Hermione's Point of View

Hermione Granger woke up in a cold, damp and dark little room. She was dizzy and barely holding onto consciousness. She could feel that she had several ribs broken, and she hurt all over, particularly her throbbing ankle. She looked around and realized that the room wasn't damp, that she had woken up in a pool of her own blood. The last thing she remembered was trying escape from the ministry of magic before her Polyjuiced disguise wore off. They had gone in to the Ministry of Magic to try and get the Horcrux locket that Dolores Umbridge had unknowingly taken from Mundungus Fletcher months earlier.

What in the hell am I doing in a cell? Oh god! Yaxley must have grabbed a hold of me. Oh god I wonder where Ron and Harry are, if they made it out okay. Oh god, oh god. What am I going to do? How am I going to get out of here? I gave Harry the purse, when I put the Horcrux in there! I suppose its better that he has that then me, Voldemort can't know he is after them that way. The PORT KEY! Oh fuck they've got my wand. I don't think I have the energy to do a wandless tangibility charm. I should have just disillusioned it, not made it bloody fucking intangible. I've got to get my strength up. Oh fuck—

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door to her cell opening. In swept a Death Eater, but not just any Death Eater. The last person in the world she wanted to see. The Traitor. Severus Snape had taken off his mask and knelt down beside where she was laying on the floor. At that point she would have preferred to have had a torture session with Lucius Malfoy or Bellatrix Lestrange. Even Voldemort himself was looking like a better option at the moment.

"Miss Granger, can you hear me?" he whispered softly, in his silky voice. She didn't want to answer him. He was the enemy and she should hate his guts. She had every reason to and yet she could fell herself getting goose bumps at just hearing he ask her if she could hear him. She had loved him since her third year, when he'd save them from Lupin in his werewolf form. She hated the way that he could be absolutely everything she despised, and yet could melt her heart with a few soft words. He was dangerous for her. It would only have taken him a bit of gentle persuasion and a soft touch to have her tell him anything he wanted to know.

"Yes…" she whispered, trying not to let him hear the tremble in her voice. Even if he did, he would probably mistake it for fear of him, instead of fear of what he could make her do.

"Now I want you to listen closely. We do not have much time here. Yaxley brought you in here, but as far as he knows you actually are Mafalda Hopkirk, a ministry witch. Yaxley saw the Polyjuice wear off and I managed to obliviate him before he reached anyone else. The Dark Lord is not particularly interested in you as Mafalda, but as Hermione he will want you brought to him. You are extremely valuable and he no doubt knows that you would be an excellent lure for Potter. We need to get you out of here some how. Do you know how badly you are injured?"

He seemed concerned for her, but he couldn't be. He killed Albus Dumbledore, leader of the Light. He was the traitor among them. It has to be a trick of some kind. He has to be trying to play me. I can't let him know about the port-key until I am sure he is on my side. But the way he says my name, it never sounded so good to me.

"Badly, at least three or four broken ribs, I think something with my ankle and I've somehow lost a lot of blood. I think I was tortured, but I don't remember. Why are you doing this? I thought you were a traitor. You killed Dumbledore." She said, a tear running down her face. She tried to sit up but the pain made her dizzy and she fell back down. She braced herself for when her head would hit the hard floor, but, it was caught by a warm hand. That hand felt like her only life line.

"I do not have much time to explain my loyalties but I will say this. Dumbledore was dying, and he knew of the Dark Lords plan to have Draco kill him. He asked that in the end I be the one to kill him, to save Draco from having to do it and to save himself from the slow, painful death he would have experienced if anyone else did it. Now I can't heal your ribs, but I can send you with some potions that will help until you reach some one who can. I can smuggle you to the edge of the wards and give you a port key. Where could you go? I do not expect you to trust me enough to tell me where Potter and Weasely might have gotten to, but I can send you anywhere you deem safe.

