Chapter 65

A/N: I want to thank all of you who reviewed the last chapter. I know it was hard to take, and things aren't going to get better just yet, but I hope you will stick with it. We only have NINE chapters left!

***

Over the next two weeks, Tonks proved to be Hermione's most loyal friend. She informed her of the Wizengamot's progress concerning her trial, but the wheels of justice proved to turn slowly. However, Tonks never failed to arrive daily with food for the prisoner and escort her to where she could shower and listen to the gossip going around the Auror Department and the Ministry.

Each day was the same. "How are you, Hermione?"

"Well enough."

Tonks was extra enthusiastic this day. "We're getting a room ready for you with your own bathroom, couch, and bed where you can be comfortable. Scrimgeour is going spare. The Ministry is hanging on by a thread. There might not be a trial after all! We don't know if Hogwarts will even open for the fall semester," Tonks added.

Hermione's mind told her she should be happy about the prospect of no trial. However, the pain and fear of not knowing where Severus was or if he were safe kept her in a state of constant turmoil.

***

From her cell, Hermione had watched the funeral for Dumbledore, and she had not felt any remorse about his death. In fact, she was glad the wizard was dead. At least Severus only had to answer to one despot. Her lack of grief over Dumbledore's death bothered her, but it couldn't be helped. She hated the old wizard and was unable to shake the feeling that he had used them all terribly. After the funeral, she heard Fawkes singing a lament, and it had been then that she had cried.

***

Very soon, June moved into July, and the heat was sweltering. Worse than that, Hermione was beginning to show, and the extra clothes were making her miserable. She took to wearing her robe, which hid her pouch. She made a ritual of talking to her daughter about her mother and father. She told her stories about their friendship at Spinner's End, and the years they had been separated and then when they had been reunited. She told her about Horatius and of her time traveling. She decided to name her Serena. Somehow, it made Hermione feel closer to Severus.

The day came that Hermione moved into the room which had been created for her. It was small, but functional for her needs. It was a cheery room with yellows and soft blues. She was now able to relax and wear lighter, loose-fitting clothes. The biggest blessing of all was the large four-poster bed. It was luxurious and heavenly. Hermione knew whom to thank for that concession. Tonks wanted Hermione resting as much as possible and to eat all the enormous quantities of food she brought each day. Hermione's only concern was how long she would have to remain locked in her comfortable cell.

***

One morning, Harry barged in while she was reading aloud to Serena. She hastily pulled the covers up to hide her growing belly.

"You could have knocked," she snapped, gripping her covers as tightly as possible.

"You are a prisoner, Mrs. Snape," Harry replied without emotion. "I wanted you to know that your husband was at an important meeting at Malfoy Manor during the last two weeks. According to the source, Voldemort viciously murdered Charity Burbage, your Muggle Studies teacher, and fed her corpse to Nagini. The news was distributed amongst the Muggle-borns. You need to pack up, Mrs. Snape. Scrimgeour's reign as minister will be ending shortly, and this castle is in danger of Voldemort taking over. Even if Snape is your husband, I doubt Voldemort will bend the rules for you."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Hermione blurted out as he turned to leave.

Harry spun around and glowered at her. "Because you chose him over our friendship," he spat. "You turned on me, Dumbledore, and everything we were all about for him."

"That's not true," Hermione insisted. She reached under her bed and tore open the cloth that held the remnants of the broken Diadem.

Harry inhaled sharply. "Where did you get that?" he demanded.

"Severus and I have been working on finding the Horcruxes. We found it and destroyed it with Gryffindor's Sword. Severus is not your enemy...Voldemort is!" she said furiously.

"Why did he kill Dumbledore when he was begging him not to?" he demanded.

"You and I don't know for sure that was what Dumbledore was referring to, but he could have been begging to die. He was dying, Harry, and he knew his time was at a close. How better to secure Severus' place amongst the Inner Circle of the Death Eaters than to be the 'killer' of Dumbledore?"

