A/N: 80 huh? That's kinda awesome. I'm glad you're all enjoying where it's going so far. By now I've made peace with the fact that I'm probably going to have to write them to a happily ever after - post-war - so we'll see how that goes. Obviously, a canon swerve will have to happen now that I have changed all these things but hopefully, we can make that work.

-0-

Hermione woke with a start in total silence. The dorm was usually a hub of activity, so to be devoid of sound meant she was not there. It made no sense at all and before she opened her eyes, she tried to figure out where she was. She was warm and cosy, tucked beneath her blankets she recognised by scent alone. They'd been taken off her bed because she definitely wasn't in her bed, and she was wrapped around her favourite person. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that they were in a room she did not recognise. She luxuriated in Minerva's back, pressed against her front, and decided that she didn't actually care where they were. Instead, she hummed happily as she stretched. The lythe body pressed against her made her moan deliciously.

"There she is," Minerva's voice murmured. Hermione could hear the smile in it even as she felt the happiness just as easily. She didn't bother to turn it off and nuzzled Minerva's neck. The burst of happiness made her smile against the warm skin.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hello," Minerva said indulgently, reaching behind her to cup Hermione's cheek.

"How long have I been out?" she asked as she pressed kisses along that long neck she loved so much. Her hands caressed Minerva's stomach and she moaned as Minerva arched into it. "And where are we?"

"A day or so, on and off," Minerva hummed, offering more of her neck to be kissed.

"Days?" Hermione clarified sleepily.

"Mhmm, about" Minerva chuckled as she glanced at her watch. "Thirty hours or so. As to where? Harry showed us the Chamber of Secrets," she muttered. "You have done so much work, Hermione. I am amazed. You should have said, we could have saved the house."

Hermione, this time, sank her teeth into Minerva's shoulders.

"Ow!" Minerva squeaked. "Stop that!"

"That house is ours. Yours and mine. This is not."

"Well," Minerva chuckled. "You have done a brilliant job."

"Honestly, it was all I could do to keep sane at some moments," Hermione joked. Minerva didn't take the bait and fell silent again.

"They told me when you came down here on your own. I am, once again, filled with remorse."

"Don't be," Hermione soothed, kissing as much skin as she could, over and over again. "Let me change the subject. Whatever did you do while I was asleep?"

Hermione smiled as Minerva rolled over and tucked the golden piece of Hermione's hair behind her ear.

"You think I would leave your side?"

Hermione kissed her as deeply as she ever had, pulling her impossibly close and humming against her lips.

"Wait," Minerva laughed as they parted. "Wait." She pulled away and kissed Hermione's lips chastely to take out the sting. "Not so fast, Trouble."

"But -"

"Lord, I'm going to have my hands full with you, aren't I," Minerva grinned. "Perhaps we should discuss this first?"

"Discuss what?" Hermione asked, her hand already slipping beneath the short nightdress Minerva was wearing and over her bare thighs.

Minerva sucked in a breath as Hermione's hands travelled up her sides and she squirmed and tried not to laugh.

"Her -" Minerva twitched. "- mione, stop it," she giggled. "That tickles."

"Is that all?"

Minerva rolled her eyes and grabbed Hermione's face with both hands.

"Stop."

Hermione did so immediately and stared. After a few minutes of sharing the silence, Hermione smiled and nodded, bringing her hands back to somewhere proper and kissing Minerva softly.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," Minerva nodded. "I -" she sighed. "I want this." Hermione looked at her carefully. "You know I do, or," she winced. "I would hope you do." Hermione kissed her gently but did not interrupt. "But, well, you see, we have things we still need to do before we can be alone properly." She blushed. "I also don't particularly enjoy the thought of them overhearing."

"You're right." Hermione soothed her with soft kisses.

"I often am," Minerva breathed as Hermione kissed a path down her chest. She paused at the neck of her nightdress and grinned up at her. Minerva rolled her eyes. "We must meet with the others. There are things that only you can do, my love."

"Your love." Hermione breathed as the wave of corresponding feeling washed over her.

"Yes," Minerva said without hesitation. "My love." Hermione stared at her and Minerva stared back until she gave in. "I love you."

