When everyone gathered, the tension in the air was thick. Everyone could tell that it was coming from Severus and Hermione. Severus was smoking and Hermione was leaning up against him slightly. Her back to his chest as her knees were raised in front of her. Severus had his free hand wrapped around her waist. For a man like Severus Snape, he was not a man too often to display affections publicly. Even with Hermione. But right now they seemed to be taking comfort from each other. A thought that unnerved everyone. But not for the reason one might expect. Surprisingly they have all gotten used to the idea that Severus and Hermione are together, for the most part anyway. Some still are weary and not pleased by the decision but aren't openly hostile about it. For now. If given the chance to save the lives of those they care about meant having to deal with the temporary presence of a married Severus and Hermione then it was worth it. For the most part one wouldn't even be able to tell that they are married and that is what concerns everyone. For two people who don't display their affections for one another often, then for them to do so now means something bad is coming, something even they don't want to relive.
After class, Harry asks Slughorn about Horcruxes, and Slughorn freezes. He knows immediately that Dumbledore has sent Harry and refuses to answer. Harry continues to regularly consult the Marauder's Map to check on Draco's whereabouts. Sometimes he is unable to locate him on the map at all. Ron starts eating Chocolate Cauldrons laced with a love potion. After being cured, Slughorn gives him a mead that was intended for Dumbledore that was laced with poison.
During another private lesson. Voldemort is working at Burgin ad Burkes and meets a witch named Hephzibah, who shows him the Slytherin's locket that once belonged to his mother and a cup which belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Dumbledore reveals that Voldemort must have murdered Hepzibah and that her family realized that the locket and the cup were missing. Around the same time, Voldemort left his job at Borgin and Burkes and was not seen or heard from for a very long time. Another memory showed Voldemort applied for the Defence position which Dumbledore denied. He then cursed the position which has resulted in their never being the same defence teachers two years in a row. Later, Harry finds a new spell, Sectumsempra, scrawled in the margins of his Potions textbook, with the words 'For Enemies.' Harry uses Felix Felicis to get Slughorn's memory but he doesn't drink it all. The memory shows'
"A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a per-son has concealed part of their soul," Slughorn said. "Well, you split your soul, you see and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form ..."
"How do you split your soul?" Voldemort asked.
"By commiting murder. Killing rips the soul apart."
"Merlin's beard, Tom!" yelped Slughorn. "Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case....bad enough to divide the soul....but to rip it into seven pieces...."
Dumbledore tells Harry that he suspects Voldemort has split his soul into seven pieces. The only way to kill Voldemort is to destroy all seven Horcruxes. Dumbledore believes that the seventh Horcrux is Voldemort's regenerated body and should be destroyed last. Two are already gone; the diary Harry destroyed in his second year. and Marvolo's ring, which Dumbledore withered his hand destroying. Harry suggests Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. Dumbledore believes that Nagini, the snake, is one as well. It is revealed that when Dumbledore leaves Hogwarts for long stretches of time, he is out hunting for Horcruxes.
The scene changes to Harry duelling in the bathroom. Harry curses him with 'Sectumsempra', a spell of the Half-blood Prince. He severely hurts Draco, but Professor Snape is able to save him. Harry then throws the textbook away. At lunch, Hermione shows Harry a newspaper article about Eileen Prince, and suggests that she may be the Half-Blood Prince.
Harry receives a scroll asking him to report to Dumbledore's office as quickly as possible. On his way, Harry runs into Professor Trelawney who reveals that it was Professor Snape who overheard her first prophecy to Dumbledore during her job interview with Dumbledore. Before Harry can confront Dumbledore, Dumbledore tells him that he has found a Horcrux and that Harry will be accompanying him to destroy it. Harry tells Dumbledore that he knows that it was Snape who carried word of the prophecy. Dumbledore defends Snape, saying that he was still under Voldemort's control and had no way of knowing that Voldemort would kill Harry's parents.
Harry goes with Dumbledore to find the next Horcrux. The memories show the cave and them travelling on a boat to get to a green light where a stone basin is located filled with a potion. Dumbledore dinks and begins to hallucinate. They are able to retrieve the locket before they are attacked by bodies that were in the water which turn out to be inferie. They are able to escape and head to hogwarts where a dark mark is hovering over the astronomy tower.
Once they went to the Astronomy Tower, Dumbledore paralyzed Harry under the invisibility cloak, when he is ambushed by Draco Malfoy. Dumbledore tries to get Draco to stand down.
"Draco, Draco, you are not a killer."
"I had to mend that broken Vanishing Cabinet that no one's used for years."
"That was clever ... there is a pair, I take it?" Dumbledore asked.
