The Brethren of Tyr

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Little Jump to the Left...

Harry looked around in astonishment. It was Hogwarts, no doubt about it, and they were standing just outside the school grounds. He looked at his watch, vaguely wondering if it would tell the time where he was at the moment, or the time it was back in the Brethren's headquarters. The watch said it was quarter past twelve, which, judging by all the students milling about, was pretty accurate. Lessons had just finished, and people were enjoying their lunch-hour off in the mild June weather, either sitting around the Great Lake, or wandering through the ground. Not one of them paid attention to the four people who had just appeared in front of them. Well, Harry had to admit, he'd be concerned if they could see through his Invisibility Cloak, but the others? Perhaps the students in the seventies hadn't read 'Hogwarts; A History', either, and were unaware of the apparition rule.

"Wow, the seventies," Persephone commented, "the time that taste forgot."

On closer inspection of the uniforms, Harry saw her point. They had a definite air of ostentatious-ness that bordered on obscene- the Hogwarts crest was just a little bit too large, the sleeves that little bit too wide... Those who had evidently finished lessons for the day and were no longer attired in their uniforms were the worst. Robe colours clashed, trousers had legs that were nearly the same width as the waistband, and what in the name of Merlin were they wearing on their feet?

Tonks giggled.

"Wow, to think my mum dressed like that," she commented, warmly. Persephone smiled.

"Well, much as I could discuss fashions with you all day, Tonks, we do have more pressing matters to attend to, like finding Hermione," she replied, scanning the grounds evidently for signs of a head of bushy brown hair.

It didn't take long. Hermione was sat under a tree, obscured from the view of most of the students, and looked very dazed. Harry pelted over to her, and Persephone, Tonks and Augustine followed.

"Hermione! Are you okay?" Harry gasped, before realising that Hermione didn't know he was clad in his Invisibility Cloak. Her horrified expression soon gave way to one of relief when she recognised his voice and saw the three adults running towards her.

"Oh, Harry- yes, I'm fine. I've only been here a few seconds."

Harry screwed up his face in consternation, then realised that nobody could see this, so spoke instead.

"How could you only have been here a few seconds? We left at least ten minutes after you did!"

"One of the perks of time-travel," Persephone pointed out.

"Do you know where Faith went, Hermione?" Augustine asked, gently. Hermione shrugged, and pointed in the direction of the school.

"She went over there, but I don't know what for, or where exactly she intends to go."

Persephone smiled grimly.

"We think we've got an idea. She's going to try and change time by despatching your Potions professor."

Hermione clapped her hand to her mouth in horror. Persephone put a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"Fear ye not, Hermione, for we have a plan."

Hermione sighed in relief.

"But we need your help to execute it," Persephone added. Hermione frowned suddenly.

"What do I need to do?" she asked, warily. Persephone looked away at a chirruping bird in the trees.

"Nothing much," she protested, "just pretend to be a pure-blood witch who is visiting from Durmstrang..."

Hermione's eyes nearly popped clean out of her head.

"Pretend to be what!" she hissed. Persephone smiled at her in a manner she clearly hoped would be appeasing.

"Look, it can't be that hard- I've got my old robes here, which shouldn't take too long to adjust to fit you. Viktor told you loads about Durmstrang, certainly enough to pass off as a regular student there to these lot." She jerked her thumb at a couple of passing students, who were too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice the five congregated around the tree.

"Why me, though?" Hermione asked. Persephone smiled.

"Because you're Muggle-born," she replied. Hermione frowned at this.

"That doesn't make any sense," she retorted. Persephone's smile didn't change a bit.

"It makes perfect sense," she continued. "Think of all the known pure-blood families in the UK- they all look a certain way. What better way to feign being a member of a pure-blood family unknown to the UK than by being a Muggle-born that certainly won't look similar to any other students here. It's perfect."

"But I can't speak much of any Eastern European language!" Hermione protested.

"You can speak a little- I know 'cause Viktor told me he taught you a bit of Bulgarian. That'll be enough for this lot- they won't be able to speak it either," Persephone countered.

"What about my accent?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly more fretful.

"No worries- if anyone asks, tell them you've been sent to the UK every summer to brush up on your English, and have picked up the accent. Loads of kids from Durmstrang did it when I was there," Persephone soothed.

Hermione sighed.

"Okay, I'll do it," she replied, firmly. Persephone clapped her hands.

"Excellent- now, put these on," she ordered, handing Hermione the bundle of red robes. Hermione obliged, and Harry saw they hung on her as though they had previously belonged to a giant. Persephone frowned, then pulled out her wand.

"Don't want to arouse suspicion," she added, by way of an explanation as to why she was not using wandless magic. "Hmm, shouldn't take too long..." She pointed her wand at the robes on Hermione's body, and muttered, "Apto vestimentum."

The robes began to shrink around Hermione's body. As soon as the hem of the robes touched Hermione's anklebone, Persephone muttered, "Strigo," and the robes stayed that size.

"Wow, where did you learn to do that?" Tonks asked.

"Ever since I turned thirteen and found it impossible to find robes that reached my ankles that weren't designed for men. The only robes I have ever bought in a shop that fitted me were my school ones, and that's only because they will fit them there free of charge. I just find it easier, not to mention cheaper, to do it myself," Persephone replied.

"Persephone," Tonks asked, at which the woman in question looked down to meet her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you get me to transform into some unrecognisable student and find Snape? It'll be safer than getting Hermione to do it..."

"Because I need you to metamorphose into a seventeen year old Severus Snape in order to flush Faith out," she replied, quickly. Tonks screwed up her face in disgust.

"Great, I get all the good jobs," she sighed.

Persephone looked to Hermione.

"Right, you're a Branimir- they're a pure-blood Bulgarian family not very well-known over here. Severus certainly won't know of them. One added bonus is that they have some English ancestors, so we'll give you an English sounding first name..."

"Popelina?" Augustine suggested. Persephone looked at him.

"Don't be daft!"

"My lady was called Popelina," he replied, defensively. Persephone smiled at him kindly.

"I don't mean to be rude here, Gus," she said, "but your lady did die in the Sixteenth Century, didn't she?"

Augustine nodded.

"I take it that it's no longer a common name?" he asked. Persephone nodded, though Harry was fairly uncertain as to whether it had ever been a common name, Sixteenth Century or no.

"How about Florence?" Tonks suggested. Persephone clicked her fingers.

"Perfect- what say you, Hermione?"

"Florence Branimir," Hermione mused. She appeared to role the name on her tongue, testing it out. "That feels good," she said, eventually.

"Right," Persephone announced, "this is the plan then. Hermione, Harry; you two go and find Severus and keep him out of our way."

"How?" Harry asked, from underneath his invisibility cloak.

"I'm sure you'll both think of something. You're the foreign girl, Hermione, remember?"

Harry saw Hermione look at the space he was currently occupying, then at Persephone.

"Huh?" they both said in chorus. Persephone rolled her eyes.

"The foreign girl! Whenever the foreign girl enters a school, almost every single boy vies for her attention, no matter how pretty or clever she is."

Harry looked blankly at Hermione, except as he was under his Invisibility Cloak, she couldn't see. Not that it concerned Harry too much, for she looked just as perplexed as he felt.

"Oh, honestly," Persephone groaned. "You've clearly got a lot to learn from me. It's just a school law, okay?"

She sighed impatiently, at which Harry and Hermione just feigned understanding.

"It's true, you know," Tonks added.

Persephone continued her orders.

"Augustine, Tonks; I need you two to go looking for Faith. When you find her, alert me and follow her at a distance, but don't try anything yet!"

"Sure thing," Tonks replied.

"Which leaves you," Augustine said, clearly waiting for a response. Persephone smiled.

