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Living On Borrowed Time by YsM [Reviews - 4]

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Disclaimer: never did and never will own it. J.K. Rowling does.
Spoilers: Order of the Phoenix
Thank you to my beta, Nakhash Mekashefah!



~ Living On Borrowed Time - And Silence Their Mourning With Vows Of Returning ~



After Voldemort’s demise, Harry was mobbed by the press, the Daily Prophet leading them, and he even managed to spot a smirking, if strangely silent, Rita Skeeter on the side, an ordinary quill in her hand. In between interviews, he went to the Wizengamot as a witness during the trial of the Death Eaters. Ron was there also, since, during the final battle, Harry had spent his time dealing with Voldemort rather than with the Death Eaters.

Lucius Malfoy, among others, knew when to call the game off. Proudly, arrogantly, he refused the Veritaserum that a wizard was handing out to him.

“There is no need for this. I have nothing to hide and no need to lie.”

Curiously, Cornelius Fudge wasn’t present for the trials, so Percy Weasley, as his assistant, was asking the questions. He leaned forward and frowned.

“So you willingly recognise being a follower of You-Know-Who, being therefore known as Death Eaters?”

Lucius had a brief laugh of scorn for Fudge’s puppet.

“That would be a lie. I, with others, only used the fool Voldemort for the purpose of the Order we belong to, an Order that existed long before Tom Marvolo Riddle was even born.”

Everyone gasped, save some wizards who instead wore smug little smiles.

“If you care to explain, Mr Malfoy,” snapped Percy, a bit paler than usual.

Speaking calmly, as if he was standing in his own house, Lucius Malfoy stated that he belonged to the Knights of Walpurgis, an Order created by Salazar Slytherin himself after he had left Hogwarts. Muggles had threatened the Wizarding world at a time when witch-hunts, torture and stakes had been common. Ever vigilant – an ironic echo of Alastor Moody’s motto – the Knights had protected the Wizarding world from the persecutions. When the only magic left in the Muggles’ imagination had been in fairy tales, the Knights went into hiding, but were still there, ready to intervene if necessary, ready to side with whomever understood their cause and was willing to lead the fight for pure-blood supremacy.


~*~



He gave many names, families that had belonged to the Order of the Knights of Walpurgis since its creation: the Malfoy family, the Lestrange family, the Black family, the Snape family. There was movement in the crowd at that last name; the Black family was extinct, the Lestrange and Malfoy were being tried, but the last descendant of the Snape family was absent. Some from the Wizengamot remembered the day Albus Dumbledore had stood up for him, giving his word that Severus Snape wasn’t a Death Eater. If the Potions master considered himself a Knight of Walpurgis, could Albus Dumbledore have been deceived, lying while all the time saying what he believed to be the truth?

Harry didn’t say anything. There were still too many things he hadn’t forgiven Severus Snape and he had found a long time ago that blaming him for Sirius’s death was far easier than blaming himself. Quietly, Ron stood up and declared the name of Snape was to be left unsaid for the rest of the trials. No matter what his ancestors had done, the man had redeemed himself more than once and had even offered his life to atone for his past faults. Amelia Bones nodded discreetly, approving his intervention, while Lucius Malfoy glared at Ron.

Afterwards, the head of the Malfoy family only had to explain the role of his Order in the war with Voldemort. Only Bellatrix Lestrange, still alive – through no fault of Harry – but gravely wounded, seemed to disagree with Lucius when he explained that he had known all along exactly what Voldemort was – a half-blood, like Harry himself – who would never have been allowed to become a Knight of Walpurgis.

They had taken advantage of him and his powers, of his thirst for recognition and supremacy. They hadn’t shared his obsession with Harry Potter, though the young wizard had proven irritating enough. The Knight Commander of the Order – someone whose name Lucius refused to divulge – had made the decision to join Voldemort for as long as he served their purpose. Tom Riddle hadn’t known of the Knights of Walpurgis, and they had laughed at the ridiculous name he had given his followers. They graciously played their part, grateful in a way that the cover allowed them to be active again while hiding the existence of their Order.

Just before sitting, Lucius Malfoy threw a dirty glance toward Ron.

“As for the person we must not name,” he said, “just know that as soon as Voldemort wasn’t useful to us anymore, his death warrant was sealed. It would have happened soon anyway, were it not for your meddling. So now, you will never know if He-Whose-Name-Shall-Be-Unsaid sacrificed himself for you or for the Knights of Walpurgis.”


