"Dementors?" I shouted as soon as I saw Severus' head pop up from the trap door in The Shack. I had been pacing back and forth waiting for him, anger building in me with every step. "DEMENTORS, SEVERUS?" I shouted again as he lifted himself all the way into the room. "And Death Eaters?" If I had anything to throw at him, I would have, but all I could do was ball my hands into tight fists.

Severus' eyes went wide. "I don't know why you're shouting at me."

"Susan's kids were forced to go back to Hogwarts when it was found out that they weren't actually sick, or luckily it was referred to as no longer sick. They've already gotten a letter home and you sealed off the passageways with curses and have Dementors and Death Eaters on the exits! Are you insane? You told me you wanted to keep the Death Eaters out as much as the children in and NOW," I had to pause to negotiate with my anger. "Now, you have Death Eaters stationed at the school?" His eyes were wide and his mouth was gaping with surprise. His jaw moved up and down as he searched for words. "Also," I couldn't stop myself from continuing. "I think it's a bit funny that the week I told you that Thomas, Sam, and Laura were Susan's is the same week that a committee made an impromptu wellness check and found them in condition to return to school."

"If you are implying that I sent them to collect Susan's children–" Severus started.

"It's a bit convenient isn't it?" I scoffed.

The surprise on his face quickly morphed into pain and disappointment. "Do you actually think I would do that?" he asked quietly.

The look on his face broke my anger and replaced it with shame. My heart tumbled into my stomach. I knew he wouldn't do anything like that. He wanted as many students as possible to skip going to Hogwarts this year, until his hand was forced into making attendance mandatory. He knew Hogwarts was dangerous, he also knew that I loved those three and wouldn't do anything to upset me. Not something this unnecessary. "No." I whispered. "I'm sorry, it's just…oh, Severus, I'm so sorry. There is something wrong with me. Of course you wouldn't do that, but Dementors and Death Eaters?"

"I thought I made it very clear that my power is limited." Severus growled. "I was able to get the passages sealed but every detail is not up to my discretion. What am I supposed to do, Ruby? 'No need for Death Eaters and Dementors to be involved in this. I care about the safety of the students and Death Eaters and Dementors are why I want these passages closed in the first place. Also, I don't think my muggle-born girlfriend will appreciate it if those two things are allowed anywhere near the school.' I don't think any of that would go over too well."

"Can't you pick your fights?" I asked, forcing myself not to linger on the fact that he referred to me as his girlfriend. "Can't this be one of them?"

He shook his head. "Everything is in a very delicate balance. Me being in the position I'm in…I have to be very careful that no one pays too close of attention to me. The students are ultimately safe, that's my top priority."

"They said students are being made to practise the Cruciatus curse on other students and if they refuse they are being punished!" my voice was full of venom. "You call that 'ultimately safe'?"

"You're never going to be completely happy with anything I'm able to do, so stop trying," he spat, "But yes, I do consider that ultimately safe since students aren't being murdered or seriously wounded. Would I prefer an alternative where the Carrows weren't here, Dumbledore was still Headmaster, and students weren't being systematically tortured? Of course I would, but I'm working with what I have. I'm sorry if that's not good enough for you, but I'm doing my best." he rubbed his forehead with one of his hands. "Look, if you're worried about Susan's kids, if any of them get in trouble, I'll assign their punishment personally. They'll…help Hagrid with some of his creatures or something like that. I won't let them near being the subject of the Cruciatus Curse, alright?"

I considered his offer and slowly nodded my head.

"Send them a letter ordering them to be on their best behaviour, there have been a few trouble makers lately." A smile crossed his face. "Neville Longbottom has taken up quite the unexpected role of vigilante. He and two others have been working together. I haven't quite figured out how they're communicating, but it must be quite ingenious."

"You're not doing anything to stop them?" I asked.

He smiled and shook his head. "No."

"What if the Carrows find out?" I wondered.

"The Carrows are idiots." Severus said. "They know what side Neville is on and are looking for any reason to punish him for his views, but they're too stupid to realise it's him, Weasley, and Lovegood leaving the messages on the school at night."

