Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the made up ones.

A/N: Ok, the next chapter is here, finally. Sorry about the delay. We both appreciate all the wonderful reviews and the adds for this story.

Part II Chapter 21: Who Are You?

Everyone made their way into the kitchen, which had been turned into a makeshift meeting room. The energy buzzed as the realization of Draco's appearance set in. Questions were being shouted so no one was being heard. McGonagall stood up and raised her hand to silence the group. "We will all have a chance to be heard, but let us begin with Severus as he was the one that brought Young Malfoy here."

Severus stood up from his chair in the corner of the room and made his way to stand by McGonagall. "Draco came to me a while back. He is in with his father and the Snake Charmers," he began but was cut off by someone's sarcastic snort. Severus shot Ron a hated look, which silenced the red head. "As I was saying, Draco is part of the Snake Charmers, but not of his own will. He is a survivor, as we all are, and he has been sending me information. He wishes to be a spy for us as I was when Voldemort was alive."

At the mention of the old Dark Lord, everyone shifted uncomfortably. "But you never tortured anyone," Lily stated nervously.

Severus looked at her but yielded the unstated question to Draco. Draco stood up and suddenly realized that all eyes were on him. He cleared his throat before he began. "It's true that I have been ordered to torture, even kill, people. It's true that it may seem as though I enjoyed it. But, when Snape was a Death Eater, he also did the same. The only difference was, he used potions instead of a knife." Draco looked at Ginny out of the corner of his eye and noticed her visibly shake. He didn't like hurting her but he needed the Order to trust him.

"Can you honestly expect us to believe you? That we should just put aside all the horrendous things that you have done and welcome you as a spy for us? How do we know that you aren't spying for your father?" Harry casually asked his old enemy. Persephone grabbed his hand nervously.

Draco turned towards Harry and smirked. "Do you have anyone else here who can easily walk into Snake Charmers' headquarters? I don't think so. I'm not asking for anyone to be my 'buddy,' I'm just asking to be able to come and go as I please with knowledge of what my father is doing."

"I think we should let him in," Ethan stated. Everyone turned to him with surprised expressions, even Lily. "No, really. Of course, there should be limitations. Seeing as Severus was the one who brought him here, he should be the one to watch him. Sort of like a chaperone. If Draco has any information that might be helpful to us, then Severus can bring him here."

"That's not what I asked," Draco said. "That's not coming and going as I please."

"You're in our world now," Ethan said. "You can't just demand things and expect them to be granted."

McGonagall stood up, raising her arms to silence everyone yet again. When the room became quiet she spoke. "We will discuss how Draco can help us later. Right now, I think we should allow him to help us." Murmurs from the crowd interrupted her but Minerva's glare silenced them. "Yes, I think he should help us but within a limited aspect."

Severus sat in the room, barely listening to the arguments from the other members when he saw Draco look at Ginny and motion with his head for the door. Severus watched as they quietly got up. He shot Draco a menacing look, saying with his eyes to be careful, as the two made their way out the door. As soon as the crowd started filing out, Severus stood up. He put his hands on his lower back and stretched forward, closing his eyes as his back hurt. When he opened his eyes, Ethan was staring at him.

"What do you want?" Severus asked in a huff.

"I am putting my trust in you, Severus, not Draco," he stated. "I don't want to be disappointed."

Severus fought back the urge to roll his eyes. "I assure you that Draco's intentions are honorable. He is still a young man who has been treated poorly by someone who is supposed to love him unconditionally. We owe him some compassion."

"Or maybe, his intentions are merely aimed at a certain red head." Ethan got up and pushed in his chair. "I will be keeping a close eye on the 'young man' to make sure that Ginny is kept safe. I expect you to do the same."

Severus watched Ethan leave the room and then let out the sigh he had been holding. He knew this wasn't going to be easy but he prayed that Draco would behave himself when it came to Ginny. He left the room and made his way to where Hermione was still unconscious. As he entered, his heart seemed to stop for a fraction of a second as he saw her body, lifeless. He sat down in an old wooden chair next to the bed and carefully picked up her hand. It was cool but at least she still had some color in her cheeks. He didn't hear the door open slowly because he was concentrating on listening to her heart beat.

"Daddy, wake Mummy," came the small squeaky voice of Sevilen.

Severus shut his eyes and sighed. He still didn't understand why this child was calling him daddy. He turned to look straight into the eyes of Sevilen and noticed how dark they seemed… almost like his own. He shook his head of that thought so he could answer the boy. "Your mother will wake up soon enough. Why don't you go and do whatever it is that children your age do."

Sevilen walked towards the bed, ignoring Severus. He climbed up onto the bed and stretched out next to Hermione. He put his arm over her waist and snuggled into her. Severus found it hard to hold back the tears that seemed to form in his eyes. Then, the boy moved up to her face. "Mummy, it me. Please, wake up. I wanna play."

Severus was about to say something when Lily's voice was heard in the doorway. "Sevilen, sweetie, Mummy needs her rest." She walked into the room and carefully pried the boy away and held him to her. She turned to Severus. "I'll take him to the kitchen." She turned and walked out of the room. Severus was silently grateful for Lily's interruption.

