Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I do enjoy manipulating them, though. If it's familiar, it's probably referenced from Deathly Hallows.

Chapter 31

Hermione's seventh year:

Harry sat in Dumbledore's office. The school term had not started yet, but he had sought out his Headmaster to discuss the horrible things that had occurred during the summer.

"Sir, I can't come back here. The Death Eaters will be looking for me."

Albus nodded his head. "Yes, they will be. The Ministry is making me hire two of them. It's a travesty that Death Eaters will actually be teaching here at Hogwarts. It is unsafe for any of you to return and for Hermione especially. She must go into hiding, or she will be taken by the Ministry."

"I'll make sure she's safe, and we will find the Horcruxes, sir."

"I know you will, Harry. You must find the true locket and find the other Horcruxes."

"I have a lead on the locket. It was in Grimmauld Place. Mundungus Fletcher stole it and sold it. We will find out who has it, sir."

"Good."

"Will it be safe to come to see you, sir? I can't imagine doing this all by myself."

"You can, but you must not come often, Harry. When you do, use your invisibility cloak. I will set a special password for you with the Gargoyle. Use the password 'deception'. I cannot help you much, Harry, but you should come to see me occasionally."

"I will, sir. Do you have any other leads on the other Horcruxes?"

Albus opened his drawer and pulled out a bag. He handed it to Harry. Harry opened it and found a shrunken book, a snitch, and Dumbledore's lighter. Albus said he wanted Harry, Ron, and Hermione to have those and explained which was for whom. Harry lifted the snitch and looked at it.

"If you pop it in your mouth, it will give you a message," Albus told him, smiling all the while.

Harry followed Dumbledore's orders. I open at the close. Harry looked curiously at Dumbledore.

"What does that mean?"

"Ah, that is the mystery," Albus told him.

Harry placed the snitch back in the bag.

"Well, thanks anyway, Professor," he said, somewhat puzzled, as he rose to leave. Why does Dumbledore always have to be so cryptic about everything? Wouldn't it just be easier if he'd tell me what these things are for?

"Good luck, Harry. I know you'll figure everything out."

Harry nodded and placed the Invisibility Cloak over him. He took the opportunity of being shrouded to roll his eyes at Dumbledore. Sometimes, Harry wondered if the old wizard ever wanted this war to end. He took his sweet time to reveal anything and usually let Harry flounder for a while before even attempting to aid him. He noticed Dumbledore's eyebrows rise and once again thought that the other wizard could see through the Invisibility Cloak. Harry shook his head and left the office.

oooOOOooo

Once again Severus was in Malfoy Manor standing in the Death Eater circle and listening to a crazed Voldemort.

"We must find Harry Potter! Have none of you the brains to locate a mere boy?" the snake-like man yelled.

All of the Death Eaters bowed their heads.

"My Lord," Mulciber dared to speak. "We have been watching the home at Grimmauld Place, but we have seen nothing! There are Death Eaters outside it every hour of the day. We are sure they will show up there eventually."

Voldemort snarled at his minion. "Your assumptions do me no good! Crucio!"

Mulciber fell to the ground and screamed in pain.

"You will find the boy instead of speculating where he is or is not. Do you all understand?" Voldemort yelled.

"Yes, my Lord," came the cry in unison.

"Get out of my sight!" Voldemort cried.

All of the Death Eaters quickly escaped the hall where Voldemort continued to sit. As Severus made his way to the door, he felt a hand on his arm. He turned to find Bellatrix removing her mask to speak with him. He did the same.

"Where have you been hiding, Snape?" she cackled.

"Where I always hide, Bellatrix," he said in a bored tone.

"I bet you know where the Potter brat is. I still think you're working against us."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Bellatrix, how many times must we go over the same information? I am a loyal follower of the Dark Lord, and I would think that his trust in me would convince you of the truth."

Bellatrix cackled again. "The Dark Lord seems to be blind when it comes to you!"

"Bellatrix, I would watch what I say if I were you," Severus sneered as he got close to her face. "You would not want the Dark Lord to think that you felt he was... incompetent."

"That's... that's not what I meant," she stumbled.

"What did you mean then?"

"You are up to no good, and I will find out what it is, Snape."

"Do what you must, Bellatrix, but I assure you, there will be no duplicity found on my part." Severus sneered at her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pot of stew simmering on my stove."

