Early April

The Wicked Witch and Spinner's End

Hermione was taking advantage of the break by sorting out errands and trying to plan ahead a bit. She met with Amelia once, to compare notes and discuss potential allies at the Ministry, and she'd been to Gringotts both to arrange for the Pensieve and to haggle over information and funds. Her school assignments were all finished, and she was up-to-date with her revision in all subjects but Potions where she wanted to go through the questions with Severus. This time around she was determined to take advantage of having people around her who were actually good at a subject.

She didn't understand what had flown into Severus that evening when they discussed plans but he returned the following Thursday evening anyway, a day early since it was Easter. He still wouldn't really talk to her, to say what was bothering him, but she thought it was probably something to do with Regulus. When she mentioned the plans he nodded once before hiding behind his hair again, demonstrably ignoring her while reading a Potions journal. Or at least appearing to read one, she hadn't seen him turn a page in fifteen minutes. With a sigh she tuned him out, focusing on her own planning instead.

Severus was still sulking the following afternoon when they arrived at the pub they'd used previously, where Regulus had found a private room for them. Hermione had been a bit surprised to find out that Wizarding pubs were open on Good Friday, but it suited their plans anyway. He glowered at his supposed friend and sat down without a word in the corner while Hermione and Regulus made small talk as they waited for a pint of ale each and some crisps.

After they were once again left alone and had Warded the room against all kinds of eavesdroppers, Hermione decided to take the lead. She pulled out her notes, arranging them in front of her before looking at each of them in turn. Regulus looked eager, Severus seemed wary.

"Thanks for listening," she began, looking between them. "Both of you have said you're against… you know who. I'll have to tell you some things you absolutely need to know, but can you keep them safe from him?"

Both of them nodded, so she took a deep breath and began, hoping fervently they were right about that. She told them about the Horcruxes and the way he couldn't be defeated until all of them were gone. Severus glowered even more when he heard about the cave, but seemed to cheer up when he realised they hadn't been inside. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes at him, and refrained with a great effort. Boys. They were all the same, chasing glory and action even when they didn't know what they were getting into.

"That snake… he doesn't seem to have one yet, not that I've seen. Luckily. I've never liked snakes." Regulus leaned back in his chair.

"Keep an eye out? I don't think Nagini was made into a Horcrux until much later anyway so we should be alright but I'd prefer not having to deal with her again."

"Of course. Should we start with the one at Hogwarts, then?" Severus leaned forward over the table to read her notes upside down, finally taking an interest again.

Hermione nodded and consulted her notes even if she knew all too well what they said. "Next would be the two we know the location of, the ring and the locket in the cave. Well, I don't exactly know where the Gaunts lived but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out, and the ring was supposedly in their old house."

"You said Bellatrix might have one?" Regulus asked.

"And Malfoy, a diary. Bellatrix had the cup in her Gringotts vault last time around but not sure it's there yet." She tried very hard to stay on track, not thinking too much about Malfoys or Bellatrix or anything that reminded her of her future past.

Severus snorted. "Your tenses are all backwards. We need another thing from Dear Bella anyway." He glanced at Hermione's arm.

She tensed but nodded. The knife. It still didn't feel real, that the wound was as bad as Severus had claimed. At least he was talking again.

"We'll have to look around the next time we meet at Lestrange Manor," Regulus said with a sigh. "My dear cousin is unpredictable at best."

That jolted her before she remembered. Cousin. Of course. The same as Sirius. For some reason it was hard to reconcile her image of Sirius, the older, reckless ex-convict, with this younger brother. She leafed through her notes again. "The big issue is how to destroy them. Fiendfyre works, as does Basilisk venom, but I don't want to have to rely on killing the one below Hogwarts just for this. I carried one around for months last time around and I'm not doing that again."

"What do you mean, basilisk below Hogwarts?" Severus asked.

"Long story, another time," Hermione said with a shrug. "Regulus, would you be able to research some methods for killing Horcruxes? I don't want to start collecting them until we know we can destroy them."

Regulus nodded, looking determined. "I'll check the library at home, we have plenty of Dark tomes."

"I'll see if I find something in the workshop, Master Pyrites has lots of old books," Severus offered.

