Hermione was relieved to finally be released from St Mungo's. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Sirius, who had almost lost his entire leg. He was forced to go through rehabilitation for the leg before he was released.
Over the last few days in the hospital, she had a lot of time to think and talk with Harry about what their next steps would be. The chaos being created by Lord Voldemort and his followers was unparalleled to anything she had seen or read before. Her first order of business was to contact Marsious and the colony. Now that Voldemort potentially knew of her being a mermaid despite Dolohov's imprisonment, keeping them protected was her top most priority.
She and Harry flooed back to Grimmauld Place where they were waited for Sirius to be released. Susan Bones, Professor Lupin, and a few other various members of the order were staying there as well. It felt quite empty without the Weasleys, but Hermione was glad to be able to share a room with Harry once more.
"Professor Snape," Hermione said, one evening during dinner. "Do you have time to chat after dinner? Perhaps in the library?"
He gave her a brief nod and if anyone thought her question was odd and out of place, they didn't say anything and continued on with their conversation as if it never happened. When dinner concluded, Hermione and Harry retired to the library to wait for Snape. Hermione curled up next to Harry on the sofa, a book open in her hand. She wasn't really reading it—she just needed a distraction from her brain constantly whirling around.
When the door opened, Hermione closed the book and waited for Professor Snape to take a seat in one of the chairs adjacent to the sofa.
"Very well, Miss Granger, what did you wish to discuss?" He pulled his wand from his robes and waved it toward the door before stowing it once more. "Silencing charm," he added at her questioning look. Hermione nodded her head approvingly.
"I need to check on the colony. I know you aren't at Hogwarts during the summer, but it's not completely off limits is it?" As much as she hated traveling through the transportation portal from the Black Lake to the waters in Greece, it was a better option than traveling to Greece via apparition and risk being spotted.
"It's not," he drawled, crossing his ankle over his knee. "But I am not sure it is safe for you to do so."
"Professor, please. It is necessary. There's no way that Voldemort doesn't know that I'm a mermaid. It puts them in even more danger since I'm the Daughter of Sea and now running things."
The professor sighed after her explanation, clearly having an inner battle with himself.
"If you don't help her sir, she'll just go on her own." Harry glanced at her with raised eyebrows. "That's just how she is."
Hermione smirked and agreed with him. If Professor Snape wouldn't help, she and Harry would just enlist the help of someone like Fred and George who were always down for going against their elders' advice. Besides, she only followed the rules when they suited her, after all.
"Very well, I will assist you, but it will be on my terms."
"I don't care what the terms are, I just need to check on them."
"We will go in the evening, so we can easily sneak around, a hood covering your face for protection. I don't doubt that the Dark Lord has followers watching the school, even now in the middle of summer."
"Fine," Hermione agreed. "What are the other terms?"
"I will go with you, and Mister Potter will stay here at Grimmauld Place."
"What? No way!" Harry interjected, almost jumping from the sofa. He was leaning so far forward looking at Snape that she thought he might fall off.
"It's too dangerous, and I am not leaving you on the side of the Black Lake to be ambushed. Am I clear?" His voice sounded deadly and dangerous, and someone not to be messed with. Harry must have caught on as well.
"Yes, sir," Harry mumbled, leaning back onto the sofa. He grabbed Hermione's hand and she patted the back of it, attempting to calm him down.
Hermione looked back to Professor Snape. "I am fine with that, Professor. But what if you are seen, won't it blow your cover?"
"I'll have that all taken care of, Miss Granger. Now, if that is all, I will be going." He stood from the chair he was occupying and buttoned his frock coat. "I will stop by tomorrow evening if that is sufficient for you."
Hermione stood from the sofa and hugged the Professor, sending him into a state of shock as he stood as stiff as a board. When she pulled away, he lightly patted her on the back. He gave Harry a brief nod before walking out the Library.
"That was awkward," Harry commented, looking at Hermione.
She burst out laughing and collapsed onto the sofa in a fit of giggles. "That was so awkward. I don't know what made me do it, but he's just been so helpful! We wouldn't be where we are without him."
"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right as usual. He still can be an arse, but he has been invaluable."
