Chapter 33: In Which We Rejoin Hermione

Her alarm charm went off at 5:30. A word from her stopped the beeping. She lay quietly under the covers wondering why it felt so early. A moment later she realized that the reason it felt so early was that she usually didn't get up for another half hour, and she usually went to bed much, much earlier. Hermione sat up slowly and spent a moment looking at her bed mate. He was curled on his side, facing away from her, and she very much wanted to spoon up against his back, go back to sleep, and in a few hours try some variations on what they had done last night. But duty called.

She got out of the bed and found her clothing. Dressing quietly, she remembered that the reason her alarm was early was that today was a wandless magic day, and that she really needed to talk to Amber, Rose, and Dean and see if they still planned to head to Cleveland to join the Watcher's Council when school ended.

She kissed Snape. He awoke just enough to put some lip into it and appeared fully asleep again by the time she closed the door to his room. The whirling sensation of the floo woke her fully, and by the time she was done with her shower, she was feeling somewhat human. By 7:00 she was seated at her usual spot at the teachers' table in the Great Hall.

Harry sat next to her while she ate her usual oatmeal, toast, and pumpkin juice breakfast. They didn't talk too much. Since Harry started having babies, and not all that much sleep at night, he was much less talkative in the morning.

Toward the end of her meal, when she was getting ready to leave for her Wandless Magic group, she asked, "Will you be seeing Ginny for lunch?"

Harry thought about it. "Yes, it's the first day of O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, so I've got a free period before and after lunch."

"Tell her, 'Hermione says, icing happily eaten.'"

"That's a bizarre code."

"She'll know what it means."

"I should hope so. What next: the Hungarian Ridgeback clucks at two?"

"I only use that one to signal Molly's right around the corner and can hear everything we're saying."

Harry laughed as she headed out. She walked to the Quiddich Pitch, enjoying the sunshine. The day was going to be lovely. And, with it being the first day of exams, she too had more free time than usual. Well, sort of. The image of the grading she had been neglecting for more pleasant company sprang to mind. Still need to come up with the final version of the finals. Rounds tonight and tomorrow night. Battle of Hogwarts Day next Monday; have to get ready for that. Leaving Feast the Monday after that. Graduation Ball that Tuesday. And then it's done for another year.

Her wandless magic students joined her on the Pitch. They gathered around her in a semi-circle.

"I know this is N.E.W.T. week, so if any of you want to skive off for extra study time or sleep, I understand. If any of you intend to stay, I was thinking we'd work on refining our relaxation and focusing skills, both of which should come in handy this week."

Two of the students left. She and the rest of them settled into comfortable positions, and began working on relaxing and clearing the mind of all distractions. While not magic per-se, it was a vital first ingredient to any wandless magic, and very useful for surviving N.E.W.T.s. At the end of the hour, she made an appointment to see Dean, Amber, and Rose later that afternoon to discuss going to the Watcher's Council.

Her third, fourth, and sixth year students were all working on review for their finals next week. So their classes passed swiftly. Sooner than she expected she was sitting in her office with Dean, Amber, and Rose.

"It occurred to me a few days ago that we hadn't talked about you joining the Watcher's Council since the Marriage Act was passed. I wanted to know if our plans needed to be modified in relation to said law."

Amber spoke first: "My plans haven't changed. I still intend to head to America with you, and work on setting up a real school for wanded magic there."

Dean added, "I've got my tools, and I'm ready to head west. My grandfather isn't thrilled that I won't be working for him, but he's happy that I'm not setting up a shop of my own down the road. He won't admit it to me, but my Gran says he likes the idea of the first wand shop in America being an Olivander's."

"Hold up!" Hermione said. Those were much grander plans than anything the Watchers had on offer. "That's a bit further along than I thought we were. Right now the Watcher's are expecting you to join them to help their girls who have magic talent learn how to handle a wand." Hermione was amazed at how far they had taken this idea.

"Which we intend to do, but we read your book," Amber said, looking more and more excited by the moment. "And it sounds like what America needs is some sort of formal schooling for their magical population. We'll start small and go from there. Besides, most of those girls probably have brothers and sisters who will need an education."

"We know it won't be easy to start up, but being part of the Watcher's Council should help quite a bit. I know there won't be a huge demand for wands to begin with, but as they see how easy a wand makes magic and how useful they are, they'll start coming to my door," Dean added.

Hermione looked over at Rose, who had said not a word and wasn't paying any attention to the conversation the rest of them were having. "So quiet, Rose. Are you still intending to head west with us?"

