A/N: Apologies for the delay my dear readers. Sorry was too hung up on the holiday season high.

Without much ado here is the new chapter. Thanks to each one of you who review and follow this story. The credit to this story coming out the way it is goes to YOU ALL for all the support and motivation I get from you all.

And yes a big thanks to Chemrunner57 for sending me a PM and pushing me to post this today.

All Characters, places and props mentioned here belong to JKR. The plot is mine.

Chapter 24: Building by Pieces

Harry arrived at the hospital wing in the early hours on his way to the Quidditch pitch. He pushed the doors open as quietly as possible so as not to wake up a certain red haired someone and walked in. His basic plan was to see Hermione and tell her that he was to take her back to her chambers in the middle of the day when the rest of the Gryffindors would be in their classes. This was the perfect time to visit her as she was a very early riser which Ron was most certainly not. However it was quite a shock for him to find that his best mate was not only wide awake but by the look of it had been so for some time now. With his back resting against the headboard, Ron was being forced to take a potion that did not look inviting in the least.

"Hey mate!" called Ron seeing Harry near the entrance to his ward but not before he had swallowed the potion with a grimace.

"Oh! Hey Ron! Wow you are up early!" muttered Harry in an off handed sort of way. "Well I thought I'll just take a look at you before I leave for practice." He covered up quickly or so he thought, glancing once at the figure of the retreating nurse whom he wished a good morning before she left them alone.

Ron looked at him intently for a minute. "You are here to see her, aren't you?"

Flabbergasted Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times before shaking his head in resignation and slopped down on the bed next to Ron.

"I- well yeah ..."

"When were you going to tell me Harry?" It wasn't very difficult to figure out the hurt behind the words and he felt guilt wash over him although Harry had been convincing himself forever that he had kept the secret with Ron's best interest in heart.

"I did want to tell you but figured that ..."

"... I'll be angry. Yes I've heard that one before." Ron finished for him.

"How did you know?" he asked, looking closely at his mate's every reaction to the news, a tad bit uneasy in the absence of the flair up he was expecting.

"Caught her red handed last night." Harry's first reaction would have been to rush to the adjoining ward and check on Hermione but he held his space perhaps because Ron's strange demure was making him very curious.

"Well... You-" he began but was cut off mid sentence once again.

"You should have told me."

He looked at his best mate feeling extremely guilty. "I know." He murmured. "I am sorry mate, I really am." He replied softly but was caught surprised by the next sentence, although in all honesty he had asked himself the same thing many times in the past couple of days.

"Do you trust her?"

He met Ron's eyes and then glancing over at the entrance of the adjoining ward he pulled out his wand and cast a Muffiliato around them.

"I guess I do a little, yes." He stated looking at his best mate who seemed to be in serious contemplation himself.

"Why?" Ron asked softly. Unlike what Harry had expected it wasn't a challenge against his opinion, but an honest inquiry. He heaved a sigh and ran his fingers through his ever messy hair.

"First of all she would not have been able to enter these wards if she had any dark intentions, Dumbledore sets the wards that way and second... " he paused wondering if he should even voice what he really felt.

"Harry?" called Ron breaking his musings.

"She did look pretty desperate to see you when I told her first Ron..." He said remembering the way she had literally screamed to be allowed out.

An unspoken conversation happened between the boys as their eyes met marking this as a topic that was something was not be mentioned or even acknowledged in the future.

"So Dumbledore is sure now that she is on our side?"

"I guess he is, but I don't reckon I can fully guess what he actually thinks." Harry replied eagerly. He had been dying to discuss it with Ron but had been unable to broach the subject before. "He said the charms on these wards would restrict anyone who was aligned with the dark side from entering."

"Bloody brilliant... Why couldn't he cast the same charm on the castle? We would keep out most of the Sytherins that way and good riddance it would be!"