"The other's in Borgin and Burkes," said Malfoy,
"So the Death Eaters were able to pass from Borgin and Burkes into the school to help you."
"I haven't got any options!" said Malfoy. 'I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!'
Then the memories showed the Death Eaters joining him including Professor Snape.
"We've got a problem, Snape," said the lumpy Amycus, "the boy doesn't seem able -"
"Severus... please..." Dumbledore pleaded.
Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air and then he fell out of sight. Harry follows them as they escape attacking Snape as he goes.
"Fight back!" Harry screamed at him. "Fight back, you cowardly-----"
"Sectum - "
"You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them - I, the Half-Blood Prince!"
"DON'T -" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, - "CALL ME COWARD!"
Harry reconvience with everyone in the hospital wing. Where he tells everyone, what happened. Bill was attacked by Fenir Greyback, a werewolf, but no one is dead. Mrs. Weasley assumes that Fleur will no longer wish to marry Bill, but Fleur is offended and tells her that she still intends to marry him. Tonks glares at Lupin and tells him that just because someone is a werewolf doesn't mean they cannot be loved. Ron asks Harry if he and Dumbledore succeeded in getting a Horcrux, and Harry tells him no. It was a fake someone by the initials of R.A.B took the real one. Hermione tells Harry that Eileen Prince was Snape's mother, which is why Snape called himself the Half-Blood Prince. Ron and Hermione decide to go with him, when he doesn't plan on returning to school.
"We'll be there, Harry," said Ron
"You said it once before," said Hermione quickly, "that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we? We're with you whatever happens."
Everyone was staring at Severus Snape. Except for Hermione who wasn't surprised by the revelation that just occurred. She was watching everyone in the room, her wand in her hand, prepared to defend the man she loves if anyone decides to attack. They were outnumbered if that occurred. And she hoped that it wouldn't come to that. Nobody moved from their seats though. It seemed as though time wasn't just frozen outside the house but inside as well. Eventually, Albus Dumbledore stood, drawing attention to himself as everyone waited with bated breath for his reaction and plan of action. However the expected reaction of anger or even sadness wasn't present. As he stood he gave Severus a watery smile as he addressed him.
"Thank you"
"What!" Sirius exclaimed, that was certainly not what he was expecting. "Did you just watch what I did because it almost sounds like you were thanking him for killing you."
"Like I have always said, I trust Severus and despite what we just watched, it doesn't change it. If anything, it solivies it." Dumbledore retook his seat, still smiling.
"What are we missing?" Tonks asked, completely confused by the chain of events. One moment they watch Snape kill Dumbledore then the man is thanking him. Maybe one of them should get him checked out at St. Mungo's. Perhaps all of those lemon drops has made him gone senile.
"I think Dumbledore has finally lost it." George muttered to his twin. The children didn't know how to respond, it was an unspoken decision to leave this one to the adults.
"What do you know that we don't?" Remus asked from his spot. He has been pondering the and something wasn't adding up in his opinion, even before Dumbledore's comment. "You said that everything wasn't as it seems, so what don't we know? What is the missing piece?"
"Figure it out." Hermione stated beside her husband, lowering her wand but still keeping it in her hand. "Unlike during our time, you have all of the pieces right in front of you." She wasn't going to spell it out for them. If they couldn't figure something as simple as this out then they stood no chance at changing the future. And obviously her husband beside her was not going to offer up an explanation. He seemed to be straining to keep his occlusion up. A feat that his past self seemed to have no issue with as he too was on guard.
"So Snape made an Unbreakable vow to finish Draco's mysterious task, which was to kill Dumbledore," Sirius stated.
"Yes and when the night happened Dumbeldore didn't fight back," Kingsley added.
"He couldn't fight back, he was weak and injured from that potion he drank trying to get to the Horcrux," Remus inputted gathering all of the facts.
"That wasn't the only injury he had." Mr. Granger said, joining in the puzzle.
"What are you talking about?" Mad-eye barked, his eye twisting and turning, keeping an eye on Snape.
"His hand."
"Of course his hand was injured when he destroyed the other Horcrux, the ring." Remus said, as he snapped his finger.
"Why didn't he just heal it?" Mrs. Granger asked innocently, still confused by what magic could do and what it was limited to.
"What if he couldn't. It was caused by such dark magic, it might not have been possible to fix. Some injuries have lasting effects," Remus stated knowingly for he had many scars on his body due to his affliction that can not be healed.
"Like dying?" Mrs. Granger asked, trying to understand not only the situation at hand but also the magical world her daughter is involved with.
