Nearing the End: Part 1

Disclaimer: J.K.R.'s characters are just being used for a bit of fun.

I'd like to say thanks to my lovely beta, Nay. She's always so good to me, the brilliant witch.

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"Remus, you know it will be all right. All I have to do it put up a couple of charms, and no Muggle will see or hear us. It's quite dark anyway." Tonks grinned impishly. "We don't even have to undress all the way."

That was enough to make him give in. "All right." He quickly lifted his robes, unfastened his trousers and lowered them just enough to release his aching erection. His naughty lover had been fondling him and begging for a quick coupling. He smiled as he noticed that her knickers were at her feet and her robes were pushed up to grant him access. "Put a Cushioning Charm down so that my knees won't rub." The moment she did so, he pounced on her, glad that they were behind thick shrubbery. She'd put the right charms up to keep them from being seen or heard, but part of him still felt exposed.

"Just like that," she said, wild locks of her pink hair flying about each time he slammed into her.

Her heavy breathing mingled with his own, and the scent of her arousal urged him on, making him want to howl as the wolf in him would if released. He could hear the thudding, erratic beat of his heart pounding in his ears loudly until she cried out and bucked madly against him. Then, he moaned and lost himself in her body.

"As quick as that was, love, we may have to have another go," she teased. "I told you that you needed me, didn't I?"

"Yes, certainly," he finally replied, moving off of her and flicking his wand to clear away the stickiness on their bodies. His keen sense of hearing picked up something...a faint rustling or sliding sound. "Shhh," he said, bringing a finger to his lips and cocking his head to the side. He didn't hear it again.

"I say we are wasting our time here," Tonks said, righting her robes.

"We have to take all threats seriously. How do you think Hermione would feel if she knew that we didn't at least try to follow up on a threat to her parents' lives?" he asked reasonably. "We owe it to her to look after them... at least for now."

"Well, I know, and at least this is something we can do together."

Remus smiled. "So... you like staying with me, eh? I supposed following me here to their dental practice to keep an eye on Hermione's father had its advantages over staying at the house with Moody to watch over her mum."

"Definitely," she said. "Besides, Moody always makes me feel like he can see my knickers."

"Well, he can."

Tonks shuddered. "Don't remind me."

It was then that he heard the noise again. He'd heard it before, but he couldn't place it. Snap! Someone stepped on a branch.

Both Order members pulled their wands and silently moved towards the noise. When they rounded the shrubbery, both paused in shock. What had to be one of the biggest snakes they'd ever seen was slithering in their direction, and a Death Eater was stooping and appeared to be trying to grab it.

"Come on, Nagini," the man said. "We don't have time. The Master can let you feed."

Spotting them, the snake hissed and began quickly winding forward at an alarming rate.

"OH, SHITE!" Tonks yelled, wand flicking and releasing another hex, aiming towards the snake and hitting it on its back but not stopping it.

Remus tried to cast a spell on the Death Eater, but he missed. They were then under fire as the man began flinging hexes back towards them.

"That snake!" she yelled in panic after tripping to the ground as she'd stepped back in retreat. "Get that damn thing." The snake was very close and rising up high, set to strike.

Both released an array of hexes, but it was for naught. Both the man and the snake had disappeared, having Portkeyed away. "Bloody fucking hell," Lupin exclaimed, rubbing his arm, which had a gaping wound. He extended the hand of his good arm and helped Tonks up.

"Granger!" they both said in unison. The snake and man had been coming from the office.

"Good Lord," Remus said in horror, racing forward. "Mr. Granger!" he called upon entering. They didn't have to go very far before they found him. He was slumped against a wall in what appeared to be the waiting area. There were large splatters of blood upon the floor and upon his stomach. Kneeling down to check him over, Remus shook his head. "Nagini... she must have hit him four times."

"Is he dead?"

"Nearly."

Tonks forged an illegal Portkey out of an ink pen, and they quickly brought Hermione's father to St. Mungo's. It was his only hope. Not questioning why an Auror had brought a Muggle man to the hospital, Healers quickly began to try to save him. Tonks put an arm around Remus as they watched. His head was hung low, and she'd never seen him more dejected.

"It's not our fault."

