It Happened One Hallow's Eve

by Ms-Figg

Honorable!Snape and Student!Hermione Severus Snape is sent to save Hermione from evil ghosts. Her innocence is a liability. But she doesn't want to be innocent. They must survive until sunrise. A relationship develops. AUAR, Graphic Lemon,MF

6. Part 5

It Happened One Hallow's Eve Part 5

Severus and Harry stood on the Hogwarts grounds near the Whomping Willow, Harry all trussed up from head to toe in black protective gear, holding Godric's sword in his right hand and his wand in his left. A burlap dummy stuffed with straw lay on the ground to the left of them. Severus was dressed in his black winter robes with his hair tied back in a pony-tail so it wouldn't get in the way. He didn't have a sword however. It was Harry's first day after all.
In the branches of the Whomping Willow, Crookshanks looked down on the wizards with interest, his tail lashing. The tree itself trembled a bit at the proximity of the wizards. It had been disabled, but longed to whomp just the same.

"Now Mr. Potter, the sword you are holding is called a cutlass. It is sharp only on the outside edge, shorter than the average sword and curved. Godric Gryffindor had a love of the sea and traveled extensively before settling down and constructing Hogwarts. When he had the sword forged, he chose to have it formed in this manner because he was familiar with it. The cutlass is best known as the sailor's weapon of choice, robust enough to hack through heavy ropes, canvas, and wood and short enough to use in relatively close quarters. One of the main advantages of the cutlass is its simplicity of use. It requires less training than the rapier or small sword, and is a more effective as a combat weapon than the full-sized sword. Are you taking this in, Mr. Potter or am I talking to myself?" the Potions Master said.

Harry was staring at him with a rather blank expression. It was obvious the young wizard was daydreaming.

"Pay attention!" Severus bellowed at him, startling the wizard so he dropped his sword.

"Imbecile," Severus hissed under his breath as Harry retrieved the sword. "Now pay attention!"

Harry apologized and listened to the dark wizard. He had been thinking about Ginny.

Severus scowled and continued.

"When fighting with a cutlass, the general rule is to hack at one's opponent. Thrusting or stabbing is done with rapiers or swords. Thrusting takes longer, and if you're not careful your blade could get stuck. Hacking means you can just as easily immobilize your opponent by chopping off his hand rather than stabbing him in the gut. This also explains the design of the blade. Curving the blade makes it easier to control while hacking, and the added thickness insures that it will cleave through bone and muscle," the wizard said as Harry examined the sword again and made a couple of hacking motions with it.

"Since time is of the essence, we are going for the guts of cutlass swordplay. I will teach you the seven primary cutting methods, eight essential parries and give you several cut, thrust and parry drills to practice. But first, I'd like to see how you do on your own. Put away your wand," Severus said, a nasty little smirk on his face as he drew his own wand.

Harry didn't have anyplace to put his wand so laid it on the ground. Severus pointed his wand at the burlap dummy and it rose from the ground. He looked at Harry who held the sword in front of himself awkwardly.

"I want you to keep the dummy off of you as best you can. It isn't armed so can't hurt you," Severus said.

Harry nodded, his eyes on the dummy. His glasses were well tucked into the tight hood that covered his head. He looked as if he were wearing a padded wetsuit. He was hot too.

"Defend yourself!" Severus yelled, using his wand to propel the dummy toward Harry. The young wizard raised the cutlass and tried to hack the dummy as it slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Severus then proceed to beat Harry with the solidly packed dummy as Harry struggled to get up, swinging his sword, grappling and scrambling, the dummy knocking him down over and over, then falling on top of him heavily.

Severus was openly grinning as he used the dummy to pummel the-boy-who-lived, letting Harry almost get to his feet before ramming into him again with his burlap assailant.

"Good thing he doesn't have a sword, Mr. Potter. You'd be little wriggling bits by now," Severus called to him as the dummy knocked him down again.

"Give me a chance to get up!" Harry yelled back at him, kicking at the dummy, the sword forgotten on the ground.

"Give yourself a chance," Severus said, making the dummy fall on top of him again.

Finally Harry managed to get up and grab the sword, now dancing out of the way of the attacking dummy and even got in a slash or two. But damn, he was tired. Severus continued another five minutes until he was satisfied Harry developed a bit of footwork then let the dummy drop to the ground. Harry stood there panting.

"That wasn't fair. You kept slamming him into me," Harry gasped.

"What do you think, Mr. Potter? That Voldemort is going to stay a polite distance when you face off? You can count on physical contact," the wizard replied, frowning. "And if you believe this stuffed dummy gave you a hard time, give it five days…then you will be facing me. And I am no dummy, Mr. Potter. Now, give me your sword, and watch what I do."

"Can I take off this suit?" Harry asked the Professor as he handed him the cutlass.

"No, get used to it. It's weighted so you will be stronger," Severus replied, taking a stance of readiness. "These are the primary cuts to make. I expect you to practice them on your own time."

Harry watched as Severus went through a number of slashes several times, trying to memorize them. Some were overhead, others underhanded, direct slices and so forth. Severus was handing the sword back to Harry when he suddenly gasped and grasped his left forearm, dropping the cutlass. He looked at Harry, his eyes glazed with pain.

"I must go, Mr. Potter. Practice those moves and I will meet you here tomorrow morning at ten, if possible," he said through gritted teeth.

"You're being summoned," Harry said, his eyes narrowed.

"Yes. I must go," Severus said, disapparating. Harry's eyes went wide. No one was supposed to be able to apparate on Hogwarts' grounds.

Harry pulled off the constricting hood, picked up Godric's sword and headed for the castle. Hermione would want to know the Potions Master was summoned by Voldemort.

---

Severus apparated to his bedroom and quickly donned his Death Eater garb, grimacing as the pain hit him again. Clamping down his Occlumency walls he disapparated.

Voldemort was seated at a large table, looking at maps of Hogwarts and the area surrounding the Ministry, Lucius Malfoy standing at his side and looking over his shoulder when Severus appeared in the stronghold. The Dark Lord looked up.

"Ah, Severus. Remove your hood and mask and approach," the despot said.

Lucius looked at Severus coolly as the pale wizard did as the Dark Lord asked. His black eyes swept over the maps, noting the divisions of small, robed Death Eaters. He would put the memory in a pensieve for Albus and Kingsley Shacklebolt to study and make their counter-plans.

"I plan to attack Hogwarts on the morning of the fourth, while the students and staff are in the Great Hall at breakfast," Voldemort said, his red eyes resting on Severus to see his reaction.

"I see my Lord. I am ready to fight by your side," the Potions Master replied, "To the death, my Lord."

Voldemort gave him a lipless smile.

"Yes, my loyal servant. But I do not want you by my side, but by Dumbledore's. Lucius…" the wizard lisped.

Lucius Malfoy pulled a sheathed dagger out of his pocket, reached over the table and handed it to Severus, who began to pull it out to examine it.

"NO!" Voldemort hissed at him. "Do not draw the dagger. If you do, then you must kill with it or it will turn in your hand and kill you, Severus. It is the Dagger of Dresden, a charmed blade particularly dangerous to magical folk. It was created by a muggle sorcerer who used demons to do his magic, a man very jealous of those who could do magic freely. It is extremely blood-thirsty and poisonous."

Severus dropped his hand from the sheathe and looked at Voldemort, his black eyes glittering.

"Your directive, my Lord?" he asked, already knowing what it was.

"You are to kill Albus Dumbledore," the Dark Lord said. "At eight o'clock sharp in the Great Hall, just as my ranks overrun the grounds. Then grab Harry Potter and apparate to my side so I may kill the boy. Do you think you can do this, Severus?"

Lucius' gray eyes studied Severus to see if there was any hesitation.

"Yes my Lord…I can do it," the dark wizard replied, "but how will you gain entrance to Hogwarts' grounds?"

"That has already been arranged Severus," the wizard replied. "Your concern should be killing Albus. Plunge the dagger into his heart. He will die quite painfully, and should distract the others enough for you to grab the boy."

Severus looked at the Dark Lord…he was truly evil. He was planning on showing the world that he was a traitor. If he did such a deed, he could never show himself in the wizarding world again if the despot failed. Forget Azkaban. He would be executed for killing Albus, the wizard was held in such high esteem.

"Yes, my Lord," Severus said, bowing and pocketing the blade.

"I am counting on you Severus. This will prove your loyalty to me beyond doubt. If you fail me, it will be your last time," Voldemort said, his red eyes brightening.

"Yes, my Lord. I understand," he said.

Voldemort eyed him for a moment.

"Everyone at Hogwarts is slated for death, Severus. Staff and students. There are to be no prisoners. That includes the witch you are fucking. Hermione Granger," Voldemort hissed. "I want her dead as well. I would have you kill her, but you will have your hands full enough with Dumbledore and Potter."

Lucius' eyebrows rose at this bit of news. So, Severus was doing Hermione Granger, the mudblood brain of Hogwarts. The blonde wizard didn't know the Potions Master had it in him. Draco ought to find this quite interesting.

"So if I were you, I'd get as much pussy as possible between now and the day of the attack," Voldemort said. "Because it's going to grow cold."

"Yes my Lord," Severus said, wishing he could kill the despot now.

"You may go. If you hear any important news, activate your Mark and I will summon you. Otherwise you will not hear from me until the day of battle. Return to Hogwarts, Severus…and remember your charge," the wizard said, dismissing him.

"Yes my Lord. I will remember," Severus said bowing and backing away from the table. He disapparated.

"So what do you think, Lucius?" the Dark Lord asked the pureblood.

"I'm not sure what to think, my Lord," Lucius replied, "Severus has never shown himself to be truly evil. He has always managed to keep blood off his hands."

Voldemort nodded.

"Yes. He does show disturbing signs of conscience. I would have killed him years ago if not for his value to me within the walls of Hogwarts. But now he will be up to his neck in blood. His betrayal of Dumbledore and Harry Potter will mark him throughout history," the wizard said. Then he looked up at Lucius.

"But I want you to keep a close eye on him at the battle, Lucius. If you see any sign of betrayal, I want you to kill him immediately," Voldemort commanded.

The pureblood's gray eyes flashed.

"Yes, my Lord."

---

Albus turned the sheathed dagger over in his hands.

"He wants you to kill me with this, does he?" the wizard said soberly.

"Yes. But I have other plans for the weapon," Severus said darkly.

"Then I will have to hold back," Albus said, "If I am seen, then he will know you have betrayed him."

"The moment the Order members appear, he will know either I or Draco have betrayed him," Severus replied as Albus handed the knife to him.

Kingsley Shacklebolt finished viewing the pensieve.

"Apparently he will have twenty-five hundred Death Eaters here at Hogwarts and fifteen hundred at the Ministry waiting to ambush the Aurors, hoping to divide the Order," the black wizard said. Kingsley served as the Master Strategist for the Order. "I think it best if we wait on the Hogwarts grounds, utilizing the new invisibility spell Orday developed."

Orday was the Order's Spells Master. Quite an inventive young wizard. He adapted the disillusionment spell to render the caster completely invisible, allowing light to pass through the body rather than bend around it, thus removing the telltale shimmer. However the spell had a weakness.

Severus frowned.

"But that spell is faulty, Kingsley. It only renders complete invisibility if one holds completely still. Any movement results in momentary visibility," the Potions Master said.

What happened was the witch or wizard would blink in and out as it was impossible to hold completely still for an extended amount of time. They would be seen.

"Yes, but Orday designed another spell to work around it. He adapted the Totalus Petrificus spell, so it could be applied and removed with a thought invocation. The Order members will be completely stiffened until they release the spell. They will not be seen until they want to be," Kingsley said with a grim smile.

