Back to Headquarters

A/N: Sorry for the time it took to post this, but I have a very good reason. I got married. Enough of me, on with the story.

Chapter Fifteen – Back to Headquarters

A loud hooting sound rang through the silent house, rousing its only occupant out of her uneasy sleep. She winced at the popping sound her knees made as she stood from the uncomfortable kitchen chair. She rolled her shoulders for a moment, trying to work out the cramp the prone position had left her with.

With practiced motions, she turned to prepare a pot of tea for the people that would be arriving soon and to calm her frayed nerves. The news about Hermione's current location was as much a relief as a shock.

Percy had handed her the letter with an almost apologetic smile. An impromptu meeting of all the available Order members had been called, and they had formed a small squad to get Hermione out of her precarious situation, planned out the strategy... but one thing posed a great problem.

No one knew where Snape lived, or did they?

It was Percy who was able to give them directions. No one asked how he knew; they were all much too worried about getting their missing member out of harm's way.

'If everything goes well,' Molly thought, 'she'll be safe soon.'

The whistling of the teapot coincided with the sound of two bodies hitting the carpeted floor in the living room. There was a kind of shuffling noise before Hermione barged in through the kitchen door.

"Help me!" she urged the older woman, who in turn started open-mouthed at the brown-eyed young woman.

"What is it, Hermione dear?" Molly asked, concerned, looking her up and down. "Are you hurt? Come sit down." She tried to push Hermione into a chair.

"No, I'm fine," Hermione said firmly. "It's Severus. He's injured. Badly."

Hermione grabbed Mrs. Weasley's arm and dragged her into the adjoining room.

"I can't believe you brought him here after everything... Oh, my God!" The moment the motherly woman's eyes fell onto the barely-breathing man lying on his back on the floor, her protest about his presence in the house stopped. With often-used wand movements, she conjured a stretcher under him and proceeded to direct her floating patient towards the staircase.

"What did they do to you?" Molly mumbled to Severus' still form. It was uttered just loud enough for Hermione – who was not going to let him out of her sight – to hear and answer.

"We were attacked by Death Eaters," she explained. "They came for the potion we were brewing... and to kill us." The last was added very quietly. "The Order arrived just at the right moment."

There was a long silence as they ascended the stairs and turned into the bedroom that had recently served as Draco's. Carefully, the two women positioned Severus on the bed.

"He needs treatment," Molly stated the obvious. "I'll Floo-call Poppy. She's patched him back up more times than I can count." She started to leave the room, but turned again when Hermione let out an audible sigh of relief and exhaustion.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, he saved me," she said sincerely, a tired smile on her face. 'In more ways than one,' a little voice in her added.

~o~o~o~

"How can you be sure?" Remus asked, his voice heavy with confusion and disbelief. "The award is Riddle's, yes, but the blood may have reacted because of something else."

"We did a lot of tests with it," Arthur added.

It was disconcerting to say the least, to know that a piece of Voldemort's soul had resided at Hogwarts for years without any detection. Yet, it was the only answer for the spontaneous occurrence of the unknown dark magic he could think of. How could something like a Horcrux have been hidden in a school, under the watchful eyes of Albus Dumbledore no less?

There was no answer yet anyway. And since the portrait of the deceased headmaster refused to speak, the answer would probably remain unknown for some time to come.

"I'm sure it's a Horcrux," Harry whispered. "I can feel it."

McGonagall looked up sharply. She didn't like any of this one bit. Dumbledore had kept the knowledge of the soul-pieces from her deliberately; instead he had confided in a boy not even out of school. The same boy that had meant more to him than his own life and well-being. He had watched over the boy all his life, guided and formed him. Dumbledore had put Harry through hardship and abuse only to turn a blind eye whenever the young Gryffindor rushed headfirst into danger with his two friends.

"What do you feel?" she asked in a rather harsh voice. She didn't mean to sound quite so snide, but the whole day had just gone from bad to worse. She had only come to inform the group that there had been news from Hermione, and now she had to deal with dark magic of the worst kind.

"I'm... I can't really explain," Harry's voice broke her train of thought. "I feel drawn to it somehow, like it belongs to me... but not completely..."

"May I suggest we return to headquarters?" Arthur interrupted before Harry revealed something he wasn't ready to divulge just yet.

