"I can't go any further" Severus spoke.
"What?" I look up at his towering form and ask.
He really is so much taller than me. I smile inwardly to myself.
"I'm a wanted Death Eater" he solemnly stated.
I see the regret and sorrow in his eyes and have to resist the urge to run up and hug him. Which I don't think he would particularly like.
"But if you're with Harry and me, we can explain that it's all changed" I try to reason with him.
"They will think it's a trick"
"Not, McGonagall"
"Especially Minerva"
I look over at Harry. He looks impatient and sick of waiting for us to catch up.
I sigh, I can't just leave him hear, not after everything, not after all we have been through.
"I can't" I beg him.
He looks down on me with pity. I don't care if I look like an idiot, I don't care if his feelings aren't as strong as mine, all I care about is not leaving him.
"You have to"
"No" I finally say.
"Hermione," Harry comes over, "Come on this is ridiculous, let's go in explain what's happened and then we can come and find Snape-"
"Professor Snape" he corrects Harry.
"With all due respect sir you're not exactly a professor any more" Harry snarls back at him and receives a dark glare in return.
I sigh and look at them both.
"Right, ok" I shout separating their advancing selves.
"Children" I shout.
They both look at me bewildered.
"Right, now I have your attention" I begin, "Harry's idea seems ok, I think it will work." I hear Snape grunt at this, "Severus", I indicate over to him, "You wait here, by the whomping willow, when it's safe we will come and find you, ok?"
I look at them both; I think they are alright with this.
I hear a collective amount of "Fine's" from the two of them. Hehehe, how they make me laugh.
Behind me Harry begins to make his way up to the castle. I look over to Severus who is already making his way to the infamous tree. I can't help but feel a little deflated, he didn't even say goodbye, or so long, or even farewell, a simple ta-ta would have done.
Hmmmm.
I start to follow Harry regardless, completely unaware of the look of dismay on Severus' face.
We reach the top.
"So what do you think?" Harry asks me.
"What," I say as I break out of my train of thought, "Oh, right erm yeah, let's go then."
Harry looks as me a bit strange for a second or two before carrying on.
"Are you sure you like him?" he finally asks uncertainly
I look up at the confused and disturbed look plastered over my best friends' features.
"Snape that is" he informs me as if I couldn't have guessed.
"I do yes" I simply tell him.
"But, it's….Snape" he seems to struggle with the words.
"I know Harry, I'm not blind"
"You sure?"
"Harry," I scold him, "I can't explain it we just well, click", I try to explain.
"I understand that, well, he's clever like you, and well, matches your intellect and all but-"
"Harry shut up you sound like Ron"
"Well it is a bit much to take in you know" he argues back
"Well just forget about it then" I say impatiently, I hate having my love life discussed.
"I can't. Believe me if I could I would but its not every day you see your best friend with the most hated ex-teacher of Hogwarts." He says matter-of –fact.
"Hmmm" I grumble at him.
Harry stops walking when I'm not looking and I go forward into the back of him.
I step away and am surprised to see he hasn't noticed.
"Harry?" I call
"Humm?" he mumbles.
I look up to see what has caught his eye. We are standing in front of the doorway to the entrance hall. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary.
"Harry?" I try again.
"I haven't been here since… since"
I look at him and finally understand. Poor thing, he misses Dumbledore.
"You miss him don't you" I state rather than ask.
I look at him for a plausible expression, he closes his eyes and sighs.
I reach out a hand to comfort him, but he just turns and walks on.
"I'm sure he missed you too" I say quietly.
I don't realise he has heard me, which is stupid as we are now in the hall and the slightest noise echoes in here like thunder.
Damn.
"What?" he scolds me.
"I said im sure he misses you too" I repeat myself.
"If it wasn't for your boyfriend he would still be here" he shouts his temper rising.
"He's not my boyfriend, and if it wasn't for him we would still be in that basement." I yell back.
"If it wasn't for him then I wouldn't have had to come and get you in the first place" he shouts.
"No I'd be dead long ago by now" I scream at him, "He is the only reason I'm here with you today, and we owe him".
"So sleeping with him a way of repaying him is it? There's a name for that Hermione its-"
"Harry shut up" I cut him off, "You know damn well that I would never, have never, how you could even imply, its not like that, HE'S not like that…" I trail off feeling myself becoming too overwhelmed.
Harry looks at me stubbornly, "No, I suppose not" he manages to say through gritted teeth.
I know he doesn't mean anything by it, he's just upset. Years with living side by side with his temper have taught me this.
I manage to catch up with him and we continue to walk together silently towards McGonagall's office.
Half way down the corridor an eerie feeling overcomes me.
"Harry," I say uncertainly, "It's a bit quiet isn't it?"
"Well I didn't expect it to be raging with students" he sarcastically replies.
"But its September Harry, I would have thought at least there would be someone here" I say darting my eyes around.
"Well probabily no one wanted to come after what happened to… to… y'know"
"Yes but Severus said nothing about Hogwarts closing"
"Maybe he didn't know" he said, I can hear the impatiently rising in his voice.
"He would have known Harry, he was third to V-Voldemort"- after our last encounter I understand why people fear to say his name.
"There has to be someone here anyway, the gates were open." He states.
"Where are all the ghosts?" I ask looking about, Hogwarts is usually full of ghosts.
"Hmmm" Harry simply mumbles.
So much for that problem solving mind of his.
"You have a point" he finally agrees.
We slowly approach where McGonagall's office once was.
Harry pushes the door slightly open.
No-one.
Strange.
We walk inside, Harry seems to have found something of great interest and rushes up to the desk.
"What is it?" I ask in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Wands, OUR wands" he turns around and is clearly grasping 3 wands in his hand, one of them is most defiantly mine.
"What the-"
Harry looks just as confused as me and holds out a wand I can only presume to be his own.
"Harry be careful" I warn him.
"What why?"
"Doesn't it seem a bit too convenient" I nod towards the wands, "I mean here now why? They may have been cursed or hexed or something"
"You worry too much" he looks at me placidly.
"I'm serious, Harry why would out wands be here?"
"Maybe the order had found them" he suggests.
"Then they would have found me Harry"
"No necessarily, they have all three of our wants here; therefore they could have found them but not checked the basement we were in" he seems to be convincing himself as he says it and reaches out his wand again.
"Harry no!" I cry out to stop him, "Don't you think that they would have checked everywhere especially if you were captured?"
"Well maybe they were too busy chasing away the Death Eaters" he shrugs his shoulders.
"Just be careful Harry" I warn as he raises his wand.
A flash of red sparks fly out the tip, I release my breath.
"See everything's fine" he proudly states.
Hmmmm.
I grudgingly take my wand back.
Abruptly I hear footsteps descending the corridor outside, I look over to Harry and his eyes widen.
"The wands" I say looking down at my own and noticing for the first time that there must have been tracking charms set on them.
"Maybe its McGonagall?" Harry lamely suggests.
"Since when does the Order use tracking charms Harry?" I bluntly remind him.
Thinking fast, I pull out my wand and with it take the charms off Severus', Harry's and mine before performing a quick dissolution charm.
"Quick thinking Hermione" Harry gratefully pants.
"Sssusssh" I shush him.
We toddle silently over to a corner of the room and watch expectantly.
As the footsteps fads to quiet three tall figures enter the room, their cloaks billowing behind them in that oh so trademarkey way.
"Damn it" I hear Harry whisper.
And don't I bloody know it.
