Follow Your Heart

Disclaimer: The characters are still not mine *deep_sigh*, no matter how much I'm willing them to be mine. The utterly other-worldly plot, however, is mine and mine alone, whether you call it other-worldly or delusional, it's mine, and don't even think about questioning it. And of course I'll return the characters when I'm done playing. After all, I don't want a mob after me because Book Seven is delayed due to my extensive playing with the characters.

* * *

Chapter III

Follow Your Heart

It was late afternoon, even without the news the day had brought, by the time Remus, Tonks, and Hermione had reiterated the events since the Weasleys' Vanishing for Ron's and Ginny's benefit. Tears spilled again over Harry's demise and the many other lives lost in the Final Battle.

Ginny put on a brave face. There would be time for mourning Harry, but now was not it. "So... what can we do to help get the magic back?" she asked. "Blimey, we thought the Vanishing had turned us into Squibs. In a way, I'm glad that's not the case, no matter how sad it is to think of the magic gone."

Tonks nodded emphatically. "Can't blame you," she said. "We probably would have thought the same if we hadn't witnessed the magic fading gradually over a couple of days."

Hermione admitted, "I thought it was simple exhaustion when I couldn't cast the spell to call for help. And then, Professor Sprout and Neville tried and put it down to exhaustion and their injuries. It was only when the Gryffindor showers produced cold and murky water that I realised there was a problem with the magic itself."

Ron put his arm around her, and she leaned into him. "That must have been awful... to watch the magic seep away," he said quietly.

"It wasn't pleasant," Remus admitted. "But what about you two? Where have you been, and how did you find your way back?" he asked.

"Yes, do tell!" Hermione urged her boyfriend. "I thought I had lost you for Merlin knows how long, you know." She snuggled up closer to him, treasuring the glimpse of happiness she felt by being close to him again, an intimate gesture so familiar, and for the first time since the battle, she genuinely hoped that everything would eventually turn out alright. Those who had lost their lives would always be remembered, but at least with Ron at her side, time would heal wounds, and she could hope to be happy.

Ginny and Ron grinned wryly at each other, and Ron said encouragingly, "Go on, young Ginny, you tell!"

Ginny snorted at him and moved her eyes from Tonks to Hermione to Remus. Then, she let out a deep breath. "Okay... Where to start? The last thing I remember of Hogwarts is all of us in the Great Hall at lunch, and suddenly, those Death Eaters appeared. Before I could draw my wand, I felt myself floating... and I... I thought I had died, but I felt kind of alive. I could see that my body was still there, so I figured I hadn't died. Then, I saw Mum and Dad nearby, and we kind of floated towards each other. We couldn't talk, or rather, there was absolute silence, no sound at all. We could mouth words but couldn't hear them. And then..."

A small groan escaped Ginny as she recalled the memory, but she continued immediately. "Then, I don't know how to describe this. I felt Mum's words. And I knew she felt mine, too, because when I thought my answer, she immediately looked relieved. She'd asked if I was okay, and I said I think so," she added in explanation.

Hermione had the impression the recent experience was overwhelming her friend and was only beginning to sink in fully now.

Ron commented, "And if you think what you've heard so far sounds weird, just wait."

"You look as if you're in a different world," Hermione commented softly as she observed Ron's far-away expression.

Ginny snorted. "Funny, your choice of wording, Hermione... I'm quite convinced that we were in a different world... I cannot think of any other explanation."

Ron nodded wistfully. "You're right, Gin," he admitted. "I can't think of any other, either."

"Go on. What happened then?" Tonks asked. "It sounds a great deal more interesting than witnessing the magic disappear!"

"Oh, I have no doubt it was," Ginny replied. "It's just... I can't make head or tail of it, not yet anyway. It's not nightmarish, by any means," she added, "but it surely is the kind of experience, which, were you to tell it to anyone, they'd send you straight to the mental ward at St. Mungo's."

"Oh, I don't know," said Hermione. "Seamus and Pansy talking to some being from a different dimension who knows a lot about us... I don't think there's much that can surprise me after this week," she added wryly.

"Yeah, well, after a while, all of us were together again ... my parents, Ginny, me, the twins, Bill, Charlie. Bill was so beside himself with worry about Fleur, I doubt he noticed much about our surroundings," Ron continued.

