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Fawkes arrived at St. Mungo's while Snape was still speaking to the Healers about Padma; a little part of his brain was shouting that he made a rotten romantic lead, since any hero in his right mind would be off pining at Dora's bedside, but the rest of his brain was quite sensibly reminding him that he had a duty to his students and that pining did nobody any good.

"Hey, no pets in here," ordered one of the mediwizards.

"He's not a pet, imbecile," Snape said, accepting the letter Fawkes offered him and allowing the bird to perch on his shoulder.

"Well, he can't stay here."

"He can and will," Snape growled, opening the letter. It informed him that Harry, Neville, and Draco were safe and being seen to by Pomona, and that Padma's parents had been notified and were on their way via floo while McGonagall had been sent to get Andromeda and Ted. He had hoped to use Fawkes to get back to Hogwarts and make a report personally, but he would have to go and meet them or they'd probably get lost in the sea of bureaucracy that was the ground-floor of St. Mungo's.

He turned the letter over and took a quill from the fingers of the mediwizard who was making notes on Padma's condition. On the back of the letter he scrawled "Will come as soon as possible, send Fawkes if urgently needed" and gave it to the phoenix before handing the wizard back his quill.

"Go to Professor Tonks," he told the bird, who tilted his head and chirped inquiringly. "Go to Nymphadora and stay there."

Fawkes vanished and Snape ran from the room, making mental notes on how to return there once he'd found the Patils.

It was past midnight, somewhere out in the real world, and the lobby of the hospital was nearly empty -- or rather, it had been before Parents had begun arriving. Technically, though he loved Andromeda and Ted more deeply than he would admit to himself, he hated all Parents. All they ever did was complain and interfere.

Sirius Black was standing in the middle of the lobby in a pair of black silk pyjamas, shouting at the mediwitch on desk duty; Lupin, in a rather more sensible pair of trousers and white pyjama shirt, was busy checking the floors. The Patils, fully if hastily dressed, were clutching each other tightly and looking worried. Ted and Andromeda looked as if they hadn't yet gone to bed, but both of them were barefoot and Ted had forgotten to take off his reading glasses. Andromeda was holding tightly to McGonagall's arm.

"Mr. Patil, Ms. Patil," Snape said, as they hurried up to him. "She's fine. She's awake and she seems out of danger."

Padma's father began to weep.

"I need to speak to the Tonkses," he said. They nodded, but he was already turning; he met Ted's eye and saw the despairing look of a father preparing for the worst possible news.

"I don't know fully what's happened yet," he said. "As far as I can tell, Dora was bitten by a basilisk. They're venomous, but there are several known antidotes and I think she arrived in time."

"What in the bloody fucking hell is a basilisk doing at Hogwarts?" Sirius demanded.

"Shut up, Black, your son is quite healthy and still at the school," Snape snarled suddenly. "Nymphadora may be dying, so you will be quiet."

"They insisted on coming," McGonagall said. "Has Fawkes found you?"

"I've sent him to Dora. You," he said, wheeling and turning on the mediwitch. "Where is Nymphadora Tonks?"

"We can't give out information on patients -- "

"I will strangle you barehanded if I must," Snape answered. She must have seen that it wasn't a lie; she made a frightened noise and looked down at the parchment in front of her.

"She's one floor up in critical care," she said. Ted and Andromeda ran for the stairs, Sirius and Remus heading for the nearest floo portal that would take them to Hogwarts.

"Come with me," Snape said to the Patils. "I'll take you to your daughter."

When he had seen them safely into the room and properly terrorised the staff into allowing them to stay, he headed for the stairs again. He could have -- perhaps should have -- run, but if she was well she would still be there, and if she was not....well, then there was little need to hurry.

He had almost reached the stairs when there was a shout from behind him and he turned.

"Severus!"