Hermione looked down at her hands and back at Harry before speaking. "And I have another favor to ask him. We'll—or at least me, will be indebted to him forever if he agrees."
Harry frowned. "What is it?"
"I want him to help me obliviate my parents. I can't use magic outside of school without risking going to trial like you did, especially with everything going on."
Harry gripped her hand tighter and brought it up to his lips. "Are you sure you need to do that, Hermione? It's so dangerous. It might be irreversible."
Hermione took a deep breath and nodded her head. "I've been thinking about it for months now and after what happened in the Department of Mysteries and everything that's happening even in the Muggle world...I don't want them to be a part of that. And I know they won't leave on their own."
Before she could begin to cry, Harry pulled her into his arms and began whispering words of comfort in her ears and told her she was making the right decision. It didn't stop the tears from flowing, but she was grateful to be comforted and have the support Harry was offering. Most teenage boys wouldn't give two figs. Looking up into his eyes, she smiled as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ears and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. They were so very lucky to have each other—it wasn't often that the one to make your heart sing could be found so early or at all.
The next evening, Professor Snape arrived promptly, well before dinner. Without giving too much away, they headed out, leaving Harry behind. Some knew she was a mermaid, but Hermione wasn't about to put it on blast.
As they stepped into a nearby alleyway, Professor Snape grabbed her arm and she braced herself for the uncomfortableness that was side-along apparition. She'd be thankful when she didn't need anyone's assistance to pop from here to there anymore.
After the feeling of being sucked through a vacuum dissipated, Hermione opened her eyes to see they had landed directly in front of the gates of Hogwarts. As they started to walk, the fear was almost overwhelming, her chest tightening with anxiety. Snape wasn't speaking and she couldn't help but constantly look behind them as if they were being followed. She was never more relieved to see the Black Lake than she was in that moment. They didn't stop walking until they were standing almost on the edge—just one more step and they'd be ankle deep in the water.
Hermione quickly took off all necessary clothing, including the cloak that had been a part of the terms, keeping herself in her underclothes for both her and the sake of her professor. She pulled the towel out of her beaded bag and set it to the side, knowing she would need it immediately for decency purposes upon exiting the water.
She moved into the water rapidly to await Professor Snape, not wanting to further embarrass either of them. She didn't wait long, as he followed her into the water moments later. He had stripped down to swimming trunks and a shirt, his wand in his hand. It was lit, guiding their path. Hermione closed her eyes and glided into the deep water, feeling gills appear on the sides of her face, webs materializing between her fingers, and her legs beginning to move as one.
Before she dipped under the water, she watched Professor Snape cast a Bubblehead Charm around his head. She swam deeper and occasionally looked back to make sure he was following. He was, and though he still had his wand lit, her mermaid sight allowed her to see in the darkness of the lake.
When she began to get closer to the colony, she hung back a bit and swam at the pace of Professor Snape. It wouldn't be good for the colony to attack an intruder when he wasn't one. They needed to arrive as a united front.
As they passed the entrance, the guards looked at them both curiously, but greeted her kindly just as they had previously. It was evening, so most of the colony were lying down to rest, except the night shift guards. When they reached the transportation portal, Hermione held out her webbed hand to Professor Snape.
"Take my hand. I am not sure if it will cause any issues if we go separately. It's best to stay together."
He nodded in response and took her hand. With a wave to the guards, they swam into the portal and were gone within a moment. It was just as painful as it had been previously and when they landed in the Greek colony, she was happy that she didn't fall. Professor Snape looked quite ill. She couldn't tell whether it was because of the water, or the uncomfortable way to travel.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked.
He nodded and coughed a couple times before responding, "Have you done that before?"
"Unfortunately yes. Three times now. It doesn't get easier."
"Fantastic," he said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. "Next time, I'll make an illegal portkey and take us into Mykonos."
Hermione laughed and bubbles of water appeared. "You won't hear me complaining."
"Now, let's get this over with as quickly as possible. Where do we need to go?"
Hermione looked around and frowned. It was evening in Mykonos as well so it was likely that Marsious was in his quarters, getting ready to sleep.
