Chapter 6
The days following their middle of the night jaunt through Gringotts were spent pouring over research in Wizarding genealogies, from family trees to estate maps, but the Gaunt line still eluded them past their descent into poverty, reclusion and madness. It seemed Marvolo Gaunt had almost vanished after the early death of his parents and what looked like the murder of his brother, Ominis Gaunt.
Regulus Black had also taken the time to learn more about Hermione Granger as they spent their days holed up in the Manor library together. He learned bits and pieces about her lonely but happy childhood, her joy when learning she was a witch and how it explained so much oddities happening around her. Then, a rather conflicting arrival at Hogwarts where she was teased by her House mates due to her attitude and love of learning which looked to him as a desperate plea to prove herself, but also by blood purists telling her she didn't belong in the Wizarding world, even confessing to him she had started a letter to ask her parents to take her back home and leave Hogwarts before being saved from a troll by her future best friends. That conversation had shifted something in Regulus, while he had been working for years on unravelling his own bias and prejudices, he didn't realise until now how jarring a transition going to Hogwarts would be for a muggleborn student. He asked a few questions and was dismayed to realise they had no resources, not even a pamphlet given to them with their visit and letter, they were simply thrown overboard and asked to swim. Then the purebloods would sneer at them for their ignorance, but how were muggleborn supposed to learn anything about Wizarding culture if no one taught them? It was a vicious cycle and it almost seemed to be on purpose looking at it that way.
His idea of a Wizarding Culture class for all muggle-raised children seemed more appropriate than ever upon learning the reality of the current state of affairs. However, through their discussions he also found himself learning more and more about the Muggle world, and realised his assumptions were very much off the mark. He hadn't taken Muggle studies when he was a student, but he was fairly sure the class wasn't up to date or well taught in any way, which was confirmed by Hermione who did take the class in her time to learn more about the Wizarding perspective and was left sorely disappointed.
Which was part the story Hermione was telling him as they continued working in the library about a week after they had met in the cave.
"Then I stormed out of the room, honestly the lack of sleep was getting to me and I snapped." Hermione said with a chuckle.
"I mean, I didn't take Divination as an elective but I would have to assume you either have the gift or you don't. You can't teach someone how to be a Seer." Regulus said with a smirk.
Hermione laughed, "Yes exactly!"
"What else did you do with your time-turner that year?"
She suddenly looked at him with a smile and sad eyes, "I saved Sirius Black from being kissed by a Dementor."
Regulus stared at her for a beat, "Thank you. How did that happen?"
"Well, he had escaped Azkaban that year, as I said, and he found Pettigrew, there was a big confrontation in the Shrieking Shack and it took a while to understand he wasn't here to kill his godson but to find Pettigrew and get revenge. Honestly, he was dirty, skinny and unkempt but also so happy to be reunited with Remus. It was bittersweet. Pettigrew escaped anyway, I had to use the time-turner with his godson to make sure he could escape before the Dementor's Kiss but he was still a wanted fugitive despite our testimonies."
"Better a fugitive than a soulless husk, Hermione." Regulus murmured back with a small smile.
Hermione nodded, "Remus had forgotten his potion that night and it was the Full Moon. Snape protected us, despite putting himself in danger and what happened to him as a student, he stood in front of us, facing a werewolf and didn't even flinch even though he hated us."
"Did he really hate you? From what you said about him, he turned spy at some point next year and remained that way until his death. He had a part to play, being nice to a blood traitor and a muggleborn didn't make sense for a supposed Death Eater. Although you never said who the godson was, I can safely assume it was Potter's son, with Lily Evans I'm sure and that combination was likely too much for his guilt." Regulus said.
"I know, you're probably right." Hermione conceded.
They lapsed into silence for a while, until Hermione broke it, "I think we should meet him, and recruit him."
"He's not the spy you knew Hermione. Right now he's fuelled by revenge and heartbreak, he doesn't care about the consequences, and as a Potions apprentice he's far enough removed from the real day-to-day of Death Eaters that he doesn't realise how awful it really is." Regulus cautioned.
"I know, but we have to try and if he refuses to see it, I'll obliviate him and we'll go without."
"And how are you going to make him see it?"
"I'm going to kidnap Severus Snape, of course." Hermione replied in a serene tone, like kidnaping people was an everyday occurrence and from everything he learned about her everyday, Regulus wasn't sure it wasn't and wondered if kidnapping him had been a plan B had he not come willingly.
Over a week had passed since meeting Hermione Granger in the cave, and she had completely turned his world upside down. He had often wondered if she was an angel or a demon that first day, but learning more about her each day made him realise she was only human. Hardened by a war they're making sure won't ever come to pass, filled with more losses than can be even imagined, Hermione Granger was the strongest woman he had ever met, still optimistic despite her past and everything she had suffered through. She was beautiful, witty and her smile gave him hope they could do this.
