Prologue
The War was finally over and the Light had won. Trials were held, including the one of Severus Snape. But, not all Death Eaters had been found and tried for their crimes.
With Harry Potter and Hermione Granger quick to Snape's defense, he was cleared of all charges. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore reinstated him as Potions Master. He had flat out refused the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
"I've had enough of the Dark Arts in my lifetime, without teaching its defense." He had said.
The only one of the Golden Trio to go back to Hogwarts to finish their seventh year was Hermione. Accompanying her was Ginny Weasley, who had to make up her sixth and seventh years. Harry and Ron were in Auror training where they wanted to be.
It was August first and Hermione had just opened the letter her owl delivered from Hogwarts. Reading it through, she squealed in delight and rushed down the stairs and into the Grangers' kitchen.
"Mom! Guess what?"
Mrs. Granger set down the pan of eggs and turned to her daughter. "What is it, darling?"
"I've been made Head Girl!"
"Congrats, baby girl!" Mr. Granger said as he walked into the kitchen and gave Hermione a hug. His wife joined them and he held onto both of his women as if his life depended on it. "You grew up so fast."
The doorbell rang and he went and answered the door. "Can I help you, gentlemen?"
The man on the right pointed his wand at him. "You already have. Avada Kedavra." He smiled evilly as Mr. Granger fell.
Mrs. Granger, who had just walked into the hall, screamed and ran back to the kitchen. Hermione looked up.
"Mom? What's happened?" Hermione looked over her mother's shoulder and saw two men in masks. She blocked the curse the one on the left had cast at her. She pulled her mother behind her, throwing curses and hexes at the men, destroying the majority of the kitchen in the process. She touched a coin in her pocket and felt it warm up.
One of the men shot a curse at them and she dodged it. It hit the fridge behind her and it exploded, impairing her hearing and causing her ears to ring.
"Expelliarmus!"
Hermione's wand flew out of her hand and the man who caught it snapped it in half, laughing when she winced at its sharp snap. "You deal with the mother. I want to play with this mudblood."
Mrs. Granger was hit with green light and dropped, the look of horror frozen on her face. Hermione screamed and kicked against the man who was holding her from behind, dislodging his mask and revealing his face.
"Mr. Malfoy? H-how did you get out of Azkaban?"
"That… is none of your concern, Mudblood." He put a blindfold and gag on her and tied her to one of the table's legs. He took out a knife and traced lines on her neck, arms, and legs. Eventually, he got bored. He started to tear her clothes up, growing angry as she struggled and fought. He backhanded her and leaned over her. "It will hurt less if you stop. Not that I give a damn either way, of course."
Hermione was still up until he grabbed her legs and forced himself into her. Pain erupted in her body, and she pulled against the wrist restraints. He hit her again and she made herself immobile, hoping he would just finish and leave. No such luck…
All the while he was inside her he was also cutting every visible area of flesh. Bored again, he pulled out and knocked her out with a right hook to the jaw.
"We have to get out of here." His partner said, holding up her DA coin. "She signaled someone and they'll be on their way soon."
They left and closed the front door.
To anyone looking at the front of the house, there appeared to be nothing wrong. No one would suspect there were two bodies and an unconscious raped and beaten nineteen year old girl inside.
At the same time Hermione was being beaten, Harry felt his D.A. coin heat up. There were only two people who still had the coins besides himself and one of them was sitting right next to him in the dining room of number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Ron! There's something wrong with Hermione!"
"How do you know?" Ron Weasley's mouth was full of beef stew, courtesy of his mother, Molly.
"Her coin, you idiot! I have to tell Dumbledore! You get her room ready just in case!" He left the table and threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace. "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts!"
He landed on his stomach, his hands breaking his fall. He quickly got up and faced Dumbledore's desk. Snape was also standing there, looking bored, as usual.
"Harry, my boy! What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Hermione's in trouble! Her D.A. coin felt as if it had been set on fire!"
"Meaning…" Snape drawled.
"The hotter the coin is, the more severe the circumstance! Hermione's life is in danger! You have to help her, Albus!" He never used the Headmaster's given name unless absolutely necessary.
Dumbledore nodded and stood. "Harry, you go back to Grimmauld Place. Severus and I are going to go investigate this."
Harry Floo'ed back to Headquarters to help Ron with Hermione's room.
"We are, Albus? When did this involve me?"
"Do you honestly want your best student dead, Severus? Even you aren't that cold, surely?"
"Fine. Let's go."
Albus took hold of Severus's arm and Apparated them straight into the Grangers' back yard. Little did they know, just as they arrived Lucius Malfoy and his partner Disapparated.
Severus looked around. "This place is immaculate, Albus. It doesn't look like anything happened."
Albus shrugged and opened the back door. "Mother of Merlin. Severus…"
Severus went to his side and nearly vomited there and then. He had been a Death Eater, but he had never seen a revel anything close to this.
The kitchen was completely wrecked and two people lay on the floor, at least one of them dead. The other was bound, blindfolded, and gagged, tied to the table with cuts all over her body, lying in a pool of blood, and her clothes torn to shreds. She was almost unrecognizable. Almost…
"Is… Albus, is that Miss Granger?" Severus asked.
Albus kneeled next to Hermione, checking her pulse. "Oh my dear child. Severus, get to work on her, she won't last long like this. I'll go check her parents."
Severus took Albus's place and cast a spell, allowing him to hear her heartbeat while he worked. A few minutes in, her heart stopped. Any Pureblood would think they couldn't be revived, but being half Muggle, he knew to use CPR.
"Severus, what are you doing to that poor girl?"
He switched back to the chest pumps from mouth-to-mouth. "Her heart stopped. This is called CPR. If used properly, it'll bring her back." He plugged her nose again and blew air into her lungs. Her heartbeat once again filled the room, but she remained unconscious. "What of her parents?"
"They're both gone. It appeared she was the real target."
"Then why leave her alive? The only ones who would attack her are Death Eaters and they never leave their targets alive."
"Perhaps it was to warn us… or we may have interrupted them."
Severus sat back on his heels. "I've healed her all I can. Poppy will have to do the rest. The bastard who did this took her virginity. Are we taking her to Hogwarts?"
"No. She'll be going to Grimmauld Place for the remainder of the summer. At least there she'll have round the clock care."
"She won't want to be around people or be touched after this for a long time. Are you sure Molly can manage that? Or better yet, Potter and Mr. Weasley?"
"I'll make sure they understand the situation. I'll meet you there, shall I?"
"Yes. I can't Apparate with her; she may start to bleed again, so I'll take the Floo. Luckily, this fireplace is hooked up to the system."
Albus nodded and Disapparated, leaving Severus with a knocked out Hermione.
"Who did this to you, Miss Granger?" He asked. Obviously receiving no answer, he carefully picked her up and Floo'ed them to Grimmauld Place. There were at least six people waiting for them, but he ignored them and went straight upstairs, setting her on her bed.
He looked down at his robes and found them covered in blood. Wrinkling his nose, he siphoned as much of it off as he could. He wanted no reminder of today.