"How long have I been asleep?" Snape hadn't even realized he'd spoken out loud until a low voice answered him from behind.
"A little under an hour..." Hermione set the journal down in her lap. She'd jumped when his voice disturbed her and was glad he was facing away from her. She'd levitated a chair from the fireplace over beside the bed to watch over him. She hadn't even tried to run. Though she did spend some time in the office, "I had a little talk with Dumbledore..."
Snape sneered at the mention of his name. Brilliant, no doubt the man had played on her heartstrings convincing her to stay and look after him. His internal eyes rolled at the ludicrous notion. Keeping his back to her, he carefully pushed himself up so that he was sitting on the edge, "And you trust him?"
"I have no reason not to..."
"I have a few you could have..." Snape grunted and turned so that his back let out a loud pop. He reached behind running his hand over the new skin that had started to grow into place.
She'd done well. Not that he would ever admit it. He'd be sore for a while, but it wasn't as debilitating as it could have been. Thankfully, his beloved master had spared his spinal cord. He'd long since been making potions to counteract the evil man's abominable creations, not that he would share that information with anyone else.
His eyes snapped down to the shirt that was sitting on the night table, as though it were waiting for him. He looked over his shoulder with narrowed his eyes to the girl so comfortably sitting in his chair a few feet from the bed.
Had she gone through all his things? His sneer was ineffective against her calm face and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Who would have thought playing nursemaid would have set her completely to rights? He huffed heavily and pulled his shirt on.
"Those potions are amazing...you're almost as good as new."
"They come at a cost." Snape pushed himself up onto his feet testing his mobility. He could tell she was nearly vibrating with how much she was holding herself back in questioning him. "They can only be taken three days apart. If they're taken consecutively the kidney shuts down."
"That's...very potent..."
"Magic always comes at a cost."
Hermione bit her bottom lip watching him partially limp his way to the closet, no doubt to retrieve one his coats. She'd tried to be as respectful of his privacy as possible. Only taking clothes from the closet that was the doorway to her room. The curiosity was easily curbed by the fear that he'd wake up and kill her for being in his rooms, having forgotten that he'd imprisoned her there.
"I fixed the potion." She waited for him to come back out so as not to strain her voice. She'd just finished another one of his candies while she had waited for him to wake up. The deep gravel sound in her voice was starting to lift.
"Show me." His coat finished buttoning itself by the time he made it to her, a dangerous glare falling over his features when she hid the journal behind her back.
"Not until you tell me what it's for." Hermione lifted her chin in defiance, very much forgetting who she was dealing with.
"He hasn't told me. I can only guess it has something to do with securing an heir."
Hermione's brow twitched with confusion. "Who...who would he..?"
"The way Bellatrix has been acting lately, I would have to guess she's offered her services to the task."
Hermione would have fallen down had she not been sitting down. What had loosened his tongue? "You've got to be kidding me..."
"Let me see the journal."
"Are you serious? You're serious? " Hermione's voice rose an octave. She pressed herself tighter into the chair her grip on the book tightening.
"That's the only reason I can think as to why I came back a bloodied mess. That doesn't help the fact that he still wants you."
Hermione had completely forgotten, "You have a plan, it wasn't this. Tell me you have a plan." Her breathing was excited and her head felt light. She had wanted to know, but now she could see why he was so protective of his secrets. She would never have even looked at the journal had she known and it was too late to take her words back now.
"I need to put you back into a fugue state." It was all lost anyway if the original plan failed; it didn't matter what he told her. It wouldn't save either of them.
"An obliviate?"
"Won't work, he can sense them and even reverse them. It would just raise more red flags."
"I'm going to guess that it's going to hurt."
"A lot." Snape turned himself away. How had he gotten into this mess? He should have just done it from the start. He should have just followed orders like the good little slave he was.
Hermione watched a variety of emotion run across his face as he started to pace. So much hatred, so much pain. She didn't need to know anymore. Whatever it was, it was going to hurt him way more than it was going to hurt her.
"Will I... remember anything?"
"You didn't before. Not even your name..." He still refused to look at her.
"That's...where the three days went..." She took a slow breath, "Will I come back?"
"I don't know." Snape turned completely away, his eyes focused on some point beyond the window.
