Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Chapter 4:- Revelations

Everyone who hadn’t been transferred to St. Mungo’s crammed into Dumbledore’s office.

The Headmaster was holding in his hand a scroll with the names of the injured and dead. Lying on the table was another scroll with the names of the students that had stayed behind for the Christmas holidays.

The atmosphere was heavy, as the realization of the true number of dead colleagues, friends and family there were revealed. Dumbledore was nearing the end of the listing process when his quill hovered over a name. His eyes twinkled with a small amount of hope and sadness. Dumbledore continued through the list. Upon finishing, he rested his quill and looked up. The sight that met his eyes broke his aging heart.

Looking upon the sad faces, Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, “Well, as we know, there are not many survivors. There were a few other than us. Madame Pince, Professor Moody and Professor Trelawney are among those in St. Mungo’s.”

“That’s it? You mean that’s all of us - there’s no one else?!?” Sirius blurted out.

“Well, if I had been allowed to finish, Sirius,” Dumbledore smiled at him, “I was going to say that there is probably one other.”

“Another, Albus? What do you mean?” Minerva asked.

“Everyone else is accounted for - apart from Miss Hermione Granger.” Dumbledore watched as this information slowly spread around the room, the looks of confusion on everyone’s face as the news finally hit home.

***

Severus was alone in his chambers, with a glass of firewhiskey in his hand. He was pacing back and forth, a deep scowl on his face.

‘Damn the Ministry of Magic.’

The Ministry, in all of their wisdom, hadn’t sent any Aurors; they hadn’t perceived Voldemort to be any kind of real threat. They didn’t even think he was still alive, without any concrete proof to the contrary. They thought it best to just sit back and let it be someone else’s problem.

Arthur and Molly Weasley had come because they were members of the Order, as had Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Moody. In fact the whole Order had come, as soon as the first Death Eaters had shown their faces on the Hogwarts grounds.

Severus threw the glass at the open fire as he replayed the events of the final battle, over and over in his head. He felt like such a fool; he should have known that Voldemort was planning something - something big. Severus had always suspected that Voldemort was onto him. He hadn’t called him to his side in the last three months before the battle; that should have been enough to make his mind start ticking over, but it hadn’t. He had gotten sloppy and the people he had cared about had paid the price with their lives.

Severus dropped into his armchair, hanging his head in his hands. He was so STUPID! Severus gripped his hair, clenching his fists so hard that his hair almost ripped right out of his skull. He welcomed the pain; it was better than this feeling of guilt and shame. He tried to let the feelings out; a scream ripped its way out of his throat.

And there was Hermione . . . where the hell could she be? How had she managed to walk away from the battle?

‘Maybe someone took her, but why? What could she possibly possess that would be so important?’ He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

Earlier that evening, he had been asked by the Headmaster to stay behind in his office. As the last of the professors filed out, heads cast downwards, the door closing behind them, Severus wondered what this was about.

‘Am I in trouble for not perceiving the threat, and the consequent battle that ensued?’ Before he could answer the question in his mind, Dumbledore spoke.

“Please take a seat, Severus.”

Severus obeyed the Headmaster and took the seat directly opposite his desk. Dumbledore also took a seat and looked into Severus’ eyes.

“Now I know you must be blaming yourself, my boy, for the events that transpired yesterday; however, it is not your fault,” Dumbledore said inhaling deeply. “I should have known, or rather felt, that Voldemort was up to something, but none of that matters now. What is done is done, and no matter how much we want it to change, it can never be so, so there is no use dwelling on it.”

Severus opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore held up his hand to signify that he wasn’t done talking, and didn’t wish to be interrupted.

“Now, as you are well aware, we have a slight problem. Miss Hermione Granger is missing and I wanted to go out and look around the grounds for her, not forgetting the forest; and we could ask the squid if she is in the lake.”

“But wouldn’t it be easier to try a locating spell?” Severus asked, perplexed with the Headmaster’s way of doing things like a common Muggle.

“I will try a locator spell; however, I can not sense her presence here in Hogwarts, which implies that she is either dead somewhere on the grounds, hidden from us, or no longer at Hogwarts,” Dumbledore said, now looking his true age of one hundred and forty nine

Severus nodded. “When do you want to start, Headmaster?” he asked. Looking up into Dumbledore’s eyes, he only now realized how much of a toll the events of the recent days had taken on the aged wizard.

“I think we can start first thing in the morning.” He said with a sigh. “Now go clean yourself up and get some rest . . . if you can.”

Severus merely stood and went for the door, pausing when he reached it. He was about to turn around but thought better of it. He opened the door and exited the Headmaster’s office.

***

The next day Severus awoke early. Not that he’d slept much; he’d just had fitful bouts of rest, as he was exhausted. He had made sure that she wasn’t on the grounds. He had even done three rounds, just to make sure she wasn’t hidden. He had checked the Forbidden Forest and the lake twice.

Frustrated and in no mood for any more bad news, he made his way to the stairs at the entrance to the castle. The familiar face of Dumbledore was there to greet him.

“Any luck?” Dumbledore asked, although he already knew the answer.

Severus inhaled deeply. “No, you?”

“No luck with the locator spell; however, I have been able to trace her as far as the Hogwarts gates. The trail was a weaving line, like she was being chased by someone,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully. “Perhaps she could have been avoiding hexes.” He paused once more before continuing. “Then there is a residue of an Apparition,” Dumbledore stated - his eyes were alight with the possibilities.

“But how can that be? How can a locator spell fail to find Miss Granger?” Severus asked, his head starting to go through the possibilities.

“Although I may be a cleaver wizard, I unfortunately do not know the answers to everything,” Dumbledore said, his lips curling up in a smirk.

“Unless she doesn’t want to be found,” Severus said, thinking out loud.

“Precisely, either that or the fact that someone or something has taken her and has put a dampening spell over her location, which would explain the fact that I haven’t been able to locate her yet,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

***

Severus left the Headmaster standing outside the castle; he went back into his chambers for another night of playing the blame game. Severus poured himself a glass of firewhiskey. He resumed the pacing that he had been doing the previous night; he found that it allowed his thoughts to be more focused.

‘Where is she, and why couldn’t Albus pick up her trail again after she Apparated? What the hell is wrong, and why do I care so much about what happened to that Gryffindor know-it-all?!?’


***

A/N: We all know where Hermione is however, poor Severus doesn't and I'm not going to be making it easy on him to find her... Oh well, all good things come to those that wait, or something like that!!!

Thanks once more for reading and reviewing.

This chapter has now been beta'ed (no smart comments now) by the wonderful and great LydiaCarol... She who knows everything there is to know about the HP universe, and I thought I was a freak!!!

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making a cent off it!!! So sue me!!!