Chapter 28

Disclaimer: Anything that seems vaguely familiar in this chapter has been quoted, paraphrased, or just plain old summarized from The Order of the Phoenix book or movie.

The scene with Snape, Umbridge, Harry and the DA is quoted directly from the OOTP movie. I couldn't have said it better.

Chapter 28

Hermione's fifth year continued:

"Ahem, ahem, Miss Granger, might I have a word with you?" Dolores Umbridge said as she stopped Hermione in the hallway.

Hermione looked to her professor with disdain, but answered her respectfully. "Of course, Professor, what did you need?"

"Miss Granger, it seems to me that a bright child like yourself would understand the necessity of rules."

Hermione bristled at being called a child. "Of course, Professor," she uttered, barely keeping the anger from her voice.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to become a member of my Inquisitorial Squad. I think you would be an invaluable asset to my group," Umbridge said, her voice dripping with false pleasantness.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh!" she exclaimed. She thought quickly. "While I appreciate your invitation, Professor Umbridge, I really have no desire to belong to that group."

Umbridge lost a little of her politeness. "And why is that... Miss Granger?"

"Umm, I have too much to do already, Professor. I don't have the time."

"My dear, you can make the time."

"No, thank you," Hermione said nervously.

"But I insist! You would make a great member of the squad."

"No, Professor Umbridge. I have no desire to be a part of your squad!"

All pleasantness left Umbridge, who got very close to Hermione.

"Tell me where your little group meets, Miss Granger, if you know what's good for you!"

"Professor Umbridge, whatever are you talking about?" Hermione feigned innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me, young lady. I know you're one of the gang leaders!"

Hermione bit back her anger and tried to be civil. "Professor Umbridge, I haven't any idea what gang you're talking about. If you mean my friends Harry and Ron, then..."

Umbridge's hands grabbed Hermione's arms in a viselike grip. Her face transformed from its normal toad-like expression to an evil sneer. She put her face directly into Hermione's face.

"You will tell me where to find your little group, or you will be very sorry!" she screamed at Hermione.

"Professor Umbridge, why are you threatening a student?" a voice asked sternly.

It was Severus. He had turned the corner to find the Umbridge-toad snarling at Hermione. Anger had filled him as he had approached the two, bellowing out his question.

"Ah, Professor Snape, I need some of your Veritaserum, please." Umbridge's voice was back to its usual patronizing, high-pitched, sugary tone.

"Professor Umbridge," Severus answered as his face showed a mask of boredom. "I am fresh out. I was planning on brewing some tonight. Now please unhand that student."

"She was just going to tell me something very interesting," Umbridge sneered while looking at Hermione.

Hermione cringed and took a step to the side.

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt your gossiping session, Dolores, but I was coming to search for Miss Granger myself. I was planning on tutoring her in a particularly difficult potion, and this is the time I have to devote to such a project."

Umbridge's hands fell from Hermione's arms. She looked at Hermione menacingly.

"Don't think that our conversation is over, Miss Granger," she sneered.

"Come along, Miss Granger, we have little time to brew," Severus said as he took her arm and led her away from the seething, pink hippo.

When they were safely out of earshot, Hermione heaved a huge sigh.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Professor Snape. I thought she was going to poison me with her breath she was so close to my face."

Severus snickered. "You will have to be more careful not to be alone from now on, Miss Granger. Surely Professor Toad will search you out again."

"Ugh! I felt like spitting in her face! She's horrid."

"I'm sure, Miss Granger, that when you are older and do not have to follow school rules, you will not let anyone walk all over you like that," Severus assured her.

Hermione laughed. "During that whole thing, I was just picturing myself punching her in the face."

"So violent, Miss Granger. You will find that words are more hurtful than fists in the end, I believe."

Hermione regarded him with a lifted brow. "It still would have ended up with a lifetime's worth of detentions either way. My hand would have probably been carved off by the time she was done with me."

Severus looked at her oddly. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hasn't Harry shown you his hand?"

"No, he hasn't."

"She's awful, Professor! She uses an enchanted quill that carves the lines Harry writes directly into his hand. There's horrible scarring from it. I'm surprised you haven't noticed."