A heavy silence fell over the room. Each mind, so brilliant, turning in circles. There was no other way.
"I'll do it..." She pulled the book from behind her back and came to her feet. She was careful when she approached, holding the book between them as an olive branch.
oOo
"Is Mr. Lovegood here?"
"Yeah, he and Luna were picking up shells on the beach." Bill brought out some tea setting it on the table.
"Thanks." Ron dropped the bag down onto the couch and turned to go and find them.
Harry let out a sigh and ran his hand down his face. His head was pulsing. He felt angry. He was sure it wasn't his own anger. Voldemort was angry at them. But there was something else. Something he was waiting for.
"Alright there Harry?" Luna came to sit beside him, her voice soft and soothing. "Did you get what you were looking for?"
"Yeah, we did. Actually a bit more. We have some of Hermione's things now. Do you think you could cast the spell on them?"
"Of course, sorry I couldn't be helpful before. Dad's a wee bit worried about me, but I told him that they didn't do anything too bad to me."
"You've been extremely helpful." He gave her a gentle smile and leaned over pulling the backpack over. He flipped open the top and started to dig inside just as Ron and Mr. Lovegood came into the room.
oOOo
"This will relax your heart, hopefully, it will help prevent any long-term damage..." Snape handed the vial over watching with heavy eyes.
Hermione nodded her head taking it without question. She made a face at the acidic taste before handing the vial back. She could already feel the potion starting to take effect when her arms felt oddly heavy. She leaned back in the chair from her room. Arms had been added to help keep her seated. Her head relaxed back against the backrest as she let out a slow breath. It was almost like a muggle sedative, the ones they gave you before surgery.
Snape watched her eyes start to droop and took a step back. He'd transformed her room into something resembling more of a 'cell'. The walls were bare stone with only the chair in the center. A dim light burning overhead. He raised his wand steeling himself for what he had to do.
She'd consented. Informed or not, she'd consented. She'd even released the journal. He'd checked her work and found that it was indeed balanced. The potion and subsequent spells would work. There was no doubt. It was brilliant work. Remarkable, history-making.
He had just raised his wand when the charmed light in the far corner came on. Perfect. Just what he needed. More pressure. He couldn't wait, the potion he'd given her had a very limited effectiveness time and couldn't be given again for another six hours. His jaw went tense and he put in place his most famous persona.
Her eyes never left his. He could feel everything she was thinking, and everything she was about to feel. It was his own sort of penance.
"Incarcerous."
Hermione shifted her head as ropes wound themselves around her wrists and ankles. They were firm, but not too tight. She swallowed down all her fear in that moment, even though she couldn't actually feel the adrenaline in her system, it didn't stop her mind from going into overdrive.
She blinked slowly, one last time. She'd have to maintain eye contact so he would know the precise moment her mind snapped. The moment, when everything she'd come to know and love, would suddenly be wiped away.
"Crucio." The spell shot from his wand with barely enough force to hurt a spider. It absorbed into her from with only a twitch of her hands as a reaction. This wouldn't do. He had to think. Think of all she represented. He needed to be angry. It was never hard before. Why was it now? What had possibly changed?
"Crucio!" His voice raised but still the power he needed was not behind the spell. It hit on her shoulder making her press back into the chair for only a moment. Her brows furrowing in confusion.
This wasn't working, he had to switch gears. His teeth bared for a moment as he thought back to all that had brought him to where he was today. All the wrong choices, all the wrongs that had sent him on this path. His loyalty to the only one who had ever shown him kindness only to be twisted and used against another so much alike.
He felt the painful power filling his chest and he took a slow breath. His wand rose again and he could feel the power radiating down his arm, "Crucio!"
Hermione felt as though a boulder had been slammed directly into her chest. Sharp sparks of pain spread out over her limbs, her head thumped back against the chair and her throat let loose the most terrible scream. Her eyes broke away from his to look at the ceiling as the wave of pain made its course.
Snape rode the wave, sending another silently. Her body jerked and convulsed against the bonds, the veins in her neck sticking out from the strain. Her head thumped hard against the wood and her chest arched up. Another scream ripped straight through him almost shaking his resolve.
