Disclaimer: I obviously don't own it. It's all for fun.

Mak is of course my beta; who is amazing.

Where are all the reviewers? Did you disappear? Review please, it helps me get motivated to write…

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Chapter Seven

A Way In

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Hermione had Apparated to Hogwarts as soon as she could get past the wards surrounding Stonehenge. She had absolutely no clue why Stonehenge had wards, but, she would find out…eventually. Hermione ran the entire way to the castle. She didn't stop until she was safely in her room.

At Stonehenge, when she heard the footsteps, she made sure to hide. It was good that she did because she was shocked to see Death Eaters. The strangest thing about the whole ordeal was the Death Eaters falling to the ground because of curses. She had not said anything and still they fell. When the cup had fallen out of the hands of one of the fallen Death Eaters she made a split second decision to run and grab it. Hermione didn't usually make split second decisions like that, but she had needed to in order to get the cup. She chalked it up to pure luck that she escaped the whole thing without as much as a scratch. Never being the most athletic person, she used all the adrenaline available to get the cup and get out.

For the rest of the night she sat in her room, staring at the cup of Hufflepuff. It was very old, but still shone bright gold. Two finely wrought handles stuck out of the cup. There was an engraving of a badger on it as well. Hermione didn't know exactly what the cup did magically, but she was sure there was some magic quality to it. There had to be if Voldemort selected it as a horcrux.

Late in the night, Hermione decided she would take the cup with her tomorrow to Grimmauld Place. There was a meeting slated for that evening and if they wouldn't let her into the Order of the Phoenix, she would bribe her way in with the cup. It certainly wasn't a Gryffindor thing to do, but, when she wanted something, she found a way to make it happen. She realized in that moment that she was acting like a Slytherin. Well, I suppose Syltherin traits aren't all bad.

For some reason, being a part of the Order was something Hermione desperately wanted. She craved more information about the war and what was happening behind the scenes in the Ministry. She knew she would be a strong asset to the Order, if they would just let her in. Minerva had been a staunch opponent of letting her, Ron, and Harry in; but she knew that would all change once she walked in with Hufflepuff's cup.

The meeting had already started once she arrived. Knocking on the kitchen door, Molly Weasley eventually answered. Molly was reluctant to admit Hermione, but the young Gryffindor was persistent about the fact that she had important information. Around the kitchen table was Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Kingsley, Tonks, Remus, Minerva, and the rest of the Order. Hermione took a deep breath and took the cup out of her robes and held it out. Only Minerva, Arthur, Remus and Kingsley reacted when they looked upon the golden cup. "Where did you get that?" Arthur asked surprised.

"I found it at Stonehenge, actually. It's a horcrux," Hermione said smartly.

Remus leaned onto the table heavily and asked, "How exactly did you come across the cup of Hufflepuff?" Tonks and Molly simultaneously gasped when they heard mention of Hufflepuff's cup.

Hermione wasn't quite sure if she should mention Professor Snape, so she decided to be as vague as possible. "Well, like I said I found it in Stonehenge."

"Yes, but how did you know it was there?" Kingsley interrupted.

Hermione wrinkled her brow. "What does it matter? I found out where it was and got it. It needs to be destroyed immediately!"

"Yes, it certainly does," Arthur said.

"I want to be initiated into the Order," Hermione said seriously.

The adults just looked at her a moment before responding. "Absolutely not!" Minerva exclaimed. "You are too young."

"I don't care about my age. I've seen more than most adults have! I found the horcrux didn't I? I deserve to be initiated."

"Agreed," Fred and George said at the same time.

"I think Hermione would be a fine addition to the Order," Arthur said. Molly glared at him, but he remained steadfast in his opinion. "Now, Molly dear, it would be beneficial to have Hermione with us in the Order. She would be a valuable asset."

The adults discussed the issue for a while and they finally agreed that Hermione could be a part of the Order. After being initiated Remus asked to see the cup and Hermione handed it over. "Very well," he said as he stood up and walked out of the room.

"What!? Wait I want to see it destroyed!" Hermione complained. She wanted to witness it being destroyed, well maybe even help in its destruction. However, it was too late because Remus and Kingsley had left the room to do the deed.

Hermione was pissed off that she didn't get to help. It pissed her off even more that they didn't feel the need to inform her of the process of destroying a horcrux. She felt robbed of her hard work in getting the damned thing. A surge of magic drifted through the house and about thirty minutes later Kingsley and Remus re-entered the kitchen looking worse for the wear.

Hermione spent the rest of the meeting listening intently at the reports everyone gave. No one even mentioned the horcrux, no one even said "good job Hermione." She was seething by the end of the meeting and left in a huff. The only consolation she received was the fact that she was now a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

She couldn't stay in that house for another minute she was so annoyed. Arriving back at Hogwarts she needed to do something to get her frustrations off her mind. Things had certainly not gone as planned at the meeting. Before she knew where her feet were taking her, she had ended up at Snape's rooms. She repeated the whole phrase in Russian as best she could; she still couldn't figure out which part of it actually opened the door. Once inside she felt oddly comforted by the many books and old furniture. Delving into all the knowledge and theories that were laid out in the professor's writings helped Hermione get things off her mind. It was intellectually stimulating and right now she needed the distraction.

One of the books she had been reading look rather new. It was still full of research and information, but Hermione was having a difficult time figuring out what the information was in reference to. From what she could tell it was the base of a replenishing potion but the remaining ingredients weren't consistent with what actually went into such a potion. It was a conundrum and she really wanted to figure out what he was working on. Eventually, she fell asleep over the notebook lying on the lumpy couch.