"Maybe." She looked sad. "There's a man, and I don't want to leave him behind. He'll just end up marrying someone else, but he doesn't want to come to the States with me. 'Doesn't like Yanks,' he says. We haven't gotten it worked out yet. When we do, I'll let you know."

Hermione felt at a loss, this was so far outside her area of expertise she didn't know where to start. But Amber chimed in, "If that Benjamin says no, you go to the States with us, and in a week he'll be there after you. He loves you, he's just afraid of something new. He'll go with you, or he'll follow you, don't you worry about it."

Rose continued looking unconvinced.

"Rose, they'd love to have you, but they'll understand if you stay here," Hermione said gently, but it did nothing to dispel the forlorn look on Rose's face.

"How does June 21st sound for a departure date?" Hermione asked, getting back to business.

The teens nodded. "I want you to check with your parents, make sure they're fine with you heading off so soon. If not, come up with a list of alternative dates, and we'll go from there. Also, Mr Snape will be accompanying us on the trip."

The three teens stared at her as if she had just grown a second head. Then the giggling began. Hermione almost rolled her eyes, and then realized exactly how immature that gesture was. "Yes, yes, yes," she snapped, "I'm sure the idea that I have a boyfriend is hilarious. Out you get. Go study for tomorrow's N.E.W.T.s." Her voice was exasperated, yet kind. The students shuffled out of her office.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of rounds and grading. Twenty-five essays done, twenty-five to go. Seventy problem sets done, ten more to go. And so on and so on…

At breakfast the next morning Harry sat next to her and beamed at her. He kept smiling gleefully, until she finally asked, "What has happened to you?"

"Nothing has happened to me." He shook his head.

"Okay... What happened near you that has you in such a good mood…" Her mind snapped on an obvious reason. "You did not get Ginny pregnant again! It's too soon! I should slap you upside…."

"Calm down. Ginny will be doing the slapping, among other things, if I got her pregnant only eight weeks after the last one. She's not pregnant. I suppose I walked straight into that by saying it hadn't happened to me."

"So what's all the happiness about?"

"I can't tell you."

"You're going to sit there and glow at me, and then say you can't tell me?"

"Exactly."

"You're evil."

His grin grew even wider. "And yet you love me anyway." They went back to eating breakfast. Her quiet chewing got to him, niggling more than endless questions would have.

"Aren't you going to try and wheedle it out of me?"

"You just said you wouldn't tell me."

"I know, but I want to tell you. But I shouldn't."

Hermione looked exasperatingly pure of intentions. "If you shouldn't tell me, don't tell me."

"You know exactly how to push my buttons."

She smiled smugly. They ate further. Finally, after a few more bites, Harry cracked. "Snape visited us last night."

She raised an eyebrow, fairly sure what was coming next.

"He told me the reason he became a spy for the Order was a woman!" Hermione looked shocked, which worked out well, because Harry took it for shock that Snape had been in love before, instead of shock that Snape had told him about it.

"Can you believe it? A woman! I wonder who it was. He said she loved him back. Who would have loved young Snape? He looked awful in the pensive memories I've seen of him. After all the hours we spent wondering, none of us ever came up with a woman." She could tell he wanted more information from her, but didn't want to ask outright.

"He told me about her shortly after we started dating, but he didn't want me to tell any of you about it. It's part of the reason he was such a bastard when we were at school. A big part. Wait, why are you not supposed to tell me about this?"

"I didn't want you to know I invited Snape over to talk about marrying you." Harry silently thanked Ginny for coming up with that cover story ahead of time. She had told him he was not to ruin the surprise of the ring.

Now her shock was directed where it was supposed to be. "You did what?"

"If he's going to be married to you, I wanted to talk to him about it. I wanted him to understand how important you are to us."

"I thought you guys did that at the Burrow."

"Yes, but I wanted to talk with him one on one."

"How did he do?"

"Fine. Same as at the Burrow. He's not Ron, and he never will be. But, since you won't accept one of us who loves you dearly and already has a wife, he's probably the best of the remaining options. He said he thought you may come to love each other, so I guess there's some hope."

That was an odd phrase. "Hope of what?"

Harry gave her a look of real tenderness and care. "Real joy. A home for you, with a man you love, and children you adore. The things you thought died with Ron. The things I know you wanted, but you stopped expecting."

"You're a good friend Harry." She smiled.

"I bloody well ought to be by this point." He looked smug. "So, he told you about this mystery woman. Did he tell you who she was? What happened to her? He said she was killed by Voldemort, but I got the sense there was more but he didn't want to tell me."

"He did tell me about her; on the condition I never say anything about it again." She stopped. They stared at each other for a moment.

"So, you're not talking then."

