Dreaming of the day when you wake up and find,
that what you're looking for has been here the whole time.
If you could see, that I'm the one who understands you.
Been here all along.
So, why can't you see you belong with me.
-You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift.
Chapter 21: Dreaming Of The Day When You Wake Up And Find, What You're Looking For Has Been Here The Whole Time.
May 24th 1995.
Snape poured himself another drink, after the day's events he needed it. The morning had started out pleasant enough, with no classes to teach and no papers to grade the morning was quiet. He hadn't met Granger for their morning run, as she was going to be preparing for her Final Task while her year mates did last minute cramming for their History of Magic exams. The Champions would be busy meeting with their families, while the Exam was taken and he was looking forward to getting a look at her new guardian, the one he suspected was in close connection to the illusive Nemo.
He had been confused when he spotted Minerva leading the Champion's families to a chamber off the Great Hall; among the group was the Weasley matriarch, her eldest son and a woman he didn't recognize. She caught him watching and her wide doe-eyes widened in surprise as she smiled timidly, if it hadn't contrasted with her innocent demeanor he might have labeled it a sneer as she tightened her grip on Mr. Weasley. His first impression of Emma De Vincent, as he had passed the group to enter the Hall, was that she was a very plain woman.
"Why are the Weasleys here?" he questioned Minerva, as she left the chamber to return to the Great Hall. Likely to inform the Champions where they were expected to meet after breakfast.
"Apparently Ms. Granger's parents are out of the country," the stern-faced witch answered, pausing to scan the breakfast crowd for the four Champions. "And her local guardian couldn't make it as well, due to work travels. When Molly heard, she requested that she and her family come to support Ms. Granger in their stead. Now," she breathed rather frazzled, already moving away as she spotted Krum heading toward the green and silver table. "If you will excuse me, Severus, I am rather busy at the moment." the witch hurried off toward the Bulgarian Champion, as Severus made his way up to the teacher's table.
Once he was contentedly seated with his third cup of coffee for the day, his first two having been enjoyed in the comfort of his private rooms, he glanced around the Hall. His gaze automatically went to the green and silver table, checking over the serpents under his care. Most seemed to be chatting excitedly over the upcoming Task, Draco, he noted was in deep conversation with the Nott boy.
Picking up his fork, he stabbed it into his breakfast a little harder than was strictly necessary, in response to a burning pain that had been creeping up his left forearm. As the days passed it was becoming harder and harder to ignore, he didn't have to look at it to know it was darker now than it had been a week ago. He was half way through his breakfast, when he finally gave in and discretely rubbed at the Dark Mark under the cover of the table. Glancing over at the red and gold table he saw the Weasley girl smacking her brother, before Potter passed a bowl of something green toward the curly-haired girl. Granger picked at the food until Minerva came to speak with her, abandoning it altogether to leave the Hall.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of activity as Exams ended and finally, everyone was heading out to the Quidditch pitch; now a rather extravagant and dangerous maze. Severus found himself along with Hooch and Vector, hovering over the maze as the Champions entered. Things were quiet, occasionally they could catch a glimpse of movement among the hedge walls or the flash of spell work. It was almost peaceful, that is until he was nearly knocked from his broom by a sudden shooting pain, burning up his inner left arm. He nearly lost his grip on the broomstick from the power behind the summons, before regaining control and drifting away from the others. He pulled up his sleeve revealing the Dark Mark; the edges red and inflamed like he had been branded, the snake tongued skull was fresh and vibrant, black ink staining his skin looking nearly as fresh as the day he got it.
Something had happened, he needed to get to Dumbledore right away, but he couldn't simply abandon his post without raising suspicions. His excuse arrived in the form of a shower of red sparks a short distance away. He waved Vector off when she approached, in a gesture that he would check this one out. If he was lucky, he could escort whoever needed aid out and speak to Dumbledore without drawing unneeded attention.
Landing, he found a rumpled Granger standing in an empty corridor of the maze, sections of the hedge wall and grass path charred and smoking from what looked like an Incendio.
"Done already, Granger?" he asked, slightly surprised; he hadn't expected her to have been the first person to retire from the Tournament. His eyes followed a glowing otter, as it drifted toward him, it floated by, rolling, as if on an invisible river.
This was a surprise, he had heard rumors that Potter had gotten special lessons on the Patronus Charm last year, but hadn't heard anything about Granger participating in them as well, let alone that she was capable of producing a corporeal one. It drifted up around his head, playfully swatted at his hair with one paw before diving away with a flip of its tail, sliding on its back down the length of his broom back toward it's castor.
Following it's path back to the Gryffindor, he noticed that she was favoring her left leg, hidden from view by the long champion robes. When she caught him watching, she released her grip on her leg and busied herself with stowing her wand in her arm holster. "Are you injured?"
"Just a cut," she answered dismissively, her voice lowered to a mutter as she continued, "it was a Scrunt and—" Whatever she had been going to say was cut off by a shrill sound and the girl's hand dove for her pocket, as she pulled out a pocket watch he recognize seeing her check regularly during their runs in the morning.
"Harry's in trouble," she breathed, fear lacing into her words, as she looked down into the watch-face.
"Isn't he always," Severus scoffed at the statement, there were more important matters to deal with right now, even if there was a voice in the back of his mind sounding awfully like Nemo, nagging him. "-so that at the end of the year he might be perfect for abducting to perform a ritual of resurrection that requires him."
He gestured the girl over as he remounted his broom, she seemed well enough to fly and he needed to get to Dumbledore, the Headmaster would know what to do. "Come on, then," he griped impatiently, his mark throbbed. "If you want out of here." Granger moved toward him, but hesitated, looking from the watch to himself and back at the watch, she seemed to visibly steel herself before returning it to the pocket of her robe.
"The things I do for you, Harry," he heard her mutter darkly, as she climbed on the broom behind him. As if to make her feelings even more known, the otter that had been circling them gave an agitated flip before disappearing as she settled behind him, leaving the pair in darkness.
"If you would rather walk out on your own you're more than welcome," he snapped out bitingly. He knew he was no one's first option for a riding partner, but he hadn't expected such remarks from the girl who had seemed so relieved when he hadn't banned her from running with him in the mornings. She gave no reply, only settled herself more securely behind him on the broom and he kicked off into the air without any further delay. He hadn't expected her next reaction, as soon as they were airborne, her loose grip on the back of his robes suddenly became a death grip around his torso. He could feel her face buried in-between his shoulders, as she held onto him.
"Kindly loosen your grip, Granger," he gasped, her grip on him was tight, tighter than expected from someone so small. Restricting his ability to breathe comfortably and his words only seemed to cause her to tighten her grip further.
"With the utmost respect, Sir, No!" her muffled voice came from where she'd buried her face in his back. He opened his mouth to demand she release him at once, he paused mid breath when he realized he could feel her body shaking through her vice grip on him. Something seemed to click into place, as he took in her reaction. Thinking back now, anytime he had seen Potter and his group of friends out flying on the grounds, he had never seen her do more than sit in the stands, if she showed up at all. It had never occurred to him that the girl, clever enough to get past his logic puzzle at age eleven, and brave enough to battle a full-grown brooding she-dragon into submission, was scared of something as commonplace as flying on a broom.
