A/N: Many thanks to my lovely beta, anogete, for her patience and help with my fic. Thank you once again to all of my readers and reviewers; I love hearing your comments!
Obligatory: None of these things belong to me; they all belong to JKR. I just like to have a bit of fun with them, and no profit is desired.
--
"Now, let me think: what was Minerva's password this week? Ah, yes. Brussels sprouts." He turned to Hermione with a grin. "She's a very serious woman, isn't she?"
Hermione chuckled and followed Dumbledore up the spiral staircase into the head office. Once they reached the door, Dumbledore turned back to Hermione. "I expect this will be something of a shock, wouldn't you agree?" He knocked lightly on the door.
"Yes?" came McGonagall's stern voice from inside.
With a wave of Dumbledore's hand, the door clicked open. He motioned for Hermione to enter first, placing his finger over his lips and winking.
"Miss Granger!" McGonagall exclaimed. "You're alive!"
"Good evening, Headmistress."
McGonagall jumped up from her desk and nearly tackled Hermione with a tight hug. "Sweet Merlin! We all thought you were dead! What happened? Where did you go? Are you alright?"
"I am fine, Headmistress. I was kidnapped by the Death Eaters. I must say, the food there was good, but the accommodations were less than impressive." Hermione's voice dripped with wry sarcasm.
"You were kidnapped from inside the castle by Death Eaters? How? Why?" McGonagall was clearly exasperated.
"Ah, Minerva, do not attack the poor girl with questions. She has had a very long few months." Dumbledore swept regally into the room.
As soon as McGonagall saw Albus Dumbledore in the flesh before her, she took a hesitant step back and raised her wand. "What kind of cruel trick is this?"
Dumbledore held his hand over his chest as though she had wounded him. "Do you not recognize your dear old friend, Minerva? I am hurt." He winked at Hermione, and she giggled.
"I must be dreaming. You're dead!" she yelled, raising her wand another inch.
"Clearly I am not, as I am standing before you. Now, I know that we have a lot to discuss, but I wanted you to see that Miss Granger was safe and sound and back inside the castle before I told you all that has been going on."
"Please, Headmistress, put your wand away. He really is alive. Trust me, please." Hermione moved towards McGonagall and gently pushed her wand arm down.
"Thank you, Miss Granger. Now, I would like for you to give me the bag." Hermione hesitated before holding the tote out to him. "Do not worry. I know how important this is to you, but we need to keep it in a safe place."
"I trust you, Professor," she assured him, handing over the bag.
"That I am here is certainly proof of that, my dear. Now, I need a few moments alone with Minerva to catch her up. Would you be so kind as to go to the Gryffindor common room and retrieve Harry and Mr. Weasley? I believe we all have some things that we need to discuss." He smiled and nodded at Hermione. "Oh, and Miss Granger? You need not tell Harry or Ron anything about what has happened that may make you feel uncomfortable, though I do need to discuss it with Minerva. It will be our little secret between the three, or rather four, of us. Yes?"
Hermione cast a quick glance over at the bewildered Headmistress. "Yes, thank you, sir. And I understand that you will have to discuss it with Professor McGonagall. Delicately, if that's at all possible?"
"Of course." Dumbledore patted Hermione on the shoulder.
Hermione exited the office and ran as quickly as she could to the Gryffindor common room. When she got there, she realized that she didn't have the password.
She paced in front of the impatient Fat Lady for a few moments, trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She reached inside the Gryffindor tower with all the power she could muster in Silent Speech. "Harry? Harry! Come to the entrance portrait! I can't get in! Harry!"
Hardly thirty seconds passed before Harry threw open the portrait and stared at her with utter amazement.
"Hermione? Is it really you?" His voice was quiet, and he looked much as Hermione had remembered him. He was losing weight, his skin had lost its luster, and his eyes were empty. She could still sense, however, that the good in him was winning the fight for his soul thus far.
"I'm back, Harry. I'm here." Tears came to her eyes as she threw her arms around him and felt his arms come around her. "I'm alright."
"Where were you? We were all so worried. You just disappeared, and we knew you wouldn't just leave us, but we couldn't work out where you had gone!" He pulled back and studied her carefully.
"It's a very long story, Harry, one that I will be happy to tell you later. For now, could you go and get Ron? We're needed in the Headmistress' office. I don't really want anyone else to see me just yet. If my room in the dungeons is still available, when we're done we'll go down there, and I will tell you both everything that's happened. Okay?"
