Harsh Obligations

Severus kept looking over at Hermione as they worked on the sequencing of the Avada base. She was thorough in her work, but there was something about her manner, and the fact that she'd said hardly a word all morning, that had Severus wondering what she might be thinking. Fed up with guessing, he put down the silver knife he was using and stared at her intently until she finally raised her head and gave him a questioning stare in return.

"Yes, Severus?" she asked.

"Out with it, Hermione. What's been going through that mind of yours that's prevented you from saying more than three words together since you entered this room?"

Hermione set down her quill and looked at him as she answered. "I've been thinking about the potion. If it works as well as we hope it will, there's a problem we need to figure out before the battle.

He just looked at her, waiting for her to go on.

"Severus, how do we go about keeping all of us safe when the potion is thrown at Voldemort? I've made the calculations, and if they're correct, anyone within two hundred feet of Voldemort will die."

Severus' eyes widened as he realized he should have thought of this "snag" himself, and much sooner. They'd been so excited by the idea of the Avada Bomb that they'd overlooked how to keep all of the good people safe from the blast. "You're right – we need to have some plan in place to prevent our dying as well. What comes to mind immediately is for everyone to Apparate out of the area after the person who's thrown the potion does so. But how would we coordinate such a mass Apparation? Not to mention we have to take into account that the Dark Lord is more than likely to have some very powerful wards against Apparating at all," Severus said, his mind going over the scenario and wondering how they could manage to come out of the battle alive.

"Well," said Hermione, interrupting his thought process, "would Voldemort likely set up wards against Portkeys?"

"I should think not. He has control of the Ministry; therefore, I believe he would overlook such wards, since in essence he controls all the official Portkeys," Severus replied smoothly.

"Well, why don't we make sure each and every one of us has a Portkey? We can all just Portkey away the moment the potion is thrown."

"Interesting idea, but how would we coordinate everyone's safe exit? I doubt there would be time for the person with the potion to signal everyone and expect them to run to some Portkey for safety. And the person who throws the potion will be in the most vulnerable position. Such a plan is unlikely to ensure the safety of their life," he remarked, wondering who would be willing to sacrifice their own life for the good of the Wizarding community.

"Well, the only thing that makes sense is for everyone to have his own Portkey. Every last one of us! We can make them small, something that can be worn as a necklace, under our clothes. So that it's always touching our skin," she said, wondering how many they would need.

"As lovely as that idea is, Hermione, how would we control so many Portkeys? They have to be activated by someone who has working knowledge of the Portus spell."

"Well, can't we charm them all to activate at the same time? Something like a Protean Charm mixed with a Synchronizing spell. We can get one person to hold a master Portkey and Disillusion them, with the sole purpose of activating the Portkeys at the right moment," Hermione said, thinking over all the possible complications. She wondered if there was a hole in such a plan. Severus spent several moments going over her idea, searching for holes himself.

"The only problem I see with this plan, which is quite intuitive, is the question of where the Portkeys should be set to take everyone when they activate. It would be unwise to all leave the battlefield together. It's likely there will be some Death Eaters or some other creatures of the Dark Lord's outside the presumed 'safe zone.' We need to know where the battle will happen, where the Dark Lord plans to stand, so we can charm the Portkeys to take us a hundred feet or so outside of the safe zone," he mused, wondering how they would achieve such a victory.

"How much information do you think you could persuade out of Voldemort? Because if you can't get him to state his plans for the battle, we need to force his hand and set the battle time ourselves. Either way it will be dangerous to set up, but it's our only option," Hermione said, resting her head on her hands as she mentally went over every detail even more carefully.

"Persuading the Dark Lord to reveal his plans is nearly suicidal, even for a Death Eater in my position. Our only choice is to prepare for both. We'll have to set several Order members to prepare a battlefield of our own choosing. If by some miracle I find out what he has planned, then we can prepare that one as well. Overcompensation is the only option when so many lives are at stake. Also, how are we to protect these Portkeys and guarantee that everyone wearing one will be moved safely?"

"That's simple enough. We can cast some powerful shield charms on the Portkeys themselves, and a semi-permanent Sticking Charm to make sure the Portkey is actually touching skin. Like you said, overcompensation is the only way."

Severus smirked at her (the look almost passing for a smile) as she started to write down their whole plan so Remus and the others could start arranging their Portkey-to-safety plans. Before he could comment on how great her thought was, his left forearm started to burn with Voldemort's summons, and Severus hissed.