"Or rather, lack of surroundings," Ginny corrected. "And we were all together when we saw those... lights... moving rapidly towards us. I was just watching them, kind of idly. I wasn't afraid, only curious. I knew instinctively there was no reason to be afraid, but I could tell Mum and Dad thought differently." She took another deep breath, overwhelmed by the recent events and reliving them while telling.

Ron chuckled softly as he caressed Hermione's shoulder. "Go on, young Ginny, continue; you're doing well!"

She glared at him. "Ronald, don't mock me, or else you'll suffer the consequences once we get the magic back! Just because Red Cloud called me that doesn't mean you have a right to! You couldn't even hear him!"

"Red Cloud?" three voices asked in unison.

"You've heard of Red Cloud?" Ron asked incredulously.

Remus, Tonks and Hermione looked at each other, and Hermione started, "Umh... That medium I mentioned? The one Seamus and Pansy have met, well, Red Cloud speaks through her."

Ginny nudged Ron roughly. "See, you dolt? I wasn't nutters! You just don't trust your instincts!" She gave her brother a look of annoyance that matched her tone, and turning to face the other three, she added caustically, "You see, my brother here," pointing at him with her head, "told me I'm crazy, that I was hearing voices, because he was unable to communicate with any of those beings."

Ron's face had turned bright red in embarrassment at her words. "It's not like any of the others could communicate with Red Cloud," he argued defensively. "And the only other one able to hear them speak was Charlie! Neither Mum nor dad nor the twins could!"

"That's right, but at least they didn't make fun of me like you've been doing!" Ginny stated hotly.

"All right, you two!" Remus admonished the fighting siblings. "Fight all you want later, but tell us what happened first," he demanded. "I have a feeling that this is not coincidence, Red Cloud appearing to more than one person, people who are connected through magic, I might add."

"The very first thing Red Cloud taught me was that coincidences do not exist," Ginny reported, her face taking on a smug expression as she glanced sideways at Ron.

"I could agree with that," Hermione stated. "In fact, I've always wondered why the wizarding world held such a Muggle view of life..." Her thoughts drifted off to the many conversations she had had with her father who had always shown an interest in the supernatural, despite his earthly profession. His interest increased further once Hermione had received her Hogwarts letter. Three sets of eyes looked at her blankly; only Ginny's face expressed understanding.

"What do you mean, Hermione?" Remus asked.

Hermione thought for a long moment, trying to find a way to explain her view. "It's kind of hard to explain," she sighed, "but I'll try anyway... Aside from the ability to use a wand for magic, there are other differences between the Muggle and wizarding world. I'd say the majority of Muggles live an everyday struggle to have enough to be comfortable, whereas we have ... or had ... far fewer problems with at least making ends meet. If we want something in particular, we are creative. With the ability to utilise magic, we can generally create that something, possibly out of something else that we no longer have use for or want. By utilising magic, we have more time for ordinary things like cooking and cleaning."

Hermione paused, again having difficulty putting her thoughts into words. The expectant looks on the faces of her audience, however, encouraged her to try. "So, really, not having to struggle so much, we have more quality time to ourselves than most Muggles could ever hope for. And yet ... I know a few Muggles who ponder... the deeper questions of life, so to speak, whereas I don't know of any witches or wizards with an interest in... esoterics." The last word came out hesitantly, as if she was afraid that using such a cliché term would be met with disdain.

"I think," Tonks started slowly, "one reason that we appear to hold such a view is that we are born with a certain amount of knowledge." She breathed in slowly, evidently finding it as difficult as Hermione to word her thoughts.

Ginny seemed to understand perfectly well. "Yes, and because that knowledge is already within us, we take it for granted, and most of us don't bother learning more," she offered matter-of-factly.

Hermione could not help but admire her younger friend, who seemed to have matured incredibly over the course of one week.

Ginny then continued, "Red Cloud told me of at least one known wizard with extensive esoteric knowledge, but unfortunately, he didn't give a name." She sighed, but straightened up to continue her report of the Death Eaters' failed Vanishing.

"I spent quite a long time talking to Red Cloud. He is very wise, and he has a wonderful way of making me feel comfortable..." Her face took on an expression of contemplation.

"Umh, Ginny, didn't you say Red Cloud was merely a light? How is it possible for a light to not only contain wisdom, but also teach and invoke comfort?" Remus' expression showed just how much at a loss he was.