"Weasley?" I asked, recognising the name. "Bill?"

"His sister, Ginny." he said. "She's quite close with Potter. I don't think he is communicating with anyone though."

"Where has Harry gone?" I asked.

Severus watched me for a moment before answering. "Special assignment from Dumbledore. Top Secret. I believe he is making progress, or rather, they are making progress, he has his friends, Granger and Weasley."

"Weasley?" I asked again.

"Bill's youngest brother." Severus answered.

"How many children are in that family?" I asked.

"Far too many for the trouble they all cause." he said, rolling his eyes. "Unfortunately, they are all good people."

I laughed and was met with a smile.

"Oh," Severus said, reaching for his pocket. "This is for you."

He pulled out a rolled piece of parchment and handed it to me. I unfurled the paper to find an official looking family tree. My name with my brothers' was on the bottom, I looked up and found the names of my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. All names were marked with a blood status. My grandfather was half-blood. In the top right corner was an official stamp from the Ministry of Magic. I looked back up at Severus. "Thank you." I dropped the parchment on the sofa so that it wouldn't be crushed when I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

"I had to lie to get that." he whispered against my mouth. I felt his lips curve into a smile under mine. "I told Lucius Malfoy it was something for the Dark Lord. He put the Ministry Seal on a blank sheet of parchment."

"So sneaky." I smiled. The feeling of our lips moving over each other as we spoke was pleasant. I felt his arms tighten around me as he deepened the kiss. "Bet you told him it was important, too."

A deep chuckle vibrated out of his mouth. "The utmost importance."

"You're a deviant." I whispered.

He pulled away from the kissing conversation, his eyes held me in their warm gaze. His face was serious, but his eyes maintained a happy glow. "This time when we're together," he began, taking my hands in his. "Are the only pockets of happiness I have in my life right now. I look forward to them all week, no matter what disappointments, complications, or hell comes my way, I know that soon I'll be with you and it's all worth it. I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't barged back into my life, Ruby Winston." He let go of one of my hands and gently caressed my cheek with his fingertips. I leaned into his touch and kissed his fingers when they slid over my lips. "I love you, more than you could ever understand. I would move heaven and earth to make sure that you are safe from any harm."

My heart pounded in my ears. I could feel my body shaking. I'd read these kinds of confessions in books or seen them play out in movies, but never in my life did I think a man would stand in front of me and say words dripping with such love and passion. I could feel his hand shaking in mine and realised how nervous he was sharing these thoughts with me. How could he possibly think I would reject any of these sentiments. I wrapped my arms tightly around his torso and laid my head on his chest. I felt his body relax and his heartbeat slowed. "I would sacrifice everything to save you." I whispered.

"No, don't do that," he said.

"Don't tell me my business." I snarked.

I felt a laugh shake out of him before he kissed the top of my head.

The next morning I caught a train to Surrey to visit my parents. I hadn't told them about the trial but I wanted to spend time with them the weekend before just in case everything went horribly wrong and I was thrown in prison. The family tree from Severus made me feel better about my chances to plead my case successfully. The irrational side of me that makes outrageous, terrifying scenarios keeps replaying a scene in which Lucius Malfoy recognises the stamp and its placement and calls out the document for being a fraud. Severus is apprehended and executed, as am I. The plot to stop Voldemort fails and the world is thrust into war and darkness.

The train came to a stop at the Surrey station and I can see my parents waiting on the platform. I shook my head free of the dark images and grabbed my bag before heading out to greet them. My mum gave me a hug and my father took my bag.

"It's been so long since we've seen you!" my mother said with a kiss on my cheek. "How is Charlie? Still charming no doubt."

"Oh," I forgot I hadn't told them. "We broke up."

"Oh no," she said, genuinely disappointed. "What happened?"

