Chapter 15

A/N: I want to thank luvsev for the hard work she's done, and I also want to thank each of you who have read and left reviews! Keep them coming :)

***

The fall term started tense and full of unspoken fear. Dumbledore had been correct in his assessment that further lines would have to be drawn between the Slytherins and Gryffindors as their world barreled swiftly towards war.

Hermione had been eagerly awaiting Severus' return. When he finally arrived at the Start-of-Term Feast, he was very different. He looked so unlike the Severus she knew that she almost didn't recognize him. He was dressed in brand-new robes. Severus had never owned anything new. However, he was groomed and dressed appropriately. Hermione noticed a couple of Slytherin girls looking at him like they could have eaten him with a spoon. It rankled Hermione, but she kept her herself collected, remembering to practice the disciplines of Occlumency.

Avery and Severus greeted her formally before the Feast began. It was a diplomatic maneuver by Slytherin House to demonstrate to their brothers whom they were to show deference. The message was clear: Hermione Granger was not to be touched. She was under the protection of Avery, which meant she had the approval of the Dark Lord himself. This seemingly meaningless exchange as interpreted by the Gryffindors was not lost upon Sirius Black. He knew all about the Slytherins and their ceremonies. He was incensed and appalled that Avery and Snape would have the gall to flaunt themselves at Gryffindor's table.

That evening, Hermione found herself in an imbroglio that threatened to tear Gryffindor House in two. Sirius Black went straight up to Hermione as she entered the common room and attacked her verbally.

"You traitor!" he snarled as he pointed his wand at her chest, striding up towards her.

James, Lily, Peter and Lupin tried to call him off. He refused to relent. "I can't believe you would even think of consorting with that rabble after how Snivellus treated Lily last term! How can you call yourself a Gryffindor?"

Hermione's temper flared white hot in righteous indignation. "You dare call me a traitor?" she snapped. "I wasn't the one who asked to be chosen. It so happens that I managed to stand up against Avery, Mulciber, Rabastan and Rosier in order to get them to leave Mary MacDonald alone!"

Mary stood up and interjected. "That's why they haven't bothered me? I thought perhaps they were just biding their time!"

"No," Hermione said calmly. "I told them Mary was under MY protection since none of you saw fit to help her. I bested three of Avery's cronies in one fell swoop. Avery then offered to sit down with me and negotiate the terms. Shortly after, Avery informed me that he was impressed with me. He called me Miss Granger, and later I was informed that I had been recognized as the Head of Gryffindor House.

"You?" spat Sirius. "You came here in your third year! What claim do you have to speak for all of us?" he challenged.

"I have no such claim," she replied. "This is not about who is the better person amongst us. It has to do with the person they wish to negotiate with in the future."

"This is preposterous! Gryffindors will never abide by Slytherin's archaic class structure! You don't speak for us!" snarled Sirius.

Suddenly, to everyone's shock, Lupin spoke up. "Hermione is right, Sirius. She has proven that she is powerful enough to duel against three boys at once. All upperclassmen as well from what I was told. Not only that, Hermione has an innate ability for diplomacy and levelheadedness. She is far too logical to allow her emotions to cloud her better judgment. If this is going to come down to war, as we believe it shall, it will be crucial to have someone who can deal with the other side. I think we should let Hermione do what she has been doing and leave her in peace. Besides, she has more people other than Mary under her protection," he added.

He sat down and stared at Hermione for quite a while as Sirius continued to demand answers. "Who is under your protection? What is the cost for all of this? Slytherins don't do anything for free. What are you, Snape's whore?"

Lupin and a couple other Gryffindors started to rage against Sirius. Lupin was furious. He jumped up, and for the first time Hermione could remember, challenged him.

"Will you stop being so damn bloody-minded and listen to reason?" he roared. "If she were whoring herself to Snape, there would be no respect! She would only be Snape's 'Mudblood whore!' At this he turned and glanced at each of the Muggle-borns in the room and said, "I apologize for using that offensive word. I only said it to express the reality of the situation."

Hermione was affronted that neither Lily nor James came to her side against Sirius' accusations of her being Snape's whore. She excused herself from the common room. But before she left, she hissed in Sirius' ear.

"You've got nerve to accuse me, Sirius! I know all about the deal with the devil you made last term. Don't you forget it!"