"I know it's hard to imagine," Ginny replied. "I had ... still have ... trouble comprehending it all, at least on a rational level.

"Imagine how huge the universe is, and then compare the relatively small size of the earth to it. It kind of makes sense that there are likely many different life forms, probably quite a number of different ones on each inhabited planet. Earth, as big as she appears to us, with her many different life forms, a number of continents and so on, is all but a twinkle when compared to the universe." She stopped, and a giggle escaped her. "I'd never have thought I'd remember that much of what Red Cloud told me."

Hermione was intrigued. Much of what Ginny had just said was echoing her father's view. He once told her when they were discussing the possibility of aliens, 'Honey, we'd have to be extremely arrogant to assume humans are the only intelligent life in the world. Our planet is tiny, compared to some, so why shouldn't there be other intelligent races ... even more intelligent than we are?' She had just returned from Hogwarts for her first summer holiday as a witch, and his serious contemplation had never completely left her mind since.

Another thought came unbidden to Hermione's mind. "Ginny," she started, "would it be possible that you were channelling Red Cloud just now?"

Ginny immediately shook her head. "No. Red Cloud told me he would never speak through or to me directly, and I have no reason to doubt his words. He explained the different ways of communication with people. Some people, very few by the way, channel him. That means, basically, their own consciousness goes to sleep, literally, and he uses their body, or throat rather, to communicate with whomever is there that needs comfort or advice.

"Then there is one human whom he guides throughout that one's life and communicates with directly. Although, he did say that his charge is hard of hearing at times where communication is concerned ... I'm not quite sure what he meant by that. And then, there are a few people with whom he communicates only for a certain amount of time, when someone is in need of his particular skills. There is a lot more he explained, and he's not the only one in his dimension doing that kind of work. He's part of a larger group, all of them doing what he does, all of them very wise, just like he is. And each one of them has one particular skill that stands out. Like Red Cloud is able to offer comfort like no other. Another one has a particular flavour of humour that tends to make people feel good. And so on..." Ginny paused again.

Hermione pondered over Ginny's words and asked, "How did these light beings rescue you? And where are your parents and brothers?"

"Red Cloud and a few others apparently noted a sudden, untypical drop in the frequency that Earth vibrates on. So they investigated, found us being Vanished and decided to interfere. They cut the Vanishing short, and instead of us floating between dimensions for the remainder of our lives, we were taken to their dimension where they could help us return to our own. And the reason we took over a week to return is that in their dimension, time doesn't exist. Or at least not in the same way as here. Also, Red Cloud said that the Vanishing had done some damage to our DNA, and we all needed healing to get our DNA back intact, and that took a while.

"Well, we're all back here in this dimension, and we're all healthy. It seems that Red Cloud was right when he told me that we'd each go where we feel we have to go once we return. Mum and Dad went to join the Sprout healing sanctuary. The twins went to see if they can find the Lovegoods. Bill went straight to France to be with Fleur. And Charlie set off to Hogwarts, following Red Cloud's advice. None of their choices made sense to me, except Bill wanting to be with Fleur, but after what you've told us, the pieces are beginning to fall into place," Ginny finished.

"And you two decided to come here," Tonks observed.

"Yeah," Ginny said softly. "Ron thought Hermione would be here, or at least you would know where she is, and I... I was hoping to find Harry." Her eyes filled with tears, and for the second time in a day, it was up to Remus and Tonks to provide comfort to someone going through the experience of trauma and the realisation of the loss of a loved one.

Ginny's violent sobs carried through the kitchen, but Hermione felt unable to help, unable to give comfort to the young witch. Her own breakdown, which had followed a week of suppressed emotions, was far too recent for her to be in any position to offer comfort. She shuddered at the prospect of Ron needing her, like she had needed Remus and Tonks, over losing his best friend, the fact that he was not there for Harry in his last moments, his own trauma of being Vanished, and her eyes filled with tears again.

But this time, she managed to pull herself together, albeit with great effort, and wiped them away impatiently. It's time to move on, she thought determinedly. If I give in to crying my eyes out at every opportunity, I might as well return to my parents and start living like a Mugglenow.

Hermione was grateful that Ron was too busy watching his younger sister with concerned eyes to notice her momentary relapse. "Ron," she whispered, "don't worry ... she'll be alright. Remus and Tonks are really good at comforting someone. Believe me, I'm speaking from experience," she added wryly.

