Hey everyone! Sorry this is late, I've been super busy, which brings me to my next point.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:The next update will not be until MAY 8th. If I can, I'll aim for May 1st. These next two weeks I have a lot of work to do, including studying for finals, and I can't spare any time. I hope you guys understand.

In the mean time, I hope you all review to keep me motivated for the next two weeks.

Thanks everyone, enjoy!

Severus sat down near his fireplace, sighing deeply. She was going to be the death of him, not this war, no, he could handle the war. Hermione on the other hand, that was a completely different story.

His head was spinning as he ran through the day again. Hermione obviously was angry at him for being so nosy, but what did she expect? How could he not try and find out what she was doing when she dangled her secret directly in front of his nose?

Polyjuice? Why one Earth would the three of them need Polyjuice?

His mind darted back and for the between possibilities, tossing each idea away as fast as it came to him. The one thing that he was sure of was that whatever it was, it was most likely dangerous, and that the three of them would most likely be killed.

But what were they up to? Why did they need to disguise themselves? Severus knew the thought would keep him up every night until he knew why they needed it.

Perhaps he could just sneak back to Shell Cottage and destroy it? Then she'd have to stay there for another month to brew, out of harm's way, in the capable hands of Bill Weasley.

Hermione could handle herself, Severus was sure of that, but when it came to those two friends of hers, she suddenly felt it necessary to act the almighty savior. That woman would do anything for those two idiots.

Severus allowed his mind to wander back to that day in Malfoy Manor. He had been standing on the Astronomy Tower, like he did most days, thinking. He was thinking about the Dark Lord, and how demanding he was getting about Hermione. He wanted information, but Severus insisted that he didn't know where she was and that she would only return when she had enough information to ensure the Dark Lord's victory. The thought made him sick: the Dark Lord winning the war. Weeks went by, without a single hint to where the Golden Trio was, or would be going. They had vanished, despite the constant search for them. Severus nearly lost his mind in those weeks. He had no idea if she was in trouble, let alone still alive.

But as he stood on the Astronomy Tower, his mind drifting away, there was suddenly a burning on his finger. He tried to jerk away, but he realized the burning was on his finger. His ring. Without a second thought, Severus Apparated.

When he came face to face with the gates of Malfoy Manor, Severus could feel his heart drop to his stomach. Instantly, he threw them open and darted to the front door. When he threw the door open, he could hear a flurry of movement in the room he usually sat in for meetings. In a flash, Severus was running up the stairs.

The door was left open, and Severus had no trouble seeing what was happening inside. Bellatrix was standing, a knife in her hand, pressed to Hermione's neck. One small movement and Hermione would be dead. Bellatrix was on the edge, Severus had seen that look before, and knew he had to distract her.

Making his entrance, Severus talked Lucius out of calling the Dark Lord, Bellatrix quickly losing her mind. As Severus talked, he walked around the group, casually positioning himself between Wonderboy and Hermione. His eyes kept darting from the knife to Bellatrix, but before he could make a move, the chandelier came crashing down.

Bellatrix's self-preservation kicked in, causing her to shove Hermione directly into his arms. Immediately Severus wrapped his arms around her, keeping her on her feet and held tightly to his form.

He could still remember the look on her face when her eyes met his. They were glazed over in shock for just a second before they flashed in relief. Her skin was white and her cheeks were slightly shallow, most likely from malnutrition. Instantly he noticed the blood running from beneath her sleeve and dripping onto the sand, but she was clinging to him a moment later, shaking and crying, and he could do nothing but hold her.

Severus closed his eyes when he held her for the first time in months. Finally, he knew she was safe.

Blinking, Severus peered around his chambers. Hogwarts hadn't been welcoming since the day he left her in the graveyard. Everything was reminding him of that moment, the moment when he had left her in the world to fend for herself. The guilt that came with that thought was nearly crushing. If anything happened to her, it would be on his conscious.

The suffocating rooms of his chamber caused him to fling himself out of his chair and straight out of the portrait. His feet knew where to go, and he allowed them to take him.

