The night burned long as both Hermione and Severus struggled to get comfortable on the overstuffed bed. Their injuries had made it nearly impossible to sleep the way they were accustomed to. Hermione had tried and failed to rest herself against Severus in any way and finally had to concede to sleeping flat on her back with her arm around her waist. She'd woken up numerous times during the night in pain before finally taking the potion that Librous had given her, without Severus' knowledge or approval. She'd fallen into a deep sleep after that, her rest filled with beautiful dreams of a castle in it's prime.

Severus too had woken off and on through the night but had chosen his own stores to take. It had eased his body long enough for him to rest, though somewhat uneasily. His dreams too filled with the castle, and its past inhabitants though not as pleasant. His brain had created many a plausible scenario for what might have been lurking in the east wing. He woke at sunrise to find a clean pitcher of water and two more vials of potions. He'd taken note that the one Hermione had been meant to take was empty and nearly felt his heart jump from his chest.

Though when he had turned to check on her condition he found her sleeping peacefully beside him. It had been against his better judgment but he had taken the potion given to him and found his entire body free of any pain and completely relaxed, so much so that he actually fell back into a proper restful sleep.

oOo

Hermione sighed softly shifting from her back onto her side, the pain in her body completely taken away. She could feel Severus breathing beside her and subconsciously reached out to touch him. His response was a soft relaxed groan and a shift of his arm allowing her to move closer and into his side. As Hermione nestled her head into his shoulder, the first rays of the risen sun starting to warm her face. She laid there enjoying the sound of his heart before she remembered exactly where they were.

Her eyes snapped open with a small jolt before she squinted against the light filling the room. Bringing a hand up to shield her eyes from the glare, she was shocked to realize that she was able to move her injured arm with little to no pain. She shifted just a little raising her arm to test her range of movement to find that she was almost back to full strength. Had he put bruise salve on her while she slept? She couldn't smell it and her clothes weren't sticking to her. The only reasonable conclusion was that the potion Librous had given her had done something that no other potion of their time had been able to do.

She turned her eyes towards the bedside table to find a pitcher of water, two golden goblets, two more potions and a small plate of fruits that were in season. She shifted just a bit more to look into Severus' exhausted sleeping face before mother nature came knocking. She let out a small whine leaning up to kiss Severus' jaw before she pulled herself from his side. She was able to put some weight on her shoulder as she climbed off the other side but she was still careful.

Hermione slipped into her shoes to avoid the cold chill of the stone floor before turning her head around the room in search of a door that would possibly lead to the bathroom. She looked back to make sure she hadn't disturbed Severus before moving towards the center of the large space.

Finding something that looked like a hidden door she moved over giving it a gentle push, it released to her and her eyes went wide at the large room inside. Nearly the size of the prefect's bathroom at Hogwarts, Hermione turned her head in awe at beautifully designed stonework of the master bath. It was large enough to fit at least ten people and the stone of which it was made was a beautiful rose pink. The room also held what appeared to be a dressing table, complete with various brushes and what she could assume to be perfumes, laying in various stages of dust and a large partition off to the side. She slipped into the room without a second thought.

oOo

Severus woke to a cold bed, his body heavy and relaxed. He turned his head from the shadow into the light before lowering down his arm that had been up under Hermione's pillow. His hand jumped just a little when he didn't feel her beside him and he quickly opened his eyes at the glaring morning sun. He managed to sit himself up on his elbows before he even registered he wasn't in pain, though his mind was fully on finding where Hermione had gone. The soft turning of a page turned his head towards the window. He blinked dumbly waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light; when they finally came into focus he felt the rope around his heart release and he let out a heavy sigh turning the head of the woman he'd been searching for.

Hermione gave him a gracious smile, slipping the small bit of fruit she had in her free hand into her mouth and closed the journal she'd been reading. She'd found it sitting on the dressing table and hadn't been able to resist. To her surprise, it had been written in old English saving her morning brain from having to translate the words within. It hadn't held anything too groundbreaking, just the inner thoughts and worries of a young woman in love with a man she had no business being in love with; much like herself. She had found an instant kinship with the owner.

