Discussions and Arguments

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Hermione took a cold mug from Snape with a barely audible "Thank you". Well, of course, he said there was tea. He never mentioned anything about fresh tea. She took out her wand and heated the liquid in silence. Satisfied with aroma of the rising steam, she looked around for a place to enjoy her drink.

There was a chair, a table and a berth in the cottage. And Snape. With her. He was leaning against the cupboard and looking past her out of the window. She judged her choices and decided to occupy his chair.

He had no objections. In fact, he remained standing, impassive and frowning. Hermione expected that he would fire questions and insults at her, but she waited in vain. She fidgeted and braced herself for his berating, resolved that he would first let her agonise in insecurity.

He didn't move. He didn't so much as change his expression. He just stood there, blankly looking out of his window.

When he finally blinked, she couldn't restrain herself anymore.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I thought you wouldn't be here?"

"No."

"Nor why I suspected that the magicmeter was so important?"

"No."

"And why..."

"Miss Granger." He finally looked at her, and at that moment she wished he hadn't. His eyes were cold and his stare piercing that it sent shivers down her spine. "You are supposed to drink your tea, not annoy me with your thoroughly unnecessary wondering. You already answered those questions, and I have no intention of participating in this discussion."

"But don't you want to know what gave you away? To help you cover your tracks in the future, perhaps?"

He growled.

"Your conclusion was correct. Hence, knowing what you entertained yourself with recently, I understand the route that led you to said conclusion. I do not intend to dwell on the nuances of your thought processes."

Hermione gulped and lowered her eyes back to her mug. Snape's mug, actually. She ran her finger over its design, perplexed. Snape surely wouldn't choose a flower for himself. What happened to the owner of the mug?

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked.

"The answer to that is obvious," he sneered.

"Excuse me?"

"Your ability to think logically is apparently limited to a once-a-year frequency."

A pink colour crept into her cheeks, and her lips trembled in anger. That was a valid question!

"You have several options..."

"I had," he snapped.

"...and not all of them end with my survival," she continued, seemingly undisturbed. "Naturally, I'm concerned."

"Don't insult me with your preposterousness," Snape barked. "Use that admired brain of yours and tell me which of my options are still legitimate."

Hermione looked at him with a strong sense of dejà vu. She was again supposed to have an answer to something she most certainly wasn't aware she knew.

"You are not going to kill me because you would have already done it by the lake," she thought aloud.

Snape lifted one eyebrow and said, "Next."

"You are not going to hand me over to Voldemort," she saw him flinch, "because I still have my wand, and I'm your guest."

In a silent instant her wand flew out towards Snape, circled him and landed in his palm behind his back. Hermione startled.

"Don't. Say. That. Name."

"Sorry, sir," Hermione humbly apologised. "Does my lapse change my disposition?" she asked, scared.

"The debunked option is correct, the reasoning is not. If you give me the correct argument, I'll return your wand," Snape smirked.

"On the first try," he added quickly.

Hermione didn't quite believe him. He was acting too much like a teacher now for her to consider his threat serious. Yet, she wouldn't risk her luck trying him.

"The same as before. You wouldn't bring me to You-Know-Who because you would have already done so."

"Partly correct. Do better."

A deep line formed between Hermione's eyebrows. "And you would have saved yourself this conversation."

"Adequate."

Hermione's wand abruptly landed on the table in front of her. She eagerly grabbed it, feeling too much warm gratitude.

"Next," he prompted.

"You are not going to Obliviate me because... you would have already done so to save yourself this," she pointed her finger between the two of them, "burden."

"You are reading too much into me not enjoying our little discussion, Hermione," Snape smirked.

"I think you want something from me," Hermione straightened her back, "or rather, you want something from the Order, and you are going to use me to get it."

"Indeed?" he drawled.

"Indeed."

"If that is the case, with what options does that leave me?" he asked.

She thought for a moment and then said, "You don't have to leave this house because I won't tell anyone of your whereabouts."

Snape frowned.

"I'm a Gryffindor! My word counts."

Without warning Snape pointed his wand at her and said, "Legilimens!" Images of her Apparition points flashed in front of her eyes first in fast succession, then slowed down until he let the whole scene of their fight and subsequently her walk to his cottage play in full length.

