AN: I'm Back and only getting better with time if I do say so myself. Okay yeah a bit Narcistic but oh wells... Here is my newest fic titled Facades...

I do not own Harry Potter or Hermione Granger or Severus Snape for that matter... if I did do you think I would be a fic writer after all I simply RENT the characters.

On With The Show...

Chapter One

Our Story Begins

I sat at the balcony of the room that had been my safe haven for the past two years. There was always the opportunity for me to leave, but for some unknown reason I never wanted to go. My captor had allowed me to keep my wand and through that act of trust I had come to love him, though I did not know his name or his true identity for those he kept under a façade that was more than appealing. He kept his shoulder length jet black hair pulled together at the nape of his neck with a small silver ribbon. His eyes those eyes black as ebony had a kind and caring nature about them. He was slightly tan and always smelled of sandalwood and various herbs.

There was no denying that I had fallen in love with my captor. Yes… I Hermione Jane Granger had fallen for a man that I did not even really know. His mystery come to think of it is probably the reason for my infatuation with him. Not knowing who he truly was truly made me want to get to know him more than I did. All I knew was, was that the name he used with me Stephan was not his true name, that he loved reading about as much as I do, he was great to have battles of wits (which he almost always allowed me to win), and that he most defiantly worked for The Order of the Phoenix, which meant he was on my side. I never worried what would happen to me in his care and I knew that there had to be a reason for him having me here away from the battle against Lord Voldemort. There had to be for if there was none then I could not trust him as I did. More importantly if there was no reason for me being here than I would be wrong about something and knowing and living with that would surly kill me.

I stared out over the horizon. It was late May and the sun was setting… signaling that it was time to get ready for dinner. In any normal place even Hogwarts the sun set according to the time of year, here however the sun rose at around five each morning and set at about six thirty every night. And as if on queue a little house elf came into my room in an adorable little outfit signaling her freedom and paid position in this house.

"Miss, master says that dinner will be served in twenty minutes. He sent Pippa to help get Missy ready for dinner."

I looked at the little elf and smiled at her, "Okay Pippa, erm can you get me out the crimson evening gown with the silver and black lace?"

The little elf nodded and within a minute he had the dress out for me and the oriental screen was up so that I could change behind it. It was odd… never was I one for formality in dress or anything like that and Merlin knows I was not one to dress with a corset but here it seemed almost apropos to dress this way. Although I was already thin I wore the corset and well I was thankful for the shape it gave me. I put the dress on and Pippa laced up the back for me. The elf gently pushed me towards the vanity at which she did up my long curly hair every night for dinner. With this dress she always intertwined little black pearls into the half up half down bun that allowed for my curls to cascade down my back. A little black lace choker was put around my neck. The choker was my favorite one that my capture had given me. The man had known that I had been a Gryffindor in my school years and it was obvious that with his cunningness he had been a Slytherin in his days so the necklace was a perfect union of the two houses, black lace with a tint of silver and deep rubies that hung from the lace band. With the choker in place I was ready for dinner with four minutes to get down to the Entrance Hall of the manor.

Night after night making my way down to him reminded me of the old fairy tale of The Beauty and the Beast. The way that Belle had fallen in love with her captor and how she made her way to dinner with him every single night dressed in a beautiful dress with her hair done and everything looking as though she was a painted china doll reminded me of how I looked night after night only my appearance was not for a beast. No, mine was for a true man in true human form the only things I had in common with Belle at this point of my story were that I was given an alias to call him by and like her I was in love with the being who kept me where I was.

Standing at the top of the grandest stair case that I had ever seen in my twenty four years of existence on the earth I looked down to see my love staring up at me. His features were soft as his eyes gently bore holes into my soul. I smiled took a breath and began to descend the black marble steps one hand clutching the banister and the other lifting the skirt of my gown a few inches so that I would not trip on the long material. When I reached to bottom of the steps he extended his hand to me. Blush creeping into my pale cheeks I took his hand and allowed for him to bring it to his lips. He kissed my hand and smiled slightly at me.

"Good evening, Hermione. I trust you had a nice afternoon," Stephan's silky deep voice said to me… only making me blush even more.

"Good evening, Stephan. I did have a pleasant after noon. I finished that book you gave me."

"You did and what did you think of it?"

Discussions of books with the two of us were routine small talk, and with both of us having such a fond interest in literature we were able to keep that small talk going for hours.

"I enjoyed it thoroughly. I truly felt for Mr. Utterson watching his best friend becoming reclusive and dangerous to himself and not knowing how to help Jekyll it was almost heart wrenching. Though, the book is far different then the Muggle adaptations that I saw when I was little. The book never went into whether Henry Jekyll loved someone or not. It only delved into the physiological and sociological aspects of Jekyll's self-experimentation."

"But you enjoyed it still?"

"Yes, very much so." I smiled at him and looked up in front of me only to see that we were already in the dining room.

Stephan pulled a chair out for me to sit and then sat across from me. All either of us could do was smile softly at each other, but as always I wondered who Stephan really was behind his façade.

AN: that was the first chapter...

Hermione- I'm a china doll!!!

Snape- I'm tan... blinks a few times

Hermione- Yes, and a gentleman at that... who would have thought that-

Snape- I'm no gentleman this "Stephan" person is...

Creatress- And that is why the fic is titled Facade you two.