—————H—————

The mid-afternoon sun shone through the windows in such a cheery way that it almost emulated the sun of spring. Hermione had always found that fascinating, how there was always a difference in the way the sun shone through the seasons. With the clear skies and the chipper atmosphere, one might have thought it was set to be a pleasant day.

But it wasn't.

The discussions with the Weasleys on Christmas Eve had been beneficial; Alastor had thought it best to start the new year with no secrets between those they really trusted.

There had never been so many people in her home, let alone her living room. She had to remind Molly multiple times that this was her residence and her kitchen, and they didn't need a massive meal for what they were about to discuss. Arthur, bless him, had sat his wife beside him and given her knitting supplies to keep her occupied. Bill had stood behind them both, a hand on each of their chairs, as though ready to hold them there at a moment's notice.

Remus and Sirius sat on her sofa, keeping Minerva between them as a buffer. Kingsley stood with Tonks near the mantel, opposite the stairs where the children were.

Molly had protested their presence, but after being reminded of their previous discussion, she stopped. Aurora, Draco, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Leo all sat on the steps, behind the railing slightly, as though they wanted to hide, lest someone change their mind and send them away. The twins had been on the landing, solemn for once, the weight of the tension settling around them.

Hermione stood with Severus in the doorway to their kitchen, and everyone focused on Alastor.

It was only fitting that their mentor be the leader of this niche of the Order. He was someone to answer to, someone everyone knew they could trust, and someone who had already butted heads with Dumbledore and stayed in his favor.

He'd stood with both hands on his walking stick, head turned one way, magical eye scanning the other.

"You all swear to keep this between us? No one else. No one, hear. You are being looped in on this because time's a-ticking and we need to get our stuff straight if we're gonna make it through what comes next."

Molly shuddered, and Arthur rubbed her arm.

"What's next?" Tonks asked.

"Dumbledore's death," Alastor said, and no one spoke.

Hermione watched as Harry stood up slowly, hands gripping the railing and ignoring Draco's hand on his leg.

"Dumbledore's death?" one of the twins echoed.

"It's his hand, isn't it?" Harry asked. "He says it's nothing, but..."

"He has months left, at most," Severus said, meeting Harry's gaze. "He won't live beyond the end of the school year."

"That seems convenient," Kingsley mused suspiciously, and Severus looked at Alastor, who nodded.

"Dumbledore refuses to be cured. Heard o' the incident in Hogsmeade involving a student?"

"We were there," Tonks said as Kingsley nodded.

"Girl's been cured of a curse that should've killed her. We know, if he'd let us, Dumbledore could be saved, too. He picked up a cursed object and it cursed him. Lucky Severus was there, else we might've been without a leader of the Light much sooner."

"I still don't believe it," Molly said, shaking her head, knitting needles clacking harder than before.

"I've looked into it, Molly," Remus said. "As much as none of us want to believe, there are newspapers from the twenties, evidence that he isn't as benevolent as he tries to appear."

"Evidence of what, exactly?" Harry asked.

"That Albus Dumbledore was once a budding Dark Lord himself," Hermione responded.

She expected denial, she anticipated rage, but all she got was a stoic nod. "In what way?"

"He was very, very close to Grindelwald," she replied, "before his sister's death."

"We aren't getting into that now," Severus said. "Potter, if you want to learn more about the headmaster's sordid past, I'm sure you can find another time. But right now, we're dealing with his sordid present. He has chosen to die, and to do so by my hand."

The room was so quiet even Molly's knitting paused. She and Arthur looked at each other through the corner of their eye. Bill frowned. Harry looked terrified, and the railing obscured the majority of the children, so Hermione couldn't see their reactions. The twins went pale, and while (she guessed) George looked as though he wasn't sure he wasn't dreaming, Fred suddenly looked determined. Kingsley looked resigned, but Tonks just shook her head, face contorted in anger.

"Bloody hell," Ron's voice broke the silence.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean 'by your hand'?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore wants Snape to kill him to cement his position as a Death Eater," Alastor said bluntly. "And to protect a fellow classmate o' yours from damaging his soul."

