Hey! Sorry this took so long, but my break wasn't as relaxing as I thought it was going to be.
After this, things will start moving pretty quickly seeing as we're approaching the finish line.
Keep the reviews coming! They make my day :)
She retook her seat just in time for Remus to appear in the doorway.
"Good morning," Hermione said as Severus simply nodded in his direction.
Remus was frozen for a moment at the scene before him before replying to her.
"Morning," he said shuffling into the kitchen to make himself some tea.
"Nice to see you again, Severus, when did you get in?" he asked.
"He never left," she said to Remus.
The room fell silent, and Hermione quickly began backtracking, hearing how that might sound with relation to their wrinkled clothes.
"We talked about things, that's all," she stuttered, causing Severus to smirk at her.
Remus took a seat beside Hermione.
"And?" he inquired, looking mostly at Severus with a harsh eye.
Severus turned to Hermione, asking her silently 'well?', leaving the decision up to her.
"I…I think everything is settled," she responded, studying Severus' face.
"You're staying together?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, beaming.
Severus noticed how radiant she looked from across the table. When he had seen her the night before, she had been pale and tired, but now she had a brilliant smile on and was chatting happily with Remus, who also seemed to notice the change in her.
"You're happier, it's nice to see you happy," he mentioned.
"I am happy," Hermione replied with a slight blush tinting her cheeks.
The three chatted quietly at the table, about trivial things, not wanting to delve into the deeper issues. Remus told Severus about Teddy, and Severus talked about his incompetent lawyer as well as his new teaching position. It was when Hermione's training was brought up that things slightly shifted. Remus pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket handing it to Hermione.
"I got this before I came down from Arthur. It looks like George's shop was attacked last night,"
"Was he there?" Hermione asked, looking up from the parchment.
"No, he had gone home,"
"Thank God,"
"Look at bottom," Remus pointed out.
Severus could tell that Arthur had enclosed something in his own letter. Hermione placed Arthur's letter down, and focused mainly on the tattered parchment that had been concealed inside.
"It's the same as the others," she mentioned.
Remus suddenly looked up at Severus in a way that reminded him of the way Albus used to look at him right before he was going to ask Severus to so something, a way that made his hands tighten on his cup.
"Severus, maybe you could help us," he mentioned.
"I haven't told him," Hermione said, looking up.
"Told me what?" he asked, looking between the two.
"Since Voldemort was killed, and most of the Death Eaters captured, we've all been getting threats, and most of us are being followed. Hermione and I were attacked in public when we were in Australia,"
Severus turned to her, but she made a point of keeping her eyes away from his.
"Anyone involved with your case was told to keep out of the trial, which included the destruction of the memories that we had been collecting, or their families would be hurt. We know their threats aren't idle, and that's why many of us stay here. Molly has even thought about moving in for a little while,"
"So the main people who are being targeted are those in the Order, and those involved in freeing me?" Severus asked.
"Yes, and they must have known that Hermione wasn't going to follow their directions, seeing as they showed up at your trial,"
"At first we thought it was a prank, but then things started happening, people were being followed, and homes were destroyed," Hermione added.
"Why are they still sending threats if I'm already out?"
"They didn't want you to be convicted," Remus said with a slightly dark tone to his voice.
Severus looked between the two, Remus deathly serious, and Hermione anxiously fiddling with her necklace.
"Ahh," Severus said quietly, the thought suddenly hitting him.
"If you couldn't guess before, most of these threats are about us," Hermione said.
"Can I?" Severus asked gesturing to the parchment.
Hermione pushed the paper across the table, and Severus instantly picked it up. Angry scrawls were deeply scratched into the paper, forming letters: HELP THE MUDBLOOD AGAIN AND WE WILL DO WORSE.
A harsh drawing of the Dark Mark was near the bottom, just recognizable enough.
"In all of my years of teaching, I think this might be the worst handwriting I've ever come across," he mentioned, reading it over again.
Remus laughed slightly, but Hermione simply stared at him. He ignored her anger and turned to Remus.
"Did you say there are others?"
"Yes, I'll go and get them,"
As Remus left the room, Severus placed the paper down, finding Hermione's eyes still on him.
