The Pains in Relocation

Severus waited patiently under his Disillusionment charm for the Order to arrive. He had constructed temporary wards surrounding what was left of the house to provide a minimum of security. Remus, Arthur, Minerva, and several others arrived minutes later and passed through the wards, all of them looking around at the devastation that was their headquarters. Only a few walls still stood, with a number of great black boxes visible throughout the wreckage.

When Severus had permanently moved his lab to Grimmauld Place, he had insisted on adding some of his own personal security measures for cases such as this. All work that was directly related to the war was warded with a special spell he had invented himself. In case of such an attack, all pertinent papers, potions, and equipment would magically be sorted into protective boxes the instant the main wards detected any form of trouble. The boxes themselves could only be opened by four people: Arthur, Molly, Remus and Severus. Even a person under the best of Polyjuice potions could not fool the special box wards.

Severus waved his wand, removing his Disillusionment and walked forward to confer with the others. "I have not detected any remaining Death Eaters, but judging by this mess I'm sure they believe they successfully killed anyone that was here. It is fortunate that I was on my way out the door when the idiots attacked," he remarked.

"Severus, I thought you said something like this was unlikely to happen since you also worked on your 'DE' potions here. Why would Voldemort order an attack that could harm his own cause?" Molly asked, a confused and upset look on her face as she gazed at the ruins.

"The Dark Lord would never order this. I can bet there will be a few severe punishments the next time I'm called to his audience. Only the lowest of buffoons would do something like this in the vain hope of rising in the ranks. They only thing that will rise for them is their pain threshold... if they're lucky," he replied in an almost bored tone. "Enough chattering. We need to discuss the relocation of our headquarters. Does anyone have any ideas?"

Remus smirked at Severus, finding it funny that he would neglect to automatically offer up the only other place he knew of that had a potions lab ready for use. Clearing his throat he said, "Severus, I'm shocked you wouldn't suggest your manor. Surely with its hidden location, many rooms, and stocked potions lab it would be the perfect place?"

Severus frowned at him. It was the one place he'd been hoping he wouldn't have to mention. A last resort. He had forgotten that Remus knew of his manor. Years ago something had happened to Severus as he worked at his dull job as a Potions Professor at Hogwarts. He had started to hope. In that hope, he bought an old mansion in the county of Derbyshire and had spent some time there each summer fixing up the place, building his potions lab, even going so far as to build a great orchard, a greenhouse, and a garden where he could plant a lot of his own ingredients. His dream was to work on potions research and get out of his job as a teacher in the process. The house had been nearly finished when there were signs that Voldemort was planning to return during Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts. Severus hadn't been back there since, his hope of ever being alive long enough to enjoy the place dying. He just figured he was lucky enough to live out the first war; it would take a miracle for him to survive a second.

"I thought you lived at Spinner's End, Severus. When did you acquire a manor? Does it have enough rooms for large meetings?" Arthur asked him.

"Spinner's End is where I live, yes. It doesn't matter when I bought the manor, and yes, it does have an adequate number of rooms. But surely there is somewhere else we can move headquarters? I...."

Remus interrupted Severus and said, "No excuses, Severus. You know very well there isn't a better place available. Now quit trying to come up with useless excuses and help us move the boxes. We'll need to Portkey there as a group since you are the manor's Secret Keeper.

Severus scowled at Remus before relenting and conjuring a quill and a piece of parchment. He wrote down the address of his manor and tapped the parchment with his wand, making copies for each of them. With a flick of his wand the boxes scattered throughout the wreckage flew toward them and stacked themselves neatly in the middle of the group. Another flick, and a charred doorknob by his feet was transformed into a Portkey that he held out to them. The moment each touched a finger to it while placing their other hand on the stacked boxes, Remus, Severus, Minerva and the others disappeared with what remained of Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Remus's last thought before they experienced the familiar sensation of being pulled by their navels was how they were going to explain the destruction of Grimmauld Place to Harry when they returned from the Horcrux hunt.

~{}~

Hermione had excused herself from the Weasley kitchen when she was done pushing the remainder of her food around. Fred and George exchanged looks of concern as they watched her exit the door and proceed to the bench that overlooked the gnome-infested garden.

She barely noticed the cackling gnomes as one by one they darted out of their holes and wreaked havoc in the garden. Her thoughts were on the future. So many thoughts and worries circled in her mind. Where would the Order go now? How were Harry and Ron doing on their quest? Would all of Severus's and her hard work on the "Avada Bomb" go to waste now that headquarters had been attacked? And the last thought that seemed to hover on her mind lately screamed at her for an answer.

What did Severus's subtle changes and slipups really mean?

