Chapter 8
Maintanence:
Thought
"Normal speaking"
"Spell"
Nonverbal Spell
"Parseltounge"
Disclaimer: Not mine
Yay for reviewers! Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, Kymie29, Fire Daughter, potterhead0013, XxXxJackBlackxXxX, Darkness-Lightness, pstibbons, digio, camya (anon), Diespedes, notwritten, and missevilprincess.
This will be short in comparison to the others- it will cover the Order meeting, Christmas, the return to Hogwarts, and a month or two back at school.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hermione woke up on the morning of the Order meeting and decided to go to the training room before everyone woke up. She tiptoed out and cast a few silencing charms on the room before entering.
As much as she had enjoyed training with Harry she would much rather practice alone. It allowed her to use any spell she knew without fear that someone would recognize it as too powerful or Dark.
She had brought her clock from her room so that at eight o'clock she could sneak back to her room without anyone knowing, but what she didn't know was that Ginny had awoken at seven thirty, and had went to Hermione's room to find the older girl.
When she saw that her friend was missing, she checked the library and kitchen before returning upstairs to check the training room. When she opened the door she had to choke back a gasp at what she saw.
Hermione had charmed several dummies to shoot spells at her, effectively making it a four on one duel. Ginny briefly wondered what her friend was thinking, but that thought was abandoned as she saw Hermione duel.
She was graceful, fast, and dead accurate with her spells. Ginny could tell that Hermione was trying to avoid the spells, instead of reflect or block them, and that she was choosing her spells and targets carefully.
Suddenly Hermione uttered a curse that caused one of the dummies to explode. Ginny watched it, wide eyed, before closing the door and running back to her room.
Hermione's incredible. I wonder why she never duels any of my brothers, she could easily beat them. I bet she only thinks of me as a weak little girl. I'll never be as good as her.
Ginny made her way downstairs some time later to see her mum and Sirius already in the kitchen. Hearing Hermione's name, she pressed herself against the wall and listened.
"…needs to interact more with the kids. It's not normal for a twelve year old to spend all of her time in a library."
"Ginny seems fine with it. Honestly, Molly, leave the girl alone. She's had a hard life. Just give her some time to open up."
"You know something. Sirius, what happened?"
"I don't know, I suspect. And I will keep my peace until my suspicions are confirmed or denied. Even then, I wouldn't dare say anything without Hermione's permission" he gave Molly a hard look. "Some things are best left in the past. I can only ask that you don't badger her. It's hard enough on the girl knowing that she's the child that the prophecy refers to, but Dumbledore made Remus and I swear that we wouldn't even mention the prophecy around her. It is undoubtedly frustrating her."
Ginny was rooted to the spot in surprise, The prophecy? As in the one that dad mentioned a while ago to mum? The one where a child will be born that will have to destroy Voldemort? Oh, Hermione, now I understand.
She heard the whoosh of the Floo, and quickly walked up a couple of stairs, only to walk back down noisily.
"Morning mum. Morning Sirius." She said, trying to keep calm, but wondering all the time about her friend.
"Molly, Black, Miss Weasley" a man in black said as he swooped past them to get some tea.
"Severus!" Molly went over to the spy, looking him over with a critical eye. "Are you alright? We've had no word from you in two days!"
Unnoticed, Hermione had slipped into the room and taken a seat next to Ginny, watching the adults with a keen eye.
"I was- detained" Snape said, giving Molly and Sirius a significant look.
"Of course you were. Those potions aren't going to make themselves" Sirius said a little too loud. "So, Ginny, what can I-"
Sirius jumped a little when he turned to look at Ginny and saw Hermione sitting there as well.
"Oh, good morning, Hermione. I didn't even hear you come in" Sirius said, still slightly shaken.
Molly gave her a warm hello but stayed where she was, for that Hermione was grateful. Snape nodded his greeting, to which Hermione returned a small smile.
Kreacher came an announced that a large breakfast buffet had been set up, since Order members would be coming in at various times during the day, so Hermione followed Ginny out of the room to get breakfast.
As soon as they walked out of the room, Hermione plastered herself to the wall, trying to overhear the adults, just as Ginny had done minutes earlier- she waved Ginny on, and the girl decided to start making a plate of food for Hermione as well.
Sirius was the first to speak, "Severus, are you really alright? Albus and Minerva have been worried sick. Not to say that we're all not worried-"
"I understand" the Potions Master smoothly interrupted. "The Dark Lord is planning something. I think it's connected to the Chamber being opened, but I cannot ask. He's also adamant about capturing Miss Granger."
