Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it.

*Chapter Seven*

Sirius stood at the window, gazing out onto the peaceful street as the morning light cast a warm glow on Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Suddenly, a small flash of feathers caught his eye and the form of a snowy owl soared gracefully towards the window, its wings beating softly against the crisp morning air.

Sirius beamed and took a few steps back. With a quiet rustle of feathers, Hedwig glided through the window frame and landed gracefully on a nearby table where the remains of Sirius's breakfast still sat.

"Good morning Hedwig. Are you hungry, old girl?" Sirius greeted her and carefully took the letter she held in her beak and offered her a piece of his toast in exchange—a gift she graciously accepted.

He looked down at the letter and found himself smiling again—it was Harry's handwriting. Receiving letters from Harry was one of the few thing keeping him sane in the confines of his childhood home, so he tore the letter open swiftly.

Padfoot,

Things are just getting worse here at Hogwarts…and I'm worried.

Umbridge tried to sack Hagrid, but he ran off. No one knows where he is, but with any luck he's made his way to where you are and is safe. If you see him, please let him know we all miss him.

McGonagall tried to defend him and ended up getting stunned…they had to take her to St. Mungos. First Dumbledore leaves, then Hagrid, and now McGonagall…

My nightmares are getting worse; it's probably nothing, but I just can't seem to shake the feeling that something very bad is going to happen soon.

Anyway, we are almost through with our O.W.L.'s. I think I've done okay, thanks to Hermione making me study all the time.

I hope you're doing okay there. I know you get bored.

Please write back as soon as you can.

Harry

When Sirius finished the letter, he started back at the top and went through it once more. Hagrid had run off, and McGonagall had been sent to the hospital. Meanwhile, Sirius hadn't heard from anyone in the Order in days. The last person he had spoken to was Remus, who didn't have any new information for him; he had only dropped by to keep Sirius company.

The list of people at Hogwarts who could protect Harry was growing shorter; no one from the Order remained...except for Snape, which did not comfort him in the least.

Snape hated James—and by association, Harry was met with just as much disdain as his father had been. Of course, Sirius had been given the speech from Dumbledore on more than one occasion; Dumbledore trusted him, so Sirius should too.

Codswallop.

He trusted Snape about as far as he could throw him. Ultimately, this meant that Harry was now alone, apart from his friends. The Ministry had sunk its roots far too deeply into Hogwarts, and if he didn't know any better, he would say that someone was intentionally orchestrating things to alienate Harry from those best suited to protect him.

He started toward the bureau to grab some parchment for his reply to Harry, but stopped in his tracks. Instead, he turned his attention to the window. From where he stood, all he could see was the great expanse of clear blue sky that seemed to be beckoning him.

Hedwig had finished her toast and was now looking at him expectantly, almost as if she was waiting for him to make up his mind.

"No letter, dearie. Not this time. I think I'm in need of some fresh air." He told her. She gave him a hoot in reply and then took off back through the window.

Sirius made his way down the stairs and stopped just for a moment to grab his cloak. He had just slipped his arm through it when he heard the front door creak open.

Damn! He thought. He hadn't seen or heard from anyone in days, and the moment he decided to sneak out and visit Harry was when someone decided to pop in for a visit.

"Remus?" He called out, hoping to see his friend alone and not in the company of Tonks—Remus could possibly be convinced to come along for the trip; he didn't like breaking the rules, but it usually didn't take much persuasion from Sirius to get him on board with anything. Tonks, on the other hand, was a bit more rational; she would probably just offer to drop in on Harry herself.

"Afraid not." came the reply from the doorway, and Sirius watched as the black-clad figure of Severus Snape entered the room. "Going somewhere?"

Snape cocked an eyebrow and glanced at the cloak that was half-slung around Sirius's back. He quickly shrugged the rest of it on.

"Nah, just chilly in here, don't you think?"

"I think that Dumbledore instructed you to stay put." Snape responded.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You may not have noticed, but Dumbledore isn't actually here, now is he? Kindly get to the point of why you are, Snivellus." He said, throwing in his favorite childhood insult just to get under Snape's skin.