"You're not afraid of flying, are you?" he asked curiously, turning partially in his seat to get a better look at her, but due to her attachment to his back he couldn't see much more than her hair and robes blowing in the wind, as they flew over the tops of the hedges. Her shrieks and cursing for him to keep his attention fixed ahead were enough to confirm his suspicions, but she had yet to answer his question and that simply wouldn't do.
"I asked you a question, Ms Granger," he reminded, getting more than a little amusement out of her outright denial by doing a measured drop. She practically attached herself to him, more so than she already had before finally admitting her fear. His amusement was slightly tinged with guilt when she proceeded to beg him not to do anymore sudden movements on the broom.
"Let me be able to breathe freely again and I will," he compromised shortly, grabbing the ankle she had thrown over his lap, unwrapping it from himself while Granger did her best impersonation of an octopus. She reluctantly loosened her grip, but only slightly. They continued on without incident toward the edge of the maze. Through his back he could feel the vibrations of her talking but could only make out a few words of her mumbling. 'Stupid Sadist' being the most clear of what was sure to be a long list of insults. He let her be without calling her out, deciding he had caused her enough grief for the time being as they landed on the grassy lawn before the maze.
Granger practically flew from the broom, as if it were on fire and darted toward Molly, Bill, Lupin and Black who were all talking to one side. He noted that she was limping slightly, recalling she had said something about a scrunt, but put it out of his mind as unimportant at the moment. He had more pressing matters to attend to, as he went to seek out the Headmaster at the announcers stand.
"Headmaster," he called, coming up beside the older wizard.
"Ah, Severus, what news from the maze?"
"Granger called to be pulled out." Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement, before making the announcement to the crowd that they were down to three Champions.
"Where is she, is she injured?" Pomfrey asked, having been standing nearby, looking around for the girl.
"She's headed up to the school with Remus," a red-faced Molly declared in exasperation, coming over with a distraught looking Bill and Black.
"Why on earth is she heading there?" Poppy asked, confused.
"Looking for you I expect," Molly stated irritably, "I told her that you were here, but she was gone so fast I don't think she heard me."
"Well, I better get up there."
"It might be best if you wait here, Poppy, for the other Champions. If she is well enough to go running off, then she can't have been too injured. Remus has been in your care enough times over the years, he's picked up some healing knowledge to look after things until you get there. If anything serious comes up, I'm sure he will send word once he realizes that you're not there."
"Headmaster, there's a problem—" Snape hissed before Dumbledore could ramble more, he had to be warned about his Mark.
"—Harry's missing!" Black cut in, beating him to it.
"Potter's gone?" Severus asked, dread settling in his gut. He had tried not to put too much stock in Granger's words, but now he could see the truth. The Gryffindor had thrown the tournament, from whatever warning that watch had given her, the one he had seen her looking at frequently during their morning runs.
Sensing this was not a conversation for the public to overhear, Dumbledore moved the group to a secluded spot near the base of the announcer stand.
"She wouldn't have done this," Bill spoke up, his face creased with worry. "She must be under the Imperius or-"
"Who are you going on about, Weasley?"
"My girlfriend, Jess. She was with Harry one minute and gone the next, it must have been a Portkey, but I swear she wouldn't have done this. She couldn't hurt a puffskein, she's being controlled or blackmailed."
"Harry is missing, finding him is our first priority," Dumbledore declared gravely.
"There is more, Headmaster," Snape cut in again, unbuttoning his sleeve quickly; those present all knew of his status as former Death Eater, save possibly Bill. Despite that he still went ahead with rolling up his sleeve, the undeniable proof of His return branded into his flesh, bold and dark against the pale skin of his arm. "He's back."
Molly and Bill visibly flinched away from him at the sight of the mark, Severus resisted sending a sneer in reply.
"He'll be in Hogsmeade," Black whispered like a prayer, eyes glued to the mark."He'll be in Hogsmeade."
"Who will?" Dumbledore questioned, as Severus rolled his sleeve back down.
"Harry," Black breathed. The crowd suddenly went up in a cheer, as one of the Champions appeared on the lawn before the maze, Triwizard Cup in hand and holding it aloft. The crowd went wild, Cedric Diggory had won the Tournament.
"You're sure he is there?"
"If he is alive, he will be there," Sirius said adamantly, "If not—he promised—he—he'll be there," the man trailed off. Dumbledore nodded in understanding and jumped into action; the winner was officially announced and the teachers were sent to collect the other Champions from the maze. The crowd was pouring out of the stands to celebrate, as the other Champions arrived. The Headmaster sent Poppy, Molly, and Bill up to the school to wait as he, Sirius and Severus went to Hogsmeade to find Harry. If he wasn't there, he would send a Patronus and Minerva would start assembling a search party to look while Molly contacted Arthur and the Ministry for aid.
"You are sure about this, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, as the group of three walked out of the school grounds. Sirius had been silent the whole walk down from the school and at the Headmaster's question he only nodded his head, as he scanned the streets for any sign of his godson.
"There is no one here, Black, you're just wasting our time," Snape said, making an open-arm sweep at the path outside the Shrieking Shack, as they had passed through the whole village without a sign of the boy.
"He will be here," Sirius snapped back, Severus was prevented from commenting further by the loud crack of Apparation not far from them. Snape pulled his wand on reflex, as two figures appeared at the end of the path, the shorter one stumbled forward clutching their arm to their chest, while the taller one stumbled and fell to one knee.
"Sirius," Harry gasped, stumbling over to his godfather as soon as he came into sight, the man ran forward and wrapped him into a hug. Harry was sobbing into Sirius's chest, as he gasped out the words they most feared. "He's back. Voldemort's back."
"Shh, it's okay, Harry," Sirius soothed, taking off his jacket and draping it snuggly around the boy's shoulders, pulling him back into a tight embrace. "You're safe now," he soothed, rubbing circles on his godson's back.
Snape turned his gaze from the tender moment, between his childhood enemy and the boy he had sworn to protect, to focus on the familiar kneeling figure of Nemo. He stood on shaky legs, blood coating what was visible of the lower part of his face and the front of his jacket. His dark pants were torn, more blood stained the dark fabric and the bandage tied around his leg.
"Nemo I presume?" Dumbledore questioned, Nemo made no reply and Dumbledore looked to Snape for an answer. Snape nodded, his wand trained on the man as he watched Nemo pull something out of his jacket pocket and tossed it at Dumbledore's feet. Snape's eyes never left him, even as Dumbledore stooped to pick up the item and turned it over in his hands.
"What is this?" the Headmaster questioned curiously, this being his first time meeting the illusive figure who called himself Nemo.
"You will need proof that he is back," Nemo replied, turning to leave, heavily favoring his injured leg. He made a vague gesture at the item with his hand "That should be enough proof."