"Wait, capture?" Sirius sounded surprised. "What changed? The last I heard he wanted her out of the way."
"I have no idea, Black. But something happened and he wants to have the chance to talk with her. Face to face. For that he's planning something, but he's keeping it oddly quiet."
There was a pause and the voices turned quieter, so that Hermione only heard scattered parts.
"…Lucius won't be here"
"should suggest extra security…"
"goodness for Mandrakes-"
Hermione quietly turned and walked into the dining room, happy to see that Ginny had made her a plate of food, although it was more than she would eat.
Snape walked into the room suddenly and looked at Hermione shrewdly, "I know you were listening, Miss Granger."
She kept her face and voice neutral, "I'm sorry, Professor, I don't know what you're talking about. I was in here with Ginny, getting breakfast." She held up her plate, silently thanking Ginny.
Snape was silent for a moment, and Hermione thought she saw a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but it was quickly replaced by a scowl.
"It's a good thing you're in Slytherin Miss Granger. Your talents would have been wasted in any other House."
He pulled a small parcel out of his robes, handing it to the girl. "This is from Draco, who apologizes for not giving it to you on the train."
He quickly walked out of the room, not giving Hermione a chance to say anything.
Hermione banished the small parcel to her room and then turned to Ginny with a smile, "You should be in Slytherin! You just saved my alibi."
Ginny blushed, "I wasn't thinking about that. I just thought I should start getting you food while you were busy."
"Well, regardless, I owe you one."
"You don't have to-"
"No, Ginny. That's fair. You helped me, I'll help you" she flashed another smile. "That's what friends do, right?"
Hermione went in search of Snape after breakfast, only to find that he had left. "Sirius, do you know where Professor Snape went?"
"He had to check on a- uh-potion at Hogwarts. He'll be here for the meeting."
Hermione snorted as she walked into the library. Sirius has no subtlety.
Hermione was surprised to see a redhead in the library. She knew Ginny was with her mum, cleaning out some of the rooms for Order members, so she wondered who would be in the library. It has to be Percy; he's the only one who would be in here.
Said Weasley noticed that he wasn't alone and turned to see who had entered. "Hi, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Percy" he held out his hand.
"Hermione" she said as she lightly shook his hand.
"So what are you up to?" Percy asked as Hermione picked up a book from one of the shelves.
"Just reading. You?" Hermione had picked a book on Charms; she didn't want anyone else to know what she was really reading, and it had been a while since she had read anything on the subject.
"My brothers played a prank on me so my desk kept shaking every time I sat down to read on it. Then they charmed the pillows to constantly hit me in the head. So I decided to read down here." He held up his sixth year textbook on transfiguration.
Hermione decided not to get her notebook out; it meant he would ask her fewer questions that she didn't want to answer.
Percy got up when they heard voices from the kitchen. "I'm going to go see who's arrived. Do you need anything?"
Hermione shook her head and Percy walked out into the kitchen. She liked that Percy was easy to be around. He didn't need to talk just to fill the silence.
She stood, stretched, and wondered if she should go and meet whoever came. Her thoughts were cut short when Ginny and Harry ran in.
"Come on!" Ginny said as Harry pulled on Hermione's arm.
"You've got to come meet the Order members. A couple are here now and the rest will be here soon. You're not going to hide in the library all day" Harry proclaimed as he dragged her into the kitchen.
She met Mr. Weasley first, who wanted to talk to her about Muggle inventions, then she was pulled away to meet Bill and Charlie, the Weasley's oldest sons. She remembered something about Bill being a curse breaker and wanted to ask him some questions, but Ginny pulled her over to meet a young witch with pink hair.
"This is Tonks" Ginny said excitedly. "She and Charlie are the youngest Order members so far. Tonks is going to be an Auror."
Hermione looked at the witch in front of her with a new respect; she had read about the training that Aurors go through and she knew it was extremely difficult. Tonks must be a talented witch.
"Who's your Auror trainer?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Actually, I'll be trained by two. Mad-eye was my buddy throughout my first year and will be my buddy again for the rest of this year and next year, until I pass the test. Once I'm an Auror, I partner with an experienced Auror until he thinks I have enough experience to stop being watched over like a chick. Kingsley already said he would sponsor me after I make Auror, since he's in the Order too."
Hermione shook Ginny off and talked to Tonks for a while about her Auror training and what it entailed. Tonks, for her part, was excited that Hermione was there and obviously eager to play a larger role in the war. She introduced the girl to Moody, who was surprised to see that Hermione didn't react to his appearance as most people did.