He slowly came back into focus, and Hermione lowered her eyes.

"I was wrong. Whoever with the ability to look into my mind can see it, even if I don't tell anything. I could not block you even when you relaxed your search through my memories. You have to move. I'm sorry. It's such a... cosy cottage."

Snape nodded.

"Why did you have the magicmeter turned on throughout the day?" Hermione asked after a while.

"That, Miss Granger," Snape almost smiled, "is the first relevant question you have uttered. You might eventually be worth the move."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Go ahead, Ron, take the message. It's not for me and it is too specific to intercept." Harry shrugged and let his friend handle the Patronus.

Ron took the message from Hermione's whitish otter easily and with great relief. Perhaps they still had a chance if she had sent him a private message and was even willing to meet him already. He felt as if he were invited for a date rather than a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.

"She is saying that we should go to Grimmauld Place for an Order meeting," Ron said with a huge grin and added, "both of us!"

"What?"

"Er, she said, 'Please take Harry to his house to meet all our friends.' I guess that's what it means."

"Do you really believe that?" Harry was sceptical. "We've never been invited to an Order meeting. They always tell us some bits only afterwards. You know how your mum is about us participating in the war."

"Maybe they are realising they should count on us. We are adults now, you know." Ron unnecessarily squared his shoulders. "Maybe they finally noticed."

"Yeah? Then why is Hermione the one telling us to go? What kind of position is she in to do that?"

"Perhaps she has a grand plan of how to get us to the meeting." Ron defended his ex-girlfriend, too blissful to let Harry spoil it.

"Ron, you are so smug about that Patronus. Get over it and make some use of that brain of yours. She might have gotten permission to go to Grimmauld Place over the weekend, if McGonagall decided that that was a better place to meet us than Hogwarts with students. She could have made progress with the magicmeter. Maybe there's no Order meeting at all."

"Oh. Well. That's good news anyway, isn't it?" Ron contemplated, still confused.

At that moment, another Patronus entered the clearing. Harry took the message with exasperation.

"Please come home for dinner and bring your friend."

"It's McGonagall." Harry turned back to Ron. "You were right. Hermione has a grand plan and it's working. We are going to the meeting."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ron, Harry, could I please have a word with you before the meeting?" Hermione asked her friends at number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"Of course. You don't have to ask for permission to talk to us, Hermione." Ron grinned widely at her.

"Special circumstances require special treatment. We need to talk in private." Hermione smirked and nodded towards Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were setting a tea service for way too many people.

Harry and Ron exchanged a curious glance. "Let's go to Sirius's room then." Harry invited.

When the door closed behind them upstairs, Hermione cast a series of wards. Cold chills ran down her spine when she realised that she had just locked herself in a room with two men. She had to remind herself quickly that these two men were the ones she loved and cherished the most in her life. It was ridiculous really, since she had recently returned from a very private meeting with a Death Eater in Snape's fortress.

"What do you have in mind, then?" Ron asked her hopefully.

"Several things, actually." Hermione began to count. "First, I have finished the magicmeter."

"See? Told you!" Harry happily nudged Ron.

Hermione glared at them and went on without interruption. "It works reliably for a specific spell that I tried. It led me directly to Snape's hiding place. Second...."

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, full of irrational fear.

"Did the Aurors get him?" Harry hoped.

"No, of course not!" Hermione started to get upset. They did not have time for this.

"Oh, yeah, the Ministry. Then the Order has him."

"Just for your information, there was no Order there either."

"Did that bastard escape again?" Harry's eyes glazed over with hatred.

"No, there were no Aurors and no Order." Hermione was visibly angry.

"Hermione, are you all right?" Ron asked and tentatively put his hand on her arm.

"Of course I am!" Hermione jerked away. "I'm standing here!" Her fury topped over the edge, and Harry and Ron realised they were in trouble. "You two will sit right there and listen to me until I'm finished. This is hard enough for me without your chastising. We don't have much time here, and there is an important Order meeting shortly. It will all be about Severus Snape, and you two had better keep your mouths shut there. I found him, but it was purely an accident. Harry, don't you even think about interrupting me!" Hermione pointed her finger accusingly. "I was looking for his last magicmeter. He solved the problem of the Distant Probability tracking, and that was the proof. He wasn't supposed to be at the same place. If Voldemort ever came there and found his magicmeter, Snape would be... dead, I think."

