A/N: Hey guys! I'm back and really excited about this story. For those of you who are fans of If It Kills Me, I would like to say that this story is a lot different but I hope that it is just as well received. Essentially, this story is a rewrite of HBP with a lot of twists and turns.
I have given it a General rating because it will have a little bit of everything. It is a war fic so there will be violence and overall creepiness. There will also be humour, romance, hurt, angst, drama etc.
This is a Hermione/Draco story but there will be an intense love triangle, so if that's not your thing then you've been warned. There will also be numerous other pairings.
This story will be told mainly from the perspectives of Hermione and Draco but there will be other perspectives as well, such as Harry, Ron, Theodore Nott, Snape and a host of others. A change in time or perspective will be represented by: *~()-()-()~*-*~()-()-()~*.
Finally, this story is unbetaed. So, forgive any errors. Monday will be update day!
Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the fantastic world or characters created by J.K. Rowling but I will use some of her words and ideas to further my plot. :)
Chapter 1 – The Unbreakable Vow
Severus Snape watched from an upstairs window as a tall, slim, elegant witch walked down the dingy street, casting cautious looks in either direction, praying that there was no one else around. Deserted brick houses and broken streetlamps of a rundown Muggle neighbourhood surrounded her and an abandoned mill loomed ominously over the hill. She couldn't have looked any more out of place. The woman had once possessed an almost ethereal beauty that had diminished due to the stress of war and parenting. Her good looks remained in her flawless skin, high cheekbones, and bright blue eyes but they were not as captivating as they had been in her youth. She was dressed in regal robes with her long, blonde hair flowing down her back and her cloak pulled up over her head, in as much of an effort to disguise herself as it was to shield her from the pelting rain and chilly mist.
Behind her trailed a boy of sixteen who also had his face obscured by the hood of a cloak. He walked with his head down and his hands stayed in his pockets. He was tall, pale, and blonde like the woman in front of him and there was no mistaking their relation.
The mother and son reached the very last house on the street named Spinner's End and it seemed to be the only house for miles that was inhabited, through a window they could make out a glimmer of light from a lamp.
The woman knocked on the door and waited eagerly for a response. She stood, still and silent, on the doorstep and strained to hear the faintest sign of movement from inside the home.
She must have heard the distinct creak of old floor boards before he opened the front door to reveal his thin and sallow faced framed with shoulder length, greasy, black hair. He looked like he hadn't seen sunlight or eaten a good meal in weeks.
He acted pleasantly surprised by the presence of his guests. "Narcissa! I wasn't expecting you," he peered over her shoulder, "or Draco."
She lowered the hood of her cloak and there was no mistaking the exhaustion and distraught in her expression. "Severus," she greeted him in a faint whisper. "I need to speak with you. It's urgent. May we come in?"
"Of course." He pulled the door wide open and allowed them to pass him and step into the house.
He closed the door and turned into the sitting room where Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were waiting for him. They removed their sodden cloaks and cast them aside. He gestured for them to sit down and Narcissa anxiously perched herself on the end of the old, worn out sofa while Draco elected to remain standing. The young man was looking around the small room, which was covered from floor to ceiling in books, with feigned interest.
Snape slowly sat down in the armchair in the corner of the room and faced his guests. Narcissa's hands were trembling in her lap and she looked like she could use something to calm her nerves. "Would you like something to drink?" He asked hospitably.
"Please," she nodded.
Snape pulled his wand out of his black robes and summoned a bottle of wine and three glasses. The wine poured into the glasses and gracefully soared into each individual's waiting hand. Narcissa seized her glass in her shaking hand and downed half of its contents immediately while Draco sniffed the alcohol before taking a small sip.
"Now," Snape began once he finished his glass of wine. "What can I do for you?"
"We are alone, correct?" Narcissa asked quietly.
It appeared as if she had learned a few things over the years and was not leaving the possibility of being overheard to chance. This meeting was much too important to her.
"Yes, of course," Snape reassured.
"I'm sorry to come here unannounced Severus, but I didn't know who else to turn to," she confessed. "Lucius is in Azkaban and Bella keeps telling me that I ought to be proud. She thinks it a great honour." But judging by the look of despair on Narcissa's face, she did not agree with her older sister Bellatrix. She turned to look at her son and she let out a small sob. "He's my only child and he's just a boy," she cried.
Understanding and comprehension dawned on him. "Ah, you've come to me because of the Dark Lord's latest request."
Narcissa nodded in confirmation.
Now that the reason for the unexpected visit was out in the open, Snape mused over the fact that he was unsurprised by Narcissa Malfoy reaching out to him. He had been present at Draco's initiation into the inner circle of Death Eaters. He had watched the Dark Lord give the sixteen-year-old the Dark Mark. He knew of the Dark Lord's special plan for Draco and as much as the Dark Lord desperately wanted the outcome to be achieved, it was a mission to punish the Malfoy family above all else.
"I cannot persuade the Dark Lord to change his mind, Narcissa."
"But Severus," she gasped. "My only son. He had no idea what he was getting himself into," she stated passionately. "This is just vengeance for Lucius' mistake, I know it!"
"I happen to agree with you," he drawled slowly. "But entering into service for the Dark Lord is not something that should have been taken lightly!" He scolded Draco but the boy remained silent.
"I…I..." Narcissa began to sob once again. "I have nowhere else to go…I don't know who I can trust…you are Lucius' oldest friend…you are Draco's godfather…you are close to powerful wizards," she hinted. "I need to know that Draco is protected while he is at Hogwarts and afterwards."
