Chapter 2
Warning: some noncon/violence in this chapter
Present Day, 2002
Hermione hesitated, she could feel his hot breath on her face. Severus had never harmed her save for when the Dark Lord ordered it. He was, despite his appearance, a gentle man. He had taken care over the past four years to teach her occlumency so that they could fool Tom and he could minimize his cruelty toward her when they were alone. Otherwise, she assisted him in making potions, gathering ingredients, and communicating with patrons—by owl, of course. Never in person. Her kind was abhorred in the present wizarding world. To the purebloods and half-bloods that dominated this new world order, she belonged to the scourge of the earth.
Lost in her own thoughts, she barely registered Severus stepping away from her. He remained close enough that she could feel his body heat radiating toward her, but far enough that she could no longer feel his breath. Hermione adjusted her position, straightening her long-sleeved knit dress. "You would never hurt me." She repeated, quieter than when she had first spat it at him. "Not when you have a choice."
Severus sighed, regarding the now slightly dejected young woman. "Indeed, I would never harm you out of my own volition." She hesitantly reached toward him, and he pulled her into his embrace. She clung to his body, her petite frame pressing as tightly against him as was humanly possible. They had been each other's only comfort these past few years. He rested his chin atop her head breathing in her sweet vanilla scent. A loud thump on the front door pulled the two apart.
Grimmauld Place, 1998
Thump… thump… thump…
The front door of Grimmauld Place shook in its frame as someone pounded on it from the outside.
"Hold your horses! I'm coming!" Called a frazzled Molly Weasley, "Who on earth could be here at this hour?" She mumbled, glancing at the old grandfather clock in the sitting room, half past midnight, she noted, pursing her lips. As she reached the front door, she swung it open without a moment's hesitation, "Remus!" She gasped, "Where have y—" before she could even finish her sentence, the old werewolf mumbled something and green light engulfed her petite frame.
The older man cast a cushioning charm on his feet and muttered a disillusion spell as he sauntered into the building. He inhaled deeply and grinned in anticipation… there were four others present.
Present Day, 2002
"Go to the cellar." Severus hissed, "Select the ingredients for a double batch of replenishing potion, that is our first task of the day." He shoved Hermione back to the kitchen where she quickly located her ingredient gathering basket on the counter next to the cellar door. He waited until she disappeared down the stairs before sauntering over to the entry door. As the unexpected guest rapt the door again, Severus swung it open.
"Lucius." He sneered, staring at the older blond gentlemen whom, to this day, remained one of his closest friends. "It is not often that you visit me out in, what is it that you call it? The backwoods."
Lucius huffed, "It's not a social call, if that's what you're implying… It's not even a bearer-of-good-news call." Severus' heart rate increased two-fold as he ushered his friend inside. The wards of the building rippled as they registered his friend's arrival. Lucius passed him, going straight to the liquor cabinet in the living area, he grabbed two glasses and poured them each a glass of firewhiskey. He downed his, poured another, downed it again, and finally poured a third time before turning around and passing Severus his glass.
"Well?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend as they both took a swig of their drinks.
"I'm here to warn you." Lucius sighed, "And the girl." Severus recognized what that meant. He held up a hand signalling to his friend that he should pause.
"A moment…" Snape muttered, he moved to the kitchen and wrenched the cellar door open. "Miss Granger," he called down the rickety stairwell, "Please join us in the sitting room."
Hermione swallowed, this can't be good, she thought. She placed her basket as best she could on the stairs and slowly ascended to the kitchen. As she stepped cautiously into the room she bumped into something. No, someone. Snape. "Sir?" She bit her lip.
"Come," he guided her shoulders into the sitting room. He could feel how tense her body was, "Relax witch," he whispered to her.
"Ah, Miss Granger!" Lucius greeted her as though she were an old friend. Much to her dismay, he embraced her in a hug. "It has been some time, my dear." He smiled at her and then at his old friend, holding her away from him.