"Thank you," Sirius said his voice full of relief, as he nodded toward Nemo in a gesture of familiarity. "I'm going to take him up to Madam Pomfrey." He turned without further delay and guided Harry back to the school. Nemo moved to leave as well, Snape's wand still following his movements.
"Let him be, Severus," Dumbledore said softly, tucking the 'proof' into the pocket of his robes.
"Headmaster," Snape growled, tightening his grip on his wand.
"For now, let him be. I am sure, there will be other opportunities," Dumbledore said, that blasted twinkle in his eye.
Snape gritted his teeth, reluctantly lowering his wand and watched as Nemo shifted forms. An Animagus, likely an unregistered one if he had to guess. It was a surprise, until this evening he had had his doubts of Nemo's status as a magic user. The now confirmed not-squib limped off into the bushes, in the form of a scarred and battle worn mountain lion. It paused briefly to turn back, golden-brown eyes locked with his. He held the cat's gaze for a moment, before the lion gave a tired huff and disappeared. As he watched it go, Snape could have sworn he had seen those eyes before.
Now he sat in the comfort of his private rooms, nursing his second glass of Firewhiskey, mulling over the day's events. He knew that it would not be long before he was called to the Dark Lord, to defend his lack of attendance at his resurrection. For now, he was trying to place those familiar eyes, he was sure he had never seen Nemo's eyes under that obviously charmed hood. They were familiar, yet the person behind them seemed a stranger.
He took another sip from his glass that wasn't nearly as full as he would have liked. Black's familiar response to Nemo only proved that the Dog was still in contact with the Lion; as had his knowledge of where to meet when Potter was taken, proof they had some sort of plan in place should Potter get taken. Now it made more sense why Granger's guardian had not shown up, she must have been aiding Nemo in keeping watch in case Potter was taken. On that thought he wondered, if Granger had sent some message to her guardian when she had found out Potter was missing—was she in on the conspiracy as well? Who better to keep track of Potter than someone who spends most of the time everyday with him.
He was going to have to look more into Granger and her guardian, something told him if he wanted to find out more about Nemo they were going to be the ones to give him the answers. He had thought about questioning Granger right away, but Poppy had banned all visitors from her when she had finally turned up in the Hospital Wing half-conscious and apparently poisoned by one of the Maze creatures.
His mind briefly brought up the image of Granger favoring one of her legs, coincidentally the same leg Nemo had been bleeding freely from when the Lion had limped off into the woods, but he immediately slammed the door closed on that train of thought. Setting his empty glass aside he guessed that he might have had too much to drink, if his mind was muddled enough to come up with ideas that were completely and utterly improbable.
Hermione awoke to find herself staring up at the dark ceiling of the Hospital Wing. Blinking blearily she tried to remember how she had gotten there. She remembered the maze, and the terrifying flight over the hedges. Then the rest came back in a flood; leaving the school, killing Barty Jr and fleeing the graveyard with Harry. Things began to get fuzzy after that; she recalled returning to Hogsmeade, but then nothing. How did she make it back up to the school?
"-I would have thought you would have been more responsible." Pomfrey's scolding voice drifted from the closed curtains around her bed where light flickered just beyond. Hermione wondered idly why no one had cast a Silencing Spell on her curtains but pushed the thought away as she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. Her leg was stiff but pleasantly numb as she shifted positions; she just wanted to sleep for a little while longer, it felt like days since she had a good sleep.
"If I had known her injuries were so severe, don't you think I would have sent word. She got tired on the way up to the castle and wanted to sit for a moment, I offered to carry her the rest of the way but she refused. I didn't want to force her and she seemed well enough at first." Remus defended himself to the cross Medi-witch, his voice laced with just enough believable regret and concern. "We were talking and everything was fine until she passed out, I brought her up right away after that. If I had thought she was hiding the extent of her wounds I would have stunned her and brought her up immediately." Poppy gave a resigned sigh after Remus's heartfelt speech.
"She's lucky, much longer and I don't think I could have reversed the spread of the poison. She must have been running a lot in that dreadful maze to have spread the toxin so quickly, poor dear." Hermione tuned the rest out as she drifted back to sleep.
When she woke again the light beyond the curtain had been replaced by a more natural light, sitting up she looked around. The curtain dividers that blocked her view of the room were still there but the one to her left was gone so that her bed shared the space with another. Harry lay sleeping peacefully in the other bed, the space between them taken up by two chairs. Sirius was asleep in the one closest to Harry, head resting on folded arms near the foot of the bed. Remus occupied the other and was slumped down in his own chair, legs outstretched before him as he read a dog-eared book. Glancing up at her movement he shut the book and straightened up in his chair.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?" He asked softly.
"Like I just face that dragon again," she replied in a horse whisper, still feeling tired despite having slept all night. "Can I get something to drink?" she asked looking around for anything that might sate her thirst.
"I'll check with Pomfrey, she will want to know you are awake anyway." He said moving toward the divider separating them from the rest of the room.
"I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, I heard her yelling at you last night." She admitted, as she leaned back into her pillows tiredly.
"Don't apologize," Remus replied sharply, he moved closer to Hermione's bed with a hand out like he might grab her hand but stopped himself. Shoving it in his pocket instead, so he wouldn't be tempted to touch her, lowering his voice to a whisper he continued, "I'd take the blame to cover for you again if needed. I don't like that you put yourself in such dangerous situations, but I know there is nothing I can say that would stop you from doing it again. You kept Harry safe and came back in one piece, that is what matters most. I can deal with any amount of scolding Poppy has for me. You just rest, you deserve that at the very least."
He turned and left, coming back a few minutes later with Pomfrey, who handed her a glass of water and a red potion. Drinking down the potion first, meant to clear out any lingering toxins in her blood, before she sipped at the water. Pomfrey had cautioned her to drink it slowly, the potion had a common side effect of causing nausea. Levitating the divider back to give them some privacy, Poppy, pulling the blanket off, took a closer look at her leg. It was then Hermione realized she was garbed in only the hideous Hospital pajama shirt and her knickers. Removing the bandage from her thigh, Pomfrey checked it over thoroughly, prodding and pulling at it with her wand and fingers to make sure all of the infection that had set in from the venom was gone. Satisfied with the cleanliness of the wound, she coated the cut in a salve and applied a clean bandage before pulling the blankets back into place.
"Get some rest," the Medi-witch ordered sternly, "I'll check you over again in a few hours, if it looks like the venom has cleared from your system then I might allow you a short visit with your friends. Merlin knows they have been here constantly checking to see if you and Mr. Potter are up for visitors. You should take better care of yourself." she tisked, gathering up the empty potion bottle and her supplies onto a tray that was soon levitating behind her as she moved about. "You could have done yourself some serious harm had you not been brought in when you had. Let this be a lesson to you young lady, come see me before you pass out! Don't even think about leaving that bed, at least not for the next couple of days."
"But I—" Hermione started but was cut off immediately.
"I will stick you there by force, Ms. Granger, if I must." Pomfrey stated without room for debate, "You need rest and you're going to get it whether you want too or not."