"Brilliant," Albus said. "But Voldemort must not be touched. Harry must have the opportunity to engage him first. If he fails…"

"Understood," Kingsley said. "More than likely he will have a contingent of skilled Death Eaters surrounding him. We have to get him near the Whomping Willow, however."

"That won't be a problem," Severus said, "I am to deliver the boy to him. I can bring Mr. Potter to the willow. As long as the boy is delivered, and the Order hasn't yet attacked I will not be suspect. Until Harry draws his sword that is. I will take cover in the base of the tree when that occurs."
Inside the Whomping Willow was a passageway that led to the Shrieking Shack, a small house that Remus Lupin used to stay in when the moon was full. Severus could defend the entrance easily from the inside if necessary. He would also be close enough to help Harry if the opportunity arose.

"We'll hold back until all the Death Eaters are on the grounds," Kingsley said. "There will be two Order members at the gate. They will ward the gates back so the Death Eaters can't escape, then reapply the altered disillusionment spell to themselves. Hopefully they will not be seen. I will be one of them. Tonks the other."

Tonks and Kingsley were more than fellow Aurors and Order members. They were lovers too. They were also top-notch fighters…the best of the best. If anyone could pull it off, they could.

"We will attack when Voldemort and Harry face off," the wizard continued. "We will have six thousand Order members on the grounds and will most likely overwhelm them through sheer numbers. Hopefully there won't be a large amount of causalities in our ranks. Another four thousand will apparate outside the Ministry and take care of the Death Eaters waiting there. The Ministry will extend its anti-apparition charm to cover the surrounding area immediately after the Order members appear, cutting off any escape for Voldemort's followers."

Albus and Severus looked at each other, then at Kingsley.

The Headmaster nodded soberly.

"Sounds fair enough, Kingsley," Albus said, "Make it so."

Kingsley nodded.

"It looks like this might be the end of Voldemort's reign, if he can be destroyed. The worst case scenario is that he escapes…but he will not have his ranks to support his madness. He will have to start over. I think it will be more difficult for him to raise an army a second time around. He may just go into hiding," Kingsley said.

"He cannot escape," Severus said, his eyes glittering. "He has to die. As long as Voldemort lives we will all be in danger. We and our loved ones."

Kingsley and Albus looked at each other. Had Severus Snape just indicated he had loved ones? If he did, were they on this planet? Then Albus' eyes began to twinkle as the truth sunk in.

Hermione.

"Hopefully, Harry will succeed in fulfilling the Prophecy, Severus. We can only hope," Albus said, trying to sound reassuring.

Severus stood up.

"Trust me, Headmaster…I intend to do much more than hope. I'm not going to leave my future happiness in the hands of Harry Potter. Good evening," the dark wizard said, exiting the office with a billow of robes.

Kingsley looked at Albus.

"Loved ones?" he asked the Headmaster. "Severus?"

"It's a rather complicated story, Kingsley. I will tell you about it sometime…in the far future," Albus said with a smile. "Now come, let us have a small firewhiskey to celebrate an excellent plan."

Kingsley heartily agreed.

---

Hermione had been in the Astronomy Tower watching Severus and Harry through the telescope Professor Sinistra utilized for star-gazing. She frowned as Severus beat Harry unmercifully with the stuffed dummy, grinning as he did so. He has just horrible. Then she observed the dark wizard showing Harry a few cutting moves. Suddenly he dropped the cutlass and grabbed his arm.

"Oh no," Hermione breathed, realizing the Potions Master was being summoned. She watched as he disapparated and Harry headed for the castle. He stopped for a moment and turned around. He had forgotten his wand. Hermione pulled away from the telescope, looking worried.

"I hope Severus is all right," she said to herself.

Harry had told Hermione about the upcoming battle, and she was scared for him and Severus. She spent the evening showing Harry the book of offensive spells Severus had given them and showing him some of the wand movements. Harry was a quick study with charms and spells. Hermione duplicated the book for him, though when Harry retired he found the same book on his nightstand, obviously sent by the Potions Master.

Hermione made her way down the stairs, intending on meeting Harry and finding out exactly what happened. Instead of taking the stairs, she took a shortcut through the hall fireplace ending up on the third floor and heading for the stairwell. Draco Malfoy was walking up the hall apparently wandering the castle. He met Hermione about twenty five feet from the landing.

"Fancy meeting you here, Granger," he purred, blocking her way.

"Move, Draco…I've got to go," Hermione said, trying to slip by him.

"Slow down, Granger…I want to talk to you," the blonde wizard said, moving in front of her again. Hermione scowled up at him.

"I don't have time. I have to talk to Harry…now let me pass, Draco," she seethed.

Suddenly Draco caught her wrist, then grabbed her wand hand before she could draw it.

"Just give me a second, damn it!" he snarled at her, pushing the witch back against the wall, his gray eyes narrowed. "Stop trying to make me chase after you!"

Hermione stared at the angry wizard.

"I'm not trying to make you chase me, Draco…I just need to see Harry. It's important," she said, trying to calm the wizard.

"You're so wrapped up in Potter, Granger. When are you going to step out of his shadow and be your own person?" Draco asked her. "It's always, Harry this and Harry that."

"He's my friend, Draco," Hermione said, "I care about what happens to him."

Draco studied her.

"It's fine to care, Granger, but not to the extent you ignore your own life…aspects that you need to explore," the wizard said his voice dropping low.

Hermione got a bad feeling about where this conversation was about to go.

"Listen Granger…Hermione…ever since I saw you in that dress at the Christmas party, I can't get you out of my mind," the handsome blonde wizard said, "It's like you're haunting me or something. It's…it's disturbing. Still I can't get you out of my head."

Hermione scowled at him.

"Well, you're going to have to Draco. I'm not interested in you that way," she said pulling her wrist out of his grasp. Draco scowled.

"Why not? I'm good-looking…rich…and well connected, Hermione. I can help you," the wizard said, his voice dropping.

"Help me what?" she asked him, still frowning.

"Buy things. I know you will probably get a couple of scholarships, but they don't provide for books or lodgings. I can buy what you need…set you up in a place," he said. "You wouldn't have to spend a dime of your own money…and I would be discreet…."

"Are you trying to say you want me to be your…your…mistress, Draco?" Hermione asked him, astonished.

Draco's brow furrowed slightly.

"No…no…I'm just saying I'll look after you," Draco said, "No one would have to know it was me."

The fact was, as bad as Draco wanted to shag Hermione, he didn't want anyone to know he desired a mudblood. Actually, he wasn't sure how things were going to go after the fourth…his real purpose was to try and get a shag out of Hermione now. He thought he had a good chance since almost everyone was gone from the castle.

"I'm not interested, Draco. I'll find a way to support myself. I can work and go to school," the witch said.

"Why do that? Why make it so difficult for yourself, Hermione? Sleeping with me wouldn't be a chore, believe me. I'm good. Very good. You'd have it all," the wizard said, his gray eyes searching her face.

"I didn't work this hard to be a kept woman, Draco. There's no shame in making my own way. Besides, I'm not interested in you like that…I already told you," she said, trying to slip under his arm.

"You're not interested because you don't know how I am that way, Hermione," the wizard replied, "Let me show you."

Draco pushed Hermione back against the wall and kissed her hungrily, the witch pushing at his chest and finally biting his tongue.

Draco pulled back, furious and Hermione broke free of him, running down the corridor toward the stairs. Draco stood there, trying to decide whether to pursue her or not, when he felt his pocket heat up and vibrate.

He was getting a call on his two-way mirror. Frowning after Hermione, he reached in his pocket and pulled it out. The young wizard held up the glass and looked into the handsome visage of his father.

"Hello, Father," Draco said to the image in the mirror.

"Hello Draco," Lucius replied, noticing his son's frown. "Is anything wrong?"

"I just let something get away from me, Father. Not important. Why are you calling me?" Draco responded.

His father smiled.

"I have a bit of news for you that you might find very interesting," the elder Malfoy said with a smirk.

It was quite interesting indeed.

---

Hermione ran for the stairs, spitting as she did so. She couldn't believe Draco forced a kiss on her, and what's more wanted to "take care" of her in exchange for sexual favors. What an arrogant pig he was. She headed down the stairs to find Harry on his way up.

"Snape's been summoned," Harry said to her.

"I know," she said, "I was watching you both from the Astronomy tower. I hope he's all right."

"Voldemort's probably clueing him in," Harry said. "Last minute orders. I don't think he'll be tortured. That bastard has other things on his mind…like killing me."

Harry looked at Hermione. Something didn't seem quite right…something other than her worrying about Snape.

"Hermione, are you all right?" he asked her.

At that moment, Draco appeared on the upper landing and began to quickly walk toward them, his face in a sneer as he descended the stairwells.

"More bad news," Harry said under his breath.

Hermione looked up and her eyes narrowed.

Draco stepped off the landing and stopped, looking at Hermione with narrowed eyes.

"So nothing happened between you and the Professor on Hallow's Eve, eh Granger? Well I have on good authority that he shagged you that night and is still shagging you," the blonde wizard said with a sneer. "Miss Goody-Two-Shoes has had those shoes cocked in the air for the last few months."

Hermione turned red as Draco looked at Harry.

"How's it feel to know your best friend is playing slut for the Potions Master, Potter?" Draco asked him.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said, Godric's sword swinging slightly in his hand.

Draco looked at the sword then at Harry again.

"I guess you know what's going to happen on the fourth, eh Potter?" Draco said to him.

"Yes, I do. So Draco…will you be out there helping Voldemort try to take down Hogwarts you fucking turncoat?" Harry said to him with a snarl.

Draco stared at him.

"No. I won't be helping him. But you better think about Granger's boyfriend…we really don't know whose side he's really on," the pureblood purred, looking at Hermione. The witch's fists curled up.

"You take that back, Draco," she hissed.

"You're not thinking straight Granger…he shags you…of course you aren't going to think he will turn on Dumbledore…but he is very loyal to Voldemort," Draco replied.

Draco had just found out that Severus was playing a double role. It was safe to tell him after he revealed the Dark Lord's plans about the front gates. He figured Potter would know and so would Hermione, being that she slept with him and had to see his Dark Mark.

Suddenly Hermione jumped up and smashed Draco right in his nose as hard as she could. She didn't draw blood, but Draco grabbed her, and Harry dropped his sword and wand and grabbed Draco. A very spirited tussle ensued. It was a good thing they were on the main stairwell now, or someone would definitely have fallen to the floors below.

Harry struggled to get Draco to let go of Hermione's robes while Hermione bit Draco on the arm, the pureblood yelling and pushing her away. Harry tackled him and both wizards went down, Hermione running around them and doing her best to kick Draco in the head as they wrestled. The witch finally settled on grabbing his long hair and trying to rip it out by the roots. Draco managed to punch her in the side of her face and she let him go to pull out her wand.

"Stupefy!" she hissed, pointing the wand at Draco, hoping she wouldn't hit Harry.

She didn't.

Draco fell back unconscious and as Harry got off him, Hermione planted a good kick in his ribs, then pushed her hair out of her face. It was standing all over her head.

"Come on, let's get to Gryffindor tower before someone sees us," Harry said to Hermione as he grabbed his wand and sword and took off up the stairs.

Giving Draco one more kick, Hermione said through gritted teeth, "Severus would never betray us."

Then she took off after Harry.

They just made it to the corridor that led to the Fat Lady's portrait when Severus appeared after his meeting with Kingsley and Albus. He was scowling as he mounted the stairwell heading down. He was not going to leave the outcome of the Final Battle in Harry's hands. Voldemort had to die.

