"Why do you think they were here?" Hermione questioned when they entered the castle. She had her arms wrapped around herself and she walked close to the Professor's side, not willing to leave the warmth and comfort she felt there just yet.
The halls were empty of all but the portraits and the soft flicker of torchlight as they made their way through, to where, Hermione wasn't certain. The hand Professor Snape had on her lower back guided her, and she followed without a thought about it.
"I am unfortunately not privy to their movements as of right now, I do however know that if they were here, they had a reason. It is pure luck I noticed you'd not come to eat and sought you out." He stopped, stopped her with him and she turned to look at him, his cloak fell away from her shoulders and she missed it terribly.
"Please, do not put yourself in the danger of wandering about outside alone, these grounds are as safe as anywhere but as you've seen it is still quite easy for some to enter." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Would they really have tried to kill me on school grounds?" The look on Snape's face was positively deadly and his chest rumbled a low sound.
"No one will ever lay a hand on you." He growled out, black eyes flashed dangerously and Hermione blinked a few times, trying to understand the passion in his voice, his inflection.
Did he feel this way about all of his students? She couldn't see it, not with the way he treated some of them.
"You are certain they didn't hurt you, aren't you?" His eyes swept up and down her again and she shook her head, arms still wrapped around herself.
"No, you arrived before anything could happen." She gave a little nod and he exhaled, she tried not to think how much it sounded like a sigh of relief.
"Good, I am going to escort you to your dorm now, please be cautious, Ms. Lupin." She gave a little nod as they turned to walk again, his hand drifted back to her lower back and she found the sensation not altogether uncomfortable. In fact, it even seemed a bit familiar to her, oddly.
"Thank you, for everything Professor." She exhaled when they made it to the door of her Head Girl dorm. She gave him a sweet smile and he watched as she entered before he turned to leave. He needed to alert Albus, and Lupin.
If there was even the shadow of a chance Lucius had recognized her, Hermione would be in a lot of danger.
And that was something he simply could not cope with.
SSHG
Hermione stared at herself in the mirror, she looked right, brown eyes, bushy brown curls, her cheekbones were in the right place, her nose hadn't changed.
Why did she feel so wrong in her own skin?
She raked her fingers down her face and let her body relax against the tiled wall of the girl's lavatory, Myrtle was off pestering someone else and she was glad for it. This was the place she felt the most comfortable in the school, the place she could go whenever she began to feel overwhelmed.
No one ever came to look for her here, either.
Though, if she were being honest she couldn't say what had originally drawn her to the room, it was damp, poorly lit, it smelled strange and any water produced by the pipes was a faint shade of brown.
Still, it made her feel a comfort she couldn't explain when she leaned back against that tiled wall and tipped her head back. Her eyes would flutter closed and it was almost like there was someone else there with her, a warm body pressed against her front, holding her, comforting her.
She jumped from her reverie as the sound of footsteps passed outside and she ran her fingers through her hair.
She felt like she was losing her mind, like she couldn't pin-point the exact moment in time she occupied anymore. It was a disconcerting sensation.
The door screeched on old hinges as someone entered the room and she froze in her place, her eyes wide when the figure rounded into her line of sight.
"Are you okay? Harry wanted us to come find you and check on you." Ginny looked around the room nervously. This was not a place many students ventured, between Myrtle having been murdered there and the other stories that surrounded the room it wasn't one anyone liked to enter.
Rose was standing outside the door when Hermione leaned around to look at her, she wouldn't come into the room. Her full lower lip was trapped between her teeth and her green eyes glittered.
"Sorry, I just can't." Hermione gave a nod and turned back to Ginny, her face pinched for a moment before she relaxed.
"I can't describe it, I think I'm just feeling a bit melancholy. Tell Harry I'm fine." She assured and Ginny cocked a red eyebrow, her tongue flicked out to wet her lips.
"Luna talks about these little creatures all of the time, Wrackspurts I think she calls them, maybe you should speak with her. She knows at least a little bit of what she's talking about." Ginny tipped her head and Hermione gave a smile.
"That girl is absolutely insane, I appreciate the gesture however. No, I'm just suffering a bit of melancholy and I will be perfectly fine." She grinned and Ginny gave a little nod.
