Saving your life

“Here,” Severus said, pointing at a spot on the large map he had spread in front of him.

"Here where?” Rabastan Lestrange asked irritably, “You are pointing at half the forest.”

“I am pointing at the area where the meeting will take place,” Severus replied coldly. “I will know the exact coordinates when Draco does.”

“That little bastard is the reason why they have captured my brother. Bring him here, give me an hour with him, and he will tell you anything you wish to know.”

“I suppose you are more proficient at interrogation than your Master,” Voldemort’s cold voice came from behind them, startling them both.

“Of course not, My Lord, that is not what I mean,” Rabastan was quick to reply, bowing deeply.

“Then what was it that you meant?” Voldemort asked in the same tone, clearly pleased to hear the fear in the wizard’s tone.

“I was merely stating my desire to meet with the boy face to face and make him pay for his treason.”

“You believe Lord Voldemort cannot take care of traitors by himself?”

“No, Master, of course you can. I was…”

“Crucio,” Voldemort muttered, his tone bordering on bored as he watched the wizard fall to the floor and writhe in pain.

Voldemort had been in a foul mood ever since he had found out his Horcruxes had been destroyed; fouler than usual, in fact, and that was saying something.

Severus remained silent as Rabastan was cursed. He knew the wizard was lucky to be among Voldemort’s most valued Death Eaters, or instead of being cursed, he would have been dead already.

“Get up,” Voldemort hissed as he lifted the curse, and the wizard stood tall, not showing any sign of weakness. “Get everyone here,” he commanded next.

“Yes, My Lord,” Rabastan replied, quickly exiting the room.

“How are the plans progressing, Severus?”

“We are getting ready, Master, but we cannot work the details of the attack out until we have more information.”

“And when will that be?”

“Draco has been healed, and I made sure he didn’t remain at the Order’s headquarters. The witch contacted him this morning to confirm the meeting. The hate is still the same, and she said it would take place in these woods,” he said, pointing at the map once again, “although she didn’t tell him exactly where. She has told him she would contact him again on the date of the meeting to tell him both the exact location and the time.”

“Why not tell him now, why wait?” Voldemort asked him.

“I believe she doesn’t know it herself yet. After the incident she was involved in and the memory loss, the Order is keeping a closer look on her and her friends. She probably wants to see the location herself beforehand and decide what the safest place to meet him is, and sneaking out of headquarters is not an easy feat.”

“Master,” Rabastan interrupted from the doorway. “Everyone is here.”

“Send them in, then,” Voldemort replied, walking to the head of the table and sitting on his high chair, motioning for Severus to take the seat to his right.

It took a few minutes for everyone to settle. The chairs around the table were taken by the higher ranked Death Eaters, while the others remained standing. There were only a few dozens wizards there, and they would be in charge of communicating Voldemort’s commands to the others. They ones in the lowest ranks rarely met with their Master.

“Silence,” Voldemort hissed after a few moments, although it was hardly necessary; most Death Eaters were silently waiting for him to speak already.

“Hudson,” Voldemort said, and the wizard’s head snapped up. “What are the news regarding the wands?”

“We have the materials we needed, and the Wandmaker is working day and night. He has already replaced most of the wands he destroyed when he snapped out of the Imperius Curse.”

Severus remained silent, taking in the information. A few weeks prior, he had managed to find out where the Wandmaker was being kept, and had gone to find him. He had known he couldn’t set him free, and he couldn’t kill him either. Both options would alert the Dark Lord someone was betraying him. He took the only other possible option; sabotage. He had destroyed all the wands stored in the old basement and then lifted the Imperius Curse from the wizard, modifying his memories to make him believe he had destroyed the wands himself. But that wouldn’t be enough, and he knew it.

Anticipating the situation, Severus had contacted another Wandmaker, Ollivander, who, after all he had been through while being held by Voldemort, had been more than happy to assist Severus in any way that he needed against the Dark Lord.

So, Severus had not only modified the Wandmaker’s memories of the wands destruction; he had also tweaked older memories in the wizard’s mind, back from the time when he had learnt how to create wands. Following Ollivander’s careful instructions, he had changed some of that knowledge, so that what the man believed to be the perfect composition of a wand was actually not.