"You asked me before, what I was dreaming about when I woke up. This is what I dream about. I dream about Death Eaters dragging me out of bed and killing me in the middle of the street or forcing me to watch my loved ones killed. I know that their threats aren't empty, and it's only a matter of time before they find a way,"
Before Severus could reply, Remus returned with a messy stack of parchment, all with the familiar scrawl and picture at the bottom. For nearly an hour Severus studied each sheet, answering questions that Remus asked.
"Do you think that it's just a group of people acting as Death Eaters?" Remus asked.
Severus stared at one piece of parchment with glaring black letters: HE WILL DIE. Lifting his eyes, he rested his elbows on the table, rubbing his face.
"Not likely. Everyone knows what the Dark Mark looks like, especially after the World Cup game a few years ago, they could certainly draw this if they wanted to. But, the way a Death Eater moves is very unique, Voldemort taught each Death Eater how to travel, mainly taking on the form of smoke. It's extremely hard to replicate. I know the Aurors travel in a similar fashion, but they have a more solid form. The figures in the courtroom were without a doubt Death Eaters. This, paired with the attacks on people, I'd say we still have a group of Death Eaters in operation,"
The room was deathly silent, and Severus noticed how Hermione's face had suddenly gone very pale.
"We all know what's going on here," she mumbled quietly.
"They're going to try and kill me for betraying them," Severus said, sitting back in his chair.
"Eventually," she said, lifting her eyes to his face.
He sensed that he was missing something by the look she had in her eyes.
"Voldemort was always obsessed with the pain he could cause a person, both psychological and physical,"
Severus waited.
"You remember, at Malfoy Manor, after we had broken into the Ministry,"
Severus just remembered her on the ground, screaming for what seemed like hours. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"He was attacking you, because he knew and could see what it was doing to me," she said.
She waited for him to get it, but Severus was lost. She jumped from her chair, reaching for each piece of parchment.
"Look at each of these, they're all about me. 'Help the mudblood again and we will do worse', 'take your memories back from the mudblood or we will kill you', 'associate with her again and you will find your family dead',"
Each one she read, she slammed it back to the table.
"They are all about me, about people talking to me or helping me, except for the ones that are addressed to me. All of the notes I got were about them killing you if I didn't stop," she said, shoving the pile at Severus.
"Don't you see what these threats are designed to do?" she asked.
"Obviously to prevent people from helping you," Severus said, unimpressed.
"No, they are designed to isolate me, from everyone. They are trying to scare people away from me by threatening to kill them if they don't obey or even associate with me. Eventually, people will avoid me in fear of their lives and their families,"
"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Severus asked, tossing the parchment back to the table becoming agitated.
"They know that Remus and the Weasleys are the biggest obstacle, so they will try to remove them. George was already attacked, and Remus' house was destroyed. Without protection, I become a sitting duck. They could take me without anyone noticing I was gone, because those people would have already severed ties with me,"
"We wouldn't abandon you," Remus said.
"Remus, I expect you to choose your family over me. Would you put Teddy in danger for me?"
He didn't say anything.
"And what could they possibly want from you?" Severus said drawing her eyes back.
"I'm the easiest way to get to you," she said quietly. "They would do the same thing Voldemort did to me that day,"
The room fell silent, and Severus could practically hear the pieces clicking into place in his head.
"They would tell you that they had me, and you would go; they know that you would be willing to trade spots with me, just like I did for you. They would probably make you watch as they killed me before…"
Not a sound could be heard in the room as everything suddenly came together in that moment. Severus knew that she was right; everything she had just said was exactly what a Death Eater would do. What scared him even more was the fact that he would have done everything she said he would, right down to throwing himself in harm's way if it meant saving her. She had done the very same thing for him that day at Malfoy Manor; he could still see the tears hitting the dusty floor as she offered herself up in order to save him.
"Well, we know what to look for," Remus offered weakly.
"When they notice things aren't working out, their plan will morph into something else. It will keep morphing until it is able to slip by us," Severus said with no emotion in his tone.
"What are we supposed to do now?"
"Try and get them before they get us," Hermione replied calmly, straightening out all of the pieces of parchment.
Severus was angry. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Right when his life was finally taking a turn in the right direction, they have to show up and threaten everything again. He had worked twenty years for this, and he was tired of his freedom and peace of mind being dangled in front of his face. Hermione looked like she could hear the thoughts whirling around in his head and smiled gently at him.