He couldn't stop now, it would all be in vain. His eyes flicked to the light that was still on, they were watching. Why did it hurt so much?
oOo
"Hermione! Hermione!" Ron was in a panic, his hand tight in his hair as another flash of red light shot straight through him into Hermione. The figure, nothing more than a black shadow continued their onslaught. The first then second and third hitting her dead center. His heart was nearly pounded out of his chest watching her scream silently. Everything inside him was falling to pieces.
He should have pressed harder. He should've done something more!
oOo
"Crucio!" The spell hit harder than the last and her scream cut off to a gurgled choking noise as her chest stuttered. Her head fell forward but her eyes searched for him. He was almost there, he could feel it. She was struggling to hold on. Just one more.
"Crucio!" Her entire body froze, her back arched forward. Her mouth open in place as the last of her breath left her lungs. Her eyes were wide with pain and fear as a deep stream of blood started to roll down her nose. Her head twitched back and forth, sharp jerking motions before a weak gasp brought enough air into her lungs to let out the weakest noise he'd ever heard.
She was almost there, but her mind was strong; he needed to break her down. Remind her of deepest fears, her most fragile insecurities. He took a step closer keeping the spell active, his mind ravaging hers for that one piece he needed.
"You're nothing." His words came out cold and dark, whispered just above her sharp gasps, "They've already replaced you with another." His heart tightened watching tears start to form in her eyes, "Books and cleverness will not save you. Such an insufferable know-it-all. Desperate to hide what you truly are."
Her brow started to shift with the hurt his words brought. Another sharp jolt ran down his wand and into her quaking form.
"You're nothing. A walking library. You are the dirt beneath their shoes. Filthy as the blood that flows through you."
Snape could almost feel it, like stepping on thin ice, "The show is over now." Almost. A memory flashed from her mind to his and his eyes looked down at her arm, "Mudblood."
Her eyes lost focus then, and he felt it—the snap. She was gone.
Snape's chest was heaving from the effort, years worth of anger extinguished. Had he killed her? Had he gone too far? Trepidation filled his steps. Her screams still echoing around in his skull. His hand was overly gentle when he ran it along her neck. Her pulse was slow, but it was there. He released the binds keeping her in the chair.
"Rennervate." He winced when her body jerked. His hand shifted, taking the back of her head into his palm. His thumb brushed against her cheek wiping away what was left of the river of tears that had fallen. Another adjustment tilted her fallen head back. A sharp gasp and panic filled eyes nearly made him jump.
"Miss Granger?"
"Pl-ease..." Her words were stuttered and her eyes couldn't focus on his face. Her head jerked in his palm with a residual tremor, her arms fell from the arms of the chair. Her throat swallowed against his palm, her pain, filling the void in his heart with anguish.
When he caught her eyes, he was assured. The old Hermione Granger was gone.
Her eyes rolled back into her head the next moment and her entire body went limp. Snape let out the breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding and leaned down further. Blood dripped from her nose, the pitter patter that stained her jeans felt infinitely loud.
He pressed the tip of his wand to the bridge, bringing the bleeding to a gradual stop. Another pass with his wand cleared the life essence away from her face. His eyes turned down noting that the left side of her chest was rising and falling partially out of sync with the right. A diagnostic charm assured him that no damage had been done to the repair he had made days earlier.
He picked her lax body up under her arms and legs, pulling her up against his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the light go out. His heart had never felt heavier. His entire soul ached, splintered at the edges. He had done this. He had made the impossible choice.
He wanted nothing more than to run away. Hide. There was nowhere he could go. Not really. What had he done? She felt so frail in his arms, almost the same as the night she had first appeared to him. Another innocent life-stolen, by his hand. He was nothing. He deserved nothing. His back tingled at the memory of her hands moving so carefully over his wounds. The kindness, the bravery, she had shown to him.
Who was he? A monster. A vile, unredeemable monster.
Snape held her close. Her body still shaking in his grasp, only twisting the barbed wire tighter around his heart. Was it all going to be worth it?
His feet led him to the office. His eyes looking up at the portraits sleeping away so peacefully in their frames. All but one. If his eyes could kill, Albus Dumbledore would be dead, twice.
One more look down at the girl in his arms and he stepped into the floo. His jaw went tense as he mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen. He had no idea of what his master's true intentions were, he could have very well been walking into his own execution.