Since her declaration of intent to kidnap last night, they had made plans but she didn't need him for the actual act so Regulus was procrastinating getting up and simply enjoyed the comfort of his bed while thinking about her. She had been his saviour, an enigma but now he saw her more fully and yet that didn't dimmish her sparkle. She was confident, powerful, intelligent, and resourceful. While she had rarely operated alone in her stories, she was still extremely impressive and Regulus knew she had done the ritual by herself and made the trip alone, leaving everything and everyone she had known behind, or more accurately erasing them.
She rarely talked about the aftermath, why she came back, the despair they must have felt but she had said enough for Regulus to understand.
He heard a commotion downstairs and assumed she was back with Severus so he leapt out of bed and got dressed in all black quickly before walking towards the sound.
The scene before him would be comical if it wasn't still a crime, Severus was tied to a chair with blood running down his forehead from what looked like a cut and Hermione was standing in front of him with her arms crossed and pouting. The woman was pouting.
"Untie me witch!" Severus demanded, fixing up with his deadliest glare.
"Godric, it's like watching a kitten pretend to be a lion." She replied with a frown in a clearly disappointed tone.
"I told you he wouldn't be like the man you knew." Regulus said as he walked towards them, finally placing himself in Severus' line of vision.
"Black, what the fuck!" Severus said, his mouth agape and eyes wide.
"Eloquent as ever, Severus." Regulus quipped back.
"You died, I was at your funeral yesterday." Severus replied, his voice hoarse as he remembered the loss he had felt.
Regulus softened, "I'm sorry Severus, we faked my death."
"Why?" Severus whispered.
"I was about to die when Hermione found me, she saved my life and we decided faking my death would make things easier for us to get things done from the shadows." Regulus explained.
"Get what done?" Severus inquired. He had been home at Spinner's End, enjoying a cup of coffee when his wards had been breached and he was stupefied before he could even react. The mad witch had finally woken him up, tied to a chair in a room he didn't recognise and now a friend he thought he had lost was suddenly in front of him. The day couldn't get weirder.
"We're going to kill the Dark Lord." Regulus said matter-of-factly.
Nevermind he thought, the day could definitely get worse. Severus stared at him in puzzled silence for a while before blurting out, "Is this some kind of test? Tell the Dark Lord I would never betray him!"
"You did once." Hermione replied softly.
"How dare you?! I would never." Severus retorted, outraged.
"You hear a prophecy in a few months and run to him with the information, and He decides it's about Lily's child.
He plans to kill her, her husband and the child. You go to Dumbledore, beg for his help to save her.
He makes you work for it, you pledge himself to him as a spy as payment.
She dies anyway." Hermione explained with pity in her eyes.
Severus had been staring at her while she talked, "How could you know that? How could you know what I will do?" He finally managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper.
She knelt in front of him to make sure she was at eye-level and offered him a tired smile, "I turned back 20 years of time. I knew you Severus Snape, I know what you will do, what you did."
"I don't believe you." He replied, shaking his head.
"It's okay. I have memories for you to see." She replied while standing up.
Hermione left the room for a few minutes and the duo remained silent as Severus glared at the floor. She finally came back holding a pensieve and a few vials.
She conjured a table in front of him and levitated a chair so she could sit opposite him as she placed the pensieve between them.
"I have a few of your own memories, you gave them to Lily's son when you were dying so he could understand." Hermione said before pouring three vials in the pensieve.
"It's probably altered." Severus muttered.
"You would recognise altered memories, you're a great occlumens. I will go with you to answer any questions, Regulus can come as well so he knows and can offer support if needed."
"Fine, let's just get this charade over with." Severus grumbled and they all plunged within the memories.
The scene before them materialised and they could all recognise The Three Broomstick. Severus, looking relatively the same as he did now was hidden in the shadows of a corridor and eavesdropping on the conversation happening behind a closed door.
"I'm not sure Miss. Trelawney, we might simply stop teaching Divination." The voice of Albus Dumbledore said.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal..." The voice of Trewalney trailed off as memory-Severus was suddenly hauled off from the corridor by an irate Aberforth Dumbledore and thrown outside. The ground was covered in a thin layer of snow, which indicated it wouldn't happen for a few months yet.
"That's not the entire prophecy, is it?" Severus asked.
"No. But it was enough for you to relay it to your master." Hermione replied.
The scene shifted until it settled into the Headmaster office at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind the desk while Severus was on his knees in front of him.
