Saving your life

The man was driving her crazy, really. She thought she should be used to it by now, but the way his attitude kept changing…it was just too much.

Every time they were together it was like he couldn’t keep his hands off her, but as soon as he was done he either ran or kicked her out. That wasn’t the worst part. Sometimes, he acted as if he really cared, like just a few moments earlier, when he had asked her to stay away from the attack because it would be too dangerous.

The possibility of what they were doing being real, of it meaning something to him, scared her for some reason. She didn’t want to share those feelings either. Fear of losing those she loved was bad enough as it was; caring for someone who lived his entire life in danger would be too much, but she knew there wasn’t a lot she could do about it anymore. Her heart raced every time she thought about him; her skin tingled every time he touched her. What was it about that dark dangerous man that attracted her so much? Well, maybe it was just that; the mystery that surrounded him, the unexplainable desire to see the human being she knew he hid behind the cold and evil man’s mask.

Maybe, just maybe, there was no reason at all; it just happened.

Knowing it was already too late, and that walking alone all the way back to headquarters wouldn’t be wise, she simply stepped out of the tavern and Apparated away.

She opened the door and entered headquarters, trying to keep silent since she really didn’t want to wake anyone on her way up. As she walked, she saw light coming from the open kitchen and decided to stop there first, thinking it was probably Mrs Weasley waiting to make sure she returned home safely before finally going to bed.

“Oh, hello,” she said, surprised to see Remus Lupin sitting there instead.

“Hello, Hermione,” he simply answered.

“I wasn’t expecting to find anyone still up this late,” she said, as she sat down beside him.

“Well, I couldn’t sleep; what’s your excuse?” he asked, smiling as he offered her some of the chocolate pie he was having.

“I just got back, really. When I saw the light on I thought it would be Mrs Weasley, still up and worried about me.”

“She did want to wait for you, but I told her to go to bed, that I would stay up and make sure you came home in one piece. She wasn’t feeling very well,” he explained.

“She worries too much. We haven’t seen you around often, lately.”

“I’ve been busy, working for the Order.”

“So I’ve heard. You look tired; maybe you should get some sleep.”

“I always look tired,” he laughed, “but you look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“Almost true,” she admitted guiltily. “This tastes so good,” she said between mouthfuls, trying to change the subject.

“What are you up to? Is everything all right? You can tell me, you know that.”

“I know, and I appreciate it, but there’s not much to say, really,” she said, as she got up to get some water.

“Are you in trouble?” She couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Probably in more than I realize,” she muttered.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not really, but thank you,” she said, sitting back down. A few seconds passed, and he spoke again.

“You’re working with a Death Eater, aren’t you?” Her head shot up at that, her eyes widened, and that was all the answer he needed.

“Are you sure you can trust him?”

“How did you…”she trailed off.

“The kind of information you brought, the things you asked for… I’ve worked with spies before; I know what it is like,” he answered simply.

“You can’t tell anyone, please,” she whispered, slightly panicked for a moment.

“I won’t.” They stayed in silence for a few moments, just eating and thinking.

“How long have you been working together?” She did the math in her mind and was surprised at the result.

“About a month,” she said, although it had actually been just three weeks. It felt like so much longer to her.

“And you’re sure he wants to help us? You know what happened the last time we trusted one of them.”

“Yes, I trust him,” she answered truthfully.

“I have known you for almost four years, and you’re probably the cleverest witch I’ve ever met. If you say you can trust him, then I believe you. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.” A smile lightened her face as she heard those words.

“Thank you,” she said. “It means a lot.”

“We really should go up to bed,” he said, as he finished his tea.

“You are right,” she agreed with a small smile, getting up as well. She took a few steps away, but then stopped as she reached the door. She turned around and looked at him.

“Remus,” she said, and waited until he was looking back at her. “Thank you,” she repeated, and saw a smile form on his lips. She hadn’t seen him smile in a very long time.

She fell asleep the moment her body touched the bed, and only awoke to Ginny’s voice calling her name.

“Hermione!” Ginny said, shaking her slightly until she finally grunted in response.

“You should get up and come down to the kitchen for some breakfast, before my mum comes to wake you up herself. She probably still wants to make sure you made it back last night alive.”

She grunted again, but got up from the bed all the same, knowing Ginny was probably right. She slowly got dressed, and was just tying up her hair when she heard Ginny giggle loudly behind her. Still half asleep, she turned around to face her, and was surprised at her friend’s serious expression when she asked, “Is there anything you want to tell me, Hermione?”

She looked at her for a moment, brow furrowed in confusion, and heard Ginny giggle again when she asked what she was talking about.

“You might want to take a look at yourself in the mirror…” she said simply.