With that Severus turned and in a sweep of robes was gone. Antonin Dolohov wandered up behind Bella as she watched Severus disappear.

"Keep an eye on him," she whispered to Dolohov and turned, disappearing upstairs to her room.

oooOOOOooo

Harry sat in the tent watching an unconscious Ron. Their adventure had been a disaster. They could no longer return to Grimmauld Place as it had been discovered, and Ron had been splinched and hadn't regained consciousness since they'd Apparated to this wood. Harry himself was unable to contact Dumbledore for fear that the school was being doubly watched for him. They were on their own. At least they had found the real locket. What to do with it now? How can I destroy the Horcrux?

oooOOOooo

Dumbledore sat in his office, eyeing the Sword of Gryffindor. He had read in the paper about the break in at the Ministry a few weeks ago. There had been an all out manhunt for Potter and his friends since then, but no one had been successful in finding them. Albus instinctively knew they'd been after a Horcrux, probably the locket. He'd figured they had succeeded as he had not heard from the boy in all of that time until now.

He sighed. Driving the affairs of the universe was a tough job.

It was time for Harry to have the Sword so he could accomplish his mission. He unfolded the small slip of paper that had been delivered by a pigeon less than fifteen minutes ago. Albus was unsure how Harry had coerced a pigeon to carry the note to Hogwarts, but he had somehow succeeded. He glanced down at the paper once again. There were only three words on it...Forest of Dean. Dumbledore stood and threw the small paper into the fireplace. He watched it smolder and then burst into flames. Turning, he took the Sword from off his desk and hid it in his robes. He left his office, with the determination to get the Sword to Harry one way or another.

oooOOOooo

Severus left his cabin, holding the sword of Gryffindor in his hand. He had been visited by Dumbledore just an hour before. Albus had given the sword to Severus and told him to deliver it to Harry Potter. He would not tell him why, but thanks to Hermione, Severus knew all about the Horcruxes and the role the sword would play in destroying them. He glanced around quickly before Apparating away but didn't notice the two Death Eaters who were hiding behind some thick bushes, watching his every move.

oooOOOooo

Severus appeared in the forest and found a good hiding place for the sword. Albus said the sword needed to be gained heroically. He supposed that having to break through an iced-over water hole to retrieve it would be heroic enough. Hiding himself, he waited. Soon afterward, he saw Harry leave the tent. He wished he could go up to him and encourage him, but that was not his duty tonight. He sent his Patronus to lure Harry to the sword. A mighty shimmering falcon soared over Harry's head and landed a few feet away from him. Harry looked around for the owner of the Falcon Patronus, but saw no one. The falcon took to the air again, and landed a few yards away. He slowly led Harry through the woods until he was standing almost above the sword. The falcon disappeared.

Severus watched from his hiding place. He was so absorbed in watching Harry that he was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder. In a flash, his wand was extended and under the chin of the interloper. Hermione Granger stood at the end of his wand, looking as if she had just dropped dead from fear. Severus lowered his wand, but clapped a hand over Hermione's mouth. He cursed his bad luck. This was just what he needed... to be found out. He flicked his head to the left, signaling for her to go with him deeper into the woods. He kept his hand securely over her mouth until they were out of earshot of the tent and Harry. Finally he removed his hand, but cast a Muffliato spell, just to be safe.

"Professor Snape, how did you find us?"

"That is none of your concern," he snarled. Pointing his wand at her, he continued, "You must not tell Harry that you saw me, is that understood?"

"All right," she said confusedly.

"As you know, I have no qualms about killing and will not hesitate to kill you if you cannot keep this secret," Severus sneered.

"Please don't snap at me, and you don't need to pretend you're against us, I know the truth."

Severus was stunned. He was expecting her to accuse him of all sorts of terrible things, but she just stood there and said she knew everything.

"Potter told you!" he cried.

"Harry? He doesn't know anything... or does he?" she looked to Severus quizzically.

"What exactly do you think you know, Miss Granger?" Severus snarled.

"I know that you and Professor Dumbledore planned his attempted murder, and you are still spying for the Order."

Severus lowered his wand and gaped at her. "How do you know such things, if Harry didn't tell you?"

"You mean he knows? All this time we've been dancing around each other when it comes to you when he has known all along! You made me swear not to tell anybody!"

