Severus woke with a start, his eyes turning towards the clock on the bedside table. Like clockwork for the past three weeks Granger had woken from night terrors at 3:04 exactly and crawled into his bed for comfort. Initially, he'd been very off-put by her presence. Choosing to lay on the far end of the bed when she would make a plea to join him. Though steadily he had found himself waking to find her head tucked into his arm with her hand wrapped around it. He'd given up, rather reluctantly, on having any personal space during his sleep.

He'd given her her own bed just to the side of his. Smaller, of course, just room for her. The room easily accommodated the addition. Now, however, he was greatly debating on just allowing her in his bed from the beginning in the hopes that he wouldn't be woken every night when she would ask to join him.

His brain ticked when he turned his head towards the edge that she'd always come to and found himself perplexed to find her not there. He pushed himself onto his arms to find her bed empty and his heart kicked up. A deep retching noise from the other side of the room cleared his sinuses and he was able to get to his feet surprisingly quickly.

"Miss Granger?"

Soft desperate sounding words reached his ears like a mantra but they were far to slurred for him to make out clearly. A heavy hand pushed open the door to the bathroom and another deep retch filled his ears.

Granger was braced over the toilet, her entire body shaking as she spit up what little she had left. Her face was red with heavy tears glistening down her cheeks. When her head turned to his approach she let out a soft yet deep chest shuddering sob before looking down at her hand that clawed into her stomach.

"I don't want to be pregnant, please... Please...I can't...I can't..."

"Shh...What are you talking about?" Severus knelt down beside her, his hand pushing back the hair that had come loose to stick to her face, "You're not pregnant..."

"I am...I can...I can feel it...my stomach...look at it..."

Severus turned his head down but merely shook his head. The only thing she'd done was regain most of the weight she'd lost. She'd gained a fair bit of muscle thanks to his rigorous routines that had kept her busy through the days. Keeping her safely away inside the trunk and out of his hair. He'd created a small body training area for her, as well as adjusted the swimming pool to allow her to do laps. His carrot and stick strategy pushing her forward to become somewhat resemblant of her former self.

"The only thing you've done is gain weight." Severus took her wrist guiding it away from her stomach and onto his waist, "It was a dream...just a dream..." His lack of sleep made his tone a bit sharper than he'd wished but what could be expected of him at 3 in the morning? It wasn't uncommon for her to wake in a daze too stuck inside her dream to take in the reality around her but this was the first time she'd ever talked about being pregnant. He supposed it was a fear most women held but he wasn't sure.

"No...please...he...he did this... I can't...I can't carry his child..." Hermione pulled weakly against the arm that came to raise her up. Her head rolling around her chest as she continued to look down at her stomach. She could feel him, deep inside her, clawing away at her insides. Tearing away everything.

Severus shushed her once more as he pulled her legs up with the rest of her. She was definitely heavier than before and standing with her took a little more effort but he managed well enough. His body shuddered from the exertion, still half asleep himself. Walking her to the bed, he sat her down before using his wand to clear her nose and face.

"It was just a dream..." His deep voice made her eyes heavy and it was no effort to guide her back onto the bed. A gentle caress of her cheek brought her closer to dreamland though her lips continued to move.

"I...I don't...I can't..."

"Shhh...it was just a dream. I'm here, you're safe." Severus ran his fingertips over her fluttering lashes until her soft words mumbled out. A deep yawn shook his frame once more and he stood to make his way to the other side of the bed.

As he crawled in she started to move. Too tired to keep her at bay, he rolled onto his side letting her use his arm as her pillow. A deep sigh rumbled his chest as he moved closer, his fingers coming into her hair in long massaging circles. When her body finally relaxed against his own, he felt the delicious call to sleep finally taking hold. His hand slowed to a stop bringing her forehead to rest under his chin. Her soft wisping breaths warming his skin through his tank top.

oOOo

Ron blinked slowly in the pre-dawn light. It was beyond early and his body did not approve. They were on the trail of a possible traitor among the snatchers who possibly held inside information on what Voldemort's next plans were. Thus far, they'd managed to escape not one group of snatchers but three. It had been pure luck at all that they'd managed to get away without injury.

The necklace that they kept in their bag had surely darkened their luck but with the news that Ginny had been caught trying to take the sword, they needed another way to possibly destroy it until she could find the right time to try again. Unfortunately, they had no way of knowing if Snape had moved it or not. It would make sense that he did but they had no way of knowing.