The wizard was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't see Draco sprawled on the landing until he stepped on him and stumbled.

"What the…?" the wizard said, looking down at the unconscious pureblood. His nose was bruised.

Severus pulled out his wand.

"Ennervate," he said, pointing it at Draco, whose eyes fluttered, crossed, then fluttered again. He sat up with a groan, feeling his nose. Severus blinked down at him.

"What happened to you, Mr. Malfoy?" Severus asked him.

Draco was not about to tell the Potions Master he had first accosted, then tried to beat up his paramour. He slowly rose to his feet.

"I was walking around the castle because I was bored. I think I tripped on my robes coming down the stairwell," the blonde wizard lied. "One minute I was on the stairs, the next you woke me up."

Severus studied him. Draco looked back at him steadily. He was quite the accomplished liar.

"I see," Severus said, not sure whether to believe him or not, "Be more careful, Mr. Malfoy. Clumsiness can cost you your life on these stairs."

"Yes sir," Draco said, feeling his nose again.

Severus gave Draco one more look, then continued down the stairwell, hit the main floor and strode toward the dungeons entrance, Draco looking after him, then back up the stairwell toward the floor Gryffindor tower's entrance was on.

He'd get those two sooner or later. Hermione Granger was a little hellcat, that was for sure. That was the second time she'd punched him in the nose since he arrived at Hogwarts, the first being in his third year over some damned hippogriff. He never got her back for that either.

Draco began to head down the stairs toward Slytherin house. He'd have to get some healing and pain potion for his bruised nose. No wonder Granger was doing the Potions Master…with her temperament, she and Snape deserved each other. The wizard headed for the dungeon corridor.

He felt his nose again and grimaced.

Potter and Granger would get theirs. He'd make sure of it.

---

Only a few students from the other houses showed up at lunch. Severus was in his study brooding and had a quick sandwich, Hermione and Harry were in Gryffindor tower talking about Draco, the fight, Harry's first day of training, then went to the ROR so Harry could practice a couple of the new spells, Draco was in Slytherin house searching for some healing potion for his bruised nose…he couldn't find any and ended up disturbing Severus, who retrieved some from his stores for the wizard, then kicked him out. Albus and Kingsley had more than one little firewhiskey and were both sleeping peaceably in the armchairs in front of Albus' desk. Filch was at lunch however, scowling at the students who did attend while looking about suspiciously and wondering where the hell everyone else was.

Hermione had a bruise on her face where Draco had managed to hit her when she was bent over him tugging at his hair. There was no healing potion in Gryffindor tower either. This wasn't good. Severus was acting as medi-wizard, and he would want an explanation for the bruise. Hermione didn't want to let him know she and Harry had brawled with Draco. She couldn't stand the pureblood, but didn't want to unleash Severus on him. He was a student after all and the Potions Master could get in trouble if he did anything retaliatory. So she put a small glamour on it and turned her cheek towards Harry, who was working on casting a hex that made a person vomit. It would be great to see Voldemort lose his lunch…if he ate lunch.

"How does it look, Harry?" Hermione asked, tilting her head towards him.

Harry turned to her and studied the glamour.

"Move your head a little," he said.

Hermione shifted her head slightly. A little bruise showed for a moment then was covered again.

"Maybe you should make it a little bigger. When you move your head, it shows for a second. Small glamours are hard to pull off. Maybe you should glamour your whole head to look like your whole head," Harry suggested.

Hermione looked doubtful.

"I've done that before. It didn't work well. There was a delay with my actual speech and the mouth motions. I looked as if I was speaking a badly dubbed script. Someone would notice that," she said, expanding the glamour a bit. "How is it now?"

Hermione turned her head slightly.

"A little better, but I wouldn't suggest turning too much at supper. Maybe we can slip into the infirmary and get some healing potion later," Harry said.

Hermione shook her head.

"Severus is serving as medi-wizard. He's not like Madame Pomfrey. He doesn't leave the infirmary open. It is very securely warded. He's got a thing about protecting potions. It would take hours to break his wards," the witch said.

Harry looked at her.

"I just can't get over you calling the Professor by his first name. It sounds weird…and you do it so naturally," the wizard said, studying his friend.

Hermione didn't want to say she had a bit of practice saying Severus' name over and over when she spent the night with him.

"I'm not supposed to do it out of his presence. I'm really breaking the rules saying it now," Hermione replied.

Harry shuddered.

"Not to mention giving me the creeping fugwugs," he stated.

"Just keep practicing," Hermione said with a scowl.

Harry did so.

---

Supper was a rather quiet, tense affair. Albus picked at his food, completely hung over. Draco spent much of his time glaring at Harry and Hermione. Harry glared back, but Hermione wouldn't look at the pureblood…or Severus. She was sitting very stiffly and eating in an almost robotic way, not moving her head. Severus leveled his eyes on her. Something was suspicious here.

"Miss Granger," he purred at her.

Both Draco and Harry looked at the Potions Master when he addressed the witch.

"Yes, Professor?" Hermione replied turning her eyes on him, still sitting straight.

"Have you possibly been hit by a Petrificus Partialus spell? You're as rigid as stone," the Professor observed.

Hermione's eyes began to shift. Severus knew what that meant but didn't react.

"My posture is atrocious. The way I slump, I'll have a hump in my back by the time I'm sixty…so I'm making a conscious effort to correct it," Hermione lied.

Severus' eyes narrowed.

"I would think, Miss Granger, if you wanted to improve your posture, you would reduce the tons of books you carry in your backpack to a more manageable amount," he replied, his mouth turned down.

Hermione knew he knew she was lying.

"Perhaps I will, Professor," Hermione said in an attempt to kill the conversation.

Severus fell silent. He'd find out what was going on with the witch on after supper.

Hermione ate as slowly as she could, hoping Severus would finish and leave before she did, but the wizard simply ordered coffee and took his time drinking it. The Great Hall cleared out until only Harry, Hermione, Severus and Filch remained, also drinking coffee, his rheumy eyes shifting from one to the other suspiciously. What were they all waiting for?

Finally Harry stood up.

"I'm going to head back to the ROR Hermione," he said, his green eyes flicking toward Severus. "To practice my sword strokes. Coming to join me?"

Severus' dark eyes turned on Hermione momentarily, then he seemed to be contemplating his coffee.

Filch's ears perked up. Sword cuts?

"You aren't supposed to have any dangerous weapons in the school," the caretaker said, frowning at the wizard.

"He has the Headmaster's permission, Mr. Filch," Severus said to the squib.

Filch's face contorted.

"How am I supposed to keep order in the castle when the rules are bent all the time," he groused, rising from the table. "Sometimes I feel like just resigning."

He hobbled out of the Great Hall, Mrs. Norris trailing behind him, her tail high in the air.

Harry looked after him.

"Hogwarts without Filch just wouldn't seem like Hogwarts," he commented. "He's a fixture. Like the cobwebs and damp walls."

"Not to mention the pools of slime," Hermione added.

She and Harry laughed.

"You should not be speaking about a Hogwarts staff member in such a manner," Severus said, "Five points from Gryffindor apiece."

Harry and Hermione both scowled at him.

"But we're on vacation," Hermione said to the wizard.

"But the rules are not. You will show staff proper deference in my presence. You should have kept your comments to yourselves until you were alone," the Potions Master replied.

Harry snorted then said, "I'm going Hermione…"

His green eyes rested on the Potions Master for a moment.

"Unless you want me to wait for you," he added.

Severus gave him a very clear "get lost, Potter" look. The Professor suspected Harry knew about his relationship with Hermione by the looks the wizard was giving him.

"No, I'll be along," Hermione said, cutting into her pie.

"All right. I'll see you later," he said to Hermione.

"I suggest you practice hard, Mr. Potter. The dummy awaits," Severus smirked at him.

Harry muttered something under his breath and left the Great Hall. The moment he did, Severus pulled out his wand and removed Hermione's glamour. His dark eyes rested on the purple bruise. Obviously she had been hit by someone or something.

"How did you get that?" he asked the witch, his nostrils flared.

If she hadn't tried so hard to hide it, he might have thought it was the result of an accident.

"Get what?" Hermione replied non-chalantly. Severus' face contorted with anger.

"Don't be flippant witch. How did you get that bruise on your cheek? I want to know now," he said in a dangerous voice. "It looks as if it was from a blow. Did someone hit you?"

Hermione paled a bit at the wizard's anger.

"Severus, it's nothing. It's been taken care of," the witch said. This answer only served to make the Potions Master angrier. He stood up, walked around the table and leaned down to examine the bruise.

"I want to know what happened," he demanded.

Before Hermione could respond, the wizard said, "Legilimens!"

Hermione tried to slam down her Occlumency walls but he was already in. Severus watched Draco come down the stairs and announce very nastily he knew about their relationship. Then he heard the wizard question his loyalty. The Potions Master's eyebrows rose as Hermione punched Draco in the nose, then the brawl started with the witch kicking Draco and pulling his hair as Harry wrestled with him. Ah, so that's how Draco's nose got bruised. Then he saw Draco swing at Hermione in an effort to get her off him and connect. Then the witch pulled out her wand, stupefied the pureblood and kicked him twice before fleeing up the stairs after Harry.

He pulled out of her mind.

"Hermione Granger. You are little more than a common brawler," he said to the witch, his eyebrow arched. "You started that altercation."

"Well, he shouldn't have said what he said about you!" Hermione shot back at him defiantly.

Severus' mouth quirked.

"Fighting for my honor, Hermione?" he said, "It's a bit late for that. Mr. Malfoy simply shared a sentiment that has been bandied about the Order for years. I am looked upon with suspicion by those who know my double role. No doubt I will be watched closely by Order members on the day of battle. They will be ready to kill me if I do anything untoward."

"But that's not fair," Hermione said, "You've gone through so much. They should know you are loyal by all you've suffered."

Severus shook his head.

"Many Death Eaters are tortured by the Dark Lord. I am not a special case really, though my tortures were more severe. He likes giving pain and wielding his power over others, even his own servants. I would be tortured whether I was an Order member or not. So to others, it means next to nothing," Severus said.

Hermione's eyes glistened.

"You're no traitor," she whispered.

"No, I'm not," he replied, "At least not to the side of Light. The day of battle will show that. I intend to prove myself."

Hermione looked at him, fear rising in her belly.

"Prove yourself? How?" she asked, her voice quavering.

Severus looked at her soberly.

"I am not sure yet. But I will think of something," the wizard replied softly. He could see the worry in the young witch's eyes.

"But Severus…" Hermione began.

The wizard cut her off.

"Hermione, you know I am a member of the Order…a soldier as well as a spy. As a soldier I am willing to give my life so that our objective is reached. Our objective is to destroy Voldemort. I must work toward that end. The despot must die, and I do not believe Mr. Potter can do it alone," he said, then his eyes softened. "Besides, wouldn't you want your friend to survive this?"

"Yes," Hermione whispered, her voice full of emotion, "I don't want Harry to die. But I don't want you to die either."

"I don't intend to let either myself or Mr. Potter die, Hermione. But I don't need fear and worry from you, witch. I don't need you trying to dissuade me from my path. It already leads to my destiny. What both I and Mr. Potter need from you is courage, support and belief. You must believe we can win against the Dark Lord," he said.

Hermione blinked up at him and realized he was right. The Final Battle seemed inevitable. Instead of being fearful, she needed to be brave and supportive. To add her strength to his.

Hermione considered all the years the Potions Master spent under the influence of the Dark Lord, all the tortures he suffered, all of the information he provided Dumbledore which saved the lives of thousands. How the wizard always found the strength to return to the despot again and again, no matter how battered and broken he was. How his determination to bring an end to Voldemort's darkness kept him to his duty. Now was the culmination of all his work and sacrifice. Of course he would bravely go forth into the fray. It was the final hour.

