With Hermione back, Snape was clearly doing much better.
Although he and the girl had been trading barbed remarks ever since her first year, he knew perfectly well that, apart from Dumbledore, he was the one who trusted the girl before him most deeply.
Of course, getting Snape to admit that aloud would probably be harder than getting him to award points to Gryffindor.
Sure enough, once their business was concluded, Snape immediately put on an impatient expression.
He waved a hand as though shooing away a fly. "If there's nothing else, get out. Stop hovering in front of me. You're irritating."
Hermione shook her head at his prickly refusal to show he cared.
"Then I'll get out of your way, Professor Snape. Enjoy working overtime. Looks like you've still got three houses left. I hope you finish marking them before breakfast tomorrow."
"Good luck!"
Before her words had faded, magical power surged through the air, and Hermione vanished on the spot.
Only a deadpan Snape remained, viciously scrawling several crosses across the homework without changing his expression.
Hermione stood on the mountaintop, looking down at Hogwarts, shrouded in its barrier beneath the night sky.
Where on earth had Dumbledore gone?
Judging by Harry and the others' reactions, the Order of the Phoenix storyline had happened, but Sirius probably hadn't died.
Since Voldemort had personally fought Dumbledore, Dumbledore must have realized something was wrong.
The Diary had been destroyed long ago, yet Voldemort had still managed to return. That meant there was more than one Horcrux.
That old busy bee Dumbledore must have used his dismissal by Fudge as a convenient excuse to go off hunting Horcruxes.
At that thought, Hermione slapped her forehead.
*Oh no. I'd forgotten to warn the old man before leaving not to go putting