Ron looked at her in surprise. "Bloody hell, Hermione, you must have gone through hell in all this!" He tightened his hold on her, which made her shiver in a pleasant way.

"Yeah, well, I've had better weeks... But haven't we all..." she remarked ruefully.

The silence that followed was now only occasionally interrupted by Ginny's sobs and hiccups, but the youngest Weasley was calming down quickly. Her sobbing soon stopped completely, and she took a deep breath.

Tonks slowly untangled her arms from the embrace she had offered Ginny who had grabbed it like a lifeline. Her face took on a stern expression, and she ordered, "Don't even think of apologising, Ginny Weasley! As we've recently learned the hard way, shit happens, and believe me, each and every one of us has been in need of comfort at one time or another over the past few days."

Ginny managed a grin at Tonks' words and murmured, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, you could give me a hand with preparing dinner," Tonks suggested, looking from Ginny to Hermione. As if in need to explain her request, she continued, "I'm sorry, but all these ready meals taste like cardboard, are loaded with poisons and contain no nutrients worth mentioning. And unfortunately, I'm having immense trouble chopping vegetables the Muggle way!"

Hermione could not help grinning. The vision of Tonks fighting onions and garlic in the kitchen, Muggle style, did amuse her.

Ginny smiled hesitantly and said, "I'll help, although I doubt I'll be useful. It's not a skill I've ever learned."

Tonks turned to Hermione, smiling. "You probably can do it, maybe you can teach us," she suggested. Turning to Remus, she said, "Why don't you and Ron open up the front room; I bet Mad-Eye will turn up any moment, and I honestly don't need three guys looking over my shoulder while I'm cooking."

Tonks sounded like a practical housewife, and only her lover marvelled at her being able to act more Slytherin than the purest Dark Arts following pureblood. Remus knew what Ron's likely reaction would be if he learned in casual conversation of his girlfriend's plan to find Snape. It was, indeed, better for everyone involved if he was told specifically and in the gentlest manner possible. Remus only hoped that Moody would take his time getting to Grimmauld Place. He motioned for Ron to join him, and the two exited the kitchen.

Despite the excellent meal the three witches had created from raw ingredients in combined effort, dinner was a subdued affair. Ginny had been far more understanding of Hermione's self-imposed task of finding Snape than her brother, it turned out. Tonks, having overcome her stroppiness towards the idea, helped Hermione state her reasons while the Muggle-born witch gave the other two lessons in basic Muggle cookery.

Hermione breathed an inaudible sigh of relief at her friends' support. "I guess I can't hope for Ron's support in this." She sighed.

"No," both witches replied as one, and Ginny added dryly, "but he'll come around eventually, you know that. Don't worry, Hermione. Males tend to take longer to see our point, which usually turns out the correct point of view."

"Oh, I don't know," Tonks commented wistfully. "With us, it's usually the other way 'round."

"I know what you mean," Ginny readily agreed, and Hermione nodded. "Remus is one in a million. But you knew that, anyway."

Tonks grinned. "You're absolutely right," she agreed, looking almost obscenely happy for a moment.

Moody turned up just in time for dinner. If he was surprised to see Hermione and the two youngest Weasleys there, he did not show it. He seemed very much preoccupied but did not take long to share the reason for it. "I think Kingsley is in trouble," he grumbled. "I've been following him from a distance for two days now, and I bet you he's being tracked by at least two people at all times." He looked at his watch nervously before continuing. "I know he is going to a pub tonight, so I'll be there and try to catch him. Maybe I can corner him and get to the cause of his strange behaviour. I have no doubt he knows that he's being tracked. And I can smell his fear," he added with a growl.

Hermione looked at Remus questioningly. Should they tell Moody about Seamus' letter? Or might that only fuel Moody's ever evident paranoia? Remus nodded at her imperceptibly and turned to face the older wizard.

"Alastor, there is not enough time to tell you all of today's findings and events, but considering your task ahead, have a read of this." Remus pulled the letter out of his pocket and handed it to Moody.

The old Auror handed it back after reading it, looking thoughtful.

"I've had a feeling some Muggle scumbags are giving him hell," he growled and then turned his concentration on the food in front of him.

