Fate Set Right

Chapter 67

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January 24, 1998 (continued)

"You did what?" she snapped, glaring a warning at a smirking Sirius before turning back to her tired husband.

They were in the headmaster's office, Hermione behind the desk as if she belonged there, Severus collapsed in a guest chair, with Sirius standing beside him.

She knew the portraits were all there for the show, except one, and frankly, she didn't care. The moment they'd returned with a pop, Severus had almost collapsed until Sirius seated him, she was worried about what might have gone wrong. Then Sirius and Severus told her what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Fiendfyre, wife. I shouldn't have to repeat myself."

"Are you out of your mind, Severus? Curse fire! How did you know you could control it?" she asked, crossing her arms and resting them atop her belly.

"Because I did, Hermione. This may have escaped your notice, but I'm skilled and adept at Dark magic. One might even go so far as to say that I'm a Dark wizard," Severus said in such a blasé way that she realized just how exhausted he was.

"I suppose you are, just a bit," she conceded, and when Sirius shifted, her eyes were drawn to him. "Were they really inert?"

"It pierced the cup, Kitten, but nothing happened. Whatever power the basilisk possessed is long gone now," he said regretfully.

She nodded. "Then it's more important than ever to find the Room of Hidden Things."

"The room of what?" Severus asked, palming his forehead.

"I managed to get Dumbledore to talk while you were in the chamber. I think it might have been the baby finding my kidney an amusing spot to kick or my sheer annoyance at him. Either way, he confessed he hid the fangs in the Room of Hidden Things."

"I've never heard of it," Severus said.

"Nor I," Hermione sighed. "Which makes me wonder if he was pulling my leg, but still, it's better than his silence."

"Now's not the time to think about it," Sirius said gently. "We need sleep, Severus especially."

"Right," Hermione conceded. "You're right, Sirius. It's just... frustrating. We're so close in so many ways."

"What if that's also where the diadem is?" Severus asked absently. "We've checked everywhere we could. We know it's here. Albus may not have noticed it when he hid the fangs, or maybe he merely wanted to have one more thing for the Boy-Who-Lived to do: search for the diadem."

"How long was Dumbledore expecting this whole thing to drag on for?" Sirius muttered. "Because if we can't find everything...."

"Let's not think about that tonight," Severus said as he got up from the chair on shaky legs. "I need sleep."

As Severus headed to their chambers, Hermione turned to Sirius with a slight grin. "Harry would have made it through, I'm sure," she assured.

"You think so, Kitten?" he asked.

"I believe so," she said. "But then, perhaps I don't know him as well as I thought."

Sirius snort-laughed before heading to the door. "I don't think any of us know the teenagers as much as we'd like to."

He left, and as Hermione watched him leave, she couldn't help but agree with him. Even if she would never say it out loud.

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