Hermione scanned the Great Hall again. "He's not here," she whispered to Ron. "Harry's still not here."

"I can see that, I've got eyes, don't I?" He reached for another sandwich.

"How can you just sit there and eat?" Hermione hissed. "Why are you always able to just sit there and eat?"

"Because I've never found trouble to be improved by meeting it on an empty stomach," Ron answered equably. He put the sandwich on Hermione's plate instead of his own. "Get that down you."

She picked it up gingerly. "I don't think I can. I feel too sick."

The words came out incautiously loud, and a sharp elbow dug into her ribs on her other side. "Hermione?" Ginny whispered. "You're not up the duff, are you?"

Hermione dropped the sandwich. "No! I'm just worried about Harry."

"Because the man who killed a basilisk at age twelve and a Dark Lord at age seventeen is obviously in mortal peril trying to find a classroom," Ginny said. "Makes sense."

Hermione bit her lip. "Well, both those things did happen right here at this school," she said. It had the advantage of being true, although it wasn't the entire truth. I can't exactly tell her that what I'm really worried about is that Professor Snape — who, by the way, Ginny, didn't I mention it, is still alive — has said something really awful to Harry.

Or Harry said something really awful to him.

Oh, why didn't I insist on going with him? Sure, we know now that we were all always on the same side —

There had been a lot of years of hating each other before then, though. And that might have been based on misunderstanding on Harry's part … but it certainly wasn't on Snape's.

"Look, here he is," Ron said, and Hermione looked up to see Harry entering the Great Hall through the door beside the teacher's table.

"Are you alright?" she asked him as Luna shuffled up and Harry sat next to Ron.

"Bit dazed," he admitted. "Not in the magical sense."

"I should have come with you," Hermione whispered across Ron. "He hasn't changed at all."

Harry grinned at her. "No, but I have. I'm alright, Hermione. I just wanted to have a bit of a think, and I wanted to check some places on the grounds for the location of the D.A.D.A jinx —"

"Find it?" Ron asked.

"No, but we can rule out the main gates, the Hogsmeade gates, the front doors, and anywhere on the path down to Hagrid's hut," Harry said.

"Why Hagrid's hut?" Luna asked.

Harry shrugged. "A hunch. I mean, it's also the way to the Forbidden Forest, isn't it?"

Ron finished his sandwich and eyed the chicken salad speculatively. "How early do you think old Tom started his habit of hiding things in important places?"

"That early, at least," Harry said. "He hid the Ravenclaw diadem in the Room of Requirement when he came to ask Dumbledore for the job."

"But the curse can't be on something in there," Hermione said. "Not the storage room form of it, anyway. Everything in there was destroyed with Fiendfyre."

"But the rest of the Room wasn't," Ron said. "What if he hid the object carrying the curse in a different form of the Room?"

"Then we'll never find it," Harry said. "Not without knowing exactly what he was looking for when the Room gave him a place to hide it."

"Yes, you will," Ginny put in. "Just ask Neville. He got to be absolutely brilliant at understanding how the Room of Requirement worked, that year Professor Snape was Headmaster."

Harry nodded. "Brilliant idea. He can have a go tonight — I think we should get together in the clubhouse after dinner."

Hermione caught his eye, and raised an eyebrow inquiringly. Harry gave her a slight nod, confirming her suspicion that his agenda for the meeting would be rather less about the D.A.D.A curse and rather more about the continued existence of one particular former D.A.D.A teacher.

Fortunately, the afternoon proved too full of classroom challenges to allow her to dwell on the way the others would react. She had her first year class of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws again, which kept her dashing back and forth across the classroom to correct mistakes and still produced two explosions that required containment spells. That was followed by the fourth year class, which was going swimmingly until a Gryffindor prankster decided to enliven the afternoon by enchanting her cauldron to be self-stirring, and managed to make it perambulating instead. Hermione had to chase it around the classroom for five minutes while the students stood on their stools before she got a clear shot for a Finite Incantatem.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Merriborough," she said, grimly tucking the strands of hair shaken loose in the chase back into place. "Two feet on what went wrong with that spell, on my desk by Monday morning. And detention for the rest of this week, cleaning cauldrons the old-fashioned way."

Which meant, of course, Hermione had effectively given herself detention as well, and had to spend the hour between the last class of the day and dinner watching Louise Merriborough scrub cauldrons by hand without even having marking to profitably occupy her time. She spent it reviewing her notes on the Man of Mystery's improved healing salve, making sure she was confident she could brew it herself when her supply ran out.

