—————H—————

"You're... well, you're not forgiven, but I..." she stopped, turning around to look at her daughter and her other godson. They had been wide-eyed, and Hermione had assumed it was because they were terrified of her temper. But now, she realized, they had been wide-eyed because she looked like herself. She looked at the others in the room, Luna smiling serenely, Neville was squinting, Ginny stared, teary-eyed, seemingly unsure if this was a happy development or not, and Ron was slack-jawed.

"It was the Time-Turner, wasn't it?" Harry guessed, drawing her attention back to him. "When we were in the hospital wing, the last time I saw you. Something happened with it."

Before Hermione could answer, Severus' voice cut through the room. "I think it's best that this all stays in this room. That said, I will find Albus to discuss what has happened."

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry spoke before Severus could leave. "I was scared. I wasn't sure the Order would come, and we'd been waiting a while. I should have tried harder to keep him out, too."

Severus lingered at the door, wavering between saying something or walking out. He glanced at Hermione, then looked at Harry. "You have experienced how dangerous it is, how deadly it could be if it happens again," Severus said, and Harry nodded. "Then do better to keep him out. And perhaps you'll heed my word next time." And without another word, Severus walked out.

Hermione felt his magic coat the room, ensuring their conversation wasn't overheard or interrupted.

She sagged, filled with exhaustion. With a wave of her hand, she summoned a chair to her, sitting heavily.

"It was the Time-Turner," Harry repeated, though there was no question this time.

"Yes," she confessed. "You managed to send me back twenty years."

"And... and you couldn't come back?"

She shook her head. "You have to wait out the time, remember?"

"And you had to wait twenty years." He bowed his head.

"It wasn't so bad once I settled in. I missed you, of course, I missed all of you. But... I had a good life."

"You married Snape!" Ron shouted. "How was that a good life? If you had to marry anyone, why not marry Remus? Or Sirius?"

"I prefer not to be someone's beard," she confessed. "And I love Severus."

"You realize if she didn't love Snape, Rory wouldn't exist," Harry pointed out, and Ron paled further.

"Merlin, you're..."

"Slow on the uptake," Aurora snarked.

"So, you... you married Snape. And you... and Aurora."

"I have a brother, too, remember," she pointed out unhelpfully. "So that thing you're thinking? Had to have happened at least twice."

"Your parents," Ron said with disgust.

Aurora shrugged. "I'm not stupid enough to think that married couples only sit and hold hands."

"You knew my parents," Harry observed.

Hermione turned to look at him sadly. "I couldn't save them," she said regretfully. "Merlin knows I wanted to, but Dumbledore made me make an Unbreakable Vow when I arrived in 1974. I will confess, I never cared much for your father. He was too brash and too obnoxious for my taste. And your mother and me... Lily and I had our differences. We had our rows, but Lily was a dear friend, and I miss her every day. You're very much like her, you know? You may look like your father, but you have more than your mother's eyes. You have her heart."

"Remus always made it sound like they loved each other from the beginning," Harry said.

She smiled. "Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Your father most definitely loved your mother from first sight. Lily took much, much longer to come around. But when they finally did, they were happy, and they were in love."

Harry smiled, pleased with this insight.

"Snape," Ron said again, seeming unable to wrap his head around it. "He's such a git."

"That hasn't changed much since our youth, but he wasn't always one to me," she said, recalling the days before they could call one another friends.

"How did you deal with all that?" Ginny asked, sitting forward. "Your professors were suddenly your age."

Hermione shrugged. "I didn't at first. It was difficult. Seeing Harry's parents, knowing who they were, what was going to happen. Seeing Peter bloody Pettigrew being chummy with James. Sirius, whole and healthy. He still isn't quite recovered, but I don't think he ever will be. And Severus—"

"But he hates you!" Ron growled, rubbing at his bandaged arms. "He was always nasty to you!"

"Well, yes, I suppose he was as a teacher," Hermione replied, trying to recall. She did still have a vague recollection. But she also remembered thinking he hadn't wanted to be that way. And she did get a tremendous amount of "just because" flowers the year she started Hogwarts, continuing until she vanished. "But you must understand that I was a Muggle-born Gryffindor. On principle, he would have had to hate me for that reason alone."