Hermione was not fond of Lucius, but she did tolerate him well enough. He was not quite the snake she had originally thought he was. He was, in his own way, one of the 'good guys.' So-to-speak, anyways. Still, he had done some unspeakable things. Then again, so had Severus. But, he had been the one to save her all those years ago.
Knockturn Alley, 1999
Hermione had become separated from Snape, much to her dismay. She had lost him in the crowd and had opted to tuck herself in an alcove out of fear of someone else finding her.
Much to her dismay, she could overhear the mumblings of wizards passing by "Is that Snape's Mudblood?" "Oh ho ho… all alone, is she?" "What Snape doesn't know won't hurt him…" Three figures began descending upon her.
"Stop, please!" She yelped as one of them grabbed her wrists and pulled her toward him.
"Shut up you mudblood whore…" The one holding her snarled, "We are just going to have some fun and then we will return you to your master." Without her wand to defend herself, Hermione was helpless. Damn it all, she thought angrily, how could she be so foolish as to get lost?! She didn't mean to get separated from him, and in this new wizarding world he was the only one who could protect her.
The men dragged her down a dark, empty alley.
One of the men pushed her blouse aside, tearing at the buttons. His grimy hands roughly fondled her breasts as one of the other men held her. "Nice tits for a mudblood bitch," the fondler sneered. She whimpered at his bruising grip. The third companion occupied himself by unbuttoning her trousers and trying—with little success—to pull them down her body.
"Don't be distressed love," the one holding her hissed in her ear, "We will make sure you enjoy what we do to you." While Hermione managed to kick the man trying to remove her bottoms, her victory was short lived.
"You bitch!" The man yelped, slapping her—hard. The man holding her tightened his grip on her biceps, a loud crack indicating a snap in one of the bones. She cried out in pain as the three men pushed her to the ground, one held her upper half down and the other held her lower half. The third spelled her bottoms off, it was the same man she slapped, she noted, as he leaned in and whisper "What a cute little cunt you have, sweetheart. I was just going to take what I wanted and leave, but thanks to your kick, I am going to make sure that you enjoy it, so that you can't ever forget." He paused, "Spread her legs!" he barked at his friend" She tried to scream but something was shoved in her mouth—a kerchief perhaps?
She writhed and shuddered as he moved his grimy hand over her opening, circling the entrance slowly. As a sob left her throat, the man whose fingers were hovering over her was ripped away from her and a loud crucio preceded him writhing in pain on the floor.
"What is the meaning of this, Macnair?!" A voice boomed from a hooded figure, the figure's wand was now pointed toward the man still holding her. The man promptly released her, and she collapsed to the ground with tears streaming down her face.
"Lord Lucius, Sir," he ducked his head in deference to the blond wizard. "We were…"
"I… don't… care… what you think you were doing. She is not your property." Each word was laden with venom. "Avada kedavra!" He snarled, ending the life of one of the vermin. "Get… out… of… my… sight." Lucius hissed, Hermione could hear the scrambling of the remaining brutes as they fled the scene.
"Draco," the older blond wizard gestured to a figure that had previously been shrouded in darkness. "Help Miss Granger to her feet, take her to the Manor. I will find Severus." The smaller man nodded, rushing to her side. Despite her better judgement, she clung to her school rival as he helped her up and wrapped his cloak around her.
"I'm going to apparate us Granger, clear your mind." He whispered.
Hermione obeyed, closing her eyes as her stomach wrenched and they were spelled away to Malfoy Manor. As they arrived on the grounds, Malfoy wasted no time dragging her toward the building. She stumbled as she clung to him and held her blouse closed. She eyed him cautiously, why were he and his father helping her?
"Mother!" Draco called as he pushed the door open.
"Yes, Draco?" came the voice of the one and only, Narcissa Malfoy as she rounded the corner at the top of the stairs. As her eyes landed on the dirty, damaged form of Hermione Granger, her mouth fell ajar. "Oh my! What happened?!" She called as she rushed down the stairs. Hermione felt the woman's hands come to her shoulders.
"Macnair and his sidekicks." That was all Draco needed to say.