At dinner, thought, her imagination had the chance to run riot, and she had to force herself to eat. What will Neville say when he learns the teacher who was his personal Bogart is the person who needs his help? Harry forgave me for not telling him straight away, but will Ginny?

The three of them lived through the year of Headmaster Snape in a way Ron, Harry and I didn't — can they forgive him, now they know why he acted as he did? Do they even really believe Harry, the way Ron and I do?

Finally, the meal was over. Although they were all staff now, and could have simply said they were going off to talk, the old instincts held. Without needing to discuss it, all six of them slipped away separately, apparently bound in different directions. Hermione herself went half-way to the staffroom before stopping, miming remembering something she had to do, and ducking through the fourth floor corridors towards the Room of Requirement.

She was the last to arrive except for Luna, who came in a moment later carrying a plate heaped with pastries.

Ron, Neville and Harry reached for them simultaneously, and Luna held them out of their reach. "They're for Hermione," she said with mild reproach. "She hardly ate anything at dinner." She set the plate down in front of Hermione with a smile. "Perhaps you'll feel more like eating when you get rid of your Wrackspurts."

"Er…" Hermione picked up a pastry, to be polite. "Thanks."

Luna gave her a serene smile, and passed the plate to Ginny.

"I've got something to tell you all," Harry said, without further preamble. "Something you need to know, and have a right to know, but it's got to stay between us."

"Of course, Harry," Luna said, and Ginny and Neville echoed her.

"Severus Snape is still alive," Harry said bluntly.

"What?" Ginny and Neville said in unison.

"That explains a lot," Luna said calmly. "Have an alexandertorte."

Ginny stared at her. "What does it explain, exactly?"

"Why the Bloody Baron has been making himself scarce whenever Neville wants to ask him about the new ghost in the dungeons. The ghosts don't lie to the staff here, you know, but he's the Slytherin ghost and Professor Snape was Slytherin Head of House." She selected a circular pastry dusted with sugar and nibbled the edge. "The Baron would want to protect him, if he's in hiding."

"Why would he be in hiding?" Neville asked. "No-one thinks he was ever a real Death Eater, not any more."

Luna turned her wide-eyed gaze on him. "He's obviously in hiding, Neville, or else everyone would know he's here." She studied her pastry with an air of disappointment. "I always expect these to have more raisins in them than they do. I suppose you're sure it's him, are you?"

"I'm sure," Harry said. He glanced at Hermione. "And so —"

"So am I," Hermione said. "That's the promise I made, to him, to keep it a secret. I wanted to tell you, but …"

"If you've both seen him it probably isn't a Naghertoff," Luna said. When they all stared at her, she gave a little shake of her head. "You know, a Naghertoff. They live in cemeteries, mostly, but you find them in other places. They take the shape of a person you miss. They're often mistaken for ghosts, but they're more solid."

"He's not a, er, a Nagertoff," Harry said firmly.

"Are you sure it's him?" Ginny asked, picking up a pastry. "Not someone pretending?"

"Yes," Hermione said patiently. "I cast Revelio when I first saw him, and used Thief's Downfall for good measure."

"Did you try Riddikulus, though?" Luna asked thoughtfully.

Neville guffawed, spraying crumbs from his own snack. "You think Harry and Hermione have been taken in by my Boggart?"

"They can be quite cunning," Luna said.

"Yes, but Luna, Professor Snape would only be my Boggart if he was telling me, I don't know, that my Potions Mastery was being rescinded," Hermione pointed out. "And he definitely wouldn't be Harry's."

"True," Luna said. "And when you really think about it, it isn't all that unlikely, is it? After all, Montague Donnelly lived secretly in Hogwarts for fifty years without being discovered."

"In the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked.

"Oh, no. In the Great Hall," Luna said serenely. "He disguised himself as a statue, you see."

"Of course he did," Ron said, but he said it under his breath.

"Perhaps Professor Snape should try it?"

"If you don't mind, I'd rather not suggest it to him," Harry said with a grin. "He's not exactly overjoyed that I know he's here as it is."

"Well, he wouldn't be, would he?" Luna said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'd think you're the last person he'd want to talk to."

Harry nodded. "Because of my parents."

