Chapter 7 – Planning

For the second time in the past few days she was woken by a tapping and she immediately stumbled to the door, but when she opened it she found an empty hallway, the bright light dazzled her and left her slightly confused for a few seconds. It must be the middle of the night. Then the tapping came again. In realization she turned around and headed to the window, attempting to rub some sleep out of her eyes. Then she met a bright pair of eyes staring at her unnervingly from the other side of the window. It was still quite dark out and Hermione had to rub her eyes again to check what she was seeing was actually real. She pushed open the window gently so she didn't startle the bird then stepped aside as it glided gracefully though the window and settled on her bed post. She moved towards it carefully, admiring the dark sheen of its feathers. It was a beautiful bird but something about it caused her to be cautious.

The eyes never left her as she approached and the sharp beak looked deadly in the dim light. She feared for her hand but the curiosity she felt for the small scroll tied to the leg was greater and when she reached the bird it did not object to her removing it. As she unrolled the parchment her eyes never left the bird, the only person she could think of that would send her a note this early was Severus. When she finally cast her eyes down, she was disappointed to find it was blank. It only remained so for a few seconds before written in a familiar hand the words.

State your name

"uhh Hermione Granger…" the parchment cleared and then was replaced by a longer piece of writing and Hermione realised her assumption had been correct and it was indeed from Severus. Something also fell out of the parchment, falling to the floor with a quiet clink as it hit the floorboards. Hermione bent down quickly and scooped the object into her palm, ignoring the chill of it against her hand. Then she turned to the letter.

Miss Granger,

For security purposes I will use the Diligo nuntius charm on any correspondence required between us. As I'm sure you are unacquainted with this charm I will enlighten you on its purpose. When its cast on any document the charm allows the document to give incorrect or misleading evidence or refuse to all but the supposed recipient. However to ensure the security of this charm I require a magical signature which I will collect next time we meet, as well as teaching you the required spell. I have contacted you to arrange another meeting. Tomorrow at noon, the portkey provided will take you straight to my manor at the appropriate time unless you wish to reschedule. Do Not Lose It as it is the only way you will gain access to my grounds without me apparating you.

To re read this message simply re-state your name.

I look forward to our next meeting.

She only just had a chance to read it through twice before the paper went blank. Then she blinked to herself. "Thank you" she said to the expectant bird, sorry she couldn't give it a treat. The bird took off into the night without a complaint. She pulled the window shut after it, the cool breeze making her shudder slightly. Then she opened up her palm, the object was a ring, but the details of it were too difficult to make out in the light so she closed her palm over it again. She rolled the parchment up and slipped into her gratefully still warm bed, placing the letter and the cold ring on the table next to her so she wouldn't forget them. Then she closed her eyes and attempted to get a few more hours sleep.

While she slept she didn't notice the figure slip into her room. She didn't see the small shaft of light from the hallway appear and disappear and she didn't feel the eyes of the figure stood watching her, silent and frozen as though afraid they would wake her. After the pause they carefully made their way around the room. A small light hovered at the end of the wand. They paused at the window, as if searching for something and hovered there for a few seconds before moving on. After a while they paused in their search. Dimming the light and moving it closer to the sleeping girl, reaching a hand out to gently stroke her hair.

"I'm doing this for your own good I promise" they whispered. When her eyes fluttered the light was immediately sheltered. But not before the figure noticed the paper on the table. It was slowly removed accidently nudging the ring which fell softly to the floor unnoticed by the figure.

"Hermione Granger" they whispered softly when the first words came out. The dead silence of the night overwhelmed the room again as the figure read, then re-red the letter. Before placing it back on the table and leaving as expertly as they had entered. The small exposure of light vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving the sleeping girl undisturbed. Right before the figure disappeared they mouthed a silent good night as the door shut behind them.

The first thing Hermione saw when she opened her eyes was the piece of parchment on her table and she blinked sleepily. So it wasn't just a dream. She sat up carefully and checked the time, surprised to see that it was as late as half past ten. She had about an hour and a half if she remembered correctly but she re read the parchment just to make sure before slipping out of bed and accidently standing on the ring. It was ice cold and sharp beneath her bare foot. She let out a little whimper and leapt back on the bed rubbing her foot. How had that gotten there? She leant down and plucked it from the floor, finding herself staring at it in the morning light exposed by the window. The gem glittered temptingly. The green flashing different with everyway she tilted it. The jewel wasn't huge but it was big enough to catch the eye and the edges felt sharp beneath her fingertips. Only when she started to examine the rest of the ring did she notice the small snakes that were carved around the inside and outside of the silver base. It was all so very Slytherin and she couldn't help but grimace slightly. But she slipped it on her finger anyway. Admiring the way it shone on her hand. The cold barely disturbed her; after all, it had been on the floor for a while. Then she proceeded with getting dressed, pulling on her most comfortable jeans and t-shirt. She might be lucky enough to try the potion today. That was, if she could impress Snape. She pulled a face, that wasn't very likely. But better to be prepared.