"What does it show that is so dangerous?" Ron couldn't best his curiosity.

"I'll show you at the meeting." Hermione wanted to continue, but was interrupted again.

"Did you leave the school without supervision?" Harry couldn't understand how Hermione had met Snape without backup.

"Not school. Hogsmeade," Hermione snapped. "And without permission too. I'm facing a conditional expulsion for it, and I have a hearing with the School Board on Monday. But it was worth it."

Ron sharply inhaled and Harry rapidly blinked several times. Meeting Snape was worth conditional expulsion from school to Hermione Granger?

"But enough of wasting time on my trip. Where was I?" Hermione thought. "Yes, first, the magicmeter is ready. Second, there is a very strong concentration of magic in this house. In that direction. We will look into it in a minute, but meanwhile, I want you to drink this first." She handed the boys two vials.

"What is it?" Ron wanted to know as he uncorked his dose.

"The Life Thread Potion."

"Isn't it Snape's famous discovery?" Harry enquired.

"Yes, I brew it for St. Mungo's patients now," Hermione replied, already calmed. She could handle this.

"Why should we take it if we are not dying?"

"Snape wants each of us to have a dose a week," Hermione explained simply.

"No." Harry returned the potion to her.

"What is this supposed to mean, Harry?" Hermione was fuming again.

"I don't know why he wants us to drink it. His order is not enough. Why does he want us to drink it? What does it do to people who don't need it?"

"Oh, Harry, if you are so adamant, just ask him." Hermione reached out and tried to soothe his temper.

"Yeah? And how? Hey, Snape, why do you want to poison us?" Harry mocked her without a hint of humour.

"Like this." She concentrated and said, "Expecto patronum!"

"Did you really send that to Snape?" Ron asked.

"Naturally," Hermione admitted. "I suspect it is for some kind of magical power enhancement, so I took a dose on my way after the magicmeter a few hours ago. I don't feel any change, so I don't know what it does."

They waited quietly for a moment until Snape's Patronus brought Harry's answer.

"Go on, it's for you," Hermione encouraged him.

He slowly took out his wand and listened to the message.

Ron and Hermione eagerly watched as Harry's face changed from sceptical to surprised, excited and finally shocked. When he lowered his wand, his face was white, eyes dilated and his breath shortened. He couldn't find words at first and only opened and closed his mouth. He swallowed and finally said, "That thing is a weapon. Hermione, guard it with all your might; Voldemort may never learn about its full powers. Snape created a weapon that might easily change scores in this war."

"Harry, you don't make much sense," Ron frowned. "What does it do? Does it give you special powers?"

"It basically makes you immortal!"

"Fine. That's exactly what we need to face a Horcrux."

If Harry and Ron thought they were saturated with surprises for one evening, Hermione's statement proved them wrong.

"I think we should investigate the strong concentration of magic here. It's too strong to be anything else. I hope. Now, if you would take the Life Thread before we go?"

Harry and Ron exchanged a gaping look, drank the potion and followed her downstairs. Hermione stopped in front of a cabinet and tapped her magicmeter.

"See? It gives excessive magical signal for this place."

"You two, cover me." Harry pushed past his friends and opened the doors. To his astonishment, he stood in front of a pile of dirty rugs.

"Looks like Kreacher's lair to me," Ron sniffed.

"There is still a lot of magic there." Hermione checked her results while Ron joined Harry in sorting out the mess.

"Look, he stole family jewellery and hid it here." Ron lifted a heavy golden chain and showed it to Harry.

Harry immediately recognised the item Dumbledore died for.

"It's not Black family jewellery, Ron. It's Salazar Slytherin's locket."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good evening, all," Minerva McGonagall welcomed members of the Order of the Phoenix to their headquarters. "Thank you for coming to this last-minute meeting. We have only one point on the agenda today, but its importance is paramount, and we will need to make a decision together. The question is whether we will readmit Severus Snape to our ranks. I know it seems like an invalid, pointless debate," McGonagall raised her voice and tried to quiet the uproar of murmur with a peaceful gesture, "but Hermione Granger obtained new evidence which convinced me that the case at least merits revaluation."