"Good morning." Hermione pushed herself from the large plush chair, coming over to the bed. Severus had pushed himself over the edge by the time she'd made it to the rise and she leaned down to place his shoes beneath his feet before coming to sit beside him. "You looked so tired, I didn't have the heart to wake you." She ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his temples and smoothing out the sleep tousled locks.

Severus hummed softly closing his eyes when she lightly scratched the back of his head, mindful of the small lump that had risen in the back, "How do you feel?"

"Much better...you?"

"Almost perfect." She raised her arm slowly, showing him her improved range of movement before letting out a soft sigh, "Those potions were... nothing like I've ever seen." Hermione knew that Severus had taken one as well when she'd taken a bit of fruit to eat while she waited for him to wake. It made her feel a lot less guilty about having taken one without him examining it first.

Severus hummed again, "We were lucky." He pushed his feet into his shoes and lightly rolled his leg to test his hip. He let out a small grunt when the bone gave a light pop but didn't feel any resulting pain.

"Could you tell what it was made of?" Hermione knew he had a keen eye and an even more developed pallet than herself. She was curious to know if he'd been able to identify any ingredients therein.

"Nothing, mine tasted like water...yours?"

"Interestingly enough, strawberries." Hermione licked her dry lips turning her head to the vials, "Do you think we should take more?"

"Only half, I can examine them better back the house."

"Or...we could try to find the laboratory...?"

Severus had to admire her willpower but he wasn't sure exploring more of the castle was such a good idea. Though he was itching to know just what exactly was in the potions he knew he could safely dissect them at home in the comfort of their own home.

"Please? It's in this wing," She couldn't help the soft whine in her voice nor control the adorable pout on her lips that she hadn't yet learned was his undoing.

"We're leaving at noon, no exceptions. You have work tomorrow and I don't think it would do you well to show up on crutches." Severus turned his eyes away from her pout, he hadn't known when exactly that look of hers had softened his heart but there wasn't anything to be done about it.

Hermione's face brightened more brilliantly than the sun and she placed a kiss on his cheek before turning to pull the tray of food over, "It's really good." Hermione took another piece popping it into her mouth before letting Severus take the plate. She could barely contain her excitement and pushed off the bed to dig her blueprints from her bag.

She moved over to the large ornate desk beside the window moving various things out of her way before laying the map out to its fullest. She ran her eyes up and down trying to locate where they were first. She'd taken some time to look out the large window and was able to partially exact their location based on their height and the large hall of the library that nearly swallowed the backgrounds. She'd also noted there was a private garden in the center that looked maintained and she could guess that it was where their food had come from.

She looked for the square on the map and was able to go from there. She smirked as she ran her finger down. It would have made sense to have a private garden next to the lab and she was correct. She ran her finger along the first floor before finding a staircase that led down even further, a basement or dungeon she couldn't really be sure what to call it but she could see a door that would lead them into the laboratory. Unfortunately, the map didn't have any layout for the bottom floor, only the corridor that the door was settled on.

"Okay, we're on the third level, we can take a staircase just to the right of this room back down to the first floor where we need to head back like we went to get up to the library except this time we'll take the stairs down."

"Does it show the east wing?"

Hermione blinked for a moment before turning her head to the right, "Yes, it does." She smoothed out the map before moving aside. Severus had come to his feet the plate of food still in his hand. He came to stand beside her looking down at the map for himself. The layout was simple, even the titles written on the rooms seemed innocuous. His brow furrowed as he tried to understand why they would have sealed it off.

"It just looks like a wing for entertaining guests." Hermione looked over the rooms herself, Ballroom, parlor, dining hall, various estate rooms, nothing at all seemed to scream secret hidden away evil.

"Looks can often be deceiving." Severus narrowed his eyes looking through the layout, something about it didn't add up in his spatial reasoning.

"Don't I know." Hermione smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear making him look at her with confusion, she just giggled and stole the last piece of fruit from the plate and popped it into her mouth.