"Well, I know you started your apprenticeship early, if you're starting to feel overwhelmed- I mean, just take care of yourself, okay?" She patted the brunette on the arm. Hermione gave her a broad smile and wrapped her in a quick hug.
"Go ahead, I know this place freaks you out, I'll see you in the common room tonight." Hermione ushered them off. Rose shot her a look over her shoulder as they left before Hermione pulled the screeching door shut again and slid down it into the floor.
She took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling.
"I'm losing my mind, it's official." She groaned and lay her head back against the door.
What else could she think when she was more comfortable in an empty girl's lavatory than with her friends in their common room, studying, playing games, or just talking?
SSHG
"What will we do about them?" Minerva looked stressed, a pinched look on her face and Severus shook his head, black eyes flicking around the room.
They'd called an impromptu meeting of the Order the Order that hadn't been together in more than five years.
"We need to be prepared, they've been building their numbers." Dumbledore gave a nod, his blue eyes focused on the figures of Lily and James Potter.
"It will be fine, if we could handle Tom Riddle we can handle anyone." James rubbed his wife's shoulder, she was giving him a cautious look.
"Do not underestimate Lucius Malfoy." Severus bit, black eyes focused on James' face.
"He's right, they wouldn't be acting now if they weren't confident." Arthur chimed, a hand brushed through red hair.
"They're pushing anti-muggleborn legislation harder as well. Lucius is the figurehead of their Ministry relations. He makes pureblood look appealing, he uses those of us who disagree as examples of thinning the bloodlines by allowing our children to marry muggles and muggleborns. He's trying to prove that the rise in squib births is because of these unions."
Severus scoffed but glanced around the table to see several concerned faces. "What exactly does he intend to do with the muggleborn witches and wizards? Have you heard anything on this front Arthur?"
"He wants them to have fewer rights, to only be allowed to forge unions with other muggles and muggleborn witches and wizards. He wants to bar them from Hogwarts as well." Remus clenched his jaw.
"And what of their offspring, would they not then be pure or half-blooded children?" Sirius spoke from the doorway, sauntering into the room of his home with a dark look on his face. Severus surprised greetings met him at the doorway.
He'd not been planning to return until the Holidays but, of course, he'd heard about Hermione's unfortunate run in and had all but rushed back.
"He's trying to claim they do not count as full blooded witches and wizards, he believes we should consider them servants, they would not be allowed to work for the Ministry, attend Hogwarts, or hold any positions of power." Arthur exhaled and Severus shook his head.
"This is only on the political front. I knew them as a youth, I knew Tom Riddle, their Dark Lord, they will try to kill as many as possible as well." His voice was grave, his black eyes focused on the table in front of him.
"The Seventh years are asking questions as well. They are seeing the political turmoil and many of them know something is brewing. Young Mr. Longbottom came to me just a few days ago, he wanted to know what he could do to help anti-muggleborn legislation."
"The Longbottoms have been notified we are meeting again, yes?" Lily piped, green eyes wide as she realized they were missing several important members of the Order.
"Mad-eye is not here either, we also have some new members who will be joining our ranks with him. I can only advise you tell your children at your discretion, at seventeen they are adults and are free to make the choice to join us." Albus spoke over his fingers.
"I'm afraid Severus is correct, we need to be prepared for the worst, we are already seeing a surge in muggleborn deaths, babies even killed in their cribs. For now there is no proof the Death Eaters are behind this activity, we must assume the worst however."
"Their only children!" Lily cried, Molly rounded the table to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"We'll do what we can for them." She rubbed the other woman's shoulder before she looked to Albus. "I will talk to my sons that are of age. I'm certain Fred and George will be happy to aid, their joke shop is thriving and they've hired several wizards to help run it."
"Any of your children are welcome, we must exercise caution however in growing our numbers, let us not allow our lips to become too loose." Albus commented before dismissing them. They left to their homes, Severus and Remus arrived at Hogwarts together.
"Will you tell her?" Severus questioned, black eyebrow raised at the lycanthrope, he gave a nod. They were walking up the path to the school gates, hoping to avoid any prying ears of students that may be in the near vicinity.
"She'd not be very fond of me if I didn't." Severus smirked.
"There are certainly some things that managed not to change."