Severus looked back at Hermione's still form and watched her chest rise and fall slowly with each breath. The rhythm of her breaths made him sleepy and soon, he was fast asleep. He didn't wake up until he felt someone shaking his shoulder. "What?" he asked, slightly dazed.

It's late, Sir. Did you wish to stay here for the night?" It was Ginny's quiet voice that he heard.

Severus didn't really understand what she was saying and found himself just staring at her. After a while, he shook his head, trying to shake away the sleepiness inside. "I'll just be leaving. Thank you for waking me." He accidentally pushed her a little as he passed. He was about to leave when he turned around. "Make her better," he said, willing himself to not cry in front of the young woman. He didn't wait for her answer and quickly left Grimmuld Place.

He made his way back to his rooms at Hogwarts and settled in front of the fireplace, bourbon in hand. After downing half the bottle, he passed out.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Severus was dreaming something he never thought he'd ever dream: a family with Hermione. It was such a nice dream until he felt someone shaking him. As the cloudiness in his brain was slowly lifting, he could hear someone frantically shouting his name. He opened his eyes, cursing while the sun was directly in them. "Wha…" he started.

"Severus, I know what curse hit Hermione. But we have to hurry," he heard Ginny practically scream.

Severus bolted up from his seat and immediately fell to the floor, banging his knees on the stone. "Damn!" he cursed. He felt Ginny grab a hold of his arm and he shrugged away. "I can do it. Give me the bottle," he stated, pointing to the almost empty bottle of bourbon.

Ginny stood up and sighed. She picked up the bottle. "This stuff will get you nowhere."

"That stuff will help clear my mind. Now, hand it to me." He snatched it from Ginny and downed the rest of the liquid, wincing as it burned his throat. He stood up and grabbed his cloak. "Well, are we going?" he asked.

Ginny led the way to the potions department, knowing that school was temporarily out due to the attack of the Snake Charmers. They reached the room in record time and Snape waved his hand, making the candles spring to life. "We need these ingredients," Ginny said, handing Severus a piece of paper.

Severus looked over what was written and he looked surprised. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Quite," she responded, her hands on her hips. "You do have these, don't you?"

"Of course I do but they are in the teacher's supply closet. Do you know where that is?"

Ginny nodded and left the room while Severus started up a cauldron. She was back in no time, her arms full of bottles. Severus took one from her and started pouring its contents into the cauldron. "I didn't cover any of this in my healer training. What will these ingredients do to Hermione?" she asked softly.

Severus set out to cut and measure as he answered her. "This curse that hit her was a combination of curses. They ranged from mild, like immobilization, to severe, like memory loss. Until we inject this potion into her system, we won't know what it will do."

Ginny nervously watched as the ingredients boiled together. "Have you ever done this before?" she asked.

Severus was chopping wormwood when she asked and nearly sliced his finger. "Ginny, please, I need to concentrate."

Ginny sniffled. "I'm sorry. I'm just scared."

Severus knew that she was confiding in him and he didn't quite understand why. He sighed and wiped sweat away with the sleeve of his arm. "To answer your question, yes, I have done this potion before but I never stuck around to see the results. I was always needed somewhere else." He noticed Ginny nod her head and he went back to work. Two hours later, the potion was ready. He bottled some and then turned to Ginny. "Inside the desk drawer is a very old metal key. I need you to take it and go into the office. There, you will see a gold box. Use the key to open it and take out a syringe."

Ginny looked at him in shock. "A syringe? Why do you need that?"

"Hermione can't very well ingest this potion through her mouth. I will need to inject her so I need the syringe." Ginny merely nodded, nervously, and did as he asked. She brought it back to him, sharp point towards him. He stepped back and carefully took the syringe from her. "I need you to keep it together, Ginny."

"Sorry." The two made their way back to Severus' rooms and flooed to Grimmuld Place since his fireplace was connected.

It was night and the place was silent except for the sounds of sleep. Severus and Ginny made their way to Hermione. He rolled back the sleeve of her nightgown and took out the syringe. He carefully placed it next to her arm on the bed and took out the potion. He picked up the syringe and filled it with the potion. He injected it into Hermione's arm and then stood back. He discarded the syringe with the wave of his wand and waited.

"What are we waiting for?" Ginny asked.

"Any kind of response," Severus said back.

Within a few minutes, Hermione started to stir. They waited, holding their breath, as her eyes fluttered open. Hermione blinked several times, trying to focus on anything. She licked her lips and Ginny quickly responded by offering her a glass of water that had a straw in it. Hermione took a few sips. In a hoarse voice she said, "What happened?"

Ginny, relieved, hugged Hermione, tears streaming down her face. "You were hit by a curse," Ginny sobbed.

"What?" Hermione asked. Ginny stopped hugging her and brushed Hermione's hair out of her face. "Curse? What are you talking about? And… who are you?"

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out. I've had major writer's block and then the weather changed, making my allergies turn into a cold. Hopefully the other author will be quicker. And I realized after I wrote this that Ginny and Snape's conversation was supposed to happen before Draco's appearance and not after. My bad but I am not changing it. HA.