"Let me do the talking," Severus murmured as they began the walk back towards the castle. "The first thing we do when we return is give Albus an overview of the evening's events. In future, you'll be expected to provide your own report, but for now try and answer as succinctly as possible and refer as much of the inquiries to me. There are things that are necessary to tell Albus, and things that are not."

"Which would that be?" Hermione asked. "Are you keeping information from Albus?"

"I am only telling him that which is pertinent for the light to be aware of. I give the information required for the Order to step in and save lives. Nothing more."

Hermione nodded. It made sense to her; why should Albus be privy to the inner workings of these people's lives? If it was not necessary for Albus to take action, do not share it.

"Now," Severus continued softly. "Are you alright?"

He placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling his cloak with it to provide her with warmth in the chilly evening air. Hermione flushed a little but moved closer, happily accepting his invitation into proximity.

"I am," she replied. "I have a lot of questions, of course, but-"

Snape chuckled. "A lot of questions? You?"

A scowl dominated her features, and he only smirked as she shot him a glare.

"Shut it. Questions are necessary to learn."

"Pertinent questions are," he shot back. "If it's obvious, don't bother asking."

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask you, Severus Snape," she hissed. "So you would do well to reserve judgement."

He inclined his head. "Indeed. I was simply commenting on my… experience… of your questions in an academic context."

"You haven't complained about them recently."

"I haven't complained about them in private," he corrected. "And I haven't as much in class, because your questions are finally relevant."

"Oh? And how have my questions not been relevant previously?"

"You've brought up information that exceeds the knowledge necessary for the potion being made or lecture being given."

"To build upon the topic and further my understanding!"

Severus flicked his gaze up to the Headmaster's tower, where the tall form of Albus Dumbledore was in sight. Hermione followed his gaze and sent another scowl his way.

We'll talk about this later, she decided.

"Building on your own understanding isn't helpful for me as a teacher," Severus explained. "All you are doing is using class time to distract and confuse children who could, quite frankly, do with a refresher course on the basics."

Hermione shut her mouth, swallowing down her retort. Was he right? Was her goal to excel affecting the progress of others? Was that why he'd been so cruel to her all these years? As if he knew what she was thinking, Snape continued.

"Also, I used to find you incredibly annoying."

By now, they were entering the quiet castle, and Severus removed his arm and warmth from his smaller companion, who keenly felt its loss. Their footsteps echoed in the halls as they made their way upwards, and only Snape's wand lit the way. He shook his head when Hermione reached for her own.

Albus' office was already open when they arrived, the gargoyle waving them forward without a password. The golden light of the room, and the warmth from within made it feel homely, and Hermione was surprised to feel herself relax upon taking a seat in front of the headmaster's desk.

Severus, it seemed, preferred to stand. He hovered next to the window, one arm outstretched to idly stoke the feathers of Fawkes.

"So," Dumbledore began. "May I offer either of you a cup of tea… or a lemon drop, perhaps?" The twinkle was in his eyes, and Hermione politely shook her head as Severus just rolled his eyes.

What was with the lemon drops? Why did he always have them on hand to offer visitors? Hermione filed the thought away for later consideration.

"We arrived at Malfoy Manor at the anticipated time. No pertinent details were shared during dinner. The Dark Lord did not converse with us; instead, I gave Hermione a proper introduction to the Malfoys. There was no entertainment provided, simply a gathering of Death Eaters in a casual manner. When the women seperated off, we moved to the library and drank whisky while smoking cigars. No plans or information was uncovered at this time."

Severus withdrew from the window and made to leave, but the Headmaster held up a hand to stop him. Snape's lip curled, and Hermione almost laughed at the irritation that emanated from his person.

"Hermione," the headmaster smiled. "How was the trip, my dear? I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable for you?"

She felt his sparkling blue eyes make contact with hers, and dropped her gaze to the desk quickly, blinking the brown orbs to rid herself of the feeling.

"It was as Professor Snape prepared me for, sir. I wasn't privy to anything useful, but I hope I may have begun to earn their trust. The women's conversation was very much on the polite and proper spectrum. Nothing of interest was shared, though it may be because I was present, I am not sure."

A moment passed before Hermione saw the nod of the headmaster's chin from her lowered gaze.

"Thank you, my dear. You have done very well," Albus offered. "I believe that it's time for you to have a good night's sleep."

He rose from the desk and walked them to the door. "Do let me know, Severus, should any plans change."

The dark-haired man gave a single nod, and then the pair turned to leave, feeling Dumbledore's eyes on them every step of the way until they hit a staircase and drifted out of sight.

Hermione opened the door and held it for Severus, who entered without a word, and pulled her into a tight hug.

"You did so well," he murmured.

She half-laughed and half-sobbed into his chest. "You know I never aim for an Acceptable," she joked, but her words were thick, and he held her tighter as she began to shake.

"I think, Hermione, in this instance you warrant an Outstanding."