Hermione smiled at both of them, relieved for the help. With their assistance she was sure they'd manage to figure out a way.

"Oh I almost forgot," Regulus said, scratching the back of his head. "I was told to bring you to the traditional spring ball at Avery Hall, it's the Saturday after Easter so in about a week? I don't understand why they asked me to bring you but I can't really refuse."

"What?! A ball with… with all the Pure-bloods? Why?" She barely managed to refrain from saying all the Death Eaters.

"I don't know!" Regulus said. "I'm sorry, I tried to deflect but it was quite clear that the Dark Lord had requested it."

Severus looked paler than usual. He cleared his throat, his gaze fixed on his pint. "It's probably my fault. The Dark Lord saw you in my mind and thought you were… together." He quickly explained the events, with emphasis on the way the Dark Lord had ripped through his mind, and Hermione filled in details on the prophecy.

Hermione sighed, feeling dread rise up in her stomach. "Guess I'll have to go, then."

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

They didn't do much for Easter. Hermione had bought some eggs, both real and Cadbury Creme, and spent most of the weekend working on her plans. She wanted to set up a way for them to communicate, something better than the Galleons she'd done in fifth year. Severus, likewise, was quiet and working on his own projects, something for his Apprenticeship. She tried to relax around him, to not let her newfound feelings get in the way, not looking at his hands or his long legs or slim waist.

"I don't want you to go to a ball with Regulus," Severus said suddenly late Easter Sunday. "I mean… there will be plenty of Death Eaters there. I don't think the Dark Lord will show up, he usually stays away from public events but it's going to be dangerous anyway, Hermione."

"I know! I don't want to go either, but what choice do I have?" She was on the couch, reading a Transfiguration text with Crookshanks curled up beside her, dozing. She dreaded it, being surrounded by Pure-bloods and trying to fit in without letting them know who she really was.

"Don't go! Stay home," he said, rounding on her. He put his arms on the arms of the couch, leaning over her. His long black hair hung down like a curtain on both sides of his face.

She shook her head. "You know I can't, it would put Regulus in danger. He was told to bring me."

"Fuck Regulus! Or is that it, are you already?!"

Fury washed over her like a cold wave. "Stop it, Snape! Why are you being so nasty?" She headed upstairs to the tiny bedroom before she said something unforgivable, or slapped him.

It took a long time for her anger to fade. Crookshanks kept distracting her with requests to be petted, and Menace joined her after Severus had fled somewhere, she didn't care where. The rook agreed when she said his master was stupid, at any rate. She didn't want to go to the ball, why couldn't he understand? She didn't know enough about Pure-blood customs and culture to fool people she was anything but Muggle-raised, at the very least. Her parents had taken her to the occasional highbrow event, related to their work or to something cultural they felt she should learn, but it wasn't nearly the same as knowing about Pure-blood traditions.

A little while later she had an idea for how to get through the event intact. Severus was out somewhere, she'd heard the door slam closed, but Menace agreed to carry a letter for her. She watched his flight through the window. When he disappeared from view, a speck of black against the dark sky, she turned and went for the kitchen for another cup of tea.

The outer door opened but she didn't turn from her spot on the couch to look at him, and neither did Crookshanks next to her.

"Sorry," he muttered when he slunk in.

She watched him impassively over her teacup. For once she hadn't made one for him. "You know, one of these days I won't forgive you when you let your mouth run like that. Is that what you want?"

He shook his head, still breathing heavily. He was dressed in a t-shirt and soft trousers, with shabby trainers on his feet. She didn't know he was a runner. The t-shirt clung to his skinny frame, and droplets of sweat pearled on his temples and his forehead. It suited him, somehow.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand he shook his head again. "No. Of course not. I'm sorry, Hermione. I just… I keep expecting you to choose him and never look back." His black eyes sought hers, before he hid behind his hair again. "I know I'm not… I'm not someone you should want to associate with."

Her heart soared. Was he jealous? It sure looked like it. "You're wrong, Severus. I like Regulus, sure, but you understand me in a way he could never do. I don't want to lose your friendship. You mean a lot to me."

Something flashed in his eyes and he seemed to deflate a bit. "Friendship. Yes, sure. Good."

