Hello! Just a warning, English is not my native language, nor have I studied it for very long.
Notes: As any of my friends can guarantee I love Snape and Hermione friendships and rarely relationships. I was really iffy on if I should attempt this sort of story period, but my friends convinced me to finally do it.
WARNINGS: SlightlyDark!Hermione and mentions of torture.
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EDIT: I FIXED MOST OF THE GRAMMAR MISTAKES, BUT IF YOU FIND ANY PLEASE TELL ME.
Please review, they keep me writing!
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Snape was no fool.
So it wasn't surprising that he noticed the new mystery death eater was one of his students. Unluckily the unidentified member was not allowed to vocally talk, instead they communicated with Voldemort through a secure mental connection.
Snape wasn't even sure of the death eater's gender. He did, however, notice that Voldemort was harder on the member than any other of his followers. Yet, the death eater seemed to hold Voldemort's full and indisputable trust.
Snape also noted that after one on one meeting with the mystery character Voldemort would come back with information on Harry or the Order, it was definitely insider knowledge. The Order had a spy.
Voldemort turned his head towards the anonymous patron, anger written on his face. Snape scowled knowing what was to come.
Voldemort hissed out his curse, "Crucio!"
The spy shook violently, but refused to either give away their identity by making noise or scream in their lord's presence. Soon the pain became too unbearable; the death eater coughed violently and finally fell to their knee. It went on for another ten minutes, bloody coughs echoed through the meeting place. Suddenly the coughing stopped and Voldemort started to cut into the death eater with various wordless curses and hexes. Blood spilled, still there were no screams but the body started to pant and shake trying to cope with the pain.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. Not by a long shot. Snape often wondered how the death eater could survive this treatment and not have their wounds announce themselves to the Order.
He could only assume that the spy was a low level member of the Order. He assumed that if the mole had been higher up the information they would have brought would protect them from the punishment of tonight.
Finally, Voldemort told the death eaters to leave, but kept the unknown one behind. All other members apparated away.
One thought ran through his head. He needed to talk to Dumbledore.
He apparated back to his rooms, under the headmaster orders he was allowed to do so from his room in case of meetings. He floo'd Dumbledore.
"We need to talk."
Dumbledore's response was long and drawn out, "Yes, I believe we do… Please come to my office."
Snape made his way to the headmaster's office. When he got there he was surprised to see someone else there. It was clearly the mystery death eater. Their wounds healed but the stink of fresh blood stuck to their cloak.
"Dumbledore, do you realize who you have in your office?"
"Yes I do believe I do, Severus."
The anonymous death eater turned. Their mask and a conceited smirk firmly in place on their face. Now that he got a closer look at the death eater it was clear that their gender was female, both the slight impression of the breasts her cloak hid and the full lips gave her away. Snape barely controlled his urge to hex her for looking so smug.
"Hello, professor."
No. He recognized the voice; he had heard it answering questions in his class enough times. His eyes shot towards the headmaster, "You aren't bloody serious are you?"
The Dumbledore's eyes held a sorrowful twinkle but he nodded. "Yes, I afraid I am. Even if I wanted to remove her from the danger she's found herself in, I can't. It's far too late to back out now. Plus, Ms. Granger's findings may have very well changed how long the war with last and it seems that thanks to her efforts the war has changed in our favor. She is irreplaceable for the cause."
"A spy irreplaceable? I beg to differ." Snape's voice raised several pitches.
"Do you doubt my ability to control the situation?" Hermione shift in her chair; she slid off her mask and placed it on the headmaster's desk, causing Dumbledore to grimace. Hermione sled her hood off her hair as she met his stare, her eyes were cold and measured up his resolve. "I assure you I am not only… irreplaceable to the Order's side, but Voldemort's as well."
He paused, as much as he hated to admit it, if anyone could manipulate the dark lord and his followers it'd be Hermione Granger. She had a way that made people forget her heritage and he had no doubt that Voldemort thought he had found his ace in the hole.
"Yes I am questioning your abilities in this situation, you're what they hate the most, forgive me but, you are a mudblood."Snape snapped. Hermione's face held no reaction to his words aside from a deep sigh she was like a doll.
"Yes, I am a mudblood. However, I'm everything that they think a pureblood woman should be, if not more. I'm extremely intelligent, I'm quite attractive, I'm cunning, and I know how manipulate better than most. Not only that, but I hold information that Voldemort would do anything for. However, my mind is not one easily broken into and no amount of torture would make me spill my secrets."
Snape scowled, "You're much too young for this life."
Hermione's icy voice quickly retorted, "I've found more than you have in two years in only three months."
He looked her over, she looked tired. Her hair was slightly frizzy from pulling off the hood, but it still retained the majority of its sleek shape. Her lips were chapped and tore from biting them, probably during the torture session she just had. Her eyes were a shade of aged honey, with the frosty edge that comes with her job. She didn't look her age, no, she looked many years older. It became clear to him in that moment, the buck tooth and bushy haired student he had once taught was dead. In her place stood a young beautiful woman, a woman was willing to sacrifice her life for a cause that would never acknowledge her ability.
