Warning: This chapter has a little bit of Dumbledore bashing, and there is also a small bit of violence, if you want to call it that?


Hermione stepped out of the fireplace at the Potter residence and ran right into someone's back. She looked up and saw the slim form of Evan and quickly began to apologize. "Shite… Sorry, Evan. I didn't mean to; I just got distracted for a second. It won't happen again."

She didn't wait for his response, just stepped around him and walked past the other wizards who had come with her.

She walked toward the kitchen as she heard explosive laughter burst from inside. She leaned against the door and took a deep breath. She turned around and gazed at the men behind her.

"They will want to see you all. I'm so sorry. I will make it quick, okay? I will grab food, hand it off to you all after they see you with their own eyes, and then you can leave. I will stay with Regulus and hopefully explain a little bit right now, and then leave too. Is this okay?" The three wizards, besides Regulus, nodded thankfully. She nodded back and gathered herself before she pushed open the door.

As soon as she walked into the room, all sound had ceased. The only thing that could be heard was a loud slap - the raw sound of flesh meeting flesh - making the wizards in the living room flinch. Then, a young woman's voice began to shriek in anger.

"Why didn't you tell me, Hermione?! You should have told me this was happening from the beginning! Do you realize how dangerous this is?! You didn't even tell me that the boxes to my uncle's family could be opened! I had to find out from Harry and these three, what had happened!" Ginny motioned her hands towards the three wizards who sat silently.

"Use your head, Hermione! You're supposed to be the smart one! You should have known that you couldn't handle doing this all by yourself. Sure, you brought back my uncles and Sirius, but you also brought back four Death Eaters, Hermione! They're evil. For fuck sake, you were tortured by the cousin of one of them, and the sister-in-law of the other. You almost died from Dolohov's curse! And to add on to his numerous offenses, he also killed my bloody uncles! Are you just going to let all of that pass? How can you even live with yourself? You should have let them all stay dea-"

Ginny's sentence was cut off by the sound of another voice yelling: Hermione's.

"Shut up! Just shut up, Ginny! I get it; It's all my fault! Do you think that I don't already know that? Do you think any of us had any choice in this?! It was an accident! How could you say those things about those wizards? So, they deserved to stay dead, while your uncles and Sirius get to stay alive? What makes these three in here, any better than those men out there?!" Hermione yelled. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself, but it only lasted for a few seconds.

"We've all killed someone, Ginny. Don't act like you haven't either. You think that just because they were on the 'bad side,' it automatically means that they deserve to live any less than we do?! Fucking hell, Ginny, Dumbledore was just as bad as Voldemort was! He allowed for Harry to be sent back to the Dursleys, for years. He raised Harry to fight this foolish war for him. Do you really believe that Dumbledore couldn't have killed Voldemort himself, for that many years? Dumbledore could have finished all of this, but he was too busy worrying about a prophecy that came from that crazy bint, Trelawney! That old man could have saved Harry's parents. He promised Snape that he would! Both Dumbledore and Voldemort broke promises to Severus. They are one in the same. On top of that, Dumbledore knew for years that Tom Riddle was prone to dark magic. So, what did he decide to do? Ignore it! He let Tom Riddle become Voldemort. He made sure that the boy knew that he didn't trust him. Do you honestly think that Tom Riddle was born to be a dark wizard? He was just a poor boy, whose mother died and left him in a shitty orphanage for eleven years of his life. He had no one, Ginny! Why wasn't the great Dumbledore there for him? Why didn't he protect him? Have you ever thought about that, Ginny? Has ANYONE ever thought about that?!"

By this point, Hermione was shouting. Her anger had gotten the best of her, and everything that had been hidden away was suddenly spilling out.

"You think you can stand here and judge me because you lost loved ones, and you're still not able to forgive? That's not my issue, Ginny! You are not the only one who has lost someone! I sat and watched my parents fawn over a newborn baby when I went to go back and reverse the spell. They had a child, while I was gone... They had a little girl. I had to stand there and watch my family smile and laugh, and make the decision to walk away. I had to choose between their happiness and my own. Do you think that I wanted to do that? I lost everything, Ginny! I have nothing left! There is no real family left for me; they don't even know that I fucking exist!"

Hermione swallowed hard as she spoke about this. Lifting her head with a furious look on her face, she continued her rant.

"I took care of your husband and your brother for years. I even gave them my own food while we were on the run, so that they could eat; because I thought that they needed it more than me! I gave them, everything. I gave YOU, everything!" Ginny and Harry both flinched as she revealed this.

Harry had no idea that she was giving him and Ron her food. He didn't know that she felt any of this.