I would advise against Grimmauld Place. Before we knew of the fiasco at the Ministry today I was charged with bringing in a horde of Death Eaters this morning, because the Taboo was being broken several times a day there so the Dark Lord assumes that some Order members are hiding out in there. No one but the elf was there, and he told me you three had been staying there, but we're out for the day. I advised him to tell you all that it was no longer safe there when you returned. Potter and Weasley should have been and gone from there already. Anywhere else?" he asked. He was checking her pulse, and feeling her ribs. His touch was making her stomach do back flips, even through the pain.

I knew he was good, deep down! He's got to be telling the truth. There is no point in lying about bringing Death Eaters to Grimmauld Place, it would serve no purpose. He could do it so easily, and he knew we were staying there. He really is on our side! Oh I love this man!

"I… I have a port-key of my own. It's intangible, around my neck. If you can get me beyond the wards I can get out of here, but I need you to cast the tangibility charm on my neck first."

"Clever, very clever. Though an intangible port-key does you no good if you have no wand to make it tangible." He said, casting the charm.

"I made sure that I could do a wandless tangibility charm, but I don't have the strength now. I'm too weak." She said wincing as the cold metal chain of her port-key necklace came into contact with her skin.

"Clever girl. You always were one of my brightest students. My Death Eater façade forbids me to pay compliments to any but Slytherin, and anything less that open hostility towards all Gryffindors is unacceptable. I'll need you to drink a few potions; you should recognize all of them." He said, pulling her into a sitting position to help her drink a potion. The painful dizziness got the better of her and she almost fell backwards again, but he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her head against his chest for support. She could hear his heart beat as he put the vial to her lips and tipped it slowly down her throat.

Yuck, I hate blood replenishers. At least he's not trying to poison me. He's so warm, and he smells good; really good. I think I could fall asleep… but I can't! I must stay awake! I have to escape! I hope he gives me something to numb my ribs, and maybe a freezing charm on my ankle so I can walk.

"That's a good girl. I know you're tired, but I can get you out of here soon. This one is a potent numbing draught for you ribs, it should last about 12 hours, depending on when you get your ribs healed. You've most definitely been tortured, but you probably fell unconscious near the beginning. Your hands are trembling, that's an after effect of the Cruciatus curse." He said, grasping her hand. There was bitterness in his voice, as if he was angry with Yaxley for torturing her. Probably because I'm only a seventeen year old girl, and one of his students, no less. Nothing more to it, do not start trying to read into things when there is nothing more than meets the eye. He murmured something under his breath and she felt her ankle go numb and stiffen so much that she could not move her foot at all.

"That should help you ankle for a bit, but it will wear off in about a day or so. Do you think you are ready to stand yet?" he whispered. She could feel his chin against her head, and she never ever wanted to get up again, but she knew she had to.

"I can try. Are we far from the edge of the wards? I don't think I will be able to walk longer than 5 or ten minutes, if that much." She said sheepishly.

"I expected as much, I'm amazed you were conscious when I got here. I'm going to help you to your feet, get up slowly, and put you weight on your good ankle, because it still would not be wise to put too much pressure on your injured one." He stood up, and he held both of her hands as she got to her feet. The numbing potion made her forget that her ribs would not support her as before, and she was still quite dizzy so she was very unsteady. He slid his arm around her waist so he could support her and she began to take a few tentative steps.

"Better than I expected you to be. It is not very far, but there is one chance we might run into people. When ever I put up the wards, I always leave a small gap incase anything like this happens. The only trouble is that Lucius and Bella were hanging around the area before I came here, and they did not have immediate plans of leaving. If we are seen, I will help you get as far as I can, but if I go down you must try to run. You really don't want to know what they would do to you in particular, Miss Granger." His tone was even, but she knew he was putting it lightly. They were walking through some sort of dungeon; she could see her's was not the only cell in the building.

"Where are we?" she asked

"In one of Malfoy's holiday homes. The Dark Lord decided Lucius and his lavish estate would become our Headquarters. He was quite displeased when he saw that peacocks were the only creatures guarding it." He said with a smirk. He helped her up a flight of stairs, and caught her when she fell near the top. It felt good to have his arms around her, but she knew he was not thinking of the innocent, even necessary touch as anything romantic or intimate.