"I wish I knew! Asked him the same too. He said 'No charm on the school can be set to prevent the students from entering the castle. Certain areas can be made off limit if deemed necessary by the teachers though.' "

"Hah! So it means even if he knows there are people who sympathise with You-know-who's plans, they can come in if they are students?! Mental I'm telling you."

Harry snickered at Ron's expression. It seriously was a crazy logic.

"He said he believed her." Muttered Ron almost in a whisper a while later and Harry had to wrack his brains for a minute before he realised who Ron was talking about.

"He said that?"

"Yeah... That night when he met me in the Astronomy Tower." He paused a minute at the memory of what had lead him there but shook it off with lesser effort than he thought would have been necessary. "Dumbledore said that he had some tests for her, to check her change of alliance, I mean. Perhaps this was one? But then it can't be... how would he know she would want to see me?"

Ron spoke on as if to himself and Harry realised they were treading dangerous waters again. The tension between the two had always been evident but somehow they seemed to have come to some kind of a resolution. What he wondered however was how the two would now pretend normalcy when the feelings were so out in the open. He contemplated telling his best mate that he was completely positive that the Headmaster not only knew that Hermione would visit Ron but he was also playing some kind of a matchmaker here. There was no telling what had made Dumbledore assume that the two would fit each other. As much as Harry could tell it was a volatile combination, all passion and anger and a whole lot of terribly disguised sexual tension. And why on earth was the old man interested in the love life of two teenagers when they were fighting the worst threat to wizard kind was anybody's guess.

"I don't really know mate. But at least now we know that she is not allied with the Death Eaters anymore." he said finally.

"I wonder what other tests he has for her?" mused Ron.

"Hold on! May be that is why he has asked me to take her to his office tonight!" exclaimed Harry. "And I was thinking perhaps it was about the Apparation classes!"

"Apparation?! Wow! When were you going to tell me about that?" exclaimed Ron all excited.

"Well I missed didn't I? We were just told yesterday. McGonagall said someone from the ministry is going to come down for it. It starts next week."

"Blimey! I really hope they let me off by then, can't wait to get rid of these foul potions, as if getting poisoned wasn't enough." He grumbled.

"Oh I'm sure you'll be out by next week Ron." said Harry confidently. "You look way better already."

"How's practice?" asked Ron and Harry got him up to date about the infuriating sessions. Much to his astonishment and slight annoyance, Ron looked way too happy to hear that the practice sessions had been lousy. He assumed Ron was happy that Cormac MacLaggen who was replacing him as a Keeper was messing it all up.

"Harry?"

The boys looked up to find Hermione standing near the opening that led from Ron's ward to hers.

"I thought I heard your voice once." She asked and Harry ended the Muffiliato he had cast. Quite obviously she hadn't heard any of the conversation except for the initial words.

"Seems you two are busy. No problem." She turned but was stopped by none other than Ron leaving Harry startled.

"Harry actually came down to see you. Stopped here because I was awake." He replied in a tone that suggested that he was trying his best to behave normally. Harry couldn't help admire this strange streak of maturity in him. It was slowly becoming evident that for some unfathomable reasons Dumbledore was actually encouraging the friendship between the three. And in such a case it would be best for him to keep the interactions away from the complicated happenings of the past between the two unmentioned.

She came closer and took her seat in the empty chair and looked up expectantly at him.

"I have been asked to take you back around eleven, while the rest are at classes." He told her and thought he noticed a flicker of disappointment at the news before she nodded in understanding.

"Alright."

"I was telling Ron about the upcoming Apparition sessions." He added. That cheered her up.

"Sixth year! Of course! I absolutely forgot about that!" she squeaked happily as she looked between the two. "Wow I wonder how they will manage it because you can't apparate inside Hogwarts."

Her eagerness seemed to be seeping in to the two boys as well.

"May be they'll do it in the grounds?" suggested Ron and Harry nodded.

She rolled her eyes so incredulously that Ron decided was a little cute rather than haughty "Haven't you both ever read Hogwarts a History? You can't Apparate anywhere inside the boundaries of the school!"

