Harry Potter:
Beyond the Chamber of Secrets
The world was a good place. Or so she thought, yeah there were House Elves being mistreated and a dark wizard trying to take over the world, but for tonight it didn't matter. Tonight was Jane Granger's birthday. Everyone had come. Hermione had even set up for her aunt and uncle from France to come over and see her mother turn fifty.
Mum Granger as she had been come to be known had always been good to Hermione's friends, and the lot of them had shown up too. Five punks, eight goths, three female prostitutes and three male ones (that didn't come as dates to each other.) was the head count for kids there. Right up at the front was Hermione's 'big brother' Sully. They had known each other only for a short time but had forged a friendship together that was unbelievably strong. With his strong build and some odd twenty piercing (that you could see), his long red hair, that he was talking about cutting into a Mohawk and dying green, tight leather clothes or fishnet, and intimidating blue eyes, one would think that he was a danger, but Sullivan Tyler was one of the sweetest people that Hermione had ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Ron and Harry were supposed to come, but the Order called an emergency meeting. They sent her Hedwig to let her know that they were sorry and for her not to worry about it, they had told Mad Eye in no uncertain terms that she was not coming in today, her mother's birthday was too important.
The trio had been living secret lives for the better part of a year. What should have been their seventh year at Hogwarts ended with a bang, even though they were not at the school Voldemort attacked anyway. Almost none of the students survived, and those that did were so badly injured that the parents forced the closing of Hogwarts until the Dark Lord could be defeated.
Hermione, Ron, and Harry had all been Auror's now for two years. Hermione had taken on a persona as Ramada because herself as 'the Mudblood Granger' would not have been respected. Ron and Harry's alternate personas lived out in muggle London in one of the Safe Houses that they had set up. They were the base player and the drummer, and alternated vocals for a band with 'Ramada' playing guitar and singing. Moody had told them to keep low key, so they only played at the club that Hermione's friend Dave, one of the gothic kings of London, tended bar for once or twice when they needed money.
"Hermione!" Ginny called from the kitchen, tugging on Hermione's arm. "Come on, you're mum is going to start opening her presents now."
Ginny had come and brought Ron and Harry's gifts for mum with her.
"Li'l Dove." Sully said coming into the room, his thick cockney accent making him hard for most to understand. "I jus' go'a beep, Seri's inna way wit onna 'er Johns. Needs a 'and, I'm gonna go save 'er from 'erself."
Seri was a friend of theirs, she was the head hooker up in the West End of Piccadilly, she often got drunks and perverts coming out of the porn theaters and ended up with some real freaks. More than once she paged Sully for help.
"Alright Sul, I'll give Mum our gift and let her know it is from you too ok?" She said smiling ear to ear. She had been saving half of her wages from the Aurors to get this gift and when it came time to buy she had been three hundred dollars short, so Sully had given it to her. It worked for him well too because he was thinking about buying her a motorcycle, and Hermione had to convince him this was a bad plan. "If you need me call the house ok. Mum'll understand if I have to come and get you."
"Don' yah worry 'bout me, you keep mum 'appy and I'll be back in an 'our." He said with a wink of one of his insanely blue eyes before vanishing out of the door.
"What did he say?" Ginny asked blinking. Sure her family didn't speak perfect proper English, but this kid was worse that Hagrid because he threw in slang terms too that she didn't understand.
"He has to go. But it's ok." She said. "Someone needs his help."
"Oh, ok." Ginny said smiling. "So, are you and he?"
"No… NO!" Hermione hissed batting Ginny's arm. "Absolutely not! He is like a big brother to me!"
"Ok, ok calm down." Ginny said giggling before moving into the living room. They all watched as Jane opened her gifts and finally came time for Hermione and Sully's gift.
"Mum, Sully and I got this for you." She said taking out an envelope and fumbling it in her hands. "Sully said he was really sorry he couldn't be here, but he needed to do pick up Seri, she's in a bit of a way again."
"It's alright dear, he knows that." Mum said kindly smiling at her daughter.
"I know, but he wanted me to tell you and give you this from both of us." Hermione said sitting down next to her mother.
"Oh darling! You know you didn't have too." Jane said smiling. Her eyes sparkling, sure she didn't have too, but her mother seemed so happy that she had. Hermione sat excitedly next to her mother and bit her lip. Her mother tore the envelope open and inside was a pair of plane tickets to America and a all expense paid trip to Disney World.
"Hermione!" Her father gasped.
