Of Days and Ends

A/N: In honor of lilmisblack’s fic Saving Your Life, I would like to say congratulations on finishing your story.



IF YOU HAVEN’T READ lilmisblack’s FIC CALLED SAVING YOUR LIFE, PLEASE READ THAT ONE NEXT! IT IS FINALLY COMPLETE AND THE BEST STORY THAT I HAVE EVERY READ ON A FAN FICTION SITE! READ AND REVIEW! WHOO-HOO!



Hehe… anyway, please read and review mine as well.

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Chapter 29— Confessions



Landing in the bushes had not been nearly as bad as Hermione had thought it would be. The worst part had been the embarrassment from her clumsy landing and rolling out of the bottom. The twigs and leaves that got caught in her bushy mane of hair and her wide-eyed surprise made her appear wild, but she didn’t have enough time to dwell on that. Harry had stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her just as Moody and Mrs. Weasley stuck their heads outside of the window.



“Let’s go, Hermione!”



That was the only command she needed and she disapparated away before the Order could raise their wands. When the pinch of apparition ended, they found themselves in the very familiar clearing in which they had spent their first moments away from the Order. The cave stood just as bare and empty as they had left it and the little mouse scurrying near the opening made it very clear that both Hedwig and Pig had moved on.



When Harry released her, they both turned casually around, looking for Ron. He stood directly behind them, but what caught their attention were the charred remains of the little sapling that had once stood guard to two of Voldemort’s horcruxes. The spindly branches seemed to hang in the air as if by magic, because the limbs looked to be so thoroughly burnt through that the slightest wind should have reduced the entire structure to scattered ashes. Ron approached the charcoal tree and raised a stick to touch one of the branches, which fell to the ground like black snowflakes.



Ron turned back to Harry and Hermione with a look of fear, “I don’t think we should stay here.”



Hermione looked around as though expecting someone to jump out at any moment, and when her eyes returned to the boys’ faces, their expressions were demanding. “What?” She asked.



“Where are we going?” Ron returned.



“I don’t know.” Hermione answered.



“Hermione! How—” Ron began.



“I DON’T KNOW!” She shrieked, allowing her fear to make her lose control.



“HOW—” Ron was about to yell at her, but Harry stopped him with a painfully strong grip on his arm.



“I was hoping that one of you would have half an idea for once!” She spat angrily, and began to pace away from them. Those words successfully silenced Ron, and they stood in silence, thinking. She felt at a loss. She didn’t know where to start, but they had to go somewhere. “Let’s walk as we think.”



Harry led the way, trudging around the corner and beginning the ascent up the hill over the cave. Their breathing grew heavy as they climbed, and Ron laughed and caught Hermione twice as she slipped on the soft, rain-moistened earth. Eventually, Harry reached a small flat area from where they could see the clearing with the charcoal tree through the brush and pines that crowded near the ledge. Hermione automatically started setting wards up while she thought about where they could go to seek a more permanent refuge.



In truth she knew the safest place for them to be, but there was absolutely no way that she could take them there… could she? She gambled quietly, murmuring under her breath. Could she take them to the furthest bit of land behind the house? They would be safe enough to truly wander and she could easily see her parents more often and filch some of Snape’s potions ingredients. Now that they had a complete understanding of the separating potion, she could even steal the recipe from his library. If she did it correctly, she knew that she wouldn’t have to tell them about Snape at all. It was a gamble, but the payoff was so much more tempting than the threat posed by the risks.



She returned her attention to them, and noticed that they had been watching her and not really thinking of alternatives or helping her set up protections. “Ron, can I have my inheritance from Dumbledore, please?”



“Yeah.” He acquiesced, and reached into his cloak to pull out the bag with the shrunken pieces inside.



She pulled out the tent first with a grim glance at the grey sky, engorged it, and entered to pull out the sword, the small lighter, and the parchment. Passing each to their obvious owners, Hermione took the parchment and sat down in the armchair. Outside, a small crack of distant thunder confirmed her suspicion that it would rain.



The parchment appeared to have been sealed by Dumbledore himself with runes and an unbreakable seal. She studied the runes carefully. These were not like the runes that they studied in class. There was much more complication. It appeared to be a runic riddle. She stared at the parchment and deciphered the scroll line by line:



I am thought to be everywhere,

And I only have one rival.