Standing in the corridor, leaning on a crutch, stood a young woman in hospital-issue pyjamas with one leg tightly braced from thigh to ankle. Pink hair, blue-grey eyes, and a phoenix perched on her shoulder --

"Dora," he said, suddenly aware that he was trembling as he came forward. "Tonks -- "

"Hi," she said, looking down at the crutch and mistaking his tone for worry. "Oh -- it's nothing, temporary. And they've already healed my arm -- "

In the middle of a hospital corridor, as the mediwitches and Healers walking with Tonks stopped to stare, Severus Snape swooped down on the young woman with the bright pink hair and the crutch and kissed her so hard that they both stumbled and Fawkes took flight, scolding them loudly. The crutch clattered to the ground when he caught her around the waist, pulling her close, and her arms went around his neck. His other hand cupped her cheek just as the Healers began to applaud.

They broke apart, Nymphadora's hair turning deep gold in embarrassment, spots of colour appearing on Severus' cheeks.

"I -- " he stuttered, shocked at his own behaviour. "I -- "

"I've dropped my crutch," Tonks said weakly. He crouched slowly and picked it up, handing it to her.

"They told us you were on a lower floor -- your parents have gone there," he said.

"The Healers wanted to make sure I wasn't hexed at all," she replied. "Can you show me where they went?"

He nodded, taking her hand and leading her away from the hoots of the mediwitches, down to the end of the corridor where a single, magically-operated elevator stood. He helped her inside and it began to creak slowly downwards.

"You have my deepest apologies," he said, shame still burning his cheeks as she turned to face him. "The pressures of the moment -- it's been a long night."

"Of course," she murmured.

"I would never presume -- "

"Severus?"

He looked at her, awaiting what he was sure would be an ill-worded but politely-intended reproof, possibly even a rejection.

"Unless you're actively trying to get rid of me, shut up and stop apologising," she said. "I mean, I know I don't look that great right now, but -- "

"This is ludicrous," he said, bending to kiss her again, if only to shut her up. It was an exceptional kiss, better even than the last one; he felt her fingers thread through his hair as her body pressed against his...

...and the doors opened.

He stepped back so quickly that she nearly dropped her crutch again, then caught her around the waist to stop her from overbalancing. Fortunately, there was no-one in the lobby except the mediwizard at the desk, who gave them both a sardonic look. Even as he helped her out of the elevator, Andromeda came down the hallway, the stormclouds visibly brewing.

"If I am not told," she shouted at the mediwizard, "In ten seconds or less where my daughter has been taken, so help me Merlin -- "

"Andromeda," Snape said quietly. She whirled, furiously; in a split second her expression completely changed.

"Oh, my baby," she said, and he moved away so that she could wrap her daughter in her arms. "You weren't in the room they sent us to and I was so afraid -- "

"It's all right, mum," Dora said, but it was at least another thirty seconds before Ted could pry her mother away so that he could have a good look at her.

"You're hurt," he said, staring at the brace on her leg.

"It's only temporary. I have potions for the poison and the leg's already healing..." she answered, before the wind was knocked out of her by her father's tight hug. She squeaked. "I'm okay dad, really...I got here before the poison did any permanent damage."

"Thank Merlin," he murmured. "It was like the Grindylows all over again..."

"It's all right, really," she said, looking embarrassed as he let her go. "Severus saved my life, you know!" she added, misdirecting their attention. He ducked his head at the sudden looks from the Tonkses.

"Anyone would have," he muttered.

"What, with me and three adolescent boys?" she asked. "He Apparated me to the hospital."

"How did you Apparate from Hogwarts?" Andromeda asked.

"There's time for all that later," Severus said stiffly. "I should notify the Headmaster that you're all right, and check on the children."

"All right," Dora agreed reluctantly. "But come back when you're finished?"

He nodded and would have turned to go, but she put a hand on his arm and leaned up, kissing his cheek. He avoided her parents' eyes completely as he fled into the stairwell, though he did hear Ted say "Dora, are you and Severus -- " before the door shut behind him.

***

Harry, Neville, and Draco were looking much cleaner by the time Snape returned via floo to Hogwarts, and they were vocally requesting that they be allowed to go and see Padma and Dora. Sirius was with them in the still-crowded Great Hall, attempting to keep them under control.