The following morning she made it up to the Great Hall for breakfast. An owl arrived, carrying a letter for her. She did not recognize the bird and decided to wait until she had some privacy before reading the letter. Minerva had asked Hermione to meet her in the office after breakfast, so Hermione ducked into a restroom to quickly read the letter. The contents of the letter were a complete shock. Narcissa Malfoy had written her to request a meeting. Apparently she had information about the horcruxes. Hermione was wary about meeting with her and to be honest she didn't know if she fully trusted the woman. It was a tough decision, but in the end she took the chance and agreed to meet with the witch. Hermione requested that the meeting take place in a public Muggle restaurant and that Narcissa should have something to prove who she was.

Narcissa agreed to meet at Hermione's selected location in Muggle London. The following day the two women met at a quaint little restaurant. Hermione was surprised to see the normally pale witch with brown hair and eyes. At first, there was tense silence that radiated off both of them. Narcissa spoke first, repeating the Russian phrase that allowed access to Severus' rooms at Hogwarts. Hermione relaxed slightly knowing that the woman in front of her was indeed Narcissa Malfoy, but she was still aware of everything that was going on, between them and surrounding them. "Why should I trust you?"

"It's because of Severus that we were there that night at Stonehenge," Narcissa replied quietly.

"So, it was you who threw those curses?"

"That would be correct," she said prissily.

"Then what can you tell me about the remaining horcruxes?" Hermione wanted to get down to business and get all the information she could out of Narcissa. The faster she got this over the faster she could get back to Hogwarts to analyze the information and decide if it was worthy of investigating.

"The talon of Rowena Ravenclaw's favourite raven is hidden in the Muggle orphanage where the Dark Lord was raised. The final one, is a portrait, of Godric Gryffindor, the location however is unknown. The only thing we could get out of the portrait was that the copy is somewhere hidden. Severus believes it is in the castle."

Hermione was thankful that Narcissa wanted this over and done with as much as she did. How can I trust that this isn't some wild goose chase?"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes at Hermione, but she didn't seem phased. "I would never betray Severus," she said fiercely.

"Until it suits you to betray him," Hermione amended for the woman seated across from her.

"Contrary to popular belief, Slytherins do have loyalty to one another beyond what is best for them all the time."

Hermione didn't really believe that, but there was something in the woman's eyes that told her that she was sincere.

"If you are still unsure, take this," Narcissa said as she reached into her bag to pull out a small mirror. "Severus wanted you to have this in case of an emergency."

Hermione accepted the gift but was positive she would never use it. Fat chance this thing will ever be used. "If I find out any of this information is incorrect, I will come after you Narcisssa." It was of course an idle threat, but Hermione wasn't going to let Narcissa think she had power her.

"Very well. It would do you well to remember that Severus has his life at stake. I would never jeopardize him. A certain endeavour of his could prove lethal. " Narcissa stood up and left the restaurant before they could even order lunch.

Hermione decided to stay and enjoy the day in London. She had a lot of thinking to do anyways. During her meal she worked the conversation over in her mind. Narcissa had given her a lot of information that could prove to be useful. There was the talon that could be retrieved immediately, but the portrait caused some trouble. Where could it be? The castle was huge and it could be placed anywhere.

Hermione was astounded by the ferocity of her defence of Severus Snape. They must be friends if she supported him so strongly. But, what was that endeavour that could prove lethal? It didn't make much sense to her, but she could ponder that issue later. Right now she needed to tell Minerva about the talon.

A month passed before the Order could spare some time to get the talon from the orphanage. Tonks and Remus had gone in disguise as a couple who was looking to adopt. It took a few hours but they were able to locate it. Surprisingly it was lying on the mantle in the waiting area. Things were going quite well with the horcruxes…well, except the last one. The portrait was still missing. Minerva had sent Hermione to a few storage areas in the castle but she didn't find a thing. It was starting to annoy Hermione that she couldn't find the blasted thing.

Harry and Ron had come back from Privet Drive one night to stay at the castle and catch up with Hermione. She told them about finding the horcrux and joining the Order. Ron was shocked that she had done such a Slytherin act, but he was impressed she was able to bribe her way in. Harry had been quiet through most of the conversation. "What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked.

"You have to convince them to let us join, Hermione. I have to know more about what is going on in the wizarding world. I can't be left in the dark any longer," Harry said resolutely. He was sitting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room with his hand holding up his head.

"Of course, Harry. I think you both should be involved in what is going on." She put her hand on Harry's shoulder in a show of support. "I'll do what I can."

"Thanks," he said with a sigh.

"Hermione, how did you know where to find the cup?" Ron asked suddenly.

"I found out by accident really," she started slowly. She really did not want to have this conversation with them; it could potentially lead to Snape. The last thing she wanted to do was try to explain to them why she was in Snape's rooms and how the information came from him. "I found a letter from Dumbledore, in his office, and I followed a trail of clues that finally led me to a piece of paper with the information I needed to find the horcrux. It was simply really," Hermione hoped that downplaying the situation would satisfy their curiosity for the time being.

Thankfully, it did, for the most part. There were a few questions about Dumbledore but nothing she couldn't easily dodge. The conversation eventually switched to Harry and Ron's time with the Dursley's.

Late into the evening, Ron left to go to bed after kissing Hermione goodnight. Harry talked more about how he was feeling about Dumbledore's death and his inveterate dislike of Snape. Hermione carefully steered the conversation away from Snape. After all she had found out, and all she still needed to find out about the enigmatic professor, her view of him had changed a great deal.

After a few moments of staring contemplatively into the fire, Hermione wanted to hear Harry's opinion on something. "If you were going to hide something in the castle, where would you hide it?"

He turned his head slightly to look at her before replying lazily, "The Room of Requirement."