The three of them talked for a while about certain curses and countercurses, and Moody found himself impressed with this second year that understood and was able to effectively argue her insistence that using a Full Body Bind on someone suffering from the Cruciatus curse only made it worse for the victim.
Tonks, too, was impressed, but also a bit wary, How does a Muggleborn second year know so much. It's obvious that she's brilliant. But it's a little scary to see someone so young with so much knowledge.
Moody, however, appeared to have no misgivings and continued to talk to Hermione until Ginny pulled her away to introduce her to other members.
"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt, he's an Auror."
"Hi Mr. Shacklebolt" Hermione said as she shook the large wizard's hand.
"Please, just Kingsley" he said in a deep voice.
By now it was lunch and the buffet had changed to accommodate the new meal and people.
Hermione had a hard time keeping everyone straight in her head; Ginny had continued to introduce her to the Order members throughout the next two hours. She met the parents of several of her classmates; Alianne Summers' parents were there, showing off their Gryffindor pride with their scarves. Katie Kirby's parents were there as well, passing on Katie's holiday greeting to the second year. Neville Longbottom's grandmother sought her out, saying how much she and Neville appreciated her help with his Transfiguration work.
There were several names that Hermione heard that she knew from the Ministry of Magic; Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, Amelia Bones, Head of the Magical Law Enforcement, Broderick Bode, an Unspeakable, and several other Aurors were all there.
Hermione was impressed, All these people here seem like they're more than capable of fighting in this war. This is indeed a powerful organization.
With the arrival of several Hogwarts teachers, and the Headmaster himself, everyone seemed to gravitate towards the dining room. Now cleared of food, the table had been changed into a smaller round table, which was in the front of the room. There were dozens of chairs positioned haphazardly in the room, and the Order members began to find their seats. Dumbledore took the chair in the front of the room, facing the rest of the chairs.
Professor McGonagall, Sirius, Lupin, Kinglsey, Bill, and Snape- who had returned only moments earlier- took the chairs nearest to Dumbledore, but more off to the side.
Hermione surmised that they were either the higher ranking members of the Order, or they had information that would be shared during the meeting.
Bill began to pull out several papers, and Hermione thought she saw a map before Mr. and Mrs. Weasley herded them upstairs. Percy, while not officially an Order member, had been included in whatever protective charms the Order required, and so was allowed to stay for the meeting.
Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were forced to go to the second floor, where Mrs. Weasley sternly told them that they would remain here until called. She warned them that Dumbledore had placed strong silencing charms around the room, but that if she caught them listening they would regret it for the rest of their young lives.
With that, she and her husband hurried to get to the meeting.
The boys went to the training room while Ginny followed Hermione to her room.
Ginny sat down on the bed when Hermione realized that she had left her notebook downstairs.
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.
"It's nothing. I left my notebook downstairs and I need it for something."
"Oh, well mum never said we couldn't go downstairs, just that we shouldn't eavesdrop."
"It's no problem, I can get it from here"
"Are you going to do a Summoning Charm?" Ginny asked excitedly.
"No, this is much more difficult than that. I promise to explain it to you if you swear to keep it a secret and stay quiet for a moment."
Ginny nodded, watching Hermione carefully and thinking that Hermione had more secrets then anyone she knew.
Hermione walked over to her desk and retrieved a pen knife that she had found in the desk. She cut into her palm and then pulled out her wand, holding it aloft, "Ego dico thee scelero quod veneficus" she intoned. (AN 1)
Hermione walked over to her door and opened it in time to catch the notebook that was levitating toward her.
"Whoa!" was all that Ginny could say. Hermione placed the notebook on the bed next to Ginny and used a small healing spell to close the cut on her palm, noticing the faint scar line that had formed.
"How'd you do that?"
Hermione sat on the bed next to Ginny, "it's blood magic. Very powerful and very dangerous. This notebook is one of the most important things I own. There are spells on it to make sure no one can read it or destroy it, but the spell that you just saw was made to bind the notebook to me. Using some of my blood, and that spell, I can call the book to me whenever I need it. It is also impervious to regular Summoning charms."
Ginny's mouth hung open. "I'm telling you this because I trust you, Ginny. I hope I don't have to remind you that this is a secret, and you can't tell anyone- not even your brothers or Harry."
Ginny's mouth closed. "Of course. I'm glad that you trust me and I would never betray your trust. Besides, that was brilliant!"
