Chapter 2

Of Souls and Horcruxes

"Constant vigilance," she whispered softly as she tried to ignore the tears she had been fighting since they found out about Moody's death. She refused to wipe it away, but blinked furiously to prevent any other tears from falling.

"That's right," said Ron. "He'd tell us to learn from what's happened to him. And what I've learned is not to trust that cowardly little squit, Mundungus."

Hermione gave a shaky laugh which quickly faded when Ron gave a smile that seemed to convey more than platonic comfort. The boys hadn't brought up Draco and neither had she. She was a bit concerned about how Ron was interpreting her silence on the matter, but just thinking about Draco caused her to ache. She didn't want to fight with the boys about him. Not now. So she quickly went back to sorting which books she should pack for their mission.

She attempted to focus all of her attention on her books, remaining only vaguely aware of the conversation the boys were having. She took a deep, silent breath. It wasn't that she didn't think of Draco; on the contrary, she thought of him daily. It was just that she always tried to reminisce. She rarely allowed herself to miss him, opting instead to immerse herself in their memories. The way Ron smiled at her made her miss Draco.

Harry's attempt at persuasion distracted Hermione. Ron and she knew that Harry would try to talk them out of going. It was both sweet and frustrating. At the moment, it was definitely weighing more heavily on the frustrating side. "Listen!" Harry said in an attempt to stop her book sorting.

"No, Harry, you listen," Hermione demanded sharply. "We're coming with you. That was decided months ago - years, really."

"But-"

"Shut up," Ron advised as Hermione barked a "No!"

"I've been packing for days so we're ready to leave in a moment's notice, which for your information has included doing some pretty difficult magic, not to mention smuggling Mad-Eye's whole stock of Polyjuice Potion right under Ron's mom's nose. I've modified my parents' memories so they believe they're actually Wendell and and Monica Wilkins, and that their life's ambition is moving to Australia, which they have now done. That's to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them and interrogate them about me." She had debated doing something similar to Narcissa back when she thought she could help Draco save his parents. She wanted to give her Forgetfulness Potion and assign an Order member to protect her. "Assuming I survive the hunt for the Horcruxes, I'll find Mom and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't - well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know they've got a daughter you see." She wondered if a well-brewed potion would have made Narcissa Malfoy like her parents. Before she knew it, Ron was at her side with his arm around her shoulder. She thought briefly about shrugging off his arm, but he was still her best friend and she didn't want to be cruel. Instead, she allowed herself to experience the heaviness on her chest that was her pendant. She had cast a Disillusionment Charm on it, so as far as anyone could see her neck was bare. But she hadn't taken it off since the day Dumbledore died.

"I - Hermione - I'm sorry, I didn't"

She shook her head. "Didn't know that we know exactly what might happen if we go with you?"

Ron explained his plan to Harry which involved a ghoul pretending to be a sickly Ron impostor. They then debated with Harry how to best protect the Weasley clan and which books would be most helpful before discussing the infamous R.A.B. person and the destruction of Horcruxes.

"Well," Hermione started hesitantly, "I've been researching that."

"How? I didn't think there were any books on Horcruxes in the library?"

"There weren't. Dumbledore removed them, but he didn't destroy them." She paused trying to think of how to explain how the books came into her possession.

Ron sat up straight, wide-eyed as Harry urged her to continue.

"Well..." she struggled, "it was easy. I just used a Summoning Charm. They zoomed out of Dumbledore's study and into my dormitory."

"Wait, when did you do all this?" Harry asked incredulously.

"After his - Dumbledore's - funeral. When I went to gather the rest of my things. I thought it was worth a try." Lying to them made her nervous, so she busied herself. "They're all packed - here's one." She shoved the book into Harry's hands. "This is the one that gives explicit directions on how to make a Horcrux. Secrets of the Darkest Arts - it's a horrible book, full of evil magic. I bet Voldemort got ll the instruction he needed from here."

"Why did he have to ask Slughorn how to make a Horcrux, then, if he'd already read that?" Ron asked.

"He only approached Slughorn to find out what would happen if you tore your soul into seven," Harry answered.

"The more I read about them, the more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe he actually made six. It warns how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and that's just by making one Horcrux. You could try to put yourself back together, but it's extremely painful. You'd have to feel the remorse for what you've done. Apparently the pain could destroy you." Hermione went on to explain how to destroy a Horcrux - completely and beyond magical repair.

"But even if we wreck the thing it lives in, why can't the bit of soul go live somewhere else?" asked Ron.

"Because a Horcrux is the complete opposite of a human being. Whatever happens to your body, your soul will remain untouched, it will survive. But it's the other way round for a Horcrux. The fragment of the soul inside it depends on its container for survival. It can't survive without it."

Harry recounted his experience with destroying the diary. They began to discuss how Dumbledore might have destroyed the ring when Mrs. Weasley came in and gave each of the trio a task to complete in preparation for Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Hermione was grateful for the distraction. She thought about how she actually learned about the books.

"He what?" she asked disbelievingly. "I-I have to go stop him. He's not a killer - I won't let Voldemort turn him into one!" she had cried.

The dark haired main grabbed her shoulder to stop her. "Miss Granger, listen to me!" She let out a whimper but didn't interrupt her professor. "Dumbledore knows! He's known all this time, all right? And he's dying. The ring Potter told you about is killing him. I told Dumbledore about you two - you and Draco. He's ready to die." She started sobbing uncontrollably. "Granger, he told me he has a collection of texts that may help you. Find them in his study, he thinks they're best suited with you. Get them, do you understand?"

She nodded. "Draco-" she said urgently.

"I am going to protect you and Draco at all costs," Professor Snape said firmly. "I have to rendezvous with the Death Eaters, but I will protect you two. You need to trust me. Do you trust me, Granger?"

"Yes!" she nodded.

"Go to him - hurry. But then you have to trust me."

She ran.

As horrible as it sounded, Hermione was grateful Professor Snape had killed Dumbledore so Draco didn't have to. She wanted so badly to tell Harry the truth, but it wasn't the right time.

She thought about the book describing how painful remorse could be. She felt sorry that her professor now had to live with it.

It amazed her that someone who had seemed so cruel could care so much.

She recalled what she had said to the boys earlier.

The fragment of the soul inside it depends on its container for survival. It can't survive without it.

Hermione touched her hand to her pendant and thought of Draco.

Suddenly it became clear to her. A piece of Severus Snape's soul died with Lily Evans. Now he was was trying to protect hers and Draco's. And she would never be able to thank him enough.

A/N: Chapter 2! Thank you so much to everyone who faved/followed/and reviewed the first chapter. The amount of support is overwhelming and -I- will never be about to thank any of you enough! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to get working on the next.

Love you all!

P.S. I'm heading to Harry Potter World in California this weekend, so I'm hoping to get some inspiration.