The second the cool night air struck his face, Severus released a breath he didn't notice he had been holding. Wrapping his slender fingers around the railings, Severus allowed his mind to drift away from the Astronomy Tower and to a pair of dark brown eyes that were incredibly innocent.

Severus knew things were coming to an end. The Dark Lord was becoming erratic, killing with little provocation and becoming more suspicious of everything. Whatever Potter was doing, the Dark Lord was scared. He was like a cornered animal now. Severus was afraid for the next meeting. Even he, the Dark Lord's most trusted man, was certain his fate was drawing closer and closer by each passing day.

His thoughts instantly turned to Hermione. Severus knew he would die at the end of this war. He was fighting for good, yet they despised him, seeing him as a traitor. The dark side was suspicious of everyone, but more so when it came to him. He was the right-hand man of Dumbledore until the day he died.

Bellatrix, more than anyone else, suspected his loyalties strayed from the Dark Lord. She had never trusted him, and the minutes she found that he was no longer available to her, she had lost her mind. Everything he did she watched with a critical eye, no doubt spilling every detail of his life to the Dark Lord, but Severus knew how to counter these attacks against his person. Bellatrix knew that she was not achieving the degree of torture she wished Severus to feel, so when Hermione had been taken straight to her lair, it must have been like Christmas for that woman. That poor innocent woman was the key to releasing her anger against him.

Severus closed his eyes and released a shuttering breath. Her skin was so pale on the beach, the sunlight making her seem nearly translucent. Even the strongest of people suffer when exposed to that degree of torture, but he could only imagine what she felt, already so weakened from lack of nutrition while on the run.

Several times in Hermione's presence, Severus wanted to slip into her memories and pull that one forward so he could see precisely what happened before he had gotten there. He knew her shields wouldn't be up around him, and even if they were, they would be considerably weaker than they were before she left. It was a double edged sword; part of him wanted to see what she had to go through, but another part of him didn't think he could handle seeing her broken body on the dusty wooden floor, utterly consumed with pain.

His mind skipped ahead to the events outside of Shell Cottage. He had kissed her, and she had begun to speak, but he quickly silenced her. He couldn't even begin to think of the words that were swirling on her tongue, threatening to tear him down, once and for all. He needed to cling to a small shred of his dignity and former self to see this through to the end, and he could not have a handful of words from her lips destroy what he had worked towards for nearly twenty years.

Lily Potter suddenly slithered into his thoughts, and Severus smiled to himself. Yes, she was a Potter, not Evans. She loved Potter, more than anything in the world, Severus knew that now. Her brilliant red hair and piercing green eyes seemed to be dulled in his memory now. No longer did she ensnare his senses and wrap him in a cage consisting solely of his guilt. Severus knew that he could now miss her as a dear friend, rather than the love of his life that had left him cold and bitter. She had every right to disown him, he knew, and he respected that. He had watched Lily find true happiness, get married, and have a child, a child that was so much like her. Those eyes. Every day in Potions he was forced to see those eyes, causing him to project his guilt towards the innocent boy who looked so much like his father. Granted, Potter may have had his father's looks, but he had won the brilliant eyes of his mother, along with the fierce desire to make sure justice was served and people were safe. Lily was protective of her friends, much like Potter was.

Through the years, Severus watched over Harry, not only because Dumbledore asked him to, but because he felt as if he owed something to that beautiful woman whose death he had caused.

In Potter's first year, he remembered standing in the Hospital Wing with Granger and Weasley, standing at the foot of Potter's bed, chattering on and on about how they had gotten past the various charms that were put there to protect the Sorcerer's Stone. Of course Hermione had gotten past most of the spells. Severus remembered looking at Potter, scratched and breathing deeply. He had gained his passion from his mother and his reckless abandon from his father.

Potter once again proved himself when he found the Chamber of Secrets and once against defeated Voldemort while saving Miss Weasley. As the years passed, and Potter revealed more of his father, Severus turned his anger against the boy. When the chance to come to turn Black over to the Dementors, Severus jumped on it. To this day, Severus was sure that the three had helped Black escape. The damn twinkle in Dumbledore's eye practically screamed the truth.