"Yes, I think it would be for the best," McGonagall agreed. Remus and Ron nodded their approval, while Harry stared at the award he still held in his hands. His index finger was tracing the engraved letters, and his scar throbbed in answer. It wasn't pain he felt though; it was a pleasant thumping, like a small, regular heart beat. The red flecks that shone in his eyes for a moment were gone before anyone could notice.

The little pulse, however, remained even after he turned to follow the others out of the Trophy Room and out of Hogwarts.

Riddle's award and the little bottle of blood were still clutched in his hands.

'One step closer,' his mind acknowledged.

~o~o~o~

The two women came rushing into the room, wasting no time on keeping their entrance quiet. Hermione had moved behind Severus, whose head was again resting in her lap. Poppy Pomfrey didn't even bat an eye at the scene before her. She had seen a lot in her years as a nurse first at St. Mungo's, then at Hogwarts, a student comforting a man twice her age was just another thing to add to her list.

"Miss Granger," she said in a busyness-like voice. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened to him. Leave out no detail, it could well be vital."

Hermione recounted the events, ignoring Molly's gasps of horror. It was freeing to talk about it, though she realized again just how close a call it was.

Poppy nodded, passing her wand over the unconscious man, noting the red flecks in the light that surrounded him. After she had double-checked his heartbeat and brain functions, she let out a relieved sigh.

"He will be up and about in no time," she announced with an honest smile on her face. "His unconsciousness is due to stress and a concussion. The curses had surprisingly little impact."

Hermione mustered a smile, which turned into a huge yawn. Severus was going to be fine. All the tension left her body, and a heavy sleepiness took over. Without thinking much about it, she moved from behind Severus to lie by his side.

Molly wanted to protest, but Poppy held her back. The nurse produced an assortment of miniaturized vials out of her pocket. A wave of her wand and they enlarged. She leaned over carefully and administered a general healing potion that would take care of the concussion and all the minor wounds he might have. A good sound sleep would take care of the rest.

Molly, ever the mother, spelled away their shoes and part of their clothes, then produced a blanket and covered the sleeping couple.

"We have to keep his presence a secret, Molly," Poppy said soberly. "Whatever happened with Albus last year, I don't think we know half of the truth."

"Yes," Molly agreed. "It never made sense that the boy would do something like that out of his own free will. He adored Albus too much."

Together, both lost in thought, the two women descended the stairs. A cup of tea was what they needed now.

~o~o~o~

"Scum of the earth! Befouling the most noble house!"

"Oh, bullocks!" Ron's voice was barely heard over Mrs. Black's screaming. "Can somebody please shut her up?"

It took a Remus a moment, but he finally managed to draw the curtains on the portrait closed.

"We really need to find a spell to get rid of her," Harry said, frowning.

Before anyone could remind him that they had already tried everything, the door of the kitchen opened, revealing an annoyed Molly and a shocked Poppy.

"I haven't heard that voice for a long time," Poppy said with some humor. "A bit more high-pitched than I remember, but you can clearly hear the insanity."

Disbelief passed over the faces of the assembled before they broke out into laughter. It was quite refreshing.

"Well," Poppy announced. "I'll be on my way. Hermione is safely tucked in just..."

"Hermione is here?" Ron and Harry asked almost simultaneously.

"That's what I came to tell you," McGonagall answered. "She sent a letter, and the Order went to retrieve her after they had figured out her location."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Harry inquired through clenched teeth. He could barely contain his anger. Did people always have to keep things from him?

"If you hadn't run off in the first place..."

"We discovered something important, didn't we?"

The shouting match between Harry and Professor McGonagall would have gone on for quite a while, if Arthur hadn't interrupted.

"How is Hermione?" All it took was a simple question and both parties fell silent.

"She is fine," Poppy assured them. "But she needs to rest. No one, and I repeat no one, is to disturb her tonight. I have warded the room securely, believe me."

Ron was about to protest, but Harry would have none of it. "I know how it feels," he told his friend in a quite voice. "The best we can do is wait for her to come to us."

Ron nodded, though everyone could see that he wasn't happy with the decision.

"It's off to bed for you, I'd say," Arthur urged gently. "It was a trying day for all of us."

Although he was tired, Harry didn't sleep at all that night. He felt under his pillow for the award again.

The fourth Horcrux. Two more to be found.