But Ginny, on the other hand, she knew that Hermione had done a lot for her. Hermione had taken care of her when she was pregnant with James, many times. She made sure that Ginny ate enough food and took the right potions, so that both she and the baby would be healthy. After James was born, Hermione practically lived at Grimmauld place. When Ginny and Harry were too tired to take care of the baby, Hermione would be there in a second to do it.

They were both ripped out of their thoughts when Hermione continued speaking, this time with a low - almost deadly - tone to her voice.

"Don't you dare stand here, in a room filled with your own family, and judge the wizards who are standing out there with no family left. They have nothing left, either, Ginny. Just like me. That is why I trust them. I forgave them because they didn't have a choice in this, Ginny. They are all I have now, do you understand that?! I am married to seven fucking wizards! They are stuck with me for the rest of their lives. I am trapping seven men in a marriage that they don't even want! They can't just go back to being normal people anymore, Ginny! They have been marked, and they will always be labeled by that mark. I am the same as them. I am marked just as they are, and I will always be labeled by it. What makes me any different from them? If you can condemn them that easily, then condemn me too, Ginevra Weasley. If they don't deserve to live, then neither do I. Say it, Ginny; tell me that I deserve to die."

Ginny stood there with wide eyes, her mouth opening and closing on air, and nothing came out. Hermione glared at her and decided to finish the conversation.

"If you can't say it to me, then I don't want to hear you say it to them, either." Hermione ended in a murderous tone.

The wizards in the living room were standing still in shock.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps and watched as Hermione walked out of the room with a fake smile painted across her lips, and a red mark that was already starting to bruise, on her right cheek. Regulus felt his heart drop when he saw this.

She quickly summoned some containers filled with food and gave them to each wizard. After she handed them out, she looked towards Rabastan, Antonin, and Evan. She nodded her head at them and motioned with her hand for them to leave.

"You do not have to stay any longer. Please, go back to the manor with Evan, and you may do what you please from there. Regulus will go to the attic and join you when he feels ready, same with the others. I do not know when I will see you next, but that doesn't matter. Now please, do not suffer here any longer." The men looked at the witch in front of them in confusion, and slowly turned and left.

Then, Hermione turned to look at Regulus. She smiled kindly at him, "Go ahead, you already know where the attic is, you certainly don't need me to escort you." He looked at her and felt sadness spread through his chest. He nodded and walked away.

Hermione stood there for a few minutes after Regulus had left. Maybe I shouldn't have said all of those things… I mean, I wasn't wrong, though. But, I suppose I could have said some of the things in a lighter way. No. No, Hermione, you said what needed to be said, and that's final. Ginny shouldn't have hit me, to begin with, no matter how mental her hormones are. Then again, maybe she was right about some of it...

She was broken from her negative thoughts as Fabian walked through the door into the sitting room.

"Fabian," she smiled at him. "Perfect! I need you to relay a message to Sirius and Gideon for me, is that alright?" She gave him no chance to respond and quickly continued.

"Great. I have to go, but you should know the plans that we've come up with while you all were gone. It was decided that we would all stay at the Rosier Manor, as there is no place big enough and in good enough condition, for us to live. The Rosier's house elves have been keeping everything clean, so I thought it best if we stay there. Evan, Rabastan, and Antonin have already left to go there. Regulus is up in the attic, gathering some belongings and visiting with his mother's portrait. If you three wish to stay somewhere other than the manor, please send me an owl so that I know you will be somewhere safe. Make sure the other two know this, alright?"

He nodded to her, and she gave him a hug and then a quick kiss on the cheek, surprising him immensely. He almost thought for a second that she was mistaking him for Sirius because she had touched him so freely.

"Thank you, Fabian, I owe you one!"

Suddenly, she was gone.

He stood there confused, until Sirius, his brother, and Harry all walked into the room. Sirius clapped him on the shoulder, efficiently breaking him out of his trance.

"Gideon, you alright mate?" Sirius asked.

Fabian looked at him and raised an orange brow. "I'm Fabian. You were with Gideon this whole time, you prat."

Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Oh, sod off. No one can tell you two apart anyways!" The wizard chuckled and plopped himself down on the couch.

Fabian suddenly got the faraway look back to his face and muttered under his breath at the realization that he had made. "She could tell us apart..."

Gideon seemed to hear his brother and looked at him, confused. "Who, Hermione? Yeah, remember how she got our names right after we introduced ourselves? I was bloody shocked! Even Molly can barely tell us apart." Gideon exclaimed.

Harry heard the conversation and chuckled for a few seconds before joining in. "Hermione has always been able to do that. She could always tell Fred and George apart. No one else really knew how; not even them, to be quite honest. But she always got it right… Is she still here, by the way?"

Harry looked around, not seeing her curly head of hair anywhere. Where the hell is she? I could have sworn that she was just here...