He hides within himself,

And stays wherever I cannot reach.

--Who am I, and who is my rival??



Hermione searched her brain for the answer, but she couldn’t seem to solve the riddle. She stood and went into the tent, sure that she had seen that riddle written somewhere before.



“I’m gonna start a fire.” Harry suggested as he fingered the Gryffindor Sword.



Both Ron and Hermione waved him off impatiently; too engrossed in each of their gifts to notice how rude they were being, so Harry trudged to the end of their little campground to gather wood. The stack piled as Harry took his time gathering kindle, toying with the slicing power of the sword, and arranging it into a miniature pyre.



When he stepped back and drew his wand to light the fire, he hesitated. Then slowly turning back towards Ron, he called, “Hey, Ron, c’mere!”



“What is it?” He asked as he approached.



“I think I know what that thing does.” Harry began carefully, “Dumbledore used it to turn off lamps and stuff. I wonder if it will set a fire.”



Ron thought hard and looked at the silver lighter sized object. “Well, what do I do with it?”



“He would flick the top of it up and snap it back down.”



Ron’s made a sceptical face and flicked up the top.



“Hey!” Hermione shouted as every light in the tent went out and several little balls of light flew into Ron’s put-outer.



“Whoa!” He and Harry said at the same time. Ron flicked the top down and up several times until the lights returned to the tent.



“Oh my…” The boys heard Hermione say softly. They went into the tent to see that she was sitting inside the tent with the scroll open. She looked up at them with wide and joyful eyes as they entered, “The answer was light and dark!” The boys squeezed in between the coffee table and the couch at her sides to read the contents.



There were several wispy pieces of parchment that Hermione put a hand on to keep flat. Then, raising each individually, she tried to find some method to the madness that seemed to be some sort of cuneiform. There was nothing she could manage to put together from the random-seeming lines. She even rotated the pages around and around, trying to find a more sensible alphabet, but to no avail. The only thing that seemed like it had any potential was the scroll of parchment itself, though it was only minimally helpful. In Dumbledore’s neat penmenship, it read:

Tom Riddle’s Diary

Riddle Family’s Ring

Black Family’s Necklace

Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup

Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem

Nagini

Harry Potter



Dumbledore’s list would be very helpful to them, and while it brought on a fresh wave of nausea to see Harry’s name, she was relieved to have her suspicions confirmed. She began to place the pages together, so that she could put the scroll away for future consideration, but froze as something caught her eye. The script that looked as foreign as cuneiform to her on individual sheets was forming a message of some sort when the translucent sheets were held together. She could see the faint appearance of letters.



With her heart pounding, Hermione lay the papers on the coffee table, and began to rotate the squares one by one. Slowly, something started to form, but like a Rubik’s Cube, she would get close and then realize that it wasn’t forming anything at all. She worked for nearly three hours before she finally found the proper arrangement, and her heart gave a heavy thump of nervousness. Out of the confusion of the random lines, formed the words: “Trust Severus Snape”



She was suddenly very aware. She could hear the crackling flame from outside the tent, and Harry and Ron’s quiet murmurings. Beyond the circle of their wards, the crickets chirped rhythmically and somewhere in the darkness, an owl hooted.



Hermione stood. Her mind was made. She knew what she had to do and her stomach turned nervously. Leaving the tent and going to sit outside on the ground by Harry’s side, she basked in the silence and the warmth of the fire for just a moment before clearing her throat.



“Okay,” she began with a sigh, “I know where we’ll begin, but I’ll need you to trust me absolutely.” Their eyes narrowed simultaneously, but they each nodded, so she continued. “I have to go set things up. We will be staying on the same property as my parents, but my… father is the secret keeper, so I will have to ask him to tell you the location.”



Her words took a moment to sink into Harry and Ron’s minds. “Wait!” Harry began, “I thought you sent your Mum out of the country!”



“I thought your father was dead!” Ron added crassly.



“I lied, but there’s no need for that right now. We are going to be on the same property with them by nightfall.”



“But—”



“Look, Ron! What if one of you had been captured and they had tortured you for hours and hours and hours…”



“We’d never tell!” he answered fiercely.



“You don’t know that. You can’t know that.” She answered gently. “Even so, I couldn’t take the risk of Vol… You-Know-Who doing Legillimency and knowing that I knew how to get in contact with them.”