Apart from pursing his lips, Snape did not react. Instead, he took a few more steps farther down the entry corridor, until he was only a few feet away from Sirius.

"I am merely checking in. I expressed to the order my concerns regarding your reckless nature some time ago. Wouldn't want you flouncing about and giving away the location of our headquarters…or get yourself killed."

Scoffing, Sirius said, "I'm not a child!" As his anger grew, his cheeks flushed with heat.

"Perhaps not. Then I do not need to remind you that you are the most recognized criminal in both the magical and muggle world. If you were seen, or captured…who is left to save you? No one has heard from Dumbledore in months. Lupin? I highly doubt a known werewolf could vouch to the ministry of your innocence."

"If you've come looking for a fight," Sirius began, rolling up the cuffs of his cloak and taking a determined step forward to bridge the gap between them, but he was cut short.

In an instant, he was frozen, and it was only then that his eyes caught sight of the wand that Snape was holding, low to his hip and discreet, but pointed in his direction. Gravity caught up to him, and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Snape stepped closer and stood above him. He couldn't close his eyes, so he was forced to stare at his face - pale and expressionless. He was helpless, and could do nothing as Snape reached down and searched through his pockets until he found the one where he kept his wand.

"I'm...Well…it's for your own good."

Hermione walked the shadowy corridors of Hogwarts, wand in one hand, Marauder's Map in the other. Her eyes scanned the path from the seventh floor to the entrance hall. It was late, and the castle was eerily quiet, but she knew she had to be vigilant. Professor Snape's instructions from that morning still lingered in her mind: 'Keep the path clear.'

As a Prefect, she was entrusted with this patrol duty every so often, and in a stroke of luck, McGonagall had assigned it to her a few nights prior, so she didn't have to worry about Filch catching her—but still, she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. Snape still hadn't told her what it was he would be doing, only to make sure everyone stayed clear of the Room of Requirement and the path to it from Hogwarts' main doors.

Her curiosity piqued, she quickened her pace, her heart beating slightly faster with every creak of the ancient wooden floorboards. The flickering torches cast eerie shadows on the walls, making her feel like she was being watched. She checked the map again, ensuring she wasn't being followed. The coast was clear, but her mind raced. Snape had been very clear on another important piece of her assignment, and that was as soon as she saw him enter the castle, she would need to steer clear of him.

It was obvious he didn't trust her enough to tell her what he was up to, and she couldn't fault him for that; she was only a student after all. Her tantrum during her last detention was unwarranted—she had gotten her own hopes up to be more involved, yet she hadn't done anything to earn the professors' trust. Not yet, anyway.

With a deep breath, she continued her patrol. It had been a quiet night; the last of the students had gone to their dormitories at ten o'clock sharp, while the teachers had all gone to bed shortly thereafter. According to the map, Filch was a safe distance away near Hagrid's hut, and with any luck, he would remain on that side of the castle for some time.

She had just finished her third round—walking from the seventh floor back down to the entry hall and was making her way back up the staircase on the second floor—when she looked down at the map again. Coming down from the steps above was the Gryffindor ghost: Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, more commonly referred to as "Nearly-Headless" Nick.

The castle ghosts were one of her main concerns. They didn't typically have a designated place to be and tended to wander the castle at their own leisure, so rerouting them could prove to be difficult.

When they met up on the staircase, he gave her a friendly wave. "Good evening, Hermione!" he said cheerfully.

"Good evening, Sir Nicholas."

He made a move to walk, or float, around her, but she stepped to the side to block his path. The result did not have the effect she had intended; instead of blocking him, he went straight through her, causing her to shiver from the chill.

She called out, "Wait!" as he continued down the steps. His broad smile remained on his face.

"Oh, er…did you need something?" he asked.

Her eyes shifted briefly as she searched her mind for something to say. "Actually, Sir, I was hoping I would run into you!"

"Oh! Whatever for?"

I…er, I actually was just speaking to Sir Patrick—well, you know of course that he is the head of the Headless Hunt. And well, he may have mentioned that he was willing to reconsider your application.

As soon as Sir Nick's face lit up, Hermione's heart sank. It was an awful lie, and one she would regret, but she hoped that she would be able to make it up to him, someday.