"I do believe, Severus," she said softly. "I believe with all my heart."

Severus touched his fingertips to her bruise gently.

"Such a Gryffindor," he said. She had received that bruise because of her loyalty to him. A completely Gryffindor act. "Come with me to my office and let me fix that bruise."

Hermione took Severus' arm and they exited the Great Hall. Once in the main hall however, the Potions Master released her arm. He had no idea who they would meet and despite how many knew about their relationship…it was still a secret. He meant it to stay that way as much as possible.

As they walked, Severus considered the brawl and how Hermione had received the bruise. If Draco had just blatantly hit the witch, he could have counted on a through ass-kicking from Severus, followed by an obliviate. As much as the Potions Master didn't like the idea of Hermione being struck, he had to be fair about this. The truth was the witch had drawn first blood by striking Draco. If she had been alone and he struck her back, then there would have been the issue of a wizard attacking a witch physically. However, Potter was there and that made the fight two on one. Draco was defending himself. Hermione did have a rather painful grip on his hair. If in the same situation, Severus would have taken a swing at her himself. She did join the fray, so in essence, Hermione put herself in the situation as well as caused it. Both she and Draco walked away with bruises.

Besides punching Draco in the nose, she had bitten him, kicked him in the head at least once and kicked him in the ribs twice when he was down. Hermione had a vicious streak. Getting off with a bruise was easy. Severus decided he wouldn't punish Draco for defending himself, but he would make it clear to the pureblood he expected this to be the end of the altercation. He had provoked the witch after all. He would also make it clear to the blonde wizard that he would beat him within an inch of his life if he ever spoke disrespectfully to Hermione about their relationship again. If he had anything he wanted to say, he could say it to the Potions Master.

Severus and Hermione turned down the dungeon corridor toward his office. Severus looked down at her surreptiously. He didn't feel any vibes of desire coming off the witch. No doubt she was still sated from their last engagement. Then again, with the upcoming battle, sex was probably the last thing on the witch's mind. She had other things to think about…like the possibility of his and Harry's death.

Well, he wouldn't press the witch. Actually, he preferred when she initiated intimate contact. It stoked his ego a bit to have the young witch so enamored of him that she pursued contact. He had never been in this kind of situation before. Women hardly saw him as pursuit-worthy…unless they were inebriated and randy. They would take anyone at that point and their attraction was purely physical. They needed a tool and he had it.

But Hermione wanted him for him, gave herself to him because of what was in her heart, not because she needed a good stiff one. Well, by the time he got to her she did, but only from him. Not just any wizard. He was special to her. The wizard found he liked being special. Especially to a witch as brilliant and promising as Hermione Granger. He was blessed in that he was attracted to a witch that was equally attracted to him. It seemed as if the fates finally let up on him, finally opened a door that could lead to happiness.

Now, only if Voldemort would die. His happiness would be assured.

They stopped in front of Severus' office and he unwarded the door, let the witch in and entered behind her.

The Potions Master led Hermione into his classroom and had her sit down on his desk as he retrieved the healing potion and a swab. He carefully applied it to her bruise. It lightened, then disappeared.

"Perfect," he said as she brought her hand to her cheek.

"Thank you, Severus," Hermione said.

"Now, I expect no more altercations between yourself and Mr. Malfoy, Hermione. I am going to speak to him about this as well. I will also speak to him about our relationship. He will not accost you about it again, I guarantee it," the wizard said.

Hermione nodded…but Severus noticed something in her eyes that wasn't quite right. His eyes narrowed.

"Hermione, do I know the whole story about this?" he asked her. "Is there something else I should know about Mr. Malfoy?"

Hermione looked at him. She didn't know if she should tell him about Draco kissing her. He might kill the wizard. He had already said he'd do as much if another wizard touched her. She just looked at him…a bit afraid.

Severus saw the fear.

"Hermione, we are in a relationship now. I don't want you hiding things from me. I don't want to feel I have to use Legilimency on you every time I want to know the truth. We have to be honest with each other. Now I want you to tell me if there is anything else I should know about Draco," he said.

Hermione blinked up at him.

"He kissed me," she whispered.

Severus stared at her a moment, unable to believe she said what she did.

"He what?" the Potions Master said, his silky voice quavering.

"He kissed me in the corridor. But I am sure it was before he knew that I was seeing you," she said in a small voice.

Severus' face was terrible.

"You let him kiss you?" he asked the witch, his chest tightening.

"No. He just sort of did it. I bit him and ran away," the witch said.

Severus began to hear a roaring in his ears as he looked at Hermione.

"Let me see," he snarled, "Legilimens."

He watched and listened as Draco tried to convince Hermione to be his secret lover. Yes, this had to be before he knew about them. But still…that didn't ease the tightness in the wizard's belly. He growled audibly when Draco suddenly kissed the witch. It was obvious he had shoved his tongue into her mouth. A mouth Severus considered his own. He pulled out of Hermione's mind.

"I think it's time for you to go visit Mr. Potter," the wizard said darkly, catching her by the arm and leading her through the classroom and back to his office. He opened the door and led her out into the corridor, warding the office back.

Hermione looked at him, her eyes wide.

"What are you going to do, Severus?" she asked the wizard, a cold feeling in her belly that matched the coldness in the Potions Master's eyes.

"As I said, I am going to talk to Mr. Malfoy. Now go," he said to the witch, pushing her up the hall gently.

"Severus, don't do anything crazy. He's a student and he really didn't know about us," the witch said, worried about the pureblood now. She didn't like Draco, but she didn't want Severus to get in trouble over him.

"Mr. Malfoy is in my house and is my charge, Hermione. I know how to handle him," the wizard said evenly. "You go and support Harry. Make sure he practices hard. I plan to put him through rougher paces tomorrow."

"All right," Hermione said doubtfully. She turned and walked up the hallway, looking back over her shoulder a few times. She saw the Potions Master heading for Slytherin house, disappearing into the corridor depths.

She shook her head.

Draco was in for it, she was sure.

---

Severus walked down the long corridor, through the double doors, past his office and into the Slytherin common room. Three students were in there, one of them Draco who was playing a game of wizard's chess with a housemate.

"Mr. Malfoy, a word in my office if you please," the Potions Master said, startling all three students. They didn't hear him come in.

"Yes sir," Draco said, swallowing.

It seemed the broom was up.

The blonde wizard rose from the table and followed Severus up the hall to his office. Severus opened the door and discretely stuck his foot out as Draco walked in, causing the wizard to stumble and almost slam into his desk.

"Pardon me, Mr. Malfoy," the wizard purred as Draco recovered, looking at him wide-eyed. He was sure the Potions Master had tripped him on purpose.

"Sit down, Mr. Malfoy," Severus said, walking around his desk and seating himself. Draco sat in the cushioned wooden chair in front of the Potions Master. Severus kept a more comfortable chair in his Head of House office than he did in his potions office. He made his charges comfortable when he spoke with them, although he wouldn't have minded a few retractable spikes for Draco's ass right now.

"Firstly, I would like to tell you I found out about your altercation with Miss Granger and Mr. Potter today. I am taking ten points from you for lying to me about how you came to be in the condition I found you in," Severus said.

Draco looked as if he wanted to protest.

"Before you think I am playing favorites, Mr. Malfoy, I saw the incident as it occurred in Miss Granger's mind via Legilimency, rather than heard it by way of mouth. Because both Miss Granger and Mr. Potter double-teamed you, I felt you had a right to defend yourself as best you could, so there will be no repercussions concerning the bruise you gave Miss Granger. But that will be the end of this incident. There will be no retribution on your part."

Draco let out a sigh of relief. He had believed since the Professor was shagging Hermione, he would automatically be severely punished by the wizard. Severus arched an eyebrow at him.

"However, Mr. Malfoy…you did provoke the witch. By the way you approached Miss Granger, I presume your father wasted no time informing you that Miss Granger and I are involved. Am I correct?" the Potions Master asked him.

Draco nodded.

"And it is clear by the way you approached Miss Granger, that you feel she is…how did you put it to Mr. Potter? Ah yes. My 'slut,' the wizard said in a calm voice.

Draco looked uncomfortable. Severus narrowed his eyes at him.

"I am waiting for a confirmation of this, Mr. Malfoy," Severus said. "You did say that, did you not?"

"Yes sir," Draco murmured.

Severus looked at the wizard for a long moment.

"Mr. Malfoy, what is the definition of a slut?" the wizard asked him.

"A woman who sleeps around with any and everybody," Draco replied.

"Mr. Malfoy…I am very aware of your attempt to make Miss Granger your secret paramour, and your offer of "paying her way" in exchange for sexual favors. I am also aware that she turned your offer down and told you she was not interested in you in that manner. Is this true?" the Potions Master asked him.

Draco reddened.

"Yes sir," the young wizard mumbled.

"Then you must agree, Mr. Malfoy, that Miss Granger would not sleep with any and everybody, because she denied you. Correct?" Severus continued.

"Yes sir," Draco answered him.

"And even after you forced a kiss on her, she denied you…running away," the wizard said, his eyes glittering.

"Yes sir," the wizard replied, turning an even deeper shade of red.

"So logic would dictate, judging by the witch's reaction and denial of you, that she is not a slut, Mr. Malfoy," Severus concluded.

"Yes sir," Malfoy admitted.

"You said that to make her feel ashamed of her relationship with me. To make her feel cheap and easy. To hurt her and embarrass her. You will not do this again, Mr. Malfoy. You will not say anything about our relationship to Miss Granger or anyone. Do you understand me?" Severus said evenly, "Because if you do, Mr. Malfoy, you will answer to me, man to man, not student to teacher. I want this to be very clear. I…will…hurt…you. Because you are attempting to hurt what is mine."

Draco looked up at him…a question in his eyes that he didn't dare ask. Severus considered him.

"I will tell you this only once, Mr. Malfoy…to try and help you understand. My intentions toward Miss Granger are honorable. She is not a quick shag or a plaything I plan to discard. The witch is brilliant and has a good future ahead of her if we can thwart Voldemort. My objective with the witch is eventually matrimony. I have been alone and miserable far too long, and Miss Granger is of the temperament and intelligence to make a good wife and companion for me. I have suffered for the wizarding world long enough and it is time for me to find my own happiness. I believe Miss Granger will provide this for me. So, this is about more than shagging a student, Mr. Malfoy," Severus said.

"But…she's a mudblood!" Draco blurted out.

Severus caught himself at the slur. He took a deep breath remembering he was talking to a wizard who had been brought up with erroneous beliefs all his life.

"Mr. Malfoy…Draco…I am going to say this in the hope that your brain has not been so muddled by this doctrine of pureblood superiority that it can still reason. You are designated a "pureblood" because of your line of descent…all of your ancestors are full witches and wizards, correct?" Severus asked Draco.

"Yes sir," Draco said proudly, "Back for generations. No muggles in our family."

Severus scowled at him.

"That is impossible. All witches and wizards of today are descended from muggle-born witches and wizards. There was a time when humans had no magic, Draco. They did magical rituals utilizing spirits and such, but had no magic of their own. Whether or not their use of ritual eventually imbued them with magic is a matter of conjecture, but the first true witches and wizards were born of non-magical people. In essence, Draco…there is no such thing as a pureblood. Only witches and wizards that married each other. They can still be traced back to muggle-borns, their magic passed on by blood."

Draco stared at him.