"You know, Trelawney told me Snape knew about the prophecy. Snape told Voldemort about my parents. He is just as culpable as Wormtail!" Harry shouted accusingly.

"That is not true, Harry!" she hollered. "Wormtail was their friend and had their trust. Severus was on a job, and he never even heard the whole prophecy! He just reported the message. At one time, Severus loved your mother. They had been friends since before Hogwarts. He loved her until she turned from him. Even though he recovered from her rejection, he never wanted to hurt her, Harry. When he found out Voldemort marked your parents for death because of what he had said...he was devastated! All he ever wanted was to protect Lily, me, and all the other Muggle-borns from Voldemort. Joining him seemed to be the only way to keep an eye out for whatever Voldemort may have been planning."

Harry stared at her, trembling in rage. His fists clenched by his sides as he struggled to keep his mouth closed. Just when Hermione thought he had reigned in his ire, he drew his wand and pointed it at her. "You keep hiding and withholding. You never can just tell me the whole truth!" he yelled. "You tell me bits and pieces...never the whole truth! Dumbledore would have told me if he had ordered Snape to kill him! He trusted me!"

Hermione closed her eyes, trying to keep her temper under control. "The history of my personal life is none of your business if I choose not to reveal it. And if I choose not to, that means I have a damn good reason, and you should respect that!" she hollered. "And you are a fool, Harry Potter, if you think Dumbledore would have given you all the information he knew. He never gave any of his allies the grand scheme of his to defeat Voldemort."

Harry lowered his wand, so she decided to go for it.

"Dumbledore took you to that cave, didn't he?" she asked him.

Harry closed his eyes and turned his back on her. "It was all for nothing. The Horcrux we were looking for was gone!"

Hermione laughed quietly.

"What?" he snapped as he turned to look at her.

"I am a source of untapped resources, Harry. Regulus Black was a Death Eater who stole the Horcrux from the cave. Severus got the real locket from Kreacher and destroyed it. Don't you get it? Voldemort forced Severus and Regulus to take the Dark Mark. Everything Severus did, he did to save your mum, me, for all the Muggle-borns who were being tortured and ill treated. When Regulus finally caught on to how evil Voldemort really was, instead of keeping it quiet, he lashed out, and his Master murdered him."

"So, where is the locket now?" Harry demanded. "And what of the other Horcruxes?"

Hermione chose her words carefully. "I don't know. It seems that Voldemort has a penchant for gifting those he deems worthy to hold onto the bits of his soul. Lucius had the diary, you could say 'Hogwarts' had the Diadem, and the Gaunt house held the ring. Even Slytherin's locket, although no longer there, was in that precise cave where Voldemort first discovered that he could hurt people. Therefore, he chose to turn it into a place of horror. So, again, it is a clue that he hides these precious items in a place where he holds a deep connection with, or with a person whom he feels is worthy enough to be entrusted with such priceless items."

Hermione tapped her finger against her lips and said, "We know that he is a psychopath. One thing some serial killers do is to take little treasures from their victims and either hide them where only they can have access to them or will hide them in plain sight."

"Do you know all of the Horcruxes?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "We were close. The ones destroyed were the diary, the ring, the Diadem, and the locket. We are sketchy on the others, but we think it may be a total of seven. That remains three: the Cup of Hufflepuff, Nagini, his familiar, and then one we don't rightly know." Hermione remembered what Severus had told her about Harry being a Horcrux. It was all she could do to keep an impassive look on her face and not blurt it out.

"So you and Snape believed that one of these last Horcruxes included Nagini?" Harry's voice carried a tone of disbelief.

Hermione was unmoved. "Yes, that was why you could dream of being Nagini, attacking Mr. Weasley. At the time, Voldemort had been possessing his snake." She shifted in bed and prayed to God that Harry wouldn't derive a conclusion and realize he was the last Horcrux.

"Bloody hell," he muttered. "I still don't know if I can trust you."

Hermione managed a sad smile. "Fine. Don't believe me. Prove me wrong. But, Harry, I cannot believe you would think I would work against you. Especially with all Severus and I have done for you when you were unawares."