They spent the time talking about the Order members; Hermione asked as many questions as she could think of and Ginny answered as best she could, watching Hermione record the information in her notebook.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As soon as Arthur and Molly returned the silencing wards were placed up and Dumbledore stood.
"We have made it another year, and I am thankful to each of you for the sacrifices you risk, especially in this holiday season. If I may request a moment of silence to remember those who were lost this year."
Everyone bowed their heads, remembering with sadness the friends that had been taken from them.
"Now, with the year almost at an end, I feel that Voldemort has a plan. As you have undoubtedly heard, several Hogwarts students were attacked recently. We had two students die, seven are missing, and Mr. Weasley was recently revived with a draught of Mandrakes. We have an idea of what is happening in the school, but we were not able to locate any of the missing students. Severus has been looking into the possibility of an attack on Hogwarts from the inside, so I will now give the floor to Severus."
Dumbledore sat as his Potions Master stood and gazed around the room.
"It has long been the Dark Lord's dream to conquer Hogwarts, and it has recently come to my attention from an anonymous source that the school might be playing host to a basilisk."
He paused while the Order reacted to his news and eventually quieted to hear his explanation.
"As some of you know, the basilisk is the king of the serpents, able to kill instantly if someone were to look into its eyes. However, looking indirectly into its gaze, through a reflection in a mirror for example, will cause a person to be Petrified, like Mr. Wealsey was. The Dark Lord, as a Parselmouth, would be able to control the creature. I have yet to determine where the Chamber is, or what purpose the missing students would serve, but I will do all in my power to find out.
"As you are all aware, the Dark Lord himself has been keeping to the shadows while his higher ranked Death Eaters are more or less in charge. I have been trying to find the reason for this and I feel that I may have discovered the reason, but until I am certain I will keep that information a secret. The raids have become more random as the Death Eaters grow more restless without their leader. Bellatrix, in particular, has become almost impossible to control, despite mine and Lucius' best efforts.
"The Dark Lord delivers his messages through his puppet, Peter Pettigrew, and sees no one. His orders are related directly from Pettigrew to the individual, making it next to impossible to learn of any attacks beforehand."
Snape paused and seemed to collect himself before continuing, "Lucius and I have our own group that is loyal to us but utterly untrustworthy. We have been using them to keep track of the other Death Eaters to try to anticipate their movements" With a quick glance at Dumbledore, he continued. "We were able to prevent an attack today on the family of one of our members and the family was moved to one of the Order's safehouses."
"Who was it?" someone called fearfully from the back.
"That is not your concern. The family is safe and I will speak to the person later."
Snape sat down stiffly, keeping his back straight and his eyes on the Headmaster.
Lupin leaned over to him, saying quietly, "Why don't you let someone help you?"
"What do you mean?" he said irritably, trying to keep his voice down.
"You're hurt, I can smell the blood."
"It's nothing. Don't say anything to anyone Lupin" Snape hissed.
Lupin sat back with a sigh, cursing the stubborn Potions Master and resolving to mention it to Molly later.
Bill made his way to the front to give his reports on the likelihood of the goblins siding with them in any future battles and to add to the map that had been taken out.
The map was enormous and extremely complex; it had been Snape's idea, although he had based it off a something that the Marauders had created. It had taken almost ten people to create and was modeled after the Marauder's Map that had been created when they were in school. Except that this map showed the whole world. There were detailed pull out pages dedicated to Scotland, especially the area surrounding Hogwarts, and England.
For security measures, the Order had decided not to mark themselves on the Map, deciding that if the Map were to fall into unfriendly hands, it would be too easy to pick them off one by one with their locations known at all times.
They had, however, marked any area, by date and color, which had been affected by Voldemort or his Death Eaters. Attacks on Order members, or battles where an Order member was present, were marked in blue. Attacks on Muggles were marked in red, attacks on anyone magical but not affiliated with the Order were in yellow, attacks on anyone in the Ministry were in purple. Attacks on magical creatures were marked in brown and identified with the name of the creature or group. Any area that had been used as part of a Dark Revel had been marked in green. The houses of suspected Death Eaters and a few probable places where Voldemort's headquarters could be were in black. The Order's safehouses were marked in gold, and the underground prisons that were used were in orange.
It was a complex system and no one could write it down; everyone had it memorized and kept safe by their oaths to the Order. They couldn't afford to let anyone know what the Map represented. Bill added several attacks on the Map, explaining what had happened and what it meant to them and the possibility of an alliance with the goblins or giants.
