She ran as fast as she could, her fear a lump in her throat. She reached the door just in time to see the bright red flash of a Stunner and felt Luna stumble into her as she stopped. Flitwick lay on the floor, and the Potions Master was striding toward her. Then everything went black…

Hermione Granger sat up in her bed, gasping for breath. As she looked around the room to gain her bearings, she remembered that she had already woken up in a cold sweat twice this week. With a huff, she got up to go to the loo. This was getting ridiculous. The dreams got longer every night she had them, but she still had no earthly idea why she was having them. She was beginning to lose sleep over them and with all of the work she was doing to help Harry, sleep was something that she couldn’t afford to go without.

She knew from experience that she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep so she wandered into the library. It was fortunate that they had been staying in Grimmauld Place for the summer. The extensive Dark Arts library left there by generations of the Black family had proven useful in researching Horcruxes, and the Hogwarts library was just a Floo away. Hermione picked up the book that she had been reading through before she had gone to bed and made herself comfortable on an old divan. Since Molly Weasley had ensured every room of the house was clean and pest-free, it was quite a comfortable place to reside. The library had quickly become Hermione’s favourite room in the house.

The summer had been particularly hard on all of them. Harry had been the most affected after the Headmaster’s death, and Hermione herself had suffered a deep disappointment in the Potions Master. She had been so sure that he was working with them and was deserving of their trust. The knowledge that Severus Snape could do something so unthinkable had shaken her to the core. After all the years of vehemently defending him to Harry and Ron, Hermione had felt so betrayed. It wasn’t often that she was proven wrong, and she had never enjoyed the feeling.

Hermione sighed as she read the same sentence for the fourth time and chastised herself for her lack of attention. Harry’s success and therefore all of their lives were riding on her research. She idly turned the page and her eyes set on a spell that she’d never heard of before. The name of the spell had been underlined, presumably by the owner of the book. Hermione struggled up into a sitting position in order to concentrate better on what she had been reading; throwing her arms out of the blanket she had encased herself in.

The spell seemed to be a variation of an Obliviate. The difference was that this spell was timed to wear off and allow the person to see the memory that had been blocked after a determined amount of time. Hermione quickly flipped the book cover over to read the title, noting as she did that the spell was the only one in the book that had been underlined. She’d read so many books in such a short period that she couldn’t recall which one she currently had in her hands. Hermione recognized the title, Darkest Spells of the Dark Arts, but as she flipped back to the page she had been reading she was shocked to see that the book hadn’t belonged to the Black family. The true owner of the book had clearly written his name on the flyleaf. There, glaring in the spidery scrawl that she would have known anywhere, was the name of the man who had become her greatest enemy: Severus Snape.

*****

The next few days were quite a blur. Between discussing strategies with Harry and Ron and brewing potions that the Order needed now that Snape wasn’t there to do it for them, Hermione barely had any time to contemplate the book. The only time she really had to herself were the nights she laid awake, deep in thought. She had stayed awake so much thinking about the book that she hadn’t had another dream. She could not for the life of her figure out how the book had even gotten into the library; it was a well known fact that the Potions Master took meticulous care of his things, his Potions text being the only exception. How then had such an important book fallen out of his notice? Why did the Obliviate variant seem to be so important? What small piece of information was she overlooking?

Two weeks passed before she had another dream. This time she not only saw the flash of red that was the Stunner aimed at Flitwick, but the Stunner that had hit Luna as well. As Hermione awoke, her heart racing, she tried to remember everything she could about the last time she had seen Snape. She remembered reaching his office and finding Professor Flitwick on the floor, knocked out cold. Professor Snape had told them to see to him as he rushed out the door to head for the Astronomy tower. While it was possible that Snape could have Stunned Flitwick, he certainly wouldn’t have stunned Luna. Frustrated beyond belief, Hermione flopped over on her bed and allowed herself to contemplate the man himself.

They’d been shocked to find that the Prince’s Potions book had belonged to Snape. The fact that he was a half-blood was quite shocking. Though Riddle himself was a half-blood, many of his Death Eaters were pure-bloods. That Snape had been allowed to join up as early as he did seemed a bit odd. Hermione had to admit, though, that Snape did possess talents that the Dark Lord was sure to deem valuable. She had admired those same talents for years herself. As she stared out the window into the night sky, Hermione replayed all of the moments in which the Potions Master had insulted her or refused to accept her answer. As they always had, these moments seemed to be at clear odds with all of the times that he had saved their lives or kept them from harm. Try as she might, the stiff Greasy Git was just a problem that she couldn’t work out.

As the weeks flew by, the war worked up to a frantic pace with attacks and abductions happening daily. The Order was beginning to suffer major losses but in many instances, something happened to either keep the Death Eaters from attacking or set them attacking a wrong location. With the help of Hermione and Ron, Harry had destroyed all of the Horcruxes except for the one that resided in Nagini. The snake was never out of the sight of the Dark Lord so Harry would have to destroy her when he battled Voldemort. Hermione kept careful track of the reports as they came in each night. No one had laid eyes on Snape; it wasn’t clear if he was even still alive. She never let the Dark Arts book out of her sight. She’d read it several times, combing the pages for clues or any other sign he might have left to no avail. She’d memorized the Obliviate variation. The spell could be set to wear off quickly, in a matter of weeks, or it could be set to take as much as a year to wear off. She’d worked out quickly that Snape must have hit her with one and she’d spent much time looking for a way to speed up the process. It seemed that she would just have to wait for the dreams to get longer and show her more.