"In fact, Draco…if you look at muggle-born witches and wizards…it is they who are the most pure, because they are born with magic where there was none. Truly miraculous. Their power comes from beyond blood and bone. They are closest to true magic and the progenitors of what we all are…the reason we exist. Muggle-borns are the head of the mystery, the Originals, and usually much more powerful than those of us who have had our magic passed down. This is why Voldemort truly wants to destroy them…because of their purity and power. They are the witches and wizards who hold True Magic. He hates them for that, and hates muggles for their ability to produce such wonders. He covets all power and wishes to stop the natural order of the magical world. You have to rid yourself of your prejudices, Draco and see the world how it truly is."

Draco stared at him. He had never heard this view of muggle-borns before, and as much as he hated to admit it…it made sense…especially why Voldemort wanted to destroy them and took such pleasure in killing muggles who produced them.

"You see, Draco, my wanting to marry Hermione Granger is no shame. It would be an honor in my estimation to be accepted as a husband by her. She is an intelligent, powerful witch and her blood will strengthen my line, my children will be intelligent and powerful as well. So you can see why I have claimed her before any other could. I see the witch for what she is, and what she will become. I want her in my life."

Severus studied Draco for a moment.

"You know Draco, I brought you in here fully intending to beat the shit out of you for forcing that kiss on Hermione, but I realize that someplace in your maladjusted soul, you are attracted to the witch, and I suspect you always have been. I've watched you interact with her over the years and it would have made more sense to ignore her than constantly waste energy picking at her. I suspect that had she not been muggle-born, you might have attempted to court her…be her 'boyfriend." She's intelligent, loyal, pretty though not what most would consider beautiful. If she had been pureblood she would have been perfectly acceptable to you. Instead, you tried to find another way to have her…hide her away so your shame at being attracted to a muggle-born witch wouldn't be known, and if it were found out, she would be considered little more than your personal prostitute…something else perfectly acceptable to your social strata. Many rich wizards keep women after all, women considered unsuitable in polite society. But it didn't work. Hermione is not the kind of witch you can buy," the Potions Master said.

Draco hung his head.

"So, I am going to be magnanimous and give you 'one strike' Draco, especially since you didn't know the witch is mine…"

Severus' eyes glittered.

"But be warned. Now that you know Miss Granger is involved with me, I want you to treat her with respect. If you can't do that, then stay away from her entirely. I will not be so lenient next time. And I don't want you spreading our relationship around the school. It is not illicit, but at the same time it could cause Miss Granger problems she doesn't need to deal with in her last year. Do I need to make you take an Oath, Mr. Malfoy?" the Potions Master asked reverting to his formal address.

"No sir. I won't say a word to anyone," the wizard replied.

"Good," Severus said.

Draco stood to leave. Severus stopped him.

"Sit down, Mr. Malfoy. There is something else I wish to say to you. I want to commend you on your decision not to be a part of Voldemort's plans. It is obvious you have finally realized what I realized years ago about the despot. That living in a world ruled by him would be worse than not living at all. Our world is not perfect, Mr. Malfoy, but it is free. We must keep it that way," Severus said to the young wizard.

"Now you and I are riding the same broom. We are both traitors to the Dark Lord. It must be harder for you, for you have gone against your father as well. I imagine it was a difficult decision…"

"Not as difficult as you might think, Professor," Draco said, his gray eyes going distant. "I saw what happened at the Revel, and I could see that happening all over the wizarding world if Voldemort comes into power. How father could accept that is beyond me. How anyone can accept…."

Draco's voice broke and he fell silent.

"I understand, Draco. Believe me, I do," Severus said. "That is what we are going to stop on the fourth, thanks to your forewarning. You have shown yourself to be a true and loyal member of the Light, despite your Dark Mark. History will remember you if we are successful. You'll be honored."

Draco looked at the Potions Master. He had never thought about that aspect of it. His decision to warn Dumbledore squarely put him on the side of Light. Malfoys had been considered dark wizards from time immemorial. Dark as in evil. Draco knew he had dark tendencies, but he never really liked being considered 'evil.' He preferred to think he was just "complicated." Now, he would be able to claim the Light.

Suddenly, Draco felt better than he had in days. Even his residual anger at Hermione and Harry evaporated for the moment. Severus saw the light in the young wizard's eyes and nodded. Another had been pulled back from Voldemort's darkness.

"You may go, Mr. Malfoy…but keep in mind all I have said to you," Severus said. "No more altercations with my witch."

"Yes sir," Draco said, bowing and leaving the office.

Severus watched him go.

Well, that had turned out a lot differently than he thought it would. Good thing too. He would have had a hell of a time explaining Draco's broken and bruised condition to the Headmaster.

---

Hermione slept horribly that night, dreaming of Harry and Severus being blown to bits by Voldemort. She woke up screaming three separate times, then finally curled up with her pillow pressed into her belly, sobbing uncontrollably.

She might lose both of them.

The witch knew she had promised Severus to be strong, but when she was alone, her fears seemed to get the better of her. If only she could do something. Harry had told her that the plan was all the students would be warded inside the Great Hall with the staff while the battle went on outside. They would be armed and would protect themselves if any Death Eaters made it through the castle defenses.

Hermione wasn't worried about that happening. From what she was told the Death Eaters would be greatly outnumbered as well as surprised. It was likely the Order would take them out quickly and with dispatch. But as for Harry and Severus…they would be facing the Dark Lord away from the battle. They would be in grave, grave danger.

She lay there in the bed, her eyes glistening. Dear gods, she hoped they would survive.

---

Hermione awoke early the next morning and felt famished. She showered, dressed and quickly headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, not bothering to wake Harry. He had practiced hard last night in anticipation of Severus trying to beat him to death again with the dummy. He needed his rest. As she reached the main stairwell, who should walk out of the dungeon corridor but Draco Malfoy.

Hermione tried to dip back, but the quick-eyed wizard saw her and looked around to see if anyone else was present. No. Just he and Hermione. Draco looked back up the stairs, then folded his arms, waiting for the witch to descend.

Hermione was no coward. Reaching into her pocket and gripping her wand securely, she slowly walked down the stairs, her eyes on the blonde wizard. Draco began to approach as she stepped off the stairs. Hermione whipped out her wand.

"Hold it right there, Draco. Don't make me hex you," she warned.

Draco held up his hands and stopped.

"Hold on, Granger. I have something I want to say to you," he said, "Really. I'm not going to attack you."

Hermione scowled.

"Maybe not physically, Draco…but you have other ways to hurt people," she responded.

Draco sighed.

"Look. This isn't easy for me…but I just wanted to tell you, I'm sorry what I said to you yesterday. About the Professor…about you and the Professor. I didn't understand," the wizard said.

Hermione continued to scowl at him.

"I don't believe you," she said, still holding her wand on him.

"I talked to the Professor yesterday…and he opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn't see before. Things I was blind to. I'm going to have to change a lot of my perceptions and beliefs, Granger. I just thought I would start with you. It's…it's a first step," the wizard said sincerely. "You don't have to forgive me…I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

Hermione lowered her wand slowly.

"What happened? Did the Professor threaten to beat you within an inch of your life if you didn't apologize to me?" Hermione asked with a sneer.

"No," Draco sneered back, "He just explained some things to me, like I said. His…his intentions toward you. It's not what I thought it was. It's all right, I guess. I decided to apologize to you myself. You deserve an apology."

Hermione stood there, staring at the pureblood.

"Well you gave it to me," she said shortly, her wand still in her hand.

"That's all I wanted to do," Draco replied. He turned and headed for the Great Hall, pulling the door open and walking through.

Hermione stood there a couple of minutes more, trying to absorb what just happened. Draco apologizing to her? How strange was that? She didn't think the wizard had ever apologized to anyone in his life other than his father.

But did he mean it?

Her brow furrowed, Hermione walked into the Great Hall and up the aisle, taking a seat at the round table. Filch was there, as usual…frowning at Hermione, Draco and the three other student early risers that sat around the table.

Draco was eating scrambled eggs and bacon with toast. A tall glass of pumpkin juice sat beside his plate. He looked up at Hermione for a moment, then continued eating.

Hermione ordered her breakfast, and as she waited for her meal to appear, she considered Draco's apology. Maybe it could be sincere. He had been the one to warn the Headmaster about Voldemort's planned attack. That effectively moved him out of the realm of darkness he was immersed in. His own life was forfeit now if Voldemort discovered his duplicity. There had to be some good in the wizard to have done that. Or at least, a conscience buried under all the pureblood ideology.

She looked at Draco thoughtfully. He had been such a bastard to her all these years. Could she ever truly forgive him, or trust him? Especially considering the nasty things he had said to her lately about her relationship with the Potions Master…and how he tried to get her to become his mistress, kept woman…whatever. He was a pig.

But still, what had Severus said to him to make him want to apologize on his own? The Potions Master could be very persuasive. Maybe one day she would find out.

If they won the battle, that is.

---

Severus slung the dummy towards Harry, who was standing in readiness, the sword of Gryffindor held in front of him. He had a good grip on it. Hermione had levitated large bean bags at him provided by the Room of Requirement the night before. At first she knocked him down a few times, but after a while, he had cut them up pretty good using the moves Severus had shown him. It seemed Harry Potter was a quick study with a cutlass. He just had to be pummeled long enough to focus.

Harry danced aside and cut the dummy across the belly cleanly. Severus nodded, impressed. If that had been a man, he would have been disemboweled.

"Not too shabby, Mr. Potter. I believe you have a gift with the cutlass," the wizard said. Harry almost dropped his sword in disbelief. Snape actually giving him praise?

"Don't look so startled, Mr. Potter. I give encouragement when needed…and it is definitely needed considering who you have to face," Severus called, slinging the dummy toward him again, but checking it this time so Harry missed with his slice, then ramming the dummy into him and knocking him to the ground.

Severus smirked as he began to beat Harry with the stuffed dummy viciously, the wizard flailing and trying to get to his feet.

"You still have work to do, Mr. Potter," he said with a dark grin.

For the next three days Harry practiced dutifully, returning to the castle and continuing to practice both spells and swordplay. He was doing well. Severus was right. The cutlass didn't require a lot of training for its wielder to be effective. Using the basic slashes parries and footwork, combined with the thrust/parry drills, a beginner could be dangerous.

Harry caught on to the new hexes quickly as well, fueled by the hope they would sufficiently aggravate Voldemort to the point of carelessness. Harry didn't plan to use too many of them, since he would be affected as well. The sword was the best way to go. From what he had heard, Voldemort was easy to upset. If he could get the wizard off-balance, maybe he could kill him.

And maybe little Ginnys would fall out of the sky.

He wished Ginny was here. He could use her special kind of comfort right now. The days seemed to be flying past.

He wondered about Hermione and Snape too. For involved people, they weren't seeing very much of each other. But that probably was because they were trying to hide their relationship. Harry thought Hermione might be sneaking to the Professor's rooms at night, but it was clear she wasn't. Hermione, though she was helping him, seemed very quiet and withdrawn. Not talkative at all, which was unusual.

Severus had noticed the change in the witch as well, but he knew what it was. The upcoming battle. Hermione was feeling apprehensive, and rather than voice her fear, she was keeping it in, and avoiding him. She didn't want to be discouraging to either him or Harry. She kept her eyes lowered at all the meals, not looking at him, and left early, either accompanying Harry to the ROR or disappearing into the castle depths. Severus gave her the space she needed. She would come to him when she was ready…hopefully before the Final Battle.

The Potions Master wanted her one more time, to hear her say she loved him just one more time…in case he didn't survive.

---

The next morning Harry walked across the grounds to the Whomping Willow, to find Professor Snape waiting for him, a cutlass in one hand and a wand in the other.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," the wizard said silkily, nodding to him. The dummy was nowhere in sight.