"I'm going to find Albus Dumbledore and assure him that myself and my young charge were scheduled to visit Hogwarts today- you will both need to address me as Natalina Korsivka, governess to the house of Branimir," she replied. They all nodded, at which Persephone motioned to them to pay attention to her wand.

"Also, if anybody gets into any difficulty, fire a flare charm into the air- specifically use 'Discrimen'. If anybody sees that flare, we all get there as quickly as possible, agreed?"

They all nodded in understanding, except Harry suddenly had a niggling thought.

"Persephone, won't Faith see me under my cloak?" Harry piped up, having remembered the rather disconcerting incident in Faith's workshop where she saw straight through his Invisibility Cloak.

Persephone shook her head.

"Doubt it, unless you saw her jump into that machine with a pair of specs on," she replied. Harry shook her head.

"She wore them for a bit, but I'm sure she took them off... What difference would that make, anyway?" he demanded.

"Well, she invented them- they can see through spells and incantations. If only I'd filched a pair for you, this whole debacle would never have happened- they can see through polyjuice disguises, too," Persephone explained.

"How can she come up with this stuff- her brain's completely addled?" Tonks exclaimed, ignoring the reproachful look Persephone gave her.

"The girl made a time machine after her time in Azkaban, I doubt something like a pair of magically enhanced glasses would cause her much difficulty," Persephone replied. "Anyway, is everyone happy with their responsibilities?"

Everyone nodded- except for Harry, who gave a vocal reply- before breaking off into their relevant groups to complete their tasks.

"Where do you think Snape as a teenager would hang out?" Harry asked. Hermione frowned.

"Not sure. I can't get into the Slytherin common room..."

"He was in Ravenclaw," Harry interrupted. Hermione looked shocked.

"Really?"

"According to my mum's diaries, and I can't think why she'd want to lie about it," he replied. Hermione nodded impatiently.

"Okay, but either way, I can't access any of the common-rooms. I don't know the passwords for 1977 and even if I did, why would Florence Branimir know them?" she explained.

"True, true," Harry conceded, trying to cast his mind back to what his mother had written about Snape in her diaries. He could only recall that he had cold hands, as well as a host of other things that Harry would have paid good money to ensure he never remembered again.

"What kind of student was he?" Hermione asked, which prompted Harry's memory into spitting out something useful.

"He was studious... we should try the library!" he exclaimed, in triumph. Hermione was already walking purposefully towards the building, her back straight, and her blood red robes swirling out behind her.

Hermione's aura of confidence was shattered as soon as they reached the library, though.

"Oh, God," she whispered, quietly.

"What? Have you seen him?" Harry asked. Hermione shook her head.

"No, but what if he's in there?" she asked. Harry rolled his eyes, though Hermione didn't see the action as it was concealed under his invisibility cloak.

"Then you go and talk to him!"

"But I'm scared!"

"Why?"

"Because, he's a scary man!" Hermione almost whimpered. Harry touched her arm and tried not to laugh.

"He wasn't much of a scary boy," he soothed. Hermione whipped round to face him, or at least, where she thought he was, which turned out to be about forty seven degrees away from where he stood.

"How do you know?" she hissed. Harry squirmed a little in embarrassment.

"Well... during Occlumency last year, I kind of took a peek into his Pensieve, and saw a memory of his from during his O.W.L. exams..."

"Harry!" Hermione scolded. Harry shrugged his shoulders defiantly at her, not that she saw, and continued with his point.

"Anyway, he was a bit of a loner, I think, and he was being picked on by..." Harry couldn't finish his sentence.

"By your dad and Sirius?" Hermione asked. Harry was so stunned; he couldn't speak for few moments.

"How did you know?" he asked, eventually. Hermione clicked her tongue.

"Well, it seems a little obvious, when you think about it- why else would Snape be so irrationally angry with them?"

"Look, is he in there or not?" Harry hissed back, unwilling to continue their conversation. Hermione crept to the door, and Harry pushed her in, which must have looked very odd to anyone who might have witnessed the event. She stumbled a little, brushed her hair out of her face and walked nonchalantly between the bookshelves. Harry followed her, glancing around to make sure he didn't walk into anybody, which wasn't too difficult, as there were very few people about. He assumed the fifth and seventh year students who would normally be taking up the entire library were probably having exams right at this very moment.

Suddenly, Hermione stopped, and positioned herself between one of the shelves, pretending to look for a book.

"Is that him?" she whispered, jerking her head in the direction of some study desks nearby. Harry turned to look and saw a boy sat at one of the desks, his greasy hair tied back in a plait, his posture hunched as he read of one many books he had arranged on the desk.

"Yep," Harry whispered back, "that's him."

Hermione blanched.

"What do I do? I can hardly just sit next to him and ask him about the weather!" she hissed.

Harry watched as the teenage Snape got up and walked towards them, stooping as though he were apologising for his height.

"No need," Harry replied, "he's coming this way."

"What!" Hermione exclaimed, albeit quietly, but it was too late for her to get any more concerned, for the boy had almost reached the area of the bookshelf Hermione was stood in front of.

"Excuse me," he said, brusquely, to Hermione, who smiled genially.

"Yes?" she asked. Snape's facial expression didn't change.

"I need to get to the shelf you're standing in front of," he replied. Hermione blushed, and consequently shifted herself out of the way of the bookshelf she was standing in front of.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Snape bent down to reach one of the books that was level with Hermione's knee. Hermione, much to Harry's chagrin, just stood there and looked at the floor, clearly unwilling to try and strike up a conversation with the surly boy.

Harry nudged Hermione's left knee, in the hope of rousing her into some sort of action. He partially succeeded, for he did rouse her into action. However, the action he roused her into involved her jumping a mile from shock, and smacking her right knee straight into Snape's nose, who winced in pain and put a hand to his face in response. Hermione put her hands to her mouth in horror, and knelt down beside him.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" she exclaimed, flapping around him in concern. Snape gave her a disparaging look.

"It's all right, I'm sure I've got another nose somewhere," he replied, sardonically.

"Is it bleeding?" Hermione asked, to which Snape shook his head.

"It just feels twice the size, that's all," he replied. Hermione giggled anxiously.

"Oh, well, that's a relief," she said, quickly, "though twice that size must be a weight to carry..."

There was a moment of palpably exquisite discomfort between Hermione and Snape, Harry noticed, where the one realised what they had said, and the other realised what had been said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from!" Hermione beseeched, in what Harry thought was a poor attempt at back-pedalling. Snape seemed to agree, as he merely rolled his eyes and turned to leave their company. Harry groaned silently at Hermione's nervousness, for it really wasn't helping matters in the slightest, and nudged her again into attempting to repair the damage.

"Please, I'm very sorry, I'm just nervous being here," Hermione flustered, grabbing Snape's arm gently to stop him from walking away. Harry thought he was going to pull angrily away from her, but instead he turned around and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Well, you've managed to almost break my nose, and certainly dent my pride, in the space of five minutes, let's see what damage you can do next?"

Hermione turned red and looked at the floor, at which Snape smiled cynically and picked up a book from the shelf nearest him. Hermione noticed the cover and looked interested.

"Oh, 'The Curse of Ministry Regulation'?" she enthused, reading the title of the book out loud. Snape looked at her.

"You've read it?" he asked, clearly unconvinced. Hermione nodded.

"Yes, last year actually- the history of curse and jinx regulation throughout the past three centuries..."

"What did you think of it?" Snape asked, in a tone that smacked of testing Hermione's knowledge.

"Actually, I thought it incredibly biased and definitely in favour of self-preservation and possibly the Dark Arts," she replied, disapprovingly. Snape said nothing, and just continued to look at her. Hermione began to look increasingly uncomfortable under his stern gaze.

"Oh dear, now you're going to tell me your father wrote it, or something..."

"Actually, it was my great-grandfather," Snape replied, putting the book under his arm. "Though I agree wholeheartedly with you."

Hermione exhaled in relief, which caused a definite smile to tug at Snape's lips.