"It damn well is," he said miserably. "If we hadn't been... at it, we might have saved him."

"We still might not have saved him," she replied. He simply nodded. "Should I go warn Moody? Maybe they were on the way to the Granger home and could appear there next."

"No, you hit the snake, and I think I hit that Death Eater. They've done all the damage that they can for tonight," he said, wincing and looking down at his own wounded arm. "Why, with all the rush to aid him, I forgot about this hex wound."

"You must see a Healer, too," she cried worriedly, tears springing to her eyes. "If only I hadn't felt so randy and talked you into that shag..."

"Enough for now. Stay with Granger. I'll be right back."

Tonks nodded. "How will we explain this?" she mumbled to herself. "What will Hermione say?" To her horror, one of the Healers turned to face her, expression grim.

"There was just so much damage. His ribs were splintered, and too many organs were pierced and poisoned. These types of bites are the worst kind. Hell, I never saw poison start working as quickly as that!"

"Oh, no," she moaned as realization set in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry remained standing next to Hermione's chair, keeping his hand upon her shoulder as Mrs. Weasley pushed a mug in front of her. Something was very wrong, and he had a feeling that she wouldn't talk about it in front of everyone.

Ginny was chattering nonstop. "It's the best day we've had in a long time. I find out Harry's alive, and Hermione comes home in the same day." She sat down next to Hermione. "Where's he been keeping you? Why do you seem so upset? You're home!"

Shaking his head in hopes that Ginny would stop questioning her, Harry caught Pansy's gaze. She'd been quite subdued since Mrs. Weasley had found them snogging, but he could see that Hermione's return was affecting her even more so. Did she honestly think that he had a thing for Hermione? She would just have to understand that Hermione was very much a part of his life as Ron had been, and if she was still around, she would always be in his life. Bottom line. He didn't have the time to explain things to her, but he would as soon as he helped Hermione sort herself out.

"I..." Hermione's voice trailed away, and she wiped at her eyes. "It's over. He's ended things with me."

A hush came over the kitchen. Draco looked as surprised as Harry felt, mouth gaping open. Ginny gasped. Pansy brought a hand up to her mouth, and her eyes softened with sympathy. Molly's brow furrowed, and Arthur seemed to nod in approval while Professor McGonagall strode forward to place her hand on Hermione's other shoulder.

"Who, dear?" Molly asked.

"Sev-Severus," Hermione replied, staring into her tea.

"Sorry. I don't get what you mean. What are you on about? He's ending things with you?" she questioned further.

"That's what I said," Hermione snapped, slamming down her mug and sloshing tea over the table.

"And a wise decision it was," said Dumbledore's quiet voice from the doorway. All heads snapped round to look at him as he walked forward slowly.

"You mean to say... that Severus and Hermione..." Molly's expression was clouded. "That he dared to..."

"That'll do," McGonagall said to Molly sharply, helping Hermione to rise. "Potter take her upstairs. I'll explain to Molly."

Hermione pulled out of Harry's grasp and yelled at the headmaster, "You put him up to this, didn't you?"

"I did not," he said softly.

"But you're glad!" she accused.

"I am," he admitted.

"Well, you'll get your chance to congratulate him on a decision well made! He says he'll be round as soon as he can to let you know about his plans." Hermione stormed by him and ran up the stairs.

"CREATURE OF DIRT! BLOOD TRAITORS!" came the beginnings of the portrait's screams.

Molly plopped down at the table. "How could he? She's just a child!" She shook her head. "If Ron only knew about this..."

"Ron didn't know," Ginny interjected. "So don't fret about what Ron would or wouldn't say. He's gone, Mum, and the only thing that matters now is what we feel about it." She stood up and took Draco's hand. "If Hermione loves... Snape, then so be it. They deserve to be happy."

"Now, see here, young lady," Arthur began, trying to keep his tone light, "your mother doesn't deserve that kind of talk. She's right. Severus isn't Hermione's match. If he's come to his senses and stopped this... romance, then I'd say it's for the best."

"And meanwhile, Hermione gets to suffer, eh?" Ginny retorted. "Come on, Draco." She pulled an apologetic Draco from the room.

McGonagall began explaining things to Molly while Dumbledore took a seat next to Mr. Weasley.