According to Ollivander, all the wands the wizard had made in the last few weeks would work, and under normal circumstances the wizard using them wouldn’t notice anything different or wrong, but when they found themselves in a battle, or in a situation that required the use of powerful magic, they would realize they didn’t work as they should. The new wands were not prepared to handle that kind f power, and the results would be mediocre magic, even at the hands of the most powerful wizard. It was the best Severus could do to contain the Death Eaters; it was a pity, though, that Voldemort himself would not use one. He would never part from his own wand.

“Get more assistance if needed,” Voldemort commanded, bringing Severus’ mind back to the present. “We need those wands ready.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Rogers,” he called next, and two wizards turned to him. “What is happening at the Ministry?”

“After the last attack, they decided to prepare a new book to send to all wizarding homes with the basic protection spells and advise on safety.”

“It is basically a revised version of the useless handbook they sent when they first found out you had returned, My Lord,” the other continued.

“So they are not taking any special measures against us?” Voldemort asked, and the wizards shook their heads.

“Proles, what of the Department of International Magical Cooperation?”

“The minister tried to contact other governments, especially the countries closest, but they are not willing to get involved in a war.”

“Make sure it remains that way,” Voldemort instructed, before turning to the side, facing the only witch in the room. “Anything else?”

“Over the last two days there have been many absences at the Ministry, many employees taking days off. Most of them work in the Magical Law Enforcement Department, but not all.”

“Order Members?”

“Yes, and others as well.”

“Severus, do you know anything about this?” Voldemort asked him.

“I have only contacted the Order once in the last few days, so I cannot be certain, but I heard they were recruiting witches and wizards; perhaps that is the explanation for the absences.”

“When this meeting is over, you will go to their headquarters and find out for certain. I want no surprises.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Jonesy,” he said next, turning to yet another wizard. All Severus knew about this one was that he was an Unspeakable. Instead of replying, the wizard merely nodded. There were few people stranger than those working in the Department of Mysteries.

“Is your mission underway?” Voldemort asked him, and the wizard nodded again. “Do you have all the bodies you need in your possession?” Another nod. “Contact me when they are ready for the Awakening; I will do it myself. I want to be sure they respond to my command alone.”

Severus felt his blood run cold at this. He had anticipated Voldemort would have all his Death Eaters at the ready when the time came, but he had not expected him to use Inferi as well. New plans would have to be made; the Order would need reinforcement.

“Severus,” Voldemort hissed after a moment, and he stood up. He knew what the wizard wanted him to do.

“As some of you already know,” he started, “we will have a unique opportunity to have Potter unprotected and ready to be killed soon. This Thursday, some time after sunset, he will leave the Order’s headquarters, and that will be our chance. That leaves us two days to prepare.” He could feel all eyes on him as he spoke. “We know he will be meeting someone, and that the meeting will take place somewhere in these woods,” he said, a red circle appearing on the map, signalling the area.

“We do not know exactly where said meeting will take place, but we have to be ready when the time comes. In this area of the woods,” he said, waving his wand over the map, enlarging the circled part, “there are three large clearings, here, here, and one more here,” he told the other Death Eaters, pointing at each area in time. “The rest of it is covered in wild forest, so it is safe to assume the meeting place will be one of the clearings. The problem is that, as you can see, they are too far away from one another, so we cannot split into all three locations, or we will not be able to reach the correct place with enough speed. The key to make this work is exactly that; we need to act fast, before Potter can call for support.”

“If he will be there unprotected, then why do we need so many men there? Can’t we just ambush him and kill him before he gets a chance to get help?” someone asked.

“That is the idea, and that is the reason why the first group will be a small one,” he replied. “But for this to work, we must not underestimate the boy’s sheer luck, and the Order of the Phoenix’s response. The first group will reach the location before the boy does, and wait for him in the woods. Anti-Apparition Wards will be set on the location, in case they call for help, which means that, if the Order members find a way to get there, we will not be able to get support straight away. The Death Eaters that don’t go on that first group will remain here, waiting to be called if needed. If that were the case, Apparating on the clearings would be safer than doing it in the woods,” Severus explained, the silence in the room telling him he had their attention. “That means you will have to make your way, either on foot or using broomsticks, to the battlefield. I will give each of you a copy of this map; you will memorize it, and then pass it on to the ones that aren’t here. We cannot risk any of the support groups getting lost in the woods, and we cannot lose this chance to finally get Potter.”

