"Hey Marabelle, how's things?" Harry grinned charmingly as he leaned on the counter though his eyes reflected the turmoil just barely hidden beneath the surface.

The woman smiled and shook her head, " Shame, I'm already taken. Your charms won't work on me."

Harry chuckled, "Worth a try, wasn't it? Thankfully I have this." He set his badge on the counter knowing she needed it for authorization, "Could I have the Prince family archives, please?"

Marabelle raised a small brow, "Hermione send you did she?"

"What?" Harry's grin fell into a much more serious tone.

Marabelle clicked her tongue thinking that perhaps she'd said too much, deciding not to allow herself to be questioned she turned from her desk to get the requested file.

Harry straightened up, a thousand possibilities running through his mind. Did she know? Had she been searching for a cure all along? Had she been hiding this from him, from everyone? No, he didn't want to believe it to be true, the very thought almost too painful to bear.

"Here you are." She set down the rather thick and rather old-looking book, her normal smile fading slightly from the look on Harry's face.

"Thank you..." Harry managed before taking both his badge and the book. He turned before she could question him and he was back in his office in no time. The walk was almost like a blur as so many thoughts clouded his sight.

He sat down with a heavy sigh and ran his hand through his hair. This was his last chance to find anything, even if Hermione had looked into things she didn't have the clearance for the book he now possessed. It was possible, slimly possible, she had missed something.

He pushed open the heavy book moving towards the back. There were all sorts of information laid in the pages, on the ones he paused he found all sorts of records on their magical achievements, academic and political success. He kept moving through minding the dates written on the top right of the page. When he got to the year 1960 he slowed down, thumbing through until he saw a muggle certificate of birth copied into the book's pages.

"Severus Tobias Snape..." There was an annotation underneath the copy and his frown grew, "Disowned, disinherited...reasons... half-blood..." Harry shook his head a bit and turned to the next page finding an 'updated' family tree of the last three generations. Neither, he nor his mother appeared on the tree. Just her brother, his wife, and their daughter. He turned the pages back, looking for another family tree though all he found was one with Eileen still in place, no other siblings aside from her brother present. Still, he went back further thinking perhaps she hadn't been the only one removed but when he came to her parents he found that the pair of them had been single children.

A low growl left his throat as he pushed forward again, his only hope that Elsa, his cousin, would have still been alive. As he neared the back of the book his heart sank down into his feet, the certificate of death bearing Elsa's name staring back at him. He turned to the next page, for what he didn't know but when he saw the front page of an Auror case file his interest was peaked. He grabbed a pen and paper and hastily scribbled down the case number.

Pushing himself up and trying desperately to ignore the pain in his stomach over his apparent dead end, he made his way to their records room. He looked down at the number again before raising his wand. There was a slight jostling of drawers before an old battered file came soaring towards him. With a snap, it came into his hands and he immediately opened it.

He skimmed past the dates and straight to the officer's report, the house-elves were the only witnesses to the crime, but only one of the many that served the house survived. It was described as a brutal and ruthless attack. The elf however had been too traumatized to give any statement on who may have done it. All that had been written was the word, Black. Though the officer had his suspicions as to what that referred to or rather to whom it referred to, there was not enough evidence to bring Bellatrix in on the charges. The case had been labeled cold and written off as a pureblood dispute.

Harry let the file close, casting it back to where it came. The weight of the world, his world, weighing down his shoulders. He shuffled back to his desk with a deep bone-rattling sigh and put his head back into his hands. Think. He had to think.

oOo

Hermione stretched languidly over the couch her small nap being just what she had needed. She ruffled her loose hair and let out another stretch as she sat up, tossing the blanket she'd laid over her to the side. It was still a bit early yet for Harry to come home. Luna had all but expelled her from the lab at her first yawn. Their success had sent them both rambling with all the possibilities but Hermione knew exactly when and where she wanted to go. Not that she would share that with Luna, she'd most certainly think her mad.

Still, the idea hadn't left her mind since Luna had told her about her project. The possibility of saving just one life was too much of a temptation for her noble heart. Of course, there were many lives she wished to save. Desperately. Though she wasn't sure even where to begin. When it was time, she would do everything she could to rewrite fate. After all, what awful thing could possibly befall a woman already slated to die?

Hermione absently rubbed at her forearm, having removed the poultice before she'd laid down. She moved towards the stairs almost of her own accord though didn't stop at her bedroom, rather she continued to follow the staircase up to the attic. A thought she'd had long ago coming to the forefront of her calmed mind. 

