A Matter of Honor
by Amy McWilliams (McAmy)

Book 3: Love and Honor

Chapter 25: The Other Shoe

Instantly, Snape was out of his chair. Hermione couldn't make sense of the voices around her, chattering, questioning. Lupin helped her to stand, and then Snape's arm was around her waist, guiding her out the side door. McGonagall's voice, strong and calm, telling everyone to take their seats, that there was nothing to worry about.

"Let's go to my office." Dumbledore's voice.

Her eyes seemed to focus for the first time since she'd read the note from Lucius Malfoy. "If this were a port-key, you'd be mine now." Oh Gods…oh Gods…oh Gods…

"Hermione, look at me." Snape's voice. Severus. "It will be all right." Severus.

She managed to nod, and as he drew her along again--she could tell he was fighting not to hurry--the world seemed to slide back into place around her. She squeezed his hand; the grip on her arm relaxed slightly.

As they arrived at Dumbledore's office ("Lolly-pop."), Snape said, "Headmaster, could we have a minute?" Dumbledore must have nodded, because Snape guided her to one side of the outer office.

His arms were around her and she was safe. But she could feel him trembling. "I'm all right," she said, finding her voice. "I was surprised, shocked. I'll be ok."

"This is my fault…I should have never…"

"Never what? Never loved me? We have no way of knowing if Malfoy knows I was there that night with Draco, or if he's just aiming at me based on a rumor about us being together, or something else entirely." She pulled away from him slightly to meet his gaze. "Severus, this is not your fault. Please."

He kissed her forehead. "You amaze me."

"So you keep telling me." A shared smile. "Now, let's see what Dumbledore has to say. Because I have to tell you, Lucius Malfoy is starting to piss me off."

That evening, after several people had spent the day exchanging messages, calling in favors, and making threats, Dumbledore assembled Sirius, Harry, Ron, Lupin, Snape, Hermione, Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall in the staff room. Hermione had asked that Madam Hooch, Hagrid, and Madam Pomfrey be asked as well, and Harry had brought along one of the Aurors--Carl Wainwright--who had helped them in the Forbidden Forest. When Snape's ally, Carson, didn't arrive, it seemed clear that he was no longer to be trusted.

Hagrid had taken a position directly behind Hermione's chair, and refused to move. She sat between Harry and Ron on one side and Lupin and Sirius on the other, all of whom looked ready to rip Lucius Malfoy to shreds.

Snape was little better. Forcing himself to be calm, he sat with Dumbledore at the head of the table. Although most of those present knew the facts by now, he briefly outlined his search for Malfoy and his followers from the death of Voldemort on.

Dumbledore held up the note. "And you see what this has come to. We do not know whether Malfoy will make a move against Professor Granger, or against Professor Snape directly. We also do not know where he is, or whether he is out for revenge because of--or even against--his son Draco. We do not know if he is working alone, or whether he has other supporters, or access to any more Dementors.

"Truth be told, we know very little. Draco Malfoy informed us before his incarceration that his father has been hiding in various places throughout the country, moving frequently. He gave us a list of the six that he had visited. The Ministry has investigated them all in the past few weeks, and found no sign of Malfoy. This is the first direct contact we've had from him in months."

"What can we do, Albus?" McGonagall asked. "If we know so little, then won't we…"

"…just have to wait until Lucius Malfoy sees fit to make his next move," Hermione finished. She could see Snape tense even further.

"Yes, I'm afraid you're right, Miss Granger," Dumbledore somberly agreed. "But there are steps we can take in the meantime. We will send this letter to the Ministry to see if it can give us any clues. Madam Hooch had sense enough to detain the owl that brought it as well. And we will reconsider the security measures in place here at the castle. I seriously doubt that Mr. Malfoy will dare to set foot on Hogwarts grounds. But I intend to ensure that if he does--or if he dares attempt to harm any of those who are under my protection--he will pay dearly for his mistake."

The room was silent. Dumbledore's expression hadn't changed, but his eyes were cold, and his voice hard. In that moment, no one doubted that Lucius Malfoy was doomed to failure.

They had discussed security for several minutes before the meeting adjourned. Afterwards, Snape spent another hour speaking with the Headmaster, Sirius, and Harry. Lupin and Ron sat in front of the fire with Hermione, who refused to leave without Severus. She thought she should probably be a part of the discussion, but at this point, she was relieved to let the others take care of it. Severus would tell her about it later.