"Malfoy Manor."
When Snape stepped through he was sure he'd just walked in the end of a most fruitless battle. Bodies of Goblins and security guards from Gringotts littered the entire floor, their blood soaking through the polished wood. His stomach rolled at the sight and even more so when his boot stepped down into a puddle of blood. Not a single deatheater seemed to have become a causality.
He mindfully stepped around the bodies, making his way through to the main entranceway. The entire floor smelled of misfired spells and broken plaster. It felt like a sign of things to come. The war was coming to a pivotal point. The ancient battle between good and evil coming to a head.
He followed the well-worn path up the winding staircase and down the elaborately decorated halls. The damage appeared to have been reserved to the first floor. He paused looking down one last time. A look of kindness he'd never shown anyone before crossing his features for the briefest of moments.
This was it.
"Ah, Severus, you missed all the fun." Bellatrix grinned licking the tip of her cursed blade. She had appeared around the corner a smug smirk on her lips,"Oh, looks like you've had a bit of fun yourself." The wicked woman clicked her tongue and lazily pointed the blade, "He's in the study."
Severus gave her a glare but the woman just cackled and turned back down the hall from which she came. Severus took the turn that would lead him where he needed to be. His heart thumped heavily when the girl in his arms let out a soft whine of pain, her arms jerking over her chest. Her eyelids fluttered before opening ever just so.
His mask of indifference fell into place, a silent spell opening the door for him. Several heads turned towards him as he entered. Young faces he would never have ever wished to see there. Draco's blond hair was among them, nestled between Crabb and Goyle. They were on their knee's with their heads bowed but they dared to look up when he entered.
The ringmaster of it all grinned from the wingback chair that had been placed against the back wall. A sort of throne of sorts raised up one step above the others. Tom always had a sense of the dramatics and just how important positioning was to displaying power.
"Severus."
"My Lord." Severus lowered his eyes and inclined his head.
"You've found her." The smile that grew on his face turned Snape's stomach but he hid his revulsion into the dark recesses of his mind.
"I have." Snape glanced down at Draco who looked like he'd just swallowed something dreadfully bitter. His cobalt eyes wide with fear. He wasn't looking at what he should have been fearing however, he was looking at Granger. Crabb and Goyle merely smirked hiding their amusement over the entire situation rather poorly. Their father's stood behind them non-too-pleased at their lack of composure.
"Bring her to me." Voldemort leaned back in the chair crossing his legs while Nagini ran up the side under his waiting hand. His eyes narrowed as Snape came to the front before laying her body down on the platform in front of him.
"Wake her."
"Yes, My Lord." Snape pulled his wand free taking a slow breath, "Ennervate."
A sharp gasp arched her chest from the floor, her eyes going wide and panicked. Her body let out a rather sharp tremble, making her hands curl tightly at her sides. Her head rolled slightly, her eyes falling on the man who controlled their fates. Voldemort sneered when the fear he'd expected to find in her eyes wasn't there. She merely looked at him with an almost infantile curiosity.
"What's wrong with it?"
"I found her that way..." Snape watched Bellatrix slink in from a side door, her smirk faltering, "I would imagine her first time here, wasn't all that pleasant." Snape looked pointedly at Bellatrix then, making the witch snap her eyes between him and Voldemort.
"Yes, so I've heard." Voldemort sounded more bored than anything. His cold eyes ran down the length of her body before glancing at the boys eagerly waiting to prove themselves. "It would seem, that we are in need of a change of plans." His eyes rolled lazily over to the witch trying to disappear into the shadows, "Bellatrix, you're always up for a little fun. Why don't you take these boys and teach them what it means to be one of us."
Bellatrix paled considerably but nodded her head. She looked at the boys lifting her chin with as much confidence as she could muster. Snape hid his amusement over the entire situation. Knowing that the witch was going to be tortured by inexperienced children, however, sat cold in his stomach. They were too young to even understand the ramifications of their actions. Hyped up on propaganda they'd been spoon fed since their birth.
The room silently cleared, leaving only Voldemort, Granger and himself. When the door to the room finally fell closed, Snape felt the air grow thick. The girl at his feet was slowly coming to, her head rolling weakly from side to side. Snape felt his master digging inside his mind for the memory of her capture, something he'd managed to create before his first meeting fell effortlessly into place.