Severus snorted softly and folded the map up. Something was starting to bother him about the entire situation they had found themselves in. The book titles Hermione had recounted to him yesterday was starting to niggle the back of his subconscious and he couldn't quite yet put his finger on what exactly was bothering him about it.

He thought back to when he had taken care of Galia during her pregnancy. Something she had said had started to float back into the front of his mind. He tried to circle in on it but it was still elusive. She had been just as pushy about him getting into the castle as Hermione had been but she hadn't given him any real reasons why. In fact, now that he thought back on it, she had been in uncharacteristically withholding on a wide amount of information.

"Severus?" Hermione had left him to his pensive while she gathered their things. She had already taken half of her potion and was now offering out his. She could tell he was working himself up to a right fit and it worried her brow.

"Let's go." Severus turned his wrist checking the time, it was just after nine, they had plenty of time to explore and be out by noon. He took the half of his potion before offering it back to Hermione to store.

He rolled his shoulders as the small ache from his bruised back and hip faded completely away. He let out a slow breath before making his way towards the door. His mind was still trying to piece together the small fragments of thought that had started to float about in his mind. He was angry but he couldn't yet fully understand why.

Hermione kept her mouth closed as his face grew darker. She had been partially worried that she was pushing him to do something he wasn't all that willing to do. She had been so wrapped up in the mystery of the castle that she'd completely forgotten that this was his castle, his forgotten life. Was it really so hard for him to discover more about where he came from? Was it truly that painful? She couldn't understand but she knew it wasn't the time to ask. He'd never been too loquacious when discussing his feelings. He was more a man of action than silly emotional words.

Down and down they went until they found themselves completely in the dark. Hermione quietly lit the torches along the corridor before letting out a small shiver. She couldn't really put her finger on what it was, but something about the lower level felt overwhelmingly depressing. She let her eyes wander but kept her wand out in front. Severus likewise stayed at her side, his wand at the ready.

They walked so far that the light of the upper floor was no longer anywhere to be seen, they made it to a small bend before coming face to face with a large steel door with the family crest engraved on it. Hermione moved closer but didn't touch, rather she searched the seam for a handle. Finding none she took a small step back looking for one of the eyes that had locked the other doors. Still finding nothing she turned on her heel looking up to Severus for a clue.

Severus shook his head slowly before coming to place his hand on the door. His palm had just laid flat on the door when a sharp pop and a large gust of air roared through the hall. The wind was cold but smelled oddly sterile.

Hermione pulled her arm down from where she'd protected herself and blinked at the soft white light that was now peeking out just around the frame. She glanced to Severus before he gave the heavy door a hard push. The metal groaned loudly, ringing in their ears. Hermione's jaw dropped open when the door was finally open far enough to see within.

Large spheres lined the ceiling, replicating the power of the sun. Burning white to wash the entire room in a perfect shadowless glow. Rows and rows of shelves lined the far walls, filled to the brim with vials of various colors and shapes. Three large and impressively long stone top tables stood between them and the shelves. As Hermione took a small step in she couldn't suppress the small gasp at the large shelves filled with every possible potion tool imaginable.

Severus had never seen a more equipped laboratory in his life. It was absolutely brilliant beyond measure with tools and resources such as these it was no wonder that the potions they had been given worked so well. It was in that moment that his brain cycled back to his previous concerns came to a head. It was perfect, too perfect.

Hermione had come to the first table, setting down the Severus' potion before turning to look down the nearly endless rows of shelves. No matter what direction she looked, in the room seemed to just go on and on. She was just about to express her concern when Severus moved over to a shelf containing various knives. She gasped softly when the knife he made to grab suddenly vanished before he could take hold of it.

"We need to leave now."

"But-"

"Now."