Harry shook his head before looking into Hermione's eyes. "I can't trust you. You lied for years, and with everything you've said and done about Sirius, I just can't risk it."

She lay back down and gave in to her weariness to nap. Serena was complaining, and Hermione felt her stomach flutter. She had no idea how long Harry remained staring at her, but he eventually departed with the Diadem, and after he was long gone, Hermione was able to relax and release the tension inside of her.

"Good-bye, Harry Potter," she whispered.

***

Hermione was too afraid to tell anyone about the pregnancy. She made sure she practiced some stretching techniques and ate balanced meals. By July, she had a small bump and was starting her fourth month. Her fitful sleeping problem had left her, but now she was just randy as hell and dreamt of Severus every night. She would wake up in a sweat, remembering the feel of his cock penetrating her, Severus whispering how luscious she was now that she was carrying his baby. At first, she felt wrong relieving herself, but then she decided she couldn't stand it any more and began to masturbate when she would wake from such vivid dreams. Yet, it still wasn't enough. Hermione missed Severus desperately.

***

Tonks was still a faithful friend. She and Remus married towards the end of July, and Hermione still insisted that Tonks not reveal to anyone about the baby.

Tonks paced the room nervously. "How are you going to be on the run and care for you and your child?" she demanded.

Hermione stared out of the window and said hollowly, "I thought about going back into the Muggle world like I did the last time, but I honestly don't know if I will be safe."

"Well, you can always stay with my mum and dad, okay?" she asked her as she squeezed her hand.

Hermione was already thinking ahead. She would have to rely on the kindnesses of other sympathetic wizarding families...not that she would find many. Perhaps if she pleaded her case, Molly would let her stay. However, Hermione knew she couldn't go. Not with the baby. She calculated the due date and decided she had to be due around the beginning or middle of December. She would have to be settled then someplace warm for the birth. She wondered at times if Spinner's End was still available to her. However, she had no way of finding out...not when her wand was still being held from her. Besides, she was just too afraid to take the risk...for her, their baby, and Severus.

***

The first of August, Tonks had come by to return Hermione's wand to her and told her Harry wanted her to know he was tucked away at the Burrow. Hermione knew this was Harry's offering of an olive branch, but she did not trust him. Not after putting her under arrest. Tonks told her that Bill and Fleur's wedding would be the following day. Hermione wished she could be there.

The day of the wedding, she was in bed, reading to Serena when Tonks' Patronus came bounding through the window.

"The Ministry has fallen; Scrimgeour is dead. Ron, Ginny, and Harry are on the run as well as the Order. Get out of Hogwarts. He will be coming to take over Hogwarts soon. Find a hiding place. You are a wanted woman!"

Hermione panicked. She jumped up and began to pack. She still wasn't showing much, but had a real baby bump now. She threw on a robe, grabbed her clothes and her wand, and shoved it all into a bag. She changed her hair to black and straightened it. Then she trimmed it short. She tanned her skin with a glamor and changed her robe from Gryffindor to Slytherin. She made her way out of the castle and skirted the edge of the forest, making her way towards the mountains. There were caves and some berries and fresh water nearby that she could eat. As soon as she felt she had traveled high enough and deep in one of the caves, she collapsed on top of her bag with her soft clothes and wished she still had her bed.

She began to weep. She was truly alone now...alone and four months pregnant. How was she going to survive on the run? She finally slept, and when she awoke, her body was stiff and desperately hungry. She searched for a nearby stream and carefully made her way through the brambles and bushes that caught on her clothes. She found a stream and drank from it furiously. She had to find food. Serena was complaining and kicking her angrily. She's got her father's temper, that's for sure, Hermione thought wryly.

She knew she was going to have to make a decision. If it were only herself, she could wait it out, keep on the run, finding hiding places, wearing clothes to keep her warm. She had been camping since she was a small child; her parents taught her how to build fires and scavenge for food. However, she wasn't alone. She had to think about Serena and how long she could safely stay on the run as her belly grew. Then when winter set in, what would she do? She decided she would figure it out later, but for now she would Apparate home and see if she could stay there. Her parents would have questions for sure, but once they knew her condition, they wouldn't press for long. When winter arrived, and if the war was still on, she would remain and have Serena there...if Death Eaters didn't find her first. And then there was always Andromeda.