The three boys ran up to Snape as he appeared, demanding to be taken to St. Mungo's; Sirius, who had apparently borrowed a set of robes from a seventh-year to cover his pyjamas, glared at him.

"Stop this infernal commotion at once!" Snape roared. The boys immediately fell silent, which only annoyed Sirius further. "Where is the Headmaster?"

"Here, Severus," Dumbledore called from the high table, where he was in conference with the rest of the professors, minus one or two. "Have you come from St. Mungo's?"

"Yes, Headmaster. Professor Tonks is out of danger; Ms. Patil appears to be well," he said. A wave of murmurs raced around the hall. Dumbledore held up his hands for silence.

"Thank you. Professors, I think you may escort your students back to their dormitories; please remain in the common rooms tonight to forestall any more untoward events. Madam Hooch will supervise the Gryffindors in the absence of the Deputy Headmistress; Slytherins, please report to Professor Sinistra, as I shall require Professor Snape's company a while longer."

Sirius herded the boys forward as the rest of the school began to stream out the doors, whispering and giving them all odd looks. Dumbledore gestured for them to be seated at one end of the Hufflepuff table, then brought a chair of his own from the high table and sat in it, polishing his glasses carefully.

"Now," he said, "having had only the very barest bones of the story, I wonder if we might not fill in a few gaps."

"There are certainly a few I'd like filled," Snape snarled.

"Please, Severus, now is not the time for histrionics."

"Histri -- !" Snape sputtered.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, I think now is precisely the time for histrionics," Sirius agreed, then looked horrified at having said something in support of Severus Snape. "I'd like to know what's happened, too."

"So you shall. I have sent Mr. Lupin with Professor Kettleburn and Rubeus Hagrid through the portal Professor Snape so obligingly opened for us in the third-floor washroom," Dumbledore said. "Incidentally, Severus, in some calmer time you will have to share with me how you became so adept at magical lock-picking; dropping the visual wards with a hex on the sink was nicely done. In the meantime, let us not see if we might start at the beginning and continue until we come to the end. At which point, if we are able, we shall stop."

"I suspect, Headmaster, that you must begin," Snape murmured. "With Miss Patil's abduction, I think."

"Dear me, no. I believe the story begins in Mardjin Alley, some time last year," Dumbledore replied. "Does it not, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco swallowed and looked apprehensively at Snape before turning back to the Headmaster. "Yessir," he whispered. Sirius laid a large hand on his thin shoulder, and he lifted his chin a little. "Yes, sir," he repeated.

"You were given a journal?"

"Yes, sir. Mr. Macnair -- "

"Macnair!" Sirius exploded suddenly. "I'll fucking have him put down -- "

"Sirius, if you cannot contain yourself, I must ask you to leave," Dumbledore said firmly. Sirius subsided. "Continue, Mr. Malfoy."

"He's a friend of mum's," Draco explained. "He gave me the journal because he said I'd need the proper tools for school. It was the wrong year though, and tatty and old, so I thought I'd just say thank you and throw it out later. But Padma said she'd always wanted to try keeping a journal..."

"I see," Dumbledore murmured. "Did Walden Macnair say where he acquired it?"

"I guess he bought it somewhere," Draco said thoughtfully.

"Not bloody likely," Sirius muttered.

"Continue, Draco."

"So I gave it to Padma. I saw her write in it sometimes," Draco said with a shrug.

"I believe that some -- not all -- of the...mischief and mayhem that has occurred this year is the result of what I understand to be a manipulation of Miss Patil by the diary itself," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps, Harry, you will share this evening's events with us..."

Harry recounted the battle with the basilisk, assisted by Neville and Draco, while Sirius occasionally swore under his breath. When they came to the aftermath of the basilisk's death, Dumbledore turned to Severus.

"I understand you did, in fact, Apparate from within the Chamber of Secrets," he said.

"The wards on the access tunnel..." Snape gestured a little haplessly. "Slytherin was a very flexible-minded wizard. He set charms to prevent his work being found even if the material structure of the school was modified. The dungeons' stairwell has been moved three times by various useless Headmasters and it always moves back, and that's merely a set of stairs. It stood to reason that his inner sanctuary would be impervious to things like anti-Apparation spells."