He turned abruptly and headed upstairs for a shower. She didn't understand the sudden shifts in his mood but at least he had stopped trying to hurt her.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

The other project she'd been working on was a better way to communicate. Owls and birds were too slow and obvious, and sending a Patronus wasn't exactly discreet. She'd discussed some ideas with Professor Flitwick, trying to keep it generic enough for him not to catch on to what she was trying to do, and had scoured Hogwarts library to see if anyone had succeeded before, but other than two-way mirrors and blackboard writing spells she hadn't found much of use. Severus' meagre library at Spinner's End held more clues, however, and she'd managed to cobble together a functional system with some creative Charm work and some mildly Dark Blood magic imbued in reporter-style notepads from a Muggle stationery shop. At least she hoped it was functional, but the Arithmancy worked out. She had a bigger notebook for herself, with different tabs for the different notepads, and extension charms on all of them would guarantee they didn't run out of pages. At first she'd tried to make all notepads able to communicate with everyone else, but that hadn't worked out. She'd even bought Muggle ballpoint pens to put in the holders, and wondered a bit what the Pure-bloods would make of that.

She was finally finished late in the evening before Severus was due to leave for the workshop. She'd chosen a black cover for his notepad, and pricked her finger to let a drop of blood fall on the inside of the cover before handing it to Severus who eyed her a bit sceptically.

"Here, I've charmed this so we can communicate. Write my initials first, then what you want to say, then your initials to send it. The other notepad will vibrate a little when there is a message." She wrote a short message to him in her own book which swiftly appeared in his. "I need a drop of blood from you in mine to activate it."

"Blood magic, Miss Granger?" He raised an eyebrow at her but complied, letting a drop of his blood fall on the pages in her notebook. "What if someone else finds the book?"

"Well, it's not really that Dark in this case." She handed him her book, which promptly turned to a text on French magical architecture when she released it.

"Interesting. Yours is bigger though?"

"I will hand out more notebooks but unfortunately I couldn't make all of them communicate freely with each other, the number of nodes quickly gets overwhelming. So it's from mine to everyone and from everyone back to me."

Severus hummed noncommittally and continued examining the notepad before putting it in an inside pocket of his robes.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Hermione was eating breakfast alone the following Tuesday when she noticed an owl knocking on the window. Severus had left for the workshop late Sunday evening. She smiled when she saw the handwriting on the scroll, and eagerly opened it to see what Amelia Bones had written.

They met up for lunch at a café just off Diagon Alley. It was late enough for most people to have eaten already, but there were still plenty of people around. They settled for the soup of the day and found a table in a relatively private corner. Hermione put up some wards anyway, including a Muffliato and a small Notice-Me-Not, and then quickly recounted what Regulus had said.

"What can I do? I can't fool all those Pure-bloods, half of them Death Eaters!"

Amelia thought for a moment and Hermione bit her lip to stay silent. Finally the older witch nodded. "I can't teach you everything about Pure-blood etiquette in a week and don't quite know what you need to learn. I'll try to guide you through some things I've noticed Muggleborns struggle with. Do you have good robes?"

Hermione sighed in relief. "I'm not sure about robes. I have one purple set but not sure it's formal enough. And what if he shows up? What if he sees who I am?"

"We'll figure it out. He's not likely to be there, this is a traditional event, the Averys have invited people that don't agree with his politics so they wouldn't want him to cause a scene. I'll be there too. I wasn't planning to go but now it seems I should."

Hermione felt slightly calmer even if panic was still simmering underneath the surface. With Amelia's help, she might just get through it. She had to.

Before they parted she asked the older witch to set up another meeting that week if possible, with a young Auror she had once known. Amelia looked amused but promised to try, and Hermione didn't even bother trying to explain what lay behind her request.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Two days later they met up in Amelia's office. It was late enough in the morning for the halls to be mostly deserted apart from the departments that serviced the general public, but at least the office workers had already made it in and were not yet out for lunch. Hermione almost felt as if she belonged there when she walked to the lifts and then to the MLE floor where she only nodded at the absentminded office clerk before going to Amelia's office.

Kingsley arrived five minutes later. He was tall and lean, dressed in dark brown Auror robes that were oddly reminiscent of a trench coat, cinched at the waist with a belt. He nodded at Amelia and took a seat while the Department Head called for an elf to deliver tea.