Hermione looked up at him, her quill dropping to the table as her eyes widened in fear. She slowly straightened and he looked at her for a moment before approaching his desk and retrieving his Death Eater garb from the top left drawer. "Be careful, Severus," Hermione said quietly. She watched him pull the robe over his head and properly store his wand up his sleeve. When he stood there ready, his mask in his hand, he looked at her for a moment before giving in to his desire to comfort her. He walked slowly over to her and put his arms around her in an awkward hug.

"I will. Get those plans to Remus and the others while I'm gone. We have no way of knowing for sure how soon the end will come, but I will do my best to stall things at my end."

Hermione nodded against his chest and let go as he pulled away and left the lab to go to his Dark Master. It was several minutes before she managed to drag her eyes away from the doorway, and she continued to write out their Portkey-to-safety plan.

~{}~

Severus, mask and thoughts in place, bowed before Voldemort and kissed the hem of his robes before standing at his side and waiting for Voldemort to speak. The room contained only those who were most trusted, so Severus knew something was up.

Voldemort leaned forward on his throne and addressed them all. "I have called you all here tonight because we have work that needs to be done. We have been quiet as of late, and the general calm in our world is going to certain people's... heads. They assume we are weak or otherwise troubled, and I intend to show that we are still to be feared. I have decided that a few raids and attacks on the right people will benefit us greatly in the near future. Before the night is out, we will strike a blow at the Order of the Phoenix, and even the Ministry itself, that will scare even those who live outside of Britain. Now, as to the attacks themselves, this is what I want of you...."

~{}~

Hermione rubbed the moisture from around her eyes as she looked up from the bubbling cauldron to check the time once again. It was a little after four a.m. and Severus still had not returned. Something about the unexpected summons did not sit well with her, so she had decided to stay up until he returned. Looking back at the potion in front of her, she carefully lowered the flame and set the cauldron on a cooling pad so she could bottle it. That was when the indistinct shape of Remus' Patronus came bounding into the room and opened its mouth. In Remus' hurried voice it said, "Come quickly. There have been several attacks. Bring all the healing potions you may have."

As the Patronus faded away to nothing, Hermione stared in horror at the place it had been. Then she shook herself and quickly gathered all their healing potions, pastes, and several books about healing. She hurried up the stairway into the library and was assaulted by screams, tears, moans, and urgent voices echoing down the halls. She quickly followed the noise until she reached the ballroom, which had previously been dusty and dark. Now the room looked as if it had been hastily scrubbed and brightened with many candles, like those from the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Laid out on conjured tables were nearly twenty people who had been injured. Mrs. Weasley and Remus circulated around the room, doing what they could to stave off the worst of the injuries.

When Remus spotted Hermione, he rushed over to her and took several phials of Blood-Replenishing Potions from her. He said, "Can't explain – just circulate and do what you can to help those closest to the door; they seem to be worse off than the rest."

Hermione nodded and set the box of potions on a table near the door; then she pulled her wand out of her sleeve and started to diagnose the person closest to her.

-Two Life-Threatening Injuries:

Eight bruises on various limbs

As Hermione read the list over and Accio'd the Skele-Gro and Blood-Replenishing Potion, she briefly noticed that the witch she was treating was an Auror who had been to a few Order meetings but was usually too busy to attend. Hermione carefully lifted the woman's head and poured first one, then the other, potion down her throat while massaging her neck to help the potions go down. When the bottles were empty, Hermione cast a skin-stitching charm that would leave a scar but would at least prevent her head from bleeding any more as the Blood-Replenishing Potion went to work. Satisfied that the woman's other injuries could wait, Hermione went to the next person and the next.

Broken bones, deep gushing wounds, collapsed lung, poisoned, burned – those were just some of the many horrible things Hermione helped to heal as best she could as a few more Order members trickled in, bringing more wounded. After several hours of working nonstop, the wounded tended to as best they could be, Hermione, Remus, and Molly sat down on a bench near the main door for a few moments. They looked out with pained faces at the many people they had helped while waiting impatiently for news about the attacks.

"Remus, what do you know? What's happened? Where are the others?" Hermione finally asked.

Remus leaned his head back against the wall and rubbed his tired eyes as he replied. "Kingsley showed up with two of the injured and informed us that the Death Eaters attacked the Ministry tonight. Several minutes later a few Order members from Hogsmeade and Godric's Hollow showed up with more wounded. It seems Voldemort has kept the Death Eaters busy tonight. So far three people have died at the Ministry, two died in Hogsmeade, but luckily no one we know of in Godric's Hollow."