Harry shook his head in annoyance, noting that Pansy was now at his side. "How can you all be like that?" he asked suddenly. When they turned to face him, he continued, "Hermione's upstairs hurting, and all you can say is that it's for the best? I saw them together... loads of times, and although I'll never be a Snape fan, I can honestly say that he cares about Hermione and was probably bullied into this."

"But Severus is..."

"I know what he is," Harry said in annoyance. He looked to the headmaster. "If he feels as badly about this as she does, I don't expect that it fares well for him, does it? Not with Voldemort always picking at his mind. For all your talk about trusting and caring for Severus Snape, you shouldn't have made him do this."

"Harry," Dumbledore began sadly, "I had nothing to do with this. You were with me when I spoke to him last. If he's decided to do this, then I can only say that it's for the best. We don't know his reasoning behind it. Perhaps Hermione was in danger where she was. We won't know until we speak to him."

He'd not thought of it in those terms. "But why end things and not just..." He shook his head. It didn't make sense.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Tonight, Alastor, Tonks, and Remus are keeping the Grangers under surveillance. We received an anonymous tip that some Death Eaters might pay them a call this evening."

"God," Harry breathed.

"And," McGonagall added, "if Hermione was as safe as we would have hoped, why would her parents be in danger? I have reason to believe that Severus didn't make this choice lightly... Not if the way he spoke and looked when he came to see me earlier is anything to go by."

Molly Weasley, oblivious to the conversation, was shaking her head and grumbling about taking advantage of children. Harry simply nodded and led Pansy to the stairway, not wanting to get into another round of debate.

Once alone, he smiled regretfully. "I have to help her. I hope you can understand that."

"I do," she said. "Go to her." She quickly placed a kiss on his cheek and climbed the stairs to go to her room.

Harry could tell that it bothered her only a little. It was likely she'd realized just how devastated Hermione was and felt she could commiserate with her. He plodded up the stairs and found Hermione in her room. Without bothering to ask if he could enter, he went in and closed the door behind him before moving to sit next to her on the bed.

"All right there, Hermione?" he asked lamely.

"No," she replied softly. "It's not all right."

"He'll come back."

She shook her head. "He was quite adamant." She reached into her robes and pulled out the small box. He was trying to give it to her before she'd interrupted. Not opening it, she looked at Harry. "He made love to me last night so slowly, and he admitted many things to me that I'd only suspected before. He knew last night that it would be over for us today, and he didn't warn me." She chucked the box onto the nightstand. "I don't know how I can go on without him. It's been so long since I've been alone that I don't remember how it feels."

"What was his reason? I mean... why so suddenly?"

"I only found out that you were alive today, you know," she said, voice near a whisper. "He'd been telling me that he couldn't find you but was searching. I was left in the dark all this time."

"Well, that wasn't very bright. Why would he..."

"Because I haven't the knack for Occlumency," she spat bitterly. "The Dark Lord would have easily seen what I knew and ended our lives."

"Oh."

"Yes." She nodded. "I thought he was lying to me about it. I thought maybe he'd found you and turned you over to his ruddy Master or that you were truly dead with him trying to keep it from me." She sighed, but she was no longer crying. "I lost my faith in him and told him so. I acted foolishly just to hurt him, and I let myself wallow in despair." She laid back and stared at the ceiling. "He says he loves me still, but he now feels that he isn't what I need and that I would be happier away from him."

"But after this war is over, you two can start over again."

She propped herself up on her elbows and scowled at Harry. "He's stubborn." A long awkward pause ensued. "Harry, I acted like a child. It seems I wasn't the woman he thought me to be. I think that I've lost the chance to prove to him that I could be... that I'm not some silly girl with inane behaviors at times."

"But you've never been just a silly girl," Harry defended. "And who wouldn't be upset that they were taken to live with that piece of reptilian dung? You had a right to grieve." He smiled. "You and Ron used to have those rows and always tried to make each other jealous. That was a bit silly," he admitted. "But that was long ago. "I've never seen you act that way with Snape."

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. My misery made him miserable. He's lost even more weight, and to make matters worse, the great and powerful Voldemort took notice." She sat up violently. "He's quite protective of Severus, you know. He threatened me to behave or suffer the consequences."