"Amelia didn't say much, but aren't you the girl who is in Hufflepuff with Evie?" Kingsley asked her directly. He looked a bit wary, and so much younger than she recalled.

Hermione winced inwardly but kept the smile on her face. Girl wasn't the best start. "Yes, I'm currently at Hogwarts with Evie. There was no other way for me to sit my NEWTs so I had to attend this year. If it weren't for Voldemort I would have finished last spring." She was inwardly pleased to see both of them wincing at the name, hoping her brazenness would help to convince him that she was serious. And the bit about her finishing school… well, it was technically correct, in a sense.

"But why would you want to talk to me?" Kingsley asked, frowning.

"Because I know, hope, that you are on the right side here. I have some information I want to bring to the right people, to someone who can act on it. If you need any confirmation of my status I hope Amelia could be of assistance."

"Kingsley, this is important," Amelia interjected. "I've heard good things about you from Alastor so we decided to approach you. Are you willing to hear us out? I will need a wand oath from you not to tell anyone about what we are about to discuss here."

Kingsley didn't look too happy about it, but he did as Amelia asked to Hermione's relief. His older self wouldn't have done it, not without clear proof of their intent, but she guessed this younger version of him was still accustomed to obeying superiors.

"Then why aren't you talking to Mad-Eye?" Kingsley asked, still apparently on edge.

"I asked to meet you because I don't know who else I can trust," Hermione began, trying to stay right on the edge of truth. "The Aurors… I don't know who has been infiltrated. The Death Eaters' ranks are still growing. I know they're in the Ministry, among the Aurors. I have information from someone on their side and I need to make sure the Aurors act upon it."

"You… have a spy among the Death Eaters?" He sounded very sceptical.

Hermione nodded impatiently. "Yes, I can't take it to Mad-Eye, he'd go to Professor Dumbledore right away and they'd try to get me to give up the identity of this person and throw him in Azkaban for being a Death Eater rather than to act on the information. I know they're trying to do the right thing but their way isn't working. Evie told me a lot about you, I choose to trust you because of her." She held her breath before catching herself. A lot was riding on this moment. She had to bring Kingsley around without letting him know too much about her past.

Kingsley grinned at her. "So she's been talking, has she? I hope nothing bad. I don't know anything about you, though. Who are you?"

Hermione felt relief surging through her like a wave. "Yes, I understand that. I'm sorry, I can't give you much to go on. I haven't been back in the country for long but Amelia, Professor Vector and Professor Sprout can vouch for me. I'll give you some information about upcoming raids, what you do with it is up to you. Of course my information may be off, but I'll verify as much as I can."

He took his teacup and sat back, obviously thinking about it. Hermione took a sip of her own tea to distract herself from her urge to launch into a long-winded explanation that would just confuse him further. Amelia was silent as well.

A while later he nodded slowly, looking at Amelia as well. "Alright, I'll talk to Pomona and if she confirms it, I'll see what I can do. I'm not high up for anyone to listen to me but perhaps I can convince Moody or Selwyn to check out your information."

Hermione gasped. "Selwyn?" She tried to recall where she had heard that name. From Umbridge, somehow, but there was something else. Yes. Their awful trip to the Lovegoods, when they had gone to ask Xenophilius about the Deathly Hallows and he'd called for the Death Eaters. Luna… she wondered if her trip through time would affect also Luna's life, this time around. She'd have to check it later, there were more important things to worry about for the moment.

"Yes? He's in charge of my group." Kingsley looked mildly confused, with a raised eyebrow and a half smile.

"No, don't talk to him, I know at least one Selwyn is a Death Eater. Talk to Moody."

She pulled up her notes again with dates and locations of future raids, and asked him to copy the information down himself. She couldn't let her handwritten notes fall into the wrong hands, either. He asked about details, names and other information, but she didn't have much to offer other than the basics and could only hope history hadn't changed too much yet for the information from Professor Snape to be all wrong.

After making some more annotations, Kingsley leaned back and looked at her again. "Okay, I'll try to do something about that, I'll talk to Moody and work out who else is reliable. How do I contact you?"

"I'm at Hogwarts from next week again," Hermione said. "Shouldn't be too hard. And be careful, please?"