"You shouldn't have!" Her mother said as if someone had punched her full on in the chest.
"We wanted to." She said as he mother turned and coiled her arms around her. "I'm glad you like it Mum."
Sure the gift had duel purposes, with the war coming to a head, the attack on Muggles had gotten worse. The Dark Lord had taken to attacking the families of Muggleborns that had offended him, and amongst those, sevenfold, was Hermione Granger. She knew she had to get her mother and father out of the country, they had planned to go see her aunt and uncle in France in two months, that would time almost perfectly after the trip to America, and Hermione knew her parents, they would opt to go to France a little sooner rather than coming home, and settling in only to leave again.
"I have to get going Hermione." Ginny said brightly. "Promised Mum I would help with dinner tonight."
"Alright, thanks for coming Ginny." Hermione said getting up and walking her out the back door where she could Apperate without being seen by anyone.
No sooner did Hermione walk back into the house than did the night sky light up over her house. She blinked for a moment, her mind at first not understanding what the green glow in the sky was, but then it struck her like a sack of bricks.
She barely managed to keep her breath before screaming.
"MUM! DAD!" She cried out running through the kitchen toward the living room when a strong arm caught her around the throat, one cutting off her air supply and the other over her mouth. She struggled against the grip as black cloaked figures poured in around her through the house.
Stop struggling. The voice was in her mind. She knew that voice and her blood ran cold. Stop struggling? The Death Eaters were in her house. She could hear the party guests crying out, not sure what was going on. She went completely limp in the Death Eaters arms and she could hear him groan in protest as she went dead weight. He had to step forward to get a better hold on the Mudblood he could only assume had fainted. As he stepped she pulled her foot back suddenly, hooking it around his own foot and pulling hard, knocking him off balance.
She felt the body come down hard on top of her and scrambled to get her footing before the Death Eater could. She managed to do so; he had gotten tangled in his own black robes as she lurched herself forward toward the counter. She was just within reach of the shotgun that she knew was in the niche behind the kitchen counter for just such an occasion when the Death Eater grabbed her foot. Her hands scrapped over the acrylic surface of the counter, causing her nails to make a horrific sound as she tore at it for purchase while the Death Eater pulled her back toward him.
She didn't care anymore who was under that mask, just because she had gotten a message from him did not mean that it was him that was holding her, she finally pushed off the counter, going with the pulling, catching the Death Eater off guard as she slammed the heel of her foot into the nose of the mask.
The scream that came from him was disturbingly satisfying as she rounded again. He reeled back, holding his face as blood poured out from under the chin of the white mask. He was starting to get to his feet and she could hear others coming to respond to his cries of pain.
Again Hermione turned and this time she made it to the counter, clawing behind it until her fingers closed on the cold metal of the gun barrel. She pulled it out and rounded fast on the struggling Death Eater, pulling the trigger without a second thought. Damn the Dark Lord! He had just made Hermione Granger a murderer for the first time ever. As two more rounded into the room she unloaded two of the remaining four bullets into them. They both flew back into the hall. Make that a murderer thrice over.
She turned to head through the door when one of the 'dead' Death Eaters grabbed her foot. She turned hitting the man with the butt of the gun. A strong yip came from them as she heard, from upstairs someone screaming for her. It was her mother; it had to be her mother.
"Die Grayback! Damn you!" She screamed as she loaded two more bullets into the werewolf. But they were not silver bullets and so it did little to nothing to stop his attacks other than to blow him back against the wall. While he was down for a moment she ran.
Coming into the living room she found it empty of everything except her father and her uncles bodies. They were hanging from the center of the room, torn, literally apart by slicing hexes, and had undoubtedly been subjected to the Cruciatus curse. She covered her mouth, now was not the time to vomit, Dad and Uncle Jonathan were dead, that was sad but her Mum and Aunt Audrey were still alive. She rounded then onto the stairs only to come face to face with another Death Eater, but this one sent her scampering back away from him. Almost six and a half feet of black cloak, held in a familiar stance, and those cold coal black eyes were something she would never forget.
Hit me with that. Was all she heard in her mind. Hit me with it or I will kill you.
He raised his wand and she didn't think twice, palming the thing like a baseball bat she swung it hard into the jaw of the man she had once respected more than anything else, the only man she had ever really wanted to be with, and the man that had killed the one man who ever treated her like she was equal. Severus Snape hit the wall hard and she ran past him up the stairs.
No sooner had she reached the top of the stairs than did eight different Hexes send her flying back down them again.
