Ok guys, I know you're all ready for a good smutty chapter, but we've got a bit more plot to get through before then. It gets worse before it gets better! But if you stick with me through the tough times, I promise some serious smut very very soon. Thanks for sticking with me!

Hermione was running as fast as her legs could take her with Luna right on her heels. The castle corridors were a blur in her vision as she sprinted to the dungeons. It was a nightmare! Death Eaters had infiltrated the castle and barricaded the entrance to the Astronomy Tower where Harry and Dumbledore were trapped with them. There was only one person who could save them now: Severus Snape.

The castle seemed so impossibly huge as she gasped for air, hurling herself down flights of stairs. Every second she took to breathe was another second that something horrible could be happening to Harry and it seemed an eternity before she finally reached the dungeons. When she reached her professor's office door, she immediately began banging on it. She was about to try his private lab when the door swung open.

"What is it, Granger?" he barked. She could scarcely breathe to tell him.

"Death Eaters!" she gasped. "In the castle!" Just then there was a horrible explosion somewhere in the castle and Snape immediately yanked her into his arms, wrapping them around her body protectively and holding her tight against him. The contact was so surprising and wonderful that she had a sudden urge to just run off with him and escape it all. Tears began to roll down her cheek as he withdrew and threw her into his office. Almost as an afterthought, he held the door for Luna to enter as well, then closed it behind him. When Hermione regained her senses and tried to leave to rejoin the battle, it was warded shut. And so was the door to his chambers. They were locked in.

Severus swept past the ongoing battle and through the barricade that led to the Astronomy Tower. With each step, he knew that this very well could be the night he had dreaded for so long. At the top of the Tower, he knew it was true. Albus was apparently alone and unarmed, surrounded by Death Eaters, and Draco was holding him at wandpoint. Tears streaked across the boy's face and it was clear he was panicking. If Severus didn't act fast, Draco would do something stupid.

Albus pleaded with him and he knew that the moment had come. His movements were heavy with dread as he stepped closer to the brilliant wizard; his old friend. A pang of regret and helplessness throbbed within him, but he had prepared for this moment. Raising his wand mechanically Severus looked into the old man's eyes. He wouldn't dishonor his friend by looking away.

"Severus," the old man whispered helplessly. "Please." And he knew it was time.

"Avada Kedavra," the words tumbled from his lips as he summoned the anger he felt for having to do this. And the Headmaster fell. The emptiness that filled him where that anger had been was complete and he had never felt more hollow or desolate. It was as if he could feel his soul splitting apart. And he would have to leave part of it behind. Hermione.

She would never forgive him for this. She would never understand. In his mind, he could see her waiting in his office, eager for his return. She will blame herself, he realized with a jolt. After all, she had come to find him. She had come to find him! Their world was falling apart and she had come to find him. To fix it. To protect her.

Not to throw her further into pain and despair.

As Severus slipped out past the raging fight in the corridors below, he could only think one thing: I've lost her forever.

Hermione paced back and forth across the length of Professor Snape's office while Luna stared serenely at the jars of pickled creatures. Sometimes that girl really unnerved her. All efforts to escape the office had been unsuccessful, so they had been left to worry helplessly about their friends without being able to aid them. Still, there was something in the gesture of wanting to protect her that made Hermione feel closer to Snape than she ever had. He didn't want her to get hurt. In fact, he cared enough about her wellbeing that he had locked her up against her will.

I hope he's okay, she found herself thinking over and over. And Harry. Mentally, Hermione went down the list of loved ones who were currently in peril, but inevitably returned to him. Perhaps it had been stupid to fetch Professor Snape. Would he fight the Death Eaters openly? If he did, it would blow his cover and he would not only have to retire from spying, but would also become a target of Voldemort's wrath. Inwardly, Hermione cursed.

What felt like ages later, the door began to open. Her heart leapt at the thought that he had returned and was alright. But it was not Professor Snape who entered the office. It was Professor McGonagall. And she looked very grave indeed.

"P-professor?" Hermione stammered. Her heart jolted painfully. Had something happened to Snape? She immediately assumed the worst and could feel her chest caving with the possibility that Snape was dead.

"Something horrible has happened," McGonagall said. Hermione's mind then jumped to Harry and she felt a twinge of guilt that she hadn't thought of her good friend first. The girls tensed in anticipation. "The Headmaster…" she began slowly, "is dead."

Hermione could not believe her ears. Surely there was a mistake. Dumbledore? Dead?! It couldn't be possible. Then her heart sunk even farther when she realized the implications for the Order. Panic began to consume her then and she had to sit down. But then she remembered her other concerns.

"Harry?" she asked.

"He's fine. Distraught, but unharmed." replied the Deputy Headmistress.

"And..." began Hermione, "And Professor Snape?" She held her breath.

"He…" McGonagall began, looking away. "He left."

What?

Unable to stay there a moment longer, Hermione took off to find the others. She found them in the Hospital Wing, gathered around Harry in shocked silence. Tonks was the first to speak.

"How did he die?" she asked softly. "How did it happen?" Her tone captured the amazed shock that Hermione felt. To them, Dumbledore was invincible.

"Snape killed him," she heard Harry say. A pang of fear rocked her, before she cast this aside as Harry being prejudiced. She found herself shaking her head. "I was there," he continued, "I saw it." No. He's wrong. "We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was… Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak—and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him—" Hermione's covered her mouth in shock. It was like she was living a nightmare.

"More Death Eaters arrived," Harry continued. "And then Snape—And Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra." It hit Hermione like a wave of fire. Harry had seen it. It was true. But surely Harry could have been mistaken. It was dark out… her treacherous mind pleaded. No. There was no way out. Snape had killed the Headmaster. Snape had returned to the Death Eaters.

She had trusted him blindly and he had been on the other side the entire time! She had believed him! Fool! She told herself. Tears were pouring down her face unnoticed as the shock fell over her in waves. I was the one who told him about the fight. Hermione cried out in agony at the realization. The fate of the Wizarding World could have just been altered and she had trusted him! The room went quiet as a peculiar sound reached their ears: eerie, painful music; a phoenix song. Fawkes was grieving and his pain was eloquent. He seemed to be singing the same sorrow as Hermione's heart.

He's gone.

Don't hate me! :{ Sometimes the Cannon jumps in at really inconvenient times, you know? But trust me, I will redeem myself for being so cruel to you all :P Anyway... What did you think of my interpretation here?