Harry looked at her as though he still couldn't believe that she was standing before him, alive. After a moment, he nodded. "I'll go and get him."
As Hermione stood in the shadows of the hall waiting for Harry to return, she marveled at how, though she still felt safe at Hogwarts, it didn't really feel right somehow. It took her a moment to realize it, but it occurred to her that whatever bond held her to Severus was keeping her from seeing any place that wasn't by his side as home. Her thoughts strayed once again to him, and she wondered when, or even if, she would see him again. She hoped desperately for his safety.
Before she had any more time to dwell on Severus, Ron's voice intruded on her reverie. "Hermione Jane Granger! Where the bloody hell have you been?"
"Ron!" She hugged him, and he squeezed her tightly in return. "You would hardly believe me if I told you."
"Try me," he replied with a combination of joviality and concern.
"I'll give you the short version on the way to see the Headmistress. I'll give you the long version later. Okay?" Both young men nodded their heads in agreement. "Good. Let's go."
They began running towards McGonagall's office as Hermione tried to fit into a few short moments what she was still trying to comprehend after a few long months. "Essentially, Professor Caveo kidnapped me, only he isn't really Eli Caveo. He's Andreas Prince, and he's a Death Eater. While I was there, I was given to Professor Snape as an assistant, and together we made a very important potion that will help us defeat Voldemort."
"Snape?" Harry spat out with irritation. "Why would Snape do something to help us?"
"What did Snape do to you, Hermione? Did he hurt you?" Ron scrunched his nose in disgust at the thought of his dreaded former Potions professor.
"He would do something to help us because he is on our side. You'll understand all of that in a minute. And no, he didn't hurt me. He isn't the kind of man you think he is."
Ron laughed. "That's what you said about Caveo, and he turned out to be a kidnapping bloody Death Eater!"
"I think that I have earned the right to speak with conviction on the particularities of Severus' loyalty, thank you very much, Ronald." She turned and narrowed her eyes at him in challenge.
"Severus, is it? What did he do to you?"
"Yes, Severus it is. I spent entirely too much time in his company to call him anything else!" Realizing that they would never understand the bond she shared with Severus, she decided to keep the rest to herself for the time being.
"I take it Caveo is related to Snape? The Prince thing and all? That doesn't do much to help his cause," Ron shot back at Hermione.
"He's his second cousin. And even if he were his brother, that wouldn't prove anything."
They arrived, completely out of breath, at the gargoyles that guarded the head office.
Hermione turned to them and spoke very seriously. "Listen, this might not make a lot of sense, but I hope it's about to make more sense. Please believe me when I tell you that I know exactly what I am saying, and that all I have done since I have been gone is try to find a way to help you, Harry."
Harry looked shamed. "I know. I'm sorry. I don't know if we'll ever get over being touchy about Snape. We're sorry for attacking you after all you've been through, aren't we, Ron?" He turned to Ron and pierced him with a threatening gaze.
"Sorry, Hermione. We're just worried about you, that's all." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back," Hermione replied, feeling slightly bad that she couldn't be more sincere in that sentiment than she was. "Brussels sprouts," she said to the gargoyles.
As they approached the door, Hermione turned to Harry and Ron one last time. "Now, this may be a wee bit of a shock." She knocked on the door.
"Come in, children!" came McGongall's harassed voice from within.
Hermione opened the door to find McGonagall at her desk with Dumbledore and a slightly bewildered Remus sitting in the chairs facing her.
"Dumbledore?" Harry asked in a cracking voice. A thud behind him signaled that Ron had passed out.
"It is good to see you again, Harry." Dumbledore rose and patted Harry on the shoulder. "I am very proud of the work that you have done finding the Horcruxes in my absence."
Harry looked up at him with disbelief. "But you're dead!"
Dumbledore chuckled. "I've been getting that a lot lately, Harry. Now, let us revive Mr. Weasley, and then we will chat." He passed his hand over the collapsed form of the redhead in the doorway, and Ron's eyes opened with a start.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Ron asked weakly.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley, I am alive." He reached down and pulled Ron to his feet. With another wave of his hand, three more chairs appeared in front of Minerva's desk, and he motioned for the younger witch and wizards to sit down.
"It is good to see you back," Remus offered to Hermione with a kind smile.
"Thank you, Remus. I am glad to be back." She blushed and returned her attention to Dumbledore.
"Now, let us get down to the matter at hand," Dumbledore announced, glancing around at the assembled crowd. "I have returned to you because Miss Granger here returned from her captivity with the understanding that Severus Snape is on our side. By believing in him, she restored loyalty to me to the castle. By returning with said loyalty, she was able to bring me back from the limbo in which my soul had been residing since the end of last term."