After him, Lupin got up and explained how his dealings with the werewolves were going. "Greyback and the Death Eaters are making them offers that I can't compete with. A few have agreed to come over to our side if we can supply them with the Wolfsbane, but the majority feels that we are suppressing a gift instead of a curse and have sided with Greyback." Lupin added several more attacks to the Map as Sirius stood up.
"Severus and I have been working as co-Head's of Intelligence for the Order, and we agreed that it's time to refresh the Order's memory of the prophecy in light of recent events. I'm not going to recite the prophecy, for I know none of you have actually read or heard it, but I will give you the general idea with a few details. The prophecy was delivered on June 13, 1980. It foretold Voldemort's power increasing dramatically, and predicted that he would achieve immortality. It also spoke of a child that would be born in exactly six months with the mark of a phoenix on their arm. It said that the child would face hardships and trials of pain and horror unknown to the rest of us. But it said that if the child were to endure, they would become one of the most powerful beings ever and would be the only one that could defeat Voldemort."
The Order sat in silence, digesting the information and Sirius gave them a moment before dropping the bomb.
"We have discovered the child that the prophecy refers to, and I believe many of you met her today" he looked around to find Tonk's mouth hanging open, Molly with tears in her eyes, Kingsley looking shocked, and several looking openly horrified at the thought of such a nice, quiet girl having to face such a bleak future.
"Hermione Granger is the child of the prophecy, and we must to all in our power to protect her until she is ready to face Voldemort."
Those who had known or met Hermione were the fist to stand and pledge to help in any way they could. Those who had not met Hermione stood after seeing how much support the girl already had and echoed their pledge.
Dumbledore stood, "Thank you all. I will rest better knowing that I have such dedicated people to safeguard the future. Happy holidays and keep safe."
Sirius stood once more, "Grimmauld Place is open to anyone who wants to stay over and feel free to stop by for Christmas. Remember everyone: Constant Vigilance!"
That earned a few laughs at Moody's expense, who grumbled about young people not respecting their elders. Though it was aimed at the room, his magical eye found Tonks, who had Morphed her face to look like his, minus the magical eye, and with the addition of her regular pink hair.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ginny had gone to train with the boys at Hermione's suggestion, so when she heard people downstairs, Hermione grabbed her notebook and tried to slip into the library. As she made her way past all the people she was aware that they were giving her odd looks, some like pity, others like sympathy, and all with sadness. She shrugged it off and headed to her large armchair by the fireplace.
She pulled out Most Potente Potions, which she had been itching to read for a while, and started to take notes.
In the kitchen, Lupin pulled Molly aside. "Molly, if you would check that Severus is unharmed I would be in your debt."
She looked at him and said in a tight voice, "Is he injured? He looked fine during the meeting."
Lupin looked uncomfortable, "I could smell the blood on him. I asked if he was injured and he told me to leave it alone. If you could discretely check…"
But Molly didn't do "discrete."
"Severus!" she called, looking for the Potions Master. She found him in the corner of the dining room and charged up to him with Lupin close behind.
"Yes, Molly?" He drawled, hiding his pain.
"Remus said you're injured" she hissed, just loud enough for him to hear. Lupin flinched; Snape would get him back for this.
Snape shot a glare at the werewolf before turning to the woman in front of him and saying, "I assure you I am fine."
"You're not getting away that easily!" she cried, moving to pull him by the elbow into the kitchen, but the spy flinched away.
His movement reminded Molly of the first time she met Hermione and how the young girl shied away from her. Clearing her head she moved over and said quietly, "Why won't you let us help you?"
Snape was surprised by her tone, but replied scathingly, "I chose this, and I can take care of myself. I am not hurt."
He swept from the room, only pausing to glare once more at Lupin, and made his way into the library, where he hoped it would be quieter.
Snape sank into one of the armchairs with a barely suppressed groan.
"Professor?" a voice startled him.
Damn, I didn't even notice she was in here. Some spy I am- can't even see when a twelve year old is in the room.
"You're hurt" she said neutrally.
"Five points to Slytherin, Miss Granger" he snarled.
"Can I help?" she replied, ignoring his comment.
By this point, Snape had hidden the wound for several hours and was afraid that it would be infected, even with the spells he had hastily cast before coming to the meeting.
"Miss Granger, can you cast a cleaning charm on my shoulder?" he said quietly, consenting to her help.
"Of course sir" she moved over to see his arm, unable to hide her shock at how much blood there was.
