35: Proof of Trust

Chapter 35: Proof of Trust

When they arrived at the cottage, Hermione was surprised to see the place had been prepared for their visit. She lifted an eyebrow at Severus, but he only smirked. "I didn't realize we had plans tonight," she said

He led her to the living room, which filled with candlelight at a swish of his wand. Soft lights at the top of the stairs beckoned through the kitchen, and he set a hand on her waist, leading her to their room. The bed was surrounded by flowers, and candles floated around while a soft evening breeze blew through the curtains.

"Prepared well in advance, I see."

He turned her and guided her into his arms. "I hoped you could be persuaded to spend some time alone with me." His lips began a trail up the side of her face, soft caresses that lulled her and drugged her senses. "Imagine my satisfaction when you asked me to meet you in the copse. I came here a few hours ago to set up, plan, fantasize." He found her mouth and seduced her with his gentleness. "Any problems with that?"

Hermione slid her arms up his back and returned his kisses. "None at all." For a long time they stood there, holding each other and enjoying simple kisses, soft caresses.

When he led her to the bed, Hermione nudged some space between them. Something wasn't quite right. Being with him always felt great, but something was bothering him, worrying him, and she could tell it was taking part of his attention. It would bother them both until they settled it. "Hold on. What's going on?"

He slid her sleeve down a bit and pressed a kiss to her shoulder, sending shivers up her spine. "Come, my pet. We have all night."

She stiffened for a moment, then forced herself to relax. The only time he called her 'pet' was when he thought he might use the memory for Voldemort. A small moment of loss, of knowing this time he hadn't prepared her for the deception, unless one considered that 'endearment' as preparation. She knew it was his preference for these kinds of memories because the dark leader saw it as possessive, even dehumanizing. She forced a slow smile and looked into his face. Then, in a low, sensual voice, she asked, "And what did you have in mind, exactly?"

He leaned in and kissed her again, his lips playing hers, but she couldn't let the knowledge that this memory was intended for Voldemort leave her mind. "Everything, my pet. I have everything in mind for us."

In a moment, she found herself on the bed, slowly sliding down on the covers until her head hit the pillow, her wild hair splaying out behind her. He stroked her face. "Do you trust me?"

"You know I do." She felt his anxiety grow and her own heart quickened in response. What did he have in mind?

A moment later, he produced two vials of liquid. One was a deep burgundy, the other a rich purple. She hated taking anything without understanding its exact properties, but she could sense now was not the time to ply him with questions. He nuzzled her ear, and his fingers worked magic on her shoulders and upper arms...it was incredible what a gentle caress could do in a completely non-sexual location.

"Take these, the red first." His finger traced her lower lip, and Hermione shuddered.

Though she could tell he was nervous, he also managed to radiate reassurance...he believed this was the right thing to do, so Hermione reached out and took the vial of red liquid, popped the cork and swallowed it down. Peppermint and rosemary flooded her mouth, and she was grateful it at least tasted decent. Then she reached for the second. This was sweet, tangy and fruity.

A smile, so seldom employed, slid across his face, and she could sense him relaxing. There would be time to question him later. Now, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his face back down so she could nibble on his lips, his chin, his jaw.

After several minutes passed in this gentle kissing, he lifted his head and feathered his fingers over her face. "That's all for him; what's left of the night will be ours alone. I promise."

The lingering rigidness in her body fled, and she rubbed her neck. "You could have warned me."

"Perhaps I could have, but I knew you would have a million questions for me, and I wanted to get through that without the constant nattering you'd have subjected me to." The way his lips turned up at one corner told her he was only teasing at the moment, but she sensed a bit too much truth in his words to allow herself to relax completely.

"So what were the potions I drank?"

"They'll be to our benefit in the long run. Consider them a protection of sorts."

His reluctance to answer sent warning signals through her, and she pressed a hand to his chest, pushing him away when he drew nearer. "What were they?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "I thought you said you trusted me? Is my word that they will benefit us not enough?"