Severus was furious. "That woman should have been a Death Eater, for Merlin's sake. Before we know it she will be throwing Unforgivables around when the students don't act as she would have them!"

Hermione looked at him with pleading eyes. "Isn't there anything you or Professor Dumbledore can do?"

"All of the teachers' hands are tied. If anything is said to the woman that she doesn't like, we are immediately threatened with dismissal, or worse yet, a report to the Ministry. She has taken over the school, and the Headmaster is little more than a figurehead."

Severus watched Hermione's stature deflate a bit at his revelations.

"Perhaps, however," he continued. "I can do something secretly to keep Umbridge's detentions more along the lines of a normal detention."

Hermione's head snapped up, and she grinned at Severus. In that instant she became the exact image of his Hermione. How he longed to scoop her up and hold her in his arms.

"You're amazing, Professor Snape. Thank you!"

Severus' heart stood still at her compliment. I think you are the one who is amazing, he thought. He cleared his throat before he continued speaking to her.

"You had best come down to the dungeons with me, or Professor Toad will know that I was just keeping you away from her. If you'd like, we can work on a potion, or we can duel or something."

Her eyes lit up as she turned and headed for the dungeons.

"Actually, sir, I had found this potion in a text in the library that I was wondering about. I was looking through Advanced Potion-Making just to get an idea of what we'll be doing in the future. I came across the Draught of Living Death. It's quite an intriguing potion. I was wondering how to extract the juice from the sopophorous beans. All it says it to cut the beans, but I can't see how that would produce much juice."

Severus was amused by her enthusiasm. You always ramble when you get excited. You'll never know how endearing that is to me. Severus pulled out of his thoughts and fixed Hermione with a curious look.

"You do ramble on, don't you, Miss Granger?"

She turned red. Severus thoroughly enjoyed her embarrassment. By this time they had arrived at his classroom.

"Come in, I'll show you how to juice the beans. It is rather simple...once you know what to do."

Severus went to the back of the classroom and into his storeroom. He emerged seconds later with a jar filled with sopophorous beans. He twisted the lid from the jar and poured a couple of the shriveled beans onto the table. He looked up at Hermione.

"What did the text say to do with these?"

"It said to cut them up, but I can't see how cutting these would extract their juices," Hermione mused as she fingered a dried up bean.

Severus nodded his head. "Go get your silver knife," he instructed.

She went to get it and returned to the table with it in her hand.

"Try cutting one," Severus advised.

She cut one into three pieces. A small amount of juice escaped from the bean.

Severus looked up at her. "Can you think of any other ways to get the juice out?"

"Well, I suppose if it were crushed, that would get more juice out of it."

Severus wanted to grin, but he stayed stoic. "Very good, Miss Granger. Take the flat edge of your knife and crush the next one."

She did as instructed and was amazed to see the liquid gush from the bean. Her eyes grew wide before she looked up to Severus with a huge smile on her face.

"Who would have thought there was that much liquid in that emaciated bean!" she gushed.

Severus couldn't help but smile at her. You truly are adorable in the throes of discovery. Straightening, he Accio'd a cauldron to the table.

"We have enough time to brew the entire potion," Severus mused. "Go get some valerian root and slice it up, I'll get the cauldron started."

They worked silently for a few minutes while Hermione prepared the valerian root and dropped it into the cauldron.

"All right, now add the juice from the sopophorous beans," Severus coached.

She poured it in and saw the color change from dark purple to lilac.

Handing his stirrer to Hermione, he advised her to give it seven stirs counter clockwise with one stir clockwise until the potion became clear.

"I thought the book said to just stir it counterclockwise," Hermione countered.

"Are you contradicting your Professor, Miss Granger?"

She looked up at him in horror. "No, sir, of course not."

She stirred and stirred until finally it turned clear as water. Smiling to herself, she removed the stirrer and admired the crystal snake head that was carved into it.

"This is such a unique stirrer, Professor. I really like it."

"Thank you," he said as his looked at her intently. "It was given to me by someone very dear to me. It is my most prized possession."

Hermione carefully placed it on the table next to the cauldron. "It's beautiful," she murmured.

Not as beautiful as you, Severus thought.

"I agree. I have never seen another like it," he mused aloud.