"What house were you in back then?" Ginny asked.

"Gryffindor, still."

"So how was it different when you were a student?"

"I was never sorted in front of the school. It was presumed that Dumbledore placed me there because of favoritism. Considering how quickly Severus and I became friends, and then more, none of the Slytherins thought to question it."

"But you were Muggle-born, weren't you?"

"No. I posed as a pureblood. Just not one from around here."

"More than friends with Snape." Ron grimaced. Then it cleared and he appeared thoughtful. "Wait, so... did he know you weren't really pure-blood?"

Hermione heard Aurora snort behind her as she did. "Severus' mother was the one who taught me how to act like a pureblood. He knew, pegged it from the beginning. But he didn't care. His best friend was Muggle-born. Dumbledore wanted him to spy, to use the invitation to meet the Dark Lord and be part of his inner circle and become a Death Eater. It was never what he wanted."

"The rumors he wants the Defense position?" Ginny arched a brow.

"Partly true. Potions is his passion, but it does depress him that so many of you are utter bollocks," Hermione said, turning to smile over her shoulder at Neville.

"Got worse since you left," he said, voice still quivering a bit, but he at least attempted a grin.

"He also wants you all prepared. It's why he was willing to take the time with you over the hols."

"What do you mean Dumbledore asked you to make a Vow?" Harry asked. "And that he's the reason Professor Snape is a Death Eater?"

Hermione knew that look and took a deep breath to steel herself. Harry was hurt and angry and seemed to be pleading with her for something she wasn't sure she'd be able to give him.

"He did both. He didn't want me to accidentally change events. But he apparently peeked around and read my mind before I learned Occlumency."

"Mind reading is a Muggle phrase."

"Yes, well, old habits." Hermione grinned before sighing heavily. "And I will tell you everything, Harry, in great detail, but not now. All of you need rest, injured or not. And so, you're aware, this little... reunion, doesn't get any of you out of trouble. Sirius is here, and probably with Severus now, discussing proper punishment," she said, turning to look at her daughter and Draco. "And your mother must also be considering that while she waits at the cottage."

Draco didn't react to that. Aurora, at least, had the decency to look chagrined.

"Your parents are being spoken to," she said, rounding back on the Weasley siblings a moment. "And so is your grandmother," Hermione said to Neville, who turned a shade of green at the mere mention of the woman.

"I'm sorry, Mione," Harry said again. "Truly. I know now we should have given Professor Snape more time, that he does care, even if we weren't sure. That he was doing something about it. It's just, I read the papers, I saw all the 'mysterious' deaths, and knew... I know the Order wasn't doing anything about it, so we had to wonder..."

Hermione looked around the room as if she could see the wards she still felt. They were strong, and she knew that Severus had ensured that not even the headmaster could listen, even if there were any eavesdropping devices around. She looked at the children, all of them looking at her.

"Harry," she began, "you're absolutely right. If it were me there, the Order probably wouldn't have been sent to retrieve me. My death weighed against the possible loss of more important people, Order members. The greater good, in that instance, would not include me."

"But it would include me, right?" Harry said angrily. "I'm the Chosen One, so of course, had it been me, everyone would have tried to save me. They did, because I took everyone to the Ministry to save you. But if we weren't all together in that room, if, say, Luna or Draco had been in another room..."

"The Order wouldn't have been asked to retrieve them, no. Their priority would have been you."

Harry's face twisted in anger, his nostrils flaring as he looked away.

"But that doesn't mean a good number of us wouldn't have looked for them and done everything we could to get them," she said, and he looked at her in confusion. "Draco is my godson through Severus," she said, ignoring the choking sound from Ron. "You'd better believe that Albus-sodding-Dumbledore would not have stopped me rescuing him or Aurora. Luna may not be my child, but she is one of my daughter's best friends. One of your best friends. I would dig through rubble, face down a dozen Death Eaters, if it meant getting her back. Because the loss would break you. Break all of you. And you may all be children, and what you did was absolutely foolish, but you are going to be the leaders of this war, whether the powers that be like it or not. There's too much prejudice in the older generation. In my generation. There is still a stigma that lingers over all of us. Blood status. House loyalties. That doesn't seem to be a thing for you all."