Snape stared at Narcissa for a long moment without speaking. His cold, calculating eyes penetrated into hers and she was aware of what he was doing but she returned his gaze. She had nothing to hide. Her request may not have been plain to Draco but it was to him. She was asking for Dumbledore and her mind showed that she had no motives other than protecting her family. He knew that Narcissa Malfoy was not a Death Eater. She may play the part of the aristocratic, pure-blood, house wife perfectly but she had no urge to serve the Dark Lord.
"You seek protection?" He finally asked her.
She nodded again and took another unsteady sip from her glass.
"Then it may be possible for me to…help…but," he paused, "I'd like to hear Draco's thoughts."
Draco made eye contact with his godfather and Potions master for the first time since he entered the house. It was easy to tell that the boy did not want to be here.
"I just want it to be over. I thought that taking the Dark Mark would set everything right between the Dark Lord and my family. I was foolish and childish."
Snape pursed his lips. "Yes, you were."
"I know that he will not hesitate to kill me and my family if given another reason," Draco continued. "But I know that I cannot do what he has asked of me. It's an impossible task."
"Do you think that you can help him Severus? Protect him?" Narcissa interrupted.
"I can try," he responded carefully. "What will you give me in return, Draco?"
The young man looked startled. He had not been expecting that question but he answered it exactly how Snape expected. It was the same answer he had given Albus Dumbledore to the same question fifteen years ago.
"Anything."
He looked at Draco shrewdly. "You will make the Unbreakable Vow?"
"Yes," Draco nodded without hesitation.
Narcissa sobbed again, this time out of joy. "So you will protect him?"
Snapped nodded and got to his feet. She cried even harder and he grimaced in discomfort. "Narcissa, please, you will need to be our Bonder."
She wiped at her teary eyes and took a few deep breaths. She needed to be composed to perform the important, intense spell.
*~()-()-()~*-*~()-()-()~*
Snape walked towards Draco and stood a foot in front of him so that they were face to face. Draco was a head taller than Snape but he was still intimidated by the older man. He knew that Snape was a powerful wizard who knew a lot of great magic, both light and dark. He had a presence that commanded respect, or at the very least fear.
"This will be dangerous Draco," he said truthfully, "as the only way to protect you now is to bring you to the Order of the Phoenix, but no one stops being a Death Eater so you will do your best to do what the Dark Lord has asked."
Narcissa gasped, "Severus, are you saying that he'll have to be a spy."
"In a certain capacity, yes."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "So what Aunt Bella believes is true then? You've been Dumbledore's man all this time?" He had to admit that he had never actually suspected Snape of being a traitor.
"Yes," he finally confessed. "And that will not leave this room and the Unbreakable Vow will see to it."
Snape held out his right hand in front of him and Draco did the same. They grasped each other just beneath the elbow and Narcissa stood beside them with her wand poised and ready.
Draco carefully spoke the words that his mother dictated to him. After all, the wording was the most important aspect of this particular spell.
"Will you, Severus Snape, guide and teach me as I attempt to fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes and any other assigned tasks?"
"I will," spoke Snape.
A thin flame sparked out of Narcissa's wand and wrapped itself around their entwined arms. Draco noted that it was hot and irritating but he dare not pull away.
"And will you, to the best of your ability, protect me from harm?"
"I will," Snape echoed.
A second flame emerged from the wand and entangled with the first to form a hot, tight, glowing chain.
"And will you, Draco Malfoy," Snape started calmly, "be honest with me and your assigned Order of the Phoenix contact at all times?"
"I will," Draco whispered and he watched as a third flame joined the other two on their arms.
"And will you keep the knowledge that you have gained in this room and will gain in the future between only trustworthy parties?"
Draco swallowed nervously. He knew that that statement was an overarching way of saying that if he betrayed Snape to the Death Eaters then the Vow would be broken, and he would die.
"I will," he finally responded. This was his only way out.
A fourth, and final, flame erupted from his mother's wand and twisted around the others as it magically sealed their agreement. It felt as if they were held together by a writhing, fiery snake as the flames weaved over their arms before they finally stopped and cemented themselves with a distinct cooling sensation. The two men stayed within each other's grasp for another moment before Snape pulled away first. Draco held his arm straight a little longer and flexed it experimentally; at least the burning didn't linger, unlike his left forearm. He had cried himself to sleep in his mother's arms the night that he had received the Dark Mark. The pain had been absolutely unbearable.
Narcissa beamed at Snape with tear filled eyes. "Thank you Severus."
Snape waved his hand dismissively. "Draco, you now shoulder much more responsibility…as do you Narcissa," he added.
Draco pushed his shoulders back to stand at his full height and he held his head high, like a pure-blood should. "I'm ready," he said confidently.
He knew that Snape was less concerned about his mother. The Dark Lord's most faithful Death Eaters did not perceive her as a threat and they would not suspect her to be a traitor. She was a witch who was more than capable of handling herself and she seemed to possess a natural gift for Occlumency, which certainly came in handy when keeping things from the Dark Lord. A gift that he hoped she had passed on to him.
Snape merely nodded at Draco and muttered, "We will see."
"Severus, I don't know how I'll ever repay you for this," Narcissa whispered thankfully.
"Do not worry about that now Narcissa," Snape said rather harshly. "I think Draco should stay here for a while. We need to train and prepare. The Dark Lord will be thrilled to learn that I have taken Draco under my wing."
"Yes, of course," she replied quickly. She leaned toward Draco and kissed him affectionately on the cheek. "Come back to the Manor this evening and we can pack a few things for you."
"Okay Mother," he agreed.
Narcissa placed a hand on Snape's arm and squeezed it gratefully before donning her cloak again and stepping back out into the rain.
Draco waited to hear the sound of the door close behind his mother before he eagerly asked. "Where do we start, Professor?"
A/N: I assure you that this will not be your typical "Draco is a spy" fic. Please review! :)