"Outside these doors there is a forest. Along the edge is mostly pine trees, but there are two birch trees, if you turn your head to the right a bit. Lucius and Bellatrix were off to the left a bit, around the corner. Once you pass that bush, we will be in full visibility of where they were. It is only 5 or 6 meters more to pass through the wards, but this if they see you, your chances of making it there decrease greatly. Do you understand?" he asked quietly. She nodded her head, trying to breathe deeply. He quietly opened the doors, and she wobbled out. They stopped to listen for anyone talking, and heard nothing.

They were about half way to the bush before the doors behind them opened and they both froze

"Snape…? What do you have… That's the Mudblood Granger… Potter's friend! What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to help her escape? BLOOD TRAITOR! SECTUMSEMPRA!" Lucius Malfoy roared, and the curse hit Snape in the back. They began to run towards the forest but he was obviously not alone, judging by the amount of curses that were being sent at them.

"STUPEFY!"

"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

"IMPEDIAMENTA!"

"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

"REDUCTO!"

"SECTUMSPERA!"

"CRUCIO!"

"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

The stunner was the only spell that did not hit them but it had unfortunately hit Snape's wand, knocking it out of his hand. After Hermione got hit twice, Snape had thrust her in front of him, shielding her from the majority of the curses. When Bellatrix fired off the Cruciatus curse, he had nearly toppled over, but Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him the last few feet. As soon as she passed through the two birch trees, she grabbed he necklace and activated the port-key with the password, "Safety At Last." She felt the familiar tug behind the navel and held onto Snape's arms as tightly as she could. They landed in the darkness with a thud and Hermione struggled to get them into the cottage.

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Snape's Point Of View

Severus Snape woke up in a very comfortable bed. He immediately knew something was different; his bed at the Malfoy Estate was not nearly as comfortable as this. He wanted to go back to sleep, but then he tried to remember the night before. And then he did. The memories crashed back. Hermione Granger had been captured, and she was horribly injured. He had been trying to smuggle her out, and he was caught.

Bloody Fucking Hell. Fucking Lucius can't get any more creative then 'Sectumsempra'. That hurt. Wait. I was hit at least 5 times. I should be dying right now. I should be in a cell. I should be in a hell of a lot more pain than I am. They discovered I was a traitor, I should be dead, or dying in front of the Dark Lord right now. Unless Hermione took me with her. Stupid move, could have gotten her caught if she did. Bloody Gryffindor nobility. Unless she didn't, which would be very Slytherin of her. Someone must have taken me some where, and done a bit of healing, I know I passed out. I was in terrible shape when I found her, though not as bad as she was. Being hit with a cutting cure repeatedly is not healthy. I should get up, either way.

He opened his eyes. He most definitely not at the Malfoy estate anymore. This was some sort of muggle place, judging by the television set on the table across the room. Hermione had definitely taken him with her. He hoped this was not her parent's house because that would put them in the first place they would be looked for.

Sitting up, he realized that it was morning. He was no longer in his robes, but some muggle clothing. Sweat pants and a t-shirt. He could see she had begun to heal him, but had stopped halfway through for some reason. He looked around and then he saw her. She was collapsed on the floor; in a pool of hr own blood yet again. She was very pale, and wasn't moving. He leapt out of bed and checked her pulse, there but barely. He no longer had a wand to seal her wounds, but he saw his potions kit on the floor next to her so he could do it manually. He grabbed out a blood replenisher, several pain potions, a wound sealant called Essence of Dittany and a bottle of Skelegro. He guessed that they would be here for a while and he would have time to fix her ribs. He began to rip at her clothes, to find the source of the bleeding. When he saw her bare stomach, his breath caught in his throat.

Oh, Miss Granger. You will be the end of me. You and your creamy white skin. Even covered in blood and barely breathing you still look magnificent. The only student ever to catch my eye, in all my years of teaching. Why did you have to be a Gryffindor? Why not a Slytherin, I might have had a chance at having you then, one day. The things you did to me.