Snape carefully exposed the large cut on his shoulder, removing the stasis charm that had slowed the blood flow. Hermione's wand was steady as she cleaned the blood away and cast a charm to prevent infection. Quickly, before the man could protest, she cast a quick healing charm designed to clean, heal, and close a wound caused by a minor dark spell and most light spells.
To her relief, the spell worked and Snape whirled on her, angry that she had overstepped her bounds. "I didn't ask you to heal it."
"I know. I took a liberty. But now when Molly Weasley barges in here or accosts you at dinner you can tell her that you're fine and actually mean it."
She plopped back into her armchair and opened her book once more.
Snape's anger was replaced with curiosity, why is she reading that? And why did she help me?
"Miss Granger, why are you reading that book? It's advanced potions."
"I find it interesting sir" she said without looking up.
Intrigued, Snape saw that she was taking notes as well and moved closer to see what she was writing. To his surprise, she didn't try to hide her notes like most people would when someone was glancing over their shoulder.
As an added surprise he found that he couldn't see what she was writing. He watched her carefully; her quill had ink, was moving across the page, and she was actively reading the book for facts to pull out.
"Miss Granger, how are you hiding your notes?" He asked silkily, falling into the armchair opposite her.
"Quid pro quo, Professor. Tell me how you were injured" she said, finally looking him in the eyes.
Snape's temper flared, how dare she?! Until he noticed that there was no malice in her eyes, only curiosity and a bit of worry.
"The book first" he demanded; if she wanted to play like that then he would play too.
Hermione assented, sensing that he wouldn't budge from this deal. "I've put a lot of spells on my notebook to prevent anyone from destroying, damaging, reading, or summoning it."
"And I fell" Snape's lip curled. If you want to be obtuse, I can be as well.
Hermione's eyes flared, understanding the game he was playing but she was loath to part with her secrets.
"I've bound it to me" she said quietly.
The only thing that gave Snape's shock away was his eyes. They widened for a moment before becoming clouded once more.
"As in blood magic?" he managed to get out. "Hardships and trials of pain and horror unknown to the rest of us" indeed. How much has she accomplished without out knowledge? What has she suffered through without us knowing?
"Yes, Professor, as in blood magic" she said, and then raised an eyebrow when he was not forthcoming with his explanation.
"I am sure that you're aware that I am a spy for the Order" at her nod he continued. "I was called this morning to participate in an attack on the family of one of the members here. I was able to back out at the last minute with the excuse that I had a potion to care for. I brought along some Polyjuice Potion and headed for the Bones' house. I was able to get most of them out of the house, but the youngest, Kali, had hidden herself upstairs (AN 2)." Snape's eyes were glazed; he was reliving the experiences, no longer aware that he was talking aloud, or that Hermione was listening.
"I convinced Edgar and Katherine to take the Portkey to the safehouse with Susan and let me retrieve Kali and meet them there. Anticipating a battle, I took the Polyjuice Potion, making myself look like Edgar. They resisted until the Death Eaters came in. I was able to shield them while they got away, and then I had to duel them before looking for Kali. I was able to show Lucius that I was me, and he took out two of them from behind. I was able to Stun and bind the rest, but one of them managed to hit me with a cutting curse. Lucius and I modified their memories and I went to find Kali and get her to the safehouse. After that I came over for the Order meeting. Lucius was able to get word to me on the way over that he had returned and wasn't discovered."
Snape blinked, realizing that he had said too much and was opening his mouth to demand that she keep this information to herself when Hermione began to speak softly.
"Professor, you trusted me enough to tell me that, so I think it's only fair that I trust you in return.
"I think that you already suspect this at least, but I'm going to start at the beginning." She took a deep breath and kept her eyes trained on her hands, which were resting in her lap.
"My mum and dad are both Muggles. As far back as I can remember, they both loved me. My childhood was happy and I was normal until I was six. That was the summer when my mom was hit by drunk driver. I was in the car, but I came out without a scratch on me. I still don't know how that happened. My mom was rushed to the hospital, but she died before they could do anything to help her.
"At first my dad was so overcome with grief that he didn't notice me. But after a while he started to resent the fact that I had come out uninjured while mum died. I think it was the shock and stress that finally got to me, but that was my first experience with accidental magic- I levitated all of the objects in the room. My dad flipped out. He didn't know what was happening and began to blame me for mum's death. He said I caused it since I hadn't been hurt. He lashed out at me; physically, mentally, and emotionally. He started to drink, and that's when he started hitting me.