"You talked with Voldemort?" Harry asked incredulously.

Hermione blushed. "Yes, he... he wants me to be his librarian after he takes over Hogwarts."

"But he hates Muggle-born people! He leads an entire lot of Death Eaters while trying to kill them!"

"No," she said softly. "He doesn't hate them. Not all of them anyway, and you'd be surprised that some of them...the Death Eaters...are just as normal as you and I. However, they've been seriously misled... if you ask me about it." She sighed. "Even tonight after they thought to use me as bait to lure you out of your supposed hiding, he had a talk with me, saying how I'd not treated Severus right and should have obeyed him, but he still wanted to offer me a place at his side during his reign." She shuddered. "Can you imagine?"

"Oh, no," Harry said. "Hermione, Mr. Weasley just told me that they received an anonymous tip earlier that your parents were in danger from a Death Eater attack. They've got the Order watching over them!"

"What?" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "But... no, I talked to him, made him see that I would try harder to be a better concubine." She made her way to the door and threw it open.

Minerva McGonagall stood there, hand extended as if she had been about to knock. "Hermione, you need to come with me," she said quietly.

Harry noticed that her normally stiff posture was stooped, and her eyes were filled with sadness. Oh, no, her parents, he thought. He quickly made his way over to Hermione, who had covered her eyes with her hands.

"Come on," he said, guiding her towards the stairway. He noticed that there were no tears in her eyes, only a stormy acceptance of what was to come. Her jaw was set in defiant stiffness, and he felt her physically stiffening, preparing herself for the worst. Harry only hoped that the news wouldn't be bad, but with McGonagall's demeanor, it couldn't be too good.

When they entered the kitchen, they saw Remus Lupin standing near the sink, speaking quietly to Kingsley. His tatty robes had blood smeared all over them, and there was a large hole in the left sleeve's arm. Bandages were visible beneath.

For the second time that night, the room hushed. Molly pulled out a chair and motioned for Harry to bring Hermione over. This was definitely not good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus felt the castle tremble with great force and jumped up from his chair, empty bottle of elf-made wine tumbling to the floor and shattering. Quickly throwing on his robes, he ran to see what was going on, wand drawn. Surely the idiot Ministry wouldn't have tampered with Hermione's mind and figured out their hiding place. Running to the chair his Master favored in the large hall, he pointed his wand at the writhing figure on the ground.

"What the...?"

"No, Severusss, leave him," the Dark Lord hissed from his left.

It was the first time he noticed him. "Master, what's happened? I felt a tremor."

Flicking his wand to cease the hex on the man, his Lord replied by nodding his head to the entrance. Severus moved forward and saw Nagini. Obviously dead.

"My Lord?" he questioned, not liking the calm forlorn look on his master's face...belying the fiery rage in his eyes. He remembered Montague had taken Nagini on an errand earlier. Turning back, he looked at the nearly dead man on the floor. His mask was off, and his face was disproportioned terribly. The man and snake must have failed. "Montague?" he questioned. There was a smattering of blood upon his distorted face, but it looked as if he was swollen or filled with some poison.

"I sent him on a simple errand, and he brings her back to me... nearly dead," the man said emotionally, shaking with rage. "Is doing my bidding too much to ask?" He flicked his wand again, and Montague began writhing and moaning again.

"What's happened to his face?" Severus asked, unable to stop himself.

"Nagini bit him as she thrashed about."

Severus swallowed. He had never felt completely comfortable around the snake, but he knew that his Master was quite fond of her, as she'd been there for him when all else had deserted him. Montague would not be for this world long. It had been a miracle that Arthur Weasley had survived her attack.

"Finish him, Severusss," the Dark Lord commanded.

Nodding and raising his wand, he summoned all of the hate and anger he felt and whispered, "Avada Kedavra." He'd like to think that he'd gave the man some peace. At once, Montague expelled one last breath of air and moved no more.

"Look!" shouted someone entering.

Severus looked up to find Jugson waving a paper in front of him. Bowing first and then handing the Dark Lord his copy, the man took in the scene before him, eyes wide. Severus smirked at the horrified expression upon the man's face.