***

Hermione Apparated into her fenced-in backyard. However, there wasn't a fence any longer. As she took in the sight in front of her, she screamed. The Dark Mark hung heavily in front of her eyes. Her screams brought her neighbor, Mrs. Fitzsimmons, over to her side.

"Oh my! Hermione Granger, where have you been?" she asked wildly. She picked Hermione up off the ground where she had collapsed and led her into her house.

Hermione sat in the kind lady's kitchen as she bustled around gathering food and tea for Hermione to eat.

"Hermione, it was a terrible fire. Your parents must have been sleeping; there wasn't anything left." She smothered a cry as she put the kettle on. "We didn't know how to find you; everything was in your parents' house. The police tried to go through your parents' office at their dental practice, but found nothing with which to find you. We've been waiting for two weeks now. We had no way to find you. Your parents' friends buried them in the local cemetery. Your accountant gave me a folder, now where is it?"

She bustled around and found what she was looking for. "Oh, here," she said. "Your accountant is liquidating your parents' practice and selling the land where the house once stood. Their will states that the sale of the practice shall also go to you. Your parents were very good with money; the accountant placed in the bank a tidy sum for you in your name."

Thank God, I can disguise myself and get it exchanged into Galleons at Diagon Alley. I can never go into Gringotts, she thought sadly.

Hermione saw the food in front of her and began to eat like a starving woman.

"Hermione," Mrs. Fitzsimmons asked as she watched the young woman wolf down her food. "I've had five children, and I am not a fool. What can I do for you? How far along is the pregnancy?"

"Five months," she answered between mouthfuls.

"Why are you on the run?" she asked as she sat down across from her.

Hermione looked at the kind neighbor. She had always been so nice and good to her family. She had known her as far back as she could remember. But she wasn't a witch. She couldn't tell her the truth.

"Mrs. Fitzsimmons, I need to tell you something, but you can never repeat what I am about to say. There is a man who has been stalking me. He won't leave me alone. He threatened to kill my parents, and now they're dead." She began to cry. So much had been actually the truth.

"Is he the f-father?" the older woman asked in wide-eyed fear.

"Oh, no!" said Hermione. "I'm actually married. I'm going on the run with him. He's a good man; he is taking care of me as well as he can. I was coming here to get supplies. I didn't want my husband to come...I was afraid for him. I-I guess I was right to be."

"Well, I can help you!" she said. "What do you need?"

Hermione thought it over quickly and said, "I need a good knife...like a hunting knife, twine, some bread, cheese, some cans of soup and an opener if you have it and some water."

"My dear! How will you carry all of this?" she asked, concerned.

"Don't worry. I'll take the bus to where my husband is waiting."

"Oh, Hermione, why don't you help the police arrest this monster?" she pleaded.

"Believe me," Hermione said, "The police know and are trying their best to get him. For now, the safest thing is for me and my husband to go on the run."

Mrs. Fitzsimmons packed the things Hermione asked for and said, "Please come back if you need anything else, food, clothes, anything! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," she replied. She gave her old neighbor a hug, and before she stepped outside, she said, "Don't open the door unless you KNOW the person. If someone you don't know comes snooping around uninvited, or a city worker, something like that, don't open the door and get out of the house another way. He's already killed friends of mine. He is very dangerous."

"Why haven't I heard this on the news?" she panicked.

Hermione lied quickly. "I think they don't wish for the entire populace to be afraid because of one man's obsession with one woman. Please be careful."

Hermione left the house, and as soon as she could, she Apparated into the Forest of Dean where she had spent many a happy summer, camping with her mum and dad. As soon as she found a suitable hiding place, she built a small fire and ate some food. Serena calmed down, and Hermione finally let the reality wash over her. She cried desperately until she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

***

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