Hermione stood up again and stepped into the bathroom, and then she gasped loudly when she saw what Ginny had seen before; a big, dark hickey clearly visible on her neck.

“So who is the lucky man?” Ginny asked, as she entered the bathroom behind her and closed the door. She felt her face grow hot, but refused to answer; instead, she took a moment to reach for her wand and conceal the mark.

“Is this why you’ve been acting so strange lately?” Ginny asked, looking amused. “It’s not Ron, is it?”

“What? No!” she answered, surprised at the question.

“Then who?” Ginny pushed. “Is it someone from school? Who were you meeting last night?”

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered, holding back a smile.

“Please,” Ginny insisted, but after apparently realizing she wouldn’t get a straight answer she changed tactics. “At least tell me what he’s like,” she pleaded.

“What does it matter?” Hermione asked, wanting to change the subject, but Ginny kept insisting.

“Oh, all right,” she finally relented. How could she describe him without giving everything away? If Ginny knew she was involved with their former Potions Master… “He’s a bit older than me,” she started, “and very intelligent, and he’s…” she suddenly stopped, after catching the dreamy look on her reflection.

“Is he someone I know? How long have you been together?” Ginny pressed.

“Not very long, just a few weeks,” she said, purposefully avoiding the first question. The conversation felt nice, light, a simple girly chat, just like back at school, but she couldn’t tell Ginny anything else, and she didn’t want to lie any more, either.

“So that’s why you’ve been acting so weird lately. You could’ve told us, you know? It’s not that big a deal.”

“Well, it is for me; and you can’t tell anyone, promise me,” she said, suddenly serious.

“Okay, I won’t say anything, but tell me, what…”

“We should head downstairs, I’m really hungry,” Hermione interrupted, knowing it was the only way to stop her questions.

“Good morning, dear,” Mrs Weasley greeted her cheerfully as soon as they entered the kitchen. Hermione took the toast she was offering, smiling as she sat down.

“Was everything all right last night? Did you have a good time?” the witch asked her.

“Yes, no problem at all,” Hermione replied, glaring at Ginny when she heard her muffled giggle. Thankfully, the twins arrived a few minutes later, distracting Molly enough so that she wouldn’t ask her more questions.

By the time she finished her breakfast, she was all alone in the kitchen. She got up and left the things she’d used in the sink, where they magically cleaned themselves, before heading out to the library. She stopped by the door when she heard voices inside. Harry and Ron were talking excitedly about something and, for a moment, she considered just turning around and heading to her room, but then she decided she really wanted things to back to normal between them and, with a small sigh, she walked towards them.

“…Tornados, and if the Chudley Cannons win, then they’d play against Wimbourne Wasps next; and if we beat them too, we might have a chance to actually win the League Cup.”

“That’s not going to happen, and you know it,” Hermione said, as she sat down next to her friends. They looked at her, surprised at first, but recovered quickly.

“That’s not true! We could win, especially with the new Seeker,” Ron replied, trying to sound irritated but smiling at her the next second.

“If you say so…” she said condescendingly, but smiled as well.

“We were just about to play Exploding Snap, want to join us?” Harry asked.

“Sure, why not?”

They stayed there and played for hours, making jokes and laughing. It felt as if she hadn’t had such a good time in ages. Shortly before noon, people started arriving for the Order meeting that Kingsley had arranged for that morning. Most of the members stopped by the library for a few moments to talk to them, but others, the newest members, mostly, just walked straight into the kitchen without a word. The last one to arrive was Kingsley, and he stepped into the library as they were talking to Tonks.

“Hermione, I’ve got something for you,” he said, taking an old looking book out of his pocket. “I heard you were interested in the subject, and I thought you might like to read this.” She took it from his hand, smiling as she read the title, ‘Occlumency, the art of protecting the mind.’

“Thank you, I hadn’t read this one yet; it’s very hard to find,” she said, smiling again, and when both Kingsley and Tonks headed for the kitchen to start the meeting, Hermione excused herself saying she would leave the book in her bedroom and left as well.

She opened the book as soon as she was out of sight, and noticed a small piece of parchment fell from it. She quickly picked it up, sighing in relief as she read it. Kingsley had told her he would help before, but she hadn’t been sure until then.

After reading the small note a second time, she took another piece of parchment out of her pocket and copied the information for Snape.

As she walked back downstairs, she found Ron and Harry playing chess, Ginny sitting next to them while she read a Quidditch manual she had just bought. Silently making her way back inside, he sat by them and opened the book Kingsley had given her.

“I thought you were taking that to your bedroom,” Harry said, as he waited for Ron to make the next move.

“I changed my mind,” she answered, and started reading.

After the first hour went by, she found it impossible to focus on the book anymore. The meeting was taking too long. What if they refused to do what Kingsley asked? What would she and Severus do then?