She stormed out of the room and returned to her dorm. Damn them! she thought. Damn the lot of them!

***

Over the next few weeks, Hermione spent a great deal of time with Remus Lupin. He seemed to possess the only rational mind in the whole of Gryffindor House. He also had been chosen to study Occlumency with Dumbledore. Soon, they were pit against the other, searching for vulnerabilities in each other's mind. Hermione also confided in Remus about her difficulties she had been experiencing with Lily and the strain in her relationship with Severus.

Remus was an apt listener. He was intelligent and very fair-minded. He also was not quick to judge. That trait came to be something Hermione cherished in him, especially when she finally admitted the depth of her feelings for Severus.

He had sighed and looked rather sad when she admitted her love for Severus. It was more than knowing his affection for Hermione would never be returned. He was concerned about her welfare.

"Hermione," he began. "There is a reason why things between he and Lily had to end," he said.

"I know, Remus," she replied. "However, I know Severus and understand what motivates him more than Lily ever was able!"

"I suppose that is an important element," he mused.

"Knowing the reasons why Severus chooses certain avenues helps to understand the man he is becoming," she offered.

Remus looked at her pointedly, halting her steps while they had been walking around the Black Lake.

"Hermione, the man that Severus is becoming...is that the man you want?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered honestly. Lupin shook his head in sheer disappointment.

"Don't!" she snapped. "You only know one side of Severus Snape. I've lived with him. I have experienced tragedy, loss, hell...I've even held him as he cried. You do not know enough about him to pass judgment, Remus," she warned.

"I don't want to judge, Hermione," he said calmly. "I want to understand, I do. It just seems that I won't be able to, and it makes me sad."

Hermione looked at him earnestly. "Why, Remus?" she whispered.

He looked at her with pain etched on his face. "Because it means there will always be a part of you I shall never understand, a part that will forever be lost to me," he whispered.

Hermione patted his back. It was sad, but it couldn't be helped. After all this time, her heart had found someone to love. She just couldn't believe it ended up being Professor Snape! However, the Professor Snape she remembered from her first and second years didn't seem so clear anymore. He was fading from her mind and quickly being replaced by Severus, the boy who was becoming a man, who had kissed her as he played that old record to tell her he was falling in love with her.

Remus left her then, and she walked into the main gates, walking along the corridors, aimlessly daydreaming about the night Severus kissed her.

A pair of hands grabbed her and threw her into an empty classroom. It was dark. Hermione saw a black figure in front of the door.

"Severus?" she whispered.

"What were you doing with Lupin?" he demanded.

"You know Dumbledore has been teaching us Occlumency. We work together. Besides, he's the only Gryffindor that will even speak to me with any civility these days," she said snidely.

"What about Lily?" he sneered.

"She largely ignores me. You've seen it in class. She is beginning to hate me, I think," she whispered sadly as she lowered her head.

Severus came closer and held her face in his hands. "I can't stop thinking about the night I was in your bed. I wish we had given in, Hermione. But then, I can't forget the kiss we shared. It was perfect. It was the most perfect experience I've ever known. I love you, Hermione. I love you with an emotion I have never felt before in my life...ever...and I shall never stop."

Hermione felt his hands cover hers. He leaned into her and whispered in her ear, "Let me kiss you, Hermione. Let me feel your perfection."

Hermione felt her breath hitch and said, "The lights, Severus. I don't want to kiss you in the darkness."

He lit the room, and they looked into each other's face. "It's been too long, Hermione," he whispered.

She lifted her head and leaned into him. He caressed her face as he brought his warm lips to touch hers lightly. It felt so smooth and easy. Then they shifted their lips and began to give into the deeper urges within them. They continued to kiss passionately and hungrily. Finally, they broke apart.

"I will always love you," he whispered his lips brushing her own.

"Promise?" she choked out.

"I promise," he said fervently.

The magic swirled around them again as it had once before when promises had been made, and they were still awed by the intensity of its power. They stood in reverent silence as the swirling colors of gold, silver, purple, red, blue and green shimmered around them. As Hermione looked into Severus' black eyes, she knew something powerful had taken place between them.

"What's to become of us, Severus?" she asked.

"I don't know," he whispered as he looked at the dissolving magic around them. "We'll have to wait and see what the Dark Lord wants."