Nobody spoke for a while, each one occupied with eating and their own thoughts of the mystery that shrouded Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Moody stood up abruptly, startling everyone. "I better be off," he said. "Thanks for the meal. Good food."

Remus stood up to take him to the door. "Do let us know about Kingsley as soon as possible," he urged the old Auror. Then he added, "Try and convince him to come and stay here. This looks like the safest place for him."

"I'll be back ... if not tonight, then soon, anyway. I want to hear your news, too." That said, he exited number twelve and disappeared into the now rapidly fading twilight.

The moment Moody left, Ron turned towards Hermione. "Why do you feel you have to find Snape? I don't get it! The guy is a murderer," he accused.

'Here we go...' Hermione sighed inwardly. She was getting tired of having to justify her plan of action at each and every turn. She was surprised to hear Tonks speak up for her before anyone else had a chance.

"He killed Dumbledore, Ron. Whether it was murder or not is anyone's guess. We don't know his motives. And then, there is the fact that he not only saved your mate's life, but he also cut short the Final Battle by killing several Death Eaters. Who knows how it would have ended if he had not stepped in to kill the final ones remaining..." Tonks regarded him seriously before she continued, "Add to that what Dobby told Hermione, and I daresay our best shot to get the magic back is her plan to find Snape, murderer or not"

Ron still looked mutinous. Hermione knew she had not heard the end of it, but at least he let it go for now. The silence that followed Tonks' words became palpably uncomfortable. Looking at Tonks, Hermione stood up and started to clear the table.

She was immediately joined by Ginny and Tonks, who sighed, "I wish we had the magic back. How do Muggles cope with all this housework?..."

Remus moved to the sink, started filling it with water, and between the four of them, the kitchen was quickly returned to its usual, perfectly clean condition. 'That wasn't too bad,' Hermione thought. She knew of a number of Muggle families where only the woman of the house ever did the housework, where it never occurred to the male members of the household to contribute to such mundane tasks.

Ron had been sitting at the table sulking, and Hermione sat down next to him, resting her hand on his arm. "Ron," she started softly, "can we, today, just enjoy being together again? It's been one hell of a week for both of us, and right now, I'm just not ready to argue about anything..."

She was met with a glare. "Oh. You want me forget for now that you're going after Snape? SNAPE! How can you expect me to do that, Hermione? He killed Dumbledore! Whether he is a murderer or not, he killed who we thought was the only person he respected! How could you expect me to forget that, even for one minute, especially after we spent more than a week apart, neither of us knowing what had become of the other. How could you even begin to think I wouldn't stop you from seeing him, Hermione?" Her shoulders slumped in defeat, but he continued regardless. "We've just lost our best friend. We've lost most of our friends. We've lost a whole world, what with the magic gone! I feel that all I have left that is worth living for is you. And you want to go off to someone who we've been convinced has been on the Dark side for over a year, ever since he killed Dumbledore? Hermione... please..."

Rationally, she could see his point. It made sense to her, just like any magical theory, be it Potions or Arithmancy related, had always made sense to her. She fully comprehended what he was saying. And yet... She suddenly felt doubts stir within her. It was not rational, by any means. But something inside told her to put her foot down about her plan to find Snape.

"Ron, please," she whispered. "Just today, let's put any differences out of the way." Then she pleaded, suddenly tired beyond belief, "Please?"

"All right, love," he replied tiredly. "Let's just go to sleep, and tomorrow will be another day."

* * *

As the days moved on, Hermione felt more and more desperate to fulfil her self-imposed task. She knew she needed to get away from Ron for a while. Not that she did not feel love for him still, but getting the magic back was at the forefront of her mind, and at the moment, Ron was proving to be too much of a distraction. The initial happiness to have her boyfriend back was beginning to wear thin with all his instigated quarrelling about her wanting to find Snape.

Remus and Tonks had urged Hermione to stay at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, at least until they heard more about Seamus and Pansy's sessions with the medium and Moody's report on Kingsley Shacklebolt. She agreed, if only in the hope of gaining some kind of insight as to the state of the wizarding world. Maybe Moody would get it out of Kingsley. She dared not hope that they would find the cause of the disappearance of magic.

Hermione's patience with Ron's constant whining was fading more with each day she stayed at Grimmauld Place. It was only Tonks' and Ginny's frequent admonishing that gave her some desperately needed breathing space and with it, peace for herself. Eventually, even that was insufficient, and she blew up at him.

