out of your minds, but you will need to decide if you are going to continue to follow him or take a different path."
"We're not joining the Order, Severus. You've said yourself that Dumbledore is losing his grip on reality. I will admit that I made a mistake committing myself to the Dark Lord. Whilst I want to keep the Purebloods in a position of power, I refuse to have the Malfoy family tied to another madman."
"It's time to come out of the Dark Ages and accept that Muggleborns and Half-Bloods belong in our world, old man. We've been friends for twenty-five years for Merlin's sake. Not to mention the Dark Lord's lack of pure blood. You've met Hermione, Lucius. Have you honestly met a witch more powerful than her at that age?"
"You can't change your thinking overnight, Severus," Narcissa began and held up her hand when he went to reply. "I agree with you that Hermione is powerful. And Salazar knows you are too. I am not saying I have thrown all my ideals through the Quidditch hoops, but I can see what you're saying. But that doesn't mean we can change at the drop of a knut and join the Order."
Lucius was nodding along with his wife and Severus had to give them credit for at least trying to change the way they'd always thought. He knew from his own experiences that getting past prejudices wasn't easy, especially ones that had been taught to you since nappies.
"What if I told you there was a third option?" he asked.
Severus walked down the long, hidden passageway towards Hogwarts and thought about his evening with the Malfoys. They had both agreed to join Phoenix Reborn but he didn't tell them about the Horcruxes. He didn't feel that was something he could do without talking to Minerva and the other members first.
They had not taken offence when he made them take Veritaserum whilst he questioned them about joining and what they were willing to do. They knew he was overly cautious and agreed without hesitation. Plus, Severus knew it was the only way the other members of Phoenix would believe that the Malfoys were truly on their side.
Before he'd left, he'd talked to them about performing another ritual on Ostara to tap into their magic again now that it wasn't tainted with Bellatrix's control. He told Lucius that Hermione would agree since she had asked him about it more than once and he urged Narcissa to have her own with the Parkinsons. It wasn't an uncommon thing in the old families and each family had their own version so they wouldn't question her about it. Everyone connected to the war would want to be the strongest versions of themselves.
Before he'd left the house, Lucius had asked him to wait. He returned a quarter of an hour later with a letter for Hermione. When Severus raised his eyebrow, Lucius explained that it was spelled so only she could open it and would vanish as soon as she was done. He had wanted to apologise to her and since he couldn't see her in person, a letter would have to suffice.
Finally reaching his rooms, Severus divested himself of his clothes and got into bed. He grabbed his enchanted Sickle and sent a message to Draco and Hermione requesting to meet with them in the morning. He was looking forward to telling them his news and giving Hermione her letter.
A/N: Just wanted to say a quick THANK YOU! to everyone who has left a review/followed/favorited on this story. It means the world to me! Today's my birthday and I've been taking stock of my life. I can't help but be grateful to each of you for making my life a little brighter.