"Albus, I truly am sorry that I did not put more faith in Severus," McGonagall choked out through the tears she had been trying to suppress.
"I know, Minerva, I know. But there is no time for regrets right now. Harry, there is something I must tell you, something that may upset you to hear."
"Something more upsetting than finding out that Hermione's been locked up with your murderer all this time?" Harry's eyes burned with fury.
"I know that it is difficult for you to understand, Harry, but Severus did not murder me. I knew what he had to do, and I thought that someone would trust in Severus, and I would simply return to life. All Severus did to Hermione was give her the chance to believe in him and return to you with the potion that will save your life." He motioned to the box of potion vials on the desk.
"What potion?" Harry looked back and forth between Dumbledore, the vials, and Hermione.
"Harry, I know that the final Horcrux has eluded you thus far, but it has actually been right under your nose all this time. Or, rather, it has been right above it. The final Horcrux is your scar."
Harry's hand shot up to his forehead, and his face twisted in disgust. "Get it out of me, then!"
"I'm afraid it isn't that simple. You see, it is a part of you, and his soul is battling with yours right inside your body. In order to destroy it, we must ensure that your soul is bound to your body, and Tom must be the one to destroy the Horcrux." His smile bestowed calm on Harry. "That is where the potion comes in. The potion that Hermione and Severus made will keep your soul bound to your body when the time comes for you to face Tom again."
"How long have you known that I had it?" Harry asked, his voice revealing the betrayal he felt.
"I entertained suspicions about it last year, but it was only confirmed for me towards the beginning of term this year. I am sorry that I did not tell you my thoughts earlier. I did not want to alarm or distract you."
"Well, I'm a bit alarmed now," Harry replied, scratching wildly at his scar as though that would remove it from his head.
"Harry, listen to me," Hermione begged calmly. "We're all here for you, and we're going to help you. The Horcrux has been messing with your mind, so we need you to work on fighting it consciously so that you are healthy when Voldemort comes after you. Will you give us a chance?"
"We will all help you, Harry. Hermione has been through a lot to see that we're victorious in this, so you should listen to her." Remus smiled kindly at his best friend's son.
"Miss Granger, can you tell us anything about where Severus is?" Minerva's tone was tinged with sadness.
"No, I can't, and even if I could, I do not think that he wants to be found. He made it very clear that he didn't want to come here because he knew he would be arrested." Hermione crossed her arms over her chest in haughty defiance.
"Do you think that he knows anything about what Voldemort will do next?" Remus asked, his eyes still locked on Harry.
"Severus didn't really know anything. They never trusted him, so he was pretty much locked up with me all the time brewing." Hermione thought for a moment. "There is something else I should tell you. The Death Eaters were keeping Draco and a number of others prisoners in a cell at their hideout. Before I left, I was able to give them a Portkey to get out, but I don't know what's become of them. If and when they arrive, I need an assurance that they will be allowed to stay here until Voldemort is defeated. They are in real danger."
"The ferret is in danger? Are you crazy?" Ron let out an incredulous laugh.
"Yes, he is. He only did what he did to save his family, but now he is marked for death by his father. He never was a Death Eater, Ronald. He was in a tight spot." Hermione threw up her hands. "I know that you all think that I'm crazy, but none of you have seen what I've seen. You have to trust me."
"We do, my dear," Dumbledore soothed. "But do not worry, I think you will find that Hagrid is bringing them here now."
As if on cue, the door to the Headmistress' office burst open to reveal Hagrid, his pink umbrella pointed at Draco and his ragged army. "Professor, I found these ruffians… Dumbledore!" Hagrid's great beady eyes looked as though they would pop out of his skull. "What's goin' on around here?"
"I will explain it all to you later. For now, perhaps Hermione would like to take our guests to see Poppy in the hospital wing? You should Floo directly there so that no one happens to see Mr. Malfoy and his friends." Dumbledore looked sadly at Draco, his face bruised and cut, and his robes torn.
Hermione jumped to her feet, pushing past the bewildered Hagrid, and threw her arms around Draco. "You're safe at last, General. Are you all okay?"
Draco pushed back a stringy lock of his long blonde hair. "We aren't as bad as we look. As soon as my father realized what had happened with you and Severus, he and all of his friends came for us, so we got the bloody hell out of there. Awfully useful, this button." He grinned and held out the Portkey.