"Ronald Weasley!" she said, barely containing her anger. "I don't care what you think on this particular subject. You should know, just like everyone else from the wizarding world, that we need the magic back in order to preserve our world! And if I don't give it a shot to do my bit, I'll regret it. I know I will, especially if the magic won't come back!"

"But to go to Snape?! Do anything you like about finding the magic again, but DON'T GO AFTER HIM!!! I don't care what Tonks and Remus say, as far as I'm concerned, the guy is a murderer!... And a DEATH EATER!" Ron yelled at her. Then he looked at her, his face full of despair. "Hermione, love, please! What if he's still a Death Eater? What if he sets a trap for you? You know better than anyone else that he's never liked you. How can you risk your life like that?"

Hermione turned away from him. Studying the pattern on the floor, she said tonelessly, "The guy you call a murderer saved my life. He did not have to kill several Death Eaters, his friends, or at least former friends, in order to save one Muggle-born witch. His action, and his action alone, ensured that we won. If he hadn't killed them, they would have caused further rampage, no doubt taking even more lives with them in the process."

Ron gave her a calculating look. "Is that why you want to find him? Because you owe him your life? Do you feel that you have to be with him, to comfort him? Maybe offer him some pleasure, too, whilst you're at it, out of sheer gratitude for saving your life? Is that why?"

Hermione stared at him in complete shock from his implied accusations. 'I don't believe this. This can't be happening,' she thought, feeling almost detached from the entire situation.

With great effort, she pulled herself together. "I don't quite know where this comes from, Ron, but if nothing else, grant me some taste. If I didn't think it futile, I'd list the various reasons for my wanting to find him yet again. As it is, you don't have a hope in hell of understanding. Because you don't want to understand." She stood up and moved towards the door.

"How am I supposed to take this?" Ron asked her, confusion spreading across his face over her words. "Look, 'Mione," he stuttered, "if I... if I hurt you, I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to."

Hermione glared at him. "Don't call me that!" she hissed. "As to how you take this ... as one famous Muggle book character stated, 'Quite frankly, I don't give a damn'!" That said, she exited the room.

"Don't worry, Hermione, he'll come around eventually," Remus assured her later, once again there for her, once again offering comfort. "It took Tonks a few days, too. All that has happened, it has had a different effect on each individual, and each one of us tries to cope in a different way. And don't forget," he added with a grin that definitely resembled mischief, "males generally take a wee bit longer." She had to laugh at that, especially coming from Remus, who had, somewhere on the path that was life, acquired more wisdom than the present three female inhabitants of number twelve, Grimmauld Place combined.

"Oh, Remus, can't you give him some training? Sometimes I wish he was a bit more mature. And less hurtful," Hermione pleaded, only half-jokingly.

"I'll see what I can do," Remus replied noncommittally, regarding her with a serious expression. "Don't let these quarrels get to you, Hermione. You're both young, and it's bad enough that most of your teenage years were spent fighting against Voldemort in one way or another, directly or indirectly. Find something, or even someone you can truly enjoy. You owe it to yourselves, after all the recent events. And whatever you decide to do, you know you'll be fine as long as you follow your heart."

* * *

Hermione realised the value of Remus' advice more instinctively than rationally. Follow your heart became her motto, her mantra. From that moment on, whenever she was not certain as to which direction to take, she consciously listened to her heart ... and was not particularly surprised that life suddenly seemed somewhat... easier.

She was not surprised either when, a day later, a visibly embarrassed and depressed Ron approached her to apologise for his harsh words. Hermione accepted his apology, albeit cautiously, reasoning, "Your words hurt me, Ron. I need some space at the moment to... to file everything away, and I can't do that until I make sense of it. There's just so much that has happened lately!" He neither argued nor tried to convince her otherwise, but the entire six feet of Weasley resembling pure dejection told her enough. Hermione sighed inwardly, feeling sorry for both him as well as herself. Then, she pulled herself together. Time to start the future... now ... as in NOW, she shouted to herself.

The arrival of Pansy's letter a couple of days later instigated Hermione's imminent departure. The content of Pansy's letter only hurried it.