“Do you really expect all this to be necessary?” someone asked.

“No, but we will be ready, just in case.”

“Contact the Death Eaters that aren’t here, tell them only what they need to know,” Voldemort commanded, standing up.

With a wave of his wand, Severus created copies of the map, which the Death Eaters took as they, too, stood up.

“We will meet again on Thursday, and you will be informed of the details; for now, make sure everyone learns that map. I will not tolerate mistakes.”

As everyone started to leave, Severus waved his wand over the map on the table, making it roll itself and then vanish. He was just about to leave the room as well when Voldemort stopped him.

“Yes, Master?”

“I need you to do some research for me, Severus.”

“What kind of research?”

“Protection spells. I need one that is both rare and powerful; I do not want to risk anyone finding out how to get past it.”

“What is it that you need to protect?”

“Does that make any difference?” Voldemort asked him.

“I have some old manuscripts in my possession, but to find the best spell for what you need, I have to know some characteristics of the object you wish to protect.”

“Such as?”

“Weight, size, composition…”

“It is Nagini the spell is needed for.”

“Nagini?”

“Yes.”

“I am sure the protection at headquarters should be enough for…”

“Do not question me, Severus. Can you do it or not?”

“Of course, Master.”

“Very well. Now go to the Order of the Phoenix’s headquarters and find out what is going on. As I said before, I will not tolerate mistakes. Should something go wrong with this attack, the blame will fall solely on your shoulders. You know what the consequences of that will be for you.”

---

Every hour that passed seemed to increase the tension at the Order’s headquarters. There always seemed to be people wandering through the house, always hurried, always whispering among themselves, and many looking suspiciously at everyone they ran into, as if they believed they were being watched, spied. There was a feeling of both expectation and fear in the air that seemed to make them all even more nervous.

The training sessions certainly weren’t helping the mood either. Kingsley had split the Order into smaller groups according to their power and skill, and then had organized the Aurors that were in the Order to instruct and train them, assigning them each a group to lead. They had especially prepared some of the rooms in the house for that purpose as well, and had worked out a tight schedule so that each group would have as much training as possible. They only had a few days before they would have to face Voldemort and his Death Eater, and every minute counted.

Knowing they would be on the front line when the time came, and that they were more prepared for it than most Order members, she, Harry and Ron had been assigned to the first group, and unlike most of the others, who split their time between learning new spells and curses and practising what they knew, they focused on duels.

The more powerful and experienced Order members were with them, and she was more than pleased to find the three of them were up to par when it came to duelling. They had a room all to themselves, a room where no one would disturb them, since they were the ones that trained almost constantly, and couldn’t afford to share their space with other groups.

Kingsley, Mad Eye, Draco and the three of them were the constant occupants, although others would join them often, like Remus when he was back from the caves the werewolves were hiding in, the other group leaders when they weren’t busy with the teaching, and even the other Weasleys, when for any reason they were in need of more opponents.

They were all working nonstop, but with none of them was this more obvious than with Harry. She just wasn’t sure what she could do about it, or if she should even intervene.

Rolling on the floor to dodge a curse from Draco, she searched the room with her eyes, trying to find something she could use to her advantage; something like the tree to her left.

Knowing the battle would take place in a clearing near a forest, for that was what Severus had told the Order the previous day, before she had followed him out of headquarters, they had decided it would be useful to adapt the room they were training in to the conditions they would be in when the actual battle took place. They had magically enlarged the room, leaving a large clearing in the middle, surrounded by rocks and trees. It was the best way for them to really get ready, Mad Eye had told them, and so far it seemed to be proving right.

She felt the tree shake in front of her as it took Draco’s curse, and she aimed her wand around the trunk, shooting back and hearing Draco deflect the curse. She was just about to fire again when the creak of the door being open distracted her.

“Meeting in five minutes,” Mad Eye said from the doorway, and they all stopped what they were doing.

“Saved by the bell,” Draco said, approaching her.

“Oh, yes, you were,” she said, with a small smile, as she started walking for the door.

“That’s not what…”

“Leave it, Malfoy,” she heard Harry say. “There’s no point arguing, you should know that by now.”