"Well, at least something has gone right," the Dark Lord said. "Have a look, Severusss."

Severus strode forward and took the paper from his Master. An immediate pang of guilt swept through him. On the front page were the forms of Hermione and Minerva. The elder witch was ferociously warning someone...he couldn't make out who it was...away while a broken Hermione sobbed against her shoulder. Hermione Granger Escapes From Lestrange's Clutches!

"In time, Severus, she shall return. We must not let our feelings overwhelm us," his Lord said wisely. He looked to Jugson. "Take care of Montague. Make certain he is found. I want all to know what happens to those who do not do my bidding."

Once the man had left with the body, Severus asked, "My Lord, what were Montague and Nagini to do?"

Gazing at him for a long moment, he finally answered, "I felt it was time to teach your young lover a lesson."

"Sir?"

"I warned her when she first came here that she was to keep you satisfied and content. I told her of the consequences if she did not." He sighed. "Did she not tell you what I told her tonight?"

"Nothing like this." Severus shook his head. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her that my warning would be followed through and that I never make threats lightly." He strode over to Nagini and hissed sadly. "I sent Nagini to kill one of her parents."

"And she failed?"

"Oh, no," he said proudly. "She killed the man. He was the first one that Nagini came across." He frowned. "What troubles me is that Order members were there to guard the place. They were too late of course, but they got in a fatal hex on my Nagini."

Severus couldn't believe it. Hermione's father had been killed. His heart sank. Would she believe that he'd known and simply chosen not to say anything? "But how did they know?" he asked suddenly.

"It appears that our spy has struck again. Go to Dumbledore. Find out if Potter has surfaced." He smirked. "I'm sure she'll wonder why her lover has not paid her a visit after her ordeal as a captive."

"Yes, my Lord," he said, still shocked.

"If you can bring back any information about our spy, you would please Lord Voldemort greatly." He turned to face his snake, adding, "I tried to get into Montague's mind, but he couldn't register anything but pain. He must have told someone about his orders. I told no one else. Find out who killed Nagini so that I might crush him with my bare hands."

Nodding, Severus backed away. Before he exited, he asked, "Do you need help with... her?"

"No, I shall handle her myself."

"Very well," Severus said and moved out to the grounds. It was too soon to face her, but he had no choice. Besides, how could he not go to her after learning that her father had died? He'd have to explain that he truly had nothing to do with the man's death. He only hoped that she would believe him. Needing to get some things from Hogwarts first, he Disapparated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Severus entered the kitchen of Grimmauld place, he saw the gloomy expressions on everyone's faces. With a relief, he noted that Hermione was not among them. The Weasleys, Minerva, Dumbledore, and Kingsley were seated at the table.

"I trust you've heard about Mr. Granger," he said, striding forward.

"Yes," Minerva said, nodding.

Severus started to sit down but paused as Molly spoke up. "How dare you come here and act as if nothing has happened!"

"Excuse me?"

"Not now, Molly," Arthur said.

"How can you all not care that he took advantage of Hermione!"

So that was it. She knew of their relationship. He sat down anyway and said, "My personal life does not concern you, Molly, though I do respect your opinions... on some level. There is more going on now that we should be focused on."

"Well, did you at least try to warn them that Death Eaters were going their way?" she accused. "John Granger was a good man." Her voice was tinged with sadness and accusation.

"I did not know about it."

"Someone knew," Kingsley said. "We received a tip."

"Do you not know who it was?" Severus asked curiously.

The black wizard shook his head. "No, and we were uncertain if it was authentic. Remus, Tonks, and Alastor went to watch them. At some point, the man left his home to run down to their private practice. Moody stayed to watch over the woman while Remus and Tonks went to oversee him."

"And yet Nagini was able to get to him?"

Kingsley nodded. "Unfortunately, they didn't notice until it was already too late. They had a confrontation with one Death Eater and the snake, who left by Portkey."

"Both are now dead," Severus said quietly.

"Mr. Granger died at St. Mungo's," Dumbledore said.

"He wasn't as lucky as my Arthur," Molly said, reaching to place her hand over her husband's.

"Hermione's mother is upstairs in a guest room. We had to give her something to help her sleep. This was all... a great shock to her. It seems there is much that Hermione has not mentioned to the woman," Minerva said.