"It's a conversation, you know, not an exam," he replied, a little more gently. Hermione looked up at him.

"You're just like..." She faltered a little, and Harry saw with a groan that she was very close to saying he was just the same as he is twenty years into the future.

"You're just like one of my professors at Durmstrang. You make me feel quite nervous. Plus, you're tall," she added, conversationally.

She recovered well, Harry thought, as he saw Snape smile once again.

"It'll be the shoes," he joked, pointing at the platform heel boots he was wearing. "They're all the rage in wizarding Great Britain now; you can see they've even raised the shelves in the library to accommodate for the sudden five inches of height every student here has acquired by wearing them," he added mischievously. Hermione laughed, at which he raised his palms in mock defence.

"You laugh now, but just wait, you'll get them in Durmstrang soon enough, and then you'll need step ladders to reach the books on the lowest shelf," he teased.

Suddenly, he looked a little perturbed.

"I'm sorry, in all the pain, I forgot to introduce myself; I'm Severus," he explained, and held out his hand. Hermione shook it.

"I'm H... Florence, it is nice to meet you," she replied, quickly. Snape smiled.

"And you're from Durmstrang," he added. Hermione looked a little surprised.

"How... oh," she giggled, before continuing. "The robes are distinctive, yes?"

Snape looked her up and down, surveying the robes.

"Well, red and furry isn't the specified uniform here at Hogwarts," he replied. "Although, the fact you said I reminded you of your professor at Durmstrang gave it away."

Hermione blushed crimson.

"Oh yes, so it would," she replied. Snape grinned at her.

"I just pick up on these subtle hints," he teased. He looked briefly at the floor, then the wall, before meeting her eyes again.

"So, what brings you here, anyway?" he asked. Hermione smiled in what Harry could tell was palpable relief at knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"My governess seems to think that, what with things being how they are over Europe because of V..." She quickly corrected herself, before saying, "You-Know-Who and everything, it might be, erm, prudent, for me to move to a school less... active in teaching the Dark Arts."

"Sounds daft to me- if anything, nowadays you'd want to know more," Snape replied. Hermione shrugged.

"Well, your opinion is evidently not shared by my governess," she replied, acerbically, which caused Snape to laugh.

"Oh, you poor little rich girl," he mocked. His expression suddenly darkened.

"I didn't think Hogwarts accommodated transfer students," he remarked. Hermione smiled weakly.

"I did not know one way or the other- it is possible that my governess has pulled a few strings," she replied. Snape nodded approvingly.

"True," he replied.

There were a few moments of mildly uncomfortable silence, which were then broken by Snape.

"So, what do you think of Hogwarts, then?" he asked. Hermione shrugged.

"I have seen very little of it, so far. My governess is currently speaking to the headmaster, I believe, and has simply told me to go and look around. I'm afraid I don't know where to begin," she said, pointedly, and Harry inwardly cheered her move to get Snape to stay by her side.

The boy in question looked straight at her.

"Well, I'm not doing much, I could show you around, if you'd like," he offered. Hermione beamed.

"That would be lovely," she replied, enthusiastically.

"And, if you do end up being taught here with our lack of curricular Dark Arts, I could always show you a thing or two in the art of self-tutoring," he added, with a raised eyebrow that suggested he was involved in something altogether not above board. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him in response.

"You do move quickly, Severus," she replied, coquettishly. Snape looked a little bashful.

"I meant I have some books that might be of use," he replied. Hermione looked embarrassed only briefly, for she soon gave him a teasing smile.

"That's a pity," she replied, "for I think I might be rather interested in exactly what you could teach me here."

"You brazen hussy!" Harry thought with a broad smile, as he saw Snape turn the colour of Hermione's robes and gestured for her to link her arm with his.

"I've got all day, you know, so whatever you want to see, just ask," he said.

Harry couldn't believe it- oh to be a girl! With less than twenty words, Hermione had guaranteed that Snape would not leave her side for the entire afternoon. He was impressed, until he was struck with the grim realisation that he himself would be in danger of such subterfuge from the entire female sex until the day he died.

Then something happened that completely took his mind off such vulnerabilities. He spotted his own father and Sirius loitering in the doorway of the library, having recognised them from when he saw them in Snape's Pensieve last year. They were a year older now, but that made little difference to either their looks, or his dad's wayward hair, that he appeared to be desperately trying to flatten down by spitting on his hand and pressing it against his head. It did little good, for it still stuck up at the back.

"She isn't here, let's go..."

"Sirius, you haven't even gone in!"

"You're the one who fancies the Evans girl, James, not me. Anyway, this place gives me the creeps!"

"Why, is it all the books with small print in them?"

"Nah, it's all the weirdoes reading them on a day like this... Ooh, hang about."

Harry heard Sirius' ranting stop, then suddenly realised why. He was staring in their direction, and for a moment thought he had spotted Snape, but then noticed that he couldn't possibly have, for the way the bookshelves were arranged, Snape would have been obscured from view.

Hermione, however, wouldn't have been, and Harry soon cottoned on to the fact that it was her who had distracted Sirius.

"Check out the Slavic beauty. Hang on, mate," Sirius said, clapping James on the back, who stood in the doorway of the library, looking stunned.

"Sirius..."

"What? I like foreign girls!" he protested, before casually making his way over to where Hermione was stood talking to Snape.

"You've never met any foreign girls!" James shouted back, and was soon met with a barrage of 'shush' noises from the students nearby who were trying to work.

"Hello, there," Sirius drawled, leaning one arm casually against the bookshelf and ran his fingers through his irritatingly well-behaved hair. Harry had to admit he did look very handsome, if somewhat cocky.

Hermione turned to look at him, and Harry saw a gleam of fleeting recognition in her eyes.

"Hello," she replied, courteously, before turning back to her discussion with Snape. It was at this point the two boys saw each other, and Harry suddenly felt the temperature drop by about five degrees.

"Snape."

"Black."

The acknowledgements were almost a battle cry, for the two had instantly whipped out their wands and were about to fight right there and then. Harry backed quietly into a bookcase in order to avoid getting discovered in the resulting struggle, and he saw Hermione back into Snape and grip his arm tightly.

"What is going on?" she demanded, hotly.

"Personal feud," Snape replied, shortly. Sirius smiled at Hermione.

"Yeah, nothing for you to worry about. What's your name?" he asked, that charming smile still plastered to his face. Snape looked furious.

"Florence," Hermione replied, affably. Sirius held her hand in his, but did not shake it.

"What a lovely name," he replied. "I'm Sirius. I see from your attire you're not from Hogwarts?"

Snape rolled his eyes in contempt, but Hermione remained polite and innocent of Sirius' attention.

"No, I am from Durmstrang," she replied. Sirius smiled.

"Wow, you must be quite warm in those heavy robes, isn't it uncomfortable? I could always help you with them," he offered, wiggling his eyebrows. Hermione shook his head.

"No, I am quite alright. I am using a cooling charm," she replied, and Harry saw that every muscle in Snape's face had been given over to inhibiting his laughter. Sirius, however, looked a little bemused, but undaunted.

"Listen, anyway, I was just in the area and wondered if perhaps you might need a friendly guide to show you around our hallowed seat of learning," he said, gesturing for her to take his arm. Hermione smiled.

"Thank you, Sirius, but Severus has already kindly offered to do the very same thing," she replied, looking up at Snape warmly, who suddenly appeared to have straightened his back, and looked two inches taller for it. Sirius' expression did not falter.

"That's nice," he said in a tone that suggested it was anything but. "You can still come with me though- it's not like you've made a promise you're honour-bound to keep. It's entirely up to you."

"Perhaps," Snape said, pointedly, "Florence is perfectly happy with my offer?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yes, I am," she agreed. Sirius' eyes narrowed a little, though his smile remained intact.