She disregarded all of Minerva's warnings and laid her body on Minerva's so she could kiss her as deeply as she dared. Minerva's legs opened for her and one wrapped around her waist as strong hands held her close. Minerva's hands grasped at her as she kissed the woman. Her hands gripped Minerva's thigh against her and tried to press against her as much as she could. Minerva's hand was curled in her hair, moving her head as she sought out a better angle and Hermione groaned against her tongue. They pulled apart panting as common sense prevailed.

"I love you like fire, Minerva McGonagall. Soon. It must be soon," she pleaded. "I cannot wait much longer."

"Foighidinn, a ghràidh. Bidh sinn còmhla." Minerva sank her teeth into Hermione's neck. "Soon." [Patience, my love. We will be together soon]

Hermione moaned and scrambled out of bed to stop herself from doing something hasty. She held her breath and let it out slowly but when she looked over at Minerva, she felt her stomach flip.

"You are so beautiful," she whispered. She took a further step away to stop herself from simply getting back into bed. The cool air helped and she looked down at the rather skimpy pair of shorts she was wearing.

"Um -"

"You were warm," Minerva said imperiously. Her lips twitched for a while before she gave in completely and beamed. "Think of it as payback for that Weird Sisters t-shirt. And honestly, you are so utterly bewitching, I just couldn't help it."

Hermione threw her head back and laughed before she offered her hand and helped Minerva up as well. Her body felt rejuvenated; as if nothing could stand in her way. The feelings were so overwhelming that as Minerva stood from the bed, Hermione used the momentum to pull her closer and picked her up, turning in a circle while she smiled up at her.

"You are," Minerva squealed as she laughed and cupped her face. "So much trouble."

Hermione let her down, once again, enjoying the sensation of Minerva's body sliding against her before she stepped back.

"I suppose I'll behave then."

"Have you ever?"

"I do not know what you are talking about," Hermione grinned.

They got dressed together. Minerva had brought her trunk down to the Chamber and she grabbed her favourite pair of leggings and a jumper. As she pulled them on, she saw Minerva looking and offered her hand.

"Okay?"

"I -" Hermione frowned as Minerva seemed to war with herself before she straightened. "May I borrow some clothes?"

"Huh?" Hermione blinked. "Sorry?"

"It doesn't -" Minerva turned away but Hermione knew, somehow that she needed to be quicker.

"No," Hermione protested. "Wait, I am still waking up, what did you say?"

Minerva said nothing and stared at the floor. Hermione looked down at herself and remembered back to the last time she'd worn such an outfit in front of Minerva and comprehension dawned.

"Min," she said gently. "Minerva, look at me."

Her woman was stubborn, that was for certain but as Hermione's hand cupped her cheek, she shuddered and Hermione moved to catch her eye. A tear rolled down her cheek but Hermione wiped it away with her thumb.

"What is mine is yours," she whispered. "You don't ever have to ask. And I think you would look beautiful in leggings and a jumper. Even more so because they are mine. So yes, Min. You absolutely can. At any point in time, without asking."

Minerva nodded and Hermione pulled her over to her trunk. She showed her how she kept most of them and pressed a kiss to the side of her head before she stepped away and sat on the bed.

"You'll have to shrink the leggings a bit," Hermione chuckled. "My arse is definitely bigger than yours."

Minerva snorted as she did just that and pulled on a bottle green jumper that Hermione seldom wore.

"Your arse," Minerva blushed. "Is perfect."

"I shall remember that," Hermione grinned. She kissed Minerva chastely and stepped away. "For the record, mo ghaol?"

"Hmm?" Minerva asked as she spelled up her hair.

"My clothes look delicious on you."

Minerva blushed deeply and hid her face while she laughed at herself. Hermione wrapped her up in her arms and they rocked slowly for a while before Minerva tapped her arm and let go.

"Now," Hermione smiled, changing the subject as they prepared to leave. "What happened while I was asleep?"

"How much do you remember?"

"I remember saving Albus," Hermione said definitely. "Amalle was there and said it was impossible. I argued with them and then Lucia turned up and helped me figure it out but beyond that, it's hazy." She thought some more. "Oh!" She blinked and turned in a circle. "I have wings?"

"There is clearly a lot to catch up on," Minerva chuckled as she stopped her. "Yes, though they seemed to have disappeared just after you healed Albus. I was upset and so worried but they shimmered and disappeared just before you collapsed. The rest will require us to make some difficult decisions and others that may require only you. But," Minerva said quietly. "I will be right beside you."