"Oh, no," Luna said. "Although I'm sure that's part of it. No, it's because he's embarrassed, don't you think?" She looked from one blank face to another. "Harry's seen Professor Snape's memories from school. Teenage boys are terribly awkward, aren't they? And teenage boys in love are worse. How would you like it, Ron, if someone watched your memories of asking Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball?"

Ron blushed. "That's different, though, isn't it? I was a right prat."

"He might feel that he was a right prat, too," Harry said thoughtfully.

Hermione shot him a glance but didn't pry. She could certainly remember a few moments of her own adolescence that made her burn with embarrassment to recall, and she was well aware that the version of Professor Snape's memories that Harry had recounted had been radically abbreviated. He loved her, they had a fight … he said something terrible, he tried to apologise but my mum wouldn't have it.

"Anyway," she said loudly. "None of that matters any more. What matters is working out who's put the curse on Professor Snape, and how to break it."

"It's got to be someone powerful," Harry said. "I had the impression from what he said to Professor Dumbledore, from, you know, the Pensieve, that if that curse hadn't been as awful and dangerous as it was, Professor Snape would have been able to lift it outright."

"And placed through the Dark Mark?" Neville asked, and when Harry and Hermione both nodded, he sighed. "That's champion, that is, a very powerful Death Eater no-one knows about."

"Kingsley Shacklebolt has started an investigation," Ron said. "Of Harry's 'anonymous tip'."

"The Death Eater doesn't have to be powerful," Hermione said. "Someone could be using them."

"Still not good news though, is it?" Neville pointed out.

"We need to look at this logically," Hermione said. She dug in her bag and produced a notebook. "Look, I've made a list of possibilities. One, a Death Eater casting the curse using their own Dark Mark. Two, someone who isn't a Death Eater but has access to one —"

"You know what I've just realised?" Harry asked a bit grimly. "That's the whole staff of Azkaban."

There was a small silence while that sank in. "Is it likely, though, Harry?" Ginny asked at last. "Kingsley's cleaned up the Ministry. Surely anyone with sympathies to Voldemort was well and truly weeded out?"

"Still, we need to consider it," Hermione said. "Even if it isn't likely, it's possible." She scribbled a note. "Now, as to point one, and also point two if it isn't someone from the Azkaban guards gone rogue, we have two possibilities. Possibility 'a' is that there's a Death Eater no-one ever knew about. The only way I can think of that happening is that they got the Dark Mark back in the early days and went abroad immediately afterwards. Otherwise, Professor Snape for one would have known they were a Death Eater."

"Hardly the sort of loyal soldier who'd be thirsting for revenge," Neville said.

"Or, 'b', there's someone who's presumed dead but isn't." Harry opened his mouth and Hermione spoke over him. "I know all the dead on the other side were magically identified, but we know at least one person who supposedly died in the battle and didn't, don't we? Are we sure there weren't more?"

"I don't know about you," Ron said, "but I don't look forward to telling Kingsley he's going to have to have the graves exhumed."

Hermione bit her lip. "I don't think we should. Unless it's a last resort."

"Well, no, it'll cause an awful —"

"That's not why, Ron!" Hermione burst out. "Think about it! If the Ministry reopens an investigation into exactly who did and didn't die that day, there's at least one missing body they'll fail to find, isn't there?"

"Yes, but not a Death Eater body," Ron said.

"Not as far as Harry says," Hermione pointed out. "And we believe you, Harry, we do — but does everyone? At the very least, there'll have to be an inquiry. The Wizengamot will want Pensieve testimony, or Legilimens, or Veritaserum, or all three probably. We can't put Professor Snape through that, not unless there's no other choice."

"I'll get the list of names," Harry said after a moment. "There'll be a least some, and hopefully most, that we can rule out. I mean, I saw Bellatrix Lestrange die, for example."

Hermione rubbed her arm, realised she was doing it, and stopped. "Yaxley. I saw him go down."

"That's two. We can probably get up to four or five," Ginny said. "There's still going to be a lot who we have no idea about."

"Hogwarts: A History," Hermione said. "I'll put it about that I want to update the chapter on the battle with accurate information. That will give me an excuse to ask all the Professors, and Kingsley, and everyone just what they saw."

Harry nodded. "Alright. Me to get the list. Hermione to start questioning people, starting with the teachers here. Ron — are you still friends with that fellow from our first year training, who went to work at Azkaban? What was his name, Jimmy something?"

"Simpson, Jimmy Simpson," Ron said. He shrugged. "Not close friends, but we have a drink every now and again."