She made her way down the stairs, ignoring every look that came her way. She was too nervous to give a damn. When she opened the door to the kitchen Harry was sitting at the table with his newspaper. Just like most mornings and she froze, uncertain as to whether she should sit stay or leave and enter dangerous territory. She was about to chicken out when her stomach rumbled loudly and Harry looked up, a small smile on his face.

"Morning Hermione"

Hermione mentally winced before heading back into the kitchen and preparing a sandwich and a cup of tea. She sat reluctantly on the table to eat, avoiding looking at Harry. She was still angry at him.

"You don't need to act like that Hermione" she remained silent and he sighed, running his hand through his messy black hair. when she didn't respond he continued "Where did you go yesterday, you were gone for hours, you weren't shopping that long."

And even though she knew it was slightly childish she still replied. "None of your business" and she turned her attention back to her cup of tea.

"Charlie was really worried about you" now that was a low blow and she felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of him waiting for her, all dressed up. She continued to stare into her cup. But Harry didn't say any more after that, for which she was glad. The silence in the room was only disturbed by the rustling of Harry's paper until Hermione finally got the courage to speak with at least a little civility.

"Where is he today?"

Harry shrugged. "He left this morning, said he would be back later tonight if you wanted to see him" Hermione nodded in response and the silence only continued for a few more seconds before Harry broke it again.

"I'm going out again today, wont be back till late" He folded his newspaper and stood up. "Don't wait up" then he left and Hermione was left alone in the kitchen. She quickly munched her sandwich and finished her tea then went up to her room. On the way trying to decide whether she should just leave through the portkey, go outside, or get Zoey to cover for her. Harry wasn't in today and she doubted anyone but Charlie would want to come and find her, and she would be back before both of them. So she would just lock her door and leave. Anyone else would think she was sulking. That was fine with her. She caught sight of the time again. Half past eleven. Thinking it wouldn't be long now she picked up her wand, sat on her bed, laid the wand on her lap and waited. Alternating her time between twisting the cold ring around her finger and holding it up to the light to admire the way it gleamed. She wasn't pleased she would have to give it back.

Soon she glanced up again. 11.59. Time to leave. She touched the green jewel with her finger and closing her eyes, counted down in her head until she felt the uncomfortable but familiar tug of the portkey. When she opened her eyes she was greeted with the sight of Severus and couldn't stop the small smile from appearing on her lips. His response was the curious raising of his eyebrow. "Good afternoon, this way" and although she sort of knew the way she followed him. Wondering what the day would have in store for her.

When she entered the house she became quickly confused and curious. Instead of leading her to the potion room or even the hall where they had practiced the duelling, he led her past the stairs and along the bottom floor. This was different to the upper floor in the way that the doors were a lot less numerous and also it seemed a bit brighter. Some of the doors were even open, letting a brief amount of light into to the corridor. Hermione caught glimpses of a few brightly lit rooms but in most of them the heavy curtains were closed and the musty air had made its way into the corridor. Finally Severus turned into a doorway closing the door slightly so only a small shaft of light shone through. Hermione paused before stepping in before letting her fingertips push the door softy. It opened with a small creek and what she saw inside made her blink repeatedly. It was a dining room and laid on the table was lunch. Severus stood next to one of the chairs.

"Have you eaten?" Hermione though back to her sandwich not too long ago then shook her head trying to be polite. Although in her head she was wondering what the hell was going on, especially when he pulled out a chair, presumably for her. She went forward cautiously and sat down managing to pull her chair in with enough skill to move it a decent distance away from the chair he had just sat in. She didn't feel comfortable sitting so close to him. His presence felt like it could overwhelm her, even in his more relaxed form. Unwilling to look anywhere near him she instead focussed on taking in the room. It was light and spacious, scarcely decorated with few pictures and ornaments. The lights glittered above her. And her eyes were eventually drawn to the well made table they were sitting at. It was way too large for just two people so she guessed it was when he was entertaining the...

Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable with where she was. HE had probably been in this very room, discussing the downfall of her and her friends. Then it hit her, she would have to meet him, talk to him, it would be so easy for him to kill her, he could find out about the plans from her, Harry would be devastated…she would have walked right into the lions den without a plan or escape...