"Did he, now? I always knew he would come around. Where did you last see him?"

"Near the hospital wing, about twenty minutes ago, I'm certain if you hurry you can still catch him there."

"I'll be off then! Have a good evening, Hermione... and thanks!"

He floated away in the direction of the hospital wing, bypassing the staircases entirely and phased straight through the wall across from them. Hermione sighed in relief and took another look at the map.

A set of footprints had just entered the castle, and they were walking quickly in her direction. Snape had finally arrived. She scanned the rest of the map; just to be sure no one else was between him and the seventh floor. It was all clear, so now all she had to do was get out of the way, and keep her distance from him until he had returned to his chambers in the dungeons.

Only…she couldn't do that. Part of her wanted to follow his instructions, to find some quiet area nearby and keep her head down.

The other part of her, however, was desperate to know what he was up to. So she raced her way up the staircase and down the corridor leading to the Ravenclaw common rooms, down another set of staircases, through the courtyard and across the bridge that led to the astronomy wing, and finally up the staircases that brought her back to the seventh-floor corridor and the doorway to the Room of Requirement.

There weren't many places to hide, so she settled herself behind a nearby pillar and leaned her back against it, trying to catch her breath. Once she had done so, she opened the map once more.

The path ahead remained clear, to her immense relief. Snape was not far behind her, which meant he had been in as much of a hurry as she had been to get there. She tapped the map with her wand and murmured, "Mischief managed." And tucked it back into her robes.

A few minutes later, she heard footsteps approaching, and she risked a glance around the pillar to see that Snape had made it to the seventh floor and was pacing back and forth across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

There was something beside him; it floated in midair, and from where she was, it appeared to be Snape's cloak, draped over something.

Not something. Someone.

She clasped her hand over her mouth to stifle the gasp she let out, and quickly set her back against the stone pillar once more, out of sight. There was a body under the cloak, she was certain of it. For whatever reason, he needed to hide a body in the Room of Requirement.

Her mind reeled at the thought. Had he been planning to kill someone this whole time, and hide the body in the Room of Requirement? Was it someone she knew?

Was it Dumbledore?

She shook away the last thought as soon as it had entered her mind. Snape was not her favorite person in the world, nor even her favorite professor—but she did not believe he was a traitor.

Deep down she knew that he was on her side, Harry's side—the side of good. She felt guilty that she had even considered that he could have done something so terrible, and yet, who was under that cloak?

The map had only shown Snape's footprints; she wasn't sure if cadavers would even show up on the map. Ghosts did, but that didn't mean very much—if someone died and became a ghost immediately, the map couldn't very well show them twice, could it?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room of requirement slammed shut. She peeked around the pillar again and Snape, and the mysterious body, had disappeared inside.

She sank to the floor and took a few deep, sobering breaths; refusing to let herself get worked up or continue letting her mind jump to conclusions. She couldn't ask Snape directly; he would lie—or tell her it was none of her concern.

She wanted to talk to Harry or Ron about it—but she had sworn to Snape that she would not tell a soul what they were doing. It didn't feel right to break that promise, so she wouldn't tell her friends. In a way, though, that felt like a betrayal as well—Harry, Ron, and Hermione always told each other everything; it was how they had survived thus far.

Since their first year at Hogwarts, they had been helping keep an eye out for one another. She had to remind herself that she was also doing this for them, and for the Order—despite Snape not being their favorite member by a long shot; she had to presume that this would help in the war against Voldemort.

A few minutes had passed when she heard the door open again, followed by the sound of footsteps as Snape walked back down the corridor. She managed to poke her head out just in time to see him turn the corner, this time without the company of his floating cloak—and whoever lay beneath it.

Hermione pulled out the map and began tracking the potions professor's path to the dungeons as he had instructed; however, she noticed the footsteps of the acting headmistress, Dolores Umbridge, had appeared at the end of the very same corridor that Snape was walking down.

In a panic, Hermione leapt to her feet. Umbridge had been nowhere near for hours, and she definitely hadn't been this close when Hermione looked at the map a few minutes prior. Realization struck her that Umbridge must have removed the apparition ward in Hogwarts for herself now that she was appointed headmistress, so she was able to appear anywhere.