"As it should be, Domina," Hermione whispered, kissing her deeply.

"I admit," Minerva grinned haughtily as they separated. "I quite liked that when you first said it," she inspected her nails for a moment before she met Hermione's eyes. "My feelings on it have not changed."

Hermione chuckled as she opened the door.

"'Mione!"

"Hermione!"

Her friends bombarded her as she stepped outside and she let go of Minerva to make sure they didn't all fall over.

"Hey," she blushed as they stepped back. "Great to see you guys."

"Yeah yeah," Ron grinned as he glanced over at Minerva. "Can't wait to tell Fred and George. They're gonna have a field day."

Hermione messed his hair as she looked past them to see Minerva wrap her arms around Albus. She kept an eye on them as Minerva cupped Albus' cheek and spoke quietly in his ear. Whatever she said, made him nod and then laugh as she pulled away. From the looks of it, he made a comment about what she was wearing, but she grinned at him and Hermione relaxed.

"Don't tell her you're going to tell them," she warned. "I will not be able to save you." Ron paled and the others laughed. "Come on," she said happily. "I need to catch up."

"Hermione," Albus said with a grin.

"Albus," she smiled. "It is good to see you."

"And you, my dear," he chuckled. "And you."

The Chamber had undertaken quite the transformation while she'd be asleep and she blinked as she took it all in. It looked relatively similar to the Room of Requirement when they needed somewhere to hang out, but at the back of the giant room was a brewing area and a training area and piles and piles of books.

"What the heck happened? How long was I out, again?"

"Nothing a little bit of magic couldn't fix," Albus winked. "Come, sit. I will call for some food after we get the most important things out of the way."

Hermione's stomach grumbled, as if on cue, and they laughed as they sat down around a big table.

"Alright," Albus said in that way of his. "Where would you like to begin?"

"How much does everyone else know?" Hermione asked.

"Whatever we've worked out," Ginny chuckled. "Which admittedly isn't much without you. He's not told us anything, as usual."

Considering they were all technically still Hogwarts students and Albus was still their headmaster, Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at Ginny's boldness.

"It's been a long week and I did not wish to repeat myself," Albus smirked. "But now you are both here and we," he looked at all of them in turn. "Are together, I think we should go back to the beginning. And I," he sighed. "Will reveal the plan that I had in place. It is not," he frowned. "I am not proud of it. I do not -" Tears were forming in his eyes and Hermione glanced at Minerva who couldn't take her eyes off him. Hermione had already worked out the worst part of the plan and she looked at Harry for a moment before sitting forward.

"That reality of that plan no longer matters, Albus," she said purposefully. "Only the plan we will make here. With all of the information. Together." He looked up at her and she could tell that he could tell that she knew and he looked away. "I don't blame you for thinking it a good plan," she said quietly. "But I will not allow it to happen any longer. Those protections have transferred to me and whatever ideas you had about that have surely been overcome by our bond. In that, I believe."

He took off his spectacles, as he often did when he did not want to see anything and she waited him out. He began quietly.

"Thanks to Harry's talk with Horace, we know that Tom made six intentional Horcruxes. We also, vaguely, know what they are. We have destroyed two; the diary and the Gaunt ring, so there are four remaining. The Hogwarts House artefacts, minus the Sword of Gryffindor and, as Harry suggested, the Snake that he protects above all else. I suggested erroneously, that he might have made a final one using his rejuvenated body, but that is folly. I was mistaken," he scoffed. "I now believe," he glanced up at Hermione and she nodded. "I now believe something happened that Tom did not expect, long before he came back as the malfeasance that he was in your first year. Right at the beginning, just before he disappeared. Something that he does not even realise."

She could feel the tension coming off everyone and it was making her skin crawl.

"Albus?" Minerva asked dangerously. "What are you talking about?"

"I believe Tom, accidentally, made a seventh."

There was dead silence as they waited for an explanation. All that could be heard was a slow drip from a pipe somewhere but Hermione simply watched Albus and waited for what was to come.

"Al -"

"I believe," he said quickly, squeezing Minerva's hand and standing. He paced behind his seat for a while before he looked at Harry. "I believe that when Lily died, when she sacrificed herself for you, Harry, and when Tom tried to kill you and couldn't, his soul - already tremulously held together with no less than six Horcrux already in play - fractured and created the seventh then."