She didn't realise how shallow and panicked her breathing was until she felt a hand on her arm; she jumped and then her wild eyes met his dark, calm ones. She looked into the eyes and felt her breathing steady, then she couldn't help but whispering a soft

"I'm sorry". The hand was swiftly removed from her arm as if it had never been there and her eyes were finally drawn down to the place in front of her. A range of cutlery sat on either side of her plate. She stared at it until she heard a small chuckle next to her. She looked up in confusion.

"I thought so" he smirked and Hermione felt a blush creep up into her cheeks. "You've got a lot to learn. It's not all about the fighting. If you're going to be my sister you have to act right. Memories aren't enough if they're not backed up with attitude." Hermione groaned in understanding and then settled down resignedly for what appeared to be a long, uneventful lesson. Deciding to deliberately ignore the strange thrill she got whenever he leaned close enough for her to smell the hypnotising scent that enveloped him.

By the time they actually got round to eating the meal Hermione was restless, she was itching to get some proper fighting practice in. And she wasn't disappointed, as soon as she was satisfied (which didn't take long because she hadn't exactly been hungry to start with) Severus got up and vanished all the plates before leading her, once again to the big hall where they could practice. And once again, it didn't take long before her limbs were aching and she was panting with exhaustion. He was defiantly a hard task master and he didn't look like he appreciated her tiredness as he stared at her, lazily holding his wand.

"Expelliamus" he drawled, just as lazily and Hermione's wand left her hand for the third time in the past ten minutes. She cursed and dived to retrieve it before he could get hold of it, but once again she was too late. After that she considered just sitting on the floor and giving up for the day but then he kicked her wand towards her. "You'll never defeat the Dark Lord if you give up that easily Miss Granger. Now get up" The words were spoken harshly and were like little daggers in her heart. She saw herself as being truly pathetic even if Snape didn't tell her. She picked up her wand and jumped to her feet, ignoring the aching of her limps she began the fight again.

It was nearly two hours later when she finally succumbed to exhaustion and let herself slide to the floor. She was satisfied to see that she wasn't the only one. Although he hid it better she could hear the shallowness of his breath as he stood in front of her. She couldn't help but feel proud that she had managed to disarm him once. But that had taken a lot of luck and he had quickly recovered his wand without her having to give it back to him. She smiled at the annoyance in his face at almost being bested that one time. He let her catch her breath for a few silent minutes before speaking.

"Better" was all he said to her and Hermione revealed a small smile. That was at least something. "But lets hope you don't have to fight him" that was a slight confidence knock but she could be bothered to react. He held out his hand to help her up and she took it, quickly pulling herself to her feet and almost stumbling as he removed his hand from her grasp. "Come along" he said abruptly but had only taken two steps before he stopped and clutched at his arm. Hermione couldn't see his face but she could imagine the pain on it. Then suddenly he was standing tall, he turned to her. And Hermione could see the lengths he was going to hide his pain.

"I must go. Make your way to the apparition point" he turned to clutch his arm again. Before she could open her mouth he spoke again.

"I do not thinking meeting tomorrow is wise. I will owl you." Then he was gone and Hermione was hit by the emptiness and silence of the house.

For the first time in a while she was glad to reach headquarters. The walk though the manor alone had been absolutely terrifying. She never wanted to do it again, all the doors… it had been plain creepy. She was disappointed that he hadn't got round to teaching the spell to her, though at least now she had a chance to do a little research on the subject. Something she was depressed to find she was looking forward to. She had so few delights in her life…it was sad that researching something for a purpose was one of them. She was sure the Black library had something on the subject. She allowed herself a small smile as she entered the house. It fell slightly when she saw Charlie was waiting for her. He looked a mess and was clutching a bottle of fire whisky in one of his hands. His face broke out into a huge grin when he saw her.

"'Mione!" his voice slurred slightly and he started towards her.

She took a small step back as the alcoholic scent hit her.

"Where have you been mione…? I've missed you…" he took a slightly steadier step towards her and went to kiss her. She put her hand up to stop him.

"You've been drinking, its not even 6 o'clock" she said accusingly.

"Its cuz I missed you…" and before she could stop him he enfolded her in a tight hug. He kissed her neck then mumbled "I want you so much…" she pushed him away and he stumbled back a few steps in surprise. He looked confused then a look of anger came over his face.

"You don't want me?" Hermione rubbed her head.

"I'm not talking to you when you're drunk, I'm going to go and get you a sobering potion."

She attempted to bypass him but he grabbed her forcefully.

"You're cheating on me aren't you?" Hermione was shocked into silence, then she finally managed to chock out.

"Wha-what?"

"Don't try and deny it you little…whore. Who are you sleeping with?"

"I'm not sleeping with anyone" She hissed. Glad no one was around to witness this. She attempted to get her hand free of his arm but it just clamped tighter.