Hermione glanced back to him. "Thank you, Professor. That was really fun. I appreciate you taking time to help me brew."

Giving her a lopsided grin, he nodded. One day, we will be able to brew together constantly, creating and discovering side by side.

"Alright, Miss Granger, you'd best get along. I'm sure you have another class lined up at some time today."

Hermione glanced at the time. "Oh! It's gotten quite late. I'll be just in time for Charms. Thanks again, Professor," she said as she scooped up her backpack and hurried from the room.

Severus vanished the potion and sent the cauldron back to its place on the shelf. He frowned intensely as he pictured his Hermione in his head. The younger Hermione stood next to her, smiling at him. The young Hermione looked to him with respect while his Hermione looked to him with devotion. The younger Hermione gazed at him with limited understanding because of their formality with one another while his Hermione reached out to him, wanting to embrace him and take him into herself. The two women hovered side by side for an instant and then melded together into one. She smiled ruefully and waved to him as she dissolved into nothingness. Severus stared at the spot where she had been for a while before moving on to continue cleaning the lab.

oooOOOooo

The next morning Professor Umbridge interrupted a calm breakfast to make an announcement. As the High Inquisitor, she felt she had the right to make any announcements she liked. She stood in front of the center of the teacher's table and put her wand to her throat.

"Ahem, ahem," she said. "A very unfortunate incident happened some time last night. It seems that someone entered my office uninvited and destroyed some very valuable quills that I had stored in there. I assure you that the culprit will be found and punished! As the High Inquisitor, I will not put up with such childish antics. Rest assured there is a replacement shipment of those quills speeding toward us as we speak!"

With that she returned to her seat. Hermione looked up to Severus, who was staring at her. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he returned the gesture. He went back to his breakfast as if nothing had transpired. Severus had not even spared Umbridge a glance during her speech, but now he turned and looked at her.

"Dolores, do you have any idea who could have done such a thing?" he asked.

"I assure you, Severus, I know exactly who did it!" she said rather importantly.

"Who did it then?" Severus asked sagely.

"That is my business," she told him.

"Well, I hope you catch them quickly. I would hate for my office to be broken into."

With that Severus went back to his breakfast, and Umbridge began to eat too, ignoring the man beside her. Little did she know that he was the culprit who had broken in and destroyed every one of her enchanted detention quills. Neither did she know that he had already placed a spell over the castle to be alerted if any such quills ever entered the school again. Umbridge's new shipment of quills would never reach her hands, nor would any other shipment that she ordered. Severus smiled to himself and spooned porridge into his mouth without another glance at Professor Toad.

oooOOOooo

Severus and Harry were working on Occlumency once again. Harry had not improved by much in all of the time they had been working. Severus was at a loss as to what to tell him to be able to improve. They just kept working, hoping that with experience, Harry would be able to block Severus out longer and longer. Unfortunately, Harry had not passed the ten minute mark in keeping Severus out of his head. Severus put his wand down and studied Harry for a minute.

"Maybe you should try Legilimency on me," Severus mused. 'Perhaps if you can see how it works, you'll be better able to counteract it."

Harry shrugged. "I'm open to anything at this point," he said.

"You must keep eye contact with me as you say the spell," Severus instructed. "Saying the incantation will guide you into my mind."

Harry nodded and got ready. He looked into Professor Snape's eyes and lifted his wand.

"Legilimens!" Harry cried.

Immediately he could see bits and pieces of his professor's memories. A boy crying in the corner while his parents fought... his own father stringing Severus up in a tree and removing his trousers... Severus and his mother, Lily, as children playing together... four boys, including his father throwing hexes at him... Hermione standing in front of a classroom teaching while Severus sat in the back taking notes.

Suddenly, Severus' walls snapped up, and Harry was thrown from his mind. Severus cursed himself. He thought he had gotten all of his memories of Hermione into the Pensieve, but this one was so innocuous that he had overlooked it. Severus looked over at Harry, who was regarding him with a strange expression.

"Wasn't that Hermione I just saw teaching a class?" Harry asked.

Severus looked away and scowled.

"And you were a student, only a little older than me. How can that be, Professor?"