"He knew what Draco was up to and maybe he wasn't concerned about being killed if he was already dying" Fleur added, her accent was prominent. People weren't surprised by her contribution. Her being here over the last couple of days was enough to prove that she wasn't just another pretty face.
"With an injury that bad at his age, he wouldn't have long to live if it was fatal." Sirius admitted.
"Severus said before this began, everything he did was heeding Dumbledore's orders." Remus added, realization drawing on those in the room. "Dumbledore ordered Severus to complete Draco's task, he ordered him to kill him."
Everyone was astounded at what the man did. Which one it was directed at was unsure, nonetheless, the lengths that the spy would go for his cover and for the order was proof of how he was a master spy if not thee ultimate spy.
"When Dumbledore begged him on the astronomy tower and said 'please' he was begging him to kill him." Sirius said horror creeping up inside of him. He might not like Snape but he couldn't picture the pain that would have caused for the man.
"Why, why did he do it?" Ginny asked, confused how someone could just kill another person when said person asked for it.
"This way his death meant something and he would be fully trusted amongst the Death Eaters and Voldemort," Hermione explained to her friend beside her.
"Are we right? Was this all just a setup? All a part of the plan?" Remus asked looking back at Severus whose eyes were clouded and his face sullen not a sneer in sight.
"Yes," he admitted.
"Merlin Snape," Sirius said after he swore under his breath.
"That was admirable, showing your commitment to the cause in such a way. I don't think any of us could succeed at such a task and keep up the facade," Remus admitted.
"Your right no one else could and that's why it was so believable." Severus said, his shields up again and air tight, his jaw tense.
"Who knew about it?" Tonks asked. Wondering if they were all just as shocked in the future when they originally found out compared to now.
"Besides Dumbledore and myself?" Severus asked, sarcasm lacing his voice as he drawled. "No one."
"What?" many voices proclaimed.
"No one knew about all of this?" Mrs. Weasley said aghast.
"Not at the time no."
"So everyone believed that you were a traitor and that you were on their side the entire time? Believing you to be a true death eater." Tonks realized.
"Yes, everyone had to believe it, it was essential," Severus' body was tense and guarded.
"How could you have done this, Albus?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she turned to the man in question. "He was all alone."
"Enough!" Severus stopped the questioning at once. The fact that all of these people defended him was honestly making him uncomfortable though he would never admit it. It was one thing for Hermione to do it, another when before this moment most of the people in question still disliked him and even mistrusted him. He did not want to go through this. "What's done is done, and hopefully will never have to occur again."
"Very well, what are we gonna do about the Horcruxes?" Remus asked, recognizing the finality in his voice.
"Well we know the location of several and therefore once this is all done we will be able to locate them and destroy them," Kingsley stated.
"But one is a fake, who even is this R.A.B?" Sirius mentioned, having no clue of the identity. The irony being prominent for Hermione, who knows the truth.
"Hopefully the memories will explain it and show us where the rest are. Despite changing some things, we can still use it to our advantage. Us successfully destroying these things is one thing we can't change." Kingsley stated.
"Perhaps instead of changing these plans we only change how we execute them. Instead of waiting years we can do it now and hopefully prevent Dumbledore's death," Remus stated wisely. Not realizing what he has just begun.
"There is something we can do now instead of waiting years," Tonks stated as she got a mischievous smile on her face as she turned to face Remus.
"Dora!" He replied as he held his hands trying to warn her off from the impending conversation he was hoping to avoid or at least not have it public. While Sirius had a shit eating grin on his face.
"Don't Dora me Remus. I suspected you had feelings for me but I wasn't sure. But now this proves that you do," She smiled victoriously as her hair flared brighter.
"Dora please! I am too old for you." Remus protested weakly.
"Look at Hermione and Snape they have a larger age difference then us and they don't care and are able to make it work." She hesitated for a moment lost in her happiness before she turned to the couple in question and quickly said, "No offence". Before turning back to the man beside her.
"I am a werewolf. I am dangerous to you." He said tiredly knowing that it was losing battle.
"So am I when I trip over the umbrella stand. You have no excuses. Come here you brilliant fool of a werewolf." She said before she launched herself at him. Snogging him without a care in the world as everyone watched. It took a few seconds before Remus began to respond in earnest.
"It's about time," Hermione said from her spot next to Harry. Having already been made aware of the Metamorphmagus' feeling for the man. Since she told her and Ginny during a girl's talk.
"I know right," Ginny said.
"I thought they would never admit it. Well I thought he would never admit it." Sirius said happily that his friend is finally getting his head out of his arse to find his much deserved happiness.
"At least one good thing has come out of this so far." Mr. Weasley said happily.