"This is a mistake, Albus," Snape turned his anger on the brooding man who sat behind the desk, "You're sentencing her to die by allowing this."
Hermione snorted, "The only one with a death sentence on their head, at the moment, is you. I plan on letting the fact that you're a spy slip during my next session with the nose-less-one."
Snape shot his head around and shouted at the girl sitting calmly in front of him, "What are you thinking? Are you trying to get me killed?!"
Hermione looked genuinely bothered by his yelling, "He is already suspicious of your behavior. To the point of trying to snake his way into my mind, but I did my best to guard myself to prevent him from getting the information on you being a spy. Instead he got images of you teaching potions and that is all." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked at Snape with sad eyes. "It would be better if you stopped attending the meetings. As I plan to reveal you as a spy as a gesture of good will, I hope you will allow me to without any problems. Exposing you would give me a great edge trust wise; Voldemort's is already preparing to move me into his most trusted. I need something big that won't put Harry or the Order at risk." Hermione met his eyes pleading with him to understand.
Snape's jaw locked, he had always wanted to leave and here was this brilliant girl giving him his freedom. However, was it worth the price he would have to ask from her? He ground his teeth; he had waited years for a chance at what she was offering him…
Hermione seemed to guess what his inner battle was about, "Please, Professor, do not think of it as a death sentence for me and I can assure you that you will not be abandoning the war effort. The Order will require you help to perfect potions I had been making before I infiltrated the death eater's ranks, especially with the one I almost perfected. I'll give you my notes shortly after this meeting." She smiled at Snape and continued, "Think it as a transfer of responsibilities. I'll take over Intel and you will take over my research position for the most part."
Dumbledore cleared his throat and asked, "I'm sure those terms are satisfactory, Severus?"
Snape held his tongue and nodded. Hermione shot him a beaming smile that didn't reach her frosty eyes.
Hermione stood up from the seat she had been sitting in, "Now if you excuse me I'd like to wash off this disgusting blood off my body. I'll see you in the potions classroom in thirty minutes, Professor." She left shortly after casting a swift disillusionment charm to avoid anyone who may be left in the hallways.
When Hermione made it to the head girl's room she was exhausted. She threw off all her clothes, thankful for Draco being the head boy so if he happened to see the robes and tore clothes littered on the floor he would understand. She went straight for the bathroom and started to fill the tub. She went over to the cabinet taking out bath salts and oils to add to the water. She made sure the soap, shampoo and conditional were in reach of the bath. She prepared her bath and slipped into the warm water. She let out a content sigh.
She soaked for almost ten minutes before lathering her hair with the shampoo and washing it out. She soon rubbed the conditioner into her scalp and let it sit while she scrubbed her body with the soap. She removed all the grime and dried gore that had accumulated on her body over the past few hours. She washed the conditioner out of her hair after wards. She was soon clean and got out of the tub. She drained the water and quickly casted a drying spell on herself. She put away her toiletries and went to her room to get clothes. She slipped into her simple black underwear. She walked to her closet and picked a cream sweater, slipping it on quickly. She soon after pulled out a pair of loose fitting black sweat pants and quickly slipped them on as she did with her sweater. She seized her paperwork from her desk drawer after putting up her hair into a loose bun and slipping on her shoes.
She silently made her way down the empty halls to the potions classroom. When she got there Snape was already waiting for her. She walked towards him and stopped at the closest table to him. She slipped on the table, she sat cross-legged. She smiled at Snape and motioned him towards her. He slowly walked over to her, an eyebrow cocked upwards. She held up a manila envelope, which held what he had guessed was her current research on the potion she had mentioned.
Hermione confirmed his thoughts, "It's nearly done. I was trying to make a potion that would heal all wounds created from curses. I'll naturally be helping you, whenever I can find time at any rate." She continued with a bored voice, "However, there are also notes for another potion I was planning on developing, a cure for the killing curse. I wanted to attempt to make a potion that would take your body stats of when you took the potion and force your body to revert back to them after being activated by the killing curse. All my research points to the conclusion that it should work. I have a list of what you would need to use to make such a potion; I just have the problem of test subjects or lack thereof."
He nodded in understanding, the lack of people willing to risk death for the sake of the greater good were very rare. Very rare indeed.
"If you're not too tired we could start on the first potion?" Snape suggested, silently hoping she'd agree. He'd love to work on either potion with the brilliant witch.
Hermione grimaced, "No, I'll pass. I'm extremely tired, I assure you. I haven't been getting enough sleep what with my keeping my grades up and the work I do for the Order. Tomorrow I'll come after classes unless I'm called by the great-dark-nose-less-one."
Snape chuckled, "That's quite an accurate name for him."
Hermione lightly laughed, "I'm glad you agree." She held out the envelope for me grab, which I promptly did. Afterwards she slid off the table and turned to go out the door.
She waved, her back turned, "See you later, Severus."