Suddenly, she felt the parchment inside her pocket grow hot and quickly pulled it out, glancing around to make sure her friends didn’t notice.

‘We have a problem’ was all that was written on it. What did he mean by that? Had Voldemort found out he was a traitor? Were they going to hurt him? Her? Why couldn’t he be more specific?

It took another hour and a half before he wrote again to explain; an hour and a half that she spent with her mind going over every possible scenario she could imagine, thinking the worst one moment, just to tell herself he would have been more specific if it was that important the next.

‘I won’t be leading the attack; it will be Rodolphus Lestrange. They will be waiting for the Order, flying low among the trees in Hyde Park. I expect he will take five Death Eaters with him. He’s dangerous, and won’t hesitate to kill, but if he gets the prisoners too easily he will know something is wrong. You will have to put up a fight.’

It took her a few seconds to take in everything he had written, but finally she replied.

‘I’ll talk to Kingsley and make sure everything is set properly.’

‘If there’s any problem, let me know.’

‘I will,’ she wrote, and then watched all the lines slowly fade away before rolling the parchment and putting it back in her pocket.

It took yet another half hour for the meeting to end and, as soon as they started walking out of the kitchen, she jumped up.

“I just need to ask Kingsley something about the book,” she said, as her friends looked at her questioningly. She quickly stepped into the kitchen, gave Kingsley a meaningful look, and then walked back into the hallway to wait for him.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, as he stood next to her.

“Yes,” she said, and then told him what Snape had written about the Death Eaters’ plan. “The only problem is, Rodolphus Lestrange will be the one leading them. They will be expecting a fight, and we will have to give them one,” she finished hurriedly, trying hard to read his expression. He took a few seconds before answering.

“I will take care of that. I’ve decided we will take two teams; one with the prisoners and another as backup, just in case. Will you come too?”

“I can’t be seen,” she said, and saw his eyes narrow for a second.

“You could be part of the other team; they will remain hidden, unless there’s trouble,” he continued.

“Then I will go.”

“The team will meet here at three a.m.; be ready.”

“I will,” she said, and watched him say goodbye to everyone before leaving the house.

Lunch was noisy as usual, but she enjoyed it this time. She was sitting between Harry and Ron, and they were talking animatedly. She hadn’t tied her hair, and every time she pushed it aside or out of her face Ginny would throw her a knowing look that made her blush and forget what she was saying, even though she knew the mark wasn’t visible anymore. She had a feeling that was exactly why she did it. Evil.

There was a small backyard behind the house, and they spent the afternoon there. They wanted to play Quidditch and, for the first time, she agreed to play with them. She hated flying, but thought she should better practice before going out that night. ‘Wouldn’t want to fall and break my neck,’ she thought to herself, as she took the broom Harry was offering.

It was already dark by the time they stopped playing and went back inside for dinner. The food was delicious, as always, and even if it was only Harry, Remus, Fleur, the Weasleys and her, the twins made up for the missing ones, so it was as loud as usual.

That night she lay awake in bed, hearing Ginny breathing loudly, but too nervous to sleep herself. It was around one a.m. when she heard the door open and saw Remus peek inside. He smiled when he saw she was awake, and asked if she would like some tea. Glad to have something to do, she quickly got up, changed her clothes and walked into the kitchen after him.

“Kingsley told me you were coming along, and I thought you might have trouble sleeping,” he said, handing her a cup of tea.

“And what else did he say?” she asked before taking a sip.

“Nothing you should worry about,” he replied. “He didn’t mention the plan during the meeting, so only the ones going know about it.” She was relieved, and it must have shown on her face, because he smiled at her and said, “I’ll be part of the second team, with you and Dora. The ones guarding the Death Eaters know there will be backup, but they don’t know who it will be so, if everything goes according to plan, no one needs to know you were there.”

“And what exactly is the plan?” He looked confused for a moment, and she realized he had probably assumed she already knew.

“We will meet Dora here around three, and then we will go to Hyde Park. We will have about an hour to get ready before the others arrive. We will just hide and wait, and only show ourselves if necessary.”

They spent the next two hours there, talking about almost anything as they waited for Tonks to arrive. She felt comfortable around him; she had always admired him, and found him someone easy to talk to. He was intelligent and patient, always hearing her opinion without judging her, and ready to explain anything she asked, so she was glad he knew what was going on, or at least part of it. Having someone to talk to when she needed felt really good.

Tonks finally arrived, and they performed disillusionment charms on themselves before heading out. It was still dark outside, but as they neared Hyde Park they flew high, trying to see if the Death Eaters were already there. They decided to split, and she watched Remus and Tonks fly away as she landed and hid behind some rocks on a clearing.