If she ran around the corner now, she would run into both of them; it was too late to try to warn Snape, so she crept closer to the corner and listened carefully.

"Severus! Where have you been? You weren't in the dungeons, what are you doing up here?" she heard the voice of Umbridge speak, and Hermione noticed she sounded somewhat unhinged.

"I wasn't aware that I needed to provide you notice before doing my nightly patrols, headmistress," Snape responded coolly.

"It doesn't matter. I need you, right away. It's that Potter, again. He's snuck into my office. Tried to use floo network! I suspect he's trying to contact Dumbledore…"

"The ministry has had aurors looking for Dumbledore for months, headmistress, and you think a mere child has been able to locate him?"

"He's up to something. They both are! Dumbledore is planning something and using that…that… horrible boy to do his dirty work. I need veritaserum. Come to my office with as much as you have remaining, immediately."

Hermione could just make out the faint popping sound that indicated Umbridge had apparated away. Without hesitation, she came out from behind the corner and rushed to Snape's side. "Professor!" She shouted, and he whipped around to face her.

"Merlin's beard, have I not had enough excitement for one day?" he asked, rolling his eyes at the sight of her. "Did I not tell you to stay far away from me this evening, Granger?"

"I'm sorry professor, I meant to…I—We have to get to Harry. Who knows what Umbridge will do to him we have to go right away."

"You will return to your common room," said Snape sternly. "I will tend to Mr. Potter."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Snape raised a hand to silence her. "I don't like repeating myself," he said. "To your common room, Miss Granger."

He strode off, leaving Hermione standing in the middle of the corridor, her mouth agape and furious. If he thought that she was just going to abandon Harry, then he clearly hadn't been paying attention these past years.

Using the map, she followed him swiftly and quietly until they had made their way to Umbridge's office. From a safe distance, she kept out of sight as she watched Snape open the door. From where she stood, she could see that it wasn't just Harry who was in trouble; beside him sat Ron, both of them facing the tip of Umbridge's wand, which alternated between the two of them, reminding Hermione of the old mafia movies her father used to watch where the mobsters would intimidate hostages at gunpoint.

"Well? Where is it?" Umbridge said, directing her attention now to Snape who stood in the doorway.

"Unfortunately, my stocks of veritaserum have been depleted."

"Depleted!?" Umbridge shrieked, "by whom?"

"By yourself, headmistress." Came Snape's reply.

Hermione let out a breathless sigh of relief, but was taken aback when she heard Harry speak. "He has Padfoot…he has him, and he took him to the place where it's hidden!"

Padfoot…in the place where it's hidden? Hermione tried to make sense of what Harry was saying. Padfoot was the nickname Sirius had gone by when he was at Hogwarts; was Harry trying to say Sirius had been captured?

"What is he talking about, Severus?" asked Umbridge.

"Haven't a clue." Snape replied, but Hermione knew that was a lie; he knew perfectly well who Padfoot was, and she was pleased that Umbridge did not press him further. The headmistress then dismissed Snape, and Hermione had to quickly squeeze herself behind a nearby statue while he passed by, giving her only a few seconds to come up with some sort of plan.

"If I can't use Veritaserum …" she heard Umbridge begin. "Then I'm forced to use more drastic measures. You will tell me what you and Dumbledore have planned, even if I have to use the Cruciatus Curse on you to make you talk."

Hermione dislodged herself from behind the statue and ran through the door to Umbridge's office; not a moment too soon—the headmistress had just raised her wand and had it pointed directly at Harry.

"Stop!" Hermione shouted. Umbridge lowered her wand and her head snapped in Hermione's direction; her eyes were wide in surprise, and her usual toad-like mouth was set in a thin, hard line that took up too much of her scrunched face. When she recognized who had just burst in, her eyes narrowed.

"Well, well, well, I should have known you were involved as well. Let me guess, you were on guard duty?" Umbridge sneered, and directed her wand at Hermione.

"No…I've come to confess. Everything you've said about Harry and Dumbledore is true…he has been hiding something. A weapon. And…I've come to tell you what it is."