"I didn't tell anyone because I believed it was my fault for the longest time. I just kept thinking, 'If I wasn't a freak, if I wasn't different, mum would be alive and dad would love me.' When my Hogwarts letter came and Ben explained everything to me I began to think that maybe it wasn't my fault. I might not have saved my mum but I wasn't responsible for her death since I couldn't control my magic at that age. I still didn't tell anyone though. At that point why bother. I'm out of the house and away from him for almost the whole year. I can survive the summer with him. Once I'm seventeen I can leave and stay in the magical world for good. Besides, anyone I told would only try to baby me."
She looked over to her Professor, her eyes hard and dry of any tears, "I don't need anyone's pity or sympathy."
They regarded each other for a minute, both fighting for control of their emotions, both of their minds buzzing with the new information and past hurts.
Snape spoke first, "So what are the chances of you telling me what the purpose of that notebook is?"
Hermione looked at him, suddenly wary. Snape noticed the change and wondered what she was hiding in that notebook that had her so worried when she had just told him a secret far more worrisome than he had thought.
She spoke carefully, "Sir, I need you to swear to me that you won't tell the Headmaster about what I'm doing."
Now Snape was worried, What in Merlin's name has got her so worried? Although she admitted to me that she doesn't trust the Headmaster anyway. If she tells me and I think I need to tell someone there are other people who I can tell.
Hermione, though, had followed his train of thought and changed her request, "I need a wand oath that you won't reveal this without my permission."
Snape swore loudly, "Miss Granger, if you are so worried about this than it is obviously dangerous and I should call in the Headmaster right now."
She gave him a calculating look, "Of course, that's your decision sir."
Snape cursed again, She seems to trust me to a small degree now; involving others would only make her withdraw further into herself. She needs to see that she can trust someone. At least if I know what she's hiding I can help protect her later.
He slowly pulled out his wand and made the oath, watching her face carefully. She looked shocked.
Watching him the entire time, she walked over and told him to make a small cut on his palm as she opened the book to a seemingly random and empty page and instructed him to sign his name in blood exactly where she told him.
He did so, and after that she closed the book with a snap and handed it to him. "Open it."
He did, immediately noticing the charms to make it lightweight, fire and water proof, as well as the blood binding magic. Flipping through, he was astonished to see how many sections there were and concluded that there was a spell being used to keep those sections closed and minimized.
He continued to flip through the notebook, finding a section for each of the Hogwarts subjects- even the electives that Hermione appeared to have chosen for next year. There was a section for information on the Order, Voldemort, the Death Eaters, the limited information she had on the prophecy, students of interest at Hogwarts, and each teachers.
He looked at her, wondering when she had compiled all of this, before curiosity got the better of him and he read his own section. He was slightly alarmed to see how much information she had on him, and how much was accurate.
Anticipating his question, she said, "There are several books in this library dedicated solely to pureblood families. They have very complete records and I used them for everything that I could" seeing the look on his face she said. "Kind of makes you wish you didn't know, right?"
He flipped past the teachers and found a new section, giving a small cry of surprise when he saw the title.
"What in Merlin's name are you thinking?" he hissed.
"That I will see the end of this war; prophecy or no" she said. "And that means understanding my enemy."
"I don't think you fully understand what those abominations are. How evil they are" Snape said, gesturing to the title.
"Then let me demonstrate how much I know: Horcruxes are among the Darkest magic ever discovered. In order to make one, you have to split your soul, usually by killing someone. It is a painful process that forces a bit of the shattered soul into an object, so that if the body were to die, part of the soul would live on. It is a horrible existence, and over time a person loses the connection to that part of the soul. The object can be anything, can be hidden anywhere and protected by anything" she recited angrily, "So don't tell me I don't understand when I understand better than most."
Snape was on the verge of panicking, How can this girl know so much? I only discovered the possibility of the Dark Lord making Horcruxes a month ago.
Snape no longer wanted to know how she had discovered the information; he had had enough revelations for the day.
"Miss Granger, while I understand that you think this is necessary I must caution you against continuing this."
"I can't sir. I'm the child of the prophecy, remember?"
He sighed audibly, "Then at least allow me to see what you have discovered when I visit. There is probably something in this notebook that I can use or expand upon, and it would probably help me as a spy. I am sure that I can add to your information as well, if you would permit it."
"When will you visit next?"
"I will probably stop by on Christmas."
"Then take it with you until then" she said, handing the notebook over to him.
"Very well" he stood and walked to the door before turning around. I think it's time to show her that she's not the only one with information.
"By the way, happy belated birthday, Miss Granger."
She paled, "How do you know my birthday?"