"Are you sure you don't want some tea or something?" Ron asked, for the twenty-seventh time.

"I'm fine, Ron." She managed a smile, and the trio lapsed again into silence.

"I believe we're done for the night." Severus's voice came softly from behind her chair a few moments later.

"Good," she said, getting to her feet. "If you had been much longer you'd have had to carry me." He placed his hand on her shoulder and bent to kiss the top of her head.

"Thank you both for your assistance," Snape said to her guardians.

Remus nodded, and Ron said, "No problem."

After Severus had led Hermione from the room, Ron noticed Lupin's worried look. "She'll be all right, Remus. We'll make sure of that."

"Yes," Remus agreed. "Yes we will."

"So what were you talking about all this time?" Hermione asked with a yawn as she changed into her nightshirt.

"Nothing you need worry about tonight," Severus answered.

She crawled into bed, where Crookshanks was already waiting for her.

After a moment, she said, "Please come to bed." He was standing at the fireplace, staring into the flames.

He shook his head. "I'll only keep you from sleeping."

"You need your rest, too. And I need you with me." When he didn't move, she added, "Please, Severus."

He closed his eyes for a moment, then offered her a weak smile. "How can I resist you?"

He quickly changed into his nightshirt and joined her in the bed. She nestled against his side and clung to him. Eventually they both managed to sleep.

The next morning, they ate breakfast together in Severus's rooms, to give him a chance to fill her in on his discussion with Dumbledore and Harry the previous night.

"So I don't have to miss tomorrow's classes?" she asked, worried that Dumbledore might have changed his mind. She didn't want to fall behind.

"No. The castle is as secure as we can make it, and this may simply be Lucius rattling our chains. I don't believe that he'll come here. But even if I'm wrong, Dumbledore is ready for him. So yes, class as usual. Except that…" He seemed amused.

"Except what?"

"Hagrid has insisted on staying with you when I cannot. I assume it will be the most Arithmancy he's studied in his life." He couldn't help but smile a little.

Hermione decided not to be irritated with Hagrid. "So you'll be in class as well?"

"Yes. Business as usual. Dumbledore wants that for the students' sakes. Minerva has told them that you received some bad news from home, and that the security measures are due to the Ministry's decision to step up their search for Lucius Malfoy. Of course they'll put two and two together."

"It makes sense to make everything as normal as possible, though. Now, tell me about our options. What did you four talk about?"

"Harry was filling us in on the Ministry's plans, primarily. Small teams sent out to each of the locations on Draco's list, which will then begin canvassing the surrounding areas to see if anybody has seen or heard anything. Harry and Ron will remain here at Hogwarts, in case they are needed. So Harry suggested that he and Sirius might ask some questions around Hogsmeade, because of the activity there in the fall."

"Hmm." She was trying her best not to point out that he had just referred to her friends as "Harry" and "Ron." She re-focused her thoughts on the problem at hand. "So is our only choice searching for Lucius? It hasn't brought us very far up to now."

Severus sighed, and gave her a warning look. "Sirius has another option, but none of us would agree to it."

"And…?" she prompted, when he didn't continue.

"We could…set a trap for Lucius."

"A trap?" Then it dawned on her. "Oh…"

"Yes, and that would make you the bait. And as I said before, none of us would agree to it."

"But if we could draw Malfoy out…"

"Hermione." His voice was adamant, his gaze steel. This was not an option. After a moment, he sighed. "I'm sorry, my love. I know that you are willing, if only to break this stalemate. But the rest of us are simply…unable to let you."

She smiled a little. "Ok." Then, with a look, "For now."

He nodded, and moved to the sofa. Sitting down beside him, she asked, "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, I thought I might go with Sirius and Harry to Hogsmeade. There are a few inquiries I can make myself, and if I were to get into an argument with Sirius in some public place…"

"It might make his own inquiries easier?"

"Something like that."

She noticed the grin twitching at his lips and frowned. "You're going to enjoy this, aren't you. Don't deny it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why would I deny it?" Then, seeing her irritation was real, he added, "Hermione, we're doing everything we can."

"But it doesn't seem enough, does it? Severus, this can't drag out much longer."

He let out a sigh. "I know. Lucius is not smart enough--no, I won't underestimate him. That note was effective, whether he poses a direct threat to you or not. It's stirred the cauldron, put all of us into action."