"I was merely suggesting, Florence, that perhaps I might be able to show you more than Snape here could," he added. Though he said these words to Hermione, Harry noticed he was glaring at Snape as he did so, who bristled visibly.

"Want to put money on that, Black?" he sneered, with malice in his voice.

"Oh, please, I could show Florence here things you'd never even heard of!" Sirius boasted.

"I could show her things you've never even dreamt of," Snape countered.

Hermione, Harry could see, wasn't sure whether she should be trying not to laugh or not to be sick, and he couldn't blame her, for the sight of Harry's late godfather and their Potions professor puffing up their chests over her as though she were a particularly attractive Zebra finch was quite ludicrous. Eventually she interjected herself between the two boys, who were clearly squaring up for a proper fight.

"Please, please, there is no need to fight. Thank you very much for your offer, Sirius, but I am going with Severus," she said, kindly, but firmly. Sirius shrugged.

"Fair enough- your loss, though," he replied, before walking off in the direction of James, who Harry noticed had been watching the whole affair from a distance, and looked equally amused and embarrassed. From the look on Sirius' face, he was quite bewildered.

"What just happened?" Sirius asked. James looked at him.

"Leave it, Sirius, she wasn't interested," he replied. Sirius' expression darkened.

"No, I can't just leave it- why in Merlin's name did she turn me down for him?"

James shrugged.

"Haven't a clue- you didn't happen to see Lily, did you?"

Sirius sighed.

"No, I didn't- why him?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes! It's not really that she didn't pick me; it's the fact that she picked him over me. It's the principle of the matter!" Sirius replied, clearly outraged. James sighed heavily.

"What principle?"

Sirius faltered, obviously trying to think of an adequate explanation.

"The principle of... the principle of me being superior to Snivellus!"

James rolled his eyes.

"Right. Can we please go and find Lily now?"

"Okay, okay..."

The two walked through the doorway and out of the library, but not before Harry distinctly heard Sirius complain, "I don't know what she sees in him!"

Hermione linked her arm with Snape's and smiled.

"Right, so where shall we start first?" she asked. Snape smiled.

"Well, seeing as you have now seen the library, perhaps the Great Hall might be a good idea- the ceiling is enchanted to reflect the sky outside, you know..."

He continued on in this vain, Hermione smiling and nodding in all the right places at a commentary that might have been fascinating if you hadn't spent almost six years studying in the place he was describing. She leant over her shoulder and mouthed the words, "Like peacocks!" to Harry, referring to Sirius and Snape, and it was all Harry could do to prevent himself from doubling up in laughter whilst following the pair out of the library. There really was nothing like the foreign girl to ensure mass flirtation and squabbling between any males over the age of fourteen, and he really did have a lot to learn from his sister, Harry thought with a smile.

Hermione and Snape had not walked very far down the corridor- indeed; Snape had only just finished describing the four Hogwarts houses- before they met with yet another distraction. This one caused Harry to ball his fists up in anger, though, and even Hermione blanched a little, though she clearly fought to keep her composure.

It was Bellatrix Black. Much younger, rounder and prettier than she had looked when she emerged from Azkaban, it was true, but it was her none the less. And she made a beeline for Snape.

"Severus, darling!" she exclaimed, kissing him lightly on both cheeks. Snape smiled at her amiably.

"Hi, Bella," he replied. She smiled, and suddenly noticed Hermione stood next to him, at which she raised her eyebrows.

"And who is this?" she asked, looking Hermione straight in the eye.

"I'm Florence," Hermione replied, as nicely as she could. Bellatrix smiled at her and shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Bellatrix," she replied, "but my friends call me Bella, and a friend of Severus' is a friend of mine, so..."

"Hello, Bella," Hermione said, at which Bellatrix laughed.

"I presume Severus has been boring you to tears about the history of Hogwarts," she teased, nudging Snape, whose eyes widened.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bella," he replied, sarcastically. Hermione giggled- something Harry had rarely seen her do in all their years as friends.

"Oh, no at all- Severus is a fascinating orator," she replied, smiling at Snape. Harry had to hand it to her- she was good at this subterfuge malarkey.

Bellatrix smiled again, before turning her attention back to Snape.

"Severus," she coaxed, "I do have a favour to ask you..."

"What is it?" Snape asked, clearly feigning irritation. Bellatrix held her hands behind her back and twisted her foot from side to side as though she were putting out an imaginary cigarette stub, all the while smiling at Snape in a way that Harry could only interpret as a coquettish one.

"Well, my sister Narcissa is getting married next weekend, and I've got to be bridesmaid- frightfully dull business. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be my escort for the evening?"

Snape eyed her suspiciously.

"What about Rodolphus?" he asked. "He is rather taken with you..."

Bellatrix giggled, and waved her hand to one side.

"Well, yes," she replied, as though it were an obvious conclusion to draw.

"And you like him."

Bellatrix blushed, and nudged Snape sharply in the ribs again.

"Yes, that's also true," she replied, grudgingly.

"So..."

"So, that's exactly why I mustn't ask him!" Bellatrix exclaimed. Snape looked completely confused, and Harry had to admit he didn't understand either. Bellatrix looked up to the ceiling and sighed heavily.

"Well, if I ask him, he'll know I like him, and so he won't make an effort, and I do so want him to make an effort. If I take you, he'll be very jealous, and appreciate me all the more," she explained patiently, as though Snape was a four-year-old child who had drawn a mural on the living-room wall in wax crayon, and she was the mother attempting to explain why it was a bad thing to do.

"Fine," Snape sighed, evidently still bemused. "But why exactly would he be jealous of me?"

"Because, darling, you happen to be much better at Potions and Dark Arts stuff than him, and he'll see you as a genuine threat to his manhood, on which I can capitalise."

Snape laughed and shook his head.

"You turn dating into a game of chess," he replied. Bellatrix smiled knowingly at him.

"You say that as though it's any less strategic," she giggled. Snape shook his head in a mixture of disdain and amusement.

"She's in Slytherin house, in case you hadn't guessed," he said to Hermione.

"Are you?" she asked Snape, who shook his head.

"I'm in Ravenclaw," he replied, at which Bellatrix laughed richly.

"Oh, yes, he's a very clever boy," she drawled, "but we've taken him under our wing. I suppose you could call him a Slytherin refugee," she replied, giggling at her own joke.

Hermione nodded in understanding.

"So, you are friends in different houses?" she asked. Bellatrix nodded.

"That's right- I know there are lots of stories about our four houses not getting on, but we're living proof of how wrong those stories can be," she replied, before turning her attention back to Snape.

"So, will you take me? To the wedding?" she asked, coyly, holding Snape's hands in her own, though at arms length. Snape rolled his eyes.

"Yes, fine, I'll go with you," he sighed, as though it were a heavy burden. Bellatrix beamed and brought his hands close to her face.

"Thank you," she replied, in a mocking manner, before kissing him on the knuckles of his right hand and turning to leave.

"Bye, Severus, bye, Florence, nice to meet you!" she said before she left.

"Likewise," Hermione called after her, but the girl did not turn around, which was perhaps just as well, for despite her kind words, Hermione appeared simply horrified by Bellatrix's appearance.

Snape looked exhausted, and offered Hermione a nervous smile.

"Sorry about that," he said, to which Hermione smiled.

"Not a problem," she replied, "she seemed... nice."

Snape laughed darkly.

"She is, but she's just a bit... flighty. She has this thing where she feels compelled to flirt with all of her male friends until they all fancy her like mad. I, so far, have yet to succumb."

"Do you think you ever will?" Hermione asked, grinning cheekily. Snape looked at her as though he were contemplating her words.

"I'm thinking I might. Anything for a quiet life," he replied, in jest.

"So, do you like it here?" Hermione asked, changing the subject. Snape looked astounded for a moment.

"Here? You mean Hogwarts?" he asked. Hermione nodded.