~*~



The trials continued, though none of them were particularly interesting. There was a shocking revelation and the session had to be interrupted when two Death Eaters, Walden Macnair and Augustus Rookwood, admitted under Veritaserum that Fudge, current Minister for Magic, while not being a Death Eater per se, was still an active supporter and fully knew what he was doing when he hired them for the Ministry. Aurors were sent to the Minister’s house, only to find it empty. He had already fled.

The trials were stopped immediately. There was something more important to sort out. The Wizarding world needed a new Minister for Magic. Several names were suggested, among them, Percy Weasley, Arthur Weasley and Amelia Bones. Arthur and Amelia refused immediately. Percy tried not to look too eager but his forced smile of modesty didn’t fool half of the Heads of Department. Arnold Peasgood, Obliviator, was strongly in favour of Percy, but the suspicions were that he had performed more Obliviate spells for Fudge than necessary.

Arthur suggested Harry, who declined in horror. Amelia Bones shook her head and peered intently at the tall young man standing next to the hero, overlooked as usual. Ron raised his eyebrows quizzically in answer to her gaze and she smiled, leaning back into her chair.

“I think Ronald Weasley would be a very good choice,” she said then.

The silence that fell on the room couldn’t have been more deafening had Voldemort suddenly raised from the dead. Arnold Peasgood sniggered.

“The youngest brother of the infamous Weasley twins? I think not. He might slip us Canary Creams at any moment. And anyway, he is only a sidekick.”

Curiously, Ron kept calm and folded his arms on his chest.

“I’ve never insulted you, Arnold, so would you mind returning the favour?”

Amelia began to explain why she thought Ron was the right candidate, retracing his career since his entry at the Ministry, how he had quickly risen to become the head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, using his skills in strategy to plan the captures so neatly that nobody was harmed. Even the Aurors had often called upon him – and also some Unspeakables, even though Amelia didn’t mention it. She was proud of having him in her department. Ron blushed slightly at her praise, but turned frankly beet-red when both Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden approved Amelia’s choice. Arthur had never felt so proud of his youngest son.

In the chaos, they completely forgot that they had never administered Veritaserum to Lucius Malfoy in order to know who the Knight Commander of the Order of Walpurgis was.


~*~



Life was so hectic they didn’t immediately notice that they hadn’t seen Hermione since the final battle. As soon as they realised it, they stopped whatever they were doing and Apparated immediately to Hogsmeade before flying by broom to Hogwarts. The school was quiet and for some reason, Harry was reminded of his third year, when even the air seemed oppressive due to the presence of Dementors.

Ron tugged on his sleeve.

“Let’s go see Dumbledore!”

Harry didn’t move at first. He knew that Hermione had been concerned for Severus and he knew that his friend wasn’t one to stand idly by when someone she cared for needed her. He remembered that look of hers when, at the end of the battle, she had told him she had to go. It was the same look she always had when pursuing an idea. Now that he was taking the time to think about it, he began to fear for his friend.

Ron was looking at him, wondering about his immobility and silence. Harry shook his head in answer to his unspoken question and instinctively headed straight for the Hospital Wing, almost expecting to see Hermione sitting by Severus’s deathbed and perhaps praying for him or something like it.

The Hospital Wing was empty, though he could hear faint glass noises coming from a closed room, where Poppy was probably rearranging her potions. His eyes scanned the room quickly and his breath caught when he saw the flowered bed. Even from afar, even without seeing her face, he knew that it was Hermione. Once standing by her bed, without knowing it, he repeated the same gestures Severus had done the first time he had seen her like this, his hand hovering over her brow before caressing it with his fingertips.

Her skin was still soft and warm and, for a moment, his breathing eased. She was not dead. Maybe it was just like the time she had been petrified by the Basilisk. Maybe it was just temporary. Then that meant there was a solution and he would find it! Ron stood by his side, looking at her, seemingly unable to fully understand what he was seeing.

Then an aged voice behind them spoke:

“I have been waiting for you.”

They turned around to face Albus Dumbledore, looking uncharacteristically frail and weary.

“What… what happened to her?”

Albus sighed and began to tell them what she had done while they were at the Wizengamot. Harry closed his fists and stood up, enraged.

“Where is he? Where is the worthless git who accepted such a gift when he never deserved it? He didn’t even deserve to have Hermione as a colleague!”

“Then maybe you should read her very words,” replied Albus, handing them Hermione’s letter to Severus.

Ron took it and read it aloud, while Harry was pacing the room.