“Yea, better not get her riled up on something, or you’ll never hear the end of it,” Ron added, after a moment.

“Would you two just knock it off?” she asked. “You make me sound awful.”

“Shh, we’re just trying to scare the ferret away,” Harry said, in a mock whisper, knowing Draco could hear him.

“Oh, in that case,” she whispered back, “Tell him about the time I cursed my friends into oblivion for not leaving me alone.”

“That’s never happened,” Ron said.

“Want me to change that?” she asked him threateningly, smiling when she saw a flash of fear cross his eyes.

“We should hurry if we don’t want to be late,” Draco said, stepping into the hallway. She let Ron walk out too, and then held Harry back when he was leaving.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“I know you must be worried about what’s going to happen this Thursday, but you can’t go on like this.”

“Like what?”

“Harry, over the last few days you’ve barely eaten anything, and you haven’t been sleeping enough either. All you do is train, and it’s too much.”

“I have to train, I have to be ready. I’m the one that’s supposed to stop him, Hermione, and I have to be ready. I cannot let more people die because of me.”

“It’s not because of you, Harry. It is because of him that people have died. It’s because of Voldemort, not you.”

“Look, I am all right, I just need more training, that’s all.”

“No, you need to slow down, and you need to keep your strength, I can’t…”

“Will you two hurry up,” Ron interrupted from down the hallway. “Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Just give us a minute, Ronald.”

“Just hurry, will you?” she heard him mutter as he walked away.

“I’m just worried about you, Harry.”

“I know that, but you don’t have to be.”

“All right, let’s make a deal,” she said. “I promise to stop worrying if you promise to take care of yourself. And that means eating and sleeping enough.”

“If Mrs Weasley could hear you she’d be so proud she’d start crying. You sound just like her,” he joked.

“I’m serious Harry.”

“I know. I’ll eat, and I’ll sleep, but I’ll train too. Now let’s go, before they send Ron back to get us,” he added, before she could protest anymore.

The library, the place where they held most meetings lately, was already full of people, apparently all waiting for just the two of them. There were no unoccupied chairs left, so she and Harry hurriedly walked over to where Ron and Draco were standing, by the window, next to some Aurors looking at them as though they had just lost the most valuable minutes of their entire lives waiting for them.

“Thank you for joining us,” came Severus’ sarcastic voice, and she had to struggle to hide the smile that threatened to touch her lips when she heard him.

“Sorry,” she muttered, feeling the group of Aurors glare at her.

“As many of you already know,” Severus started, after a moment, “we will finally face the Dark Lord two days from now, although I do not yet know the exact time or location. I do know, however, that it will take place in a forest, a few miles north of Cheviot Hills. We will use the woods around it to hide, and ambush the Death Eaters when they get there.

“I have been informed you have been split into groups for training purposes,” he continued. “All of you will remain in those groups for the battle. Each group will be taken to a different area when the time comes, and will have to remain unnoticed until needed. Anti-Apparition wards will be set on the area as soon as the Dark Lord arrives, so all of you will have to carry a Portkey for emergencies. It will be the only way out.

“I cannot stress enough just how important being ready is. This battle might very well be our only chance to defeat the Dark Lord, and failure will cost much more than our lives. Take the training seriously, and make sure you are ready for anything. The Death Eaters will not hesitate to kill any of you, and the only way to defeat them is to use the same kind of magic. There will be no room for doubt, or for weak spells meant only to momentarily stop, disarm, or weaken the enemy. You have to kill them, or they will kill you.”

She heard a few murmurs around the room, some agreeing with what Severus had said, others horrified at the idea. But he was right, the only way to defeat Voldemort was using the same weapons he used, and that meant killing.

Just as her eyes were searching the room, her gaze jumping from one face to the other, trying to read their expressions, she noticed the door open and close, and then heard Molly gasp and whisper, “Bill.”

Her eyes immediately fell on the wizard, who stepped inside and turned to Severus, ignoring all the attention he was getting from the people in the room. She hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, and all she knew was that he had been sent away on a mission with Charlie.

“What are you doing here?” Severus asked him, coldly. “It was your brother I called.”

“He couldn’t come, so he sent me instead. I will go back and tell him whatever it is that you need.”

“Very well,” he said. “The rest of you may go back to training.”