She climbed the stairs to the attic with reverence. There were a lot of things they'd moved up there when they'd moved into the house. A lot of special things that meant a lot to Harry. She was careful as she moved through the trunks, furniture, and the odd stack of books. Her eyes searched for the old Hogwarts trunk that had been there before they'd moved anything else upstairs.

She found it nestled in the back corner just under the window, partially covered in dust but nothing stacked on top of it. She banished the evidence of time away before kneeling down in front of it. Her fingers traced the softly engraved letters, L.J.E. before reaching out to release the latches.

A soft smell, like summer rain filtered through her nose as she raised the lid. The items inside protected by a spell meant to preserve.

There wasn't too much inside, but there was enough to hold significant emotional importance. A few of her school books were stacked neatly to the side, a stack of letters neatly bundled in a red ribbon on top. Beside them, there was an old handmade quilt neatly folded with what looked like a baby book laying face down overtop. Next to that were a few knick-knack like things, small figurines girly things really. Then, the one thing she had wondered about since the first time she'd seen Snape's memory.

A morose smile curled over her lips as she gently dislodged the old handmade teddy bear. The ribbon had been replaced with a gentle baby blue, and one of the buttons for the eyes had been mended with a similar but slightly off-color button.

Tears wet the bottom of her lashes as she pulled it closer, her fingers running over the uneven stitching. She could feel how special such a seemingly simple item was, how much care had been given to it to keep it looking nice. When she brought it up under her nose she could smell a faint undertone of grass and some sort of herb, possibly part of the stuffing.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice was soft, his steps light so as not to startle her.

Despite Harry's best attempt, Hermione jolted, her fingers curling tight around the small bear. Her heart hammered in her chest from the small fright but when she turned she offered a teary-eyed smile.

"Hey..."

Harry looked at her critically, though when he could find no real cause for alarm, aside from her shining eyes. He let out a slow breath and turned his eyes to the small bear, "Where'd you find that?"

Hermione smiled a bit more and shifted on her legs, "Your mother's trunk."

"Oh...?" Harry moved closer, sitting down himself, a wry grin coming to his lips when he ran his fingers over the bear's ears, "It's cute..."

Hermione gently handed it over,  "It's very old..."

"Yeah, looks that way." Harry pulled it closer, his hands nearly the entire length of the entire bear.

Hermione sniffled a little and wiped at a tear that broke free, "You'll never believe who made it..."

Harry raised a brow, glancing up, "My dad?"

Hermione bit her lips shaking her head.

"My mum?" Harry raised a brow when she shook her head again, his fingers having absently been stroking its little feet. He turned it in his hand for a moment trying to find some clue when ever so faintly he could see a small single stitch 'S' along the bottom of the bear's leg.

His eyes widened comically for a long moment, his head shaking ever just so in disbelief though when he raised his eyes to Hermione's he managed to whisper the one name he never would have guessed on his own, "Snape?"

Hermione nodded and sniffled again, her arms wrapping around her middle in a self-soothing action, "He made it for your mum's eleventh birthday..."

His mouth opened to ask how she knew before he joltingly remembered just what she'd been doing locked in her room almost every evening. Ambivalence rolled around inside him, the emotional rollercoaster of a day he'd had not helping in the slightest. His own eyes shined for a moment as he ran his fingers down the blue ribbon. His eyes narrowed slightly at something stitched into the back of the ribbon.

"Always..." The dark blue stitching looked newer than the rest, the ribbon as well couldn't have been as old.

Hermione swallowed thickly wiping the rest of her fallen tears from her cheek, "I don't think they ever stopped loving each other..."

Harry gave her a puzzled look, "But my Dad..."

Hermione shook her head a little, "I think their love...is like ours..." She looked up to see if he could understand her meaning, "Not that your mother didn't want more at one time..."

"What do you mean...?" Harry was still lost on her first statement and only further confounded by her last.

Hermione smiled and reached over the small gap between them, "Our love. Is strong but neither one of us want anything beyond what we have right? Like, how you love Ginny in a different way than how you love me?"

"Oh...yeah I see..." Harry gave her hand a firm squeeze, noticing how the very tips of her fingers were cooler than the rest of her hand. He idly wondered if they had always been that way or...