"Not on this one. Would you tell me Ginny's secrets?"

"No."

"I'm surprised he told you as much as he did. Maybe one of these years he'll tell you the whole story."

"Years? Must be one hell of a story."

"That's not the half of it." Hermione took another bite of breakfast. It was at that point that Harry decided that some discrete research was in order. He already knew that if Snape's woman had been killed more than twenty years ago, she had been killed during Vold War I. She was killed by Voldemort, so that would narrow it down further. She was impressed by his being a spy, so she wasn't a Muggle or Slytherin. And say she was within five years of Snape's age. It was a start; he'd hit the registry tomorrow, and begin the search.

"Hermione."

"Ermn…" She was reading over her class notes to prepare for her first lecture. Just to make sure she had all of her ideas in place.

"When did Snape become a spy for the Order?"

She looked up and thought about it. "I don't really know. During the seventies. Why?"

"He said he became a spy to impress her."

"Really Harry, let this go…" She saw Harry turn white. "What?"

"Snape was a spy when he gave Voldemort the Prophecy." He sounded very far away.

"Yes."

"Dumbledore knew! He knew, and he let my parents die. He gave my parents to Lord Voldemort." Harry hopped up quickly. "I've got to go."

She knew he was going to have a chat with Dumbledore's portrait. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I've…." He went off. She followed him with her eyes. She hadn't realized that he hadn't put that together yet. Then she realized how much Harry loved her. He let the man who he thought had given Voldemort the information that lead to his parents' murder into his home, and talked civilly with him about marrying her.

After her first class she went to Harry's office. He was sitting at his desk, looking at a piece of paper, but not actually seeing it.

"How are you doing?"

He looked up at her. His eyes were hurt and angry. "I'm so frustrated by this. Every time I think I have a handle on it, something new comes up. My parents were killed by Voldemort. My parents were betrayed by their best friend, Sirius Black, and killed by Voldemort. My parents were betrayed by their other best friend, Peter Pettigrew, who framed Sirius Black, and killed by Voldemort. My parents were targeted by Snape, betrayed by Pettigrew, and killed by Voldemort. Now I've got a whole new one. My mother invented the Prophecy as a trap for Voldemort, used us for bait, Snape set the trap, Pettigrew sprung it, and Voldemort killed my parents. The protection she placed on me; she set it at my birth. Dumbledore says they hoped that they would be tipped off and catch Voldemort on the way to kill my parents, but for once Voldemort didn't want an audience, so the Order didn't know it was going to happen until after. They had hoped to capture him alive, hold him until the Horcruxes were destroyed, and then let a Dementor have him. My mother's protection was the backup plan.

"Apparently Dumbledore didn't think I needed to know this, or that I'd have figured it out on my own, or maybe Snape would have told me, since we're such good chums." He pounded his fist on the desk. She walked behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Every time I think I know the truth, it changes."

"Your mum won Vold War I, then. She's the one who designed Voldemort's downfall."

"Dumbledore said that, too. Why didn't he say it thirteen years ago?"

"What did he say?"

"I didn't ask. It would be some crap about protecting me, or keeping Voldemort from getting the information, or just some of his standard shit. That man never told me anything unless I specifically asked for it, and asked in exactly the correct way. God Forbid he'd let me know something about the past. Something about the lives that came before mine. You know I still don't know what my father did for a living?"

She almost said, "He played Quiddich." She stopped at the last second. She couldn't think of a way to let him know how she knew without saying too much about Snape and Lily.

For the next hour she sat with him, letting him blow off steam, providing what comfort she could. Finally, when she spoke, it was to say, "We've got class. Time to go enlighten the little buggers." Quietly, they walked to their classes.

Harry wasn't at lunch. She hoped he had gone home to be with Ginny. She ate quickly, and returned to her office to write Snape.

Severus,

Harry told me he had you over last night. Thank you for going. I cannot say how happy it makes me that both of you are trying so hard to get along. I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable. He's immensely intrigued by your 'mystery woman.' I have not enlightened him further.

He finally realized that you were working for the Order when you gave Voldemort the Prophecy. He has since talked to Dumbledore's Portrait and learned that Lily was the creator of the Prophecy, and that the whole thing had been planed from the start. He's even less thrilled with Dumbledore than usual today. I can't really blame him. That information would have been quite nice to have, not useful necessarily, but nice.

In other news, we've almost settled on June 21st as the day to head to the Watcher's Council. Can you take a week or so off and join us? If that time doesn't work, give me some alternatives. We'll get something hashed out.

I have rounds again tonight. Can I see you tomorrow?

Hermione