"Alright, I'll stay in bed." Hermione relinquished, she was too tired to argue with the witch and didn't want to be stuck in bed again. "Can I at least go to the bathroom?"
"Only with help, I'll not have you putting any pressure on that leg until it has been closed." Pomfrey compromised, summoning a robe and helping the girl to put it on. Once decently covered, she was allowed to slip out of bed and with Poppy's aid made her way to the loo.
"I can do the rest myself," Hermione insisted, releasing the older witch's arm and grabbing onto the door frame for support.
"Stay off that leg." Pomfrey warned, but let the girl have her privacy. Hermione shut the door, using the available bathroom fixtures for support, moved to the toilet to relieve herself, not wanting to invoke Pomfrey's wrath and wind up stuck to the bed with a bedpan.
Hopping over to the sink to wash her hands, she noticed something peeking out the collar of her robe. Propping her hip against the sink for balance, she pulled open the robe to reveal her half-clad body. Tugging at the collar of the shirt to get a better look at the discolored skin that had caught her attention, what she saw had her quickly unbuttoning the rest of her shirt and was met with the assortment of faded, but no less visible scars that adorned her torso.
The thin ragged line that ran over her shoulder, still bright with it's newness from her sloppy rescue of the Wonder Ferret last year. The reminder sat next to a star-shaped, far more faded scar from when she had been shot. Raising a hand she ran it reluctantly over the thin white lines that were carved deliberately across her belly and ribs, she quickly dropped her hand, not wanting to think too much of how they had gotten there. The largest by far, was the bite mark on her side; the ragged circle of punctures that trailed down her lower belly, over her hip and disappearing into the waistband of her knickers, it's mirror duplicated on her back as well. A gift from the were-brid she had put down last Christmas.
Her gaze drifted down to the scattered burn scars along her calves; the result of being too close to an exploding building. There was a similar slightly smaller bite on one of her legs and she was sure if she took the shirt off she would see the claw marks running down her back. Looking over all the very visible scars that most certainly didn't belong on her younger self's body, she came to one dreaded conclusion.
"Crap." she muttered doing up her shirt quickly; apparently, she had been so out of it last night that she hadn't realized some of the glamor had been left out of the casting. Thankfully she had managed enough to make herself look fifteen at least, or she would have had a real problem explaining herself. There was a knock at the door as she finished up the last button.
"Are you alright in there?" Pomfrey questioned from the other side.
"Yes, just a moment." Hermione called back, trying to hide her slight panic as she hastily tied her robe closed and cast her full glamor; internally she was cursing her carelessness, how could she not have noticed the scars on her legs when Pomfrey had checked her injury? Taking a steadying breath she hopped back to the door, opening it to see a very cross Medi-witch waiting on her. Hermione pulled the collar of her robe tighter around herself, uneasy after having slipped up once today, even with her scars no longer visible. Pomfrey's eyes seemed to soften knowingly at the reaction.
"Come on, back to bed Ms. Granger." she ordered sternly. When she had finally made it back to her bed, she sat down heavily on the edge before resting her elbows on her knees, rubbing at her face tiredly. The whole trip across the room had been more taxing than she would have liked to admit. Pomfrey was about to leave the area when Hermione's voice stopped her.
"Are you going to tell anyone?" She asked quietly, as she reached for her half-drunk glass of water from the nightstand.
"It is not my policy to go around spreading the medical history of those in my care." Pomfrey said kindly. "I find I get better results if I handle the issues myself if possible."
"So you won't tell the Headmaster or McGonagall?" Hermione asked cautiously, catching the woman's implication; so she too had noticed Dumbledore's lack of attention toward those students in abusive situations.
"Not unless there is a reason too, but I will be contacting your parents for more information on your medical history. Normally I would simply request permission from your parents to contact St Mungo's for their records, but being muggleborn I assume you see a muggle healer for all of your regular medical needs, correct?"
"Yes," Hermione lied.
"I will need to ask you some questions for the time being, and I would like you to answer them honestly, but that can wait until you are feeling better."
"If it's all the same, I'd rather just get it over with now." Hermione admitted, pulling herself onto the bed so that her feet were stretched out in front of her, leaning more comfortably against the pillow.
"If you're sure," Pomfrey agreed with mild disapproval, summoning a few sheets of paper on a clipboard from her office along with a quill and pot of ink. Pulling up a chair and casting silencing charms on the privacy barriers, she sat down and began flipping through the papers for reference and looked up at the Gryffindor.
"I'm going to need a record of how you were injured and things will go smoother if you would answer truthfully. Now, if my records are correct, you were seen by a Medi-witch after your second year to reset the two breaks in your right arm and a number of fractures in your left. The result of a car wreck when you were younger?" Hermione nodded in confirmation.
"Okay, how old were you when you were injured?" Hermione was quiet for a moment doing some quick math in her head.
"Ten," she said finally. Pomfrey wrote a few more notes on her clipboard.
"You also seem to have had three broken ribs, four fractured ribs, as well as minor fractures in your hands; all of which have healed and then been reset sometime later."
"Most are probably from the car wreck," Hermione supplied shrugging, "and I fell out of a tree. That's how I broke my arm once, some of those fractures were probably from then. You would have to ask my parents for more information, I was young at the time."
Pomfrey wrote another longer note on her paper before continuing, "Can you tell me what caused your scars?" she asked, quill poised over her clipboard.
"Which ones, you'll have to be more specific?" Hermione asked with a weary sigh, resting her head back against the headboard.
Pomfrey consulted the papers and tapped something with the quill, "the burns on your legs."
"From the car crash," she replied without pause, tapping the gunshot scar on her shoulder, hoping the witch wasn't too familiar with the look the muggle weapon made, "and these." she said holding up her arms and gesturing to her ribs in reference to the cut scars on her arms and torso. Her best excuse was to blame as much on a non-existent car wreck as she could, a nasty crash involving lots of flying metal was sure to leave a lot of unusual wounds. Pomfrey gave her another long look before writing another note down and tapping the next item on her list.
"I have the injury I treated last year, the laceration to your shoulder. What about the two animal bites and the claw marks on your back?"
"My neighbor had a really mean dog." Hermione stated blandly, Pomfrey eyed her disbelievingly, "A really big mean dog, I'm talking mastiff size maybe bigger. He seemed bigger when he tried to eat me, that's why I never asked for a puppy for Christmas." Pomfrey didn't seem to believe her at all.
"I told you this would go a lot smoother if you would just be honest with me."
Hermione sat up straighter and looked at the Medi-witch with a serious expression. "Why does it matter?" she asked bluntly.
"I need to know these things if you are going to insist on getting yourself into trouble each year and it's in your best interest that I know."
"Look I had a healer look over them already and everything is as good as it is going to get, you know about them now; knowing how I got them isn't going to change anything." she said shifting to pull her blankets out from under her as she took her robe off and slipped under the blankets. "I'm feeling tired, I'd like to sleep for a bit."
Taking the obvious dismissal; Pomfrey stood and sent her quill and ink back to her desk, tucking the clipboard under her arm. "Was anything you told me true?" she asked, not expecting a reply and when she got none she moved to leave.