She nodded. It's already starting. The Dark Lord is beginning to dictate our lives. Well, only for five more years come Halloween. Five more years, and I can have him without fear, without reservation and without having to answer to anyone. He promised to love me.

"Severus," she whispered as he began to open to the door to leave. "I will love you. I promise that I will never do you harm. I may hurt you, being just a simple witch in love, but I shall never hurt you out of malice or of ill intent. I will always love you."

Severus strode to her and pulled her to him tightly and held her close. Hermione felt the emotions between them so keenly; she couldn't hold back the tears coursing down her cheeks. Severus held her face and kissed them away before taking her lips again with his own. They held on as long as they dared, then released the other without a sound or a goodbye. There was no need for the words. Not for them.

***

Hermione had been correct in her assessment of Lily's agitation with her. As the weeks passed, she grew more impatient with Hermione's presence. The evenings usually ended with her strolling in right at curfew and spending her late evenings with the Gryffindors in the common room. She still kept her distance from the Marauders somewhat. She seemed unsure as to how she should go about her newfound independence from Hermione and Severus.

Mary MacDonald was the only other Gryffindor besides Lupin that confided with Hermione about what was truly happening in Gryffindor House.

"Look," she said one evening in late September. "I don't feel exactly comforted by knowing you have this 'alliance' with Slytherin, but I am not a person who forgets a kindness. I also realize that it is only by your good graces that I have remained unmolested since my last encounter with Mulciber and Rosier."

Hermione regarded the young woman with deep respect and appreciated her honesty.

"Mary," she said, "you have absolutely nothing to fear. I respect your honesty and insight. You owe me nothing. I have been the one chosen and have the power and ability to save those whom I can. When I think about Laura Danbary, I shudder to think!"

Mary nodded gravely. They both knew what had happened to the young Muggle-born Ravenclaw. She had been viciously raped and her mind Obliviated. She had no recollection of the event itself, but she had been nearly been killed with the viciousness dealt her. She was gone from Hogwarts now. No one was sure if she would ever return.

"Mary," Hermione asked. "How is Lily, really? I am concerned for her. I have no claim on her and neither does Severus. Is she being treated well and protected by James and Sirius?"

Mary laughed weakly. "James and Sirius act like the biggest prats, just to cover the fact that they are in essence her bodyguards. Either Lily has no real inclination of what is happening here, or she just wants to turn a blind eye to it all." Mary drew in an uneasy breath. "Hermione, I really am sorry that she has treated you with such disdain. Her mind is so closed. I don't think she's gotten over what Severus did to her."

Hermione wanted nothing more than to set the record straight. However, she couldn't risk it. Lily was slowly growing closer to James and Sirius. James had even said to her face that he knew he had bested Severus. The only relief was that he didn't rub it in Severus' face. That would have been too much to bear.

"Mary," she said. "I want you to do me a favor. I need to know how things are going with Lily. If there could be a way for you to either act as a liaison between James Potter, or you could just continue to give me your assessments of situations as they arise, I would be grateful. I know what I am asking could be potentially dangerous, especially if Sirius were to discover what you were up to..."

"...You really don't trust Sirius Black," she interjected.

Hermione was unapologetic. "Mary, there are things I know that I can not reveal to you. All I can say is that I do not trust Sirius Black, and he has given me more than one reason to not do so. He is a hothead and potentially dangerous. I warned Lily that she would rue the day she ever met the boy, but she just laughed it off as she always does. Well, one day, she may regret how she ignored my warning."

"Do you trust James Potter?" she asked.

Hermione pondered her question. "I do. I do not particularly like James, and to be sure, he has his faults, but nonetheless, I believe him to be upright and honest. Even in his errors, he makes no excuses for his blatant hatred for Severus, and I respect that. I wish all my enemies were so open...not that I consider James an enemy!" she said quickly at the sight of Mary's aghast face. "No, I trust James to be honest and noble. It's almost comforting in the midst of all this duplicity! I detest these intrigues, deceptions and half-truths that are so commonplace when negotiating with Slytherin House."

Mary gave her hand a squeeze as they stood against the railing overlooking the Gryffindor common room as the inhabitants played, joked and enjoyed themselves without the burdens of knowing it all came with a price.