"Yes," she confirmed. Snape appeared uneasy.

"I'm perhaps the wrong person to ask if you're interested in how happy you might be at Hogwarts," he replied, finally. Hermione's brow furrowed.

"You do not like it here?" she probed. Snape sighed heavily.

"Let's just say I hope the old adage isn't true."

"What's that?"

"That your schooldays are the best days of your life," he replied, swiftly. Hermione's expression softened at his words, to the point of appearing a little sorrowful. Unfortunately, Snape noticed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her in concern. Hermione nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine, just a little... I'm fine," she said, nervously. Snape shrugged.

"If you say so..."

"I do," Hermione reiterated, and flashed him a smile. "So, I don't suppose you would be able to show me the Ravenclaw Common Room? I imagine one common-room is much the same as another, and it would give me a good idea as to how the students here are treated," she said, changing the subject.

"Of course, yes, that does make sense," he replied.

Hermione looked apologetically at Snape.

"I am sorry to keep you cooped up in the main building on a lovely day like this..."

"Not a problem," Snape replied, swiftly.

Hermione looked up and down the corridor.

"So, which way do we go?" she asked. Snape pointed towards Ravenclaw tower.

"That way," he replied, gesturing for her to follow him, and she did.

"I don't suppose you would show me the Great Hall afterwards? That sounds fascinating," she said, amiably, until both she and Snape were too far away for Harry to hear their conversation. On picking up Hermione's rather obvious hints of where they were going to spend that afternoon, he ran as fast as he could out onto the school grounds to find either Augustine, Tonks or Persephone.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: ...And Then A Step to the Right

It took Harry a while to find the remaining members of the rescue mission; when he did, he spotted Augustine and Persephone crouched behind some bushes, watching something with peculiar interest.

"Hi, I'm back," Harry announced, at which they both jumped.

"Oh, Harry, it's you. You frightened the death out of me!" Augustine exclaimed.

"Do you bring good tidings?" Persephone asked, scrambling a little out of her hiding place beneath the bushes to look at the area she clearly presumed he was standing.

"Yep- Hermione's got Snape showing her around the inside of the castle, so if you can keep Faith outside, that ought to do it," he said. Persephone grinned.

"See, I told you it'd work!" she remonstrated.

"Yeah, she was good," Harry remarked. "A little too good actually..."

He trailed off, presuming now was not the best time to confide in his half-sister about his confusion over the many mysteries of girls.

It was about this time that he noticed Persephone and Augustine were watching the grass in front of them as though they were enthusiastic bird-watchers hoping to spot some rare species.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sceptically.

"Testing out Tonks," Persephone replied, without taking her eyes off the greenery in front of her. Harry looked where Persephone was looking and saw a lanky dark haired boy sitting about six feet away on the grass.

"No, that's not quite right, either," Persephone said in a stage whisper, miming with her hands. Tonks shrugged her shoulders theatrically. Persephone frowned.

"Bigger nose, bigger!" she stage whispered back, pulling at her nose with her right hand. Tonks screwed up her face and Harry watched the boy's nose get bigger and bigger, until Persephone put up her hand, and Tonks stopped.

"It's more hooked than that," Augustine commented. Persephone attempted to mime this to Tonks by pointing at her nose, then drawing an exaggerated bend in mid-air with the same finger. Eventually, Tonks cottoned on to the appalling mime, and screwed up her face once more until she achieved the desired effect, at which she stood up.

"Taller, taller!" Persephone whispered, putting her hands together then moving them apart to demonstrate an increase in size. Tonks' eyes widened, and her expression was rather nonplussed. She pointed to her crotch and raised an eyebrow. Persephone shook her head wildly.

"No, no, no- taller!" she hissed, emphasising the word 'taller' with exaggerated mouth movements, whilst pointing at the sky. Tonks appeared to have clicked, and screwed up her face whilst she began to steadily increase in height. Persephone motioned for her to stop when she reached the required height, and she did so.

Harry was stunned. Tonks really did make a convincing looking teenage Snape. In fact, it was quite disconcerting to look at. Persephone mimed a 'thumbs-up' gesture at her.

"Perfect!" she whispered.

"Erm, why are you whispering?" Harry asked. "Even if the students hanging around can't hear you, they'll certainly notice Tonks changing her appearance over there."

"We've used a partial concealment charm on the area," Persephone explained. "We needed to see that Tonks looked exactly how she should- she had no idea, what with being only two or three when Severus was seventeen. However, we had to trade-off as far as a concealment spell went, as we daren't use anything too complicated outside of our own time- it could prove disastrous. Consequently, we can be overheard, if not seen, hence the miming, and me wishing that charades had been a more popular Christmas game in our home."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Right, I think we're about ready to remove the charm and let Tonks do her work," Persephone announced. She muttered a charm, and Harry felt a sudden rush of warmth spread through the air. Tonks sat on the grass underneath a tree and began to read a book, and was generally unnoticed by the passing students.

"Come on, Faith," Persephone whispered under her breath.

Harry looked around to see if he could see the girl, but she was nowhere about. However, he became dimly aware of recognisable voices that were steadily increasing in volume. Looking across at where the voices were coming from, Harry recognised the forms of his father and Sirius, who were accompanied by two others- one was gaunt with brown hair, the other was shorter with mousy hair. Harry swallowed a lump in his throat as he recognised them as Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, respectively.

"...Oh, he's off again- for God's sake, Sirius, just give it a rest, will you?" James sighed.

"James! Just because you had a successful conversation with Lily Evans doesn't give you the right to lord it over us less fortunate in the battle field of love!" Sirius remonstrated.

"Battle field of love? That's a bit of a melodramatic description, for trying to flirt with the foreign girl," Lupin remarked, casually, at which James and Peter laughed out loud. Sirius remained unimpressed.

"Just hear me out, Remus. It was a choice, right, between him and me, and she picked him! I just don't get it? Why Snivellus, of all people? Was it mystic sorcery hitherto unknown by us?" he asked, clearly utterly bemused by what had taken place in the library.

"Perhaps it was because the first impression she got of you was you sticking your wand in the face of a bloke she had been chatting to for, well, however long she'd been chatting to him?" Peter offered, amiably. Sirius swatted him on the arm.

"Yeah, thanks, Peter- were you there when it happened? How do you know if I came across more like a rabid psychopath than a suave sophisticate?"

"Probably because you've related the story to us that many times already, we feel as though we were there ourselves," Lupin pointed out.

"Plus, James has filled us in on any, ahem, inaccuracies," Peter added, with an impish smile.

Suddenly, Sirius stopped.

"Look," he whispered, "there's the greasy git himself!"

He rolled up his sleeves.

"Right, I'm going to do for him, no mistaking- I'll teach him," he announced, striding off towards the tree where Tonks was sat. Lupin grabbed his arm.

"Sirius, can't you just leave it?"

"No!"

"Not even after what happened the last time you planned to 'teach him'?" Lupin looked a little pale. Sirius stared at him in defiance, which soon gave way to an expression of awful realisation.

"Remus, I'm... I'm sorry," he stammered, but Lupin just shook his head and backed away, before turning on his heel and running off.

"Oi, Remus! I'm sorry!" Sirius shouted after him, but to no avail. He kicked a stone in anger and ran both his hands through his hair.

"Merlin, I'm an idiot," he seethed.

"Nobody's arguing with you here," James said, though with a little softness in his voice.

Having eagerly watched their entire conversation, Harry became rather concerned when he saw the path that they were taking. They were going to walk right towards Tonks disguised as Snape. Persephone had also noticed this.

"Oh, nadgers!" she exclaimed. "We need to get those kids out of there! Augustine?" she tapped Augustine on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hmm?" he replied.

"Keep an eye on the situation, I'm going to attempt to remove them," she replied, ducking quickly behind a tree, adjusting her cloak and then walking purposefully out towards James, Sirius and Peter.