Severus grimaced. "Harry, I really can't talk about that," he said.

"My best friend was your teacher at some point, and you can't talk about that?"

"That's what I said."

"She seemed older. How old was she?"

"I can't say, Harry!"

"She traveled back in time at some point in the future, didn't she? Why? What did she want to change?"

Severus walked to the door and opened it. "You need to leave... Now!"

Harry walked over to the door and shut it again.

"I'm not leaving until you're straight with me. Was that or wasn't that Hermione from the future in your past?"

"Potter, you cannot speak of this to anyone! She must not know that she will go back in time. Do you understand me?"

Severus gripped Harry's robes and shook him slightly.

"Why can't she know?" Harry asked in befuddlement.

"Would you want to know your future? Would you want to know that in a few years you would go back to the past?" Severus grilled, desperation filling his voice. "She doesn't need that kind of pressure, Harry. You must never tell her about this, do you understand?"

"Yes, I guess I do. Why did she go back?"

Severus let go of Harry's robes. "I cannot tell you. Suffice it to say that she went back and accomplished what it was she went back for. She then returned to her present, which will be in several years."

"Did I go back too?" Harry asked.

"No, only she did."

"Tell me what she was like back then! What did she teach? Were you friends?"

Severus heaved a huge sigh. "Harry, the less you know the better. If you slip up and say something, she could find out. Really, I will not speak of this with you again... ever!"

"You must have been surprised to see her when she came here at age eleven!"

"Yes, of course I was," Severus lied.

"How can you not let it slip that you knew her back then?"

Severus got a faraway look in his eyes. "It is for her protection. I will not compromise her future just to reveal such secrets."

Harry thought he saw something in Severus' face. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"You really respect her, don't you?"

Severus grimaced. "She was my professor at one point. Of course I respect her."

Harry shook his head. "I really can't get around the idea of Hermione being a Hogwarts teacher!"

"I'm sure when the time comes, it will seem like the most normal course of events that could be imagined," Severus said drolly. "You should go. It's almost dinner time," Severus said, trying to end the conversation and get rid of his nosy student.

Harry checked his watch. "Oh, right. Well, I'll see you then," Harry said.

Severus thanked heaven for teenage boys' stomachs as he watched Harry disappear from the room.

oooOOOooo

Harry sat at dinner, his brows furrowed, as he stared down into his plate. He glanced up at Hermione when she wasn't looking. She was speaking matter-of-factly to Ron about Charms. Harry watched as she rolled her eyes while she argued a point with his friend.

I can't believe she traveled to the past. Why did she do it? What did she learn? How close was she to Professor Snape?

"So, how was your thing with Snape?" Ron asked Harry, his mouth filled with mashed potatoes as he spoke.

"Professor Snape," Hermione corrected and looked to Harry to hear his reply.

Harry turned his attention to Ron. Looking a bit hesitant, he finally said, "It was pretty much the same as usual. He wandered around in my head while I tried to shove him out."

"I'm sorry it isn't going well," Hermione said before popping a piece of chicken in her mouth.

"Well, we're still working. Hopefully I'll have a breakthrough any time now."

"You need to, Harry," Hermione advised. "If Voldemort takes control of your mind, he could make you think anything."

Suddenly Harry saw the older Hermione standing in front of a classroom teaching. Perhaps it wasn't so odd to think of Hermione as a teacher. She surely told everybody what was best for them. He smirked to himself as he watched his two friends. Hermione had returned to her harping at Ron. All the while, he nodded while shoveling huge amounts of food into his mouth at a rapid pace. Glancing up at the teacher's table, he saw Professor Snape's eyes on him. Harry gave him an innocent look as Severus glared at him, daring him to say something stupid to Hermione. He wouldn't. He understood his professor's reasons for not telling her anything. At least he thought he did.

oooOOOooo

Professor Umbridge walked along the grounds, humming to herself. The humming stopped as soon as she neared the entryway of the school. On the left side of the entryway sat a huge swamp. Dolores saw red. Oh, that swamp! It appeared everywhere! No matter what they tried, it wouldn't go away! Then she saw it. In the middle of the swamp sat a tiny white kitten, looking wet and dejected. Someone's familiar must have gotten loose and trapped itself in the swamp.

