Yes!
I told you I'd update properly. You have to know my history of bad-updatingness to realize this wonderful achievement. :D
Notwritten- Thanks! I hope you like this next one.
Byakugan Fighter- I don't know how soon the Hermione/Snape will get here, but I hope this chapter's long enough!
Kopiikat- Thank you! I was hoping it wasn't too "Catcher in the Rye", but you reassured me that it wasn't bad at least.
HRInuyashaFan16- I hope interesting is a good thing, so here's more of it!
Oh, and when you see italics, it's whatever Hermione's thinking at that moment.
My body jerked. My eyes flew open. Something was disturbing my movements. I abruptly awoke. My arm was held tightly in Lucius' grasp, and his other arm was around my waist. It confused me. Why is he touching me? My eyes rolled. My head was killing me. Where am I? His grip was strong, but I wasn't fighting. I was still bewildered. My vision was blurry, with fluorescent spots bespeckling my view of the dank hallway before me. It didn't matter where I was yet; all I cared about was straightening my vertigo.
I groaned in frustration, but my focus wouldn't obey. I slumped slightly as my knees buckled against the man. I wished I hadn't moved anywhere closer to him, but my senses were taking too long to return. The first feeling that fully connected was the throbbing pain in my head. Once I closed my eyes and opened them again, I was at least able to register what was going on.
"You alive, mudblood?"
I growled poutily at him. Hey, it was the best I could do.
"What the…where are we?"
It hadn't sunk in yet. I really don't think I understood what was happening. I was able to see clearly now. He was smiling.
Stop it!
He was angering me with that look of his, but scaring me. It took awhile to realize that I was alone. When it clicked my eyes widened and I made my first attempt at escaping.
"N-no," I mumbled, after looking around, "You can't do this…" I must have forgotten my previous statement, for the next question slipped out without my knowledge. "Where are we?"
"That's no concern of yours."
It was all stone. Stone? Where could they possibly have found a place that was as ancient as this? Catacombs? I have no idea, but it was old, and looked pretty haunted. I'm sure old Voldy loved that. I felt like we were in the basement of some old and abandoned monastery. Either that or a violent contortion of one. Gothic architecture, arched doorways, creaking old wooden doors on their rusty old hinges. Trademark Voldemort. And I was pretty much freaking out on the inside, even though my outward countenance was nothing short of dumbfounded shock.
"What are you doing??" I pressed my weak hands against his arm, to try and push him away. Why didn't I have any energy? Whatever he hit me with, whatever it was that knocked me out, it hit me hard. It had to have drained most of my strength with it. I was dying to know what he used on me, so that I could shove the same spell on him on some fine day when he felt like strolling through Nocturne Alley. The symptoms made me feel sick to my stomach, and what mainly kept me moving was the idea of making him feel the same wretchedness.
Wait. I'm moving? And I was. He was leading me. I didn't even realize he was making me walk with him. He was dragging me alone the dark stony hall.
"Stop," I complained, like a pouting child, "where are you taking me?"
"To see the Dark Lord," he replied simply.
Then I began to freak out. "Whooa no," I muttered quickly. I suddenly had a surge of energy return to me. That fight or flight thing really is true. If you know you're in a dire situation where you need to either run or fight back, you do either one with full force. I seemed to manage both during my little frenzy.
He held me to him easily. I hate to admit it, but he was strong! His hand roamed my lower thigh if I got too violent. It made me stop fighting just so that he wouldn't touch me. But he didn't stop. I squirmed and shoved as he continued to drag my resisting form across the hallway. I was near ready to bite him to free myself when he pushed my back through a huge wooden door.
My body spilled out onto the other side while Lucius glided gracefully in. Not after he collected a retreating Hermione from the marble floor. He yanked my arms up, and the rest of me followed unwillingly. I kept kicking, scratching, clawing at him. He seemed to be enjoying himself. I tried to scream, but I only let out my furious fear in gasps of girlish rage. I was so busy struggling with him that I didn't see who was behind me. I heard a soft, cold chuckle that made my spine shake. I stopped in mid-swipe and slowly turned my head around.
Lord Voldemort sat regally on his throne. It was obviously not his to begin with, and probably belonged to the church they were disorienting. But it was his now, and he demanded every attention.