"That'll be a first."

"I thought you were used to Outstanding?" he teased.

"Not from you, you miserable git!"

She pulled back, and he relaxed his grip to allow her a step back. She wiped the tears from her eyes with a dry chuckle. "I'm just so fucking relieved."

"You and me both, love."

By mutual agreement they slumped onto her sofa, relaxing into each other as Severus wordlessly lit the fire.

"Spiffy!" Hermione called, and the small elf popped into existence.

"Tea, coming right up, Missy Hermione!"

"Make that something stronger," Severus interjected. "The night we've had, it certainly requires firewhisky."

The elf nodded, as if this were a perfectly normal request, and then vanished to return a moment later, placing a tray on the table and smiling widely at the thanks bestowed before disappearing once more. Severus poured two generous measures of firewhisky and raised his in a toast.

"To a rather successful evening."

"To not becoming snake food," Hermione retorted, her lips twitching into a smile. Her eyes were still puffy, her cheeks pale, and the occasional teardrop dripped onto her chin, but her smile was bright, and she felt elated as Severus smiled in return.

They both took a sip.

"Would you like to talk now?" Severus asked with uncertainty. "This can keep until morning, if you just want to rest. I should have asked before coming in-"

"Nonsense. These chambers are practically yours as much as mine."

Snape smirked as he took another sip. "Does this mean I get the bed tonight?"

"Fat chance!"

"It was worth a shot."

"If you want it, you'll have to pull me by my feet. It's far comfier than my bed in Gryffindor tower."

His eyes darkened at that, but Severus said nothing. They sat in silence until their glasses were empty, and then the dark-haired gentleman lifted the bottle to her with a quirk of his eyebrow.

She nodded, and accepted a refill. She then grabbed the generous plate of biscuits and balanced them on her knee, grabbing a bourbon cream.

"Well then, witch, out with it."

"Out with what?"

"The ridiculous number of questions that are whirring around your brain."

Hermione frowned and finished her biscuit. For the first time that evening, her mind was blissfully empty. Simply calm, relaxed in the comfort of her companion.

"What exactly is the philosophy of the Death Eaters? They don't seem anywhere near as, well, you know…"

"As awful as Dumbledore would have you believe?" he finished for her.

"Yes. I mean, I know that they're people, but they're just so normal. And they accepted my presence quite gracefully."

Severus Snape nodded. "They are, as the light would like to forget, only human. Tom Riddle, as he used to be known, was always incredibly charismatic. I suppose, you could assume that the Death Eaters began as any other cult; a group of people drawn together by similar life experiences and belief systems. The growth of a cult into a more dangerous formation only comes with the leader's greed for power, and essentially peer pressure. Think of the etymology of the word 'cult'. Both 'cult' and 'culture' stem from the latin word 'colere', meaning to care, tend, or 'cultivate'. These relate to growth, and prosperity. Generally, culture and cultivation are in some way related to bettering oneself, one's skills, one's society, or in the basic form, growing crops and providing for the community. Would you consider culture to have a negative meaning?"

Hermione bit her lip as she mused. "No, I guess. I suppose 'culture' or 'being cultured' makes me think of being well-read, having an appreciation for arts and music, for widening experiences… but then you can also look at other uses, like 'rape culture' or 'gang culture'. I suppose all of it relates to a specific, deeply ingrained belief system."

"Exactly. The Death Eaters all believe what they are taught to believe, and I am not ruthless enough to believe that every single one should be treated as animals because of it. I will give Albus names that help him, by telling him of extremists who are a danger to us and to others, but I will not hand over innocents, simply because of what they were taught to believe. The Order of the Phoenix, and the Light in general are indiscriminate in their treatment of the opposing side, but honestly, they cause as much bloodshed as the Death Eaters, albeit more quietly, and with a sense of superiority. Some days, I'm not sure what is more dangerous."

"Both sides will happily eliminate the other for their beliefs, and their side of the story. Neither will believe in re-education…"

Severus shook his head. "Some do. And as such, I will happily leave any passive believers out of it. The Dark Lord acts against those that he sees as a threat. Those who directly oppose him. Albus Dumbledore will act against anyone who is on the other side. You'd likely never heard of the women that you met this evening. They are more pacifist, more demure in their beliefs, and I don't believe that they should be tortured or murdered for that."

Hermione nodded. "I will be careful. I wouldn't like to undo your hard work by making a slip in front of the headmaster."

Snape reached out one hand, his long finger pushing a stray curl away from her face. "Thank you. I must say, you are taking this much better than I expected."

"I've already been shown that the so called light aren't always the martyrs and freedom fighters that I've been led to believe. Albus Dumbledore has shown me that himself."

"And of Potter?"

Hermione hunched her shoulders in to protect herself, taking a large gulp of her whisky. "I don't know… I don't understand. He was having a vision, of the Dark Lord, and his form of… entertainment," she spat the word, her face twisting into a pained snarl. "How do I know that was truly a vision, and not just Harry?"