"We'll get it right, eventually," she said.
He nodded, just as more footsteps were heard on the stairs. Harry stepped into the kitchen, looking at the scene, before getting his breakfast. Severus was happy that he didn't seem to mind his presence. He sat at the table, immediately digging in, hair sticking up in odd directions, much like his father.
"What's going on?" he asked around his eggs, looking at the papers on the table.
"We were getting Severus' opinion," Remus said quietly.
"Not good?" Harry asked, looking at their expressions.
"Not good," Hermione said.
Remus began to explain things to Harry as Hermione refilled her cup and left the room. Severus waited a moment before following her. Of course he knew where she would be. Pushing the door of the library open, he found her standing in front of the fire place, her cup forgotten on the mantel. She turned when she heard his footsteps. Severus stepped into the room, as she turned and sunk into the couch with a sigh. He stepped forward to read the book titles.
"I'm so tired," Hermione said.
Severus turned to look at her, seeing clearly that the sleepless night was not what she was talking about.
"We've been through a war, I don't think a few Death Eaters are going to be too difficult to handle,"
"There isn't anyone reining them in like Voldemort did, who knows what they're going to do,"
Severus sat on the opposite side of the couch, lounging back, thinking through everything. They had to have a leader, he knew. They had been operating smoothly, and for that to happen, there certainly must be someone at the helm, but who could it possibly be? Severus hadn't kept track of those who were killed in the final battle, and hadn't been reading the papers. Hermione stretched out on the couch, resting her head on a pillow. The dark circles below her eyes were starting to become more prominent especially due to the flickering fire light on her face. Severus watched as her eyes opened and closed slower and slower, until they didn't open again. She looked incredibly peaceful when she was asleep.
"Hermione?" Weasley's voice called from the hallway.
Her eyes snapped open and she immediately sat up.
"What?" she asked looking around.
"Weasely," Severus replied.
"Oh," she muttered, fixing her hair as the red-head entered the room.
"There you are," he said, though Severus was sure that Weasley didn't want him there.
"Can I help you with something?" Hermione asked politely.
"Um…no, I was just looking for you,"
"Well, Mr. Weasley, you've found her," Severus snapped harshly, wanting to attack the boy.
Hermione grabbed Severus' hand and squeezed it, giving him a pointed look. He rolled his eyes and sighed deeply, acknowledging her desire to avoid conflict.
"Was there something that you wanted?" Hermione prompted.
"No, I just wanted to see if you were alright,"
"I'm fine," she replied, giving him a small smile.
"Okay," he muttered.
He stood in the room a moment longer, before shuffling out. Hermione sighed and released his hand, letting her head fall back. Severus felt his hand clench into a fist. The things he would like to say to Weasley would turn his head.
"Don't provoke him, please," her soft voice came from beside him.
"I didn't provoke him,"
"Well don't give him a reason to hate you, he already has one and you don't need to be giving him ammunition,"
"He was the reason this all happened," Severus protested.
"I don't care what he did; we've worked through it,"
Severus didn't say anything as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You need sleep," he mentioned.
"I'm fine,"
She took his hand gently in hers, rubbing her thumb gently against the back of his hand.
"I'm going to go home for a little," he mentioned after a while.
"What? Why?" Hermione asked, sitting up to look at him.
"I want to get changed, and sleep a little. I won't be gone for long,"
"Okay," she sighed.
Severus stood, knowing she was following him close behind. When he reached the door, he turned to her, seeing how exhausted she was.
"I'll be back later,"
"How late?"
"Probably after dinner,"
He knew that she wasn't necessarily happy about that, but he needed to give people time to adjust.
"Do you think you can handle them?" he asked looking towards the kitchen.
"Piece of cake," she said with a smile.
"Then I'll see you later,"
Hermione was looking at him expectantly. Severus leaned down and gently pressed his lips against her cheek. Hermione turned her head to capture his lips. She kissed him softly, lovingly. When Hermione pulled away, she sighed quietly.
"I love you,"
Severus looked into her eyes, seeing them burning. His chest swelled.
"I love you too,"
Hermione smiled, kissed him once more, and stepped back.
"Go, the sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back,"
With a small smile, Severus slipped from the house and Apparated into the night.