"Hermione? How is she?" George Weasley enthusiastically asked, surprised himself to realise how he had missed the witty comments of the girl in the last three months.

"You will have a chance to ask her shortly," McGonagall replied. "She needed to talk to Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, who have also returned here to take part in this decision. Let's give them another minute. Alastor, please leave your objections for discussion after Miss Granger's demonstrations," McGonagall sternly addressed Mad-Eye Moody.

After a few moments of whispered conversation, the door opened, and Hermione, Harry and Ron entered, very excited and a little breathless. Harry kept his left hand in his robe's pocket as he silently greeted the gathering. He noticed Mundungus Fletcher playing with a spoon, drew out his wand and charged.

"You! Leave it!" He barked at befuddled Fletcher. "Nothing! Nothing will leave this house! Ever again! Do you hear me?!"

"Harry, calm down, please." Remus Lupin stood up and quickly strode over to Harry.

"He is stealing from here!" Harry defended his action, but his voice nonetheless wavered.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can be resolved with a civil discussion." Lupin placed his hand on Harry's wand arm.

"It's just an ordinary teaspoon, Harry," Arthur Weasley joined in.

"How do you know it's ordinary? We just found..."

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione shouted in unison, but the damage was already done. Everybody's attention shifted to Harry's hidden hand, and unwanted questions began to sprout from all sides. Harry sealed his lips, firmly grasped the locket, cursed himself for reckless prattle and searched for a safe way out.

Professor McGonagall came to his rescue. "Mr. Potter, perhaps now would be a good time to tell the Order what your quest actually encompasses."

"Tell them a bit, Harry," Ron whispered. "Alienating them now isn't a good approach. And you did overreact."

Harry nodded, his features softened, and he turned to face the Order members to explain. "Professor Dumbledore and I have been working on a strategy to defeat Voldemort. Unfortunately, he was murdered before we finished. Ron and Hermione are now helping me to gather certain powerful items that are crucial to carrying out his strategy."

"What is the strategy then? What items do you need?" Tonks attentively asked and added, "We could all help. That's what the Order is for."

"No, I'm sorry, Tonks." Harry shook his head. "Professor Dumbledore insisted that no one else may know the details until the right time, and I can't tell you more at the moment."

"I guess it's all right, Harry. Come sit by me an' let's hear what Hermione has ter say," Hagrid suggested.

Everybody settled in, and Hermione levitated a magicmeter above the table for all to see. She began to explain, "Last school year, the Headmaster asked Professor Snape to develop a magicmeter that would track the probability of death of a certain person over a distance."

"Why, Hermione, that's what my clock does," Mrs. Weasley pointed out.

"Yes and no. Distant Probability is actually a bit different, Mrs. Weasley. Such a magicmeter would show the immediate overall fitness of the person. Whether they are injured, or being tortured and the like, whereas your clock also shows a possibility that a member of your family might be attacked. Not that he really was attacked."

Mrs. Weasley visibly gulped.

"That's tough." Dedalus Diggle shuddered as he thought of his niece.

"In a way, yes." Hermione shifted her attention. "It brings certainty and diminishes hope. But on the other hand, this device enables us to forge a rescue mission when and where necessary."

"How do you fancy you can estimate the 'where'?" Kingsley Shacklebolt tapped a corner of his mouth with his index finger.

"I tuned the magicmeter I constructed recently to a specific, rare spell used in Professor Snape's magicmeter, and it showed me the direction," Hermione said. "I suppose the same could be accomplished if the wizard on a mission wore a uniquely charmed item."

"What was the spell you used?" Mad-Eye Moody looked at Hermione while his magical eye scrutinised the floating magicmeter.

"The pointer looks new, Alastor," Shacklebolt said.

"Indeed, it is," Hermione admitted and exchanged a fleeting look with Professor McGonagall.

"It's solidified mercury," Minerva revealed.

"Solid quicksilver!" Bill Weasley burst out. "It gave me such a hard time in one Egyptian chest!"

"Yes, unexpected spells can be intriguing," Tonks contemplated with an inward sigh.

Hermione took the floor again. "Right. Back to the Distant Probability tracking. Professor Dumbledore was the tested object in the development of the method. He would inflict injuries on himself, with increasing severity, at varied distances from Hogwarts so that Professor Snape could estimate if his magicmeters detected any increased probability of death, and at what distance."