Minerva stood so suddenly that her chair tipped over and she looked at Albus in horror. When Hermione went to pick up the chair and comfort her, Minerva turned and stared incredulously at Hermione as well. Hermione reached out and offered her hand but Minerva didn't take it. Ron and Ginny did not seem to understand, but Harry bowed his head.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered. She let Minerva process whatever she needed to and waited for him to look at her. "This does not change who you are, or what you have become, nor what you have achieved or the man you will be. This is an inconvenience and nothing more."

"I don't -" Ron started but Harry sighed and sat back tiredly.

"I am the seventh Horcrux."

It went silent again as everyone took in those words. It wasn't long before Harry looked up at Albus with tears in his eyes.

"Neither can survive -"

"Yes, my boy," Albus said sadly. "I believe so."

"I have to kill him."

"We have to kill him," Hermione insisted.

"But -"

Ginny seemed to have realised the problem and turned a funny shade of grey. Hermione reached over and took her hand, and she immediately looked better aside from the tears in her eyes.

"No," she whispered. "That's not -"

"We will figure this out," Hermione said defiantly as she met the eyes of everyone in the room. "There is none smarter than us. We each have our own skills and knowledge and together we are formidable. We will make this work for us."

"I don't understand."

Hermione glanced at Harry who shook his head and remained mute so Hermione turned to Ron and spoke what everyone else had already realised.

"Tom Riddle cannot be killed until all of his Horcruxes are destroyed."

"And," Ron blinked slowly. "Wait. But, you just said Harry is one," he frowned. "Has one inside him."

"Yes."

"Well how do we -"

"We don't know yet," Hermione insisted as Harry opened his mouth. "We don't know anything yet."

"How do you usually destroy a Horcrux?"

Again, more silence and this time Hermione looked up at Albus who leaned against the back of his chair looking tired.

"I know of two ways so far," he said analytically. "Basilisk venom," he waved his hand around the room. "Harry stabbed the diary with a basilisk fang and it was destroyed. Likewise," he sighed. "The Sword of Gryffindor," he smiled. "As it is made from Goblin steel, it takes on part of whatever it touches. As Harry pulled it from the Sorting Hat and then used it to kill the Basilisk, its venom is now imbued in the blade. I have tried this," Minerva made a noise that made Hermione's heart hurt but Albus did not pause. "It does work."

"Oh," Hermione blinked. "I -" They all looked at her and she laughed at her stupidity. "I am sorry," she blushed under Albus' gaze. "Min already knows but Filius is part of this," she waved her hand to indicate them all. "He came to me around the time that Minerva was struggling, just after he had spoken to you, Albus." Albus stared at her in shock. "And then, as we grew closer through our love of Min, he reminded me that he is part creature, as I am. A goblin, Al."

Albus' mouth dropped open and he scoffed and turned away.

"I am an idiot of monumental proportions."

"I honestly meant to tell you so many times," she said apologetically. "But he took my knife not long before Min and I became close again and by then we were busy and there was so much going on."

"What did he say?"

"These," she said, drawing her knife lovingly. "Are Elvish steel, not Goblin. He seemed to think that was better," she bit her lip and looked over at Minerva but she was not in any shape to help. Hermione went over to her and pulled her to her side. Her tight shoulders dropped just a little but Hermione could feel the screaming tension rolling off her. "He said something about Goblin Steel being their attempt to copy Elvish Steel. These -" She held up her knife. "Might be the only ones left in existence and they are better than Godric's sword. How much better, I do not know but perhaps after school finishes we can look into that?"

Albus huffed and they went silent.

"I feel like we will need to test that theory," he said quietly. "Though I do not know how to do so, other than to destroy a Horcrux, I suppose. When it is time I will do that."

"Agreed," Minerva mumbled.

"Minerva," Hermione rebuked. "Albus, you are not expendable. That is not only your part in this."

"Hermione, I will not be -"

"Please," Minerva interrupted and looked at them both as she sat back down. "Don't start."

"Right," Hermione said with finality. "So, Harry is a Horcrux. Unexpected, but not the end of the world. And not something to worry about at this time. We will figure that out closer to when we need to. What's next."

Harry flashed her a grateful smile and Dumbledore sat down heavily.

"Putting aside you wasting a lot of magic on bringing me back again -" Hermione smirked defiantly at him. "There are three things we must address. Severus, Draco and the Horcrux."

"Where is the Horcrux?"