"NO! MUM!" She screamed out as the Death Eaters converged on her like a hungry swarm of Vampire Bats. She could feel more than she could see, in the swarm of black fabric she knew she had been lifted off of the ground. None of the hands were familiar to her, but they bore both genders. Slender fingers with rings, and long nails verses the thick strong hands of their masculine counter parts.
"Bring her upstairs." The growling voice of the werewolf came, so course that for one horrific moment she thought she would see Mad Eye Moody standing with the Death Eaters.
"No." She heard the smooth tones of her old teacher call out. The movement of those holding her stopped, as did the flurry of robes and suddenly the world came into focus again. Severus Snape stood amongst his own, the mask he had been wearing lay broken in his hands, the blood still pouring from the wound a shard of the broken mask had caused. "She. Is. Mine."
"Vell, Vell, Vell, Severrrus." The crooning Russian accent of Dolohov came. "A student no less?"
"She is no longer a student. I owe her for years of annoyance. It is time she found out what happens when you annoy those that serve the Lord." Those eyes were like ice, and even Hermione believed that he had truly gone home to Voldemort when looking at those eyes.
"Before you have your fun Sevvy wevvy…" The insane cackling came from behind one of the masks as Bellatrix Lestrange appeared on the scene. "The Dark Lord wants the Mudblood to see the muggles die. She already missed Daddy and Unkky begging for mercy… wouldn't want to disappoint him would you… Sevvy?" The hate that laced her voice was undeniable, nor did she make any attempt to hide it.
"You leave them alone you heinous bitch!" Hermione screamed struggling against her captors.
"I am not a patient man." Severus growled deeply and for a moment, one split and crazy moment Hermione thought that maybe, just maybe, he was trying to protect her. No, that was preposterous. Right? It was wasn't it? He wouldn't try to spare her from having to watch her mother and aunt die? Would he?
His slender fingers slipped over the wound from the gun he had ordered her to hit him with and he grinned as if turned on by the pain, a fire behind those eyes the likes of which Hermione had never seen and never wanted to again flared up.
"No, she is mine… now." He growled flicking the blood into Hermione's face. She was trying to understand what was happening, everything was going so fast.
"Nu-uh!" Bellatrix crooned. "The Dark Lord said…"
"I know what he said you mad crone!" Severus growled. "But he also ordered me to perform tonight, thusly it is now, or never."
"You are so picky." Dolohov said rolling his eyes.
"I'm sorry if every frizzy haired, buck toothed Mudblood doesn't get me excited Anton." Severus snarled at him. "Now that she has my attention, I will have her. Stand aside Lestrange unless you wish to explain to the Dark Lord why I didn't take Granger as ordered."
Bellatrix's eyes narrowed dangerously behind the white mask as she tried to stare down the man the just could not be stared down. Severus Snape could not be one upped when it came to the stare down; he was he master of it.
"You're funeral Sevvy." She hissed before slipping by him. "Lets finish off the Grangers. Dolohov, stay down here and make sure old Sevvypoo doesn't get soft on us." She fell into hysterical peels of laughter but Hermione didn't think it was very funny at all!
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Hermione screamed as Severus closed in on her, she pushed her hands into the ground and kicked a leg up, catching him below the belt. His eyes grew wide and he growled as he sunk to the ground.
Hermione made to run, but found herself landing flat on her face, the weight that came down on her, knee first into the small of her back, was much more than that of Severus Snape. She felt as if her back were breaking, the pain flaring through her lower body as Dolohov landed on a knee in her back. His elbows followed, hitting her between her shoulders and she screamed in pain, feeling as if he had placed enough pressure on her back that her shoulder blades had touched.
"You… little… Minx." Severus growled as he drew himself to his feet.
"Get off!" Hermione screamed, trying to struggle against Dolohov.
Stop you chit. The more you fight the more this will hurt. The professor's voice scolded her. If you listen to me, I can make sure you feel nothing do you understand? I cannot save your parents, but I can save you, and as long as you are down here with me, you don't have to watch them die.
What was he saying? He was going to rape her to spare her, because she could tell, as he was pulling back his unbuttoned robes that he meant to do it. Her eyes gazed over the figure of the only man she had ever had a 'crush' on. Sure there was Weasley and Krum, but her feeling for them were absolutely nothing like what she felt when she looked on Severus Snape.
'Do as I say and you will live' his voice rang in her head again. Those cold black orbs were locked on hers. He was using Legilimency to communicate with her. 'Do not nod, or act like we are talking or we will both be dead. Reply and do only what I tell you or what you feel you must.'