~*~



“You are taking this calmly,” said Albus, watching the redhead closely.

“I have the same desire to rant and insult Snape, but I don’t see the point when Harry is already doing so. Hermione is level-headed, she must have known there was a cure for this, something too far to reach in such short time, something maybe that only Snape could find?”

“I now understand the choice of the Wizengamot, Mr Weasley. Amelia Bones was indeed right. Congratulations for your promotion.”

“That’s it!” interrupted Harry. “Ron, you’re Minister for Magic, you can find Snape, you can send the Squad and bring him back!”

“Snape is no criminal, Harry.”

“He’s killing Hermione!”

“Don’t you understand? Bringing Snape back here wouldn’t solve anything. They are bound until Hermione’s death and only if Snape finds a way out of this will she live!” shouted Ron. “I hurt as much as you, Harry, but this is not the moment to wallow in old hatreds! This is the moment to find solutions for helping Hermione and, yes, Snape also!”

“This is clearly Dark Arts! You are supposed to forbid their use!”

Ron sighed.

“Harry, think about it for a moment, all right? If I accuse Snape of Dark Arts, as soon as Hermione wakes, I will have to try her also. She brewed the potion, twice, and she cast the sleeping spell. I cannot try Snape for something that she did! If he needs Dark Arts to revive her, I’m willing to overlook it, but it must not be known. Please, Harry, it’s for her.”

“You’ve changed, Ron…”

“Sending the Squad after Snape isn’t going to help, Harry, nor is alerting the Wizarding world of what has happened. If they find him, what do you think they will do? They will kill him.”

“But then, she will probably wake up as if nothing had happened!”

“I don’t know why she chose to save him, Harry, but it matters to her. If we get Snape killed, we deny her freedom and ruin what she tried so hard to achieve.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“We are going to protect him, no matter where he goes.”


~*~



“But will he do something for her? She said in her letter that he doesn’t owe her anything.”

“We’re talking about Snape here. The wizard who saved your life countless times but still thought he hadn’t repaid the debt he owed your father for saving his life. And this time, it’s more than one of Sirius’s pranks. She allowed him to get his revenge on Voldemort, saved his life and gave him what he needed to get rid of the Dark Mark. He has probably already totalled that into several life debts.”

Harry considered Ron’s words and calmed down a little. His brow furrowed in concentration and suddenly he said, “There is something I don’t understand. Normally, if I remember well, as soon as Voldemort died, Snape should have died also. Perhaps not immediately, but he wouldn’t have lasted long without his life input. Yet Hermione was with us when Voldemort died and she apparently had the time to go through the book, to the point that she states that she found it interesting. When did she have time to read it? And, on the same level, when did she brew the second potion for Snape, the one with her blood? She spent all her time with him and he certainly wouldn’t have let her.”

Ron turned thoughtful.

“You may have something here. For the potion, maybe she brewed enough the first time and just added her blood afterwards?”

“I would think this kind of potion is hard to preserve for very long and that it’s more efficient when fresh. No, she probably brewed it just before giving it to him. In a glass of wine she says. Snape should never have drunk such a potion. He would have recognised it from before.”

“Well, he was dying,” Ron pointed out.

“As for Hermione having so much time,” said Albus, “it should be obvious, especially to you, Harry. Haven’t you ever heard of Time Turners before?”

“They’re regulated by the Ministry,” objected Ron. “I would have heard about it.”

“Except if she made it herself, and trust Hermione to do it. Though she should have needed more than one month to create one.”

“From what I understand, Hermione has had it for quite a long time. She already was in possession of one when she was studying for becoming a Potions mistress,” said Albus.

Ron and Harry groaned and Albus, prudently deciding that it was time for him to retire, left them alone with their friend.


~*~



They were staring at her when Harry sighed.

“Ron? Do you remember what Malfoy said? Do you think Snape can still be a Knight of Walpurgis? If that’s the case, he would never come back, not for a Muggle-born.”

“I doubt it. First he accepted her for his colleague, though reluctantly. Second, I don’t think Hermione would have done all of this for him if he still belonged to that Order.”

Harry didn’t seem really convinced and shrugged. As he was leaving, Ron lagged behind a bit and whispered, “Don’t worry, Hermione, we will protect Snape, I promise.”

Was it his imagination or not? He thought he had seen a slight smile on her frozen lips and that he had heard a breath replying softly, ‘Thank you, Ron.’




Living On Borrowed Time by YsM [Reviews - 4]

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