"I assure you, Miss Granger, I swore you to nothing."

"Oh, right. Let me explain."

Hermione told him about her trip into Harry's memory and her quizzing of his memory self.

"You found that bit of information in a book?"

She nodded.

Severus shook his head. "I should have known you would have figured out a way to find out the truth."

She smiled at his recognition of her skills. Severus' heart leapt at that smile.

"But why did Harry get to know and not anyone else?" she asked after a moment. She looked a bit upset to not have been in on the loop.

"Harry decided to follow me after I left the tower and Hogwarts. He attacked me, and I was forced to divulge the truth."

Hermione perked up considerably. "So, now I can talk to him about this?"

"No! If he knows I was here, that will ruin everything."

"Why?"

"I just delivered the Sword of Gryffindor to him secretly. He had to get it through heroics. If he knows I left it for him, I'm not sure what will happen; Dumbledore only said it would be bad."

"Does that man ever make sense?" Hermione mused.

Severus laughed out loud. "I thought I was the only one who thought that."

"Professor, are you alright?"

"I am fine, Miss Granger," Severus said as he straightened himself out.

"You-know-Who doesn't suspect you?"

"He does not."

Hermione visibly sighed. "I have worried about you ever since I entered Harry's dream. You must be careful, Professor. I would hate to lose you and your friendship."

Severus smiled thinly at her as his heart exploded within him. If only she knew what her words meant to him, but she would not. He would keep it a secret that would help him to make it through his lonely and dangerous days.

"I must be going," he told her.

"Good luck, Professor," Hermione said in a hushed voice.

She smiled at him, which made him want to grab her and hold her to him. He restrained himself, but found her not as reserved. She closed the distance and hugged him fiercely. Severus closed his eyes as his arms went around her. All too soon, she was pulling away from him.

"Take care of yourself," Hermione admonished.

Severus stared into her eyes for a long moment before nodding. As he turned away, there was a huge lump in his throat. He did not look at her again before Disapparating.

oooOOOooo

Severus appeared back at his cabin. Looking around, he thought he saw something move in the woods. He extended his wand and went to investigate. Two Death Eaters emerged from a thick brush and pointed their wands at Severus.

"So, where did you go with that sword, Severus?" Antonin Dolohov asked.

"What sword?" Severus asked simply.

"The sword of Gryffindor that Dumbledore dropped off a little while ago."

Severus knew he would have to fight to the death to get out of this. He struck the first blow, sending Dolohov flying. The other Death Eater, Crabbe Sr. by the look of it, shot a curse at Severus. He ducked and shot one at Crabbe. Incompetent as the Death Eater was, he was able to block the curse and send one of his own as he dodged around like a lumbering ox. Severus turned and blocked the hex easily. The two wizards locked onto each other with their wands. Crabbe Sr. sent a hex at Severus. Just then Dolohov rose and sent another curse at Severus' back. Not even seeing Dolohov or his curse, he blocked Crabbe's, but was struck unconscious by Dolohov's. The two Death Eaters laughed and picked up Severus, Disapparating away with him.

oooOOOooo

They brought him back to Malfoy Manor and dragged him to the Dungeons. Bellatrix appeared out of nowhere, a huge smile on her face. She looked down at the still unconscious Snape as the other two filled her in on what they saw.

"Not so haughty now, are you?" she asked Severus.

She pointed her wand at him and sent a Crucio curse at him. His body shook uncontrollably as he lay there unconscious. She released the curse and looked at Snape sadly.

"It's just not any fun if you're not going to scream, Snape. Oh, but we'll see you scream alright. When the Dark Lord gets a hold of you, you will scream and scream and scream."

She turned and looked to Dolohov and Crabbe. "He's all yours," she said maniacally as she turned and left the dungeon.

oooOOOooo

Severus didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but when he awoke he found himself in a cell, chained to a wall. He could feel welts along his torso and knew he had been beaten while unconscious. They had left his clothes on, but they were torn and dirtied. How long would he have to remain in this prison before they brought him before Voldemort? He knew that when they did, his life would be forfeit. His cover had been blown, and he was as good as dead.

A/N: Next up: Can Severus survive the wrath of Voldemort?

Thanks for your support and reviews. You all probably aren't fond of what happened to Severus in this chapter, right? Sorry for the cliffie. Happy reading and reviewing. ;)