I found out that my old professor whom I -sort of- dated while I was in school that you know absolutely nothing about remembered who I was even though I thought I erased his mind ages ago. I'm still completely in love with him even though he killed our old Headmaster, don't worry, it was all part of this massive plan that involves him being a secret spy so that he can take down the Death Eaters from the inside. I was so caught up spending time with him and being enraptured by him that I thought Charlie and I were avoiding each other even though Charlie was very good at communicating that he was just busy. I re-fell too much in love with Severus Snape to even consider Charlie as a viable option anymore. I shrugged my shoulders. "We sort of grew apart, I guess."

My dad put my bag in their old, beat up car and held the door open for me to get in. My mum continued talking about all the gossip of her friend group. I tuned most of it out. Women in their late 50's didn't hold the same level of entertainment for me as they clearly did for her.

"Oh," my mother cut herself off mid story. "There's a surprise for you at the house."

"If it's another box of things that you kept from when I was little and are now gifting to me because you don't want it anymore, I'm going to be very upset." I said.

"No," my mum said defensively. "Though, there is that box of artwork from your schooling before Hogwarts in the cellar. You should look through it and take what you want."

"I won't be doing any of that." I said flatly.

We arrived at the old farm house and after convincing my dad that I could carry my own bag I entered through the front door. I put my stuff down next to the door to bring up to my old room later.

"It's about time!" a voice yelled to the side.

I screamed and turned around. "Sean!" I yelled in surprise when I found my brother laughing behind me. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in…not here!" I pulled him into a hug.

"I traded in my curse breaking for a boring desk job." he said, pulling out of the hug. "It was getting too dangerous. Most of the time you need a shady person to get past a certain point and now shady people are declaring fealty to a certain monstrosity and if you aren't on the same side…well, things get dicey really quickly."

"Are you looking for a place in London then?" I asked.

"Why?" Sean asked. "I get to live here rent free and mum and dad buy all the food."

"It's a bit of a commute everyday from Surrey to London, isn't it?" I laughed.

"Ruby…" Sean began, "I swear you forget you can do magic. I'll apparate to work. Only you would take a train from London to here when you could have zapped yourself into the kitchen in a second."

"I happen to enjoy the train." I argued.

Sean rolled his eyes. "You would prefer a train over magic. I don't know where we went wrong with you."

"I apparate and use portkeys all week." I said. "Every once in a while I like using transportation that doesn't make me feel like I'm being forced through a tube or hooked behind the belly button."

Sean shook his head at me. "You don't appreciate your magic. Give it to Louis, he'd make better use of it."

I laughed. "I don't doubt it."

Mum and dad finally made it into the house. "Surprise!" my mother sang. "Sean is back." Sean and I both pretended to be surprised to see one another.

We spent the afternoon as a family. Mum had dad bring up boxes of my old things so that I could look through them and see what I want.

"I don't know how much room you think I have in my flat but I'm not taking any of this." I said, shoving a third box aside.

"What about the clothes," my mum suggested. "When you have children–"

"Which might not even happen." I cut her off. "And if I do, I don't think they want bell bottoms with a pink flower sewn over a hole in the pocket."

My mum sighed and tasked my father with bringing it all back to the cellar.

"You can throw it in the bin, dad." I said.

"Absolutely not!" my mother cried out. "You might decide you want it someday."

I rolled my eyes and my father headed down the stairs. The day melted into evening. Mum made too much food for dinner and forced Sean and I to eat so much we both felt ill. Then we went into the living room and played a board game. It grew late and mum and dad headed to bed, leaving Sean and I alone.

"Why are you actually home?" Sean asked. "Mum was very excited that it was news of an engagement, but since you've broken up with the golden boy, why are you here?"

"He wasn't the golden boy." I objected. "He had flaws…I'm sure. Maybe his flaw was no flaws?"

"I never met him and I know everything about him." Sean laughed. "I'm pretty sure he's mum's favourite child."

"Quite a loss for her then." I mourned.

"So what is it?" Sean pushed.

I sighed. "I wanted to make sure I saw them one last time."

Sean's face drained of colour. "What?"

"Have you heard of the trials the Ministry is making Muggle-Borns go through?" I asked.

"The ones that are meaningless and they end up sending everyone to Azkaban anyways?" Sean asked. "Yeah, I've heard of them."