"Why is Harry here?" Hermione asked before she could leave.
Pomfrey paused for a long moment before she replied, "Mr Potter was injured last night," she said, hesitant to reveal much on what had happened with Potter but quickly continued seeing Hermione's concerned look toward the divider. "Nothing severe I assure you, so don't go sneaking off to check on him. Mr Potter is quite healthy, he simply had a trying night and needs some rest much like yourself." She said stepping back into the main part of the Hospital Wing.
Reluctantly Hermione settled back into her pillows after finishing off the remainder of her glass of water. Placing it on the side table next to her wand and another object. Picking up the watch she opened it; Harry and Ron's hands were safely at 'Hogwarts', the paw print and howling wolf pictures lit up brightly. Her own hand was pointing steadily at 'Time For Bed'.
"Alright already," she muttered, even her watch was against her it seemed. Closing the watch she tucked the hand holding it under her pillow and curled up on her side. Briefly as she began to doze off, she noted that her knife wasn't under her pillow then recalled it was probably in her jacket in the Shack. Her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were that she was going to have to ask Remus to get her things from the shack for her.
When she woke again it was late evening and the divider between her and Harry's beds had been moved, and she could see Harry eating what must have been an early dinner. From her spot she could see Harry sitting on his bed, pushing his food around on his plate. Next to the bed she could see part of a chair and a pair of legs, judging by the voice Sirius was still there with Harry.
"You know, no matter how much you push that around it's not going to magically appear in your stomach unless you put it there."
"I'm not really hungry," Harry grumbled, pushing the tray with his plate away.
"Will you tell me what's bothering you?"
"I can't get that image out of my head." Harry admitted softly, looking off where Hermione could not see.
"What?" Sirius asked leaning forward in his chair.
"The woman, she killed him." Hermione rolled on her back to look at the ceiling as she listened to Harry talk, "she killed the man that took me, the one who pretended to be Jessica."
"Barty," Sirius's voice sounded in confirmation.
"I tried to fight, like you told me too, but I wasn't strong enough. He took my blood and Voldemort came back, it's all my fault." Harry's voice quivered, in a barely audible whisper. "Voldemort was going to kill me and I couldn't do anything but hide like a coward. She came, just like you said and she killed him. I saw it all, there was blood everywhere." His voice cracked, cutting him off. Silence followed by a glass clinking on the meal tray. "I know he was a Death Eater," he continued only slightly steadier, "but she didn't have to kill him."
"Your kind hearted, Harry, even to those who do not deserve it. You're a lot like your mother in that aspect." Sirius said with a sad chuckle. "Don't feel bad for the death of Bartimus Jr, he along with my cousin and her husband tortured your friend Longbottom's parents into insanity. He deserved whatever she did to him." There was the sound of chair legs scraping on the stone floor before Sirius continued. "You were not a coward, Harry, the complete opposite in fact. You have done something not many people can claim to have done, you faced Voldemort and his inner-circle and lived to tell the tale."
"I should have been able to do something, I—"
"Harry, you're fourteen years old and not fully trained." Sirius cut in sharply, "Despite what you and a great deal of the wizarding community might think, you are not some super soldier that can face a dark lord before your voice has stopped cracking." Harry said something in reply, but it was too low for her to hear and Hermione had tuned the rest out.
Staring up at the ceiling she was beginning to wonder, when the time came to tell Harry the truth. Would he fear her? She recalled the first time she had seen Halt kill someone in front of her; had she not been so dependent on him at the time, she might have been more afraid of him than what she had been. Would Harry be able to accept the person she had become in her time? She had not even thought twice about killing Barty Jr, other than the brief satisfaction that she had gotten back at the man who had tortured her in the school halls when her cover prevented her from defending herself. The sound of horror in Harry's voice at what she had done to the man had made her remember, her friend had never seen death up close before and she had just ripped the wool from his eyes. Crushing that portion of innocence in her friend she had hoped to preserve, without a shred of guilt for the man whose life she had just ended.
Too soon Pomfrey came back in to check on her and finally closed the gash on her leg. Her dinner came shortly after and she was able to visit with Harry when Molly, Bill, Ron and Ginny came to see them. Their friends stayed until the Medi-witch shooed them out and Harry left with them after finally being released, he had been sent to meet with the Headmaster before he was to join up in the tower with the Weasleys.
Hermione was to stay another night and be released the following evening. She soon grew bored lying in bed and gave in to checking out the number of gifts that had been delivered to her bedside table while she slept. Most were chocolates and cards from her housemates and other students who wished her a quick recovery and the best wishes after coming in last in the final task. Grabbing for a chocolate frog from the small pile of candy she noticed a small simply wrapped box; picking up the box she shook it experimentally, something rattles inside. Curious, she pulled off the top, inside was something brown. Pulling it out she found a small leather tube with a strap on it, it was an accessory for post owls to hold small messages. She found it odd that someone would get an owl accessory for her when she didn't own an owl.
Turning the box over looking for a name tag, a folded note fell out. Picking it up she unfolded it.
'A reward for your failure to win the Tournament, I won quite a sum from Nott. This should keep the scorch marks on any future Dragon Post to a minimum.—Wonder Ferret'
Hermione could only laugh at this, unsurprised Draco had bet against her winning the tournament but found it amusing that he had addressed himself by her private nickname for him.
She was able to try the message holder on her little Horntail that evening and found it fit quite nicely on his leg. Dracarys seemed quite pleased with his new position as Post Dragon, puffing his chest haughtily at Hedwig as she passed, when Harry brought her down with his things to head to the train. The night before had been full of celebrating at the end of the year feast as the students of Hogwarts were still rejoicing over their victory in the Tournament. The next morning had been more somber as the visiting schools prepared to depart for home; as did the Hogwarts students, who made their way down to the train after saying goodbye to friends both old and new.
"Sirius," She said softly, slipping something into his hand in passing. "For Harry, he's going to need all the help he can get." She slipped off before he could say anything, joining the crowd heading toward the train with Harry and Ron. Sirius waved at the three, watching them board the train as it prepared to pull away from the station. He would be heading back to London, after a meeting with Dumbledore, to pick up Harry at King's Cross. Once the train was out of sight he finally looked down to see what Hermione had given him, it was the glass ball that prevented the trace from picking up any magic nearby. It looked like this summer was not going to be idle for anyone, Harry was going to need all the training he could get if he was going to survive the coming war.
Sirius walked into the Headmaster's office, pocketing the glass ball into his robe as he made his way past the Gargoyles and up the stairs. The door was wandlessly opened at his approach and he stepped inside. Dumbledore was off to one side pulling a silvery strand from his temple with the tip of his wand and dropping it into a small phial.
"Be with you in a moment, Sirius," he said, sealing the container and placing it on a shelf with several other identical bottles before closing the door on the cabinet. Sirius had made himself at home in the chair across from Dumbledore's empty seat and was leaning back with a handful of sherbet lemons. He made himself comfortable, popping one of the candies in his mouth. Dumbledore moved over to sit behind his desk with a tired sigh; removing his half-moon spectacles, he retrieved a cloth from his robe and began cleaning them.