Kingsley shrugged. "Don't worry, I can handle it. Look after Evie for me?"

"I'll try to, at least!"

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Hermione was still fretting when the time arrived for her to Apparate to the Blacks' summer residence where they were to meet up. Amelia had helped her buy two new sets of robes, one in a fresh spring green with lilac and white details and another set in a light sky blue which she was planning to use for the ball, and who had drilled her in Pure-blood etiquette for several days over owls and lunches. She'd spent an afternoon working out how to imbue the tiger-eye pendant with a Notice-Me-Not charm, with the help from one of the books left by Heliotrope Wilkins in the vault and a newer one from Flourish and Blotts. If the charm worked as intended it would make people lose interest in her quickly unless they knew her already.

Severus was also going, but he would Apparate there on his own as he didn't have anyone to escort to the ball.

"Why can't I go with you?" she'd complained to him when she saw him getting dressed in his dark dress robes. He hadn't answered, raking a hand through his hair and looking flustered before stalking off to the bedroom to finish.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Regulus waited in front of the Black summer residence, clad in immaculate robes in green and grey. He inhaled sharply when he saw her and raked a hand through his hair. Hermione immediately handed him the notepad and started to explain how it worked, almost before he managed to greet her. It had been tricky to find a way to bring her own notebook so that he could bleed in it, but after some experimenting she'd managed to fit another Undetectable Extension charm on a small leather purse, and Transfigured it full of pearls to suit her dress. After reviewing it, he nodded and pocketed it before extending an arm to her for the Apparition to Avery Hall.

Hermione wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from a Pure-blood ball at a mansion, but reality took her breath away, and she couldn't help but to stare. They arrived just in front of a relatively small Victorian-style manor house with tall, round towers at each end. Behind her was a big symmetrical park, with several fountains and rows of hedges delineating the footpaths.

"They've Transfigured the building a bit, it's not usually this fancy and the real garden only goes to that first fountain," Regulus said quietly when he noticed she'd stopped to gawk at everything. "You aren't supposed to bring attention to it, but a good Transfiguration brings credit to the host. The Transfiguration Masters make a lot of money during ball season."

She snorted, feeling slightly better. It made sense, in a way, that a society that could Transfigure anything from clothes to animals would also use magic to give their surroundings a facelift whenever appropriate.

They went inside, handing their cloaks to an elf. Another elf sailed by with a tray of champagne. Regulus handed her a glass before taking one for himself. He took a large sip and shot her a quick smile. "Now, let's mingle. Discreetly. We just have to greet the hosts first."

Regulus led her over to a tall couple clad in matching elegant grey robes and made their introductions. The wizard was white-haired and quite short while the witch was tall and slender. After some polite exchanges, Regulus nodded at them and steered her away to leave room for the next arriving guest.

The guests were spread out over several rooms on the ground floor, with a large ballroom where a charmed band was playing something rather bland Hermione didn't recognise on an oboe-like instrument and a violin. Regulus and Hermione kept to the periphery. He pointed out some other people she ought to recognise, such as the current Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, a thin dark-haired witch with a pinched frown accompanied by an older wizard with long black hair.

"That's Crispus Mulciber," Regulus confirmed. "Don't go near him."

She nodded, committing his face to memory but turning away quickly when the man turned to gaze at them, as if he'd felt them looking. She spotted the Malfoys just as they entered, the hosts bowing to them rather than the other way around. Hermione shivered and dragged Regulus along, hoping not to run into them. It appeared as if the Charm worked, anyway. They weren't bothered by other guests. A few people greeted Regulus but their eyes slid past Hermione as if she wasn't there, which felt both insulting and as a relief at the same time.

In the next room over she spotted Rhea, on the arm of someone who didn't look altogether too pleasant. The wizard was stocky with closely cropped dark hair, and Hermione suspected it hadn't exactly been Rhea's idea to go with the older man to the ball. The way Pure-blood families bartered their daughters away was both baffling and infuriating, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Rhea was looking around the room as if trying to find a way out, before her eyes locked on Hermione's and she flinched visibly. She frowned and appeared to be saying something, but Hermione was too far away to hear it. With a slight nod in her dormmate's direction Hermione steered Regulus away to the window, while Rhea turned her back on them.