"Help me take her upstairs to one of the guest baths, we will clean her up." Not that Hermione was unappreciative, but still, why were they helping her? Once again, in spite of her better judgement, she allowed both matriarch and son take one of her arms.
They managed to get her up the stairs, Narcissa led her alone into the bathroom while Draco stayed in the bedroom that was attached. "Mipsy!" Narcissa called, a soft pop signalling the arrival of a house elf in the washroom.
"Yes Mistress?" The house elf asked eagerly.
"Bring me some bruise salve, a healing draught, and a pain potion." The elf nodded and left without delay. The older witch pointed a finger at the tub faucet, turning it on with a flick of her finger. She gazed over at the disheveled brunette who was presently trembling in her son's cloak. She reached out toward her, her fingers grazing the girl's hand before she pulled her hand away and let out a soft whimper.
"Miss Granger," she said softly, "I am going to lead you over to the bathtub. I want to clean you up before I treat any of your… injuries. Just to be sure no grime remains in the wounds." Hermione relaxed a bit and allowed the witch to lead her to the tub. She could feel the hot steam sticking to her face. She winced as she tried to remove her borrow cloak.
"Is something immediately bothering you, girl?" She nodded hesitantly, "Well out with it, come on."
"My arm. They broke my left humerus I think…"
The older witch hummed in thought and pulled out her wand. "Miss Granger, I am going to run a diagnostic spell to determine the precise nature of your injury." The girl nodded feeling a gentle tingling as magic swept over her. A few moments passed and her elder sighed, "Alright, I am going to mend the break before your bath. This will not be pleasant." There was a soft pop and the elf had returned. "Here," Narcissa took a vial from the elf and regarded the young woman sadly, "Drink this," it took a moment for her to realize her error. Narcissa scolded herself, I need to hold the vial to the girl's hand, she thought bitterly, she cannot even see the potion that is right before her eyes...
"Thank you." Hermione said quietly as the vial was pressed into her palm. She swallowed the potion without delay, wrinkling her nose at the sickly sweet flavour.
"Now, take a deep breath," She complied, "and release." As Hermione let her breath out slowly, Narcissa mumbled a quiet episkey. She winced as she felt the bones mend themselves. "Alright then, that's that, into the tub my dear." She vanished what remained of Hermione's clothes—which was not much at this point—took hold of the girl's good elbow and guided her into the deep claw-foot tub.
The hot water felt soft and smooth as it gently caressed Hermione's body. She was grateful that Narcissa made an effort to gently lower her to a seating position. The water itself smelt heavenly. "Well," the blonde said curtly, "I am going to go grab some shampoo, soap and scrubbies. I will return."
Hermione bit her lip, sitting so exposed in a bathroom in Malfoy Manor of all places was unnerving. She heard the door open as Narcissa went to leave, "Wait!" Hermione called hoarsely, the lack of sound indicated that the older witch had hesitated in her retreat, "Why are you helping me?"
Narcissa let out a nervous breath, "That's a story for another time, dear." She smiled sadly, "Just enjoy your bath. There is lavender and Epsom salts infused in it. The Epsom salts should sooth your muscles as they will undoubtedly ache in the morning." A soft click indicated that Narcissa had left and that Hermione was alone. Epsom salts… that's a muggle trick. Most witches and wizards would use a muscle relaxant brewed by a potions master, not Epsom salt. Strange, Hermione thought as she leaned back to recline in the tub, perhaps the Malfoy's are not quite as disconnected from the muggle world as they lead their brethren to believe…
Present Day, 2002
"Yes…" Hermione said quietly, "It has been some time." Severus scowled as he watch the blond bimbo grin at her.
"If you were any less excited to see me my dear," he smirked, "and I might think you aren't very fond of me."
"That would be a shame, wouldn't it?" She said drily, giving him a small smile.
"Indeed, oh!" Lucius caught both Severus and Hermione by surprise as he snapped his fingers in the air, clearly remembering something. He dug into his pockets and pulled out a small box. "For you," he held the box out to Hermione, "It's from Cissy." She eyed the wizard as he anxiously watched her take the box from him.