"If you are wondering about Marsious, he's in the military base. Working late," the guard said, giving her the information she needed.
"How did you do that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just a good guess, ma'am. Though it would be nice if we knew of our queen's needs without having to ask."
Hermione smiled and nodded her head, thanking the guard for helping them out. Hermione filled Professor Snape in about Marsious as they swam toward the Military base. She hoped the two got along—they were after all her two right hand men (besides Harry), and they would be working together toward a common goal.
As they swam into the Military compound, they found Marsious bent over the long table in the middle, looking at something with intense concentration. He was running his fingers over the stone as if he was trying to decipher a code.
"Marsious," Hermione said, swimming toward him, Professor Snape close behind.
"Hermione." He greeted her with a nod of his head, looking behind her curiously at her companion.
"Marsious, this is Professor Severus Snape. He teaches Potions up at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He's been helping me and Harry, and he originally gave us permission to enter the library in Mykonos."
"Nice to meet you." Marsious held out his hand and exchanged handshakes with the professor. "I am glad that Hermione has someone on land that she can confide in and guide her. Thank you for that."
After introductions, both Professor Snape and Hermione turned their attention to the stone table.
"So, we have much to discuss it seems. A lot has happened since we spoke last."
"We knew you were hurt," Marsious said, looking at her chest. Even in the water, the dark purple scar was visible, but it looked more like an indent running from her left shoulder to her right hip. "We don't know why since we had no idea what was happening, but we all felt uneasy."
Hermione nodded and launched into an explanation of what happened since they last met. In turn, Marsious described what he was looking at on the stone table.
"These runes change, or disappear depending on what is happening in the outside world. When you were here the last few times, they were changing so much they were unable to be read. But now, they have been standing still for several days, leading me to believe that this is important."
Hermione ran her fingers over the runes Marsious was talking about. She was currently taking Ancient Runes, but she was no expert by any means. She looked at Professor Snape who was looking at the runes curiously.
"Did you study runes, Professor?"
He nodded. "I did. And they're something I often use when creating new potions. But I will need to write them down and take them back with me to translate."
"I don't think writing is in the cards, unfortunately," Hermione said.
"Here's a stone slab," Marsious said, pulling a stone from underneath the table. "We write on this with rocks, but since you have a wand, that will work as well."
Professor Snape accepted the slab from Marsious and began to diligently carve the runes into the stone with his wand, making quick work of the task.
"We have to be going soon, Miss Granger," Professor Snape said, looking around. "We'll need to be back in time for dinner. It will be suspicious if we are being watched."
Hermione nodded in agreement. "We'll be in touch soon, Marsious. Danger is growing above water...please be safe. I will do whatever is in my power to protect the colony."
"As will I. I will be on the lookout for communication from you."
"It might be a while, just keep doing what you're doing."
Marsious nodded and raised his hand in farewell. As they said goodbye, she watched as he turned back to the runes, looking at this once more with determination in his eyes. "Good luck, Hermione, Daughter of the Sea."
Hermione and Professor Snape didn't speak as they made their way out of the military base and back to the transportation portal. Even then, they murmured their goodbyes, grasped hands and returned to the Black Lake.
Hermione made her way to the shore quickly, finding her legs again almost immediately after touching land. Professor Snape busied himself with his own clothes while she fumbled around with her towel.
"I will stay facing this way, but I thought it would be pertinent to let you know that since we are at Hogwarts, you can use magic."
"Oh!" Hermione felt silly having let that slip her mind. He kept his back turned as promised, busying himself with his clothing as she pulled her wand out of her beaded bag. She cast a drying charm over her body and quickly put on her clothes, pulling her robes over the top.
"Okay, I'm decent. Do you still have that slab?"
He turned toward her and gave another nod of his head. He really was a man of very few words, only speaking when absolutely necessary. "I put a featherweight charm on it because it was quite heavy. I figured we could look at it this evening after dinner."
"That sounds acceptable."
The two walked in silence across the ground of Hogwarts and once again side-along apparated back to the alley by Grimmauld Place. Dinner was first, then it was crucial they dive into the runes. The protection of the colony depended on it.
Thank you to HeartOfAspen for her alpha/beta work on this story!