“And now?” Harry asked calmly.



“Now, we’re desperate, and… I suspect… near the end.”



They stared at her.



“Look, we’re so close! At this point, I’m willing to risk my parents’ isolation because we need to be somewhere absolutely safe until the end. We need someplace to plan and to brew. Harry, you destroyed the book and Dumbledore did the ring. We have the necklace and Hufflepuff’s cup and—”



“And we still don’t know for sure about the last three!”



Hermione knew that she had to add another truth to the list she’d already declared. “I know, for a fact, that You-Know-Who’s right hand man has a horcrux.” Harry and Ron’s eyebrows furrowed, but they let her finish, “I also know that he knows exactly what it is and what to do with it.”



“Hermione…” Ron began in a wary voice.



“I know that Nagini is a horcrux, though not with the same certainty as the other one.”



“What have you done?” Harry whispered.



“And, Harry, listen closely. You are the final horcrux. I’m certain of that now. I wasn’t sure before, but… You-Know-Who is very brilliant, and I think that he intended only to make six horcruxes. After all, ‘6’ was and is the perfect magic number. ‘7’ has only recently come to be known for it’s magical properties. I think you were a last second addition.”



The boys looked shocked. They even looked scared. Harry fingered his wand at his side, and Hermione focused on keeping her eyes trained on his, and her mind firmly blocked. The cogs were churning, and Hermione knew it was time to tell them about Dumbledore’s wishes.



She slowly reached for her wand and said, “Accio Scroll.” The rolled parchment flew through the air, and his eyes never left hers as he intercepted it with one hand. His Quidditch experience lead his hand instinctively as it hit his palm and his fist closed around it.



He slowly unfurled the scroll and read the message before lifting the thin sheets to read the list of Horcruxes. He recognized Dumbledore’s script immediately. He glanced up at Hermione with a serious look before returning his attention to Dumbledore’s missive. When he let the pages drop, he gasped and a numb feeling began to creep over his consciousness until it overwhelmed his senses. A cold hand against his forearm minutes later jarred him from his trance, and he dropped the roll of parchment.



He couldn’t believe what he had read, or what it meant. He could see Hermione’s erratic behaviour lining up. Every strange disappearance, every insignificant lie, every small feeling that something wasn’t right all pointed to the true cause behind it all. And yet…



“We just got this scroll yesterday. How long have you been—”



“WHAT?” Ron exclaimed. He had only just picked up the scroll and it immediately fell back to the dirt as his hand released it dramatically. “That’s what it’s been all along. You’ve been sneaking off to meet with that greasy-headed bastard! First that stupid cat,” he practically spit the words out, “then Krum, and now SNAPE?”



“Oh yes, Ronald, because I made such huge judgement errors with Crookshanks and Krum. Crookshanks has only saved all of our lives in third year and Krum has even been evil enough to provide an immense amount of international intel to the Order!”



“Oh! So, third time’s the charm, huh?”



“I want to slap you so b—”



“BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!” Harry interrupted. Ron continued to glare at Hermione, but Hermione had the decency to look apologetic. He turned back to Hermione and appeared to be sizing her up. “How long have you been…” He appeared to be searching for a specific word, “…meeting with Snape?”



Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to delay the inevitable. Ron’s angry mumble distracted her, and she held her breath for a couple seconds before asking through her teeth with mock sweetness, “What was that, Ronald? I think Harry and I missed it.”



Ron’s fierce glare made it clear that regardless of the price he would have to pay after insulting Hermione, he had to say it, “I said, sleazing around. As in, how long have you been slea—”



She moved so fast that neither boy saw her hand move, and Ron stopped short in surprise and looked down at the wand just below his chin. In truth, a small part of her knew that Ron did not mean that she had been slutting around. He had actually meant that she had been cavorting in shabby company, but Hermione’s conscience twisted the meaning of his words.



Harry raised his hand to Hermione’s wand slowly, and put pressure on the wooden staff, but she resisted his effort. “Hermione, please.” His voice was soft, and she glanced at him. Her features softened, so he encouraged her, “Just ignore him.” Hermione seemed to consider it for a moment before lowering her wand, and stepping back. “And Ron, if you ever insult her like that again, I will curse you personally. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that if you can’t say something nice, then you’re not to say a thing at all!”