"Except with Quidditch," Ginny murmured.

"Yes. But I know about the DA, I know you invited everyone, even if very few from any of the other houses showed up."

Harry seemed to think on that, a slight note of pride in his eyes as a smile began to play lightly on his lips.

"Still, you should never have put them in any danger."

"Yes, Mum," Harry mocked, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Rest, all of you," she said, earning murmurs of ascent and nods from them. She left the infirmary and leaned against the closed door, closing her eyes. Before she knew what was happening, she was quietly sobbing against the wood. Her energy was drained, and it was both a relief and not having her identity revealed to them. There were no more secrets from them, from Narcissa. This war was not going to be like the other. It wasn't going to be filled with glamorous gatherings for spouses to meet one another, all under the pretense that it was merely an evening with friends who all happened to know the Dark Lord. She may still have to walk a tightrope, but the chances that she would need to conceal her identity wasn't as likely.

But they were at war, and her daughter, her godsons, the people that were once her friends, were children about to enter said war whether she wanted them to or not. They'd had their first taste of it, and she her first taste of true fear for their safety. Only Luna truly walked away uninjured.

"Hermione," Severus said softly, and she felt his hands grip her arm and pull her toward him. Gently, he embraced her, fingers flicking toward the door as she sensed two people go past them. After a moment, she calmed down, and she pulled back to look at him. "Why are you crying?"

"For everything," she said, shrugging and shaking her head. "It was for everything. I think I was just finally processing everything."

Severus nodded. "Come, we'll go back to my rooms, and—"

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW HERMIONE WAS THIRTY-SIX! IF IT COMES FROM THE SNAKE LORD, YOU ASSUME IT'S A TRAP UNTIL SEVERUS SAYS OTHERWISE!"

Hermione and Severus stared at the door.

"Was that—?"

"Lupin," Severus confirmed. "Quite frankly, I expected Black to do the yelling."

"Reverting to last names again, are we?"

"Habit."

—————A—————

The change in the air as the end of the year approached was even more palpable than it had been the year before. Before, Harry had come back after vanishing, shouting that Voldemort was back, but this year, the Prophet confirmed his story. Aurora barely remembered who had been around when Harry had had his vision, but soon, with all of them in the hospital wing, word had spread that Harry was at the Ministry when Voldemort returned. That they were all there. And the fact that Draco had been with Harry, had been at his side the whole year, had many whispering about the Slytherins and their loyalties to the Dark Lord.

"I'm getting tired of the looks," Draco grumbled as they walked together through the castle to the Transfiguration courtyard. They'd passed a group of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who made no effort to hide the fact that they were staring at him.

The day before, it was confirmed that Uncle Lucius had been arrested and had been sent to Azkaban along with a couple other Death Eaters. His mother was reported missing when the Aurors went to tell her the troubling news, though it was rumored that Narcissa Malfoy wasn't just missing if her husband was Death Eater.

"How is it in your house?" she asked as the two of them slowly made their way down the stairs. Her ankle was still tender, and Draco's curse mark made it hard to breathe when he went too fast.

"Tense," he said with a hint of amusement. "I'm either being glared at with malice or confusion. No one's really talked to me, except Theo, but that was only after he got a letter from his dad. He recognized me, but Uncle Severus has kept you and Leo so well hidden from everyone but our family that I think your identity is safe. It's not like father shouted your name while we were there."

"No, but he did let me go. And whichever Death Eater caught me after him did, if they saw him let me go, they'd know I'm important ."

"Perhaps, but that's a bridge we'll cross when we get there. The Weasleys are utterly screwed, of course, but I think Luna is a mystery."

Aurora snorted. "A mystery for the time being. She's not exactly an inconspicuous blonde."

Draco snickered, and they finally made it to a landing. Turning, they spotted Harry, Ron, and Neville coming toward them.