"Tell me now" he snarled. Hermione's anger flared and Charlie removed his hand with an angry hiss. Hermione didn't bother to register what had happened. Instead flew upstairs to her room. Locking the door and searching through her potions. She heard him coming after and soon he was banging on the door. This wasn't her Charlie, it was the drink…if she got him sober he would wise up and apologise…all she had to do was find the potion and everything would be alright…but where was it? Soon the tears were pouring down her cheeks with fear or hysteria she couldn't tell. When she finally found the vial she chocked a sob of relief, and leant down with her back to the door. She couldn't hear him anymore. However she didn't leave until she had calmed herself down. When she opened to door her wasn't there.

"Charlie?" she called cautiously stepping out of her door. No sign of him. She continued to make her way along the hall and down the stairs. She was about halfway down when she saw him, slumped against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. He was snoring, the bottle of firewhisky lying empty next to him. Hermione felt the disgust at him rising up and she turned to leave him there. She hadn't got far when she changed her mind. She couldn't just leave him there. She sighed and got to work levitating him onto the nearest sofa, which was in the dining room. As she watched him lying there she considered getting a hangover potion for him but found her conscience didn't stretch that far. He could deal with his mistake in the morning, maybe if he apologised enough she would help him. But just maybe.

Hermione took the opportunity of Charlie being incapacitated and Harry being out to have her full run of the library. It used to be her favourite place, but soon it felt like being at a cake stand and not being hungry. She had nothing to research so didn't know what to read. But now she had a purpose and it filled her with a familiar thrill as she ran her fingers along the dusty rows in search of what she needed. Finally she found a promising book. Protection charms – How to make sure what's hidden, is actually hidden. She opened the first page and quickly located the page on charming parchment. This looked promising.

Although many charms can be used to dissolution objects (see page 47) and protect objects from intruding eyes (Pages 101 & 113) many play tricks on the readers not destined to read the content of a document. There are a huge variety of these although once you identify the charm they are easy to break for example…

Smiling in satisfaction she settled down to read. It wasn't long before she came to the charm she wanted.

Diligo nuntius – This is considered one of the more complex concealment charms. It is difficult to detect and can provide false information or correct information deciding on the recipient seeking information. While it has no dangerous side affects to those forcing entry there is one extra thing required for this charm. That is a magical signature from the recipient. This is the thing that allows this remarkable charm to work correctly. Without said signature, an interceptor would only have to state the name of the true recipient to be granted access to the information. However few people would allow another to keep a magical signature of themselves. This is why its know as the 'lovers message'…

She skipped down a bit, looking for the instruction but all she found was a last paragraph stating.

The use of this charm is prohibited is most parts of the wizarding world because of the level of concealment and frowned upon in others, therefore no instruction will be included in this book on its casting.

Hermione sighed and placed a spare piece of paper as a bookmark. She would have to try another book, but this one was interesting, she might come back to it. But for now she placed it to the side of her and stood up to search again. Within minutes finding another promising book and settling down to search for any more information.

She had no idea how long she been in the library when she heard the front door through the library doorway. She was two steps away from the door when her common sense took action. It was probably Harry back from whatever he'd been doing. That's when she paused, indecisive. Her head told her that going and seeing him wasn't going to do any good. It might frustrate him or push him further. She should just go to bed and forget. But her heart didn't care about what could go wrong. She wanted to know if he was ok, he was obviously doing something dangerous even though he denied it.

Her heart won and she edged down the stairs, passing the room where Charlie lay passed out until she was level with the kitchen, strangely enough the doorway was dark. Hermione turned, he definitely hadn't gone upstairs that's when she noticed the very faint tell tale glow of a dim light though the door she had placed Charlie in. She peered through the crack. Thankfully the dark haired boy sitting on the sofa perfectly within sight of the door was clean. Even if he did look broken and defeated with his head in his hands. She stood watching him for a few minutes, wanting so much to comfort him but knowing she couldn't. Just as she felt her eyes beginning to get heavy he spoke.

"Could you not spy on me Hermione" Hermione jumped guiltily and feeling embarrassed turned. He spoke again, and this time his voice barely travelled to her ears. "Don't go" it whispered and Hermione found herself entering the room for the second time that night. She didn't know what to do. Should she hold him? Hold his hand? Sit in silence next to him? What about Charlie? But suddenly it didn't matter what she should do, when she heard the strangled sob coming from him she was by his side immediately, clutching his head to her chest as he sobbed. And though she knew the words would mean nothing to him, she still muttered words of comfort into his ears. And at some point, they fell asleep like that.

R.E.V.I.E.W lol. Please x