"Someone's a Death Eater?" Draco asked, shooting up from the stairs. "Who?"

"We're not going to tell you," Hermione said gently.

"Why not?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Ron said, standing as well, anger twisting his face. "Why not? He's a Death Eater, ain't he? Shouldn't even be in the school."

"Because he didn't choose to be, Mr. Weasley," Severus snapped. "The young man in question found himself dragged before the Dark Lord and his arm branded without a choice. Now, shut up and let us explain. As you are a child of the Order, like the rest of you, we are letting you be privy to this information because by the end of summer, it is quite likely that the Dark Lord will have power over the Ministry."

"And Dumbledore is the only wizard powerful enough to stop him," Bill said.

"But Harry's the Chosen One," Aurora's voice was just loud enough to be heard. "Which is why we're hearing about this. Because if You-Know-Who is in control of the Ministry, then there will be nowhere safe for him."

"I dare say Grimmauld Place will be the only safe place," Minerva agreed.

"I can't stay stuck inside if Vold— if Riddle is in charge. If I'm the Chosen One, I have to stop him, don't I?"

The room was heavy once more.

"Oh, don't tell me there's something else we don't know," Arthur groaned, exasperated.

"I'm afraid there is," Severus said.

"This is about...." Leo's voice trailed off as everyone turned toward him. "This is about that thing, isn't it? The Horcruxes?"

"The what?" Harry said.

"How much has Dumbledore shown you of the Dark Lord's past?" Severus asked.

Harry slowly came down the stairs. As the twins shifted to let him pass, Aurora, Ginny, and Leo stood to get a better view. Harry looked at Sirius, and Sirius gave him a proud fatherly grin as he nodded, encouraging Harry to speak.

"He's been showing me memories. Not all of them are his, he collected some from other people." Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, now that I think about it, he showed me a ... a memory, but it felt wrong. Horace Slughorn's?"

"He was the Potions Professor before Severus," Hermione said. "He retired."

"He was also Tom Riddle's professor," Harry said.

"Horace isn't that old, is he?" Molly asked thoughtfully.

"Old enough that he and Albus had a relationship during my school days," Minerva replied. "And they certainly didn't keep it as well hidden as they thought."

"It was actually Riddle that broke them up," Alastor said, and even Severus seemed surprised by this revelation. Alastor smirked at him. "Oh yeah. Think it all started around the incident with Hagrid. Albus never trusted Riddle, Horace favored the boy. See where this all ended up."

"And for years afterward, Albus not only favored the Gryffindors, but found ways to badger the Slytherins," Minerva said, her hand clasping the broach around her neck.

"Also explains why Horace retired," Severus said thoughtfully.

"Might even give credence to why he never let you take the Defense Against the Dark Arts position; the only qualified master in Britain that could take over Potions was Horace," Hermione pointed out.

"What did you see in this memory, Harry?" Sirius asked, getting them back on topic.

Harry remained stunned for a moment.

"Harry?" Sirius said again.

"Horcrux," Harry said quietly. "Tom Riddle asked Professor Slughorn about Horcruxes." He looked at Sirius. "The part of the memory that felt really weird was... was when Slughorn told Riddle that he shouldn't be asking about it. That it was Dark, and he wouldn't have anything to do with it." Harry looked at Severus. "I asked Dumbledore what Horcruxes were, and all he told me was that we were going to pay Professor Slughorn a visit after the hols, and that maybe I could get the real memory from him."

"You don't need to," Severus said. "Dumbledore already knows everything he needs to about the situation."

"So why ask me to get it, then?" Harry asked.

After a second, Sirius began to laugh. It started slow and quiet, then it grew louder, more manic. Manic changed into giant guffaws, as if he had just heard the best joke of his life. Everyone was looking at him, and as he wiped a tear from his eye, he leaned forward, smiling at Remus. "He never stopped us going to see you after ... whoever it was sent Severus to the Shack that night.