"She said you would be coming here to speak with me about a plan," Dumbledore said.

Severus nodded. "How is she?"

Molly harrumphed but said, "She's up in her room."

He rose, needing to see her. "I will meet with you in the study, Headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "I shall get Harry."

Severus turned on his heel and headed for the stairs without listening to whatever else was being said.

He found her room unlocked and eased into its darkness. A quick spell lit a candle near her bed. He strode forward and paused to simply look at her. Her face was turned away from him, eyes closed, and he could see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

Dejectedly, he sat down, keeping his back to her and facing the door he'd just come through. He couldn't face her. She'd likely been lectured by Molly and blamed him for her father's death as she had for Harry's when she thought him dead. Something on the nightstand caught his attention. It was the box he'd given her. He reached for it and opened it.

The ring was still within. He didn't know if she'd seen it or not, but it was likely that she simply didn't want it. He closed his eyes, remembering the last time he'd seen the ring on a finger. It had been his mother's, and he'd refused to allow her to be buried with it. He'd thought that maybe Hermione would wear it... not as a wedding band, but just because it was something of his that he'd treasured.

"It's beautiful," said a groggy voice.

He hadn't noticed that she'd sat up. He snapped the lid closed on the box. "It is." He made to put the box in his pocket, and she placed her hand on his.

"I thought you gave that to me."

"Well, I assume you don't want it," he said, still not looking at her.

"Severus, I hadn't seen it yet." She pried the box from his fingers and took the ring out, sitting up in bed.

Reluctantly, he turned to her and watched as she tried to push it onto her finger. "Allow me," he said calmly, using his wand to enlarge it slightly. After, it slid on perfectly. "It was my mother's."

"I thought it might be," she said, admiring it closely.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"I think he would have liked you... after the shock wore off of course."

The words were meant to be light, but he could hear the pain behind them. "Did you not hear what I said?"

"You said you didn't know," she replied. "Before I left, Vol... the Dark Lord had that talk with me, and he was saying that you didn't know that he'd threatened me." She scooted closer and put her arms around him. "If he hadn't told me that, I would still know that you would have done what you could to save him if you'd known." She kissed his shoulder, wishing his robes weren't in the way. "Nothing you said today matters to me. I still love you, and one day, I will prove myself worthy."

"Hermione," he said quietly, pushing away from her. "You are more than worthy. That is not why I want things to be finished between us." He sighed. "It's apparent to me that you are still young and need to live a little more before you settle down. Perhaps you can be happier without me."

"I am miserable."

"Only for now..."

"For always if I'm to be without you. Can't you see that?" she asked sadly. "What can I do to change your mind?"

"You cannot."

"Kiss me."

"Hermione, one kiss will not change my mind."

"No, Severus, but it will make me feel better. I need you...only you can make me feel safe."

Lowering his head, his lips pressed against hers in a lingering, chaste kiss. He gathered her to him roughly and buried his face within her hair, just holding her. He felt her body trembling and thought it likely that she was crying.

Minutes later, he pulled away and guided her down to the bed, kissing her as he did so. He stood and pulled a parchment from his pocket. "This is yours. Tomorrow night at exactly nine o'clock...if you don't hear from me otherwise...I want you to locate me and make Portkeys for Dumbledore and the Order members. You are not to be a part of this fight."

She took the parchment and stared at it blankly.

"Will you do that? Will you stay away?"

"Yes," she replied. "I don't want you to be hurt, Severus. What if... what if something goes wrong?"

"I think that all will be well. On the chance that something goes wrong, I've... There is a letter for you at home in my bedroom."

She opened her arms and beckoned him to join her.

He shook his head. "I cannot, Hermione." He did, however, reach out to squeeze her hands momentarily before treading towards the door. He looked back for a long moment and slipped out.

There was no way in hell that she was going to stay away from the confrontation...especially after that bastard had her father murdered. The pain of loss stabbed through her anew at the thought of his demise, but she couldn't let that deter her. No, she had to use it as fuel. She would go with Harry and help him, but she would also make certain that nothing happened to Severus. Getting up, she pulled a book from a nearby shelf and started reading. There were some things she wanted to show Harry. She'd have to wait until Severus left to search him out, but they hadn't much time and needed to start their planning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. "So tomorrow night it is."