She weighed his questions, the possibilities, and her own heart. She hated going in blind, but she did trust him, told him as much...even if the words 'in the long run' made her nervous. Now. she needed to stand behind her word. "I do trust you. I just don't understand why you can't tell me what they were. I wouldn't have taken them so willingly if I didn't trust you."

Hermione felt his breath on her skin as he slid a kiss along her brow. "I swear to you that it will benefit us, even if it doesn't seem so at first. Consider it insurance." Then he leaned in and kissed her lips.

Though she knew he was avoiding the question, and his caveat sent out more warning signals, she pushed her reservations away for the time being and gave herself up to the sweet moment of time. When she allowed her eyelids to slide shut, she could still see the candlelight flickering on them.

*****

Bill showed up at Headquarters shortly after he returned from his honeymoon. Harry had sent an owl the previous day asking him to come by when it was convenient. Remus and Tonks also joined the trio for dinner. "Sit down and have some," Harry said, gesturing to an empty chair.

"No, thanks. Fleur is cooking dinner tonight. You needed to talk though?"

"Yes. Have something to drink and we'll finish up here." Harry slid a butterbeer toward Bill, who took a seat and twisted off the cap.

When the meal was done, the trio and Bill went off to the library, leaving Remus and Tonks behind to speculate. "So, what's going on, then?" Bill asked when the proper privacy charms had been placed.

Harry removed the locket from his pocket and tossed it over to Bill. "Check that and make sure it's inert, would you?"

Bill pulled out his wand and cast a couple silent spells. "Yeah, whatever was in there is gone now." He tried to pass it back, but Harry held up a hand.

"Could you put it back in my vault for now? I don't want to spend too much time in Diagon Alley."

"Sure, no problem." Bill placed it in his pocket. "Anything else you need to know?"

"If we brought you something else with the same final spell on it, cast by the same person, would you be able to recognize the magical signature?" Hermione asked.

"Well, yeah, I suppose. So there will be other objects?"

"Two more. We're not certain of the identity of one of them yet, but we're working on it. We also need you to show us some spells that will help us locate hidden objects."

Bill's eyebrows rose. "You don't know what they are?"

"We know what one of them is, but we don't know where they are," Ron corrected. "We're working on that, but the locket was protected with wards, spells, various things that needed to be overcome. First, we have to know if something is around when we narrow down locations."

Bill swore. "You kids are getting in way over your heads. What makes you think you're capable of undoing wards erected by V-Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters?"

"What makes you think they were put up by Voldemort?" Hermione asked.

"This has something to do with him. You've as much as said the objects have to be denatured before you can attack him. I have my ideas about what the nature of these objects is, but I'm keeping it to myself. I'm sure I really don't want to know."

"Good, cause we won't confirm or deny your guesses anyway."

"Fine. I'm guessing the shielding charm must have worked OK for you, since you're still alive and the thing in the locket is gone."

"Yeah, though holding the shield was exhausting. I hadn't expected it to require so much energy," Hermione said.

"That's why we had two of you working on it." He scratched his chin for a moment, then nodded. "Make me a deal; if I teach you the spells to locate the hidden object, will you call me in to break whatever wards are in the way? It could take months to get you proficient enough at ward and curse breaking to ensure you won't be dead." He gave each of them a hard look.

Hermione looked at Ron, who shrugged; she nodded to Harry, who turned back to Bill. "You've got it. We'll let you know the day we plan to do it so you'll be prepared."

"All right."

Bill stayed another hour teaching them a spell, then promised to return a couple nights later to work with them some more.

*****

Another week passed as Hermione worked with the boys and other Order members on their Occlumency. She had to demure several times when questioned about where she had learned Legilimency, but she always managed to change the subject or distract her questioner. She wondered how long before someone refused to be distracted.

The boys' Animagus training continued well. Harry was still dark and covered in fur, but his form was shrinking as he worked on it, and he was growing a long, twisty tail. She had her own ideas about his form, but hadn't ventured to mention them out loud yet. Soon she would be sure, and then she could tell him. Ron's scales had turned green and he was growing in size. She worried he would fill the room by himself soon. Her thoughts that he might turn out to be a lizard had changed when he got larger instead of smaller. Now, she was leaning toward a dragon. Welsh Green, maybe.