"After all the mischief we got up to, and he still wanted us to work for him, for the Order. And then there's Harry. Harry told me all about what happened his first year. And his suspicions about Severus, how he and Kitten and Ron all pieced together the puzzle. Who puts a stone that valuable inside a school and guards it with nothing more than a few simple puzzles? If the Chamber of Secrets was opened in the past, why wasn't more done about it? Of course, Harry was given clues and hints on who to ask and how to get there." Sirius turned to her. "The night I was freed from the tower, who told you to go back in time? You didn't know me then, didn't know what could happen. Yet Dumbledore sent you to orchestrate my freedom." He turned to Severus. "You know how much I begged him to make the Ministry see reason when Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. And I know you disliked the idea of him being in it as well. And all of you, you talented little blighters, you. Don't think for one moment that he didn't know what you were doing in the Room of Requirement.

"It's been adventures. Little adventures, little tasks here and there to build up the legend and image of Harry Potter. The-Boy-Who-Lived. Make him seem nigh invincible. Let him be the hero all the Gryffindors will follow. He won them the House Cup his first year, snatching it away from the 'evil' Slytherins. And the Chamber of Secrets? Harry may not have been paraded in front of the school, but—"

"It only takes one person seeing him walking through the halls, covered in muck and blood, leading Miss Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and Lockhart to my office just before the school is declared safe once more." Minerva shook her head, lips twisting in a scowl.

"He wants me to be seen as a hero so more people are willing to fight with me. For me," Harry summarized. "I never wanted that. I never wanted any of it, but I certainly don't want people to die for me. But what's going to happen when Riddle takes control?"

"If, Harry," Tonks corrected.

"No." Harry shook his head. "Professor Snape said will, not if. If he says it'll happen, then I believe him." He turned back to Severus. "So, what's going to happen?"

Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He took a breath, then stood straight. "I'm not sure. Nothing good. But it does us no good to theorize what may or may not happen. But right now, I think we need to focus on the Horcrux situation, as it seems Albus is finally willing to tell someone what we need to know."

"You know, though," Harry countered.

"We know a few details," Hermione said. "For instance, there are four more."

"Four!" Leonidas yelped.

"I take it that's bad?" Harry asked.

"One is bad," Leonidas said. "Four is asking for ... for insanity. For pain, for-for.... It's just wrong!"

"How do you even know about this?" Aurora asked.

"I read it in a book at Grandma Prince's. It's ... it's really Dark magic. It makes you feel like...."

"Like being near all of Dad's really Dark books, that whole shelf's worth, and it's just one book," Aurora said. "Like the diary."

Ginny slowly covered her mouth with her hands, eyes going wide. "Oh Merlin. I... I had that thing with me all the time! I-I held a Horcrux." Her voice broke, and Aurora immediately hugged her, though Ginny didn't cry.

"What was it like?" Alastor asked as gently as he could.

"Everything that ever made me doubt myself, all my insecurities, it all came to the surface. I had a crush on Harry, and after that year, it seemed so ridiculous that I was so obsessed with him. I was so forlorn. I felt out of place as the only Weasley girl. My only friend was Rory, and I sometimes got so jealous of her because Harry talked to her. My brothers talked to her. No one paid me any attention. No one but Tom."

"Albus wouldn't say much about the ring," Severus said.

"So, do we have any idea what the other four are?" Remus asked, and Hermione caught the flicker of betrayal Tonks sent his way.

"I'm afraid not," Hermione said. "From what I calculated, they're things that he had an attachment to."

"I suspect Nagini's one," Severus said. "Potter saw you being attacked, Arthur."

"So, three others, and then we have to figure out how to destroy them," Sirius said. "And preferably without shoving a basilisk fang through them."

"Because of me," Harry whispered. "Because.... Because I'm one, too, aren't I? That's why I can speak Parseltongue. It's why I can feel him. Why I see things through the snake's eyes."

"No," Hermione said. "Not you."

"Yer scar is, though," Alastor said. "Which is why we need to find a solution that doesn't involve destroying you."

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "I think I like that idea."

"I would prefer it," Draco commented. When Harry turned toward him, Draco shrugged. "You realize I've been trying to get you to like me since we met on the train. May not have always gone about it in the best way, but I was trying. Can't have all that effort be in vain because you have to take a one-way trip through the Veil."

"Thanks. Glad it's my wellbeing you're so concerned about, Malfoy," Harry retorted.