Severus nodded. "I feel that with the element of surprise and extra support, you can do this. Hermione will know exactly where to make the Portkeys' destinations. I can only imagine that there will be others there. My place is, as I've told you, at the Dark Lord's side. I will remain there for the duration."

"But why? Don't you want to show that bastard that he's been duped?" Harry asked curiously.

Dumbledore answered when Severus frowned. "He needs to play the part until the end, Harry. If something should go wrong, then he will intervene, but we need to make certain that his position is not compromised."

"What of the hexes? He could get hit by one," Harry pointed out.

"That, Potter, is a chance I am willing to take...not that I have to explain anything to you," Severus bit out. He pointedly ignored the boy's next outburst and looked to Dumbledore. "Make certain that she does not accompany him, Headmaster. It's all I ask. If the Dark Lord sees her there, he'll think that the Ministry or you were able to retract the information. He may take it out on her."

Nodding, Dumbledore said, "I will not offer to let her join us, and I doubt her mother will be willing to allow her to join in the tussle. Kingsley took her statement for the Ministry, so you can relay that to Voldemort. He might rest easier knowing it was one of our allies that did it."

"I shall tell him that she was asking for Harry, unable to remember what had gone on at the battle and that you said you might know where to find him."

Harry nodded. "But what if he tries to come for me sooner?"

"He won't," Severus reassured him. "He wants to wait until Bane is able to give another night of visions. The moon won't be right for a few more days. It's why we have to act quickly. If the vision would show anything differently, it might clue him in as to how we attack."

"What of Firenze?" Harry asked. "Could he not help us? He works at Hogwarts and can easily help us with the visions and the other prophecy."

Dumbledore smiled kindly, shaking his head. Severus sneered and said, "He's not a better or more knowledgeable centaur than Bane, Potter. He's got to wait for the right phase of the moon, too."

"Right," Harry said, cheeks flushing. "I just... I just wish I knew that all would be well."

Snorting, Severus said, "You've always scraped by before, haven't you? I believe luck is on your side." He stood. "Keep your mind closed, Potter, and if you have to, use the nonverbal spells we've been working on. It'll be harder to block you if he doesn't know what's coming. Agreed?"

"Yes," he said, adding, "sir." He stood and extended his hand. "For what it's worth..."

Severus took it and gave it a quick shake. "Good luck." Severus quickly left, wanting to bring tidings back to the Dark Lord before he became too suspicious. He nearly stopped and went back to Hermione's room, but he saw from the crack beneath the door that the candle was still lit. If he went in, he might not be able to leave so easily again. He shook his head, realizing that she needed his support more than ever, and he was once again failing her.

"Oh, excuse me," a woman said. "I was trying to find the loo."

He pointed down the hall. "Just there."

"Are you Severus Snape?" she asked.

"I am," he said. This woman had shiny brown eyes and hair colored the same as Hermione's. It had to be her mother. "Jane Granger, I presume?"

"Yes," she said, nodding sadly and rubbing her temples. "I don't mean to be rude, but if I don't get to the toilet quick, I might be sick here." She smiled regretfully. "Thank you... for everything."

He wanted to ask her what exactly she'd meant, but he remained silent and watched her unsteady gait as she went to the door he'd pointed out. A feeling of disappointment settled over him. If he'd continued on with his relationship with Hermione, the woman would have likely approved of them. She seemed nice enough. Would her husband have been the same as Hermione had said? I will never know. A feeling of foreboding washed away his thoughts. It certainly felt as if something could...and would...go wrong. Were they doing the right thing by organizing this surprise attack on the Dark Lord? He could only hope so, and like Lucius, he wished the boy luck and hoped that he'd prevail.

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Southern's Notes: This is part one of two chapters. I hope some of you feel a little better about the relationship between Hermione and Severus after their talk. At least they've not parted on bad terms, right? I still found this a little sad, what with the deaths. Anyone have any ideas about the spy? And Tonks/Lupin sure stuffed up that surveillance job. I don't know that they could have done anything else that would have helped though.