"That will have to be seen to," Dumbledore said to himself, even as footsteps rang in the Great Hall and they looked up to see Remus, pale and worried, approaching.

"Kettleburn and Hagrid have gone to the kitchens for a stiff drink," he said. "I can't say I blame them. I've never seen a basilisk up close and personal before, and I hope to Merlin I never do again. I assume it was Dora who blew its brains out through its eyesockets?"

"She did what?" Snape demanded.

"Well, that's Kettleburn's professional opinion as an animal handler. He thinks she used a modified, focused expelliarmus. And there's this," Remus said, holding up a leather sack he'd been carrying at his side. It was full to the brim with scraps of paper. Two bits of pasteboard were shoved down one side. "We gathered up every piece, like you told us."

"Torch it," Sirius said, starting forward. Dumbledore pulled the drawstring of the bag tight, tucking it away in his volumnous robes.

"You should know better, Sirius," he said gently. "This will require more than mere fire, that I promise you."

"Poor Padma," Draco murmured. "You should have seen the way she tore into it."

"Understandably," Dumbledore replied. Just then Fawkes appeared and circled the hall, settling on Dumbledore's shoulder. He dropped a bit of scrap paper in his lap. "Ah. Miss Patil and Professor Tonks, it appears, will both make a full recovery; I believe we have reached the end of our story, at least for this evening. All things considered, we shall suspend classes on the morrow. More time for the students to study for their exams, and more time for our young would-be heroes to spend with their friend," he added with a smile. "Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, under the circumstances I will allow you to escort Neville to his sister's side; in the absence of closer kin, I suspect you may act in loco parentis for Mr. Malfoy as well, as I'm certain he would like to see his cousin. And I cannot, of course, stop you from taking custody of your legal ward for the evening."

He stood, gathering up his robes. "If you will excuse me, there is the disposal of the basilisk's body to be considered, as well as a few other small matters. Severus, you will certainly wish to be a party to the...dissection of the noble if ill-managed beast?"

Snape looked torn. "Y....es, of course, Headmaster -- "

"Very well, I will see that it is put in a stasis charm until you return from St. Mungo's. Please locate Parvati and bring her along with the other children to the hospital."

Sirius glanced back and forth from a grateful-looking Snape to Dumbledore. "Here, why is he -- "

"Do run along, Sirius, there's a good fellow," Dumbledore said with a gentle smile.

Dora Tonks woke, the morning after her battle with the basilisk, to clean warm sheets, a brightly-lit room, and the sound of an almighty crash.

She pushed herself up on her elbows, looking around; a second muffled crash indicated that whatever was going on, it was happening outside her door.

Her leg felt stiff, but it didn't hurt too badly; at least this time she didn't have a hundred small, swollen, itchy bites to tend for weeks and weeks together. She tried swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and then stopped as icy pain raced up and down her body.

Okay, maybe it did hurt too badly.

She carefully lifted her legs back onto the bed and scooted back so that the pillows supported her, drawing her good leg up slightly. There was a pitcher and a water-glass on the table next to the bed, and she helped herself while she waited for her head to clear a little. She'd fallen asleep last night after talking to her mum and dad a little and giving a report to Moody. She remembered that much, and the news that everyone was safe. She thought she'd woken once in the night to the sound of her dad talking to someone -- maybe Sirius -- but she couldn't be certain.

The door opened and she glanced up; Severus entered, shut the door tightly, and leaned on it, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

"Hi," she said in a small voice. He started and looked at her.

"You're awake," he said, coming forward quickly. "Do you need a Healer?"

"No," she said. "I feel all right. What's going on out there?"

He turned to look at the door. "Oh -- nothing."

She raised her eyebrows. It was a move she'd learned from him.

"I may have been a bit impatient with a journalist lurking around your door," he admitted. "And the photographer she brought. Specifically, his camera."

"Oh, dear," she murmured.

"Your parents are having breakfast; I can fetch them..."

"No -- that's all right, let them eat. I've put them through enough yesterday," she said with a smile. "Come on, sit down and tell me what's going on. How's Padma?"