Dear Hermione,

Pansy

The good-byes between Hermione and those staying behind were emotional. Over the past few days, she had come to highly value her friendship with both Remus and Tonks and knew that she would miss both. Since her quarrels with Ron, she had also spent more time with Ginny and came to respect her even more than before. She wistfully wished that she, too, could have a dose of the wisdom and the comfort Red Cloud had offered Ginny, who utilised everything the spirit had offered to gain more spiritual insight for herself ... and for others' benefit as well.

Parting with her boyfriend was hardest, though. "Is there going to be a future, Hermione? Is there going to be an 'us'?" he asked her with a choked voice.

Hermione gave him an incredulous look and snorted. "If you think that one single argument is all it takes to break us apart, then I'm very sorry, Ron. Gain some confidence, please! One fight doesn't stop me from loving you, you know."

One last kiss, one last hug, one final wave back to the front door where the others had assembled to see her off, and then she made her way to the train station, ready for her next journey, the outcome of which was highly uncertain. At least after what had transpired from Pansy's letter, she felt more hopeful about finding Snape.

* * *

After the most uneventful journey, during which Hermione started reading up on Wilhelm Reich with the only book she had managed to find in a hurry, and which left her feeling lost as she had no clue as to why she was supposed to be researching that particular character, she arrived at her destination: a small, drab Midlands town, which had an air of abandon, even despair, to it. The young witch shuddered at the prospect of having to spend the next few weeks, or even months, in such a depressing location. There might as well be Dementors here, she thought dejectedly, her mind half playing with the notion to forget all about Snape and return to at least some measure of happiness that could be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

Then she snorted. Get a grip, Granger. The feel of this place is by no means as difficult as being around the greasy git is going to be. Might as well get used to coping right now, she admonished herself and straightened up as a wave of determination swept through her. She exited the station, only briefly stopping to ask for directions to Spinner's End. Although the street was at the opposite end of town, the local assured her that it was barely a twenty-minute walk away.

It was not just the air of abandon, Hermione noticed. Many houses looked as if they had not been occupied in a great many years. When she finally reached the street that was Spinner's End, a slight sigh of relief escaped her, which was almost instantly cut short when a déja-vu came down upon her. Something reminded her of something else, and it took her minutes to put a meaning to it.

The air of abandon that had prevailed for the entire time it took her to walk from the railway station was no longer evident, despite some houses obviously lacking occupants here, too.

It was magic, she thought, startled at the realisation. The magic that had flavoured the air at Hogwarts, in Hogsmeade, and in Diagon Alley, was present here. Not strong, she noticed, but sufficiently present for her to recognise. Suddenly excited, Hermione fished for her wand in her luggage and pointed it at a lone leaf on the ground. "Wingardium Leviosa," she murmured almost reverently and stood back to observe the leaf. It refused to rise, but it did stir, albeit barely.

The young witch tried again, this time with intent and determination. The leaf was lifted maybe half an inch before gravity regained power and pushed it back on the ground.

It took Hermione some time before she gained composure enough to finally complete her journey. She stood there, stunned and wondering how she had managed to discover one place where magic was still evident, even though only weakly, at this particular location.

Fancy that ... magic near the former resident bat of Hogwarts' dungeons when it's nowhere else to be found, she thought wryly and then sighed. Time to face the snake's lair. Better get a move on! With that thought, she pulled herself together, straightened up and walked towards the last house on the street.

As she reached the small gate to the front garden, her ears perked up. Someone inside was playing the piano. Or rather, someone was playing a recording of Rubinstein or some such renowned pianist. She stopped for a moment, recognising one of Beethoven's Sonatas and appreciating the beautiful sounds the artist was coaxing out of a piano, or more likely grand-piano. Then, she determinedly opened the gate, walked to the front door of the house, noting on the way that the house appeared inhabited and its front garden well looked after, and rang the bell.

Nothing could have prepared Hermione for the surprise that met her as the door was opened from inside. "Hermione," Parvati Patil said, her face beaming. "We've been wondering whether it would be you and when you'd turn up!" She opened the door further and stepped aside, inviting Hermione to enter.

"Parvati," Hermione acknowledged weakly as she entered the house. "What on earth are you doing here... Isn't this where Snape lives? Or at least where he was residing until a couple of weeks ago?"