"Well, come on then. You lot need a good meal, new clothes, and some medical attention!" Hermione gently touched the arms of each of the warriors of Draco's Army, as though making sure they were really alright.
"We were so relieved when we heard that you'd got away, Lieutenant," Angelica replied, holding on to Draco for support. "Thank you so much for helping to get us out."
"Have you all gone crazy?" Ron piped up from his chair.
"I'll explain it all to you both later, Ron," Hermione answered, looking back and forth between Ron and Harry. "Come meet me in my room in the dungeons in an hour, okay?"
Ron looked over Draco carefully. "Alright. We'll be there."
With a final smile and nod to the professors and her two distraught best friends, she led Draco and his army to the fireplace and had them Floo into the hospital wing.
Once Hermione tumbled out of the fireplace behind Draco, she yelled, "Madam Pomfrey! We need you!"
The agitated nurse strode into the room from her office. "Miss Granger!" she squeaked out with relief. "And Mr. Malfoy, you no good…"
"Poppy," came Minerva's voice from the fireplace. "I will explain everything to you later, but for now I need you to see that these children are cared for and kept out of sight." As quickly as the stern words sounded, Minerva's head disappeared from the flames.
Poppy grumbled something under her breath, but she nonetheless ushered Draco's Army into a secluded corner of the hospital wing and erected a magical barrier to keep prying eyes from seeing any of its occupants. Pointing them each to a bed, she meandered off to retrieve some potions.
Hermione sat at the foot of Draco's cot, watching him as he relaxed onto the first mattress he had enjoyed in months. "What happened, Draco?"
Draco sighed heavily. "It's all coming down soon, Granger. Whether it's a matter of days or even hours, I do not know, but they're coming for Potter soon."
"You were right about them not trusting Severus. Once we had finished making the Animus Discindium potion, your father tried to poison him to get him to rape me." Hermione frowned deeply.
"I know. The bastard came in as soon as you left and told us all about it. He said Severus was a bloody fool, and that they were trying to get the recipe for this Animus Redimio to make the Dark Lord immortal. When they realized that the plan had failed, they decided to come and try to take out their frustrations out on us." Draco looked over at Angelica, who had abruptly fallen asleep on her bed. "That's when we got away."
"What will they do now that they don't have the potion?" Hermione gently used her wand to clean up the blood on Draco's skin.
"I don't think they care. They're just going to go on as they had planned and attack Hogwarts to get to Potter. I suppose the Dark Lord doesn't want to wait any longer and let anything else go wrong." He looked around the safe confines of the hospital wing with relief. "So, Dumbledore's alive?"
"You don't sound particularly surprised," Hermione commented wryly.
"I'm not. I never thought that Severus would agree to do it unless he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't really die." He sighed. "Even when I was at my most firm in my alleged loyalty to the Death Eaters, I knew that Severus was a good man. Why did it take so long for him to come back, though?"
Hermione chuckled. "His return depended on someone being here who was loyal to him. Once I came back with the belief that Severus was innocent, Dumbledore was able to return. It's a long story."
"Well, whatever. You did well, kid. You saved the lot of us, especially Angelica. I don't think she could have lasted much longer, strong though she is." He frowned in Angelica's direction.
Hermione grinned. "You love her, don't you?"
"Merlin, am I that transparent?" He smirked. "I must have picked up that bloody wearing my heart on my sleeve thing from you in all that time we were together."
She laughed in response. "I think that you'll get over it."
"You don't look so good, Granger. What aren't you telling me?" Draco eyed her critically.
"I'm just worried about Severus, that's all. I don't know where he is, or what he's going to do. He's still so conflicted." She rubbed at her weary eyes.
"If I may be so bold: did you two make the potion to save Potter?" He raised his eyebrow at Hermione.
"We did, and yes, that means we had to do what you're thinking we did." Hermione blushed deeply.
"You needn't be embarrassed about it around me. I'm sure Potter and Weasley will toss their Chocolate Frogs over it, but if Severus finally gave it up to you, it's a good sign for both of you. On the one hand, it means that he really does want to be a good man, and on the other, it means that you're worthy of his love."
"I think that love may be a bit of a strong word at this point." She ran her fingers through her hair. "It's complicated. I don't think that he's out of the proverbial woods quite yet."
Draco sat up and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You know that I don't really care what happens to Potter so long as this bloody war ends, but I do care about Severus. If you can bring him out of this hell he's been living in his entire life, then that will be your greatest victory. You're probably the only one with stomach enough to do it."