"Isn't that to his own disadvantage? Why would he want to pull Albus Dumbledore and the Ministry down on his head?"

"Lucius Malfoy needs us to know that he is going to make his move. He wants us on edge, scattered…"

"And so we're doing exactly what he wants. That message was designed to get you out of the castle--to bring you into the open where he can get at you. I'm sure of it. Why not wait him out, wait for him to slip up? Why not lay some sort of trap?"

"Because now that we've involved the Ministry to this extent, that choice is out of our hands. Whatever we do, hunting down Lucius Malfoy is their top priority. We can make sure they don't miss anything, do some searching on our own, but Lucius will be on the lookout for a trap. He'll want to draw us to him, to maintain what little advantage he has. And yes, that note was most likely intended to draw me out. But I can't sit by and let other people take the risks." Before she could protest that he was asking her to do exactly that, he added, "I'm the reason they're involved in the first place."

It was her turn to sigh. Instead of pointing out that they would all have been involved at some point regardless of his asking them for help, she said, "Ok. I guess. This just all seems a bit…futile." Remembering that he was as frustrated as she was, she added, "It's ok. I'll stay here; you go to Hogsmeade. Please be careful."

"I will."

Hermione spent the morning on lesson plans for the week, and the early afternoon grading homework. By three o'clock, she had run out of busywork, and decided to stretch her legs. She dropped off her things at her office, and stopped to knock at Minerva's office door.

"Come in," came the kind voice.

Hermione entered. "Hello, Minerva. Are you busy?"

"Never too busy for you, dear. Is everything all right?" McGonagall's eyes took a quick inventory of Hermione's appearance. She seemed to be holding up well. "I see Hagrid hasn't yet begun his self-appointed task of serving as your bodyguard."

"No, he's out with Flitwick this afternoon, checking over the grounds one last time. And I'm fine. Just nerves. I've never graded homework so quickly."

"Well do have a seat. I'm just finishing up some grades myself. Is everybody else out and about?"

"Yes. It feels a little like leaving the women safe at home, but at this point I'm not complaining. Much."

McGonagall made a dismissive sound. "Yes, well, they may be a little medieval at times, but they mean well. And right now, I am needed here, to handle the students and teachers, and you are needed here until we decide what sort of threat Lucius Malfoy actually intended towards you. So here we sit." She paused. "It's still rather dreadful, all this waiting around."

Hermione nodded. "Exactly. Severus has gone to Hogsmeade, and I can't help but think that he's in more danger than I am."

McGonagall returned to her grade book. "Whoever coined the phrase 'No news is good news' must have been a man."

The two women were on their way to take a walk on the grounds (dutifully staying close to the castle, of course) when the front doors crashed open. The sight of the large dog, its tongue lolling with exertion, its sides heaving as it tried to catch its breath, brought Hermione immediately to a halt.

Sirius changed back into human form as Dumbledore and Lupin came hurrying from the direction of the Headmaster's office. Panting for breath, Sirius said, "I…we lost him…don't know…where he is…Harry's still looking…"

Dumbledore's voice was steady, but the expression on his face was one of deep concern. "You lost whom, Sirius? Is Severus lost?" Sirius nodded. "All right. Take a minute to calm down and then…"

"NO!" Hermione shrieked, flinging herself down the last few stairs. "Where is he? What did you do to him?" Remus caught her around the waist as she struggled to reach Sirius. "No…where is he?! Bring him back! Get him back!" Sirius's shock turned to sorrow, and at his downcast expression, Hermione's rage dissipated. She stilled in Remus's arms, clutching at his sleeve, and fought to calm herself.

Softly but firmly, Sirius said, "I will do whatever it takes to find him, Hermione. I promise you that." Hermione nodded, insistently wiping tears from her eyes.

Dumbledore placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Now. Let us move to my office, and while we wait for Harry to return, you can tell us exactly what happened." Quietly then, he added to Sirius, "It's all right, my friend."

As the others led the way, Hermione whispered to Remus, "I can't lose him…"

"I know, dear heart. I know."

A/N: "She clung to him" is one of my favorite phrases from Laurie R. King's The Moor. I believe I've used it before, as well...for those of you who are keeping track. ;) And I have to admit, there's an homage here to my favorite line from Minerva McTabby's PtQ in a Nutshell: "Hello, unicorn bait."

On to Chapter 26