She remembered Severus had told her once that nothing ever was free when it came to dealing with Slytherins. She looked over at Sirius Black, flirting with a couple of girls. He was so carefree, so smug in his disdain for her. He should know being from a long line of Slytherins that Hermione was the one person he should be thanking for his easy life. Hermione's heart hardened even more as she watched him laugh and flirt. He should be on his knees in gratitude for her patience and longsuffering where she was concerned. She knew that if she only gave the word, he would be dead. If it had not been for the concessions she had made at the beginning of the school year, the war would have most assuredly broken out. Instead, she was ridiculed and disrespected by her very own house. Avery reveled in her rejection by her own house. He saw it as proof that Gryffindors were nothing special or courageous. If anything, they were just as territorial and narrow-minded as Slytherins were.

"Oh, they spout their equality amongst all wizards and witches, yet they reject their own savior!" Avery had said one day to her as he laughed.

***

Hermione was the only non-Slytherin allowed inside the common room. When she arrived each Thursday evening, she would negotiate terms with Avery. As Dumbledore had predicted, there was a great deal of Legilimency taking place through the course of her visit. Hermione, being the methodical, logical, industrious witch she was, had taken to Occlumency like a duck to water. She had a natural talent for the craft, and Lupin was always proud to report that he, never on his best day, could breach her walls.

Dumbledore taught the subtly of creating false memories and directing the person down the corridors of the mind where you wished for them to go. The greatest lesson she learned in her training was not to focus against keeping a person out of an area that is rife with information; the focus was to not show anything that was hiding at all and merely 'give over' the tidbits that could keep the person happy, but to unable them to truly ascertain any real truths or secrets. It was paradoxical; the safest defense was not in protectively locking away one's secrets, but keeping them hidden in plain sight. There, they would be most likely overlooked.

This particular Thursday evening's discussion was about the on-going conflict between the Marauders and Severus Snape.

Avery sat across from Hermione with Severus at his side. He never was a person to mince words; however, tonight he was even less inclined.

He looked at Hermione long and hard before he spoke. "I seem to recall, Miss Granger, upon our initial meeting that if anyone were to set their sights on the Mudblood MacDonald, especially more than one person at a time, that the punishment would be meted out in double portions. I have to say that the actions of those in your own house have been less than stellar. Although, we have been reluctant to interfere with Severus' personality conflicts, we are no longer going to turn a blind eye."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "That statement has a lot of buckshot behind it," she replied smoothly.

Avery smiled viciously. "I am only willing to give you the same consideration you have given us." He steepled his fingers in front of him as his elbows rested on the arms of his chair.

Hermione remained steady. "So, when I return to Gryffindor tower, the message I will carry is to watch out, the Slytherins are in for 'an eye for eye?'"

Avery chuckled. "No, think of it more as the Golden Rule: a 'do unto others.' If Severus is set upon again two to one, I shall presume that is the same action they want reciprocated," he said simply.

Unfazed, Hermione retorted, "Don't expect for either Potter or Black to stand down from what they will interpret as an unmitigated threat. This message will only increase the likelihood of retaliation."

"Oh, I hope so," Avery said in an eager whisper. "Only, make sure they realize that they may not be the recipients of our vengeance," he explained. "I'm sure that shall keep their wands in check."

"I'm curious," Hermione asked as she settled back into her chair. "Why is it that you have taken such an interest in Severus' well-being when you have shown nothing for it before? Why now, when he is old enough to manage his own affairs?"

Avery waved away her question. "That is not your concern, Miss Granger. I do not expect you to understand. This is the Slytherin way. We do not believe in protecting the weak, only those who are the most vital. You Gryffindors have that defect of protecting the weakest among you."

Hermione was disgusted. "So, I should interpret this change of attitude towards Severus as proof of his rising power amongst your ranks?"

"Miss Granger," Avery said elegantly. "I do believe Gryffindor is entirely wasted upon you. If it were not for the fact you are only a poor orphan, you might have found greatness in Slytherin House."

"Nevertheless," Hermione replied in repulsion as she stood. "I shall take my chances with Gryffindor House."

She left them after the parties had shaken hands, and the two wizards had bowed to her. The many faces she saw as she weaved her way towards the common room door helped to ground her in the reality that she was no more welcome or respected than the lowliest Muggle-born Hufflepuff. As charming and effervescent as Avery was towards her, Hermione knew her place amongst them. It would be foolish to ever forget for a mere second.