"Thank you…" she said quietly.
"Go on," he implored, "open it!"
Severus stepped over to her and reached toward the box. His hands brushed hers gently to let her know that he intended to assist her. A small inclination of her head that one would miss if they were not watching nearly as closely as he was. Gingerly, he pulled the cover off the box. Inside was a small onyx ring with an emerald rope curled around it. It was so small that the only finger it could possibly fit on was her pinky. She gazed expectantly toward where he stood. Using his free hand, Severus lifted her chin so that he was able to meet her gaze and he pressed the image of the ring into her mind. Her brows furrowed out of curiosity and her fingers immediately roamed over the ring's details and noted the hum in the air around it which suggested that the ring was imbued with some sort of magic. Gingerly, she picked the ring up and gazed somewhat suspiciously at it while Lucius, in spite of himself, was nodding encouragingly at her. Severus took the box from her and she slipped the ring onto her right pinky. Hermione yelped in surprise as it glowed a deep green—a green so deep that it penetrated her murky vision—and when she went to pull it off, it didn't budge. "Wh—what did you do?" She spluttered, "Why won't it come off?" At this point Severus dropped the box, took hold of her hand and tried to pull it off himself.
"It's enchanted," Lucius piped up as the two of them struggled with the tiny bauble.
Severus' head whipped around, and he glowered at his oldest and self-proclaim "best" friend, "Well, thank you for enlightening us, Lucius." He snarled, each word dripping with sarcasm. "OF COURSE we know that it is enchanted, you blonde baboon!" He practically threw himself at Lucius at this point, "Take… it… off." He huffed, clutching the crisp white cotton of his so-called friend's collar.
"Listen, Severus," Lucius held his hands in the air in surrender, "Let me explain. Please." Severus huffed and dragged the wizard over to the seating area, pushing his friend into a chair and taking a seat opposite him. Hermione joined them, tracing her well memorized steps to her perch on the arm of Severus' chair.
"First, I'm sorry to have scared you both," Lucius said solemnly, "I thought it would be funny to do that part first and explain later. In hindsight, I should have followed Cissy's advice—explain first, gift later."
"In future," Severus drawled, "Never do anything without your wife's explicit approval."
"Noted."
"The Dark Lord has expressed to myself and some of his other followers that he is concerned about your relationship with Miss Granger," Lucius nodded at Hermione, "He is understanding as to why it may not be wise to procreate with her given her usefulness as your assistant, but he thinks you do not…" he hesitated, "ahem, use her to her full potential."
"Excuse me?" It was Hermione's turn to talk.
"No disrespect meant, Miss Granger." He smiled sadly at her, "But the reality is that most mud—sorry, muggleborns, are treated like scum. They are tortured, raped and killed and, if they're lucky, they meet death sooner as opposed to later. Now, procreation rulings change this. They certainly give muggleborns more value and more rights to fair treatment. But you, Miss Granger, are never seen with so much as a single hair out of order."
"So… I am treated too kindly."
"Precisely," Lucius frowned, looking at Severus now, "And when you vehemently refused to procreate with her, you made the Dark Lord suspicious."
"I figured as much, but I assumed that it would result in my own torture and-"
Hermione's brow furrowed at this, "Excuse me." She interjected, "But if you were to be tortured that would not be any better than if I were to be tortured." Severus and Lucius exchanged a look. "Stop that!" She barked, startling the two men, "I know that you think you can protect me, and I know that you two share pitying looks when you think I am being naïve." The silence she was met with told her that they were confused, she sighed. "I'm blind, not stupid. Also… when Severus opens a link to my mind to share things with me, sometimes he shares other things, too." Lucius bit back a laugh at the look of absolutely horror that crossed Severus' face.
"What do you mean I share other-?" He was cut off by Lucius' hand.