"Please, you have to save her! Please! He's decided the prophecy is about her son, you have to save her before he kills her! Hide them all, I beg you!" memory-Severus begged.
Severus took a step back in shock, the raw despair he could see was painful to watch, but the words had such a certainty, a truth even he couldn't deny. Even now, nursing his heartbreak, and wounded pride, he would still do anything for Lily Evans.
"I'm sorry Severus, you made your choice the day you pledged yourself to Voldemort." Dumbledore replied.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know, I didn't think! You have to save her! Please, I would do anything!" memory-Severus replied, tears running down his face.
"Anything?" Dumbledore inquired, his blue eyes twinkling at the possibilities.
"Of course, anything, anything at all, you have to save her." memory-Severus said.
"We could use a spy in the Death Eaters ranks. If you pledged yourself to me, promised to give me information on your comrades and your master, I'll try to save Miss. Evans." Dumbledore said with a warm smile.
"I'll do it." memory-Severus said.
The trio watched on as they entered into a unbreakable vow, for Severus to pledge himself to Albus Dumbledore, forever.
Severus Snape had remained silent, watching the scene play out. He didn't miss the manipulation of Dumbledore, the false promises, but he also knew he would do it, still, for a chance to save her.
The scene shifted still, and they were suddenly in Spinner's End, Severus was alone in the living room, sitting in a dusty worn armchair and listening to the Wizarding Wireless.
The trio all listened as the radio announced the death of Voldemort, the sacrifice of the Potters and the miraculous survival of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.
They all saw Severus crumbling upon himself, crying and screaming himself hoarse as he learned of the death of his childhood friend. Someone he had tried to protect with his life and failed anyway.
They saw the raw despair of the young man, letting himself fall down on the floor, clutching his own hair and cursing the world.
The real Severus was staring at himself, tears running down his face.
"I believe you." He said softly, not looking away from the devastation in front of him as the scene shifted and they landed back in the real world.
He didn't say anything once they were back, huddled around the pensieve. Severus simply stared at the wall, deep in thoughts, his face had dry tear tracks and his hands were still bound, but he showed no discomfort.
"Did he lie?" He finally asked without looking away from the wall.
"No. They went under the Fidelius Charm, he did it himself so he was convinced they were safe." Hermione replied softly.
"Who was the Secret-Keeper?"
"Sirius at first, but he thought it was too obvious so they switched to Peter Pettigrew."
"Foolish mutt. I assume Pettigrew betrayed them?"
"Yes. He's already a Death Eater." Hermione explained.
Severus startled, "I didn't know that, I thought he was just a spineless coward and had cracked." He said with a frown.
"He was Marked a few months ago, although we're not supposed to know it's him of course. I wasn't sure until Hermione confirmed it but I saw him and recognised his mannerisms." Regulus explained.
"Why didn't I know?" Severus asked, mostly to himself.
"You're removed from the daily life of the Death Eaters Severus. So was I, I only attended one meeting and I saw him then but you weren't there. When you're not busy with your Mastery, you're brewing potions for him." Regulus said.
"I guess."
"Did you have an initiation?" Regulus probed.
"No?" Severus answered, unsure of what he meant.
Regulus sighed, "I didn't get one, because I'm Lord Black, the Black heir when I was Marked. Therefore my allegiance is by default and I didn't need to do anything beyond offering my house-elf for something he needed. However, that's an exception, the others all had an initiation, Lucius was likely the only other exception but the Black and the Malfoy are the only two names who generate enough power and respect to earn the Mark without issues. To get Marked, otherwise, one needs to use at least one Unforgivable Curse."
"Who?" Severus asked, horror beginning to appear in his eyes.
"Muggles usually, sometimes a witch or wizard He wants to punish or get rid off. Most use the Killing Curse, others like Bellatrix use the Cruciatus before to really enjoy it." Regulus explained.
"To earn the Mark?" Severus clarified.
"Yes, they call it the initiation. Beyond showing aptitude for the Dark Arts, it also makes sure they perform an illegal curse and are therefore bounded to the cause even more closely. I'm sure He asked something of you as well."
"A potion. He asked me to brew a potion that would make the victim live their worst fears as well as create an overpowering thirst. He didn't say why he needed it, but it doesn't cause death so I did it." Severus said, looking down out of shame and guilt.
"That's how Regulus died the first time. He drank the poison and was so thirsty he crawled towards a lake full of Inferi and died." Hermione explained softly.
"I killed you." Severus whispered in horror.
"You almost did but Hermione saved me." Regulus said with a shrug.
"What happened to me after He died?" Severus suddenly asked.
"Dumbledore got you pardoned. You were the Potions Professor at Hogwarts. You remained a spy." Hermione explained.