There weren't many death eaters in the vast room. Only a few, going about their regular business and all. But standing closest to Voldemort stood my potions teacher. Great. Here's the man who killed, no, murdered one of the greatest wizards of all time, and he stood before me, all calm and collected. I wanted to scream at him, hit him, hex him, something, but all I did was avoid his gaze. I couldn't describe the look on his face, for I had no idea what it meant. It was like a mixture of confusion, shock, and anger. Anger? Why should he be angry at me? It's not like I was the one who betrayed everyone I once knew. Oh, how I wanted to hex him. But he was just a death eater when put at the right hand side of Lord Voldemort.
Saying I was surprised to be shoved into his presence would have been an understatement. I was scared stiff. I had no idea, not even a clue as to why I had been brought here. Am I a hostage? Are they going to kill me to get close to Harry? Oh no, that's the last thing I wanted. To go and get killed as a little pun in the gigantic war that was wizardry. I wanted to live, and very much so. So I figured I'd keep my mouth shut. The dark lord spoke calmly and coldly. It made the hairs on my arm stand on end, and my insides shivered.
"You had a request I see, Lucius?"
"Yes, my lord," Lucius replied humbly. I waited for someone to speak.
"And?"
"Your permission, my lord. To take this girl and do with her as I wish."
My stomach squirmed. No, please no…
Before either person had the opportunity to answer, Snape's voice arose from his silent somber. It was shocking, really. I hadn't the slightest expectation that he'd even say anything. But he was furious. As if he had been trying to hold back his anger ever since Lucius had stepped into the room.
"My lord, I have to object to this!"
His outburst shocked me. Why does he care? He's a filthy traitor, that's all he is…
Voldemort turned to Snape, slightly surprised.
"Make that reason known, Severus."
"She's too close to Potter. Your majesty said so yourself that women closely connected with him were not to be abducted until further into the war, when it would hurt most--"
"Why should you care, Snape?" Malfoy cut in.
"You can't just pluck the girl off the streets, Malfoy, they're bound to have some extravagant search party, and put us all in jeopardy!" Snape said.
"Stay out of this, Severus. I found her, so I get to--"
"No, you don't. She's off limits."
"And why do you get to make such a statement?" Malfoy was beginning to get annoyed. Snape was seriously starting to cut into his 'sexual assault' time, which I could tell really got on his nerves.
"Are you so dense as to make me repeat myself?" Snape said coldly, "The dark lord doesn't want women too close to Potter."
"Why do you think I dragged the child here? I came for permission."
"She's too valuable. They'll come looking for her. You should have thought of that before you decided to let your dick get in the way of our plans."
Malfoy's face contorted in anger. Snape and he had gotten into arguments before, but they were never as serious as this, at least not to Lucius. He was blatantly insulting him now, and that really ticked him off. But he ignored his frustration, and let his poker face wash over the wrinkles of anger that spread across his features.
"Let them look for her. Let them look all over London. They won't find her."
He sneered as he clutched me tighter. I adjusted my weight so that I was furthest away from his lower regions as physically possible.
Snape seemed to calm down a bit. What Malfoy said must have reassured him. He doesn't even care about what Lucius is going to do to me…all he cares about is him and his stupid death eaters' safety.
"Well then," Snape resumed, "do you plan on killing her when you're finished?"
The question itself made my jaw drop. This was my teacher. My teacher was casually asking a murderous rapist if he wanted to kill me after he was through with my assault. I couldn't recover from the sheer shock of it all to even become angry.
"Actually," Lucius paused, running his hand, finger by finger, across my neck, and clutched my jaw from beneath, forcing me to look at him. I couldn't tell if my own expression was fearful or furious. I was feeling both, but I'm pretty sure the fear overrode the fury.
"…I'm not quite sure if I will," he looked up to Snape. I was so glad he did, for his eyes terrified me more than Voldemort's. He looked back at me, and I winced. He looked me up and down. I know all too well that he'd gotten good looks at me before, but now had the liberty to look closer, and it made my limbs itchy to squirm out of his hold. "Perhaps I could have more fun with her than I planned…"
"No."
I turned to look at Snape, dumbfounded beyond belief. It was short, but it cut the air like a knife. Snape's face was hard set.
"And why is that?"
"I didn't want it to have to come to this, Lucius, but you can't have her," Snape said evenly.