"This has been rough on all of us. Might I suggest that tomorrow we take a break and just relax," Hermione said as she looked at Severus, knowing that this was harder on him then he is showing.
"Is that such a good idea? Shouldn't we just finish it?" Mad-eye asked impatiently.
"Well once we finish the memories Severus and I won't be sticking around long after it. So that you can all start making a difference and enacting changes. I figured that a lot of you guys still need to talk to us and ask us questions. Tomorrow we can do that and just take it easy."
"She's right we could also start telling the children some stories of the first war and what kind of missions we did," Kinglsey said, wanting to start on some changes.
"Maybe Snape could tell them some of the things that happen during the Death Eater meetings." Tonks added. She had managed to separate her lips from Remus however her arms were still wrapped around him. The man in question having a pink hue to his cheeks and looking awfully flush.
"Is that so wise? Those aren't really things the kids should be hearing." Mrs. Weasly asked, concerned.
"How is it any different from what they just watched?" Mad-eye asked, not seeing the point in sheltering the children. They needed to know what they are up against. And who better to tell them then the man who pretends to be one of them.
"They are gonna need to know what they are fighting against," Remus said. "If that is okay with Snape of course."
At this Severus stood up and left the room dramatically despite not wearing his teacher robes. Everyone watched at his sudden descent. Before looking to Hermione for answers who was watching him sadly.
"Excuse me, I think we are gonna call it quits for this evening," She said before standing to also make her leave.
"We haven't even had dinner yet," Mrs. Weasley protested.
"I doubt he is very hungry, I will grab something later if we need it," she said before making her way out following him.
"What do you think that is all about?" Ron asked.
"Why don't we find out?" Fred said with a grin. One he often held when planning a prank.
"What are you talking about?" Tonks asked.
"Well we just happen to have on us a pair of Extendable Ears that part of which is upstairs and the other half is conveniently next to the kitchen," George answered for his brother having the same thought.
"So you want to spy on them?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Forget spying on them, how long have you been spying on Order meetings?" Mrs. Weasley was not overly surprised that they would try a stunt like this.
"Well if we don't go now we will have no idea what they are talking about, and don't you want to see Mr and Mrs. Snape in their natural habitat." That seemed to have everyone hooked. Even the current Hermione and Snape couldn't help but be curious of the relationship between their future selves. They went to the kitchen with George bringing the other end of the extendable ear to the kitchen and Fred went to make sure the other end was in position. As they all gathered they heard the voices.
"Don't do that," Hermione demanded.
"Don't do what?" They heard Severus reply.
"Don't shut me out. Talk to me." She seemed to be pleaing. It took a minute before he replied, seeming to contemplate his answer.
"I thought I had moved on from my past. I thought that I had made peace. Well as much as I could, considering. And then this happened. My past just shows up out of nowhere, quite literally. A reminder of who I used to be. A reminder of all the horrible things I've seen, endured and done. Another reason that encompasses all of the reasons why I'm not good enough for you." It was surprising to hear such emotion and vulnerability from him. And to hear him doubt his relationship. He has not once explained his part in the marriage nor did he have any reason to. But here his insecurities were clear as he voiced what they all thought. He wasn't good enough for her.
"I think that I'm the one who gets to decide who is good enough for me. You are a good man, Severus. Think about all of the lives you have helped save while you were a spy."
"And think about all of the lives that are dead because of me," Severus shouted. Then he seemed to calm down before he said slowly, "There are some things that I still haven't told you."
"It doesn't matter." Hermione said strongly. And everyone could just imagine her crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Yes it does. It will always matter. I was a Death Eater and that means something, Hermione." He explained.
"Key word being was."
"Once a death eater, always a death eater," he said sadly.
"This mark on your arm doesn't make you a death eater, It doesn't define you. You can't let it define you." Then they could hear rustling before Hermione continued. "If you are so sure that this mark makes you a death eater, then this mark makes me a mudblood."
"Your not" she cutted him off.
"Then you're not, okay?" "Okay?" she asked again this time.
"I Love you, I married you, I chose you," Hermione's voice trailed off into what could only be called a snog fest. One no one particularly wanted to over hear.
This seemed to be the end of their conversation and the twins started to get rid of their product before the two upstairs could find out that they were being spied on. And before everyone overheard something that they didn't want to. Everyone didn't know what to say.
"Well that was enlightening," Dumbeldore said. He always was a sucker for love. And as being a headmaster for several decades he couldn't but consider which students would possibly end up with one another. And normally he was quite accurate in his musings however he never once foreseen the possibility that Hermione Granger and Severus Snape would end up together. But after overhearing this conversation and witnessing their encounters it seemed like they fit well together.