The regular disclaimer stays, I am responsible for my AU and OCs.

Chapter 48

Minerva McGonagall had stood up and walked to the window, narrowing her eyes. Her object of scrutiny was the same group of hovering ghostly soldiers which had just multiplied in number. "Soldiers from Hogwarts," she murmured. Snape looked around and for the first time took note of the battered look of its other occupants. Knowing fully well that none of them would otherwise agree on returning for a few hours, he pretended to be exhausted and flopped back on the couch. The group likewise left him alone. Apparently, Bill Weasley had welcomed everyone to occupy any available place to rest on.

With half-shut eyes, Snape watched Zabini, Malfoy and Harry enter the living space, the fireplace roaring back to life and the Italian vanishing away in its flames. Draco resumed his watch beside his head and Potter excused himself for the night. Severus followed the sound of his footsteps up the stairs and heard a bedroom door somewhere above being shut and locked behind. After waiting for another hour, he could make out his godson's soft snorting. Stealthily he got up, removing the throw that someone had lovely wrapped over him. Quietly, he gathered his precious belongings and walked into the kitchen.

Whispering a soft "Lumos" he first peered at the glass globe with the small bouquet of baby's breath inside. Placing it over a kitchen towel, just in case it did not roll over, he next reopened Lily's last letter. And went through it once again.

"How do I love thee… (1)

If thou must love me (2)

E.B.B

When old age shall this generation waste,

Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

J K, G urn

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."

Aristotle

"Good Morrow" my sage "Good morrow".

JD

His vigilant senses picked up a soft footstep, turning about, he found four people staring back at him mirroring his famous smirk. Potter grinned, Draco rolled his eyes, Remus chuckled and Minerva deadpanned, "Thought you could fool the sleeping cat under the couch, Severus." Putting her palm up, she successfully shushed the growling man caught like a toddler stealing cookies. She walked in, drew a chair beside him, sat on it, and dropped a stack of parchments on the table. "I have seen you work in the staff room for years and all of us now know, from where does Hermione get her compulsive habit of note-taking. We all will stay up with you, in case you need to run your ideas through. Mr. Potter, if you could brew some tea, I think all of us would need a big pot."

Draco had taken the chair on his other side and Severus was truly annoyed with the boy trying to get a look at the letter still held open in his hand. He drawled back, "Weren't you taught not to read someone's personal letter, Draco?"

His godson looked up from the letter and stared at him, "I was, but I have already read it, and I remember, you reading my personal letter back in the hospital, I am just following your footsteps, Godfather!" The young man had the gall to say all of that in a sweet singsong voice that made Severus gag. Though before he could manage to shut the boy with a strong rebuke, Draco stunned him," Those few lines of your letter...Hermione wrote those lines to me as well, in her short cryptic letter, have you realized that?"

Harry explained how Bill had delivered both of Hermione's cryptic letters back in the hospital. Both the transfiguration professor and the DADA professor were waiting for the Headmaster to throw some light on it. Though Remus just enquired one thing, "Harry, have you got your letter with you right now?"

"Could never part away with it." The young man brought back five steaming cups of tea and with another hand he delivered not one but two letters to Severus. In response the man had just arched his brow, but finding an empty chair next to Draco, Harry just shrugged, "I thought it was high time we could stop hiding things from each other and instead share information. I don't like the idea of goblins manipulating us yet again."

Remus had looked surprised, "Yet again?"

"Luna gave me the other one, while you are sleeping." Potter looked at Snape and then nodded at Lupin.

"Yes," running a hand through his hair Harry continued, "look at the facts in front of us, they had manipulated Mum to work for them, I am not going into whether that was right or wrong. We don't know whether they had approached Hermione on their own or whether she had chanced upon some clues that made her question her identity. I am considering the latter, because even if she was too respectful to you," turning his eyes at Severus, " she had never shown any desire to find her birth parents. I mean, even while we were on the run when Ron had deserted us, I had asked her about her parents. WAIT!"

Looking ahead of him, Potter slapped his palm on his mouth, his eyes were wide. Severus leaned over, "OUT with it, Potter, What did she say?"

"She just said 'they are safe', and then she became quite nervous. Later on, when we visited my Mother's Grave, Hermione had gone white as a sheet. When we had finally managed to find our way back to the tent, she had hugged me after our escape from Nagini's clutches at the Bagspot Cottage. Back then, even I was quite shaken by everything, but her calling me, 'my brother' felt oddly good."

Severus was making notes, and tapping his finger over his lower lip he muttered, "We can consider this as a valid point. That Hermione knew by then, that she was Lily's daughter."

Draco spoke up next, "I think she came in contact with Griphook in the manor while these three were captured. Because she had really been wary to share a cell with the goblin."

"So, it was Griphook who dropped the first hint. 'The love of sage and lilac lives till date. The Brightest Star in the Sky.'" Remus reminded.

Minerva blurted out, "If we are going by the fact that Hermione knew from beforehand that she was Lily's daughter, then the Grangers must have some evidence of it."

Remus looked at the thoughtful Headmaster, pointing out, "You should consider visiting the Granger residence, I am sure Kingsley can help you with that."

"We need to but before that I want to draw you attention to these cryptic lines." Tapping his fingers over the three open letters, Severus continued.

"These are references to Muggle poems, Lily and I would read while we were still young," pointing out the lines written on the oldest letter he looked up at Draco.

"How do I love thee… (1)

If thou must love me (2)

E.B.B

These are the first lines of two different poems or sonnets written by a muggle female poet, Elizabeth Barett Browning. E.B.B. is just her initials."

"And Potter,

To my brother

S. Sassoon

The w. wind

Masefield…"

"She has directly referred to you as a brother…" Bill Weasley spoke out from the doorway, he had been watching the five at work for a short while, the light from the kitchen had made him aware, not all the visitors were asleep.

"Mr. Weasley, how far does your oath of secrecy with the goblins run?" Snape asked.

"It stops right where it starts endangering Hermione Sir. I don't wish to be another Percy of the family. I would like to help if you want to conduct an Unbreakable Vow, I am ready for it."

Motioning the eldest Weasley to take a seat next to Minerva, Snape stated, " How would you describe Griphook's intention in all of this?"

"Sir, I can see two things clearly. One- he truly, honest, genuinely cares for Hermione, to the extent, he has been thoroughly worried about her, and two- he wants something back from the wizards of Hogwarts."

Minerva, Remus turned at the man, and Snape snarled, "Ever a scheming goblin, what does the sly banker want, Mr. Weasley?"

"It took me some time to join the missing links Sir…"

Losing his patience, Severus Snape, lunged forward, and grabbed the young man but his collar, "Stop beating about the bush, my daughter's life is in danger, and that goblin is somehow responsible for it, tell me, now William Weasley, what does that disfigured mutant of a dwarf want?"

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor, I believe." Bill had choked over the words, trying to breath.