"I'm sure you can guess why I asked you here."
"I can fancy a guess," Sirius admitted, knowing even without Hermione's foresight what the old man might have called him here for. Popping another candy into his mouth before shifting to cross an ankle over his opposite knee, "the Order."
"Yes," the older man said, after giving his glasses one final wipe and putting them back on, the cloth disappeared back in his robe of its own accord. "I need you and Remus to go and contact a few of the old group who have yet to return my owls."
"Is that all? Sure, who do you want me to get in touch with? I haven't had much contact with old members since I got out, but I think Remus still has some connections."
"Emmeline Vance and Sturgis Podmore." Dumbledore said, checking the small pile of letters on his desk. Sirius nodded in acknowledgment, as he stuffed the two remaining candies in his mouth.
"There is something else, isn't there?" the Dog asked knowingly, as he slouched down more comfortable in his chair and rested his hand on his belly. "You wouldn't have called me up here just for that."
"Too true, my dear boy," Dumbledore said, dropping his most recent letter on his desk and peering at Sirius over the top of his half-moon glasses. "I would like to request the use of your house as the new Headquarters of the Order." Sirius was quiet, he had not been expecting that. He almost said yes immediately before he stopped himself, he had more than himself to worry about now. As Headquarters Grimmauld Place would more than likely be active at all hours on any given day, and people would be coming and going regularly. After Harry's kidnapping at the Final Task he was reluctant to allow just anyone around him, the thought that someone could simply walk in and snatch him in the guise of a new Order member was terrifying.
"I'm not sure that would be the safest thing for Harry, Headquarters would be a busy and crowded place."
"I assure you, if you are worried about young Mr. Potter's safety, I would also like to request to add any additional warding to your home as well as a careful screening to all members who would be allowed inside. I will be placing it under the Fidelius Charm and none would be allowed to enter without my express permission."
"Your permission," Sirius said slightly outraged. "It is my home, surely I should have a say on who is allowed in or not!" Dumbledore raised a placating hand to silence the man.
"I am sure you will be awfully busy looking after Harry, I assumed you would not have the time to do the screening yourself. The secret keeper would need to be someone who can spare the time to focus on the Order, I was sure that you would be too busy looking after your godson to be able to spare the time. As the head of the Order it is my job to look after the Orders affairs and it would be much simpler to have myself as Secret Keeper." Sirius still seemed reluctant to give the man the power to control who was allowed to come to his house, his mind immediately drifting to Hermione; if Dumbledore was Secret Keeper, she would no longer be able to come to his home. Not only that, but with the number of people that were sure to be filtering through, he was sure someone would notice her dropping by.
"Could I have some time to think about it?" he asked, hesitantly shifting in his seat.
Dumbledore seemed surprised by the request, he had expected Sirius to jump at the opportunity to be at the heart of the Order's work. "Of course, but I would ask that you not take too long; we have a great many things to get done, and a Headquarters is necessary to accomplish them. I need to know whether to look into other arrangements." Sirius nodded before taking his leave of the Headmaster and Hogwarts.
It was three days later before Sirius finally Owled the Headmaster his reply. He had talked it over with Remus and Hermione separately, as one of them had to keep an eye on Harry, he was still shaken up by the whole ordeal of the Final Task.
Dumbledore arrived that evening to place the Fidelius Charm on the house, and Hermione found herself sitting at home suddenly unable to recall where Harry, Remus and Sirius were currently living.
They had talked for a while the night before, if making Sirius's house into the Headquarters was the best plan. Sirius had been surprised, when she had actually been supportive of the idea. As headquarters, all of the information would be right at their fingertips from all the Order, and she had wanted to keep tabs on what they were up to, and with access to the head of the Order they could get information straight from the sources.
"If Dumbledore casts the charm, you won't be able to find the house, and I doubt Dumbledore is going to allow owls to come and go freely," Sirius said, pacing back and forth in her living room. Remus was back at the house, keeping an eye on Harry and Flooing a few of his contacts, trying to figure out where Emmeline Vance had moved.
"It shouldn't be that hard to convince Dumbledore to allow Hermione to visit over the summer, after all with most the older Weaselys in the Order, Ron is sure to be by at some point," Hermione said dismissively, "and if I need anything I can still contact you by the ring. It won't need an address so shouldn't have any trouble getting messages." She gestured at the ring on Sirius's hand that she had charmed like the one she had given Remus, so that she could contact them quickly if needed.
"Besides, I can't wait to see how Dumbledore reacts, when he realizes he just gave Nemo full access to Headquarters of the Order." Sirius snorted in amusement at that statement and quickly agreed to her assessment of the situation.
The room was dead silent, as the inner circle of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters kneeled. The warehouse was dark and had little furnishing; it was only a temporary meeting place after all, it would serve its purpose tonight and come dawn it would be vacant once again. The Ministry nor the Muggles that passed by at all hours would find no evidence that the darkest wizard of their time and his closest followers had ever been there.
The air was tense as the Dark Lord himself walked about the kneeling circle, his wand tapping casually against his cheek as he pondered over the current dilemma before him. In the center of the circle kneeled his spy, or traitor? That was the current question Voldemort was setting about answering that very night.
Nagini slipped into the circle, Avery flinched away, as her scaled side brushed against his hand. Her mouth parted and she exhaled; a hissing reprimand at the slight to her as her scaled head drew level with his own, he stilled even as her tongue flicked out against his bare cheek. Content he had been properly chastised for his rudeness, she slithered forward a moment before her head snapped around in a faux strike toward the Death Eater opposite Avery. Malfoy remained properly motionless even with her bare venomous fangs a breath away from puncturing his skin, she flicked her tongue at him; this one was better mannered.
Done with her evaluation she moved fully into the circle, her long body trailing behind, following her Lord as he moved to stand before Severus. As her master stopped, she continued on slipping forward and circling around the kneeling man. She all but wrapped herself around him, her tongue flicking beside his ear as she tasted him. This one would be most filling if her Lord found him no longer useful, and she was so very hungry for more than the squeaking vermin that lived in the dark places.
"You have done well, Severus," Voldemort said finally, his voice cutting through the deliberately drawn-out tension. "I will forgive your absence. You will continue in your role and keep me informed of the doings of Dumbledore and his little band of wannabe Aurors he calls an Order."
"Thank you, my Lord." Severus inclined his head in submission to the man's will, Nagini draped herself over the spy's shoulder and grazed her open mouth of fangs over the vulnerable flesh of his throat as he spoke, "You are too benevolent—"
"Silence," Voldemort hissed, his words slurring together in a collection of snake-like syllables. Nagini arched her head back agitatedly, hissing loudly having been denied her meal, before moving back to her position at her Lord's side. "Now tell me, what do you know of the one who came to Potter's rescue? One of Dumbledore's?"