"Oh!" cried Dolores. "That poor, little kitty!"

She examined the situation. If she were careful, she could reach the kitten and rescue it.

"Don't worry, little one, I'll save you!" she cried to the kitten, which mewed at her plaintively as it turned in circles.

Dolores gingerly stepped on the not-so-swampy parts of the swamp. Even with her care, her shoes had already turned an ugly brown. She didn't think mud brown went with glittery pink, but she could clean them once that poor little animal was safe and sound.

Slowly she came up to the little cat, agonizing over its predicament as she gingerly stepped closer and closer to it. The kitten's green eyes shone at her with intelligence as it mewed at her again.

"Now, now," she muttered. "I'll have you free in no time," she soothed the tiny creature.

Bending over, she reached for the little fur ball. Her hands surrounded its small body, and she began to lift it. At her touch, something mysterious happened. The little cat began to writhe. It struggled in Umbridge's hands and grew and grew. Before Dolores had even realized it, the tiny kitten that had been secured in her hands was now a huge brown and black Great Dane. The dog stood on its hind legs and put its front legs on Umbridge's shoulders. It looked at her with an open mouth and lolling tongue. Dolores screamed.

The dog tilted its head curiously before its enormous tongue came out and licked the entirety of Dolores Umbridge's face. Umbridge grimaced and shrieked some more as she was covered in dog slime.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake! Get off me, you brute!" she demanded of the dog.

The dog, seemingly unwilling to take orders from the big, pink hippo, continued to lap at Umbridge's face as she struggled to get out from its huge paws. Dolores backed up a few steps, lost her footing in the marshy swamp, and went hurtling backwards right into the largest muddy puddle there was. The dog tottered and swung itself back and forth before crashing down on top of the trapped professor. Its huge tongue surrounded Dolores' face, leaving large, pale skin trails on her mud-splattered cheeks.

A little ways away, Fred and George Weasley had been innocently sitting on the stone guardrail of one of the outer halls... 'studying.' They watched the entire spectacle while trying to keep from laughing out loud. Fred grinned maniacally, and George even emitted a guffaw.

Fred looked to his twin. "We'd better get out of here before we give ourselves away!" he said while barely able to contain himself.

"But, Fred," George chuckled. "It's just getting good."

"But her punishment, if she finds out that we did this, will definitely not be good."

George frowned, but his frown never took shape as a guffaw left his mouth.

"You're right, of course," he told Fred.

"Let's go," they said in unison.

They got up and quickly left a mud-covered, struggling Dolores Umbridge trying to get herself out from under a very overly-friendly Great Dane.

oooOOOooo

Severus entered the Headmistress' office. A few weeks earlier, Harry's 'club' had been found out, and Dumbledore had taken responsibility. He had disappeared, and Dolores Umbridge had taken over as Headmistress. Severus had glowered at her as she had sat in Albus' seat in the Great Hall like some peacock. She had been so full of herself, crooning about her new position, that Severus had been surprised she didn't lay an egg right there. First Voldemort, then Umbridge...could the people who controlled his life be any more horrid?

He looked at the toad-like face of Dolores Umbridge. She was covered in soot from the Weasley twins' latest escapade. Severus repressed the smirk that wanted to appear on his face at the thought of how they had humiliated Umbridge. Their display had truly been remarkable.

"You sent for me, Headmistress?"

"Oh, yes, Snape, the time has come for answers, whether he wants to give them to me or not. Have you brought the Veritaserum?"

Severus glanced around at the occupants of the room. Potter sat in a chair next to Umbridge. Neville Longbottom, Hermione, Ron Weasley, Dudley, Ginny, and Luna Lovegood were all behind the desk, each being held by a member of Umbridge's illustrious Inquisitorial Squad. Harry's friends all appeared to be frightened.

"I am sorry, Headmistress, but I'm afraid you have used all of my stores of Veritaserum interrogating students. Unless you wish to poison him, then I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy if you did, I cannot help you."

"He's got Padfoot," Harry called out. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden."

Severus turned and looked at Harry with trepidation.

"Padfoot, what is Padfoot, what is he talking about, Snape?" Umbridge demanded.