"And why the hell not?"
"Because she belongs to me."
My eyes felt like they'd pop out.
"WHAT??" I blurted out, my face incredulous. No one acknowledged my comment. Lucius bore his anger fully now; he didn't try to conceal it.
"She doesn't belong to you!"
"Yes, she does."
What is he saying?What the hell is he--?
"Since when? You can't claim prisoners."
"I requested her personally, long before you set your sights on having your own way with her." Snape snapped coldly. My mouth was hanging open, with my head swishing violently from Malfoy's face to Snape's. I couldn't believe it. No. No. Noooo, this isn't happening.
"You lie." Malfoy growled.
"Ask your master," Snape said coolly, gesturing to Voldemort at his side. Wait a minute. Voldemort. Why isn't he saying anything? Why is he just sitting there and watching them fight over who gets to assault someone?? But Voldy didn't say a word. If anything, he was thinking. Thinking. Oh, what a deep subject! It's as if I was like that child in that Solomon story in the Bible, where two mothers come before him claiming the kid as their own. I did hope that the dark lord wouldn't use the same tactic as Solomon used. I mean, if Solomon says, 'cut the child in two,', then the true mother would give the child to the fake mother to save its life. No. If Voldemort told them that, they'd be all for it, with their wands ready and a pitiful me stuck with having to be cut in half. Well, I would be dead, too. Snape's voice cut off my straying train of thought. And it really was straying; I think being affronted with such a life-changing situation does tend to make your mind go insane for a little bit.
"I made this arrangement years ago." Snape said.
I don't know if I was back to reality or not. This was just too weird. My potions teacher. Oh my God, this is my potions teacher!
"My lord, is this true?" Lucius was almost yelling. I was almost getting fearful for him, since he was talking so…disrespectfully, if you will, to his master. I feared the evil wizard would leave him for dead in an instant. But he didn't.
"Yes," the dark lord said, still deep in thought, "Severus did mention her. I told him three years ago that he could have her," Malfoy widened his eyes as if to say 'So??', to which Voldemort read and replied, "And that no one else could have rights to her."
"Rights?" Lucius glared at Snape, "You can't just--"
"Give me the girl, Malfoy,"
"She isn't yours," he snapped, forgetting completely what his master had just told him.
"She was mine before she turned fourteen," he said lowly. Lucius looked mad. I had the feeling that he would haul off and beat me to a pulp right there. Don't know why. People just get that look in their eye that reveals every way they'd like to kill you.
"You can't have it all," Snape went on, "Find someone else."
"I don't want someone else, Snape!" He was almost screaming now. "You don't know how long I've waited to take her! I've wanted her for several years now! You can't just claim her with the flick of your wand!"
"I already did."
"No you--"
"Lucius," Voldemort hissed, "do you wish to go against my judgment?" I gulped. His voice was threatening, and I knew he'd make Malfoy regret it if he didn't clap his trap.
"No. No, of course not." He bowed extremely low as he said this, and dragged my aching self down with him. It was then that I realized how sore I was from making such a fuss. "I'm very sorry, master."
"She belongs to Severus," he continued, the threat in his voice not anywhere near gone, "I already made this decision."
Malfoy got up from his bow. Finally! It was about time. My neck was killing me, and I was sure none of it was going to feel any better soon. I looked around, but Lucius held onto me still.
"Malfoy. The girl."
He held out his hand. Oh, so he was just going to hand me off. Alright. Fine. I'm a freaking hot potato.
Malfoy hesitated, and began to draw me closer. Don't do that…he just said…
"Give me the child, Malfoy." Snape's face was so cold. It was frightening. I knew, oh I really knew that I didn't want to be alone with Malfoy, but with the way Snape was looking at me, I was about to drop dead right there. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to kill me on the spot.
With an angry grunt Malfoy threw me on the ground before my potions teacher. I was completely surprised by the violent quickness of it all, and I landed harshly on the marble floor beneath me. I landed on my wrist, and oh God, did it hurt. I felt a searing pain shoot into it, and I held my arm close to me, somehow thinking that would help it. In my confusion I kept my head down, and my face traced the intricate linings on the floor. Ooooow…
"The mudblood's probably a slut anyway." I heard from behind me. It was Lucius' voice. "Take her. Enjoy yourself."
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