She had thought about him a lot during her school days. Most times it had been with resentment of his treatment of her, but at others she had wondered about him. Once in her fourth year she had actually not paid attention to his lesson in class. Instead she spent it wondering about his character. After some very calculating thoughts, she had concluded that if she had been in his place, with a drunk for a father, as an Slytherin outcast... she had realized that if the roles were reversed, she might have turned out the same way Severus Snape had. In essence they were very much alike; the only difference really was their different upbringing and their ages.

~{}~

Severus tried not to look around as he directed the others as to where the best place was for the boxes. He tried to ignore the exclamations they made about the manor's potential. And he glared daggers at them when they tried to ask him why he'd given up on the manor. After seeing that they were well enough on their own while they debated which rooms should be rearranged for large meetings and such, he slipped up the grand staircase that was laid with a rare black wood he remembered salvaging. The house was dreary and every room smelled of neglect. The few pieces of furniture were covered in dingy, dusty sheets.

As he made his way down the long hallway that led to the north wing, he remembered the day he had found the manor. He had considered contacting a real estate agent in Diagon Alley, but for the sake of privacy he knew it would be a better choice to seek out properties on his own. So under a Glamour that altered his appearance enough that he would not be recognized, he spent several hours every day for weeks scouring the for-sale ads in the Daily Prophet and visiting the few properties that interested him. He had originally overlooked the larger ones, since he only desired just so much room, but when the smaller ones proved to be unsatisfactory for his needs he decided to check out the manors.

The first thing that caught his eye when he toured the manor was the vast property that went with it. The manor itself was Muggle-built and owned until the turn of the century, when the family that had owned it went bankrupt and abandoned it. As he inspected the manor he was shocked to find himself liking it with its three sitting rooms, two-story library, and grand dining room. The upstairs consisted of the north and south wings, both of which held a combined total of twenty luxurious bedrooms. The master bedroom was enormous, with floor to ceiling windows that gave him a wonderful view of the back of the property. Which is where he ended up building the garden, greenhouse, and orchard.

He had signed the contract and met the agent the next day with a bag full of Muggle cash he had received from Grigotts for the transaction. Before the man left he asked Severus what he would call the manor. Severus had decided to call it Prince Manor, though he never told the man that. He just shrugged him off and told him to leave his property, in a very Snapeish fashion.

As Severus reached the master bedroom, he halted by the bedroom door next to his. To ensure his privacy, he had no intention of showing anyone but Hermione where his potions lab was located. There were two entrances: one through the mirror that doubled as a secret door from his own bedroom, the other was a matching mirror in the library across from the fireplace. He couldn't ask Hermione to walk all the way to the library when there was a closer entrance to the hidden lab. His decision made, he walked into his room and sealed the door. Then he proceeded to create a doorway between his room and the one next door that he would tell Hermione to take. The other members could fend for themselves. With a flick of his wand, cleaning materials appeared and he set them to work. He examined the mirror door and found it to be in good working condition except for a tiny squeak of resistance, which he fixed right away. Satisfied that the room would be livable, he left to search out the others.

~{}~

The Order members greeted Severus curiously as he returned from somewhere in the manor. Severus and the others conversed on their plan for introducing the hidden manor to the rest of the Order. After agreeing, everyone left the manor except Severus, who had opted to stay and see what could be salvaged in the greenhouse.

~{}~

So deep in thought as she was, Hermione was startled when Molly arrived with a sudden pop. "Oh, Hermione dear, we'll be leaving in a few moments. I'll just go and collect the boys and then we can meet the others at the new headquarters."

"Mrs. Weasley, how... umm... how is Severus? Is he okay?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

Molly answered her over her shoulder as she went into the house. "He's fine, dear, nothing to fret over."

A few moments later Molly and the twins were outside with Hermione, gathered around the tin can that was their Portkey. George asked, "So, Mum, where is the new headquarters?"

"Prince Manor," she replied, and they were pulled away in the blink of an eye.

~{}~

Hermione was in awe of the possibilities that cried out to her as she gazed at the manor. Prince Manor. She had never heard of this place, never known that Severus owned it. Which meant it was something private for him. Something he probably hated to see as the new headquarters. Molly and the twins had already gone inside to meet the others, but Hermione excused herself and wandered around the outside of the house, hoping to delay having to see everyone. She smiled as she came around to the greenhouse, and she closed her eyes to imagine what it would look like fully stocked with the many herbs and plants it would house year-round. It would take some work, but if Severus didn't tend to the garden, greenhouse, and orchard, she would. As she wandered through the remnants of the orchard, she failed to notice the man staring at her intently from the master bedroom window above.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I post this story at several sites, and one of them was having an issue with chapter three... so I was busy trying to fix the TOS issue. More to come soon! Please read and review! *HUGS*