"Discharged to her parents this morning. They're with your parents, and Black and Lupin, and the rest of the troublemakers," he said sourly. "I daresay the hospital canteen has never seen such a circus."

"I'm sure they've seen worse," she answered. "Why aren't you with them?"

"I can go -- "

"That wasn't what I meant," she said, putting a hand on his sleeve. She tugged, gently, until he sat on the edge of the bed, head turned to study her.

"I was just...making sure those imbeciles they employ here had seen to you before I joined everyone else," he said.

"Well, as it happens, they haven't, so I'd be obliged if you'd wait here with me so as to yell at them more conveniently when they do show up," she said. He actually smiled.

"Of course."

"Severus Snape, knight gallant."

"Hardly," he replied. "I'm not the one who saved Padma Patil's life last night."

"No, just mine."

He shrugged. She looked down at her fingers, twisting in her lap.

"About...last night...and yesterday, and really the past few weeks, I suppose..." he began. "What do you think of....what's happened?"

"Aside from the bits where I nearly died?"

"In general terms."

"I've enjoyed them," she said. He worried his lower lip with his teeth; the scars on his temple, three long jagged lines left by Peter Pettigrew, were red against his face, a sign that he was embarrassed.

"As have I, but we must be sensible," he said. "We would do better to consider the situation at large before our...impulses run away with us."

"That's half the fun of this," she answered.

"Is it?" he asked distantly. "I can't say I've encountered it in quite this fashion before."

"What parts of our...situation did you want to consider?" she asked, a little amused.

"Facts of age and experience. I am twelve years older than you," Severus said slowly, and she gave him a bare nod. "When you were born I was already attending Hogwarts. Before you had reached the age of ten, I was a professor there. For seven years you were my student. For much of our lives, the balance of power has been on my side, and that's not easily forgotten by either of us."

"I know," she whispered.

"We are nothing alike," he continued. "You are a clumsy, foolish young woman -- "

"Severus!"

"And I am a sullen, cruel man pushing middle age."

There was a second of silence as she realised what he'd said, and she touched his shoulder. "You are not," she said fiercely. "You're hardly thirty-three, and you just want your students to do well -- you're a good teacher -- "

"The problem is," he continued inexorably, "that I'm fairly sure you are one of the few people on this earth I can tolerate for more than five minutes at a time and therefore I appear to be falling in love with you. I'm not any happier about it than you are," he added. She stared at him. "If you want me to, I'll leave."

"I...everyone's going to be scandalised," she blurted. He lifted an eyebrow. "Sirius is going to make so much fun of me -- Harry's going to positively gloat -- "

"Not quite the admission of affection I'd hoped for," he drawled. "But it will do. You've forgotten what Albus Dumbledore is going to say."

"Merlin," she wailed, and he leaned forward, turning to allow her to bury her face in his chest. She felt him pat the back of her head awkwardly; it occurred to her that he was no more experienced at this than she was.

"My world, in general, is a world of order, of systems and formulae," he said against her hair. "This is much more complicated. I cannot promise that I will always know what I'm doing."

She laughed into his shirt. "Mark the calendar -- Severus Snape admitted there's something he didn't know."

"You're teasing me."

"Yes," she said, tilting her face up and kissing his jaw. He turned his head, catching her mouth with his own.

"I also cannot promise your parents won't disapprove," he said, when they had finished kissing. "They are good friends, but there is a limit to friendship."

"Let me deal with them," she replied. "It's not like you're going to need to get a permission slip signed."

He turned his head away and for a moment she thought he was going to bring up some other troublesome fact, but instead he slipped off the bed and turned to her.

"The circus is coming," he said.

"How did you -- "

"I'll tell you later," he promised, as the door opened and the room began to fill with people -- Neville and Harry climbing up on the bed, Draco standing nearby, the Patil family en masse appearing to thank her, her parents beaming in the background. She did look up from all the attention in time to see Severus quietly leave the room, stopping to say a few words to Andromeda on his way out.

