Chapter 25

A/N: Thanks again to all of you who keep sending all the wonderful reviews. I truly appreciate them. Thanks also to luvsev and WriterMerrin for their continuous hard work.

***

Hermione woke up and at first was disoriented. Then she saw Professor Snape walking towards her and jumped in panic.

"Where am I?" she demanded.

He looked at her, confused. "Hermione, you are with me in my rooms at Hogwarts."

Hermione breathed deeply. "You scared me. I wasn't prepared to see you in such severe-looking robes."

He grinned. "I know. I am rather young to be a teacher, so I need to be extra-severe," he said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"We have a meeting with Albus in about an hour. Will you be ready in time?"

"Of course!" Hermione replied. "All I need is a shower. I don't have any robes. All I have is my traveling cloak. The rest are all Muggle clothes."

"Just shrink one of mine and wear it over your Muggle clothes," he said as he walked to the other side of the bedroom.

Severus opened the door to the lavatory. "All you need: towels, shampoo, soap, an extra toothbrush are all in here. I have a class to teach. Afterwards, I will collect you, and we'll Floo into Albus' office."

Hermione wrapped the bed sheet around her as she padded to the bathroom. She stopped in front of Severus as his eyes followed her figure.

"What year are you teaching, Professor Snape?" she asked saucily.

"First-years. Wretched lot," he said with a sigh.

"Well, I can help you grade papers tonight if you want my help?" she offered.

"You don't need to do that," he said softly as he played with her long hair.

"I have to earn my keep," she retorted playfully.

"Cheek! I would never let one of my students talk to me that way!" he said indignantly.

"Well, I'm not one of your students, Professor," she whispered as she flung her arms around him, letting the sheet fall to the floor.

He kissed her soundly and said, "As much as I would love a repeat of yesterday's festivities, I must now go to work. Please don't send me in there with a raging hard-on," he pleaded.

"Sorry, sir," she said flatly as she retrieved her sheet. He smiled evilly and then turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

Hermione sighed as she began to unpack. She was feeling rather unsettled. Yesterday had been perfect. She had felt so right in his arms. Now, she had to go and face the reality that she had not been a part of this man's life for the past three years. He had experienced war, death, pain, and sorrow. She had not been a part of any of it. They had parted on bad terms, but yesterday had shown her he didn't care. He was glad she was back in his life. Would everyone else? Who was still alive?

She thought about all the people she had known through the years since the Time-Turner brought her to this life. She had done what Dumbledore asked of her. She had made a life for herself, but she had drawn the line as to how involved she would become in others' lives. She hoped she would still be welcome and not a pariah. After all, she had just up and disappeared right when the war was escalating for the Order.

She was waiting in Severus' office when she heard him yelling on the other side of the door. Some poor first-year was getting it good from Professor Snape. So, after everything, he still became Professor Snape! It worried her.

He came back in and looked murderous. She shrank from him, and his face relaxed. "Am I that terrifying to look at?" he asked deeply.

"Yes," she said honestly.

He smirked. "Good! Then the little bastards will think twice before fucking around in class," he answered distractedly as he looked around his office, rubbing his hands together.

"Ah, there it is," he murmured as he picked up a book. He slipped back into his classroom.

Hermione shook her head. "Severus, before we go to see Albus, I want you to know it's going to take some time for you and I to get into some sort of groove. I don't know who Professor Snape is, and from what I just heard, he is pretty scary," she called out to him.

Severus returned to the office and looked at her ruefully. He stole an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. "There are, unfortunately, faces I have to show in public as a part of my image," he explained. "However, you and I connect on a deeper level. I am still the boy you grew up with and who fell in love with you. We made oaths to each other, and those oaths are stronger than being apart for three years. I missed you, Hermione, and I loved you every day we were apart. I will never stop loving you. Time can't change it because what we have is real."

"I love you," Hermione said as she hugged him.

"I love you, Hermione," he answered. "Albus is waiting."

***

"Hermione!" Albus said happily. "This is a happy day, my child. A happy day!"

Hermione looked around her. Minerva, Kingsley, and a man who looked liked he could be Moody were in attendance. She was welcomed heartily by all, except for Moody. He had a magical eye that seemed to have replaced one of his dark, beady ones. He looked as if he had been in the thick of war and had nearly died in the process. He resented her, Hermione figured. She wouldn't begrudge him his hate for her if that were the case.

Dumbledore began. "I suppose, Hermione, you would like to know what has transpired these last three years?"