"Maybe they'll take us to Hogsmead then?" suggested Harry.

"In these times? I doubt mate." Ron shook his head in disagreement.

"I agree." intoned Hermione.

"Harry has gone for side along apparition though." Provided Ron

"And I don't really prefer it to be honest." He replied.

"Neither do I." agreed Hermione shaking her head. "Father has taken me a couple of times too. It's not exactly pleasant. But he did say that once you know how to do it yourself and get used to it, it's not half bad." She added before a thought seemed to occur to her which caused the previous excitement to fall right off her face. "But I won't know, will I? It's not likely that I will be allowed to take the classes." She said in a sad voice.

"Well maybe you will. Dumbledore has called you in his office tonight. Maybe they would have worked out something." Suggested Harry.

"Apparitions are monitored by the Ministry Harry. For all they know, I am dead." She replied with a sad smile.

"Let's wait and see. Okay?" Suggested Ron and they agreed.

"What all have I missed in class Harry?" she inquired and Harry began giving her a brief up ignoring Ron's groan.

"And Snape is still drilling us mad with the non-verbals since most of the class hasn't managed it." He concluded. Personally he too was finding it difficult to master.

"Bloody hell! That reminds me I have to do my detentions with him after I get out of this." groaned Ron looking at Harry and glanced once at Hermione but stopped to stare instead. She had gone deathly pale and was watching the boys with her eyes wide, mouth agape. Noticing Ron's surprised expression, Harry turned at her too and the boys shared a concerned look between them before Harry called her out.

"Hermione? What happened?"

"P-Professor S-Snape!" The two boys shared a confused look.

"What about him?"

"H-He works for the D-Dark L-Lord." She muttered fearfully. "He k-knows I am a-alive! Which m-means the D-Dark Lord knows too!" she turned towards Ron fearfully. Ron noticed that she appeared to be shivering slightly.

"He is a spy for Dumbledore." He told her.

"No! He is a spy for the Dark L-Lord!" she cried in anguish. "I-I don't know why I never thought of it earlier! He knows I am alive!"

"He is Dumbledore's spy Hermione. Voldemort thinks Snape is his man but he is actually with the Order." said Harry to pacify her, ignoring her sharp intake of breath at the use of the forbidden name. But his own nagging doubts about the ex-Potion's master's true loyalty found their way into his tone.

"What if he is not Harry?" Questioned Ron with his brows furrowed and his own concerns deepened further.

"In that case it will compromise most of the security arrangement's of the Order." He replied gravely noticing Hermione growing paler by the second.

"What will we do?" whispered Hermione in a shaky voice breaking the silence that descended after Harry's proclamation.

"Look, you are safe as long as you are in Hogwarts and as long as Dumbledore is with us. Don't forget Harry is You-know-who's biggest target but he is safe here. As long as Dumbledore is around you both can't be touched." Said Ron fiercely.

"And no matter how loony that old man seems to be, I trust him." He declared and Harry felt that his best mate was not talking just about Snape and in a way, was convincing not only the two of them but himself as well.

...

Hermione sat inside the curious place that was Dumbledore's office ignoring the several ex-headmasters and headmistresses who whispered among themselves from their portraits. Harry had seen her off right outside the very door that stood behind her, telling her that he had been told to return in an hour to take her back.

The headmaster had curiously excused himself after offering her a seat. It was the first time she had noticed his sickly right hand and had let out a very undignified gasp, feeling terribly embarrassed and apologizing profusely for it later. It looked almost like the part had died and she couldn't help being curious about the cause. Controlling her natural and often excessive curious nature like she had been told to do umpteen times during her growing up years she wondered instead on how she had missed it the other night when he had come down to her chambers. But then she had hardly noticed anything that day from the moment when Harry had told her about Ron's poisoning.