Padma was quieter than usual, a little withdrawn, although that was more reassuring than a laughing, shouting girl would have been. Her parents were grateful, it was obvious, but they were also gracious about it and Tonks found herself liking them immensely.

With her usual aplomb, Andromeda had soon wrangled a small table and several chairs into the room, stolen by Remus and Sirius from a nearby waiting area. Although the Patils were on their way home so that Padma could have a few days of rest, everyone else seemed determined to stay and keep Dora occupied. There was the whole story to rehash once more in detail, with feats of heroic bravery embellished suitably by the boys and admired suitably by Andromeda and Ted. Several bouquets of flowers arrived throughout the morning, and at noon one particularly pretty basket of dahlias arrived attached to the arm of the Headmaster.

"I see that you have been kept busy, Professor Tonks," he said with a small smile, setting his bouquet on the table and touseling Draco's hair as he passed. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, sir, thank you," she said. "They're discharging me this evening."

"Splendid. You will go home, I hope, for some well-deserved rest?"

She looked indecisive. "Final exams start in two days, sir..."

"So they do, so they do. Do you intend to return to administer them?"

"I'd like to," she said, glancing at her parents before turning back to Dumbledore. "I won't be walking much, but I'm not the one who'll need to."

He smiled again, that small, knowing smile, and then rubbed his hands together.

"I was wondering if I might have a moment alone with Professor Tonks, in that case," he said, pointedly not looking at anyone in particular. The boys sighed and began to head for the door; Sirius glanced at Andromeda before he and Remus followed. The Tonkses gave their daughter good-bye hugs and assured her they'd be back later in the afternoon. When they were gone, Dumbledore stood looking down at Dora for a long moment.

"Sir, can I ask..."

"Hmm?" he said.

"What about Padma? And exams, I mean."

"Oh, I think she can be excused from her exams. Extenuating circumstances. Don't you think so?"

"Well...she's a Ravenclaw. And I know her...she likes order. She likes things to happen as they're supposed to."

"I see. You think she would rather take her exams than be forced to miss them?"

She shrugged. "I think you should give her the option."

"I will take that into consideration," he replied. "Quite an ordeal you have suffered, both of you."

"This'll be over soon enough."

"And you will return to your position as Auror. If I may say so, you are remarkably suited to it."

She smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"We will miss you. Severus in particular, I suspect. A little irreverence is good for him." He studied her again, as if he were trying to divine how to ask something. She waited patiently.

"Nymphadora, do you believe in omens?" he finally asked. She tilted her head to one side, considering.

"You're not talking about Divination."

"No. Something larger than tea leaves and star-readings. The confluence of events in time...the preparation of the way for larger things," he said. "Manifest prophecy, if you like."

"I know what you're talking about...but I'm not sure I understand why."

Dumbledore produced a small gold phial from his pocket, no bigger than the end-joint of his little finger.

"This contains all that remains of Tom Riddle's diary," he said quietly. "A little ash, a little grease...I believe you are the most qualified to keep custody of it. It is harmless. Now, at any rate. I would not lay that burden on Padma Patil, but I trust you will keep it secure."

She allowed him to place it in her palm. The top was sealed with scarlet wax and cork.

"Walden Macnair is an ignorant man who follows because he has not the courage to lead, even to lead in the name of a bad cause," Dumbledore continued. "I suspect he was told to give young Draco that diary; I even suspect that Draco was a known and intended sacrifice, though who can say if that is true or not. I don't believe Macnair was ordered by anyone with real power to do this, but I do believe that this...child-resurrection of the man who would become Voldemort may be a sign of things to come."

"What can we do?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"As your own mentor says -- be vigilant. Be careful. Look for things others who are ignorant may not." He smiled at her. "Be honest, brave, and true. And now, my dear, I must return to Hogwarts. Always so much to attend to; there is truly no rest for the wicked."

When he was gone, she stared down at the plain golden phial in her hand. At last, she undid the clasp of the chain and secured it around her neck, tucking it inside the hospital pyjama shirt she wore. When Severus returned that afternoon, he found her sleeping soundly, her face smooth and peaceful in the afternoon light.

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