Slowly, everyone left the room, stopping for a moment in the hallways to talk about what Severus had just told them, and then heading with their respective groups to the training rooms. Only Severus, Bill and Kingsley stayed inside.

She would have wanted to stay there too, find out what was going on, but she knew she couldn’t. Instead, she waited for Severus to finish and leave the library, along with Molly and Arthur, who were waiting for their son to come out.

After almost fifteen minutes, she was beginning to worry, wondering what was taking them so long. Thankfully, the door finally opened and Bill stepped outside, soon followed by Severus.

As Bill walked over to where his parents were, she walked down the hallway toward the entrance, following Severus. She knew the three Weasleys were distracted, and Kingsley was still in the library, so they wouldn’t notice. She only hoped no one else would see her.

“Wait,” she whispered, as Severus reached the door, and he instantly turned around.

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes searching behind her for any sign of company. Once he was sure they were alone, he walked to her.

“I just…any news on the plans for Thursday?” she asked, not sure what else to say.

“I have to go to the forest I mentioned today and decide what the best place for the battle is. There are three or four clearings that could do, but I have to check the surroundings to see if there’s enough room for the Order to hide.”

“Do you want me to go with you? Maybe I can help.”

“No, the Dark Lord might have sent some Death Eaters there, we cannot risk them seeing you.”

“Do we really stand a chance?” she asked, and saw him hesitate, his eyes once more searching their surroundings for unwanted company.

“If everything goes as planed, we should,” he replied. “But when the time comes, the Order has to act fast, killing as many Death Eaters as possible before the others arrive.”

“What happened in there? What did you want Bill and Charlie for?”

“I found out today that the Dark Lord will have Inferi ready as well.”

“What?” she gasped.

“Everything is ready for the Awakening, and I don’t know how many there will be.”

“If he uses them, then we won’t stand a chance. They are more than us as it is; we cannot fight more, especially not Inferi.”

“That is why I tried to contact Charlie Weasley. As you know, he has been working in a reservation in Romania for some years now.”

“So?” she asked, not really understanding where he was going.

“What is the best way to defeat Inferi? What harms them and scares them most?” he asked.

“Fire, but…” She gasped loudly when she realized just what he was planning. “But can they be controlled?”

“He believes so.”

“It would take Charlie too long to get them here, though, and hiding them in the forest would be next to impossible.”

“I am aware of that, and the necessary arrangements are being made.”

“If that works, do you think we have a chance of winning?”

“I believe we do.”

“When are you…”

“Hermione,” someone called, interrupting them, and she turned around to see who it was. After a second, she saw Kingsley walking down the hallway towards them.

“Harry’s looking for you,” he said, then stopped walking when he realized Severus was standing right next to her. “I thought you’d left,” he told him.

“Not yet,” Severus replied. She was surprised to see the look on Kingsley’s face. His usually gentle expression had turned deadly serious as he almost glared at Severus.

“I will see you later then, Hermione,” Severus said, surprising her with the gentle tone in his voice, and more so by his actions.

Taking her hand, he slowly turned her to face him, looked at Kingsley for a second, and then leaned down and kissed her, slowly, tenderly, his hand buried in her hair as he pulled her to him.

She could feel her legs shake slightly as she gave in to the kiss, responding in kind, forgetting everything but the man holding her. But all too soon he broke the kiss, his eyes lingering on hers for a moment, a wicked gleam on them as he smirked and turned to Kingsley.

“Shacklebolt,” he said, nodding slightly and turning to her for one last short kiss, whispering, “goodbye,” against her lips before opening the door and leaving.

“Harry’s waiting for you,” Kingsley said after a moment, and she forced herself to turn to him, feeling her cheeks burn. “He wanted to train with you,” he finished, his tone even, not angry but not friendly either. With one last look at her, he, too, walked away.

She couldn’t believe what Severus had just done, kissing her like that in front of Kingsley. A part of her was angry, knowing he had only done it to infuriate Kingsley, but the other part didn’t care, as long as she could have him. It might have been wrong on Severus to do it, but she had to admit she had loved every minute of it.

Her heart was beating furiously, her legs still weak as she slowly walked down the hallway, towards their training room; her lips tingled at the memory of the kiss, and she hoped she’d see him again soon.