He wanted to kill all of the Death Eaters who had cursed her. He would kill Yaxley at the very least, for capturing and torturing her to begin with. She was so small, and innocent. He hadn't even known who she was at the time. He began to rub the sealant onto her wounds, trying to channel his magic to have it stay put. She whimpered when he got her to the gash across her ribs. He tried to press as lightly as he could, but his own hand was trembling. Not from the torture session he had had earlier with he Dark Lord, as he was still paying his penance for killing Dumbledore when Draco should have been the one, but from having his hand run across her bare skin, so close to her breasts.

He finished sealing her wounds, and wondered if she would wake up to take the potions, or if he was to attempt spelling them wandlessly into her stomach. He glanced over at his potions kits to see if there was anything to wake her with, and noticed what looked like a wand had rolled under the bed when she had collapsed. It was a wand, and he began to spell potions into her stomach as she slept.

Once he finished that he began to look for some clothes to wear. He looked in the wardrobe in the corner and found a flimsy little night dress was the only piece of female clothing. It was made for a woman much older than her; it was short, made of pale yellow silk, with a dipping neckline, thin shoulder straps and a lacey trim. He cast a cleansing charm on her before slipping the dress over her head. He could still see many of her wounds, but he had done the best he could with them in his exhausted form. He was confident the she would live and he carried her onto the bed, placing her where she had placed him so she could rest comfortably.

Oh god she's beautiful. I wonder where she's taken us. After I rest some more I think I will look around this place. I shouldn't crawl back into the bed; she would probably be horrified that the Greasy Git of the dungeons was sleeping in bed next to her. the settee will do for now.

With that final thought, he laid down on the couch on the other side of the room and fell back to sleep.

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Hermione's Point of View

Hermione groaned as she opened her eyes. She could feel a dull ache all over her body. She had a bump on her head, from when she had collapsed earlier, and she could feel the burn in her chest of Skelegro at work. She opened her eyes and sighed in relief. She was in her cottage, her safe house. She looked around and was startled by the other companion of the room. Snape was sleeping on her couch. She remembered that he was injured worse than she was. She forced herself up to go and check on him

Oh god I hurt. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuck. I don't even know where I got half these injuries. He looks even more pale then usual. He must've been in bad shape when he found me because there is no way that our little tryst with the Death Eaters got him in this bad of shape, unless there was another 30 of them out there firing hexes and curses completely non-verbally. He must have woken up, and taken care of me. I never finished taking care of him. His arms still need work. I'll have to tend to him. And he should be the one in bed. He's bloody well half dead, and I believe I owe him a life debt, unless that was cancelled out by me taking him with me. I wonder how that works. Wait. This isn't what I was wearing before. Where are my robes? Why am I wearing muggle lingerie? This must have been Nina's, before. Oh my fucking god, he must have taken off my robes when he took care of me! Severus Snape saw me naked! OH MY GOD! This is weird. I guess not totally unexpected though, I did see him naked. And I almost ran my tongue over his chest, so I guess a little peek for him is harmless, right? Where is the Essence of Dittany? And maybe some Essence of Murtlap, maybe that will help the stinging of the Dark Mark? That's got to be bloody painful, but I doubt there's any way to fight it. Where's that potions kit gotten to?

Hermione grabbed the potions kit off of the bed side table and then kneeled down beside Snape. She took out the Dittany, and started to massage it onto his arm, with all of the care she could. She knew he was in a lot of pain, and he would be sore when he woke up, so she tried to loosen the muscles, while sealing the gashes. She was startled by him letting out a long groan and opening his eyes to look at her. She opened her mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come. She sat there with her mouth half open, and her hands clasped around his bicep.

"Miss Granger, what are you doing?" he asked groggily.

"I… I… I was finishing healing your wounds, sir. I must've passed out before I could finish earlier. I believe you already did as much for me, sir." She said, finally gaining some composure.