Aurora peeked at Draco when Harry flashed him a bright, welcoming grin, and was happy to see him return the smile despite his faint blush.

"Here, Rory," Harry said as he darted up the stairs. "Can't be easy on either of you to be supporting each other." He went up to Draco's other side, lifting his arm to put around his shoulders as he slipped his arm around Draco's waist.

"Need a hand?" Neville offered when Aurora was free of Draco.

"No," she said, waving it off. "I'm fine, just a little—" she cut herself off with a gasp as she took her first step without her walking partner and her ankle couldn't hold her weight. "Okay, fine, a hand. But only if you're doing better yourself."

Neville grinned shyly as he tucked her arm in his elbow. "That stuff your dad gave me is disgusting, but it worked. Within a couple hours, the tremors stopped. I felt like I'd spent the day playing Quidditch, but aside from that, I'm fine."

She hadn't been sure why Neville, after facing an Unforgivable, had been released so quickly, along with Luna, Ginny, and Harry. She, Draco, and Ron had to stay a few extra days. But then, she hadn't really known what the potion her father gave Neville would do, and then she was in her own potion haze from the bone mender.

They continued through the castle, and Aurora noticed the glances here and there from others. By the time they made it to the courtyard, she was glad to be away from the staring.

"Next year should be interesting," Draco said as they joined Ginny and Luna.

"Why is that?" Ron asked. "Because now the world knows You-Know-Who's back? And we might get a professor who actually knows what they're doing?"

"Well, Umbridge won't be returning." Ginny smirked wickedly. "Rumor is she's leaving Britain altogether."

"At least until the markings fade," Neville said thoughtfully.

"They kept trying to test the quills at the Ministry." Ginny nodded. "Nothing happened. Just the word 'Dunderhead' appearing on the forehead of anyone who cheated."

"So that's the last of her, then," Ron said, brushing his hands together as if he'd been the one to send her off.

"At least here," Harry said. Then to Aurora, "Think your dad might teach next year? He knows what he's doing."

"No idea," she said with a shake of her head.

They were quiet, enjoying the sunshine.

"I keep thinking nothing can be stranger than the year we've just had," Harry said. "And then September rolls around, and it starts all over again."

"Would be nice to have an uneventful year," Luna agreed thoughtfully.

"No stones hidden in the castle," Ron wished.

"Or Riddle hiding on the back of a teacher's head," Harry said wistfully.

"Or cursed diaries containing him," Ginny whispered.

"Pet rats who are actually his minion." Ron scrunched his face.

"Accused murderers breaking into the castle," Aurora sighed.

"Deadly tournaments Potter gets roped into," Draco drawled.

"Makes this year seem tame," Ginny noted.

They all hummed in agreement.

—————H—————

She stopped short as she entered the sitting room, finding Narcissa holding a parchment, looking thoughtful and sad, staring off into the distance. After a pause, Hermione continued to set the tea tray on the coffee table, deciding to perch on the edge of the sofa. The children were all occupied and Severus was in his lab. This way, they would be undisturbed while she told Narcissa where she and Draco would go into hiding.

Her friend lowered the parchment to her lap and looked blankly at the tea set. Then, slowly, she looked at Hermione.

"It's from the Ministry," she said quietly. "Lucius has officially been registered as a prisoner of Azkaban. He was found guilty of breaking into the Ministry with ill intent and aiding a Dark Wizard in crimes against Britain. His sentence is twenty years. They included the Dissolution of Marriage form. I assume you've seen one before?"

"Yes," Hermione said softly. She had, fifteen years ago, when her own husband was detained.

"Why did you stay married to Severus?" Narcissa asked. "I know how it sounds, but ... but I want to know the reason you stayed."

"I knew he would be freed," she said softly. "Alastor Moody knew of Severus' allegiance. He was one of the people who encouraged Severus to spy. He was arrested to keep up appearances, and he had a trial. But it was private, and there were many people willing to testify about the good he'd done. He wouldn't stay long. But I also knew that regardless of the length of his stay, Severus can Occlude. Not everyone is able to shield themselves from the dementors like that."