Ron grimaced and forcefully sat himself down on a log.



“How long have you been dealing with Snape?” Harry continued.



“Only about 6 or 7 months.”



Some furious spitting sounds left Ron’s mouth and he angrily stalked off into the trees.



Hermione followed him with her eyes until he disappeared into the darkness before returning a confused look back to Harry. Harry didn’t seem to be feeling the same emotions though. He met her eyes with deliberation. “I can’t act like I didn’t know that something was going on. I—I can’t pretend like I’m not upset and… sad about this.”



“What? But—but Harry! Professor Dumbledore—”



“Couldn’t have written that after Snape killed him.”



“You don’t understand!”



“I could say the same about you.”



Hermione paused for a moment. “Harry, please, please don’t send me away without hearing what I have to say. I trust him, Harry, and Dumbledore trusted him.”



“Some good that did him.”



“Harry, please.”



Harry sat on the log dejectedly, staring up into Hermione’s eyes, and she could see that she wasn’t getting through to him. He ran his fingertips over the page pensively. He could remember a time when Albus Dumbledore was infallible to him. He had wanted to know all of his secrets, all of his magic, have all of his power. Yet, now that Dumbledore was dead and deserved to be most admired, Harry could think of nothing to refute his fear. Dumbledore was said to be the most powerful wizard alive, but Snape had obviously proved that he was greater. The snake in the grass had brought down the mighty lion. Dumbledore’s exceptional wisdom had been nothing in comparison to Snape’s devious prowess.



“Harry, he had many opportunities to capture me. He could have killed me many times!”



Harry snorted with anger.



“He had me vulnerable to him many times.”



That phrase piqued Harry’s attention. “Vulnerable, how?”



Hermione didn’t answer immediately.



“Vulnerable, how?”



“What do you mean?”



“Were you…” Harry’s narrowed eyes widened in disbelief. “You—you…!”



“Har—”



“NO! TELL ME YOU AREN’T! YOU CAN’T BE ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH, SNAPE!”



The silence stretched between them for a moment, and Hermione considered erasing his memory.



“Hermione…” his voice broke.



She looked down at him. He looked horrified. It was pathetic really. Harry had Ginny, and she knew that he never thought of her like that, but the idea that both boys seemed to think they possessed her made her features harden. “Yes, Harry. Snape and I were romantically involved up until a week ago.”



Stunned into silence, Harry just stared at her, but Ron’s voice from the edge of their clearing rung with conviction. “She should go.” Her eyes darted across the fire to meet Ron’s. His hair captured the glow of the blaze and his robes billowed gently in the wind. His voice was sure and deep, and she recognized him as a man for the first time. He exuded confidence in his decision and it felt as though a physical hand reached out of the night and clenched her heart in a clamp.



Harry didn’t seem to manage to look at her. He shivered against the chill in the wind, though it was not cold enough to cause that reaction. He stroked the surface of the scroll one more time before allowing it to curl. He extended the rolled parchment to her and a stream of tears escaped her eyes as though they had been queuing behind her lids. “Be safe, Hermione.”



She hadn’t expected any of what happened next. A sob escaped her lips and Harry stood, wrapping his arms around her. She pressed her face into his shoulder, and inhaled the scent of the only man that could ever pass as a brother of hers.



When she opened her eyes again, she was on her back, alone in the clearing under a hazy, flickering ward. Beyond the magical barrier were the remnants of a campfire, the patch of crushed grass where the tent had been, and her scroll. Her mind immediately kicked into high gear, knowing what it meant. Harry and Ron had gone, and left her behind.



Even before she tried it, she knew it wouldn’t work. The boys put up all of the same wards that she taught them. She couldn’t find them. She spent all morning apparating hither and thither, desperately hoping that she would come across them. She even risked going to the Dursley house and her family home. The boys were completely hidden, and by noon she collapsed in the Shrieking Shack in the room above the destroyed living room and added to the many rumours of haunting.



It was there that Snape found her. She knew he would. He was the only one who would venture in there. After all, the place had history for them both.



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A/N: Thank you, all, and let’s welcome Toto and Monkey Lady into our little pack. Also, I would like to say an extra special thank you to our top reviewers!



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