"This was a beautiful present, Miss Granger," Snape said as he rolled his hand over his bleeding jaw. "I have been hexed, cursed, burned, even stabbed a few times but I cannot ever recall being bitch slapped by a shotgun. I must thank you for the experience."
"Stop playing vit her and get dis over vit!" Dolohov sneered at Snape.
"She is mine, I will do with her what I wish," Snape hissed. "Back off, now!"
'YOU KILLED DUMBLEDORE!' Her mind screamed at him as she locked her eyes in defiance. Open rebellion screamed out as Dolohov chuckled at her expression.
Snape's mind countered her accusations. 'Don't turn away, don't give into the night. Don't try to hide, though they are screaming your name. Don't close your eyes, you don't know what's behind you. Don't close your eyes, never sleep, never die… remember this my Hermione. Remember this….'
"Mayhap da little girl does not be thinking she is yours," he laughed at the dark eyed man.
"She will," a smirk crossed his face causing his wound to bleed more. 'That's it girl, keep that fire and you will live through this. This is not real, remember that. Remember that you must do this just as I must to survive.' Severus removed a large knife and cut away the young woman's clothing. When she screamed, Severus answered her defiant scream with a sharp backhand across the mouth.
"Now now, do not give your Professor a headache dear." Just to punctuate the point, Hermione screamed again, loudly as she arched her head toward the ceiling.
"Gag her," was Snape's demand to Dolohov. "What is this, my pet? This scar from Dolohov here? Has he already had a piece of you? Shame, I wanted you for myself," he sneered at her. Dolohov ripped away a large piece of her sweatshirt and rolled it into a gag tying it firmly around Hermione's mouth. Dolohov did not pass up the opportunity to cop himself a free feel of Hermione's now bared breasts before Snape's glare made him back off once more.
'I trusted you,' her mind wailed in agony knowing what was coming. Tears sprung to her eyes as she stared into the coal black ones of her soon to be rapist that was freeing himself from the confines of his trousers. Her eyes locked in a fierce stare pouring her defiance and her rebellion into his.
'I still trust you,' he said smoothly as he positioned himself over her body, leaning down and biting hard on her nipple. 'I can feel your emotions Hermione, scream now for you will feel no pain from this.' Snape drew Hermione into his own mind. Drawing her away from what was happening inside her own body she could feel nothing as she did what she was told and screamed loudly.
'That's it, arch your back and tilt back your head, but do not close your eyes. Do not let them see you give in!' Snape's body shuddered suddenly, and shock filled his brain. She could feel his shock. 'Oh Merlin Hermione, I am so sorry. So sorry… I will see to it you live through this… I promise you.'
"Dolohov, get me the vial out of my pocket," he snickered. "I got a bonus in this little one."
Dolohov got the vial out, as Snape retreated from her body and blood began to fill the vial.
"Cap it you fool! Do not let it coagulate!" Snape hissed. "Virgin blood is a rare commodity from a witch, Mudblood or not she will serve my purposes for a rare potion."
'The one I will make to heal you, Hermione.' Snape said in her mind as Hermione screamed again. Reality was trying hard to crash in.
'You have taken that from me! Why! Albus trusted you!' her mind screamed. It was then that Snape realized that she was calling from her own mind. Miss Granger was a trained Legilimens and could have shut him out, but did not. 'That's right. Listen up Snape! Leave me to them and I swear I will not only haunt you the rest of your days, I will kill you.'
'Correction,' he said in his usual sardonic tone. 'He still trusts me.' Shock filled her features and she turned a pallid shade of white. 'Quickly, in my inner pocket, my cloak take my wand. As soon as it is in your hands send something really nasty that doesn't need a verbal command at Dolohov and Apparate!'
'They will kill you!' she thought defiantly.
' Weren't you just threatening the same thing, you twit! No, they will punish me. They will however kill you, now get out of here!' his mind called back to her as he slowly retreated from her mind's grip. She did as she was commanded, sending a nasty Bat Bogey Hex at Dolohov before he even saw that she had acquired the wand and Apparated from right under Snape's nose, literally.
--
Hermione stumbled past the field in the Burrow. Wrapped in a Death Eater's cloak and clutching tightly to a wand that was not her own. Molly came running out of the house and wrapped her tightly in her shawl ensconcing the "child" into the house.
"Harry! Ron! Ginny!" she cried out loudly. All three came screaming down the stairs. Harry was the first to get to her, he knew right away what she was wrapped in and what it meant.