"As for your mother..." Hermione licked her bottom lip trying to approach the topic as delicately as she could, "There was a time, when they were young, that she wanted more from him than just friendship..." She looked down at their hands for a moment, "But Snape turned her down..."

Harry looked at her oddly, an emotion without a name puzzling his face, "But he did...all those things...for her...for me..."

Hermione nodded ever just so, a deep breath relaxing the sad smile that had creased the corner of her cheek, "Yeah...he did...but...it was complicated...he..." She looked towards the ceiling trying to find the right words, "He couldn't love her then...he was...too lost inside...too...scared."

She licked her lips and drew her knees up to her chest resting her chin on the caps, "It's hard to really put into words...His life Harry...it... it's just..." She hugged herself tighter, "It was so painful...every slight moment of happiness was stolen away from him...I think... eventually...it became his greatest fear..."

"To be happy?" Harry questioned softly.

"Yeah..." Hermione understood that feeling herself. It was almost how she lived now, constantly on edge...waiting for the other shoe to drop. Constantly bombarded with memories of times more heartbreaking. Of course, she had happy memories too but somehow the dark ones always managed to snuff out the light.

Harry looked back down at the bear in his hands. His mind turned for a long moment, the air between them going still as they each reflected on the place in which they found themselves in their lives. Eventually, his heart gave him an answer to a question he hadn't even known he'd asked.

"I want you to have it..." He slowly offered out the small bear.

"Oh, no Harry I couldn't... it was your mother's and it was obviously special to her and I know it's special for you..." Hermione tried to gingerly push it back towards him, "It's like an heirloom now...you should give it to your children..."

Harry's face twisted with pain, his stomach turning to knots. He shook his head a little pulling her wrist free from her leg and placing the bear into her palm, "Keep it safe for me then? Until that time?"

Hermione pursed her lips to keep her jaw from quivering. Her fingers slowly wrapped around the small bear. When she looked into his eyes she could sense a darkness that hadn't been there before. A pain that only knowledge brings.

"Alright...but just until your firstborn." It made her throat tight to say those words, knowing without a doubt she would never see Harry's baby.

Harry gave her a tight-lipped smile, "Thank you..."

They sat in silence for a moment, each one on the tip of revealing the secret they unknowingly shared. Though it wasn't on long before the moment was broken by the riotous growling of Harry's stomach. The tension snapped and both of them let out a soft chuckle.

"Leftovers?" Harry offered.

"Sounds perfect." Hermione chuckled dryly before taking the offered hand to her feet, the small bear tucked tight to her heart, "Let me just find a safe place for him to be and I'll meet you downstairs."

"Alright."

oOo

Dinner was a quick affair, the pair of them taking to the living room to curl up at opposite ends of the couch. The small muggle television they'd bought keeping both of them from delving too deep into their own thoughts. It felt nice, normal—safe. Something the both of them desperately needed.

By the time the clock struck ten the pair of them were completely relaxed. Harry more so, his legs stretched out and partially tangled in Hermione's, his head resting with heavy-lidded eyes against the back of the couch.

"Harry." Hermione's voice sounded far away for a moment but the gentle shake to his leg roused him enough to lift his head.

"Hm?"

"You should go to bed." Hermione let out a small yawn herself. Despite her little cat nap, the droning of idiotic sitcoms had completely worn her back down to a relaxed state. She'd never really cared for television even in her youth unless it was a documentary of course. Otherwise, she'd found herself completely bored and ready to fall asleep every time she was sat in front of one too long.

Harry mumbled something incoherently before rubbing his eyes, "Yeah..." He shifted his legs from under her warm thighs and dropped them down onto the floor, his eyes still heavy and his head hanging, "Could you...stay with me?"

"Again?" Hermione couldn't help the surprise in her tone but knew Harry was much too tired to question. Instead, she tried to tease him a little to bring a little spark of energy into him, "What would your soon-to-be fiance say?"

Harry snorted out a weak chuckle, "Probably...thank you for keeping my boyfriend company while I'm away doing awesome Quidditch stuff. I know he's a big baby and needs a cuddle sometimes."

Hermione chuckled and shook her head pulling her legs down to the floor, "You are a big baby." She gently ruffled the back of his hair, "But I love you anyway." She pushed herself up and took hold of his wrists to bring him up as well.

"Please?" Harry turned his wrists taking her hands, his eyes traveling over her face as though it would be the last time he saw it.

Hermione gave his hands a squeeze, "Alright but I need to do something first. After that, I'll be in okay?"