Severus gave Umbridge a curious look. "I've no idea," he said darkly, then turned and left the office.

oooOOOooo

Severus had hurried back to his room and quickly Flooed to Sirius. Finding Sirius at Grimmauld Place, he quickly told him what Harry had said. He urged him to stay where he was and told Black that he would alert the Order. Unbeknownst to him, Sirius Black did not listen to his warning and went to the Ministry himself.

Meanwhile, the DA members had outwitted Umbridge and her Inquisitorial squad and were racing to the Ministry on a few borrowed Thestrals. They hurried to save Sirius, unaware that Voldemort had used the connection he had with Harry to place a false vision in his head.

Severus sent his Patronus to alert the Order that Voldemort had set a trap for Harry and his friends, causing the Order members to race to the scene. Severus, of course, was forced to stay behind. He could not risk his cover being blown.

oooOOOooo

Harry stood grasping the prophecy as Bellatrix Lestrange pointed her wand at him. He glanced around at his friends. Every one had a wand pointed in their face and strong arms wrapped around their torsos. This is all my fault. I got them into this mess. They're helpless, and it's my fault! His eyes fell back onto Lestrange. Her face was filled with hatred as she lifted her wand slightly to aim directly into his face.

"Just give me the prophecy, Potter, and I'll let your little friends go," she crooned.

"Don't do it, Harry!" Dudley shouted.

"Don't give it to her!" Neville cried.

Buoyed up by his friends, Harry gave Bellatrix a determined look. "I will never give the prophecy to you! I would rather that I never know what it says than have Voldemort have it in his hands!"

"You dare speak his name again!" Bellatrix screamed and pulled her wand back to curse the boy in front of her.

At that moment, Harry threw the prophecy to the floor, and it shattered into a thousand pieces. Little wisps of smoke rose from the shattered orb, and a ghoulish groan came from it. The smoke seemed to form a human shape as it curled up, swirled around, and finally dissipated into thin air.

"No!" Bellatrix screamed insanely and looked maniacally at Potter.

She sneered at him and shot a spell his way. Before Harry had a chance to react, Protego was shouted from behind him, and the spell shot by Bellatrix disappeared into the shield that had blocked it. Harry looked behind him to see Sirius standing in a dueling stance. Sirius sent a Stupefy spell at Bellatrix, and Harry watched her fly off the raised podium they were standing on.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled happily.

Before Sirius had a chance to reply, the other Death Eaters started to shoot spells at the two of them. Suddenly, Order members were everywhere in the room, fighting off the attackers and saving the students. Harry hugged Sirius as they had a second to spare in-between fighting.

"I thought Voldemort had taken you!" Harry told Sirius.

"Snape explained everything to me. That was clever to send him a message the way you did." Sirius said as he shot a spell at a masked Death Eater. The Death Eater collapsed to the ground.

Harry and Sirius stood side by side and fought bravely. Spells left their wands at lightning speed as the Death Eaters around them either crashed to the ground or sent their own spells speeding toward the pair. Sirius congratulated Harry on his fighting abilities as Harry felled two Death Eaters with one hex. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted Bellatrix Lestrange stumble to a standing position and aim at Sirius.

"Sirius, Bellatrix!" was all that Harry was able to get out, he was so taken aback.

Sirius barely had a chance to turn toward Bellatrix when a Petrificus Totalus spell was shot from behind her, and the crazed woman froze in mid-spell-casting and fell to the floor. Neville Longbottom lowered his wand and looked at the felled woman smugly. Sirius smiled.

"That was amazing, Neville!" Harry shouted.

Neville blushed and looked to the floor. By this time the Order had subdued the Death Eaters in the hall. Sirius walked up to Bellatrix's frozen form and looked down at her contorted face. A wide grin crossed his face as he glared at the female Death Eater.

"The Ministry will be eager to send that one back to Azkaban!" Sirius exclaimed to Harry and Neville.

"Hopefully she'll never get out this time," Harry said as he patted Neville on the back.