Harry had kept in contact with Ginny in the weeks after her first attempt. They were still working together on coming up with a plan, but thus far hadn't shared any of it with Ron. It made him angry. Angry that he didn't have some sort of value to the team. He didn't know why he was being excluded only that he was. It didn't make sense. He was there, right there with him in the thick of things but he couldn't know about what Harry and his own sister were doing? It was ridiculous.

"There...there it is..." Harry lowered himself down behind a large tree, his hand pointing to the tents arching around a dead campfire, "We're looking for a man with a red scarf around his waist."

"Right..." Ron lowered himself down with a heavy scowl, his eyes running over the camp, "Everyone's asleep, probably in their tents."

"Yeah...wait..." Harry lowered himself down even further when a sharp pop sounded just beyond the first tent. A lower voice filled the cold air and both Ron and Harry cast quick disillusionment charms over themselves to ensure that they wouldn't be spotted.

"I miss that one bitch. You remember? Curly hair?"

"The one that took off with the dragon?"

"Yeah, that one."

"She was gonna die anyway. Don't miss what you can't save. Fucking rat dibbed her anyway."

"Rat's dead now isn't he? Can't have dibs when you're dead."

The two men walked with heavy strides out from behind the tent, neither one of them looked to have washed in days. The one closest to them had a stub for an arm the end of which was dark as though infected. The men sat down beside the fire, the man with the stub using his wand to reignite the flames.

"I'm lucky to be alive after what that death eater did. Took off my arm, strung me up like a piece of meat."

"You shouldn't have gotten involved in that turf war. It was stupid of Marxan to take payment from a Malfoy. Not all death eaters are thick."

"You think it was a set-up?"

"Marxen is marked. No one who isn't trying to kill him is going to work with him."

"Wish someone would have told me that before I lost me arm." The man kicked a nearby log into the growing fire and spit into the dirt, "But that ass though."

"You'd do it again?"

"Oh, yeah." The man smirked before cracking his neck. Their conversation coming to a stop as they watched the fire grow.

Neither one were the man Harry and Ron were looking for, though it was useful information they didn't exactly know what to do with it. All they knew is that something was happening in the ranks of the dark side and Malfoy was involved. That wasn't very surprising to either of them especially when they'd learned about the arrangement keeping Luna at Hogwarts.

"Let's get out of here..." Harry whispered, pursing his lips. Light would be upon them soon, and if they were caught it'd be too difficult to hide.

"Yeah..."

oOOo

Screams. Fire. Smoke. The world around him was chaos. The war had begun. It was the final showdown. His body moved throughout the rubble, the bodies. His eyes searching through the flames for the victor. How had he survived it all? It was an impossible improbability.

A deep scream turned his world on its end and he found himself standing in the great hall before a sight that could only be imagined in dreams. The Dark Lord stood tall upon the broken stage, his red eyes glowing in his victory. And at his feet, a frail form standing still in the pools of blood that stained the hallowed Hall.

"You lied to me Severus."

"No. My Lord I-"

"Silence!" The word echoed through the cacophony of sounds moving around him. The world begun to tilt until it was just him and her.

"Pr-Professor...I...I... can't... breathe..."

"Yes...come and save your precious mudblood. We know how well that worked out for you last time." Like a demon the worlds tickled his ear but their was no body to create the sound. Just a whisper of fear.

Severus watched the image in front of him turn, like a flickering candle. Brown hair turned red, green eyes as deep as the sea looked straight into his soul tearing him down. It lasted only a second but for him it was a lifetime of regret. The foundation for all he had become.

"Please...she is nothing to you..."

There was only the heavens to plead to.

The woman—girl, came closer now. Walking through the dark mist. Green turned to brown, large wide, and filled with pain.

"Please...help me... Don't...leave me alone... I'm scared... So...cold..." Blood began to pour down from the crown of her head. No injury was visible but it rained unstopping, dripping from her chin. Her hand reached jerkingly towards him as her steps became weaker. Her body becoming frail as before. Her eyes turning white.

"Please..."

"No, but she is everything to you." The devil himself came down behind the girl struggling to breathe. Then—he was sure—his wand did the most unspeakable, the bright green light, turning everything—black.

A sharp pain ripped Severus from his fitful unconsciousness. His eyes snapping open wide to find a mess of hair under his chin and a heavy weight on his chest. A small panic elevated his heart rate before a soft sigh greeted his ears. A minute adjustment of his head brought a small face into focus.