After half an hour of crouching her arms and legs hurt badly, and she could only think about stretching, but knew better than to move. A few minutes later she heard the first noises coming from the trees, a few muffled voices, and then silence again. The Death Eaters had arrived.

It took another hour for the other team to arrive with the prisoners. She could see them from where she was hiding, but she couldn’t tell exactly who they were. Two figures flew side by side, and it looked like they had some sort of chain linking their feet together. The other four surrounded them, one on either side, one up front and one behind.

The woods remained silent as they approached, but the moment they reached the trees three jets of red light crossed the darkness towards them. She saw one of the figures get hit and fall from the broomstick, and then she heard a whooshing sound on her left. The figured froze just before hitting the ground and then floated away, and she knew Remus, or maybe Tonks, had saved them.

She looked up again and saw almost a dozen people up there. The Order members were now flying in front of the prisoners, the three of them forming a line and facing the other men. She counted six Death Eaters, so she assumed there probably wouldn’t be more hiding by the trees. She mounted her broomstick again and moved closer to them.

Three jets of purple light were shot in unison from the Order line, and three Death Eaters fell, but the rest closed in on them, and they had to conjure shields to stop the curses fired their way. She slowly moved even closer, ready to fight if they needed her. The first killing curse was shot then, and the three Order members had to split, avoiding it in the last second. There were now three separate duels, one on one.

A loud scream broke the silence, and then another figure fell. She flew as fast as she could and caught him right before he hit the ground; it was Kingsley. She made sure he was alive, and then disillusioned him and left him near the place she had been hiding. She had to go back.

As two of the remaining Death Eaters fought, the third one flew over to the almost forgotten prisoners and freed them. The Imperius curse the Death Eaters had put them under hadn’t been removed, but they couldn’t do much without their wands. She heard the masked man talk to them hurriedly, and then they flew away.

“We have them,” the masked figure yelled, and then went back to the fight. He managed to stun another one of the Order members, and then the three Death Eaters circled the last remaining figure. She was close enough to see it was Mad Eye Moody. The Auror was using a powerful shield to stop the spells, but couldn’t attack them at the same time.

She moved closer, slowly, ready to help him if he needed it.

“Goyle, go find the other ones and send them back with the Portkey; I can take care of this,” one of them yelled in a commanding tone, and she guessed it was Lestrange. She saw one masked wizard do as told, and she was tempted to stop him, but then remembered they were supposed to get away; only then the plan would work.

A cold laugh made her turn around again, and she saw Moody get hit by a spell and drop his wand. Both masked men lifted their own wands as one but, before they could say a word, a golden light came from behind them and hit them both square on their backs. It was as if they were moving in slow motion now, and after a second a stunning spell flew past them and hit the Auror. He fell, but was soon caught by another almost-invisible figure.

New jets of light hit the Death Eaters, and they began moving at a regular speed again, the curses finally cast, as if they had never been frozen. They seemed confused for a moment, as the curses flew into the night, and then one of the figures asked, “Why did you stun him? I was going to kill him.”

“I didn’t stun him,” the other one snapped back.

“Go help Goyle, we are leaving,” the one in command finally said.

After just a few seconds, the three masked figures disappeared into the night. She lifted the disillusionment charm from herself, and then flew over to where the golden light had come from moments before. As soon as she got there, she saw a figure standing by the trees. She landed again and walked next to him, knowing who it was even from afar.

“I asked you to stay away,” Severus said, as she stopped in front of him.

“You saved Moody.”

“I did what I had to,” he said dismissively.

“Do you think they fell for it?”

“I can’t be sure until I go back, but I think they did.”

“So what will happen now?”

“They’ll plan the next move; I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”

“All right.”

“You’re bleeding,” he said then, and touched her cheek. She touched it too and winced.

“It must have been a branch.”

“You have to be careful,” he said softly, and then took a step closer and kissed the cut. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips travel from her cheek to her mouth for a slow, lingering kiss.

“Hermione,” she heard Remus’ voice call.

“You have to go,” she told Severus, as he broke the kiss.

“Hermione,” she heard again, and the voice sounded closer this time.

He took a step back, his fingers still on her cheek, and then, with a loud pop, he was gone.

“I’m here,” she finally called back, turning around to see Remus walk towards her.

“You had us worried, are you hurt?” he asked, looking at the cut on her face.

“It’s nothing,” she said with a shrug. “Is everyone all right?”

“We can’t find Kingsley,” he said nervously.

“He is fine; I left him near the clearing,” she said, and heard him sigh in relief.

“Everyone else is safe; they’re still out there looking for him. You might want to Apparate back now, or they’ll see you.”

“That’s a good idea,” she admitted. “I disillusioned him, by the way,” she said as an afterthought. “You’ll find him behind the rocks.” With that said, she finally Apparated away.