"Hermione! Where did you get that?" Harry gasped as he reached for the clasp only to have it shoot the green sparks at his hand. "Damnit!"
"Don't touch it!" Hermione snarled. That was all she said, pulling free from Molly and running up to the bathroom in the flare of black fabric that marked the Death Eater cloaks.
"Hermione, you can't take that thing off yourself!" Ron yelled as he and Harry ran after her up the stairs. She slammed the door closed and locked the door behind her, leaning against it she finally let her body crumple to the floor. She didn't feel the pain at first, but now her whole body hurt.
"Ron!" Ginny snarled. "Can't you see something is wrong, stop being a prat and go make yourself useful, get some of her clothes from my room, Harry, go make some tea. Jeepers!"
"What do you mean Ginny?" Ron hissed.
"Harry, she is wearing a Death Eaters Cloak, she is covered in blood and doesn't want anyone near her. Please put two and two together, come up with four and get rid of my idiot brother!" Ginny spat. Harry lost all color, and reached out grabbing Ron's arm. He fought Harry for all of a minute before relenting and following him to Ginny's room first.
Once they were gone Ginny uncharmed the door. Hermione skittered away from it, curling up under the sink on the opposite wall as Ginny slipped into the room. She didn't say anything, simply relocking the door before she walked over and kneeled in front of the broken, beaten and crying Hermione Granger.
"What did they do to you?" She said softly.
"He saved me…" Hermione said, completely incoherent of the words coming out of her own mouth at the moment.
"What, who saved you Hermione?" She said slipping her hands under the cloak; Hermione's skin was cold to the touch as she slid the cloak up over her head gasping slightly. She was completely nude, blood on her face and on her thighs. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together, so glad Ron wasn't in her, he probably would have come up with five hundred and ended up with her being raped by all the death eaters all at once… which was obviously not the case.
"He did…" Was all she said. Ginny looked down and noticed that she was grasping a wand tightly in her hand, so tightly in fact that her knuckles were turning white. It wasn't her wand, it was shorter and thicker. A potions wand. Hers was longer and slender for charms casting. Hers was also a light brown, where this one was almost completely black and strangely familiar.
"Hermione…" Ginny said very carefully, the math was adding up and she was sure hoping that she had gotten the wrong answer. "Hermione… who's wand is that?"
"His." She answered.
"His as in Him." Ginny gasped. "You have HIS wand and HE saved you?"
"Yes." Hermione said softly. "I mean… wait…no!"
"So if it isn't HIS wand, whose is it?" Ginny asked, thanking her lucky stars they didn't have Voldemort's wand in their bathroom.
"His." Hermione answered again.
"There are a lot of 'hims' in this world Hermione! Can you narrow it down some?" Ginny asked as she was turning on the bath water.
"No." Hermione answered as she pulled the wand against her self as if it were a teddy bear. Odd thing to do, Ginny couldn't help but notice, but at this point she wasn't going to fight Hermione on it. "You wouldn't believe me… heck, I don't even believe me at this point."
"Alright Hermione." Ginny said softly. "This person let you get away with his wand and his cloak, I'll believe you."
"No." Hermione said again as the tears started down her face.
"Hermione, you have to tell someone." Ginny said helping her injured friend to her feet and getting her into the bathtub.
"You take a wand oath with me right now." Hermione said suddenly. Her eyes were wild and on fire, she couldn't let Ginny tell anyone about this. Not until she got to the bottom of it! Not until she understood it herself.
"Um… ok." Ginny said pulling her wand out of her pocket. Hermione touched it with the wand in her hand, she didn't have her own wand, it was still at home. "I swear that anything you tell me in this bathroom at the Burrow, for the next fifteen minutes will never be spoken of again by me. I swear to you, Hermione Granger, on my, Ginny Weasley's wand."
The black wand gave off a red glow that surrounded Ginny's wand accepting the oath, then the unfamiliar wand proceded to hiss it's disapproval of it's new master sending Hermione into the side of the shower stall.
"Things got a kick…" Hermione said as she slid down so she was sitting in the tub, that had hurt, she was already sore enough without any help from Snape's wand. She pulled it back against herself as if her affection alone might cleanse the wand of its anger.
"You ok?" Ginny gasped.