They were just finishing up their afternoon Transfiguration practice when George's head Flooed through to the kitchen. "Hey, Harry, you gonna make enough dinner for us too?"

Harry grinned. "You'll have to ask Hermione as she's dinner grunt tonight."

"You learn anything, or is this a social call?" Hermione asked, pulling a couple of extra potatoes from the bag under the sink.

"No reason why it can't be both. We'll close up in a few minutes, then Apparate over."

"See you then," Harry said just before the Floo connection closed.

"Better get some more chicken from the freezer," Hermione said to Ron, then spelled the peeler to get to work while she turned to other tasks. Ron had suggested corned beef earlier, but the thought alone was enough to turn Hermione's stomach. The kitchen smells made her feel a little off as it was, but she managed to push the sensation back, wondering if she had eaten something earlier that didn't agree with her.

Dinner was nearly ready when the twins came to the front door. "Help set the table, would you? We're expecting one or two more to show up eventually. Remus, at least. And if he's here, Tonks won't be far behind."

They sat down to eat, listening to the happenings at the store, joking and goofing off until dinner was done. Hermione wrapped up the leftovers and put them in the fridge while the boys spelled the rest of the room into order.

"Join us upstairs, would you?" Harry said, leading toward the hall door.

When they passed Remus in the corridor, Hermione smiled at him. "Dinner's in the ice box; help yourself. We'll be upstairs working."

"I still don't know what you three are working on most of the time." But Remus smiled back and continued on to the kitchen.

After everyone was settled in, lounging on the large cushions Hermione had found and enlarged for defense practice, Fred began. "We've continued looking around, putting in a word here and there..."

"Come up with some good buys, too." George interrupted.

"Then we had some bloke come into the shop to buy presents for his grandkids. He heard us talking about our interest in antiquities, said something about his uncle selling a family heirloom, years back..."

"Forty or more, he said, wasn't sure of the exact date..."

"To Borgin & Burkes. Family legend said it belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. A hair comb." Fred looked at Harry. "Sound about right to you?"

Harry nodded, grinning. "Sounds about perfect. Right time, right place, right kind of artifact. Did he give you a description?"

"Silver, about four inches long, diamond encrusted," George told them. "He said it was supposed to have some beauty charm on it to make the wearer's hair tame."

"I can see the draw." Hermione grinned at them, thinking of her own unmanageable mane.

Harry grinned back at her, then returned his attention to George. "Any clue as to where it went from there?"

"No. Seems another family member went back to Borgin's months later when they realized what happened to it, but the store had no record of it. Seems a young clerk bought it, but he wasn't working there anymore."

The trio made eye contact and Hermione nodded. "That sounds like what we needed to know. Great work."

"Did you have to grease any palms for that info?"

"Nope, all free." Fred turned to Ron. "Can you come in tomorrow, all day? Change of plans."

"What change?" Ron asked.

George smiled secretively. "We're allowed secrets of our own now. Aren't we?"

Hermione tuned out the rest of the conversation. Now they knew what they were looking for, they could focus on where the items were.

*****

Hermione spent the weeks of August helping the boys with their Animagus transformations, working on healing potions for the Order, continuing work on her own potion, and working with others on their Occlumency. Making time for her other independent study toward her N.E.W.T.s and her secret study of wandless magic became difficult when she tried to squeeze in time for her husband.

Added to all of this, whenever she visited the sweet cottage, she took a few minutes to pull a few weeds, trim a bush or thin out crowded beds. Hermione had never been especially keen on Herbology, but though she knew the cottage was only on loan, she felt a connection to the place and couldn't stand to see it so neglected.

When Severus came home and found her working in the yard one day, he paused to watch her. She knew he was there, could feel his presence, even if he didn't speak to her. When she finished replanting the irises she had thinned from a large clump near the front door, she looked up at him. "I hope the owner doesn't mind me making a few changes. The yard has been so neglected."