"Why? He died." Severus said in confusion.
"He came back."
"He made himself immortal Severus, that's what Hermione and I are working on." Regulus said gently.
Severus shook his head, "How can you be so confident? He's immortal for fuck's sake!"
"I did it once before, I'll do it again." Hermione replied.
"You won?" He asked.
"We killed him, for good." She said instead.
"Why come back if he was dead?" Severus probed.
Hermione looked away, her eyes burning, she took a few deep breaths, "We didn't win, not really. He died, but it took so long to get there he had the time to destroy our world. I came back because even though he was gone, so many people had died, we were doomed."
"Enough people died to wipe-out the Wizarding world?" Severus asked in a hoarse whisper.
Hermione nodded, "We wouldn't have lasted a century. We weren't enough. We are the strongest magical community in the world, there are more people in the British Wizarding community than anywhere else, but so many were killed from pureblood to muggleborn, it was hopeless. Most of the dead were between 14 and 50 years old, the hope to repopulate was doomed from the start. He wiped out entire families. Right now, he's preparing to do the same, next year and the following are the peak of the war. He kills the McKinnon, most of the Bones, so many others. If we change nothing, magic will die out in our lifetime."
"How did you come back? Time-turners create loops and you wouldn't be able to change anything." Severus inquired.
"I used a Black family ritual." Hermione said succinctly.
"Dark Magic?" He asked, looking at Regulus who nodded.
"What did you have to do?" Severus probed.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, "The ritual called for 7 ingredients to be placed around the circle. Nundu heartstring to represent the power, Basilik venom as death and change, Thestral bone dust as billions ceased to exist, Abyssal nightshade for the dark nature of the ritual, Unicorn blood as a sacrifice, Phoenix ashes for the rebirth and renewal of the timeline and finally time sand to allow a smooth passage."
"It could have been worse. You didn't have to drink unicorn blood at least so your life isn't cursed. What else did you have to do?"
"A sacrifice needed to be made. Someone innocent, a virgin. It could have been anyone unwilling or not, but someone volunteered." Hermione said softly as a tear trailed down her cheek.
"Who?" Severus whispered, both curious and deeply impressed someone would willingly give their life for this, knowing they could simply have ceased to exist but had decided to be killed instead.
"The son of Alice and Frank Longbottom. He was my first friend, and he smiled at me while I sliced his throat." Hermione said, not bothering to mask her tears.
Regulus knelt down next to her chair and hugged her tights, while whispering It's okay, He chose this, He would be proud of you.
The trio lapsed into silence for a while, digesting the outcome of years of war and the sacrifices needed to prevent it.
"It was supposed to be a political movement, it was about power." Severus murmured.
"It was twisted beyond recognition." Regulus murmured back as he sat back down in his chair.
"Lucius said it was political, that the violence was limited and simply fighting back against the Order."
"Lucius is sheltered. As I said earlier, he got the Mark by default, he's not very involved in the Death Eaters beyond financing the movement. He doesn't realise what the reality is." Regulus explained.
"It's on purpose, isn't it? To make sure people get Marked, to get more followers." Severus commented.
Regulus nodded, "That's part of it, yes. Many of his followers enjoy the violence and use the movement as an excuse to torture and kill as many people as they can. The Dark Lord isn't even a pureblood, while I'm sure some his initial political ideas were good, the man is barely human anymore."
"He's not a pureblood?" Severus asked with wide eyes.
"No. His name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, son of Merope Gaunt who was a Squib and Tom Riddle, a love potioned Muggle man." Hermione cut in.
"A half-blood. The man preaching blood purity is a half-blood, basically a muggleborn even." Severus said in a resigned tone.
"Yes. Muggleborn would actually be the apt description as his mother is a Squib. We believe muggleborn descend from squibs anyway." Hermione said with a shrug.
"Can you untie me? I won't fight you or flee." Severus wondered.
Hermione nodded and flicked her wand to unbind his hands. He took some time to rub his wrists from the pain of the restraints and sighed.
"What now?" He asked no one in particular.
"Riddle made 5 Horcruxes, we have two. We need to find the last three." Regulus said.
"He made 5 Horcruxes?! Is he mad?" Severus exclaimed.
Regulus chuckled, "Yes, he really is. Either he doesn't realise how dangerous that is, or he thinks himself so powerful and superior that he doesn't believe it will affect him negatively."
"What are they?"
"We have Slytherin locket, Hufflepuff's cup and we need the Gaunt ring, the Diadem of Ravenclaw and his teenage diary. We know where the diary and the diadem are, but we need to find where Merope Gaunt used to live to find the ring." Hermione said.
Severus nodded, "Lead the way."