"She told me that she had to go. She wouldn't even let me get a word in; she was in such a tizzy. She wanted me to tell my brother and Sirius that they were all planning on staying at the Rosier Manor. Said that the house elves have been taking care of it, so she thinks it is the best place for us to stay at right now. She said that Rosier, Lestrange, and Dolohov have already left to go there. Regulus is up in the attic getting his old things and talking to the portrait of his mum. If either of us three decides that we wish to go somewhere else, she said she wants us to owl her and let her know about it so that she knows that we are somewhere safe. She told me that she owed me one for relaying the message, and she was gone a second later." Fabian said, and he shrugged his shoulders.

Sirius and Gideon sat there contemplating what to do. Harry looked confused, wondering where she could have gone to. Meanwhile, Gideon started weighing out their options.

"Okay, so we could go to the Rosier Manor, back to our old flat, or stay at Molly's. Sirius, I'm assuming that your choices would be either staying here at Grimmauld, or the manor. What do you reckon we should do?"

Fabian opened his mouth and quickly blurted out his thoughts. "I think we should go to the manor, even if it's just for tonight. To be honest, I don't really want to stay anywhere that she isn't. I know that sounds mental, but I just feel like she needs to be there, you know? This whole time that we were separated from her, I've felt this sort of uneasy feeling." The other two men nodded their heads in understanding.

Suddenly a voice came cutting through.

"It's the bonds. They will make you feel a certain pull towards her. Her presence affects us all. Most of the time it's the sense of calm that her presence brings us. Her magic is tied to ours and it balances each person's magic, equally. Additionally, she is bound to us by blood. That is why we cannot harm her. Her blood flows through our veins. Once the consummation rituals have been completed, she will be able to sense our magic, along with our emotions; just as we will sense hers. She feels the need to protect us, and it will likely always be that way. That is why she has done and said all of the things that she has tonight. I also believe that she feels safe around us. Not exactly all attributed to the bond, though. You should have seen her when Lestrange spouted out a backhanded insult at her today when she had offered to go with both him and Dolohov back to their manors, to help them sort out anything that was left. Rabastan said that he didn't want to walk into his 'ancestor's home with a mudblood on his arm.' I saw her flinch when he had said it. I could tell that she had wanted to go with them. Instead, she smiled at them both and apologized, and told Rabastan that he was right. She said they could go by themselves; they didn't need her. That smile that she wore... It was almost identical to the one she had on her face as she walked out of the kitchen after the lovely Mrs. Potter physically and verbally abused her. She acted as though nothing had happened. We heard it all, you know? We could hear the slap. We listened to every word. Before the other three guys left, she told them that she didn't want them to suffer here anymore. She said she didn't know when she would see us next, but that it didn't matter. I could already see the purple and black bruise that was beginning to form on her cheek. But she smiled anyway." Regulus then turned to glare at Harry.

"And you, Mr. Potter. You didn't even speak up to defend her. She starved for you, and you repay her by sitting by and watching as she gets hit by your wife, and then chastised for an accident that she didn't even mean to happen. Tell me, Potter, what do you expect from her? Hasn't she done enough? You're wondering why she left? She left because didn't feel as though she was wanted here. I wonder if there's anywhere that she would feel wanted..." Regulus shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, though his face held a frown.

"When she came up to me for the first time today, she hugged me and thanked me for what I did. She said she couldn't have done it without my help. Even though I knew that I really didn't make that much of a difference, she made me feel like I actually did at that moment. She told me it was okay. She touched my pathetic dark mark as if it was nothing, and said, 'It's okay.' Simple as that… And I believed her." Regulus clenched his teeth and shook his head in exasperation and defeat, as he gritted out the rest of the words.

"It's not okay, though. She is not okay. I may not know her like you do, Potter. But, it's plainly obvious that she isn't okay. That witch, she's strong. Even I can see that. It takes a strong person to forgive people like me and the rest of those idiot wizards. She didn't even need to say that we had her forgiveness, we could simply tell by the way that she acted. She wasn't afraid to be around us. We all found it odd; that someone so purely good, could bear to be around people so dark... We don't deserve it. I don't think the others have realized it yet, but we don't deserve her. To be honest, I'm not too sure you deserve her either, Potter."

Regulus tilted his head to the side as he said this, and watched Harry's reaction. Everyone in the room was silent. They didn't even look at Regulus, instead, all of the other wizards were staring at the floor with a sense of guilt.

"Well, I'm done speaking now, so don't worry. I wouldn't want you to think too hard, about another person's feelings. Anyways, I'm headed off to the manor. Good chat." The youngest Black said as he turned and walked to the floo.

Just as he was about to throw down the powder, he made eye contact with Sirius. The eldest brother looked confused and hurt. This was the last sight that Regulus saw before he was engulfed in flames.