A blush crept up her cheeks remembering the events of the night before and she admonished herself furiously for her brain's sense of timing. She would have to keep her emotions in check and concentrate on being a friend first, proving to both the boys that she was worth their trust. She knew Ron was trying to be normal, most likely because he was as embarrassed as she was about all the words that had been spoken the previous night. It was a praiseworthy effort but she couldn't help wonder how long they would be able to keep the attraction under wraps now that it was almost in the open.

A small cough broke her train of thought and she looked up to find the headmaster seated in front of her, his hands folded under his chin as if in prayer, those kind, blue orbs which was reminding her of another pair of eyes, was looking so deeply into her own as if searching her soul for some answers.

"How have you been Miss Granger?" he asked with a small smile lingering on his wizened face.

"Much better Sir, thank you for asking." She replied politely.

"Poppy was right, you did need some care. I'm glad she did a great job. But if I am not wrong I should thank someone else for this pleasant change too."

She blushed crimson at his words and looked at her hands on her lap.

"I'm sorry." He said softly causing her to look up in surprise. "I'm sorry for the prisoner like arrangements my dear. I do hope that you'll understand that this old man only had your best intensions at heart."

"Please Sir. I am extremely grateful for all that you have done for me. Had it not been for you I would have perished in the fire too." She replied softly, forcing the image of her destroyed mansion away from her eyes.

"I'm sorry we could not save your parents."

"I'm not sure if they would have taken kindly to the Order's presence Professor." She replied with a sad smile. How mistaken her father had been about this man!

He nodded grimly in agreement and spoke after a small pause.

"You must be wondering why I have requested your presence here." The portraits were all silent and she realised they were as keen to know as she was. " There are some things I wish to discuss but first I need to know your opinions on a few things." She looked on curiously.

"I am sorry some of these questions might not be very pleasant but alas! Only you can provide me with these answers."

"Do you truly believe the Order's intentions or do you still have doubts? You might have, in which case I am truly the best person whom you can demand answers of."

"No Professor." She replied in a small voice. "I believe you saved me from a terrible fate. What I don't understand is why you would go to these lengths to keep me safe. I am the daughter of the people who vehemently supported the Dark Lord after all."

"Ah... Well you see, unlike Voldemort we truly believe that every life is worth saving irrespective of it's origin. Well not every, if you know what I mean but yes, everyone deserves a chance."

She nodded half-heartedly and the elderly professor chuckled softly.

"You don't believe me Miss Granger. Perhaps you thing I have ulterior motives?"

She looked uneasy but eventually gave in to her instincts. "Is that all, Professor? I mean I am not denying what you've said but the Order has, you have really gone to great lengths to protect me and also facilitate my education. I would not have been surprised if I had been kept in a safe house if my protection was the only concern. I am extremely grateful but what I can't fathom is Why?"

The headmaster laughed loudly this time and she wondered what had she said that was so funny.

"Your brain is really an asset Miss Granger. Yes there is a reason why I have ensured you continue with your education and we'll get there but first I have some more questions."

"Do you think Harry stands a change against the D-Dark Lord?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Do you think he does, Miss Granger?"

"I don't know..." she replied truthfully "but I do hope he does. I hope he is able to finish that-that monster!" she exclaimed as tears sprung up in her eyes remembering all that she had lost. The professor allowed her to compose herself and passed her a goblet of water before he spoke.

"Harry has a seemingly impossible goal and to reach there to he will need help." She noticed that the lively demure had left the old man and the one who sat in front of her was not the slightly amusing headmaster but a wizard of such great strength and wisdom that power seemed to radiate from him.

"Miss Granger, do you have any idea what Voldemort wanted from you?"

"No." She replied in awe forgetting to squirm at the mention of the name. Somehow in Dumbledore's presence the Dark Lord's name did not sound as terrifying, for some strange reason he seemed to emit hope and faith which she readily soaked in. In his presence, it was as if even the seemingly impossible task of ending this terror reign seemed possible.

"He wanted you Miss Granger."