"Blimey, get a room, you two," Ginny teased, which did help relieve some of the tension.

"As enlightening as this has all been, you said we needed to get everything together for after Dumbledore's death," Kingsley said. "What will we do?"

"It is very likely that when Dumbledore dies and the Ministry is run by Death Eaters, I will be named Headmaster," Severus intoned. "And when I am, I will not be able to spy. My task, in the Dark Lord's eyes, will be considered complete. So, we will need... another spy."

—————S—————

The last of the Order had disappeared through the Floo, and Hermione let out a weary sigh before flopping onto the couch.

Aurora had gone with Ginevra to the Burrow, where he wouldn't be surprised if they ventured to Lovegood's. Leo had escaped to his room, where Severus was sure he was writing to his Hufflepuff friend.

"That was more draining than I expected," Hermione sighed, leaning her head back. "But there's a plan. And at least they won't be caught unawares. Especially Harry. He seems so torn by this, I can't even imagine what he would have gone through if he was kept in the dark. Or if he had to piece it all together himself."

"While I admit that Potter does have his moments of intelligence, I don't think he would have been able to sit down and think everything through if it were sprang on him." And then a thought occurred to him as he sat down. "Which was Albus' plan all along, I suppose."

Hermione turned to him. "You really think Albus wouldn't have told him what was going on?"

"How often has Albus tried to paint me the enemy, or at the very least make it so that Potter felt justified in hating me?"

"I suppose so," she relented. "It's not as though he sat Harry down and gave him the facts. It was always a pat on the head and a 'professor Snape is on our side, Harry' type of conversation."

Severus hummed in agreement. "Now we'll just have to deal with his wonderful brand of disappointment when he inevitably finds out we've told the whole Order and the children."

Hermione smirked. "Oh yes, however will I live with—"

She was interrupted by the Floo flaring, and the couple frowned in unison before turning to see who was coming through. Aurora wasn't expected to return for some time yet, and there were only a limited number of people who could come through.

It was a great shock, then, to find it wasn't one of the children, or even an Order member that came through, but Augusta Longbottom.

Severus stood as the woman dusted off her robes, and he straightened his frock coat in preparation for whatever she had to say.

It was Hermione who spoke first. "Mrs. Longbottom, to what do we owe this intrusion?"

Augusta paused her cleaning, turning to Hermione. "Intrusion?"

"Yes," Hermione replied calmly. "Seeing as how you did not request an invitation and we did not extend one, you coming through our Floo is precisely that: an intrusion."

"Well," Augusta said, furiously brushing off her robes before straightening and clutching her handbag. "Forgive my rudeness. May I sit?" she asked, and Hermione indicated the armchair across from them.

"Tea?" she offered their unexpected guest, and at Augusta's refusal, she sat down. Severus joined her, sitting slowly, watching the woman across from them.

When a beat of time had passed in complete silence, he said, "Has Aurora done something to displease you?"

"No," Augusta replied. "Quite the opposite, actually. She has proved to be a kind, considerate young lady, one that my grandson has found himself quite attached to. Therefore, as they have entered this courtship, with my blessing and presumably yours, I have come to discuss the arrangement that they have found themselves in."

Severus frowned. "I'm not sure I follow."

Augusta arched a brow. "Their eventual marriage," she said as if he were a child.

If not for his years of practice reining in his visceral reactions, Severus would have laughed straight in her face.

"Mrs. Longbottom," Hermione said carefully, and Severus saw his wife chew her lip a moment before straightening her posture. "I...."

"You allowed their courtship, did you not?" Augusta asked, looking between them. "It was my understanding from Neville that he was to approach Aurora's father for permission."

"Permission to court her, yes," Hermione said. "But to court her the modern way, one that doesn't have to end in their marriage."

Augusta frowned. "Such things may be suitable for a family like the Weasleys, with their many offspring to carry on their name, but the Longbottoms are not as abundant. Neville has been deeply infatuated with your daughter since they met, and since he has never mentioned his intention to court another, it is likely that he sees the courtship as I do: as a way to get to know each other before their wedding. Now, I know Aurora has a couple of years left in school—"