"That... that... traitor! Hurtin' 'im over and over 'til he killed 'im!" Hagrid slammed his fist on the table so hard that all cups rattled, and one even broke.

Mrs. Weasley tried to vanish the mess, but missed through her sobs, and the jet of magic broke a saucer of milk.

"Molly, please compose yourself," Minerva McGonagall appealed while she tried to stop the spilled tea and milk from soaking into Fletcher's trousers. She wasn't too successful as the Weasley twins suppressed giggles with their wand arms under the table. "He did it willingly."

"Albus would never succumb to such nonsense. He would have used guinea pigs. He was too smart, and he knew how valuable he was to us to weaken himself. He was much more vigilant than that," Moody argued. "Hermione, don't oppose me! You didn't know him well enough. He wouldn't injure himself willingly."

"Alastor, your posture only shows how little you knew him recently. If he believed..." Minerva didn't finish.

"Surely, Minerva, your judgement cannot be that clouded!" Moody sneered.

"Enough! I believe her."

"You, Harry?" Lupin asked, surprised. "You believe that Albus Dumbledore injured himself for the sake of Severus Snape's research?"

"Yes." Harry met Remus's gaze. "He did the same for me. And he wouldn't waiver. I believe her. He would injure himself if he thought the task was more important. Hermione, please continue."

Hermione nodded and went on. If they fought so hard against every sentence she said about Snape, it was going to be a hard day. "Eventually, Professor Snape found out that a solid mercury pointer enabled him to detect probability of death over the largest distances. Professor Dumbledore never tested the final magicmeter, but he asked Professor Snape to have it turned on the day he died."

"Miss Granger, what you are implying here is very dire. I hope you realise that?" Diggle asserted.

"I realise the consequences, sir," Hermione answered.

"Do you really realise that Snape must have known that Albus was weak and dying, as Mr. Potter here reported," Diggle turned to Harry briefly, "before he reached the Astronomy Tower?"

"I do. He knew about it."

The room gasped.

"Miss Granger, your reasoning is full of holes," Shacklebolt objected.

"I agree. I'm not finished yet. The significance of Distant Probability tracking..."

"No more of this. Let me finish now!" Shacklebolt interrupted her. "What is your evidence that Dumbledore asked Snape to turn on the magicmeter on that specific day?"

"He told me."

"With all respect," Shacklebolt smirked, "I don't see Albus confiding in you."

"Pardon, sir. Severus Snape told me."

"You are insulting my dignity, Miss Granger. I would appreciate if you cared to explain how you came about having intimate conversations with your Professor at the end of your sixth year."

"Kingsley!" Hagrid, Lupin, McGonagall, Harry and the Weasleys rose to defend Hermione's honour.

"Mr. Shacklebolt," Ron charged, "Hermione is not..."

"It's all right, Ron," Hermione soothed him, although she was blushing deeply. "We can sort this out." She turned to address Shacklebolt. "He told me yesterday. Yes, yes, I know, more questions. This would all make more sense if you let me explain everything properly according to my plan." She sighed.

"Hermione, just forget about your precious notes for now and tell us about your talk with Snape," Bill Weasley suggested.

"I hope that would be the worst news first and who knows? Maybe it would render us speechless long enough so that you could use the silence to fill our heads with your original plan," Fred teased.

"OK, most shocking news first," Hermione contemplated.

"So, I met Severus Snape yesterday. We had a tiny fight. Then he politely invited me to his house. We had a talk about magicmeters, Dumbledore and Voldemort."

The Order of the Phoenix was indeed speechless.

"Huh, Hermione, you got me there!" Fred leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest. "Now, I would really love to hear how that came about."

"Yeah, Hermione, please do share," George added and mimicked his brother's gesture.

"Fine. Where was I?" Hermione flipped through her notes. "Here. Solid mercury pointer works. Hence, we could use the new magicmeter to monitor our warriors on missions. Remus and werewolves, Mr. Fletcher and the underground and the like."

"I don't want to be monitored!" Fletcher objected.

"It was just an example, Mundungus. No one is after you. Let her continue," the pink-headed Auror assured him.

Harry flinched, but kept quiet.