"I am keeping it in a locked box over there on the shelf. We are the only ones that can cross the threshold of the entrance upstairs; I have made sure of that. I did not feel the necessity to keep it close. I know what it felt like when I destroyed the ring. I am not interested in doing so again." He hesitated and then continued. "It, it calls to you."

Hermione nodded uneasily.

"We will come to that later." He nodded. "So, cutting right to the chase? Draco was ordered to kill you. It was him that sent Katie with the necklace and it was him that poisoned the mead, correct?"

"Yes," Albus sighed. He looked over at Ron. "I am sorry, my boy. I did not envision he would stoop to such dangerous practices. I forget that desperation does not necessarily breed careful planning."

"'S fine, I guess," Ron shrugged. Hermione chuckled and shoved him playfully.

Minerva, she noticed, remained unhappy and she reached over to touch her hand softly. Her fingers were gripped tightly and Hermione got up and stood behind Minerva's chair, her hands on her shoulders and her thumb rubbing the tension in her neck.

"It's going to be alright," she whispered as she left a kiss on her crown. The touch helped calm her and it was Minerva that spoke next.

"Severus -"

"Is a Death Eater," Harry muttered. "Responsible for killing my parents. He can rot, for all I care."

A wave of despair from Minerva made Hermione pause.

"Severus is a spy for me," Albus corrected gently. "He has been since -" He sighed. "Not long before your parents were killed."

Hermione snorted as she leaned down to wrap her arms around Minerva's shoulders.

"Did you know?" she breathed against Minerva's ear.

A slight shake of the head gave her Minerva's answer and Hermione kissed her shoulder in apology. The silence continued as Hermione watched Harry's face. Snape had never been particularly kind to any of them but he was downright venomous to Harry at times and to find out that he was actually on their side was something else entirely.

"How do you know he's on your side though," Ginny asked quietly. "If he'll betray someone he swore an oath to," she glanced at Harry. "I mean, you've seen the Dark Mark, right?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded desperately as he looked up at Albus. "He has one."

Minerva's whole body was screaming discomfort and Hermione started massaging her shoulders as she tried to help her calm.

"Easy," she whispered. "I promise you, I will not let anything happen to him." Minerva scoffed and Hermione realised there was no way she could ever promise that. "You're right, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I promise I will not allow them to be cruel and I will do what I can to save him."

Minerva shuddered and Hermione tuned back in.

"He does have one," Albus nodded. "For reasons that are none of our business, Severus followed his friends into the service of Tom Riddle straight out of school. But we all know that decisions made in our youth are not necessarily always the correct ones. Severus saw the error of his ways when something he held dear was threatened."

"What?"

Albus hesitated and Hermione sighed.

"Lily Potter," she revealed. Minerva's whole body froze and Hermione squeezed her shoulders gently. "Snape loved her, we know that already," she glanced at Harry. "No matter how much you don't want to believe it. But, when Vo-" she paused. "For some reason, I know I should not say that name."

"Oh!" Ron blushed as everyone turned to him. "Fred and George are running an underground radio station. There's a code word you have to say that is given out in The Daily Prophet. They run ads for the shop and if you know where to look, you'll find the code."

"What?" Minerva said incredulously. "They could be killed!"

"It's ingenious actually," Ron grinned. "And I promise you, they have somewhere safe to go. They're rarely at the shop now; it's all mail-order while this goes on."

"I don't -"

"Hush love," Hermione whispered, kissing her temple. "We can go and tell them off later."

Minerva snorted and reached up to hold Hermione's hand on her shoulder.

"What about them, Ron?"

"Last night they were saying that they heard a rumour," he said haltingly. "That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has put a Taboo on his name. On that name."

"A -"

A long pause held in the air.

"There is a certain department located within the Ministry that has that power," Minerva answered the unasked question. "But that means -"

"He's already taken the Ministry."

Albus took off his glasses and sat back down again. He threw them on the table and rubbed his face.

"Doesn't this feel better than figuring it all out on your own," she said gently.

He looked up at her. He had rather small eyes for one so wise.

"I bow, as ever," he snarked. "To your knowledge, Hermione Granger."