Moody interrupted him. "I cannot stay silent. This witch deserves to be in Azkaban! She ran out when the Order needed every able body it had. How many died because she was a coward?"

Severus jumped up at her defense. Moody drew his wand. "Don't even think of challenging me, boy," he growled. "If it weren't for Albus, I would have you in chains and in Azkaban so fast..."

"...That will be enough, Alastor!" warned Dumbledore harshly. "Severus, sit down. As I have told you all, Miss Granger is not to be harassed or criticized for her leaving the wizarding world. She had to do it for the Greater Good. There are circumstances, Alastor, that no one save Hermione and myself are aware. I look at it this way: her withdrawal from our world saved more lives in the long-run than if she had stayed."

"I still think Hermione must be a Seer," contended Kingsley. "How else would she know when it would be safe to return?"

"Unless she was in league with You-Know-Who. Just look at them, cozy and in love. A Death Eater and what? What are you, girl?" growled Moody.

Hermione turned to Dumbledore. He raised his hand. "Now is not the time to talk of these things. All will be revealed in due course. For now, you will keep a civil tongue in your head, Alastor, or leave," he said plainly.

No one moved or spoke. "Very well. I think now would be the time to let Hermione know what has transpired these last three years.

Minerva spoke first. "After you left, the Order went into full swing. The summer was spent recruiting, training, and bringing new members up to speed on what You-Know-Who was doing. The Ministry was all but in shambles. Barty Crouch Sr. held it all together. A very brave man, albeit a harsh man. He gave the Aurors full approval to kill rather than bring in Death Eaters alive."

"Which was a stupid and asinine order!" growled Moody. "How would we ever get any information if we just killed Death Eaters on the spot?"

"It may have been hard, but the times were desperate!" Minerva shot back. She turned back to Hermione. "You-Know-Who unleashed a torrent of creatures to break us. Giants were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings. Train crashes and the like...it was all the work of the Giants. The Ministry was in a frenzy trying to Modify the memories of all the Muggles who had seen them. He also had an army of Inferi, an army of the dead, to slaughter whole families. We lost so many people. The cream of the next generation!" she sniffed and drew out a handkerchief.

Kingsley continued. "The losses were grave, but there were many successes that kept us going. 1979 was the worst year. We had just truly formed the Order right after of the Graduation of '79. The Longbottoms joined us and to this day are our most fiercest..."

"...The Longbottoms?" asked Hermione. I thought they were supposed to be dead!

"Yes, Frank and Alice married the day after they left Hogwarts, went right into training. They were with us and were our two strongest members. They both at three separate occasions battled You-Know-Who and walked away alive. He hated them, and through Frank, Alice, James and Lily, we managed to thwart many of his plans.

"But we had losses right from the start. Edgar Bones' family...they were all nearly killed. That was a horrible loss. Then there were those we never found: Mary MacDonald. She had been marked for death, same as you, Hermione. That's why I don't share Alastor's viewpoint. You-Know-Who was furious that you could not be found. I know now that Severus took many beatings for not collecting you and bringing you to him. The idea was spread that you were the reason for some of the successes the Order had. You were some sort of double agent, some sort of wizarding 'Mata Hari.'"

Hermione snorted. "I did what I could. Death Eaters were so obvious it was pathetic! I managed to save Muggle women from being victims. I even had a run in with Severus and Lucius one night a month ago."

Everyone's eyes pierced into hers. "What?" she asked defensively.

"What exactly were you doing, Hermione?" asked Minerva anxiously. "Severus?"

Hermione felt she was put on the spot and grew defensive. "I was very depressed! I couldn't do anything...and I had good reasons to stay away. But I couldn't just sit by and do nothing! So, I began to go to the local bars and discos where I knew Death Eaters frequented. I started to upset their plans to kidnap victims. I hid my face a lot with glamors. Last month, Severus told Lucius who I was. He laughed. I don't think he took me seriously, but I rescued two girls that night!" she said angrily.

She looked at Moody and said, "You have no right to judge me! I did what I had to for a far better purpose down the road. Even so, I still managed to do something for the war effort, so don't you sit there are say I was a coward! I am no coward," she yelled.

She was riled and right pissed off at Moody. Hell, she knew to expect it, but not from them. From some random person who didn't know her or what she had done over the years, she could handle, but the very people she had trained under and had known her personally? They all calmed down, and Kingsley continued. "We lost Caradoc Dearborn; his body was never recovered."

"Wouldn't be surprised if he became one of his Inferi!" Moody interjected morbidly.