From his perch in the branches of the Whomping Willow, Crookshanks adjusted himself to a more comfortable position to watch the daily entertainment. The half-kneazle noticed immediately there was no dummy and yowled with disappointment. It was fun watching his mistress' friend being buffeted about, though yesterday he had sliced it up pretty good, the hook-nosed wizard having to repair it several times.

Harry stopped about ten meters away from Severus. It seemed like a safe distance. The wizard eyed the Potions Master's wand. Severus smirked.

"We will be combing swordplay and wandplay, Mr. Potter. I hope you can hex with your left hand as well as your right, since you must handle your cutlass," the wizard said.

Harry pulled off his padded glove and pulled his wand out of his sleeve, replacing the glove and letting his eyes wash over the Potions Master.

"You aren't wearing any protective gear, Professor," he commented.

"I thought my lack of gear would give you more incentive, Mr. Potter. You can actually cut me…though I doubt you will," the wizard replied. "I will give you a moment to prepare yourself."

Harry took a deep breath and the next moment found himself on the ground with Professor Snape's cutlass resting against his padded throat, the wizard's dark eyes glinting at him.

"I thought you said you were going to give me a moment!" Harry cried as he looked up at the pale wizard.

"I did give you a moment, Mr. Potter. Unfortunately, there is no set measurement of time to gauge how long that is. In other words, you should always be on your guard," Severus purred. "You are dead because of your carelessness. Now get up."

The Potions Master removed his sword and stood back, allowing Harry to stand up and brush himself off.

"Never assume an opponent will give you quarter, Mr. Potter. Now, defend yourself!" the wizard said, slashing at Harry, who leaped back and parried. Severus proceeded to rain blows down on the wizard, who barely managed to avoid them with a combination of desperate parries and footwork, doing more dancing backward than anything.

Severus pursued him, his eyes cold, hacking and slashing. The clashing of their blades rang across the grounds. Finally, the Potions Master sliced him neatly across the belly.

"Your entrails are on the ground, but I must say Mr. Potter, you didn't die easily. Still, you have no offense. Fight back. Attack me," Severus panted.

Harry studied him for a moment, then slashed at the pale wizard. Severus neatly caught the blow, rotated his blade in a wide circle and tore Harry's cutlass out of his hand. The Potions Master then hacked at Harry's neck, checking the blade when it came in contact with his padded suit.

Harry looked at the Potions Master wide-eyed, his chest heaving as the sharp edge of the blade rested against his throat.

"Again, Mr. Potter," Severus said, stepping back. "Your eyes are giving your strikes away. Try not to look where you are going to strike."

Keeping his eyes locked to the Professor's, Harry attacked again. He put up a fairly decent offense, but the Professor soon had him dancing back. Suddenly, Harry found his back against the tree and the Professor approaching him…about to give a deathblow.

Harry blasted him with his wand.

Severus flew back several feet, landing on his ass. The wizard sat there a minute, his head lowered, and his lack hair a curtain around his face. Harry looked at him nervously.

"Um, Professor?" he said, walking toward him slowly. "Are you all right?"

Severus looked up at him.

"I am fine, Mr. Potter. Just wondering when you were going to use your wand," the wizard replied, getting up off the ground and brushing off his robes. He picked up his cutlass and his wand.

"Now you are starting to fight, Mr. Potter," Severus said, his lips quirking with approval. "But it would have been better if you had taken advantage of my condition and held me with your sword. However, still a fairly decent showing. You have also opened up wandplay. Now, let's really get down to business."

The two wizards faced off, Harry quite heartened by his small victory.

In the Astronomy tower, Hermione was doing a little victory dance for Harry. Of course, she cared about the Potions Master, but he had been dominating the younger wizard up to this point. Harry had finally managed to get him. So that meant he was learning.

In the next three hours, Harry managed to get Severus off his feet several more times and even slashed his robes a few times. They had several grappling matches also, but Severus threw him every time. Harry had some self-defense training, but was no match for the older wizard.

"Avoid grappling with the Dark Lord," Severus advised. "You're no match for him."

Thin as he was, Voldemort was a skilled fighter in hand-to-hand contact. He knew how to protect himself and defeat an opponent. There was no time to teach Harry what he would need to know to thwart him.

"Use the tree!" Severus said as he drove Harry back. Harry dipped behind it, appearing on the other side, sending a blast at the Potions Master, who avoided it and sent back one of his own, which Harry also slipped.

Severus was very satisfied with Harry. He wasn't afraid of getting hurt, but knew when to withdraw and when to attack. His instinct for self-preservation was very good. Severus stood down.

"That is enough for today, Mr. Potter. Keep practicing and we will engage again tomorrow. Practice is the key," Severus said, repairing the tatters in his robes.

The young wizard had come quite close to carving him on several occasions. Maybe a bit of protective gear would be in order for tomorrow. He hadn't survived all these years to be accidentally cut down by Harry Potter.

"I want you to remember limbs are objects for attack as well. There is nothing wrong with slashing at arms and legs. The blows will disable your opponent," Severus said to Harry as he pulled his tight hood off his head. It was cold, but the air felt good to the wizard.

"Yes sir," Harry said.

Severus looked at Harry soberly.

"Until tomorrow, Mr. Potter," the wizard said, disapparating.

Harry began walking toward the castle. Hermione had explained to him why the Professor could apparate on the grounds of Hogwarts. It made sense. Harry wished he could do it. He was so bloody tired.

---

Several more days passed and the Hogwarts staff returned on the second, well rested from their holiday and refreshed. They had that 'renewed' aura that surrounded individuals whose time away from work was well spent. But their good mood was quickly quashed.

"The Final Battle? Here on the grounds? Oh, Albus…we must evacuate the school!" Minerva cried.

"No, Minerva. We must do nothing out of the ordinary. It may give us away. On the morning of the fourth, all students and staff will enter the Great Hall at six o'clock and be sealed in until such time as the battle ends or we are overrun. It is highly doubtful that will occur. Yet if it does, you and the students will fight and defend yourselves if the wards are broken."

Albus looked around the staff room solemnly.

"No word of the impending attack is to be shared with the student body. To insure this, I am requiring all of you to take a Wizarding Oath. It will keep you from inadvertently saying anything about the situation within hearing of a student," the Headmaster said.

This was a wise precaution. Students could pop up anywhere at any time and catch the tail end of a private conversation. No doubt the staff would be discussing it among themselves.

They all took the oath.

"What are you going to do, Headmaster? Will the Order be here?" Professor Flitwick asked, his voice squeaking with concern.

"For obvious reasons I cannot give you the details of our course of action, but the castle will be well-protected, and we have every reason to believe the battle will be short and we will be victorious," Albus replied, his eyes twinkling.

The twinkle was reassuring to the staff members.

"Now, I expect you to act in a normal manner tomorrow when the students return. Heads of houses, be sure to take a thorough head count of your charges. We need to know how many students have come back from holiday," Albus said as the meeting began to break up.

Severus knew he would be missing quite a few Slytherins. Those whose parents were Death Eaters would not be returning to Hogwarts. Draco was expected to be waiting on the grounds when the ranks arrived and join them in battle. Severus himself would bring him out by apparition.

"The moment Harry draws his sword, you are to disillusion yourself and get as far away from the battle as you can," the wizard instructed the pureblood that evening. "Be sure not to head for the gate or the castle. Run for the open grounds."

But Draco didn't want to run. He wanted to fight. To be part of the battle. Running was cowardly, and he was no coward.

"Yes sir," he said to Severus, who looked at him sharply.

"We have enough heroes for this battle, Mr. Malfoy. Getting yourself killed will benefit no one," he said to the young wizard evenly. "Do as I say."

"I understand, sir," Draco had replied.

Severus dismissed him, shaking his head.

He knew Draco wouldn't listen. He had too much pride. A lot of dead wizards did.

Severus retired to his rooms and had a firewhiskey or two while sitting in front of the fireplace and staring into the flames. Hermione had still not come to him. Tomorrow night was the last night before the Final Battle. If the witch did not come to him then, he would have to go and retrieve her.

He didn't intend to spend the night before his possible demise alone.

Severus needn't have worried. Hermione had every intention of sharing his bed. She wanted to make it a special night for the wizard, and for herself. She had transfigured one of her nightgowns into the exact replica of a negligee she saw in a catalogue, and made it Slytherin green with silver trim. It was very sheer, and she blushed when she tried it on and looked at herself in the mirror. It didn't leave anything to the imagination. She turned a pair of knickers into a silver thong. She found it very uncomfortable.

"Well, it won't be on for long," she told herself as she tried to adjust the string to a more comfortable position.

It was the morning of the third, and students were already returning to the castle, chattering and jostling each other without a care in the world. Ignorance truly was bliss.

Ron stalked up the stairs and into the room he shared with Harry. Harry wasn't there. It was just as well. They still weren't speaking. He had nothing to say to that traitor.

Ron tossed his suitcase on the bed, opened it and began to take out his clothes. Something glittered near Harry's bed. Ron blinked, then looked toward the door a moment, trying to decide if he should look to see what the glitter was and risk getting caught by Harry. His curiosity got the better of him.

"What was that?" Ron said to himself.

He walked over to the head of Harry's bed and looked down. Between the bed and the nightstand, resting against the wall, was a scabbard. A jeweled hilt was sticking out of it. Ron pulled the scabbard out and withdrew the cutlass, examining it.

"What the bloody hell? This is Godric Gryffindor's sword," he breathed. He had seen Harry with it before, when he exited the Chamber of Secrets after killing the basilisk and destroying the memory of Tom Riddle.

"Why does Harry have this?" Ron wondered.

His brain began to work. It didn't take him long to figure out Harry was going to fight Voldemort. There could be no other reason he had Godric's sword. Snape had come to the Burrow and collected him early. Harry must have been preparing for the Final Battle.

Shit.

The holiday at the Burrow had been terrible after Percy's duplicity was discovered. It was a good thing he was out of the loop as far as Snape's spying went. Actually, everyone with the exception of Arthur and Molly, didn't know Severus worked for the Order.

Fred and George showed up later that evening and found Molly crying in the living room. When they discovered why, both wizards ran upstairs and got Bill to unward the door on the pretense that they wanted to "speak" to Percy, then proceeded to beat the hell out of him until Bill, Charlie and Ron managed to drag them from the room.

Percy was kept imprisoned the entire holiday, and as far as Ron knew, was still locked up. Molly had been inconsolable.

"Why Percy? Why?" she wailed at her son, Percy looking absolutely miserable as his mother fell apart.

He hadn't wanted to hurt her. He just wanted to be better. Be part of something powerful. He wished he could go back in time and remove the damn Mark. Anything would be better than breaking his mother's heart.

"Mum. Mum, please stop crying. Please. I'm sorry," he said to his mother as he stood in the center of the room, Molly sitting on the bed sobbing.

"How could you do this, Percy? Voldemort is evil incarnate. You've brought shame to this family," she said to him, her eyes red from crying.

"Mum. Voldemort's going to win. He's too strong for the Order. If I'm a Death Eater, maybe he'll spare our family if you'll swear fealty to him," Percy said. "Then everything will be all right for us."

"I'd die before I'd swear fealty to that…that monster! So would your father, Percy. Don't you understand he will destroy everything that is good in our world? You won't have any power, Percy. He will have all the power. All you have is that damn Mark!" the witch said, looking at his left arm, which was covered by his robes. "He's a murderer. Ron's a friend of Harry's. Do you think he would really spare him, Percy? No, he wouldn't. Arthur associates with muggles. Do you think he'll forgive that? No! He won't! You doing this won't save any of us, Percy. It only makes you part of his evil!"