"Well, Floo him and suggest a pint, and while you're at it, get him talking about the people he works with."

"Oh, right," Ron said. "Hey, Jimmy, any Death Eater sympathisers on your shift?" Hermione glared at him, and he grinned. "Don't worry, I'll be subtle about it."

"It doesn't have to be someone on You-Know-Who's side," Luna said quietly. "It could be someone who hated him, you know." At Ron's blank look, she gave a small smile. "Hermione said it. Not everybody believed Harry, did they? With Professor Snape dead, there wasn't any reason for them to make a fuss about it, but if they found out he was alive …"

"I wish you hadn't said that," Harry said after a pause. "I mean, you're absolutely right, but we've just expanded the list of people who might want Severus Snape dead by several thousand."

"That's unfortunate," Luna observed, and Hermione silently agreed. Thousands … what chance do we have?

So what chance does he have? Her scar ached, and she pressed the heel of her hand against it, through her shirt. These days, a few seconds' pressure was usually enough to calm the nerves. That new salve really is an improvement.

And then, I wonder … I wonder if the same principles could apply to healing potions?

Hermione made a note to herself. Aloud, she said firmly, "Well, we have to start somewhere, don't we?"

"The month of July is a good place to start." Luna reached for another pastry and her face fell when she found the plate empty. "Not always, of course. It's a very bad place to start searching for Billywigs, because it's winter where they live, then. But I think in this case, the month of July is where we should start."

"But Luna," Hermione said patiently, "Professor Snape said he can't contain the curse that long. We can't wait for July."

"Oh, not next July," Luna said calmly. "Last July. Or the July before that." She gave Hermione a wide-eyed look. "Isn't that what Harry said? The curse started in July?"

"That far with a Time Turner, even if we had one, would —"

"You don't need a Time Turner to search July, silly," Luna said. "You need a newspaper."

"It's a good idea, Luna," Harry said. "But Professor Snape pointed out, and I think it's a good point, that it's likely it was only in July that the person who's cursed him found out how, or found out he was alive."

"I expect Professor Snape is confused in his mind," Luna said serenely. "Being cursed can do that to a person. There's no such thing as coincidence when it comes to curses. Why, just look at Minister Scrimgeour. He went hunting for Nogtails, which is quite unnecessarily cruel since all you need is a white dog to keep them away, and one year and one month later he died."

"Luna," Harry said, and hesitated, quite clearly trying to find a tactful way to put what they were all thinking into words.

"I think it's an excellent idea, Luna," Hermione said firmly. She might find something, and if I come up with something else for her to do, I'll just tell her then. "You find out if there's anything in particular about July that might be to do with the curse."

"What about me?" Neville asked. "I'm good with plants, but I don't think that'll be much good for curse-breaking."

"Plants, and chopping the head off dirty great snakes," Harry said. "And teaching, right? Who's the most likely sort of person to have spotted Professor Snape around Hogwarts?"

Neville's face cleared. "Students."

"You were here last year. We need you to make a list of the students most likely to have seen Professor Snape — the ones with a tendency to wander around when and where they shouldn't — with special attention to the ones with Death Eaters in the family, or —" Harry glanced at Luna. "Or students who lost family members to them."

"The Hufflepuffs'll be easy," Neville said, "but I don't know about the other Houses."

"Ask the Heads of House," Ron suggested. "Put it, like, that you're wanting advice on how to handle students with a tendency to break the rules —"

"Maisie Wilkins and Colin Aitkins," Hermione suggested. "I caught both of them out of bed after hours on their first day."

"Say you want to make sure to steer them on the right path, and ask how Professor Flitwick and the others handle students like that," Ron said. "And ask them for examples."

"On their first night, really?" Neville asked, looking concerned.

"Yes, exactly like that," Ron said. "You look like you really care."

"But I do care!" Neville said. "There's all sorts of trouble they could get in, without a charm between them for protection."

"And me?" Ginny asked.

Harry grinned. "Well, playing to your strengths, in particular your ability to drink anyone we both know under the table … why don't you see if Aberforth Dumbledore has heard anything interesting?"

.

.

Author's note: It's not canon that Yaxley was one of the Death Eaters killed in the final battle — canonically, his fate is unknown.

In the movie, although not the book, while Hermione is captive at Malfoy Manor Bellatrix Lestrange carves the word 'mudblood' on her arm. I am going with the movie as far as that incident is concerned.