Harry nodded a thankful smile on his face before she pushed him towards the stairs. He could feel her eyes watching him as he climbed, a large yawn shaking his frame.

Hermione waited until he was out of sight before reaching down into her bag she'd left beside the couch. She pulled out her box of potions having not wanted to take them with Harry about. She took what she was meant to with only a slight grimace to the taste before slipping the box back into her bag. This night, she decided she didn't need the Draught of Peace and dutifully left it in its place before heading upstairs to change into her pajamas and brush her teeth.

Once finished with the latter, thoroughly avoiding the mirror; not wanting to see her own troubled eyes looking back at her. She moved towards her bedroom.

Longingly, she looked at the journals resting upon her desk. Had there ever been a night where she hadn't visited the world locked inside them since she'd found them? Surely, if Harry had not asked her to stay with him she would have visited Snape tonight. She was tired but not overly so and she didn't have to go to work tomorrow. Still, Harry needed her in the present and despite the allure of the past, she knew that they would be there when she woke.

She slipped into a modest shirt and pants set. The sleeves were long but thin with a modest if slightly lower than she preferred neckline. Not that she had to worry. Harry would never touch her if she didn't want him to. He'd nearly had an aneurysm the one time he accidentally ran into her chest with his hands up. She had nearly lost consciousness from laughing so hard at his red face. Though solemnly she had to admit a nice warm hug wouldn't go amiss right now. Even a proper cuddle, with arms and legs chastely enjoying another's warmth.

The memory brought a smile to her face and she slipped on her pants next. Simple kitty paw print with a drawstring that she tightened firmly to keep them from sagging off of her thinning waist. She didn't feel any thinner but logically she couldn't ignore how much looser, especially her pants, had begun to fit. She'd actually had to start wearing belts not just for fashion but for function. She tried to chalk it down to just growing into her adult body but the back of her mind knew better.

With a lingering look, she collected her pillow and started towards Harry's room. She knocked her way through the door to find Harry resting on his side beneath the covers, she made her way to the bed settling her pillow, and smiled softly when he opened his tired eyes.

"A proper cuddle then?" She offered as she slipped beneath the covers, "Do you want me to hold you or?"

Harry could feel the tension in his shoulders relaxing, "I'll hold you." He finished for her.

"Which way?" Hermione shifted her legs down settling on her side.

"Um...whatever you're comfortable with." Harry let out another yawn as Hermione turned away from him. She pushed herself back to the center of the bed before he could feel her hand reaching back for his.

Harry moved closer, his chest ever so gently pressing into her back. He could feel her shoulder blades against him as she moved to pull his arm over her waist. He tucked his other arm under the pillows but couldn't help but notice how the bottom of her ribs pressed into his elbow with every breath. She settled his hand over her stomach lightly twining their fingers before letting out a soft sigh herself. She'd thankfully had her hair tied back in a loose ponytail so her curls didn't bother him all too terribly.

"Good night Harry." Hermione tucked her chin towards her chest, nuzzling into her pillow as she made a few more small adjustments to get comfortable.

"Goodnight..." Harry laid awake, just feeling her heat radiate against him, though the fingers that held his still felt cool. He could tell by her breathing that she hadn't yet fallen asleep and thus dared to ask a question that had been on his mind since she showed him the bear.

"Hey, Hermione?" He whispered hoping he was still right about her being awake.

"Mm?"

"Do you think...that maybe you could show some of his journals...the ones with my mum in them?"

Hermione's eyes opened and she slightly turned her head back to look at him, "I...I don't know..." She winced at the pain on his face and rushed to explain, "It's not that I don't want to... He's just...locked them behind a special guardian...they let me in but...I don't know if they'd let you..."

"Wouldn't hurt to try...?" Harry offered resisting the urge to brush a curl from her face.

"No, it wouldn't..." Hermione smiled gently rolling her head away once more, "Whenever your ready... I'll try to find something okay?"

"Thank you..." Harry nestled his chin over the top of her curls, a deep sigh leaving his chest as he leaned just a little more against her. He tried to focus on everything about her, the smell of her hair, the way her hand fit in his. Like she had said, it wasn't a lustful love but one built on trust, trial, and hard luck shared. He couldn't even imagine a world without her. Nor did he want to. She was his best friend, a friend he never thought he would lose so soon. Having lost so many others that had been so important in his life he wasn't sure his heart could take losing her as well. It would certainly be the darkest day of his life.