In Harry's fourth year, he had been forced into the Triwizard Tournament, and Severus remembered telling Dumbledore that Potter should be forced to compete, offering the explanation that his cooperation could help unveil the mastermind behind the odd events occurring. Severus made the suggestion after becoming furious that Potter, once again, had managed to become part of the spotlight, much like his bloody father would have done. Severus would never admit out loud, but through each event, he waited, in case Potter became caught in serious and potentially deadly trouble. He wouldn't hesitate a second to save him, and part of him hated himself for that. Severus was about the worst poster child for Slytherin's that could be imagined.

When Potter gave him the secret message in Umbridge's office that day, immediately Severus dispatched it to the Order. Severus could still remember the sheer panic and fear in Potter's eyes as Severus told him he had no idea what he was talking about. Severus may not have been friends with Potter's gang, but the entire school knew the crew had ridiculous nicknames for each other. That day, Severus could only sit in his office while the Order saved the day, once again. Dumbledore constantly told Severus to keep away, but he wanted to be in the thick of the fight, doing something proactive, rather than having other people fight for him.

Black had died that day. Potter was devastated. Severus remembered feeling a slight bit of remorse from him. He had lost everything that he called a family. Things changed that year. You could feel it in the air. Severus knew he would have to be more careful than ever before. Little did he know how much more careful he would have to be, considering he now had another human being to look after.

Blinking a few times, Severus noticed the stiffness in his fingers from clutching the railing so tightly. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his robes tighter around his body and descended the stairs to return to the dungeons for a much needed rest.

A few days slipped by, and Severus was unable to leave the school and visit Shell Cottage. If he did slip away, no doubt someone would notice. He felt like he was constantly dealing with a stream of the Carrow's trying to punish children, which Severus brushed off with no more than a roll of his eyes.

"The Dark Lord put these rules into effect, Severus! You must obey them!" Amycus shouted one afternoon.

Severus gently fingered the edge of a paper on his desk, his thoughts straying to Shell Cottage. He had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right, but he was sure that Bill would have contacted him if something had gone wrong.

"You've gone soft!" Amycus ended with a roar.

Severus was instantly on his feet, a curse rolling off his tongue faster than Amycus could breathe in to start another slew of insults. The man flew through the air and smashed into the door before falling to the ground.

"You will address me as Headmaster here, Amycus. I suggest you do not tell me how to run my school again, or I swear, it will be one of the last things you will do. If I do not meet the Dark Lord's requirements, then the fault is mine, and I shall deal with the consequences as he sees fit. Now get out of my sight,"

The door to his office suddenly opened, revealing Minerva standing in her perfect emerald robes, as always. Her eyes immediately found the man still sprawled on the floor and barely gave him a second glance before stepping over him and approaching the desk. Amycus slowly climbed to his feet, clearly beyond furious. Severus saw the twitch in his hand as he consciously made the decision to curse Severus. Immediately Severus disarmed him.

"One more time, Amycus, and I will hand you over to the Dark Lord to explain how you are questioning his decisions regarding my position,"

With a growl and a flourish of robes, the man stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. Severus sank back into his chair, rubbing his temples. For the moment, he was ignoring Minerva's presence. He couldn't deal with another one of her stories of finding a first year crying in the hallways.

"Go," her soft voice said.

"Pardon?" Severus said, not paying attention to her.

"You don't belong here. You are clearly distracted and knowing your temper, another encounter with the Carrows is going to get you killed,"

"Where do you suppose I go, Minerva?"

"You already know the answer to that," she said, giving him a small smile and heading towards the door.

"Why did you really come in here?" he asked as she reached the door.

"Oh, no reason," she said, straightening out some books that were disturbed from Amycus' fall, and giving him a smirk.

Severus shook his head and turned his eyes to the windows, seeing the sun lowering itself in the sky. Not five minutes had passed before he was pulling his traveling cloak on and dashing to the Astronomy Tower. Without so much as a pause while dashing towards the railings, Severus Apparated to Shell Cottage.