Percy looked at his mother, his eyes glistening. Suddenly he launched himself at her, falling on his knees, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head in her lap.

"I'm sorry, mum…I'm so sorry. I was just trying to…trying to…" he sobbed freely.

Molly looked down at her misguided child, and began to stroke his hair as he cried.

"You've always been different, Percy. You were always dissatisfied, always wanted more. And I didn't help. Arthur used to tell me I was showing favoritism…but I saw you were ambitious, really wanted to make something of yourself. You were driven, and I wanted to be supportive. I believed you could become Minister of Magic one day if you were given enough encouragement. So I did give you more than I gave the others…but I never dreamed your ambitions would lead you down this path," she said softly. "But don't worry Percy. We'll get through this, love. We'll get through this."

Molly had a mother's love. Yes, Percy had made a mistake…a big mistake…but he was still her son and she had a fierce love for her child. Voldemort might have got him, but he wasn't going to keep him. Not while there was breath in her body.

Arthur was still angry that Percy had joined the Death Eaters, but somewhat relieved as well. Though veritaserum, the wizard discovered that although Percy had taken the Mark, he had not engaged in any illegal activities as of yet. He received the Mark in a mysterious ceremony where he was hooded and the emblem burned into his forearm. He hadn't even seen the Dark Lord. Later, there was to have been a presentation where he would meet the Dark Lord face to face, have the Mark invoked and be formally indoctrinated into the ranks. So technically, Percy was not a full-fledged Death Eater, he only had the Mark. He couldn't even be summoned yet. But the Mark was enough for him to kept locked down until after the Final Battle.

Ron was just about to put the sword back, when the door opened and Harry walked in. He looked at Ron holding his cutlass and his green eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked Ron, striding over and pulling the cutlass out of Ron's hands.

Ron looked at Harry with wide eyes as he put the sword back in the scabbard.

"I saw something glittering and had a look," he replied, still staring at Harry. "What's going on?"

Harry put the sword back between his bed and the nightstand, then turned to Ron.

"What do you care? You made it plain we aren't friends anymore because of Ginny," he said to Ron.

Ron cleared his throat.

"Harry, you're going to fight Voldemort aren't you?" he asked.

Harry sat down on the side of his bed and didn't say anything. Ron sat down on his own bed directly across from him.

"When? When Harry?" Ron asked him, his belly tight with fear. Despite what he said about Ginny, Ron loved Harry. He was his best mate.

Harry just looked at the floor sullenly.

"Listen Harry," Ron said, "I'm an idiot. A fucking idiot. When I don't like something I don't think about how anyone else feels except myself. I know I'm being stupid about Ginny…even about Hermione. The truth is, mate, is that if Ginny has to be with anyone, I'd rather she'd be with you. I know you'd treat her right. I'm really sorry for the way I blew up, Harry. I really am."

Harry looked up into Ron's blue eyes. The wizard was sincere, he could tell. Hell, he had hidden his relationship with Ginny from his best friend. He could have just been upfront and told Ron he liked her. He might not have been happy, but at least he would have known.

"It's not all your fault, Ron," Harry said, "I should have told you I liked Ginny."

Ron smirked.

"I would have had bugbears," he replied with a slight grin. "There wasn't really any way to tell me that would have been good. I've just got to grow up, Harry. The world doesn't work the way I want it to…or I'd be captain of the Quidditch team."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. Then he stuck out his hand. "Friends?"

Ron gripped his hand and shook it vigorously.

"Friends," he said smiling. But the smile soon faded.

"Now, what's going on?" he asked.

Harry told Ron about Draco telling the Headmaster Voldemort's plan to overrun Hogwarts, Snape giving him spells and training him with the cutlass, how the Order planned to end the battle swiftly, and how he had to fight Voldemort in order to fulfill the Prophecy. He didn't tell Ron about Snape and Hermione though. Most likely Ron would fall right back into idiot mode.

"Harry, I want to help," Ron said earnestly. He couldn't stand the idea of Harry facing Voldemort alone.

Harry looked at his friend. He appreciated the offer, but there was nothing Ron could do.

"Ron, this is my fight," Harry said, "There's nothing you can do, and it doesn't make sense for both of us to get killed."

Ron's eyes darkened.

"You think you're going to be killed, Harry?" Ron asked him.

Harry nodded.

"Not right away though, thanks to Snape. Hopefully I can keep Voldemort distracted long enough for someone else to kill him. But I don't think I can beat him, Ron. I don't think I'm going to survive," Harry replied.

Ron's eyes began to fill.

"But Harry…" he started.

Harry scowled.

"Look Ron, this isn't about me…not really. Voldemort has to be stopped and not to save my life, but to save the wizarding world. Can you imagine what it will be like if he comes to power? How many people will die? How much suffering there will be? I'm only one wizard, Ron. What's one wizard compared to thousands? If I die fighting Voldemort, it will be a good death and if he dies because of me, that will be even better. There's no use trying to find a way out of this Ron. The only way out of it, is to go through it. And I'm willing to do that for myself and for everyone. Either way, it will be over," the wizard said, standing up. "The only thing I want right now is to be with Ginny one more time. I hope you don't mind that. She means a lot to me."

Ron looked up at his friend.

"No, Harry. I don't mind it at all, mate. She's probably finished putting her things away," he said.

Harry walked to the door.

"I'm going to go see her then. I'll see you at lunch…all right?" Harry said to Ron, who waved his hand at him.

"Right then. I'll see you later," Ron replied.

Harry exited the room.

Ron sat on the bed dejectedly. He was going to lose the best friend he'd ever had…and there was nothing he could do about it. He always knew Harry was going to have to face Voldemort sooner or later…but it never really sunk in until now.

Ron shook his head. Harry Potter had to be the bravest wizard in the world.

---

Severus was making his nightly rounds. He timed them so he would meet up with Hermione.

He needed her.

The wizard was entering the third floor corridor when he heard a noise. Quickly the Potions Master disillusioned himself and pressed against the wall. A stairwell from the upper landing shifted down and connected. No one was on it.

Then he heard footsteps. Students. Suddenly the hems of two robes appeared, fluttered, then disappeared. Severus realized that the students were under an Invisibility Cloak. The only student that he knew of who had such a cloak was Harry Potter.

Severus stood very still as Harry and Ginny passed, apparently heading for the Room of Requirement. The Potions Master didn't stop them. If ever a night called for the comfort of a witch's arms, this was the night. Every condemned man had a right to some pleasure before his demise.

Severus waited until the couple's footsteps faded, then continued on his rounds, checking the corridor quickly before returning to mount the stairs to the fourth floor. As he stood on the landing, the wizard looked up to see Hermione mounting the stairs to come down to his floor. He stepped back, hiding in the corridor so the witch wouldn't see him.

Hermione rode the stairwell down, her mind focused firmly on the Potions Master. She planned to floo to his rooms right after she finished her rounds. Her belly was in knots. She hadn't been with the wizard in days and found that she ached for him.

She stepped off the stairs and started to walk up the corridor when suddenly she was grabbed, a hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream.

"Hello Hermione," Severus purred at her, releasing her mouth as the witch recognized him.

"Severus," she breathed.

"Yes, Severus. I thought you may have forgotten me," he said silkily, drawing her against his body. Gods, she felt good.

"No. No, I haven't forgotten you," she responded, her eyes shining.

"Show me then," he breathed, lowering his head and kissing her hungrily. The witch returned his hunger, her body trembling against him with need. Severus hardened immediately and drew back from her.

"Come to my rooms after rounds tonight, Hermione. I need you," he said to her softly, pressing his erection into her belly. The witch was breathing so hard she could hardly catch her breath, the wizard's words and closeness affected her so strongly. Severus said he needed her. Hermione had always believed Severus Snape had never needed anyone in his life.

But he needed her.

"I'll be there," she said.

Severus gave her one more searing kiss, fighting the urge to find a niche and take Hermione right there. He wanted her in his bed. He wanted to wake up beside her in the morning. And more than that…he wanted to know where she was when he left the castle. He didn't trust the witch to go to the Great Hall with the other students. He had already informed Albus of his plans for her.

The Headmaster agreed. Hermione was very headstrong after all. He didn't want the brilliant witch to put herself in danger.

"Do what you need to do, Severus," Albus told him.

He planned to.

---

In the Room of Requirement, Harry kissed Ginny passionately, drawing the witch close to him and locking his mouth to hers as if he would never release her. His hands moved over her body frantically before stopping at her throat and beginning to unfasten her robes.

Next to the young couple stood a large four-poster bed spread with Gryffindor colors. The covers were pulled back and candles hung suspended in mid-air, casting a soft glow over the room.

Ginny panted against Harry, almost overcome by his hunger. Harry had never been as ardent or forceful as he was now. Usually he was gentle, hesitant, and always made sure to receive her verbal consent before moving forward towards intimacy. But he asked her nothing as he pulled her robes apart. Finally, Ginny managed to pull her mouth away from his.

"Harry…Harry," she gasped as the boy-who-lived slid her robes down her arms. His eyes were smoldering as he looked at her.

"You're going so fast, Harry," Ginny said softly. It wasn't a complaint…just a statement of fact.

Harry's eyes cooled somewhat as he realized she was right. It was as if he wasn't thinking about how Ginny felt at all. He just wanted to get at her. He released her.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," he said softly, "It's just that…that…"

Harry faltered.

"What, Harry? What is it?" she asked.

Harry looked at her, his green eyes full of a longing that went beyond desire.

"I want to feel that I'm alive," he said, his voice breaking slightly, "You make me feel more alive than anything when I'm with you, Ginny."

The witch looked at Harry and fought back tears. He was facing Voldemort tomorrow, and that meant he was facing his own death. She might not ever see him alive again.

Ginny let her robes slide the rest of the way down her arms and drop to the floor. She stood before Harry in a short silk nightie, her brown eyes full of love. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Harry Potter, I'm going to make you feel as if you will live forever," she breathed, moving back into his embrace and falling back into the bed taking him with her, intent on giving the wizard that one eternal moment.

---

Severus waited in his study impatiently, his dark eyes resting on the floo. Where was the witch? He was dressed in his black bathrobe and slippers, a pair of boxers beneath. After a moment, he began to walk toward his bedroom, fully intending to dress and go retrieve Hermione, when suddenly the flames in the floo turned green with a "foomph."

The wizard turned around and watched as Hermione stepped through, dressed in a white bathrobe and barefoot. The robe was tied, but she still held it tightly together. She looked at him.

"I'm here, Severus," she said softly.

"I see," he replied, striding up to her, "It took you long enough, witch."

His eyes swept over her tightly clutched bathrobe.

"I…I had to get ready," Hermione said, blushing slightly. "I wanted to look special for you."

Severus arched an eyebrow at her.

"Special?" he asked, eyeing her robe with more interest now.

"Yes," Hermione said, taking a deep breath and slowly untying the sash to her robe. She let the sash drop but didn't move. The robe remained closed.

"Hermione?" Severus said as the witch's eyes took on a glazed look.

He looked at her robe again. What in the world was under it that made her react that way?

Severus stepped closer to her and gently parted the fabric, taking in the sheer Slytherin colored negligee beneath it and the tiny silver thong. Her wand was tucked in the string around her waist. The wizard's eyes glittered as they swept over her body.

"Green and silver," he breathed, sliding the robe down her arms and tossing it on an armchair. His eyes met hers. The witch seemed to be holding her breath.

Severus shook his head slowly.

"Never has a witch come to me this way, or looked more alluring," he said in a low voice, "You are a gift, Hermione Granger…a true gift."