"I've been summoned." I said, my stomach clenched even though I thought I was over the shock.

"Shit." Sean said. "Are you running?"

"Absolutely not." I shook my head. "I'm going to stand trial and hope for the best."

"Are you going to tell mum and dad?" Sean asked.

"No," I said, "I don't want them to worry. Nothing can be done about it. I'm at the mercy of the courts, why get them involved?"

"What are you going to do?" he asked. "They're going to say you stole your magic."

"I hope not." I said. "I have a document that Ssss- a friend gave me that says grandpa was a half blood wizard."

"You think they're going to accept a forged document?" he asked. "They're going to spot it a mile away and you're going to get into more trouble."

I shook my head. "It's not a forgery…well, it is. But the information is accurate."

Sean paused. "What are you talking about?"

"Grandpa was a wizard." I said. "My friend dug into our family tree when he learned that there would be trials. He wanted to make sure that I was safe. He found out that grandpa was a Gryffindor, like you."

Sean shook his head. "Who is the friend? Are they trustworthy?"

I nodded. "I can't say who it is though."

"Someone at work?" he pushed.

"No. I really can't say. They're…in trouble too and if I share any information that gets back to the wrong person," I paused, my heart leapt into my throat, preventing me from finishing my thought. I swallowed it back down. "He's dead."

"Shit, Rubes." Sean gasped. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure about that?"

I nodded.

"There's power in numbers, you know."

"No one can know, Sean." I urged.

"I'm not talking about that anymore." he said. "There's a resistance forming. Everyone is rallying around Harry Potter. Bill Weasley knows more about it than I do. I'll give him your name. Now that I'm back in London I'm going to be a part of it."

"I don't know if I want to be part of a resistance with Bill 'Hits on your sister even though he's a child' Weasley."

Sean laughed. "I remember that. He's changed. He's more…focused. He's married now. He has a lot to fight for."

"What do they do in this 'resistance'?" I asked.

"I think whatever they can to make the Death Eaters' lives more difficult." Sean said. "Also, keep an eye on that traitor Severus Snape." I flinched at his words. "Oh, come on, Ruby! I know you used to have a thing for him, but you know what he's done. You can't possibly still have a soft spot for him."

I shook my head. "No." I wished everyone could know the truth. It wasn't fair that he was the most selfless person working against the Death Eaters and Voldemort and everyone only saw a traitorous monster. He deserved to be recognised for the hero he was. "Of course not."

"There is also a radio programme that reports news of the resistance and if Harry Potter has been spotted anywhere. Bill is apparently very good at guessing what the password is to be able to listen. Potter is up to something, some kind of quest, but no one knows what it is. He's been spotted in different places. Bill's brother is with him, but he isn't telling anyone anything. It must be important."

"I know someone who knows what Harry is up to, but he won't tell me." I said. "But I do know that it is very important and that his success is imperative to the successful defeat of You-Know-Who."

"Forged documents, consorting with spies, when did you become such a rebel?" Sean asked with a smile. "I didn't know Ravenclaws had it in them."

"Well, I don't just run mindlessly into danger like a Gryffindor." I teased. "My actions are measured, calculated."

"I wouldn't say I run mindlessly," Sean objected, "I just don't consider the consequences to be too great."

"You don't consider death too great a consequence?" I mocked.

He met my question with a nonchalant shrug. "I believe it was Peter Pan who said, 'To die will be an awfully big adventure.' I've been to many places, done many dangerous things, but I have yet to die." He smiled placidly.

My mind went to Severus and how willingly he also seemed to accept his own fate. I worked around death on a daily basis and it was still one of my worst fears. Both Severus and my own brother seemed totally at ease with their own mortalities, even welcoming in a way. A surge of panic ran through me, was I a coward? Was I supposed to share their feelings about death? That it would be an adventure? That it was something I would have to do for the greater good? I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. Severus wanted me to remain safe and away from anything dangerous, but he was putting himself in constant mortal perrill. I didn't want to live in a world without him and if he was going to die for something great, then I wasn't about to sit idly by.

"Tell Bill I'm interested in joining." I whispered.