Hermione pursed her lips but didn't dare to further argue with his tone. She slipped his potion into her bag without another word and hurried after his long and very angry strides.

oOo

"This is your brother Renatus." Galia smiled gently as the infant in her arms wrapped his tiny fingers around the orb she held before him, "He's much older than you now, but he loves you so much." Galia swallowed back the tears welling in her eyes as she listened to her baby's happy giggle echoing out from inside the orb, "He's not with us on this earth anymore but he will protect you, always." Galia pulled the both of them up to her chest pressing her lips to the cold stone before gently pressing another to Renatus' soft hair. "Mummy loves you..."

The door to her room came open with a flurry and her arms wrapped tightly around the bundle in her arms, her heart jumping straight into her throat. Her arm shot out to curse the intruder before she realized it was only Severus. She didn't need her extra power of perception to know that he was upset, actually, he'd gone right passed upset and straight to pissed off. She winced when he slammed and warded the door, Hermione's desperate call for him to stop coming from down the hall leading to her room. She swallowed slowly turning her eyes down to Renatus who had begun to cry.

"You owe me answers."

Galia shook her head slowly, her entire focus on the baby in her arms. She tried to hide the small orb that she had carried with her all this time but she knew Severus had seen it. She sniffled softly trying to hold back her emotions but there was no running away from him now, "I've told you everything I know..." She shushed Renatus, lightly pressing her finger to his lips to try and soothe him but the boy merely grabbed hold of her finger and cried harder.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me." Severus' voice was deathly quiet but the edge under which was enough to make any sensible human being's blood run cold. His eyes shot towards the baby in her arms before looking down at the orb that had fallen into her lap. "You've used me."

"Severus please, hear what I say-"

"All this time, you were filling her head with lies, my head with lies, all so you could what?"

"Please...I just...I just wanted to see him again..."

"See who?"

"My Valirus...my son...the one that your master stole from me!"

"My master?" Severus had to take a slow breath to keep himself from exploding half of the room. As angry as he was at Galia he would never do something to harm an infant, "I killed a man for you. I shattered my soul to live another day. To survive. All this time, you've been playing me like everyone else!"

"That's not true! Severus, I promise you, it's not true! There's so much more to this than-"

"Who the wrote the books Galia? The ones in the library, fifth floor. You know the ones."

"I-" Galia swallowed her words shaking her head. Renatus had taken hold of her finger but his face was still pinched with his soft cries.

"Don't lie. Why did you use me to lower the wards on the castle? You, just as much as I, carry the same blood!"

"It would only open to the heir, Severus. You-You are the heir. The firstborn of the firstborn. I had tried—many times—I couldn't...I couldn't get in...then I saw you...I knew...I had to find you, please...I never meant to keep it a secret...I just...I knew you had to find it on your own...that it had to be your choice to enter."

"What's in the east wing, Galia?" Severus was seeing red around the edges of his vision but he kept himself tightly controlled, he could hear Hermione's voice through the door as she tried to dismantle his wards.

"I don't know...I swear!" Galia was crying fully now, closing her eyes tight to try and keep herself calm, Renatus was just as upset as she and it was tearing her heart.

"Who wrote the books Galia? Who wrote the Praevisas?"

"I did! Years ago! I have no idea what's even in them, our grandfather took them from me before I could even properly spell my own name! They're just as much a mystery to me as they are to you!"

"How did you reinstate me into the bloodline?"

"I...I was the one...who banished you in the first place...your mother rather..."

"Why? Why would you do that?"

"It had to be done...you would never have met that girl—Lily— if your mother hadn't moved away. You would never have protected the boy-who-lived if you hadn't had lost your first love. You would never have found Hermione if you hadn't done all of that. Can't you see?"

"So you're the true puppet master..."

"Severus I have no control over what I see, only that I can see it. It doesn't matter what choices I make...they're already written."

Severus was just about to retort when the door behind him swung open smacking him hard on the shoulder. Hermione panted heavily turning her eyes between the woman with child on the bed and Severus' furious eyes. She was just about to speak when he pushed past her, nearly knocking her over in his haste to vacate the room. Hermione called out for him once more but the man disapparated mid-stride.

"Is it true? All of it?"

"Yes..."