"Next, with Professor McGonagall we could not find that last magicmeter, and we considered it highly uncharacteristic of Professor Snape. According to his notes, he never delayed if he suspected he was progressing. So then I..." Hermione gulped and blushed.

"Miss Granger came up with an idea to try to track the other solid mercury pointer, and she recklessly followed it by herself," McGonagall helped her out. "She is subject to a disciplinary hearing."

"Oh, Hermione," George whined.

"You shouldn't get caught," Fred added.

"Quiet, you two!" their mother snapped.

"In any case, Miss Granger's state of education and school rules are irrelevant to the topic we need to decide on today," McGonagall squashed the rising argument. "Miss Granger followed the direction of the magicmeter and found Severus as well."

"Minerva, we heard that already," Diggle interrupted her. "However, I would really appreciate hearing Miss Granger's reason for trying to find the missing magicmeter in the first place."

"I thought it showed that Professor Snape knew of Professor Dumbledore's condition, and as such it was exceptionally valuable," Hermione stated.

"What you are saying is the consequence rather than cause, young lady," Dedalus Diggle said quickly, irritated and losing patience. "You told us that Snape told you Dumbledore had asked him to have the magicmeter turned on. You also cared to confirm that you talked to Snape only after you set off pursuing his magicmeter. My question again is: Why on Earth did you attempt to find Snape's magicmeter?"

"I told you. It was missing and..."

"Don't give me that academic nonsense!" Diggle shouted.

"But it's true!"

"Whose side are you on?"

"What? I..." Hermione burst into tears.

"Dedalus, that was entirely unnecessary," Tonks chastised him.

Ron tried to comfort Hermione, but she pulled away. Nonetheless, she accepted a tissue from him.

"Still, Hermione, it's a valid question," Harry admitted. "You surely have a good reason, but I'm not getting it either. You are nuts about knowledge, but you normally wouldn't just leave school like that."

Oh, Harry wanted her to explain something. She had plenty of practice with that.

"Harry, first," Hermione wiped her tears and began to count on her fingers, "from Snape's notes I learned that he always moved on with his work as fast as he humanly could. Second, he knew solid mercury might be his answer. It was all in his notes, except for the final test. Third, Professor McGonagall transfigured the mercury for him and gave it to him. Fourth, the last magicmeter was not in Hogwarts. Fifth, Professor McGonagall said he never left the castle between the time when she had given him the quicksilver piece and his flight after the battle. Hence, my working hypothesis was that Professor Snape created the last magicmeter. Professor Dumbledore did not test it the usual way, but unorthodox in action. So in the evening, the magicmeter showed such sensitive information that Professor Snape didn't risk leaving it behind, but carried it with him into the battle, and subsequently he must have hid it securely out of Hogwarts."

"I believe he corroborated your assumptions in the full extent?" Shacklebolt sought confirmation.

"Not fully," Hermione opposed. "I was wrong assuming that Professor Snape hid the compromising magicmeter and joined Lord Voldemort himself. A big mistake that could have had even more grievous consequences."

"But instead of suffering, you had a cosy tea with your Potions master in the privacy of his house," Bill smirked.

Hermione sharply inhaled, but changed her mind about being offended and calmly replied, "Indeed."

"In that case, I trust he wishes to renew his cooperation with us," Mr. Weasley said.

"That's what he said."

"Is he going to spy on You-Know-Who for us or is he going to spy on us for You-Know-Who?"

"Arthur, do you really expect a Slytherin of Severus's calibre to tell you that in face?" Shacklebolt disdainfully sneered.

"No, I wouldn't dream of it," Mr. Weasley chuckled, "but I'd like to hear Hermione's educated guess."

"As I see it, he never stopped working for the Order," Hermione slowly considered. "Pending murdering the Headmaster, of course. For example, he taught me to brew the Life Thread Potion when he couldn't himself."

"Through Patronuses, not personally," she quickly added after seeing Diggle's scowl.

And he told me about Yaxley's execution, she thought bitterly, but didn't voice that.

"He also warned the children about the attack on The Burrow," Bill Weasley reluctantly admitted.

"Watch your tongue, Bill, or you might get our baby brother upset," George laughed.

Ron turned bright red and rose quickly from his chair.

"George, this is not the time! Ron, sit down right now," Mrs. Weasley tamed her brood.