He smirked, "You're not the only one with sources. I will see you on Christmas" and strode through the door.
Hermione sat back in her armchair, mind frantically sifting through all that had happened in the last- goodness it had only been an hour and a half- I had hidden everything so well. What made me divulge just about every secret I had?
Snape walked through the kitchen, wondering almost the same thing, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and searched for Amelia Bones.
"Amelia, if I might have a moment?" he said, indicating the quieter hallway.
She nodded and followed him. "I wanted to let you know that your brother and his family are in safehouse seven, alive and unharmed. I am sure that they would like to see you."
Amelia gasped in understanding and reached out to touch Snape's shoulder. "Oh goodness. They're all ok?" She looked at him, worried that he might suddenly tell her that he lied and one was hurt or worse.
He assured her, "They are all safe. If you don't mind, I'll escort you there." She started to protest, but he calmed her, "For my own peace of mind, if nothing else."
Snape and Amelia apparated a block away from the safehouse and walked the rest of the way there, glancing down side alleys and behind their backs every so often to ensure they weren't followed. Snape allowed Amelia to enter first, and she did, after giving the password.
She collapsed into her brother's arms. "You're all ok? Katherine, and Susan, and Kali?" He nodded as Amelia walked over to her nieces and sister-in-law, hugging them close.
"Mr. Snape," Edgar offered a hand. "My family owes you their lives. If you hadn't warned us I don't know what would have happened. And you saved Kali. If you ever need something, know that I will help in any way I can."
"How is your shoulder?" Katherine asked.
"What happened?" Amelia asked quickly. "Severus, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine-" he said, but Edgar cut him off. "You weren't fine when you came back with Kali. There was blood all over your shoulder. You never did tell us what happened after we left. We were sick with worry; you and Kali didn't come for at least twenty minutes."
"Severus," Amelia looked pale. "Please tell me what happened." She was holding Kali in her lap and pulled Susan close.
"I'm not sure that the children should hear what happened" he stalled.
Katherine looked at him critically, "Kali lived it and Susan needs to understand how dangerous the war is so that she doesn't wander off. Now tell us what happened."
"Very well." He collected his thoughts. "Lucius was instructed to attack your house with five other Death Eaters, not including me. I was able to convince the Dark Lord that I needed to attend to several potions, so I was allowed to remain behind. The plan was to get you out and for me to remain behind, looking like Edgar. I would say that my family had been moved to a safehouse last week and I had come to retrieve some personal items when the Death Eaters came in. After that I would apparate away.
"However," here he cast a glance over to Katherine. "It was more difficult than I had anticipated to get everyone to the Portkey. You were able to Portkey when the Death Eaters came through the door, but Kali was upstairs. Lucius assisted me from the sideline and was able to take down two of the Death Eaters from behind before I sent a jinx in his direction and he fell, pretending to be Stunned. I managed to subdue the other three, and in the process one of them hit me with a cutting curse. Lucius and I modified their memories and then I went upstairs to find Kali and brought her to the safehouse."
Snape didn't show his annoyance at having to tell his story twice in one night; he wasn't used to people asking about his missions and was grateful for it on most occasions. But it was nice to know that he was appreciated, and it was nice to be able to save a whole family.
Amelia stood and walked over to Snape, gripping him in a fierce hug. "Severus, I can't even begin to thank you. I don't know what I would do without my family and you risked so much to save them." She suddenly pulled away, looking at his shoulder. "You're ok, right? I mean, you healed it, it wasn't cursed or anything?"
"I assure you I am fine and will suffer no permanent injury from today's mishaps" he looked at the family. "Stay safe, if not for me then at least for Amelia. And I'm sure that Sirius has room if you need somewhere to stay."
Katherine waved him off, "We'll be fine. And thank you. You saved my girls and I won't ever forget that."
Snape left the house, adding another protective spell to it, and apparated back to the gate of Hogwarts, intent on reading what exactly Hermione had in her notebook.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Authors's Note 1: Ego dico thee scelero quod veneficus: I call thee with blood and magic. My own blood binding spell.
Author's Note 2: I changed the Bones' family because I'm evil like that. There's Amelia, her brother Edgar, his wife Katherine, and their daughters Susan and Kali. Kali is seven years old and has displayed signs of magic. I'm not sure if she will reappear or not.
I decided at about midnight that I would post this now since I'm having trouble finishing the Christmas part of this chapter. So the next chapter will take a while and probably won't be up until I get back from my trip at the end of July. Hope you enjoyed it!
Always,
Sinkme