She wouldn’t have to wait long.

On a cool night near the end of August, the dream was far longer than it had ever been before. In it, Professor Snape had spoken to her. His words hardly made sense, but she knew that what he said was very important.

“Miss Granger, you must listen to me carefully. This will be very important for you to know.”

She’d stared at him in shock. Not only had he Stunned Flitwick, but he’d Stunned Luna as well. The blond girl was on the floor at her feet.

“Miss Granger! We don’t have time for you to stand there gaping like a fish. Can you promise me that you are listening?”

She’d nodded, not entirely sure that her tongue would work. The Professor had given her a hard look and decided that she was ready to hear what he had to say.

“When I get to the Astronomy tower I shall have to do something that will shock everyone into thinking that I am a traitor and help me strengthen my place in the Dark Lord’s ranks. For my sake, and yours, I can’t let you remember this right now. You’ll have to trust-“

“Are you going to Obliviate me?” she had asked, incredulous.

“Yes, but you’ll remember everything I’ve told you in time. There’s a book you must find-“

Hermione sat up in the dark of her bedroom. She knew that she hadn’t remembered everything, but what she had remembered would be sure to help her. The summer was almost over and everyone expected the final confrontation between Harry and the Dark Lord any day now. Hermione knew that the book Snape had told her of must have been his book, and she leaped from her bed to retrieve it.

Muttering a Lumos, she ran her fingers over the book as she had for many days. She opened the book to the flyleaf and traced over the name written there. She wondered why this book was so important. Hermione understood now that Snape must have left it here for someone to find, and she had been the first someone he had told about it. Suddenly, she found herself with more weight on her shoulders. Snape needed her to find something in this book, something more than the spell he had underlined. She presumed that he hadn’t meant for her to find the book until after she’d remember. If so, she wouldn’t need the name of the spell he’d used to hold back her memory. No, it had to be something else.

Hermione ran her hand along the inside cover of the book and stopped in shock. She brought the book closer to the light to get a better look. One edge of the lining on the inside cover was peeling up at the corner. She’d felt something hidden in the lining. How could she have missed it before? The book had been her constant companion for nearly two months. Carefully, she slowly peeled away the lining to reveal a folded piece of parchment. With some trepidation, Hermione opened it and read the address that was revealed there. The directions underneath, written in the Potions Master’s spidery handwriting, indicated that she should Apparate while touching her wand to this piece of paper.

A million thoughts ran through her mind. Should she trust him to keep her safe? Should she tell Harry and Ron? What would she do if something happened to her? What would she do if she found that Snape had been injured? Before she knew what she was doing, she was dressed, wand in hand and she was headed for the front door. When she reached the door, Hermione was careful to dismantle the wards that would let everyone know that she had gone. She knew that she was being reckless and foolhardy, but something inside her knew that she must try to find Snape. She also knew that no one else could know where she was going because they’d only try to capture Snape and keep her from helping him if she could.

Hermione stepped out into the chilly night and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she touched her wand to the parchment and concentrated on finding her way to that location. Immediately, she was squeezed in the uncomfortable sensation of Apparation and found herself outside a run-down cottage a few moments later. Though there was no one in sight, she was sure to stay on the offensive, her wand at the ready. As silently as was possible, she crept towards the cottage. When she reached the door she attempted to swallow her fear and gently pushed it open, grimacing when the groan of wood scraping on wood reached her ears.

The inside of the cottage looked like it had not been used in some time. Dust thickly covered every surface and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. Still, Hermione sensed that this was not a place where she should linger. There seemed to be no one else in the room. The only things that seemed out of place lay on the table. There was a Pensieve, two memories in clear glass bottles, and a piece of parchment. Looking at the objects as if they might spring to life and bite her, Hermione carefully picked up the parchment. True to form, Snape had left her a note.

Miss Granger,

I regret that my life and indeed, the course of the war, is now in your hands. You are not my first choice of informant but you are all the choice I have. Before you lies my personal Pensieve and two memories. They are of utmost importance. If you can overcome your Gryffindor sensibilities enough to trust me then I will ask you to send a Patronus. I’m nowhere near you now, but it will find me. Take the Pensieve and memories to Professor McGonagall and do not speak of this to your addle-brained friends.

Snape

Her first thought as she lowered the parchment, besides “Bastard,” was “Why me?” It did seem to her that even by coming here her decision had been made. She gathered the Pensieve and memories and stepped to the door. Taking a moment before Apparating back to Grimmauld Place she shot off two Patroni, one to Snape and one to Professor McGonagall. Grimly she focused on her destination and hoped with all of her being that Ron and Harry were still asleep.

~ * ~

In a potions lab in the basement of the Riddle house miles away, Severus Snape watched in amazement as a silvery gray otter slipped silently through the window. It seemed that the Know-it-all still had a few surprises in her. A week later he watched again as another Patronus, this one in the more familiar form of a tabby cat, came through the same window. Snape smiled to himself as he mentally congratulated Hermione on her powers of persuasion. He bent his head back to his work and for the first time in a long time allowed himself to hope that this girl, this former student, could help to ensure that his life had not been for naught.