"Even wandless this creature is full of surprises." Voldemort stood languidly, Nagini slithering down beside him. "What is your name?"
"I..I-I didn't...take...anything..."
Voldemort smirked slowly, his voice disarmingly soft, "I know, that's not why you're here."
Granger's unfocused eyes rolled between Snape and the man leaning over her as if he could devour her whole, "My-My...name is...is..." Her breathing came out a little quicker when Nagini slowly slithered her way up her legs. The girl's eyes flicked away from the skeletal man to the large python, "Her-Hermione...Granger..."
Voldemort smirked for the briefest of moments, "What do you know about Harry Potter?"
"Who...?" Granger's eyes flicked back to Voldemort's face, her eyes going wider when she felt a strong pressure inside her skull. Like someone was putting her head into a vice.
Voldemort snarled briefly before his face was passive again, "There's nothing inside her mind." His dangerous gaze turned to Snape then, stepping around her body, "Nothing!"
"My Lord, she is still of use." Snape swallowed thickly trying not to react to the smell of decay on his master's breath, "Potter, will be looking for her. It might be possible to...train her...to be on our side..." He kept his voice low and controlled. "I would be willing to take on such a burden...perhaps I could even find the answers to the spell you seek."
Granger let out a soft noise as the snake pressed under her chin, tilting her head, exposing her throat. Her eyes turned to the ceiling unable to control her limbs well enough to push herself away. The world around her felt muffled, a deep throb at her temples dampening the sound.
"Brand her."
"My Lord?"
Voldemort stepped closer, calling Snape's wand silently from his sleeve. He turned it in his palm, a most devilish smile on his face, "Brand her, own her. She will be yours, and should you succeed. I may even make her your personal slave. To do with, as you please. Of course, should you fail. I don't think you need a reminder?"
"No, My Lord." Snape turned down as Nagini slowly started to make her way back towards the chair. Granger's eyes rolled to his, her chest fluttering as she tried to remain calm. "If...we can use her, perhaps, my brand should be invisible?"
"Ah, yes. The idea of using her to trap Potter is most tempting. I concede your point, but I want it available to others to see, should the occasion arise. You are most clever, are you not?"
"I understand." Snape looked down at his wand opening his palm. When the wood was pressed into it, he felt as though it had been contaminated. Dirty. Filled with darkness. Oh, the things his wand had done.
"Place your wand on her flesh." Voldemort's voice had gone soft like he was whispering a hypnotic spell. He took a step back allowing the man to kneel.
Snape took a slow breath before pressing the tip of his wand against the side of her neck. It would be easy to hide behind her hair, but also easily visible to all those who would know to look. He avoided her eyes and the urge to pull away when Dumbledore's wand pressed beside his own.
The irony was not lost on him.
"Enslavic empermia." A black caligraphic S formed along the pulsing vein of her throat, the girl too struck dumb, to be able to resist. Her head remained turned away her hair falling like a halo around her head. Snape's heart twisted tighter watching the mark take shape, slightly raised, like his darkmark.
"Do not fail me."
Snape pulled his wand back slowly, his eyes never leaving the arch of her throat where his initial had been placed. It was large, going from the bottom of her jaw to the arch at her shoulder. It wouldn't be easily missed when visible.
He didn't dare to raise himself up as Voldemort started towards the doors. He knew when his leash had been tightened and he wasn't prone to barking when the master carried a stick.
He waited until the door firmly shut before turning his eyes to her own. So fearful, so confused. His brow mirrored hers. He pushed his wand back into his sleeve before gingerly picking her up into his arms once more. The mark on her neck pulsed to his touch before the color faded out.
Despite all that had happened, she turned her head to his chest taking hold of his jacket as if he was the only thing in her world that made sense. He supposed, in a way, he was. He had no idea what the spell Voldemort had cast had been, but he was sure to find out. In the meantime, he had to keep her safe.
In a rare moment of humanity, and possibly the sheer relief at having successfully fooled one of the greatest wizards the world had seen; he pressed his lips to the crown of her head, letting the tension he'd built-up run down his spine and into his hold. He would protect her. She had done everything he had asked of her and more. She deserved that much of him.