"No, my Lord, to my knowledge Dumbledore knows little about him," Snape said, knowing even though Nagini had been called off, a snake's fang was still at his throat. "He calls himself 'Nemo', and he has made contact only a few times over the last year. He seems to have no allegiance to Dumbledore, but has taken to looking after Potter. He was the one who provided the evidence to free Sirius Black of his murder charges as well, Dumbledore thinks he harbored Black while he was on the run. He was the one who ousted Crouch from his position at Hogwarts and foiled your attempt at entering Potter in the Tournament at the beginning of the school year. Dumbledore has tasked me with finding out any information about him."
Voldemort was quiet in contemplation, a pale hand stroking the head of his familiar. Severus did not remove his eyes from the floor before him, as he waited for the Dark Lord to speak, many green recruits had made the mistake of meeting the man's eye, when their loyalty had yet to be fully established, or reestablished, in his own case.
"I find myself curious, Severus," Voldemort said, beginning to pace around his follower's kneeling form again, rolling his wand in his fingers. "Why did Dumbledore think you were the best person to find this 'Nemo'? If you say he was harboring Black, then wouldn't he be the one Dumbledore should be asking, not you?" He paused directly behind Severus, waiting for an answer.
"Black claims to not know anything, and Dumbledore refuses to press for more information from him," Severus said calmly, even with the Dark Lord at his back. "Nemo has seeked out me on two occasions, Dumbledore seems to think that because of that I was the best person to gather information on him." Voldemort was silent for a long tense moment before he started walking again.
"Very well, Severus, rise and return to your place," he said dismissively, and Snape stood as bid and returned to his place among the inner circle. The meeting was adjourned after that, with the Dark Lord's departure to some unknown Safe house.
More than a few of the departing Death Eaters left disappointed, having been hoping to see the spy finally fall from his special place in Voldemort's most favored. Snape had been able to get away with many things playing spy, including a full pardon from the Ministry at Dumbledore's request; and now here he was accepted back into the Dark Lord's good graces with little more than a slap on the wrist; when many of those present had gotten more of a reprimand after answering his call immediately.
"Come to the Manor, you look as if you could use a drink," Lucius advised, walking with Snape out of the abandoned building and down the quiet London street; with a crack the two Apparated away.
The pair did not speak again until they were contentedly seated in Lucius's study, a decanter of hundred-year-old scotch on the table between them as they each indulged in their own glasses of the amber liquor.
"Smoke," Lucius offered, pulling a box from a side table, "just got these in last week," he boasted, opening the box of high-grade cigars.
"I'll pass, I'm trying to quit," Severus said, digging in the pocket of his shirt, pulling out a crumpled nearly empty pack of cigarettes. Lucius scoffed, as Severus pulled a lighter and cigarette out of the pack before sticking the pack back in his pocket.
"Thought you were trying to quit," he accused, watching the dark haired man light up.
"Trying to, didn't say I had," Severus said exhaling a cloud of smoke, as he slipped the lighter back in his pocket. Lucius wrinkled his nose in distaste at the smell.
"I can't believe you can smoke those cheap things."
"Not all of us can afford the imported crap you call decent smokes," Snape shot back snarkily, taking a drink from his glass, "but I will say you have good taste in scotch."
"I'm so glad to have your glowing approval of my drink selection," Lucius replied sarcastically, setting the box back on the table.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Severus asked, eyeing Lucius suspiciously. When Lucius gave him an innocent look, he elaborated, "You haven't asked me over without an ulterior motive in over six years. The last time, if I recall correctly, you invited me over for one of your social parties and set one Mrs. Hammond on me, just so you could get her away from her husband so you could talk him into giving you half the shares of his company." Lucius started laughing.
"You're not still sore over that, are you? Really, Severus, some things you just need to let go of."
"Mrs. Hammond needed to let go of a number of things as well," Severus said into his glass, as he shifted in his seat.
"She's eighty years old and half-blind, other than the fact that she's got her pushover of a husband completely whipped, she's harmless." Lucius chuckled, refilling Severus's glass, then his own.
"Harmless she may be, but the woman has more wandering hands than the giant squid," Snape said, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "Now again, what do you want, Lucius?" he asked again, exhaling through his nose. Lucius was quiet, swirling the liquid in his glass.
"I wanted to ask your personal opinion of a student of yours, who has been spending time with my son."
"Who?" Severus asked, flicking ash into a conveniently placed ashtray.
"The Muggleborn," Lucius said, resting an ankle on his opposite knee, "Hermione Granger." Severus was quiet, swirling the amber liquid in his glass before draining half of it.
"What about her?" he asked, setting the glass on the side table. "She's a typical Gryffindor; brash, stubborn and annoying."
"Nothing out of place? You haven't caught her looking into things not typical for one of Dumbledore's favorite students?"
"What are you getting at, Lucius?" Snape asked, irritatingly stubbing out the remains of his cigarette in the ashtray. "What are you looking for?"
"Last summer," Lucius started calculatingly, "I met Ms. Granger in Knockturn Alley. It seemed she was looking for a book."
Snape snorted at this statement, "I find that highly believable, the girl always has her nose in a book, when she is not getting Potter or your son out of trouble."
"And in trouble, it would seem," the Malfoy remarked crossly. "You wouldn't believe the trouble it has given me with that article. A number of select families had to be reminded where the Malfoy's loyalties lie."
"What did you tell them?" Severus asked curiously.
"That Draco was taking advantage of an opportunity to slip his way into Potter's circle, in hopes of gaining an advantage for our side," Lucius said coolly. "She's not as golden as the rumors seem to lead one to believe. She might even turn out as a valuable asset for our Lord."
"You are not honestly implying what I think you are."
"I'm not implying anything; but if I were, might I add the book she had been looking into was of an extremely dark nature, Azkaban worthy dark" Lucius said smoothly, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair; Severus eyed the man calculatingly. "I am merely bringing to your attention an interesting fact about the Mudblood." A muscle in Severus's jaw twitched, when he involuntarily gritted his teeth at the term; grabbing his glass, he drained the rest of it.
"Your input has been noted, and I will be sure to inform you if Granger expresses that she would be interested in switching sides. I'm sure the Dark Lord would love to hear he had a Muggleborn interested in spying on Potter for him." His voice was laced with sarcasm, as he set his glass down and stood to leave. "Thanks for the drink, but I should be going. My other master probably thinks I was killed or am currently being tortured most maliciously."
"You have done well, Severus." Snape had to stop himself from grimacing at the words he had heard from another master just hours before; he now found himself seated in the Headmaster's office, having briefed him on the meeting for his successful reinstatement into the Death Eaters.
He had not been able to shake the conversation he had with Lucius earlier that evening. Before today, it would not have dawned on him that the girl could be studying the Dark Arts. He didn't want to believe it; but now that he had time to analyze the information. If what Lucius had said was true, then it may be something too. After all, why had she been in Knockturn Alley of all places? Could it have something to do with her guardian? With Nemo?
"Is there something else you have on your mind?" Dumbledore's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Nothing of prominent note," Severus said, shaking the thoughts from his head, "just a theory I have been working on."
