AN – I own nothing!

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Chapter 46

All the professors at Hogwarts were gathered at the Head Table eating their lunch. It was the first day in which all of them were present at Hogwarts. Most of them did spend their summer vacation elsewhere in their own homes, some with their own families. Now, since classes were just around the corner, they all had to be ready for the year before it started. Planning lessons, syllabuses, minor renovations for the castle and school grounds, and more were what they needed to do before the opening ceremony.

Severus who was seated at one end of the table, with Remus next to him, kept silent to himself as all his other colleagues talked about their summers and what they had done the past few weeks. It was no surprise that he just kept to himself and ate his meal in silence. He was never one to join in the conversations nor gossip with his colleagues.

"Prince Severus! Prince Severus!" a familiar voice shouted out.

Severus's head snapped up. He recognized Alfred running down towards him, panic was evident in his face and voice alone.

Mostly everyone at the table looked at the man in confusion, not knowing who he was. And since when was Severus a prince to begin with?

"Prince Severus," Alfred lowered his head at him as he stood in front of him. he then greeted Albus, Remus and Minerva. "Princess Hermione is missing from the Wellington Castle."

"Missing?! What do you mean missing?!" Severus hissed in shock as he stood from his chair.

"She is no longer in the castle sir-"

"That is where I left her!" Severus said aloud.

"We know sir, but she isn't there. We were hoping that she was here."

"Where is Potter?"

"He went over to Grimmauld Place to check if she was there, but then she wasn't. He is now heading to the Burrow as we speak."

"I doubt that she would be there," Remus said.

"Everyone," Albus started, "we must search every room in the castle and the Forbidden Forest for Hermione Granger."

"Hermione!" Hagrid and a few others gasped. Was Hermione the secret heir of King Richard himself and was Severus her husband? No, it sounded impossible. Severus Snape wasn't the type to wed and have a wife.

"I must check in muggle London Albus," Severus informed him.

"I'll go with you," Remus said.

Albus allowed them to go and watch them run out of the Great Hall.

"What in blazes is going on Albus?" Rolanda Hooch asked as everyone stood from their seats demanding for an explanation.

Albus shook his head. "I cannot explain things now. Please, we must search for Miss Granger and find her as soon as possible."

They noticed the worry in Albus's and Minerva's eyes. Surprisingly, they also saw the same flicker of emotion in Severus's just when he talked with the strange man. It wasn't like him to show such an emotion on his usually unreadable, expressionless face. Without anther question or word, they all departed from the hall and searched for Hermione Granger—Princess Hermione.

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"She's not picking up again!" Severus gritted through his teeth as he tried to call her through her mobile from his. He and Remus had just entered his loft minutes ago the second time that day. With no luck, Hermione still wasn't there. They were both standing in the kitchen.

"Well, where else could she be?" Remus asked. He and Severus had searched a few number of places nearby. Places in which Severus and Hermione spent a lot of time when they were in muggle London.

She wasn't in the pub in which they had had their first dinner, she also wasn't in the park where they enjoyed having their small picnics. Severus was running out of places in which where to search for her. Hopefully Sirius and Harry would find her in Diagon Alley or Hogsmead, but there was a high possibility in which she wouldn't be there. She knew she wasn't allowed to venture around the wizarding world alone. She wasn't stupid enough to do something like that. The Malfoys too were also out looking for her.

"I can still feel her Remus," Severus informed him. He could feel her guilt. He too felt the same emotion. Guilt that was caused by him no doubt, which made him feel guilty as well. "I'm such an arse," he muttered to himself, but Remus heard him perfectly well.

"Did you have a fight with her before you left?"

Severus shook his head as he leaned back against the counter. "She said some things and so did I. We have had a few arguments in the past, but it was nothing like her running off and disappearing." He looked down at the floor and continued to worry about her and her whereabouts.

"Looks like it's going to pour out," Remus said as he looked out the windows. Dark grey clouds gathered above the London skyline, blocking the sun's bright light.

"I love her Remus," Severus said softly.

Remus turned his head again and just looked at Severus, who still was looking at the floor, his arms crossed over his chest. It was the first time he had heard the words come out of his mouth and admit his feeling towards Hermione.

"I need her… I cannot be without her…" Severus confessed.

"I know Severus," Remus reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Do not worry, we will find her, and she will be home, and safe, with you."

Home? Severus's head snapped up. "I know where she might be," he said as he quickly walked towards the door, with Remus who was puzzled, but followed behind him. Severus hoped that he was right. There was no other place that she might be if she wasn't there, so she had to be there.

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AN – The suspense won't kill you… Review please.