"Worry about your secrets later, Severus." The dark-haired wizard glared. "You are correct Miss Granger, we do think you naïve and try to protect you too often. That is precisely what got us into this mess. Hence," he gestured to her hand, more for Severus' benefit than hers. "The ring. Severus, your hand please."
"I'm not going to marry you, if that is what you are asking." He sneered which prompted the blonde wizard to roll his eyes. Lucius pulled a ring from his pocket that looked eerily similar to the one now glued to Hermione's hand except this one was a great deal larger and a deep onyx with a ruby line drawn through the centre. He held it out to Severus who took it from him reluctantly and held it in his palm.
"These rings are not entirely unlike those that bind a marriage ceremony in the wizarding world in that they symbolize a promise." Lucius paused, "And that promise is not entirely unlike sacrificial protection." Hermione's ears perked at that. Sacrificial protection was the counter-charm that gave Harry protection from the Dark Lord. But… Lily died to pass on that protection. Lucius watched the panic rise in the girl's face, responding to her as though he were reading her thoughts, "Do not worry, Miss Granger, these rings do not take the life of the wearer."
"Quit stalling, Lucius. Tell us what they are." Severus was growing impatient.
"Fine." Lucius huffed, disappointed that his flair for the dramatics was wasted on his dark-haired friend.
"These rings are from wizarding Russia. They took a great deal of time—years—and effort, and not to mention money, to track down. Between Narcissa and I, we exhausted our connections in the Northwestern region. We also spent some time talking to professors at Durmstrang, though they only have a handful of Russian students admitted each year, we thought that if there was even the smallest chance in hell that they would have a lead, it was worth our time investigating." Snape glared, "Sorry, sorry. I only wished for you to understand the effort that went into retrieving these."
"These particular rings were crafted by a great Russian wizard, Grigori Rasputin, in the late 1800s. Unlike most pureblood wizards, Rasputin associated with muggles, specifically, the well-to-do ones… such as the Tsar and the Tsarina. The wizard was either revered or baulked at… some took him for a fool, others likened him to a religious prophet. He was a friend of the nation's last monarch, Tsar Nicholas II, and he became a healer for Tsarina Alexandra and her son. It is rumored that during her husband's absence she had taken to spending a great deal of time in Rasputin's company and that, over time, Rasputin came to love her, although she did not return his affections. She feared so much for her husband's life while he was away that she barely ate or slept. In an effort to quell her fears, Rasputin sought a means to both connect and protect the two. Familiar with the commitment implied in marital bands in wizarding ceremonies, he sought to build on that bond. To do this, he crafted a set of onyx rings. The smaller of the two rings was plain onyx with another stone wrapped around it. This stone was enchanted with white heather, which has protective properties, and was imbued with a charm so old the translations have been lost. The ring was activated—in other words, it was associated with its partner—when the wearer put it on. The 'partner' was determined by the heart of wearer. The larger ring was plainer, it was a simple onyx band with a small groove that wrapped around the middle of the band. The colour this stone took depended on who was wearing the first ring. It was similarly enchanted with white heather and the ancient charm that continues to elude most scholars to this day. This ring can only be worn by the partner of the first." He stopped, looking expectantly at Severus.
"And if it is not me?" Severus sneered.
"Then it will burn your hand." Lucius shrugged, "But I can assure you, it is you."
"How do you know?" Hermione piped up, startling them both.
"He is your entire existence right now. The ring would recognize that he is your key to staying alive. He is also, and this is a wild guess, the person you dislike the least at present."
"She does quite like Cissy though," Severus mused.
"You are not wrong. But Cissy is a woman, these rings were designed for a man and woman only."
"How delightfully sexist." Hermione hummed bitterly. "Once on, what exactly do the rings do?"
"Oh, not much," Lucius grinned, "Let's just say that they will convince even the Dark Lord that you two ought to stay together."
End Chapter 2
Sorry for the delay! I am getting married two weeks from today, so my life is a little hectic at the moment. I promise the next chapter won't be such a long wait. To make up for it, I made this chapter a little longer. 3
Thank you for all the comments on the last chapter!