Harry watched as she tapped his father on the shoulder, who whirled around in bewilderment.

"Excuse me, young gentlemen?" Persephone asked, in what Harry thought was an astonishingly accurate Slavic accent.

"Yes?" James and Sirius replied, simultaneously.

"Haff you seen a young girl, about so high?" Here, Persephone gestured with her hand to a point just below her shoulder, which Harry recognised as being around the same height as Hermione.

"Brown hair, big hair?" she continued, miming what looked to Harry like a goldfish bowl around her head.

"Red robes, no?" she offered. At this statement, Peter tugged on Sirius' sleeve.

"That sounds like Florence," he said.

"Yeah," Sirius answered, "we saw that girl in the library a while ago."

Persephone clapped her hands.

"Excellent. I am sure she vill still be there, she loffs books ever so much. I shall just go and..." She began to fiddle in the pockets of her robes, giving the impression of looking for something, when finally she clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Oh, stupid me, I haff forgotten my pass key, so I cannot get into the building. If I tried to, I think that I vill explode or something... your Deputy-Head was rather cryptic about it. I don't suppose you boys could go and get it for me? I left it in the Great Hall, I think," she asked. Sirius and James looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Sure," they replied, though not exactly in chorus.

"Thank you ever so much, I shall vait here, in case I go and lose myself as vell." She laughed at this heartily, though Sirius and James looked confused.

"Thank you, boys," she finished, as they walked off towards the Great Hall, Sirius muttering under his breath, "I don't know what she sees in him, that Florence girl!"

Persephone, on the other hand, had wiped her brow with a look of relief on her face.

Harry realised that at least the appearance of the infamous marauders had explained away one mystery for him. Sirius Black's letter to Hermione from the reading had said 'I don't know what you saw in him!' Clearly it was meant for 'Florence' instead, and Harry made a mental note to tell Hermione of this as soon as he got an opportunity. He sighed- of all the things to think about just before you die!

The whole affair soon mattered nought to Harry, for he saw out of the corner of his eye, a small blonde girl with pigtails and a bright gleam in her eyes run towards Persephone.

"You thought that Metamorphagus would fool me? Not a chance, and I will find him, and I'll stop all the pain- don't try to stop me!"

"Faith, please, don't do this, you'll change everything!" Persephone pleaded.

"Well, yeah, that's the plan," she spat, sarcastically.

"She means you'll change everything else, too. The Brethren itself, for starters, and the death toll will increase if you change his position in the war," Augustine added, walking carefully towards Faith, who soon realised she was surrounded.

"We don't want to hurt you," Persephone reasoned. Faith laughed.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you won't," she retorted. Persephone sighed.

"You know me too well, eh?" she said, with a wry smile. Faith glared at her.

"I thought I did," she seethed.

Persephone appeared wounded by Faith's words, but their discussion was ended abruptly by an odd banging noise in the distance.

"What was that?" Tonks asked, having shaken off her Snape disguise and now resembling the same unremarkable blonde fifth-year Hogwarts student she had in Flourish and Blotts back in August. Persephone narrowed her eyes.

"It sounds familiar..." She trailed off, as a bright green light was visible in the distance. Augustine looked shocked.

"No... even they wouldn't attack a school... would they?" he asked, hollowly. Harry shook his head, though nobody saw him do so under his Invisibility Cloak, so he decided to speak up instead.

"Hagrid always said that the Death Eaters never dared to attack the school, because of Dumbledore!" he said. Persephone grimaced.

"Well, Albus isn't here," she replied. "When I went to find him, Professor McGonagall was there, I had to convince her I had arranged an appointment with him, and she's not the most trusting of women."

"So that's why it took you so long," Tonks commented, before pointing up at the sky. A green skull was clearly visible there a distance away.

"Can't we stop them?" Harry pleaded. Persephone shook her head.

"We can't meddle with time. We've no idea what'll happen," she said, quietly.

"Well, what do we do, then?" Harry asked, impatiently. Persephone exhaled sharply.

"Well, I suggest we go and get bladdered, 'cause I'm all out of ideas," she replied, tartly.

"They must be just outside the grounds," Tonks said, in an empty voice. Augustine was stroking his chin with his right hand.

"I remember Alex mentioning the students being really scared of seeing that mark over there," he mused. Persephone turned towards him on hearing this.

"She went to Beaubaxtons," she said, sharply. Augustine smiled.

"She had a pen-pal that was in his second year here in 1977... Bill, I think his name was...."

Persephone grabbed him by the front of his lapels.

"Holy Minister on a see-saw, why didn't you tell me this sooner!" she cried. Augustine politely removed her hands from his chest and brushed himself down, all the while giving her a querulous look.

"Careful with the lapels, please, Persephone, it does take a long time to starch them properly," she cautioned. Persephone looked apologetically at him.

"Sorry," she said, "but this is rather urgent!"

"What have you got in mind?" Tonks asked, shooting Persephone a wry glance.

"I'm thinking that if Voldemort has never attacked this school, and the only time he did was when Albus wasn't around, then something must have happened that scared him enough to prevent him sending his forces out here again. Albus can't have been here twenty-four hours of every day, especially with the Order," she mused. Tonks grinned and nodded in realisation.

"What?" Harry asked impatiently. "What happened that ensured they never attacked?"

"Us," Tonks replied, swiftly. Persephone gave her a lop-sided grin.

"I think you may be right," she added.

Harry glanced across at Faith, who was standing rigid, staring up at the skull that glowed eerily in the bright blue sky. She had balled her hands into tight fists and looked furious.

"Bastards," she hissed, through clenched teeth. Persephone shot her a brief look.

"Faith? Want to come and kill some Death Eaters?" she asked, though without looking at Faith.

"Sure, but I still don't like you anymore," Faith retorted, not looking at Persephone once, before following Tonks as she walked towards the edge of the school grounds. Persephone sighed, and Augustine put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just give her time," he whispered, before following Tonks and Faith. Persephone nodded, then turned around.

"Harry?" she called. Harry tugged her sleeve.

"I'm here," he replied.

"Can you go and find Hermione? Let her know what's happened?"

"Sure," Harry replied. "Where shall I meet you?"

Persephone's eyes narrowed.

"Back in the school. You are not, under any circumstances, to come out to where we are, do you hear me?"

Harry nodded sulkily, then on seeing Persephone still waiting for a reply, quickly said, "Yes, I hear you."

Persephone smiled.

"Good lad. See you soon," she said, before following Augustine, Faith and Tonks.

Harry ran through the Hogwarts building, but Hermione was nowhere to be found. He shuddered at the thought that she and Snape might be hanging around in the Ravenclaw common room. Briefly wondering if it would be worth trying to guess the password, he decided against it, and instead ran along the corridor to check the Great Hall one more time.

He ground to a half as he saw a small group of girls giggling and chatting walking towards him, and sighed with relief when he didn't collide straight into them.

One of the girls suddenly stopped.

"Did you hear something?" she asked, looking around. Harry froze in dread as the other two looked around.

"I didn't hear anything, Tessa," a small, mousy-haired girl replied.

"It was probably just the wind," a girl with dark red hair added, looking behind her to make sure. Her eyes met Harry's, though she couldn't see, and Harry felt his heart hammer against his breastbone.

It was his mother at seventeen. What was all the more shocking was that it was his mother at seventeen, who had given birth to his sister two years ago, and nobody knew.

"Ooh, what did James have to say for himself, Lily?" the mousy-haired girl asked. Lily sighed heavily.

"He asked me out." She rolled her eyes. "Again."

Tessa and the mousy-haired girl stared at her, gobsmacked.

"What did you say?" Tessa practically squealed. Lily sighed.

"I said I'd think about it."

The mousy-haired girl swatted her on the arm.

"You nit-wit! You told James Potter, Gryffindor Quidditch Chaser, that you'd think about it?"