Hermione let that sink in, knowing that with three such horrible attacks in one night they were extremely lucky the death toll wasn't higher. But of course, the night wasn't over. "Remus, have you or Kingsley heard anything from Severus?" she asked timidly, afraid to hear the answer.

"No. We assume he had no way to warn us. Kingsley mentioned that one of the other Order members swore up and down that Severus was there and saved his life without being found out, but we won't know for sure until he arrives himself."

Hermione looked down at her hands, smudged with dirt and blood from her work, as she thought about Severus. It must be terrible to participate in such attacks with no way to stop them or warn people without giving yourself away, she thought sadly. With a shake of her head to clear away worried thoughts of Severus and his plight, she stood up and stretched.

"I'm going back to the lab to start brewing more supplies. Several of the injured will need more potions and such in the next few hours, and we're all out of Blood-Replenishing potion. If you guys need me, just send out another Patronus," she said as she headed for the doorway. Stopping next to it, she turned and looked at them. "Please let me know when Severus gets back." With that said, Hermione left Remus and a sour-faced Molly to go and brew the required potions.

~{}~

Severus limped through the quiet hallways of Prince Manor and quietly looked into the ballroom after hearing several voices from the open doorway. No one noticed him, since he'd Disillusioned himself after Apparating onto the grounds; he watched a weary-looking Remus talk with several of the injured. Thirty-seven people lay on conjured beds in his ballroom, he noticed after doing a head-count. A total of fourteen were dead that he knew of. Three he had killed himself in an effort to prevent further suffering, as his fellow Death Eaters were inclined to torture first and kill later.

Severus cringed as the faces of a fellow Order member and two Muggles flashed before his eyes yet again. Faces filled with pain, confusion, and most prominently, fear. Exhausted from the long night of horrors, he left the doorway and made his way slowly to his room. All he wanted for the moment was to shed his Death Eater robes and wash away the blood and filth that seemed to weigh him down.

When he reached his room, he went straight to the master bathroom and closed the door, locking and warding it so he could be sure he wouldn't be disturbed. Careful not to further aggravate his wounded leg, Severus threw his robes off and stepped into the shower. The water gave off heavy steam as it cascaded over his weary body; the runoff that drained beneath his feet was dirty and tinged with red from the blood.

The large gash on his leg stung from a combination of the heat and soap; but Severus didn't care. He felt as if he deserved every bit of pain. After washing thoroughly, he leaned his arms against the shower wall and just let the water wash over him as he tried to block out the images of the attacks. He tried to imagine what he could possibly say to the Order. Especially Hermione. They knew, as did he, that with his precarious position as a spy in the Death Eater ranks, there would be times when he would have to participate in evildoing in order to help them stop it for good.

But tonight had been different. Not since the night Lily and James Potter had died protecting their son had he felt so... wrong. The self-hatred he felt made him sick to his stomach. I want it to end, he thought desperately as the water washed over him; he ignored the fact that it had grown cold in the last few moments.

Finally moving from his silent, grief-stricken stance, Severus left the shower and dressed in a simple pair of black pants and black shirt. Un-warding and unlocking the door to his room, he slowly made his way to the bed and collapsed. The last thought that went through his mind was that he would need to explain his lack of warning to the Order. But at the moment he was far too upset and exhausted. Without even healing himself first, he fell into a fitful slumber.

~{}~

Hermione bit her lip as she carefully poured the last of the healing potions into a phial and stoppered it. With a careful flick of her wand, the cauldron was wiped clean and neatly stored on the proper shelf. She stretched her neck while walking toward the stairs. The moment she entered Severus' room through the mirror, she froze. He was laid out on top of the covers with his mouth slightly open, deeply asleep. With careful movements she slipped off her shoes so she wouldn't make any noise and crept over to the bed. She waved her wand over him to see if he was injured in any way.

-Zero Life-Threatening Injuries

Deep gash on shin of left leg

Leaning over him to make sure he was still sleeping deeply, Hermione waved her wand, carefully creating a slit in his pant leg. With a quick look at his face to make sure it hadn't wakened him, she cast a stitching charm on the gash and watched as his skin laced itself back together. Satisfied that he remained asleep, she re-sewed his pant leg with another wave of her wand and then just stood there for a moment, looking at his face as he slept. It was lined lightly with the stresses of his life. His eyes moved sporadically beneath his eyelids as he dreamed. With a sigh, Hermione conjured a chair and ottoman next to the bed and made herself comfortable. As she settled down to watch him sleep, she slowly fell into an exhausted slumber herself.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please remember to review... *HUGS*