Ron put a hand on Harry's shoulder, well-meaning but utterly useless in getting him to calm down. "Maybe Hermione has a point, I mean, Dumbledore did say-"
"YEAH, WELL, DUMBLEDORE'S NOT HERE! NOW WE'RE GOING TO SAVE SIRIUS- COME ON!" He turned to run, but Hermione grabbed him around the arm.
"Here's what we're going to do. First, we're going to make sure Sirius isn't at headquarters."
"But all the Floos are being tracked-" Harry's mental faculties were decidedly not on their best day.
"Use the two-way mirror Sirius gave you."
"I'll go with him to get it," volunteered Ron, and Hermione was immensely grateful to her friend for understanding it was not the best idea to leave Harry on his own at the moment.
"Great. I'm going to find Snape-"
"SNAPE?"
"Yes, Harry, Snape. If you haven't noticed, Dumbledore and Mcgonagall are both elsewhere, which means Snape is the only member of the Order here. If Sirius is there, we'll need them."
"Hermione, he hates Sirius-"
"He hates you as well, and he's still saved your life every year. We'll meet in the Great Hall when we're done. Now do you want to waste time arguing with me, or make sure your Godfather is alright?"
Apparently that was all it took, because Harry was sprinting down the corridor to Gryffindor tower before she had even closed her mouth, Ron at his heels. A split second later, she was also running- in the opposite direction, towards Snape's office. It would be first time she'd see him after the- the healing, her mind supplied, but here were more important things at stake.
She flung open the door, charging in, only to be greeted by a second-year Slytherin talking to her head of house.
"Professor, there's an emergency," she declared without further ado, glaring at the little girl sitting in front of his desk, her meaning clear- get her out.
"Knowing you Gryffindors, Miss Granger, it will come as a surprise if this emergency is more than Longbottom losing his toad. Nevertheless, the Headmaster would doubtless wish for me to hear his prefect out." Distaste coloured his features. "Miss Greengrass, if you would excuse us?"
He waited until the door was firmly shut behind the girl and wards in place before becoming the man she knew from her detentions.
"Yes? Is Potter alright?"
"Harry's had another vision, he says Voldemort's got Sirius; torturing him in the Department of Mysteries- he wants to go there-"
"That cannot be allowed-"
"Sirius gave him a two-way mirror, I sent him to go make sure he really isn't at headquarters before he could storm off, but you need to alert the Order-"
"Is that all, Miss Granger?"
She nodded franticly.
"I see. Where is Potter?"
"He's with Ron. We're going to meet in the Great Hall-"
"Go now. I shall alert the Order. Bring Potter and Weasley back here; tell them I was gone but you can use my Floo if you have to."
She nodded, turned and ran-
"Miss Granger!"
"Yes?"
"Godspeed."
Harry and Ron were not in the Great Hall. For the agonizing moments she awaited their their arrival, Hermione dreaded they had gone, without her or protection, to the Department of Mysteries-
But then she saw the faces of her two friends, slack with relief, in the distance, and dashed to meet them.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, you were right-"
"It's all right, Harry, come on, we've got to go…"
If Harry and Ron were bewildered at why she was dragging them to the dungeons after they'd told her Sirius was fine, they didn't mention it. Not after she'd just been right.
Snape was were she had left him, with the same purposeful look in his eyes.
"Sit. I take it you have verified the whereabouts of your godfather, Potter?"
Harry nodded. "I just spoke to him, he's at Grimmauld."
"Good. The Order has been notified and is entering the Ministry as we speak, as we have reason to believe Death Eaters have gathered there in anticipation of your arrival. I have spoken to the Headmaster, and he has agreed with me that it is time you know why the Dark Lord has been trying to gain access to the Department of Mysteries, or rather, why he has tried to make you do it in his place."
Hermione saw her friend's face light up; finally, she thought, it's about time they gave us reasons instead of just orders.
"However," Snape continued, "I will not be telling you."
"WHAT? DUMBLEDORE TRUSTED YOU-"
"SILENCE, MR. POTTER! Dobby!"
With a crack, the house elf that had almost gotten Harry expelled materialised out of thin air.
"Master Snape called for Dobby?"
"Yes, Dobby, I want to apparate to Grimmauld place, and apparatus back with Sirius Black."
"Yes, Master Snape." And with another crack, he was gone.
"Dobby knows about Grimmauld?" Ron asked, incredulous.
"It does good to have allies from all factions of magic. Different rules apply to different species, as you know- or should know. And yes," Snape turned to face Harry, the venom returning to his eyes that had held fear for the boy, "Professor Dumbledore does trust me. Because unlike some of us, I follow his orders regardless of whether they are to my personal liking."
The temperature in the dropped twenty degrees as Harry realised the man was right, and he'd been questioning his motives, and been wrong, again…
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Being sorry has done very little for me in my life, Potter," he snapped, and Hermione gulped. She knew exactly what he was talking about. "I concede that with your peculiar connection to the Dark Lord, it was almost impossible for you to implement Occlumency against him. What you should be able to do, however, is use your brain. A wizard such as the Dark Lord would not let the incident surrounding Arthur Weasley pass him by, and he knows you care for Black. Walking into the Dark Lord's traps has only gotten people killed in the past."
Harry looked at shoes, but the mood only lasted a couple of minutes, and then Dobby was back, Sirius with him.
"Sirius!" It was Harry that had noticed him first, but soon Snape was the only one not glued to the convict as he wrapped his arms around the trio surrounding him. He may have been Harry's godfather, but they all cared about him, and the relief they felt at having him with them, alive, whole, and untortured, was palpable.
"If you are quite done," snapped Snape, and Hermione was suddenly hit with the fact that Snape was tortured, regularly, and no-one threw fits and tried to brake out of the castle to save him. Sorrow welled up inside her, her fingers twitching to find his and give even a bit of reassurance that someone did care about him. "There are things Potter needs to know."
Sirius gave him a curt nod, and the two men looked at one another, their eyes holding something other than loathing for perhaps the first time. Then Sirius crossed the room in two strides and extended his arm.
"Thank you for keeping Harry safe."
The two shook hands, tight smiles on their faces. Three pairs of eyes watched them- only a year ago, Dumbledore had forced a handshake between the two, and it had lasted a grand total of two seconds. Now, there was something they could not understand going on between the two childhood enemies.
"Sorry for being a prat to you at school."
"There are more important things now."
The two leaned against the front of Snape's desk as their handshake came to an end.
"Take a seat, you three." Sirius's voice was calm but grave. "Dumbledore's at the Ministry as we speak. It's time you knew why Voldemort chose Godric's Hollow to attack that night."