"Well, he has been a lot nicer this year, but I still don't know- he's just so horrible sometimes!"

Tessa wrinkled her nose.

"To whom? I can only think of that weird Ravenclaw boy, Severus Snape..."

"Isn't that enough?" Lily asked. Tessa shrugged.

"I suppose it is a little mean... but Lily, you know he really is scary. Diana had potions classes with him in fourth year, and she told me once, when they were dissecting their frogs' bladders, he was skinning his frogs and sneaking the skins into his bag! Come on, Lily, that isn't normal behaviour," she reasoned. Lily blanched a little.

"Well, maybe not," she agreed, "but that still doesn't make it okay to just... humiliate him. In front of all the school!"

Tessa looked at the floor.

"S'pose not," she replied. The mousy-haired girl looked deep in thought.

"Severus Snape?" she asked. Tessa rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, Sylvia! You must know who he is! Lanky bloke, black greasy hair, big nose, rarely blinks, was Lily's dance partner for that competition in our fourth year..."

Sylvia clicked her fingers.

"Oh, him!" she said, in realisation, before she started giggling.

"What is it?" Tessa asked.

"Do you remember a couple of years ago, when little Penny Bancroft developed a crush on him?"

"Aww, the third year Hufflepuff Seeker?"

"Yeah, well, she was in the first year then. She kept following him around in the library, sending him really bad poetry... He was so horrible to her! Here, Lily, you're complaining about what James and Sirius did to him last year. Do you know what he did to this poor little girl?"

Lily raised her eyebrows in interest.

"What?" she asked. Sylvia raised her eyebrows in a gesture of disapproval.

"He hexed her with a bubblegum charm- she was covered in this pink goo all day, and kept sticking to every surface she touched. The teachers had a terrible job getting her out of it- the poor girl was in tears. I think the little china kitten she had charmed to meow a little love poem at dinnertime had been the straw that broke the dromedary, if you get my drift. He got into dreadful trouble for it- Dumbledore was furious..."

Lily looked outraged.

"Oh, so that's what he got into trouble for!" she exclaimed. Tessa and Sylvia looked bewildered.

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked.

"The dance thing. He said he was only partnering me because Dumbledore had asked him to, as he'd got into trouble... Ooh, how mean!" Lily seethed. Tessa looked at her.

"Yeah, but it was a meowing china kitten. I think I'm on Severus' side with this one..."

"Oh, don't say that to Lily, now she'll have another excuse to defend him- anyone would think you were the one with a crush on him," Sylvia teased. Lily looked askance at her.

"Don't be daft," she exclaimed.

"Ooh, who's got a crush on who?" a burly blonde girl coming down the corridor asked, eagerly. Lily rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Nobody's got a crush on anyone, Bertha," she replied.

"We were just teasing Lily about Severus Snape. She's far too nice- you know she's still standing up for him, even after what he called her last year..."

"I think he was just angry..."

"That's no excuse," Bertha interrupted, haughtily. "Now, if I'd have been Head Girl, I'd have sorted him out. You know, thanks to my illness last year, I thought I might get a second bite of the cherry this year; perhaps get to be Head Girl this time around instead. Oh well," she sighed. Then, her eyes gleamed and she glanced surreptitiously around the corridor.

"Here, speaking of Severus Snape!" she gestured for the three to come closer to her, which they did. "You'll never guess what I just saw."

"What?" Tessa asked eagerly. Bertha smiled.

"Well, you know I don't like to repeat gossip..."

The three girls sniggered at this, until Bertha looked at them commandingly, at which they quietened down.

"Like I was saying, I don't like to repeat gossip, so listen carefully. Just five minutes ago, I saw that Snape boy, and guess who he was strolling arm-in-arm with?"

Sylvia's eyes widened to almost twice the size.

"Oh, do tell!" she begged. Bertha looked around once more, and whispered, but loudly enough for Harry to hear her words.

"He was with that Durmstrang girl, Florence Branimir!"

Tessa, Sylvia and Lily looked at each other, clearly nonplussed.

"Florence Branimir?" Tessa asked. Bertha rolled her eyes.

"Oh, honestly! Dumbledore apparently organised for this girl's governess to show Florence around Hogwarts. What with the war and everything, apparently the woman doesn't like the idea of her darling ward studying at Durmstrang anymore- and you do know what kind of reputation that place has- Dark Arts and Death Eaters all the way! In fact, I reckon Severus would fit right in there. Well, she seemed very attentive, if you get my drift. Anyway." She looked out of the window next to Tessa's head. "If I run, I might be able to see where they've gone. I'll see you later," she said, giving them a cheery wave as she made her way along the corridor.

Tessa and Sylvia giggled loudly.

"Ooh, Severus has got a girlfriend," Sylvia said, in a lilting singsong voice.

"I hope she doesn't try and touch his hair, it's so greasy, she won't be able to turn any doorknobs until she washes her hands," Tessa sniggered, evilly.

Harry noticed that his mother had remained oddly quiet about the whole affair, but realised if he wanted Hermione to remain in one piece, he needed to get outside and find her before she walked straight into a bunch of Death Eaters. With this thought, he snuck past the three girls and took off back down the corridor, in the direction of the main exit.

He saw Hermione and Snape walking towards the edge of the school grounds, and knew he had to act fast. There was no way he could shout to get Hermione's attention without shocking at least half the school by the sound of his disembodied voice, so instead he decided to try and throw something at her. Not a rock or anything, but maybe a few pebbles. If he did it often enough, she might realise that he was trying to warn her of an imminent, and black-robed, danger not thirty feet in front of her. In the very distance, if Harry squinted, he could see there was a struggle going on between the black-robed figures and four characters that would've looked odd to anyone other than Harry and Hermione. A tall, skinny woman with a long black plait was duelling speedily with one of the Death Eaters, a small man dressed as though he had just stepped out of a Renaissance painting was being hit repeatedly with Stunning Spells, which did very little to stun him, unless one of the side-effects of stunning somebody meant that they could pick you up above their head and throw you against the nearest tree. Meanwhile, a young woman with short pink hair was chasing two Death Eaters away from the school, though they were firing bolts at her from their wands at lightening speed, which she kept dodging. Another small girl with pigtails was attacking another Death Eater with what appeared to be quite violent curses, though she felt the need to skip around her opponent as she did so.

Very soon, Harry realised that warning Hermione was not going to be a problem, as most of the students who were outside had now seen the Dark Mark in the sky, heard the booming and crackling sounds that indicated unfriendly wand fire, and were consequently running all over the place, screaming and knocking each other over in desperate attempt to either get away to safety, or else to see what was going on. Teachers were rushing around, demanding everyone return to the school building and remain in their common rooms until further notice. If she couldn't figure out what was happening from the pandemonium around her, Harry reckoned she couldn't have achieved the twelve O.W.L.s she got last year, either. As the havoc continued, it became nauseatingly clear to Harry which of the students had seen the Dark Mark before, and knew of the consequences, and those which hadn't, and didn't.

Snape had frozen, mid-walk, and was clutching Hermione's hand. He stared up at the sky, then turned to look at the sudden pallor of her features.

"Florence," he said, firmly, "run."

Hermione didn't need telling twice, especially when a bolt of red light coursed through the air in their direction. Snape grabbed her, and threw her roughly to the floor. Harry saw red, and nearly tore towards them to exact revenge upon Snape for doing such a thing to his friend; but the torn sleeve of Snape's robes, and the glowing green scar throbbing angrily in the exposed flesh made him stop.

"What did you do that for?" Hermione yelled, as she pulled herself up off the grass. Snape glared at her indignantly.

"Well, excuse me for saving your life," he huffed, angrily, before trying to walk away. The action was impeded by Hermione having grabbed hold of his arm, and he did in fact drag her a small way across the ground as he tried to pull away whilst she obstinately held on.