Everyone cringed at that statement.

"We lost Benjy Fenwick too," Kingsley added.

"No!" breathed Hermione. "Fenwick's boy? He was so nice to us!" she said painfully. Benjy and Mary! Who else? she thought sadly.

Kingsley continued. "We lost Dorcas Meadowes. I don't think you met her. She was killed by You-Know-Who personally. She was a very powerful witch. Then, we lost Marlene McKinnon, right after she joined. They killed her whole family. Sirius was heart-broken. He had been in love with her."

"She was a very powerful duelist," Hermione said sadly. "I watched her practice with James Potter and Sirius Black. She didn't even break a sweat and had them on their knees. She was fast and deadly accurate."

"Well, she and her family were killed. We have a number of Death Eaters in custody that may give up names in exchange for leniency," said Dumbledore.

"You know my thoughts on that, Albus," muttered Moody.

"I do, Alastor, but this is neither the time nor the place. Go on, Kingsley," he said calmly.

"Gideon and Fabian Prewett. That was a blow. It took five Death Eaters to take them down," Kingsley said with a look of respect on his face.

"Aye, including Dolohov. That wizard is one piece of work! They fought bravely to the end. T'was devastating for Molly and Arthur. They were Molly Weasley's brothers," Moody explained.

"Hermione never met the Weasleys," said Minerva. "Good people, backbone of the Order."

Severus suddenly spoke up. "Losses were on both sides. You remember Wilkes?"

Hermione nodded.

"Dead. You can thank Moody for that. He refused to come alive, so it had to go to the bitter end," Severus said.

"That's how I got my new lovely eye," he said with a gruesome smile. Wilkes decided to take a chunk of my face with him before he bit it!"

"There were a great number of lower level Death Eaters you never knew that died. However, one died who decided to openly leave the Dark Lord," Severus said softly.

"Who?" Hermione asked wide-eyed.

"Regulus Black," he replied.

"No!" she breathed. "I never would have thought it," she said as she shook her head.

"Because he was the one who ordered Travers to beat you?" he asked.

"Well, no, actually I thought that was rather merciful of him," she said. Hermione explained the assault by Black and Travers after she had struck Severus in public.

Moody snorted. "Damn right he was merciful. Lucky you weren't made an example of!"

Severus continued. "Well, Regulus made a fatal error of going off on his own when the Dark Lord tried to get him to release one of his family house-elves for an important task concerning his 'immortality.' Regulus had been aiding the Dark Lord and was privy to some of the more secret aspects of the Dark Lord's work. Regulus said he had figured out a way to make a strike against the Dark Lord's quest for immortality. Ruddy fool! He should have kept going and doing it undercover! I would have gladly aided him, but he had so much guilt concerning Sirius, he went alone. Got himself killed."

Hermione shook her head. "What about Sirius? Peter? James and Lily?"

Dumbledore sighed. "We wanted to save this for the last. Hermione, there are many Death Eaters in custody in Azkaban. We still have many at large. Evan Rosier, Igor Karkaroff, the Lestrange brothers and Bellatrix Lestrange, and Dolohov. But we have just today apprehended Travers and Mulciber. Lucius Malfoy also has turned himself in, claiming he had been Imperiused by Tom. We have no idea how long this will go on before it's all sorted out and all those who are criminals apprehended.

"Halloween night, Voldemort somehow broke though the Fidelius Charm on the Potters' house. James and Lily had a little boy, Harry. Tom killed James and then killed Lily. He went to kill Harry, and the curse rebounded. Little Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord."

"Amazing, truly amazing!" blurted Minerva. "All of England...all of Great Britain is celebrating as I am sure the entire wizarding world is! Everyone is saying after all the Death Eaters are rounded up and put away, then Barty Crouch Sr. will become the new Minister of Magic! Barty has been a bulwark, even though a bit fanatical at times. He'll be a strong leader to strengthen and gather everyone together again."

They all grew sad. Hermione whispered, "How did this happen, Albus? Who was the Secret-Keeper?"

"Sirius Black," replied Dumbledore.

"My God!" she cried out. "How could that be? They were closer than brothers; they were like two halves of a whole person!"

Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. All this time and no one could have been arsed to tell Harry?

Severus rolled his eyes. "Please, Hermione, do not wax sentimental about Black and Potter. I have a weak constitution," he said snidely.

"I don't believe it!" Hermione said firmly. I refuse to believe Sirius Black would sell out James and Lily! Sure, I think him capable of anything, but not James!"