Hermione began to step into him. Severus stopped her.

"Wait," he said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing something. "I want to give you this. A gift for my gift."

He let the item dangle down. It was a platinum necklace with a heart-shaped pendant attached. Wrapped around the pendant was a silver serpent with emerald eyes. Its mouth was opened as if to strike anyone who dared try to touch that heart.

"I've never seen anything like it," Hermione breathed as Severus walked behind her, moved her hair aside and placed the necklace around her neck, fastening it.

"It's one of a kind, like you are, Hermione," the wizard replied, leaning down and kissing her throat softly. Hermione sighed at the contact of his lips.

Severus turned Hermione to face him, his eyes resting on the pendant for a moment, then her face.

"If anything should happen to me tomorrow, Hermione, I want you to know that my intentions toward you have always been honorable. You are more than a plaything, more than a temporary lover. You are a brilliant, vibrant witch who brings me much happiness, more happiness than I have ever known. It is my hope you will one day agree to become my wife and the mother of my children," the wizard said.

Hermione stared at him, then her eyes became unfocused. She teetered then slumped, Severus catching her. The witch had fainted dead away.

"Dear gods," Severus said, looking down at the unconscious young woman in his arms, "That certainly wasn't the reaction I was expecting."

Severus lifted Hermione and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her down gently in his bed and began to harden as he looked down on her. That negligee was certainly arousing.

Severus knew he should take out his wand and enervate the witch, but his naughtier side disagreed, so instead of going through the motions of losing a battle of conscience, he immediately gave in, removing his slippers, robe and boxers in that order. He bent over the unconscious Hermione and untied the little strip of ribbon that held the flimsy material of her negligee together, spreading it on either side of the witch and revealing her body. His eyes drifted over her full breasts, flat belly and the small patch of silver resting at the apex of her thighs.

"Merlin," he breathed, swallowing.

He removed her wand and laid it on the nightstand, then slowly, he eased into the bed and lay next to the witch, placing his hand on her belly and caressing it gently, watching her face. Hermione's eyes fluttered, but she didn't wake. Severus lifted the light fabric, slipped his fingers under the thin strip of her thong and pulled it down her legs gently, slipping it off her feet, then bringing it to his nose. He sniffed it and the scent of her made a small growl issue from the back of his throat. He dropped the thong off the side of the bed and rolled over Hermione, lifting himself on his hands and parting her legs with his own.

"You're being very wicked, Severus," his conscience chided him.

"Yes I am," the wizard agreed as he reached down and adjusted his member, placing it against the witch's core. Hermione stirred now, her amber eyes fluttering open. She looked up at the wizard staring down at her, confusion in her eyes.

"Enervate," Severus breathed, sliding into Hermione, the witch gasping, arching in surprise and pleasure.

"Severussssss," she hissed as he filled her, his length and hardness a welcome intrusion. Hermione's mouth dropped open

"Mmmm,, witch," he growled down at her, his eyes half-lidded as she surrounded him in heat and tightness. He lowered himself, kissing Hermione passionately as her arms wrapped around him, trying to draw him closer.

Severus began to move, thrusting into Hermione, longing to get closer to the witch, willing her body to blend with his own. This wasn't about relieving his hunger, although hunger was there. This was about claiming, connecting, becoming one with the witch through his desire. And above all, it was about being remembered.

If he died tomorrow, Severus wanted Hermione to remember him all her days.

He pulled away from her mouth, the witch gasping and moaning as he took her ardently, but not brutally. He brought his mouth to her ear, the scent of her jasmine scented hair filling his nostrils as he spoke to her, still flexing his pale body, still parting her body with his own.

"That pendant you wear is symbolic, Hermione," he breathed as the witch cried out softly, "The heart is yours, and I am the serpent claiming and protecting it. It is a symbol of my esteem, my affection, my protection…my…my…"

Suddenly the wizard tore into Hermione fast and furiously, the witch crying out his name sharply before Severus caught himself and slowed, gasping, tracing her jawline with his lips for a moment before returning to her ear.

"If I die tomorrow, others will remember me as a cruel professor, or as a suspected Death Eater, or as a spy for the Order. Only you, Hermione Granger, will remember me as man like every other man…who had dreams of love and happiness…a wife and family. Who longed for a normal and contented life. Never forget me, Hermione," he breathed as he possessed her, "Never forget I was a man like every other man."

The wizard stopped moving for a moment, Hermione turning her face to his and looking into his dark eyes, her breasts rising and falling with passion, her body undulating, the Potions Master still embedded deep inside her, still connected to her by more than flesh.

"You are more than any other man, Severus. You're my love. I will never forget you," she said softly.

Severus felt his chest tighten as he looked into Hermione's amber eyes and saw the sincerity there."

"I can die a happy man then, Hermione," he said in a low, intense voice, rolling to his back and pulling the witch on top of him, never breaking their link.

Hermione began to kiss him as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her in place and driving into her body, jerking the witch as he took all he could of her sweetness, her voice breaking over him. He had never heard a sound more beautiful than his name on Hermione's lips as he buried himself inside her again and again.

Hermione broke away from Severus' mouth and she pushed herself upward, her hair wild around her face, the negligee hanging off her shoulders, breasts and body bouncing as she took over, riding the wizard with abandon, her eyes locked to his face, biting her lower lip.

Severus groaned as she slid over him, rolling her hips and changing her angle as she took the dominant role. He was content to be submissive, to let her have her way, reaching up and sliding the flimsy green material down her arms, then caressing her shoulders and breasts before gripping her waist.

"So beautiful," he breathed up at her, a grimace of pleasure on his face as her tight, slick sleeve squeezed, caressed and suckled him. Suddenly, Hermione stiffened, growing hot beneath his hands, then letting go with a shriek, her searing release flowing over the gasping wizard, pooling on his loins, wetting his balls as she fell forward, shuddering with bliss.

"Yesssss," Severus hissed at her, caressing her hair for a moment, then rolling back on top of the witch, lifting himself up on his hands and plunging inside her hungrily, wanting more of her softness as she throbbed around him. He was mindful not to lose control, though the gods knew he couldn't go deep enough. But he was thorough, his member like iron, rigid, demanding, taking every inch and iota of her inner gold, seeking that treasure between her thighs and finding it stroke after delicious stroke.

His hips lifted high as he stroked Hermione, his dark eyes smoldering down at her as she gave him all she was, loving his strength, his penetration, his possession. Severus Snape loved her. Hermione knew he did, and his love was as powerful as he was dark.

He just couldn't die. She wouldn't let him die.

---

The couple made love twice more that night…Hermione insisting they stop because Severus would need his strength and wits about him in the morning. She now lay in the crook of the wizard's arm, playing in his hair as he slept, his long lashes resting against his cheeks. Hermione ran her fingers over the large hook of his nose and smiled softly as she remembered referring to it as a "beak" one day after he had taken thirty points from her for helping Neville Longbottom. Actually, Neville had been about to explode his cauldron, but that didn't keep Severus from taking the points anyway.

"You should have just ducked for cover, Miss Granger," he had snarked, turning away with a billow of robes.

Hermione's smile faded as she thought of what the morning would bring. Severus had told her nothing of his plans, though Harry had confided the Potions Master was going deliver him to Voldemort and he would have the sword of Gryffindor concealed under his robes. Hermione knew once that sword was drawn, the dragon would be let out of his lair and Severus' duplicity would be known. Voldemort might strike him down dead right there.

The witch shuddered. No. No, it couldn't happen like that. When she left for the Great Hall tomorrow morning, she would slip out of the castle. There was more than one exit. Then she would disillusion herself and find Severus. She would help him and Harry fight. She knew a number of deadly spells thanks to the book Severus gave her. They would come in handy.

Hermione settled back, and closed her eyes. Presently sleep came.

Severus slipped out of bed at around six-thirty that morning, leaving Hermione asleep in the bed as he readied himself. He showered, shaved, brushed his teeth then dressed in his usual manner, black silk boxers, white silk shirt, black trousers, Slytherin belt and black socks. But instead of pulling on his boots, he put on a pair of black trainers. Undoubtedly, he would be doing some running.

He returned to the bedroom and saw signs of Hermione stirring. The Potions Master looked down at the witch, his eyes growing soft as he memorized her…how wild her hair was, the sated look on her face, the curves of her body beneath the sheets. He was tempted to draw them back and gaze on her beauty once more, but her eyes fluttered open. He quickly grabbed her wand off the nightstand and stuck it in his pocket.

"Severus?" she said sleepily, fighting for lucidity. "You're dressed."

"Yes," he said, leaning down and kissing her lips lightly. "I must go talk to Albus and Mr. Potter before we begin the Battle."

Hermione sat up.

"Will I see you before you leave?" she asked him.

Severus shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. You will have to wait until I return…if I return," he said softly.

Hermione's eyes glistened for a moment, then she leaped out of the bed and clung to him, sobbing.

"I don't want you to do this! I don't want you to go, Severus! I don't want you to die!" she cried, hanging on to him so tightly the wizard could hardly draw breath.

"I know, Hermione. Unfortunately what you want doesn't mesh with what I must do," he said softly, "Be strong witch. I need you strong."

Hermione released him just enough to kiss him desperately. Severus allowed it for a moment, then gently untwined her arms from around his neck, then pushed her lightly back into the bed, his dark eyes sweeping over her naked body appreciatively.

"I must go," he said suddenly. He walked to the bedroom door. Hermione got out of the bed.

"I have to be in the Great Hall before seven-thirty," she said, looking for her wand. "Where's my wand?"

Severus turned toward her.

"You don't need it. You will be staying here until the battle is over," he said to her evenly.

Hermione frowned at him.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"I am warding you in my bedroom until the battle is over. If we are successful, I will return and release you. If I am killed, the wards will drop on their own," he said dispassionately.

Hermione ran toward him.

"I don't want to stay here! I want…I want…" she began, grabbing his robes.

Severus looked down at her.

"I know what you want, Hermione. You want to throw your own life away for mine. You will not do it. You will stay here until the battle is over," he said, pulling her hands away and walking her back toward the bed. Hermione began to struggle frantically, trying to fight the wizard. Severus lifted her and threw her into the bed. She bounced.

"You can't do this!" she screamed at him.

Severus arched an eyebrow at her.

"I can, and am doing this," he replied shortly, turning and heading for the bedroom door.

"You're a bastard," Hermione seethed after him.

Severus turned back to her and gave her a smirk.

"I always have been…I don't know why you would think I'd change," he purred at her. "Now good-bye witch. Hopefully, I will return to unward the door myself."

The wizard opened the door and stepped through, closing it behind him.

Immediately, Hermione ran for the door, pulling at it ineffectively. She banged on it frantically.

"Severus? Severus! You let me out of here! Severus!" she cried.

In the study, Severus stared at the bedroom door, listening to Hermione rage for a moment before walking to his bookshelf and sliding back a false front. He removed the blade of Dresden, eyeing the sheathed dagger. He put it in his pocket, then reached into his other pocket and removed Hermione's wand, placing it on his writing desk for her retrieval in case he didn't come back. It would be more disturbing to the witch if her wand were retrieved from his corpse.

Severus turned back to the bedroom door. Hermione was still banging on it, though her voice was growing weaker. He knew she was crying.

"Goodbye, my love," Severus said softly, exiting his rooms and billowing towards Destiny

---

A/N: Severus is on his way. I am sorry that the lemons were so short this go round. I had trouble focusing. But I do hope I at least conveyed the emotion passing between the two. So, he locked her in. I think that's all he could do. Well…it's down to the wire now. Please review, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.