"Your arm," she pointed out, once she had got his attention. Snape futilely pulled the torn cloth of his sleeve over the green scar in an attempt to hide it.

"It's nothing," he muttered. Hermione looked at him.

"It's clearly not nothing, you should see Madam... your school healer- where's the hospital wing?" she asked, in that stern manner Harry knew only too well. Snape pulled his arm away from her hand, and glared at her.

"I've been there far too much this past month- I'm certainly not showing my face there again," he replied, through gritted teeth.

"Why, what happened?" Hermione asked, suddenly curious. Snape stared at her murderously.

"None of your business," he snapped, crossing his arms defensively. Hermione exhaled sharply.

"Well, at least let me look at it!" she demanded. Snape snickered.

"Right, because you're a qualified Healer," he snorted. Hermione stared back at him, flushed in the face with vexation.

"No, but I do know rudimentary Healing spells- it's part of the curriculum in Durmstrang," she lied. Snape rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he said. Hermione looked around.

"We just need somewhere quiet to go, away from the teachers," she mused.

"The greenhouses are pretty deserted at this time of day," Snape suggested. Hermione held out her hand in as aggressive a manner as such an action can be carried out.

"Fine, then show me the way," she demanded. Snape obeyed her command, and they went off in the direction of the greenhouses. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and began to run towards where Persephone was, to tell her to keep the fight away from the greenhouses. Then he noticed that there was no way the fight would be able to spread that far, and around the same moment he saw Persephone hex one of the Death Eaters into violent convulsions, he remembered her stern warning. Not fancying the idea of making her angry, he decided it might be prudent to stay where he was.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry saw that the battle was no more. The Death Eaters had retreated, and the Dark Mark was no longer visible in the sky. Students began to cautiously exit the safety of the Hogwarts building, and Harry saw some of the teachers rushing about, clearly wondering what on earth had happened to make the Death Eaters retreat.

In the distance, Harry saw a younger McGonagall talking to a woman dressed in a thick black woollen cloak who was holding the hand of a small bushy-haired girl in red robes. Upon a little judicious squinting, Harry made the tall woman out to be Persephone, and the bushy haired girl to be Hermione. From the body language, it appeared the discussion was a little hostile, though he could hear little of it. Their figures were growing bigger though, so he judged they were walking towards him, and hoped he might be able to catch some of their conversation soon enough.

A sudden hard thud against the left side of his jaw jolted him from his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry, young Harry, I didn't see you there," said an embarrassed Augustine, who had walked straight into him.

"Well, that is the general idea," Harry replied, adjusting his Invisibility Cloak as Augustine was joined by Tonks and Faith, the latter of whom had taken to precariously walking along the cobble path next to the grassy patch upon which Tonks and Augustine were walking across.

"Step on a crack, break your mother's back," Faith lilted to herself, as she walked on tiptoe across each cobblestone. Harry ignored her.

"What are McGonagall and Persephone talking about?" he asked Augustine, who grimaced at his words.

"Persephone's attempting to elucidate exactly why her charge vanished throughout the Death Eater attack, and McGonagall is trying to elucidate exactly why a sudden Death Eater attack coincided with the arrival of Governess Korsivka," he replied, pointedly.

"You mean she suspects Persephone of initiating the attack?" Harry asked, incredulous. Augustine raised his eyebrows.

"Looks that way," he replied. Tonks joined in the conversation at this point.

"That may be a good thing, though," she said.

"How?" Harry asked, the disbelief in his voice poorly hidden. Tonks grinned.

"Because, it'll be a cast iron reason for little Florence to never grace the halls of Hogwarts again- would you send your charge to a school that accused you of working for Voldemort?" she asked, rhetorically, and Harry saw her point.

In fact, it appeared that Persephone had seen her point as well, for she and McGonagall were now close enough to Harry for him to be able to hear their conversation.

"...Are you accusing me of vhat I think you are, Professor?" Persephone blustered, in her Slavic accent. McGonagall looked at her sternly.

"I'm not accusing you of anything," she said, sniffily. "However, it does seem odd that the one day representatives from Durmstrang turn up to Hogwarts, so do a small group of Death Eaters. On the one day Professor Dumbledore isn't around- it is a little too coincidental."

At that point, Snape came running up to the group, panting a little from the exertion and clutching what appeared to be a heavy book of some description. Hermione glanced up at him shyly. Professor McGonagall fixed him with a somewhat stern glance.

"Mr. Snape, kindly occupy yourself somewhere else, you can see I'm busy," she remonstrated. Snape cowed a little at the tone of her voice, but remained where he was.

"I wished to speak with Florence, Professor," he announced. McGonagall narrowed her eyes.

"I assure you, Mr. Snape that there is no..."

"Oh, let the boy talk to her," Persephone snapped, "unless you believe she is going to lead him astray, on top of everything else!"

McGonagall sighed heavily.

"Fine, Mr. Snape, but make it quick!"

Snape smiled gratefully, and beckoned Hermione over. She followed him, and the two engaged in a short conversation that was spoken at too low a volume for Harry to be able to hear.

"Vell, I think I shall make it known right now that I haff no intention of sending my vard to such an ignorant, prejudiced school. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Professor!" Persephone raged at a now stunned McGonagall.

"Well, as we have never taken a transfer student on before, it shan't be unusual not to see her again," McGonagall huffed. Persephone fixed her with a furious glare.

"Florence, come!" she ordered, clicking her fingers, and Hermione beamed at Snape, before running back to Persephone, clutching at a big leather bound book with some sort of odd, silver design embossed across the front.

"Ve are going now, my dear," Persephone announced, placing her hand firmly on Hermione's back and pushing her towards the exit, and towards Harry, Augustine, Tonks and Faith, who were heavily obscured from view. Hermione managed to wave at Snape before McGonagall pointed towards the Hogwarts building, and Snape resentfully walked in the direction he had been ordered to, followed closely by McGonagall. Soon, nobody was in the area except for Persephone, Hermione, Harry, Augustine, Tonks and Faith. Harry noticed Faith was currently sitting cross-legged on the grass, and occupying herself by making a daisy chain.

"What's that, Hermione?" Harry asked, pushing gently at the book so that Hermione knew what he was referring to. She shrugged.

"Not sure; it's a book of some description," she replied.

"Did Severus give it you?" Tonks teased. Hermione blushed.

"Well, yes. He said it was sort of illegal to possess a copy in the UK, but the Eastern European legislation was different, and I would be well within my rights to own it. He wanted me to have it, rather than him have to go through the risk of selling it on the black market... can I keep it?" she asked, looking at Persephone, who frowned.

"Hmm, if you threw the book away in this time, Severus would be bound to find it, and I think he'd be a little insulted. Best take it with us- at least that way it will look as though the book made its way to Durmstrang. We'll check out exactly how illegal it is when we get back," she replied. Hermione beamed, and clutched at the book as though it were a cuddly toy.

"Shall we go?" Tonks asked. Persephone nodded.

"Grab those crystals around your necks, everyone, and get ready to use the spell," she commanded.

"I'm not coming," Faith sang, whilst making her daisy chain into a bracelet that wound around her wrist. Augustine grabbed her firmly by the arm.

"Yes you are, my dear," he scolded, and Faith blew a raspberry at him. Augustine dragged her up into a standing position, but she just hung off his arm, like a toddler who refuses to use its legs to walk another step and has to be dragged along by its weary mother. Eventually, she gave in and pulled out her wand as well.

"Right then, on the count of three- one, two, three..."

Everyone chanted 'Finite incantatem' simultaneously, save for Persephone, who chanted 'Dextera, sinistra; Finite incantatem' for the benefit of both her own transducing crystal and Augustine's. Harry felt the same nauseating feelings he had experienced on going back in time, but this time, when he opened his eyes, he was back in Faith's workshop.

Only there were a few more people standing there than had been when he left.