She squirmed at the horrifying prospect and the Headmaster continued. "He wanted you to be the first of the next generation of Death Eaters, the ones who would replace his present followers when time came. He hoped you, with your exceptional intelligence and strong magic would be his most devoted lieutenant when time came, willing to carry out the evilest of all evil deeds, loyal to the core and deadly."

Hermione felt like a thousand invisible snakes were crawling up her body pouring their poison in her veins. She felt dirty and awfully horrified. The blue orbs were looking intensely at her over those half moon spectacles and as the impact of the headmaster's words washed over her, images after images ran through her brain, her parents, the loving times at the mansion, her father's promise that the new order would bring the wizards to rule over the muggles and her feeling ecstatic on the thought that she would be allowed to venture out more freely without the threat of muggles. More images poured in increasing the throbbing of her already panic stricken heart, the fearful faces of her parents during their last meal, the image of the cursed and burnt down mansion and last but not least Ron. Ron as he guarded her against the onslaught of the willow, Ron as he guided her broken form out of the snow covered land, Ron as he held her close in his arms in her chamber, Ron and Harry as the three of them spent their days laughing and chatting in the Griffindor Tower. She concentrated on that one image where she was wrapped in his arms in her chamber and he was muttering soothing words and breathed in deeply, finding the calm returning again and she was able to focus back on those piercing blue eyes.

"He must be insane to think I'll be a part of his monstrosity." She replied in a tone which to her own surprise was way calmer than she was feeling at the moment.

She felt a smile break out on the old man's lips and he looked once again like the lovable, old, sweet addicted Headmaster the Slytherins always made fun of.

"Can I expect you to help Harry when the time comes? I assure you, if you are unwilling to do so even then, the Order will look after your safety."

She thought of Ron and the bleak chance of a future where things could be better. It was her only hope. And knowing Ron, he would be where Harry was, fighting till the end of his life if it came to that. And in that moment Hermione knew what she wanted to, what she had to do.

"You want me to assist Harry and Ron to bring him down, don't you Sir?"

"Yes Miss Granger. Harry could do with some help from your exceptional brilliance."

"Will they trust me, Professor?"

"You have to build that trust yourself my dear."

"Do you believe me?"

"I think I do."

"Miss Granger?"

"Yes Sir?"

"I have to warn you that the future will be very tough. Especially for you because where Harry or Ron don't have a different choice, you do. This path is tougher than the other. Your easy way out will be literally the death blow for not just Ron and Harry but a thousand others who are fighting for their freedom."

She paled at the image of a dead Ron and shook away the image vigorously. "I won't deviate, Sir. That path holds nothing that I want anymore."

"Good." He smiled.

"And yes, you will take your apparition lessons with me. Harry will inform you the date and time for it."

She felt exceedingly cheerful before another thought crossed her mind. "How will I apply for exams Sir?"

"Well let's say it's far more important for you to learn and know that you can do it rather than receiving a pass mark in your exams in this case. Harry will be here any minute, anything else?"

She remembered something suddenly. "Sir Professor S-Snape knows about me!" she said although for some strange reason she felt less scared now than she had felt before.

"Your secret is safe. Rest assured."

"But Sir-"

"Harry is here, off you go."

She realised she had been dismissed and with a small thanks, walked away and opening the door, actually found Harry standing outside it.

A/N: First one crucial clarification:

I don't personally feel the Slytherins are all evil, but Ron did so. The dialogues depict the thought process of the character rather than mine.

To answer Zalini's concern, yes it will be way awkward going back to being friends but I simply enjoy putting these in the craziest of situations.

Thanks once more to each of you for your reviews.

My responses to the guest reviews are here. Rest of you will find them in your inbox.

rhrfan: Thanks and sorry I can't answer that rest part. Just remember that I love RHr okay?

guest: Thank you so much. It really is a pleasure sharing my stories with you all. Such great feedback really makes me want to write better.

guest: Wish you a Very Happy New Year too. I hope you liked this chapter as well.