"On what, might I ask?" Dumbledore asked, a quizzical look in his blue eyes.
"Nemo," came the reply, and Dumbledore nodded understandingly.
"Anything I might help with?"
"What do you know about Hermione Granger's guardian, a woman named Emma De Vincent?" This seemed to puzzle the headmaster.
"I wasn't aware she was living with a guardian. Last I recall, Minerva had a rather nice chat with the girl's parents when she delivered her first year letter." Standing, he moved to an end table that was tilting slightly on uneven legs.
"Gryffindor; Granger, Hermione," he said, tapping his wand on the table top. With a pop, a folder appeared on the table, and Dumbledore picked it up before bringing it back to his desk. "You're right," Dumbledore said, pulling out a sheet and glancing it over; it was an emergency contact parchment spelled to keep itself up to date with all the student's contact information. There on the paper was listed the name 'Emma De Vincent' along with what must be her home address. Setting the paper down, Dumbledore glanced over his desk at his spy.
"You think this woman is connected to Nemo?" Severus nodded, rubbing at his temple tiredly, he was ready for this day to end.
"I am not sure," he said with a sigh, "I've noticed some things, but no real proof. Like I said, nothing prominent to note, just a hunch."
"You will let me know when you have something solid, yes?"
"Yes," Snape said standing, he had no wish to stay any longer. Besides, he had the information he had been lacking, a glance at the Headmaster's desk gave him the address he needed. It was time to get some real information on Ms. De Vincent.
He had not known what he was expecting to find when he made his way to the Muggle town of Hook Norton, to check out Granger's summer residence. He was unimpressed by the small two story house squashed between a small general store and another house. Severus stood, hands in the pockets of his slacks, he had forgone the wizard robes in favor of simple Muggle clothing.
He hadn't seen much, Granger's bow legged cat had come wandering around from the neighbor's yard before wandering back into the De Vincent's property and around back out of sight. He had seen movement in one of the lower windows, but had yet to see anyone come or go from the house. At one point he had thought he saw Granger in the front window, but could not tell from his place in a small bus shelter across the street.
He had hoped to see De Vincent, or if luck was in his favor, a man fitting Nemo's body type coming or going, but so far nothing. Suddenly someone came out the door, it looked a lot like Granger but from this distance he couldn't be sure. He watched her leave, walking down the street, disappearing around the corner. From the looks of things the house was empty, De Vincent could have left through Apparition or Floo, so not seeing her leave was unsurprising.
Spotting an older woman seated on her porch next door, Severus made a spontaneous decision. Stepping out his cigarette, he walked over to the woman.
"Hello." Her hair that had once been brown was more grey and pulled back in a tight bun, one wrinkled hand was petting the white cat perched contentedly on her lap. "Can I do something for you, young man?"
"Hello ma'am, I was wondering if you could help me with something?"
"Do call me Margaret, Margaret Burns. What can I help you with?" she asked kindly.
"I'm looking for an old acquaintance, Ms. Margret, he said he was staying around here, but I can't seem to find him. I thought he was staying next door, but I think I might have my directions wrong. I was going to check with your neighbor, but she doesn't appear to be home right now."
"Oh, Emma, yes, she's out a lot. Half the time I don't even see her leave." She gestured to her left, toward De Vincent's house. "I don't know her well, strange as that may be, considering we live next to each other. What was your friend's name, maybe I know him, I've lived on this street for years?"
"I only knew him by the nickname he had at school, I doubt he would be using it now, and I can't recall what his full name was. How long have you been neighbors?" Severus asked curiously, any information he could get out of the woman would be helpful, all he needed to do was get her talking.
"Let me think, she moved in the summer before last. She was living with a man then."
"A man, boyfriend? Did he have a name, he might be the friend I am looking for?" he asked, maybe he was finally getting somewhere.
"Gary Watson, charming fellow. Emma isn't home much through the year, but he lived there till last summer. He would always come over and keep me company in the afternoon, you know it's been so lonely here since my Frank died," she said wistfully, as her cat hopped off her lap and waddled into the partly open door of her house.
"Could you tell me what he looked like, Gary."
"What's to say, average height, about your age. Brown hair, brown eyes—oh wait, that's not right. He stopped by last year a few times, he had black hair about like yourself and eyes a lovely shade of blue. Don't know why he thought he looked better with brown. Could he be your friend?"
"No, but I know who you are talking about. He is an old school—acquaintance," Snape said with a barely concealed grimace, "but not the one I was looking for. Were there any other men you have seen?"
"Well, there was one other I saw a few times coming and going." This caught Snape's attention. "Short light brown hair, little taller than Gary. Sorry I didn't get his name," she said apologetically.
"Did he have faint scars around here?" Snape asked, not bothering getting his hopes up this time, as he gestured at a particular place on his face, the woman nodded in affirmation,
"Yes, that's him. Not your friend I am guessing," she said knowingly.
"No, no one else you have seen around?" he asked, as a last effort to find out anything new.
"No, I'm sorry," she said apologetically. Just then a small form came flying over and landed on the porch railing, Dracarys gave a little trill before hopping on to the side table beside Margret's chair.
"Well, hello, pretty bird," she greeted, stroking the dragon's head and offering him a biscuit.
"That ah—bird is yours?" Severus asked, eyeing the dragon critically; it had a metal band on its leg with some kind of rune etched on it, from the looks of it a Muggle restricted glamour, considering he was still seeing a dragon sitting there glaring heatedly at him as it gulped down it's treat and not a bird.
"Oh no, he just came to visit, he is Emma's sister, I think."
"Sister?" Severus asked; surely she could not be talking about Granger, the dragon eyed him suspiciously before taking flight again and flying off out of sight.
"Yes, Heather or something like that," she admitted, tapping her cheek as she thought. "Well, I assume it is her sister, they look so similar, but too close in age to be her daughter. Younger girl, fourteen—fifteen maybe. She's only around during the summer sometimes, away at school I expect."
"I see, thank you," Severus said, deciding he had all the information he was going to get from the woman.
"Sorry I could not be of more help, deary," she said kindly.
"One more thing," he asked, pausing, another thought creeping into his mind. "I was wondering—Heather, when did she move in with her sister?"
"Oh, about the same time Emma moved here, I think, I really can't recall. My mind's not what it used to be."
"Thank you," Severus said, before walking off the porch; it wasn't much, but now he knew for sure. De Vincent was the one harboring Black while he was on the run, and if Granger had been here the summer before last, she knew Black. He had come here hoping for answers, now he had more questions than before. It was clear De Vincent must be meeting Nemo someplace else, or he came in out of sight of her nosy neighbor. One thing for sure, he was going to be keeping a closer eye on Granger, she seemed to be his only solid link between all of this.
Next Chapter 22: I'll Walk Beside You But You May Not See Me-Second half of the summer before Fifth Year. Hermione comes to Grimmauld place and goes head to head with Molly Weasley. And Emma finally makes an appearance in more than just a name.
Edited-02/22/19
German Translation by the wonderful and patient Alea Thoron.