It was her turn to snort now and she kissed Minerva's hair again and walked around the room for a while. She had never been a particularly active person but she felt the need to move.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that was a genius move on his part. Only those that would oppose him would say that word out loud. And it's only as luck would have it that we call him by his actual name." She looked at Ron. "You need to tell the Twins, somehow. To be safe, use his given name or not at all. Whatever help you need, I'll give it but we need as many people as possible to know and to be ready for it."

He nodded.

"Back to Severus," Albus sighed.

"And Draco," Harry mumbled.

"Did Draco take the mark?" Hermione asked curiously.

"He was made to," Albus nodded. "When Lucius was imprisoned in Azkaban last year for his part in the failed Ministry takeover, Draco was informed he must take his father's place. He was given the task of killing me as punishment for Lucius' mistakes."

"Essentially," Minerva sighed. "A cruel way to sentence him to death."

"What happens if they refuse to comply with the orders of the mark?"

"I do not know," Albus muttered.

"Snape does," Harry said, looking up. "When Karkaroff showed him during the Triwizard Tournament, Snape told him not to do anything stupid. I bet he knows what happens if you don't follow orders."

"Yeah, I bet we all know what happens," Ginny scoffed.

"This isn't helping," Minerva also stood and leaned on the back of the chair. "Albus, this is Severus we're talking about. And Draco is nought but a child. I -" she sighed and looked around at them. "That was ill-spoken of me. I mean -"

"Min," Hermione said gently. "If they continue to serve him, then we will allow them that choice and they will suffer the consequences of both failing to do as their master bade them and being a prisoner of war. If he does not," she said expectantly. "Then we must come up with some way of protecting him and perhaps even Draco's family."

"I do not believe Lucius to be an evil man," Minerva scoffed. "He is a slimy bastard, that is for sure but I cannot say that he was ever truly evil - save for making money off evil doings," she rubbed her arms like she couldn't get warm. "But, as we know, Azkaban changes a person."

"Have -"

"No," Minerva sighed. "But we all know people who have. Sirius, and Hagrid, were not the same when they returned."

"We have already begun shoring up the alliances in the event this turns into an all-out war, but we need to move faster. Now that we know the Ministry is in enemy hands - whether the actual Ministry knows it or not - we should be prepared for that and perhaps withdraw our people now."

"We'll lose the information?"

"I am not certain we can trust that information anyway. Their second attempt was clearly more subtle -"

"Anything would have been more subtle than the first time they tried," Hermione scoffed as she remembered the absolute catastrophe from the year before. "No wonder Lucius is in prison."

"Quite," Albus mused. "But in it being so, we cannot begin to know how deep it goes. We have no way of knowing how far the cancer has spread." He paused. "And," he continued. "I cannot guarantee that the prisoners in Azkaban will remain there much longer."

Minerva made a noise of frustration and Hermione opened her arms for her. They all lapsed into silence for a long time before Harry finally spoke.

"If we can't trust the information, how are we going to trust any of those in the Ministry now anyway?"

"We can't," Hermione admitted. "Not until we speak with them all. Would they remember answers to identity questions?" This was directed at Albus, who looked exhausted.

"No," Albus nodded. "Which is why we ask them. But that would mean talking to everyone individually."

"We will get Sirius to do it" Hermione waved it off, sliding her free hand up into Minerva's hair as she pressed her face into Hermione's neck. "He will obviously not have been to the Ministry. So, we will tell him to clear Remus and Tonks and get them to start on the rest of the Order." Minerva made a rather amused noise while she was tucked up in Hermione's arms and Hermione tickled her side to let her know she'd heard her. "In the meantime though, let's take a break and eat something. I'm famished."

Minerva patted her stomach gently and they rejoined the group at the table. Hermione smiled as a veritable feast appeared on the table.

"They are now well aware of how hungry you get, darling," Minerva joked, breaking most of the tension in the room and letting them all relax for a while.

Harry started to speak, but Hermione took his hand to stop him. The anger was making her stomach turn.

"Put all that other stuff away, just for now," Hermione said with a smile. "Let's enjoy each other's company for a while and after, I will go and speak with Snape and Draco and we'll reconvene later. Alright?"

"Fine," Harry frowned.

"Let's eat," Ron grinned, already with a mouthful of food.

Most of them chuckled at his antics but Hermione didn't miss the look Harry gave him, nor the sadness rolling off him. It was dark and it was deep and she knew before long they'd have to deal with that before anything else happened.

Harry wasn't particularly sneaky, but she had made a promise to Minerva and she intended to keep it.