"He was the Secret-Keeper, Hermione. Peter is heaven only knows...probably too terrified to come out. Lupin is still lying low for now. The Order must still keep its ranks. Tom may be gone, but there are fervent supporters out there just waiting to do damage. Right now, Hogwarts is the safest place to be," Dumbledore finished.

Suddenly the fireplace burned green, and a man's head stuck out of the fireplace.

"Dumbledore!" someone shouted.

Hermione and Severus jumped out of the way as the man began raving. "It's a catastrophe! We need Moody and Kingsley here right now! We've got twelve dead Muggles, and Peter Pettigrew is gone. Blasted to bits!"

"Who did this, Cornelius?" asked Dumbledore gravely.

"Sirius Black. We've got him now! However, it took so many Aurors to subdue him, the Ministry's in a panic. He's stark raving mad! This is complete pandemonium!"

Kingsley and Moody readied themselves, and the man, Cornelius, stepped out of the way.

I wonder if it could be Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic? thought Hermione.

Hermione was shaken out of her thoughts with Severus and Minerva arguing over Sirius.

"I knew it! That damn piece of filth was never to be trusted...NEVER!" Severus raged.

"We don't know the whole story, Severus. It could be a misunderstanding!" snapped Minerva in response.

"Hermione?" asked Dumbledore quietly. "I think you and I need to have a private word."

Severus and Minerva stepped out of the office as Hermione sank into her chair. Albus came and sat next to her.

"Now what has happened has come to pass, do you have anything to share with me?" he asked gravely.

Hermione felt strange opening up this side of her mind. These were things she had never spoke of aloud and rarely thought of, to be honest. Yet, Albus was right. It had come to pass, and there was no use hiding it anymore.

Hermione heard her voice talking, but it was hollow and flat. "The days before my arrival were full of dread and anxiety for our world. There was a wizard that came to my knowledge. He was known as a dangerous person who had killed 12 Muggles and a wizard. I didn't know who the wizard was who had been killed."

"Peter Pettigrew," Dumbledore murmured, shaking his head.

Hermione continued. "Black escaped, and rumor was that he was going to try to murder Harry Potter."

Dumbledore looked at her with a horrific glare. "Black truly was a murderer?" he said shocked.

"That's what Harry told me..." She stopped speaking, placing a hand over her mouth.

"You are friends with Harry Potter?" he asked quietly.

"He's my best friend," she whispered. "We are in the same year."

"And I suppose Severus was your Professor?"

"Yes, sir."

"Merlin!" he exclaimed. "The world has turned upside down."

"Look," said Hermione. "You told me to make a life here, and I did. You placed me with Lily and Severus, and I made the best of things. I never intended to fall in love with Severus, but I did."

Dumbledore sat down behind his desk. "As far as you know, has everything come to fruition, or has there been a snag in time?" he asked cautiously.

"It isn't over yet, Albus," Hermione warned darkly. "There are still Death Eaters out there and more tragedy is still to come. I'm sorry, but it cannot be helped. I don't know enough of the details, but it isn't over for some of the Death Eaters still out there."

Dumbledore rubbed his forehead. "Do you feel as helpless as I do at times, Hermione?" he asked hollowly.

"Yes," she breathed. "It was hell for all this time to look into the faces of those I knew would die, yet I find it ironic that I still can be shocked. I never knew about Marlene, Mary, and Benjy dying. I can't believe Marlene is gone! She was so powerful. But, Mary, I am not surprised. How they hated that they couldn't touch her. I only wish I could have taken her with me," she said sadly.

"And Severus?" asked Dumbledore. "What can you tell me?"

"He saved Harry's life," she answered. "When Voldemort resurfaced...and no...I refuse to tell you about it. I can't risk it. All I know is that Severus Snape is not the sort of man people like, but you trust him."

"Thank you, Hermione," he answered. "At least there is one doubt that I don't have to worry over anymore."

Hermione rose from her seat. She didn't know anymore what to do to help the Order or to relieve Dumbledore's mind. She didn't know where to go from here. Should she tell Severus the truth about who she really was? Would it matter if she never returned? Of course it matters! she thought. In ten years, a little girl named Hermione Granger is going to walk through Hogwarts doors, and then what?

She decided as she slowly opened the door that she didn't know where she was going or what she was doing, but one thing was clear. It wasn't over. The Longbottoms were still out there, and something was going to happen to them; she just didn't know what. Besides, Severus was facing Azkaban. She couldn't tell him. Not now. Not yet.