"If he was at The Burrow that night, he must have erected those extra anti-detection wards around your house, right, Arthur?" Tonks asked Mr. Weasley. "Without them we wouldn't have realised the threat of the Portkey Charm."

"Now that you made me think about unusual events," Remus Lupin remembered, "last month's batch of Wolfsbane came from Voldemort's direction, since I didn't bring it. Yet, it was unconditional. Until now, that is."

"You make him sound like a charity," Moody finally broke his resolve to control his will. "I'd prefer to see some hard evidence in Albus's case. I demand reproduction of the results from the famous magicmeter, and I want a thorough comparison with the timing of Minerva's diminishing curves of magic residues of his deceased body. And of course the past projection of his death probability that Tonks presented here in July. Unless all those results match, my answer is a strict 'no,' regardless of what other tales you bring up."

"We are ready for such presentation, naturally," Minerva McGonagall said and levitated the second magicmeter above the table. "Tonks, if you would, please." She motioned for Tonks to join her.

"No, stop!" Shacklebolt interrupted them. "I want to invoke the charts. We need to make sure that they are genuine originals all concerning Albus."

The Auror performed an intricate wand dance at each magicmeter. Three floating cubes appeared above the devices. Tonks's magicmeter filled in with an opalescent shape that gradually retreated towards the upper left corner at the back side of its cube. It represented the gradual worsening of Dumbledore's health as in the hours preceding his death weaker and less harmful spells could end his life. McGonagall's chart rapidly declined from left to right, indicating that magic disappeared from Dumbledore's body, and he indeed died. The Order of the Phoenix held their breath when Snape's magicmeter began to unwind the time line. A thin line at the upper left corner continued straight ahead for some time, then it jerked down a bit, and Harry gasped.

"That's when he cut himself!"

"Harry, shh." Hermione embraced him.

They watched the chart unwind further and fill the whole cube. Shacklebolt then merged the three charts, and their timing fit perfectly.

Everybody watched the process in awe. Their faces screwed up one by one as the realisation dawned. Severus Snape knew precisely and accurately just how severely Dumbledore's fitness was deplored. He knew that any attempt to heal or even move him magically would kill him. Did it validate his action? Was he the cold-blooded murderer? Or was he backed into a corner? Should he have tried to save him? Could he, with the Death Eaters around him? Yet, how could he justify a Killing Curse? That could not be justified! It just could not. He couldn't do anything to help him. Or could he? He could have given him the Life Thread Potion. Surely, there was an alternative to murdering him. But could he have administered the potion with the Death Eaters behind his back? Could he? Does the inability to save justify a contrary act? Which one is compassionate?

"How do you deal with this, Hermione?"

"Deal with what, Ron?"

"The ambiguity of his decisions."

"I don't deal with it."

"How can you? This is not ethical!"

"This is war, Ron. You just do what you must to survive. I don't question his motivations, I accept the outcome of his deeds. This is not about what is right or wrong. At this time, some choices are taken away from us. He couldn't save Dumbledore, so he saved himself. We needed the Life Thread, he gave it to us. We were in danger, he helped us. If what he does benefits me, I'm willing to use him."

"Hermione, you sound just like him."

"Maybe I have changed. Maybe you should also realise that some choices and chances were taken away from us."

"Hermione..."

"Ron, let's just strive to end this war. If it takes using a Death Eater, so be it."

Then she smiled a bit, and Ron felt as if his world was turned upside down when she said, "And after the War. We will see what chances all wizards would pursue after this is over."

~ fin ~

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Author's notes: Big thanks to my beta, KDTheRavenclaw, and saschia for helping me solve my problems with the fact that this Order meeting did not end the way I planned. The characters just would not allow it. They have minds of their own. They are too stubborn, and at first I refused to comprehend them.

Thanks also to Caeria, who let me alter her idea of a HG/SS conversation so beautifully portrayed in her Pet Project.

Another exceptional person who leaves a remarkable print on this fandom, Southern_witch_69, prompted me to write almost a year ago. It has been a wonderful experience and I thank you very much, Southern.

And finally, the most important gratitude – thanks to all my readers, who left a review. I deeply cherish every one of them. Only feedback from readers enables writers to improve, and I would like to deliver you the best stories I can. I hope you enjoyed this little story as much as I enjoyed writing it.