"That's Jugson. Don't go near him either. His date doesn't look too pleased, she shouldn't be."

Hermione nodded. "I know. That's my dormmate with him, Rhea Macmillan. Not that I like her much but I didn't want this for her."

The evening progressed, and gradually Hermione was able to relax. No one bothered her, the food and elven wine were excellent and there was a band playing. Regulus asked her to dance. She accepted, dancing two dances in a row with him, but when he asked for a third she begged off, claiming her feet hurt. He did look slightly disappointed, but escorted her to a bar table with good grace, and kept up the commentary on who else was present. She saw the Shacklebolts, recognising Kingsley with what must be his parents, but didn't approach them as they seemed to be deep in discussion with another Pure-blood couple. There was just one person she kept trying to see, but he was nowhere to be found. Had Severus skipped the ball?

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

The Wretched Ball

Avery Hall

The clump in his throat was hard to swallow as he watched Reg manoeuvre Hermione around the dance floor. They stuck to the periphery and didn't talk to many of the others, and the Charmed pendant Hermione wore made sure most people would forget about her.

There hadn't been a formal dinner, food had instead been served on tiny plates by house-elves floating through the mingling crowds. Severus had stayed in the background, exchanging some comments with Lucius but otherwise keeping to himself. Lucius was worried about Narcissa and the impending babies, something Severus failed to sympathise with. The man only had himself to blame, after all.

He watched them covertly as they danced and mingled. Hermione seemed tense, the smile she occasionally managed was obviously forced and she kept stumbling as Reg led them through some of the traditional dances. At least he kept a respectful distance, not pulling her tight against him, Severus thought sourly. He stalked over to the corner where an elf had a tall table and some stools set up to serve drinks, feeling at odds with everyone including himself.

She found him some time later by the makeshift bar and asked for a glass of champagne.

"Having fun?" he drawled, toasting her with his glass of Firewhisky. Perhaps he might have had one or two too many. Oh well, it was too late to think about that now.

She shook her head. "No, I hate this. Can we leave soon, Severus?"

"You seemed to enjoy the dancing, though." He didn't know where that came from, must have been something in the Firewhisky.

She shrugged. "Regulus is pretty good but I can't relax here. If they knew who I am half of them would despise me and the other half would kill me on sight, and I don't know which is which."

Something surged in his chest. He would never let that happen. "I will protect you, Hermione. They won't hurt you when I'm around."

Hermione smiled at him and then blushed, hiding behind her glass. "Thank you, Severus. I trust you, you know that?"

He felt warm all of a sudden. Trust was something he wasn't used to. He hoped, against all reason, that he wouldn't let her down.

"Where's Reg? You dumped him already?"

"He's over there, talking to some old guy from the Ministry." Hermione pointed discreetly towards the far corner where Regulus was indeed talking to two white-bearded wizards Severus vaguely recognised from previous events.

Somehow his mouth managed to move on its own without involving his brain first. "May I have this dance, Miss Granger?" He extended a hand towards her, just as the band started playing a slow waltz. He wasn't an advanced dancer but at least he knew the basics and could find the correct beat. Something huge was fluttering in his stomach as he waited for her response.

Hermione blushed, but to his immense relief she nodded and moved to place her small hand in his. The music swelled around them. Severus took a deep breath, his nose immediately picking up her scent, floral notes with jasmine and some citrus tones, and then underneath it all something that was purely her, ink and parchment and books and determination. It made him light-headed but luckily the dance was slow enough for him not to miss a step as he guided them to a quiet corner. She was warm and pliant against his body, her hand on his shoulder and her head almost resting against his neck, the front of her dress rubbing against his robes when he turned.

She exhaled in a slow sigh and relaxed even more into his lead. He didn't want to break the moment, not when everything was perfect, not even to ask what she was thinking of.

When he turned them around again he saw Bellatrix Black Lestrange watching them with narrowed eyes from across the floor, and his stomach turned to ice again.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: Unfortunately my posting schedule will keep being a bit erratic for a while but I'm still writing. I was surprised by a divorce so things are still a bit messy at the moment. 0/10, do not recommend. Stay safe out there everyone!

/AA