"What I'm doing here ... long story. But yes, this is Severus' home," Parvati confirmed, in her usually cheerful and polite manner that was familiar to Hermione. Her eyes widened considerably when Parvati so casually called Snape by his first name. "He should have gathered enough magic soon, and then you can talk to him," she added. Noting Hermione's confusion, she explained, "The only way we can maintain magic here is for Severus to play the piano for a few hours every day. That way, at least he can concoct the healing potions Draco needs, and occasionally it's sufficient for some cleaning tasks and a bit of cooking, too."

Hermione looked at her incredulously. "That's him playing the piano? Oh, Merlin, I thought it was a recording of Rubinstein or someone like that when I heard it outside!" she exclaimed.

What was going on? Magic found in the vicinity of Snape's home, the git himself turning out to be a gifted pianist, and right now probably the only wizard being able to maintain some measure of magic; Parvati, a fellow Gryffindor, living in his home and evidently comfortable being around the most Slytherin of all Slytherins? This can't be real. I must be dreaming, Hermione thought, completely dazed.

She would have expected anything ... anything unpleasant where Snape was concerned ... but to associate him with anything as highly pleasant and creative as playing the piano like a virtuoso astounded her as much as being met by a fellow Gryffindor at his home. The shocked young witch gratefully accepted the seat Parvati offered, her knees feeling rather weak.

"What... what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, rather bluntly, trying to regain her composure at the same time. Then she added curiously, "And what is it with the magic? I felt it as soon as I turned into this street. I couldn't believe it! There's no magic left anywhere I know of!"

"I know..." Parvati sighed. Then she started to explain while Hermione listened raptly. "Where to start... Oh well, I guess the beginning would be a good starting point." She laughed, but quickly sobered to tell her story.

"To know the reason for Severus' actions where I'm concerned, I need to tell you that my dad was a couple of years ahead of Severus when he went to Hogwarts ... he was in Ravenclaw ... and once came to Severus'... help when Sirius Black and James Potter bullied him. That was about Severus' third or fourth year, Dad doesn't remember exactly. After Dad left Hogwarts, they didn't stay in contact, but apparently, Severus never forgot. When, a couple of months after my parents had taken us out of Hogwarts, he learned that a couple of Death Eaters were contemplating kidnapping us, for sheer sport ... it didn't even have anything to do with Voldemort," she shuddered, as did Hermione at the thought of falling into the hands of Death Eaters, "anyway, Severus came to our home to warn my parents not to let us out without proper protection. Mum and Dad immediately decided that a prolonged visit to India was in order, and Padma was quite happy to tag along. But I wasn't. I know my heritage is Indian, but my life is here, and I really couldn't stand the thought of being cooped up with my family over there for an indefinite amount of time. So I said I wouldn't go to my dad's dismay." She stopped for a moment, as if unused to speaking more than a few syllables at once.

"I can imagine," Hermione said softly. "I only spent a week with my parents after Voldemort's demise, and that was hard enough. To think of being sent to a country you're not that familiar with and not knowing how long for... I would refuse to do that, too."

"Thanks... I couldn't bear the thought. At the time, I felt I'd rather risked hiding here in England and being found by Death Eaters... And then, the big surprise came. Severus suggested that I could stay with him. He said he was doing some ongoing Potions project, and that with my interest in cosmetics, I might make an adequate assistant. You can imagine the way he said it, sneers and all." Parvati smirked, and Hermione laughed outright at her words.

"Anyway, what came as an even bigger surprise to me was that my dad actually agreed. Mum didn't want me to stay behind, even less so staying with a Death Eater, but Dad put his foot down. He said he knew Severus to be trustworthy, and what with the wizard debt he likely felt he owed, he was probably going to guard my well-being with his own life." Parvati took a deep breath and then finished, "So, that's how I came here. About three months ago."

"Wow..." Hermione was lost for words. Fascinated by Parvati's story, she never noticed that the music had stopped.

She startled when a silky voice drawled, "Wow. Isn't that a rather common way of expressing awe?"

* * *

A/N

Big thank you to NSS who has been doing an absolute fantastic job cleaning up my English. You rock!

I know, I know *sigh*. I promised in my A/N in the previous chapter to bring Snape back in this one and managed it only barely...

I have written some additional thoughts/Author Notes about this particular chapter, with regard to the subject of channelling, in my livejournal, http://www.livejournal.com/users/lady_karelia/51240.html#cutid1 if you're interested.

Now, I can confidently promise that we'll see a lot of Severus in the next chapter.

As always, reviews are love.