Hermione walked through the graveyard quietly. It was a cold night, and her breath could be spotted in small puffs in the air. Her hands were shoved deep into the pockets of her robes.

Finally, she found his tombstone.

Severus Tobias Snape, A beloved Professor, and Hero. January 9, 1960 - May 2, 1998.

Hermione giggled a little when she read the inscription; she always did. Sitting down in front of the grave, she began to speak. "Good evening, Professor. I'm sorry I keep laughing when I come here, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. It's just... How utterly moronic is it, that they described you as a 'beloved professor'? I can just imagine your face when you would read it." She chuckled a little at this.

"I wanted to apologize. I called you 'Severus' today, and I don't actually have your permission. It just doesn't feel right, calling you by your name… You know, I still refer to you as 'Professor' almost all of the time. But, anyway, I can't imagine you enjoy it much when I come and visit you. I'll bring a book next time, so then you won't have to listen to me speaking about my pathetic life." Hermione sighed as she continued.

"But, I came here tonight because, well… I really messed up, Professor. I opened the boxes, those 'Sacred 28' ones that I told you about the last time I visited. Go ahead, laugh all you want. I know you're overjoyed at hearing about my misfortune." She smiled as she imagined the snarky man reacting to her situation.

"I brought seven back… Fucking seven. It's just; I don't know what to do, or how to feel. I'm just so tired, you know? And everything has changed now. My life… It's not mine, anymore. I have to share it with seven other men, now. Although, I suppose that I basically shared the majority of my life with Harry, and Ron, didn't I?"

Hermione's thoughts were running rapidly through her head tonight and she felt like there were so many things to say, but she couldn't make sense of them.

"I can't possibly begin to imagine how you did everything, Professor. You were completely trapped under the orders of two equally powerful wizards. Your life wasn't yours anymore, either. I don't understand how no one ever noticed... Why didn't I notice? I should have fucking noticed. But, instead, I was too busy trying to get everyone else's approval, while also trying to save Harry and the rest of the wizarding world, at the same time. I mean, I saw the way that Draco had changed after he had gotten marked. I knew something was wrong, Professor. And I did nothing. I could have helped him. Merlin, I would have helped him fix that bloody cabinet if it came down to it. I could have found a way to make it all work... That's what I do, being the 'know-it-all' that I am. I always try to find a way so that everything can work..."

Hermione stopped talking as her thoughts suddenly began to switch to memories of her Professor, that night as he lay dying, inside the Shrieking Shack.

"I should have saved you, Professor Snape. I just stood there and watched you die. I didn't even try to stop the bleeding. I was just so shocked, you know? That's no excuse, though. I let you die, right in front of my eyes. And you were innocent. Well, not exactly 'innocent' but, you were good, Professor. You weren't an evil person."

Hermione then thought about everyone's misconceptions about the Potions Master. Then she had a stray thought that she couldn't hold back from musing out loud.

"I would have forgiven you, you know. If you would have called me a Mudblood; I would have forgiven you... She should have forgiven you, Harry's mum... I-it's just a word. Your actions, though... Those are what mattered; not your words. And I know that you will despise me, even more, when I say this, but, you deserved better... Merlin, I'm so sorry, for everything you went through, Sir. Especially having to deal with me." Hermione gave a tear-filled laugh as she jokingly said this.

She sniffled and continued.

"I haven't a clue if Heaven is real or not, but if it is, then I believe that's where you are right now. So, if you really are in Heaven - and it's as great as people claim for it to be - I hope you are happy, Sir. I truly do. Also, pardon my rudeness, but Remus, if you are up there too, or if you can hear me," a large knot formed in Hermione's throat until she finally let the sob take over.

"I brought him back, Moony." She spoke through her tears. "I brought Padfoot back. I wish you could see him, Remus... I wish you were here. I'll take good care of him this time, I promise." As her sobs calmed down, all that was left were stray tears that poured down her cheeks.

In a quiet voice, she managed to speak one last time.

"If anyone else out there is listening; I am so sorry." She choked out and closed her eyes. Her tired body slumped, and she brought her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her arms.

"I'm sorry…"


Notes: Sorry, this is a sad chapter, and I also apologize to anyone out there who are really big Dumbledore fans. Personally, I don't like him that much, and a lot of the things that I wrote were actually my own opinions and thoughts. Don't worry about the fighting between Ginny and Hermione, I think they will work things out and become very close again, it just might take some time. I also wanted to address the note that I had made on, I think it was chapter 6? I'm not sure, but I mentioned something about coming together with some type of way to show you all visuals of what you are reading, and I've started working on that, and hopefully will have it sorted out soon. I am debating on doing it on two different websites, so that is why it will take me a while.