Hermione regarded the house at Spinner's End with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. Curiosity because her husband very rarely and very reluctantly spoke about the years of his youth, which brought him nothing but despair. Annoyance because this new Severus was nothing like the one she knew and still loved. He was angular and ungainly, he constantly stumbled and dropped jars and flasks, confused the inscriptions on the vials, and, on the whole, looked somehow wrong.

Proceeding into a room that vaguely resembled a living room, Hermione stood by the smoldering fireplace and sneezed loudly. Well, how did Severus Snape grow up out of this ... ahem ... Severus Snape - the Thunderstorm of all things? Hermione felt like banging her head against the mantelpiece. The owner of the house himself, not paying due attention to the guests and even to Regulus, groaned and rushed to the kitchen, from which smoke poured cheerfully. Sniffing, Hermione recognized Polyjuice Potion. Following the potion, a harsh scolding in the best traditions of working-class districts rushed into the living room. Shaking her head, the witch went towards the sound.

Chaos and darkness reigned in the kitchen. Of course, the contents of the cauldron were burnt and now seethed in all directions, splashing everything around out of the tin cauldron. Interestingly, no one told him that tin, in fact, reacted badly with a gas stove, and one needed to either use a magical flame or take a more reliable cauldron. Here, on a small table, there were mixed ingredients. The hero of the occasion himself stood in the middle of the room and scolded what was happening from the bottom of his heart.

"Master Wilson is going to kill me… I had a Hematopoietic Potion around here somewhere… And where did the reference book go? Damn cauldron! And it would all go to the nargles now!"

Hermione snorted, simply flung open the window, turned off the fire under the pot, and tossed the hopeless object into the street. With a wind spell, she dispelled the smoke, summoned several vials of the same potion, and finally solemnly handed Snape the reference book he was looking for. He was staring at what was happening the whole time.

"You're smart…" he mumbled.

"Why are you in such a mess here? Didn't Master Wilson teach you how to keep your workspace in order?" Hermione snapped at Snape sternly, as if he were a careless first-year student. If her Severus saw all this now, the head of this young disaster would be torn off for "outrageous disregard for the Master's code!" And how did he even manage to become this very Master with such an attitude to business? And this vocabulary of his?

"I do not have time for anything! Ma' is in the hospital, and my order just burned down! How will I pay for her treatment? Pa' died in some ditch and I urgently need to do something with the house, until those to whom he owed card debts came here. Or at least hang around here some protective spells! Then there's you... And Reg needs to be saved. He stepped into some kind of dog shit, I felt this thing in his hand, it was very dark. Lily, again... And who are you anyway?!" Snape finally broke off the flow of self-flagellation and pounced on the intruder. Hermione habitually put on the role of head girl and put her hands on her hips.

"I'm the junior Avoror, and if you don't want Alastor Moody himself to burst into your house in a second... Yeah, I see that you've turned pale, so you don't want to, then go save Reg, and I'll manage everything here."

"And what's next?" Snape asked dully at the door.

"And then, I'm afraid, Sirius Black will still come here."

"Bullshit!"

"Agreed. Go now before Black Jr. hasn't completely kicked the bucket!"

Snape deftly disappeared through the door, and Hermione stood in the middle of the kitchen and sighed in annoyance. Something had to be done, and very quickly! Snape and Lily were talking quietly in the room. As Hermione guessed, the eternal head girl in Lily with exactly the same congenital "savior syndrome" did not wait for a special order, and was already busy with the quietly moaning Regulus and his wounds.

"I don't understand anything! With such blood loss, he should have died two days ago, and judging by the readings of the runes, his magic is at the limit, but for some reason, he is alive and holding up perfectly!" Lily exclaimed Regulus, moving her wand over the body.

"Do you want to say something?" Snape snapped.

"I do, we really need you to deal with this thing that Regulus brought with him. Maya said that the darkness reeks for miles from it!"

"I understood this even without you, I'm not talking about that!"

"Then about what? I'll fix Reg now and call Sirius."

"Lily, are you fucking kidding me?" Snape couldn't help it. "I haven't heard anything about you for two years, then you tell me in broad daylight that you found a dangerous artifact in Knockturn and you need my help immediately!"

"And what is wrong?" Lily didn't understand his tirade and straightened up. "We need your help, are you good at the Dark Arts, or do you want the whole Auror Department to show up here for a showdown? I can call Dumbledore."

Snape wiped his hands on a cloth and flopped into a chair.

"No, it's just impossible! First, you cut off all ties with me because I got involved with the Dark Arts, and now you fall on my head two years later for the same reasons."

"Severus, stop the tantrum! I need your help!"

"You never knew how to ask! You always just demanded! Write down your notes, help with Potions, get Potter off you..."

"Sev, shut up and do your thing, please!" Lily waved her hand and leaned over Regulus again.

Hermione only whistled: everything was very interesting and far from what she had always imagined.

"Did you think I would blush and fall into her arms?" Severus's portrait called from the bag.

"To be honest, yes! I didn't expect to meet Lily here first!"

"Don't worry, we'll talk tonight. Go ahead, take care of Regulus."

"And what about your burnt order?" Hermione muttered, "I think I'm going to have that sleepless night tonight. Artifact, Reg, Black, damn it, Lily...yes, and your appearance really stunned me!"

Before Hermione could comment on what was happening, Snape burst into the kitchen, pale and with trembling hands.

"What… What kind of thing did you bring here!?"

Hermione slowly turned around and glared at the boy.

"What do you know about Horcruxes?"

Snape fell down by the chair and went even paler.

"That can't be… Reg created a Horcrux for himself?"

"Not Reg. And I'm afraid you won't like the revelation. Did you open the locket?"

Waiting for an affirmative nod, Hermione calmly continued, "Whatever the medallion tells you, divide by two. That is, there is some truth in his words. And don't tell me that you haven't understood until now who exactly created a ticket to immortality. Are you disguising the Mark or have you not received it yet?"

Snape conjured himself a glass of water and gulped down, choked, cleared his throat, and dropped his head on the table.

"We're screwed. Call Dumbledore..."

"In no case!

"But… Whom then? Who else can handle this creature?"

"Are you talking about the Horcrux or Voldemort?"

Snape grimaced. Hermione smiled.

"Let's wait for Sirius, and I'll tell you everything."

"Why is this one needs to be here?!"

"This one is, as you like to put it, a pureblood, and among us, forgive me, there are no more capable candidates to meet the Hellfire."

Snape hit his head on the table again. Hermione calmly turned on the kettle and sat down beside him.

Whatever one may say, but she made this mess, and she should clear it up.