"It likely was a vision," her friend replied smoothly. "Atrocities are committed on both sides, regardless of how refined people may seem in polite company."

Hermione didn't feel entirely reassured, but when Severus lifted the plate from her knee, she snuggled close and pressed a kiss to his chest.

"Right now, I feel like you are the only one I can trust, Severus."

She felt him stiffen, but a gentle kiss was placed on the top of her head.

"And I, you."

Together, they drifted off to sleep, only waking up to lengthen and widen the sofa to continue cuddling laying down. They both needed the comfort.

The next day, Severus had left before Hermione awoke, and she felt both grateful and oddly… empty as seeing the vacant side of their makeshift bed. She was relieved not to face him after their strangely intimate sleeping arrangement.

The only remaining sign of his presence was a small vial of calming draught on the table, complete with a small label tied to the stopper saying 'drink me'.

Like Alice. Fallen down the rabbit hole.

Hermione smiled, and sniffed the potion carefully before consuming it. The writing was certainly Severus', but there was never any harm in being cautious. Feeling buoyed by the refreshing sleep and the success of survival, she returned the sofa to its original state and headed to her desk. Her notes were still neatly piled, and a bookmark sat in each of her current texts. Very quickly, a quill found its way into her mouth, and the books fell open for continual reference. The soul… they key was the soul. Why would that specifically mean dark magic?

As if a lightbulb had lit up in her head, Hermione flipped through her texts, easily finding and translating a passage on Soul magic from her ancient text, copying it down and considering the different connotations.

The soul has long been considered a fluid thing, through the virtues of reincarnation and soul mates primarily…

Soul mates? In the muggle world, considered a myth, but in the magical world… Hermione slammed her books shut and headed to the library, grabbing hold of any text that might be of use to her. The pile towered above her, and Hermione grabbed the texts one at a time, skimming through to find the passages most suited to her needs.

Soulmates

Soul bonds

Twin souls

The higher self

Soul families

Life debts and Wizard's oaths

Marriage

She was jotting down her notes when a flash of platinum hair entered her vision. Draco took a seat beside her, and Hermione turned to him with a scowl.

"I'm busy here, Draco."

He snickered. "Never thought you to be the romantic type."

"I'm not," she replied haughtily. "This is simply research."

To her surprise, he simply nodded his head and reached for an open text. "While these are definitely… interesting, how about our joint research?"

The brunette sighed. "We'll need to gather ingredients before making any further progress," she told him. "There's no sense in drawing together further theories until we've crossed out some of our existing ones."

Draco tapped his fingers together on the desk. "We need to test different ingredients as substitutes, and we need to see if different moon cycles affect the new ingredients that we are inputting."

"It may be possible that if some of the ingredients are harvested under the full moon, the potion may not require exposure to it, and could mature faster," Hermione added. "Which is useful if the brewing happens to fall upon a full moon that lacks clarity. At least then the batch wouldn't be compromised."

"So," Draco decided. "If you could gather ingredients during the day, and note down the date, moon cycle, time of day, then I can gather the same ingredients on the full moon, and we can brew the cauldrons in tandem."

"Alright. We will need to repeat the experiment, possible harvesting the daytime ingredients at different points in the month. But for now, we can see if the theory holds any value."

"Wonderful. Thank you for being so agreeable, Granger."

Hermione smiled. "You're welcome, Draco."

He sauntered off without so much as another word, and Hermione put away her notes with a single thought: Can a human being truly be a horcrux?

Hermione had just finished harvesting a sizable amount of knotgrass when she spotted a familiar redhead ambling through the grounds, looking much older and more worn than Hermione had ever seen him. His dress was impeccable (all black, with a brown trenchcoat), and while his hair had grown longer, it no longer had the lank look of his earlier schooldays.

"Ron!" Hermione cried, running to catch up with him. She flung her arms around him in a tight hug, and felt a strange sorrow pass over her at the restrained, quieter laugh of her friend. Gone was the schoolboy chuckling and giggles. "What are you doing here?"

"Here to meet with Dumbledore, y'know? How are you doing?"

Hermione beamed. "I'm well, thank you Ron. Did he give you a new task then? I tried sending you an owl, but it couldn't find you."

He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "I've been laying low for a little while. How about we have a coffee once I've spoken to Albus?"

Albus. The name made her pause, but Hermione continued smiling. "Of course. That would be lovely, Ron. Do you remember where my chambers are?"

"I'll meet you there after? Unless you need to do something else first?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, no, straight away is fine. I'll just take these ingredients to the potions lab, and then I'll be straight up and sort out a cuppa." She gave him another another tight squeeze before letting him go. "It really is good to see you, Ron. I've missed you."

Ron smiled sadly, but he did not reply. His back was straight and his strides measured as he walked up to the castle. To Hermione, he looked like a soldier, and this filled her with sorrow.