She looked peaceful, her face that was constantly lined with worry or deep thought, was completely relaxed. Her lashes were long, standing dark against the pink skin of what she had affectionately called her 'mask'. Despite the copious amounts of healing balm the skin just would not turn. A curse scar that she might have from here on out. He was researching alternative solutions but free time was not something he had these days.

Her cheeks were rounded but contoured. The small bit of child she had left in her nearly gone. The bone was delicately hidden away though she wouldn't suffer if she gained just a little more weight. Her jaw came down at the perfect angle, accenting her lips that were relaxed in sleep but he could just make out the worried skin on the bottom. They had grown a healthy color as abused as they were by her teeth.

His eyes traveled down to her neck, his hand gently pulling away the locks that hid it away. That too had grown. The muscle she'd lost regrown, making it properly proportional to the rest of her. The bruises were gone but he could easily see the scars from where the metal collar he'd found her in had cut deep.

It was still difficult for her to look at herself though the scars were healing. The salve he made her put on every night, changing their color to a more natural easily hidden away hue. Some nights were easier for her than others but he wouldn't let her run away from it. She had to accept it so that she could finally move past it. A task easier said than done.

Another sharp jolt disrupted the rest of his observations. Her knee that had somehow found its way over his hip pressing very uncomfortably into something he'd rather prefer it didn't. The arm that held his chest shifted as she did; leaving his side to curl under her chin. Her head that had been tilted up towards him turning down to hide away.

A grimace lowered his own hand, taking her thigh in his grasp. He gave her leg a slow yet firm push until it slipped off the side of his hip and back against her own leg. This action afforded him a rather unwomanly grunt and the girl took a deep breath.

Severus went still, seeing what she would do. It was still rather early for either of them but his previous observations had already woken his mind for the day. It was not uncommon for her to sleep well into the morning, he having many times carried her into the trunk while she was still resting. While it was important for her to regain her strength, sleep was the body's own natural healing process. That and it afforded him an hour of precious solitude without having to worry about her safety.

A careful adjustment pulled his body from beneath hers. He desperatly needed a shower. Despite the girl using his own products her own natural smell had seeped its way into his skin and it was something—though pleasant in smell—he needed to rid himself of. It wouldn't do for him to forget what the reality of their situation was.

The morning air chilled away any warmth she had given him, making his heart grow hollow. How long had it been? Had he ever truly had the comfort of another's presence? So many years had passed, it was nearly impossible to recall.

A deep breath pushed away the thought and he came around the bed. With practiced ease, he wrapped her up in his blanket, a sign that he was always there, and lifted her to his chest. A soft sigh pressed into his skin as she nuzzled her way through the collar of his tank top to press her lips to the skin beneath.

Another precious moment to shake away the images that had tormented his sleep. She was safe, she was there in his arms. No pain, no fear. Just resting. Despite every warning bell that rang through his skull, he allowed himself just this moment of weakness and pressed his pursed lips to her forehead.

oOOo

"I think I figured out how the map works." Luna smiled gently, something that still looked tight with her darkened eyes.

"Yeah?" Neville made room for her to sit on the couch the Room of Requirement had provided them. It had become the only safe place they and so many others had been able to retreat to. Since their little mission impossible.

"Yeah." Luna pulled out her own wand and walked a fair bit away from the couch placing it down on one of the study tables.

Neville and Ginny gave her a very curious look but her walk showed confidence. When she sat back down Luna motioned for Ginny to open the map. The redhead abided by her silent request and turned to the 'prefects bathroom' that the RoR was listed under on the map.

"Woah. Look at that," Neville pointed to Luna's name that was blinking in and out on the far side of the room, "Why is it doing that?"

"Well when I took a look at the spell work used to create it I realized that it wasn't looking for 'human' signatures but magical ones. Specifically those held in wands. Otherwise we'd be seeing so much more." Luna crossed her legs as she settled down beside Neville.

"How far does this work?" Ginny was just as marveled as Neville but her thoughts were trickling into another direction.

"I haven't tried to go too far, but I can only guess that if you went too far away or the magical core chose another the name would change." Luna gave her a curious look as she was obviously thinking of something.

Neville furrowed his brows slightly, it made sense to him but just like Ginny something was niggling at the back of his mind, "But don't magical cores go out if... if the wand holder dies?"

There was a heavy silence between the three of them as none of them had a for sure answer. Finally, Ginny shot to her feet, quickly folding up the map, "McGonagall would know."

Neville jerked before jumping to his feet, "Ginny!"