"No." Hermione said as the tears came again. She spilled out the entire tale of what happened at her parent's house to Ginny. She told her how the Auror's were supposed to be protecting the house and they were not there, the Death Eaters killed her father and uncle, and she was sure her mother and aunt were dead too. She told her that she didn't know if Sully ended coming back to the house before the Death Eaters left or not. "The wand is Severus Snape's."
"No! That bastard is supposed to be dead!" Ginny cried out.
"No, don't you understand. He saved me, if the Death Eaters had brought me upstairs, I would have been passed around them until I was dead. He took me himself and then gave me his wand so that I could leave." Hermione sobbed. "I don't know why he did it Ginny but if it weren't for Severus Snape, I'd be dead!"
"Merlin Hermione… " Ginny said, tears in her own eyes now watching her friend suffer like this.
After exactly fourteen minutes Hermione stopped talking again. Ginny sat down next to the tub, holding Hermione's free hand and stayed there until she could move again.
"We'll get them for this Hermione." Ginny said softly.
"Don't tell them I was raped, it would tear them apart, let them think that I got away before it got that far." Hermione said, her pleading brown eyes locking with that of her blue-eyed friend. Ginny nodded, understanding what Hermione was asking of her. She knew that Hermione was right.
"You need to go to one of those muggle drug stores and get a thingy to tell if you are pregnant Hermione." Ginny said softly.
"No, he never finished. I'm ok." She responded.
"He… didn't?" Ginny gasped.
"No… I apperated right out from under him." She said softly looking at Ginny.
"Did the wand kick you then?" Ginny asked.
"No. And the cloak came with me." Hermione said shaking her head.
"Keep the wand, we'll get rid of the cloak, but don't let anyone take the wand." Ginny said standing.
"No, I'll transfigure the cloak, it might well want to stay with the wand right now." Hermione said softly as Ginny went out and got the clothes from Ron.
"Is she ok?" Ron asked softly.
"No." Ginny said glaring at him. "Would you be?" With that she stormed back into the bathroom and slammed the door. "He is so stupid!"
"Lay off of him Gin." Hermione said softly taking the clothes and starting to get dressed. "He is just worried about me."
"I know. But he just annoys me sometimes with stupid questions." Ginny said shaking her head as she waited for Hermione to get dressed. By the time the two girls came out of the bathroom Harry was sitting in Ginny's room with the tea for them ready.
"Hermione…" Harry said softly. Ron was standing near the bed, but didn't say anything, he was a dolt sometimes, he had no idea what to say at times like these, but that was one of the things Hermione loved about him. She came forward and sat next to Harry, leaning forward so that her head was in his lap and just sobbed again. Harry said nothing, Ron said nothing as he slipped onto the bed behind her, and they both just held her until she finally fell asleep.
--
Hermione had a headache. Two days of constant questioning and harassment about the wand and they weren't letting up any. Of course Ginny had kept her word and said nothing.
"Would you two just shut up a minute and listen." Hermione finally snapped sending both boys silent. "I'm only going to say this once, and if you ever say a bad thing about him after, I will make sure to turn this wand on you."
Both boys took her moment of silence to let her threats sink in.
"Jesus Hermione, you don't have to threaten us." Harry said softly. He was a little hurt that she felt the need to do such a thing.
"Yes, I do." Hermione said.
"Is it Malfoy's wand?" Ron gasped. It was the only thing he could think of that would have her reacting like this.
"Malfoy? That little git wasn't there." Hermione hissed at Ron, who sat back some in thought, his red brows knitted closely together.
"It was Snape." Harry said with such conviction that Hermione wondered for a moment if he could read her mind. "That's it, it was Severus Snape wasn't it?"
Her silence was all it too to confirm it for both boys.
"Why?" Ron asked. "He hates us, all of us!"
"It wasn't about us Ron." Hermione said softly. "You hate Malfoy, but you wouldn't go kill his family."
"No, but if he did that, why are you protecting him." Ron gasped.
"He didn't kill them, he was with me." Hermione said shaking her head. "He was supposed to…" She didn't fill in the blanks… "But he didn't, then he gave me his wand and told me to get out of there."
"Voldemort is going to kill him." Harry said. He rolled his eyes when Ron shuddered.
"No. He is going to hurt him, but he won't kill him." Hermione answered fingering over the wand in her hands.
"Alright Hermione. If that is what you want than so be it… but if he hurts you again…" Harry growled.
"He didn't hurt me to begin with." Hermione said shaking her head. She gestured to the damage to her face and chest. "This was all Dolohov, but if he does than by all means Harry, have at it, but I know he won't."
"How do you know?" Ron questioned.
"I just do…"