He smiled and reached out a hand to her. Hermione removed the gloves she always wore now when she worked around the yard's brambles and accepted the hand up. "I'm sure, my dear, that the owner is as happy to have you working in the yard as you could wish." He pulled her near and kissed her.

"You seem contented here," he observed when they strolled into the kitchen a moment later. "I feel it in you when you are here in a way I don't feel it anywhere else."

"This has become a refuge, a lovely little hidey-hole where I can forget about everything everyone else wants or needs from me. Here it's only you and me."

He tipped her head up with one long finger and placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. "This place will always be here for you, for as long as you need it. Now, before we begin the final stage on the potion of our own, I have a spell for you to try out."

It took great self-control for Hermione not to begin interrogating him in her excitement. He had found or created something for the final battle. She wondered what he had managed to put together. She allowed a smile and clasped her hands in front of her. "So what is it? How does it work?"

He led her through the kitchen to the back porch swing. This was part of the yard Hermione hadn't much time to work on. She had used a few spells to clean up most of the debris and trim a few dead branches from the bushes and trees in the back courtyard, but there was a great deal to do yet.

Severus pulled out a parchment and unrolled it. "This is a spell I found last night that is intended to share feelings in a therapy-type situation. This helps family members and friends gain empathy for one another's burdens and can be directed to focus on certain emotions. It is little used and hasn't been common for some decades. I thought it might work for the one part of your needs. I've made some adjustments to it already."

Hermione threw her arms around him and laid a huge kiss on his mouth. "That sounds perfect. Who casts the spell? How does it work?"

It took only a few minutes for Hermione to understand the mechanics and practice the incantation, though with their connection, it seemed to make little or no difference. "So will this work on someone against their will?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I wish I understood exactly what you had in mind. But no, it is only useful between two people who accept the spell."

She mulled that over, twisted and reshaped the plans to fit the situation. Maybe she should let Severus in on her full vision now. Her decision made, she turned back to him and began to explain.

*****

Hermione returned to Headquarters the next day with the spell in hand. Once the three of them had worked on their silent spell casting, and before they moved onto their Transfiguration project, Hermione pulled the paper from her pocket. "I have something else I want to work on first."

"Come on, Hermione, I'm almost there; can't we do Transfiguration first?" Ron asked.

"No. This is more important. I need to know if it works the way we need it to, or if we'll have to look some more." They were upstairs in the attic where they did most of their combat work, special wards had been placed on the walls to prevent damage, and the space was wide and open without furniture to get in the way.

She took a moment and explained how the spell worked.

"So it's supposed to transfer emotion? What good is that going to do us?" Harry asked.

"Love is what protected you from Voldemort before. Your mother's love, your love for Sirius. It's also the way he must be defeated. I've also begun research on a spell you could cast that would force the love you feel, the love others in the Order will transfer to you, to transfer to him. This should make his body uninhabitable. If he removes his soul from his body because he is in too much agony, he will be stranded, unable to connect to this world anymore, since his Horcruxes will be gone."

"Ruddy brilliant! When have you had time to work on this? You've been busier than ever lately, what with Occlumency lessons for the Order and meeting with Snape," Ron asked, adding his derision on the last word.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," was her only reply. She felt guilty getting recognized for the work Severus was doing, but they had both agreed it would be best if she didn't admit his role. Not until after the battle.

"Did you pick up a Time-Turner somewhere?" Harry asked.

"No. Now, you want to give it a try?"

The spell worked exactly as advertised, though it took a little work for Ron to pick it up. Hermione had already practiced it with Severus, so she was able to focus on correcting the way Ron cast the spell and Harry's acceptance of it. She tried it out a few times herself to see how effectively she could cast it without the bond skewing the results and was very pleased with the progress.

When she finally let the boys turn to Transfiguration, she was confident that half of the final job was well underway. Now, she needed to pick out which people would help at the final confrontation and figure out how to orchestrate things the way they needed to be.

________

A great big thanks to my beta, countrymouse, and to the Admins who have probably wanted to pull their hair out over my thick-headed comma misuse. An especially big thanks to Sempra for finding a way to teach me that made the light bulb flash over my head. Hopefully it stays lit for a while before fizzling out again.