Harry watched as Neville looked down at the woman who had destroyed his parent's minds. He knew the young man had finally gotten a bit of retribution for all that she had done to his family.

oooOOOooo

Severus sat at his desk, pondering the battle that had happened in the Ministry the previous night. The Order had been able to subdue all of the Death Eaters, who were now sojourning in Azkaban, awaiting trial. Dumbledore had arrived towards the end and had battled Voldemort, during which time Voldemort had tried to possess Harry's body. To the Dark Lord's surprise, intense pain had enveloped his spirit as he'd entered Harry. Severus smirked at the thought of his master being subject to a small part of the pain he'd subjected onto others. The Dark Lord had retreated from Harry with haste to escape the agonizing torture of being one with the boy.

Instead, he'd chosen to fight against Albus. From what Albus had told him, the battle had been intense, but neither wizard had gained much ground, each being thwarted by the other repeatedly. Finally, the Ministry had arrived, effectively breaking up the battle. Apparently, the look on Minister Fudge's face at the sight of Voldemort had been priceless. At long last, Dumbledore had exposed Voldemort's return to Fudge, the most paranoid man in all of Britain.

Surprisingly, Lucius had not led the raid. Severus marveled at Lucius' eagerness to please his master. He volunteered for every possible assignment and made sure that word always got to Voldemort about his doings. Somehow, though, he had been overlooked for this assignment. Bellatrix had led the raid, and Lucius had not even been present. The Dark Lord had sent him on another errand. That had turned out to be a lucky break for his friend, as all of the Death Eaters had been caught, and Narcissa didn't need to be husbandless for who knew how long.

Severus shook his head at the turn of events. Potter and his friends had been incredibly brave to race off to help Sirius, but in the long run, it had almost cost them their lives. If the Order hadn't shown up when they'd had, the seven friends might possibly be dead now.

Unfortunately, the Prophecy had been destroyed. Dumbledore had been the one to hear it, however, so he had shown his memory of it to Harry. Severus didn't know why the old wizard hadn't shown it to him years prior. The old coot had always been so secretive about everything.

There were several good things that had come of the entire event. Voldemort was exposed, and Umbridge had been taken away after a bout with the Centaurs. They had dragged her to their settlement, strung her up to a pole and were about to burn her at the stake when Ministry officials arrived and negotiated a release. Too bad the Ministry hadn't arrived fifteen minutes later. The thought of the charred remains of Dolores Umbridge tied to a stake were too much for Severus. He chuckled out loud to himself.

There would be a new Minister appointed, Severus was sure of it, as the press had torn Fudge apart at his denial of the return of the Dark Lord. Thankfully, when it came to Hogwarts, everything had returned to normal. Dumbledore was reinstated as the Headmaster, and every trace of Dolores Umbridge had been taken away and destroyed.

Severus' thoughts once again turned to Hermione. His chest clenched as he thought of her fighting against the Death Eaters. She was brave and capable, but he could not stop the worry that was filling his head. This was only the beginning of the war. There would be many more battles, which she was sure to take part in. He tensed as he pictured her fighting and possibly being hurt. She had come away unharmed this time, like all of her friends had, but that was no guarantee for the future.

Severus bent low and pulled open his lowest desk drawer. Pulling out a small box, he set it atop his desk and stared at it for a while. Tentatively, he lifted the lid and peered inside. A small figurine of Hermione smiled up at him. He smiled down at it and lifted the little doll out of its home. As usual, the doll hugged his thumb. A small jolt ran through his body as desire filled his heart.

This little treasure had been a Christmas gift from Hermione to help him remember her. Severus pulled the doll out at least once a week to see his love in miniature form. He watched as the tiny woman blew him a kiss.

"You're alive," he told the doll. "You were back then, which means you will be all right. No matter what happens, you will survive, won't you? You will live to be with me again, right?"

The tiny doll smiled and nodded. He smiled back, a flicker of doubt crossing his face before it was replaced with hope. Sticking out his hand, he let the doll climb onto it and lifted her up to his face.

"Don't stay away too long, Hermione. Life is wasted without you in it."

---

A/N: Next up: Sirius Black, death plots, and a flock of birdies.

Hello all. Were you surprised with the saving of Sirius Black? I always thought Neville should have gotten a shot at Bellatrix, so here's his time to shine. Thank you again for reading and dropping me a line about how you're feeling about where the plot is going.