Hermione was lucky to have side-stepped the first stupefy. Mind working once again, she immediately sent red sparks into the air, as a warning to the school. Her wand also emitted banging and crackling noises, causing Hagrid to rush out of his hut. As soon as he saw the black cloaks and silver masks, he immediately ran up to the school. Hermione continued sending out stunning spells at the Deatheaters as they poured in from the trees.
However, although she was an exceptionally talented witch, one against twenty Deatheaters and more was a hopeless cause, and she managed to stun a hadnful of the Deatheaters before she was hit with a cruciatus, and she fell. She lost count of how many curses she was hit with until she lost consciousness.
Hours later, Hermione had expected to be dead, but, unfortunately, regained consciousness to find herself surrounded by Deatheaters, in a pile on the floor, in front of the Devil himself. Voldemort. How she wanted to spit at his feet! To rail at him for the injustice he had wrought. What had her father done to deserve his wrath? What gave him the right to deprive children of their parents or let parents outlive their flesh and blood?
His blood-red eyes focused on her and pierced into her mind as she struggled to empty her head of the bubbling turmoil of emotions. His cold, cackling laughter cut through the tense silence.
"She is a fighter, isn't she? Severus, as you were the one who brought her to me, you may keep her. Tell Dumbledore that his precious Head Girl is dead. That should be a blow to Potter's conscience. Break her, tame her, and make sure that by the end of this month, she is ready to obey my orders. There will not be any more failed attacks like this one. Dismissed!" He hissed menacingly.
Pops signalled the departure of the Deatheaters. Voldemort, too, disappeared. Hermione was left, a trembling wreck, alone with Snape. He picked her up, off the floor, and port-keyed them from the deserted house to another site. Hermione presumed it to be his home.
The décor in the entrance hall was very Slytherin. All black, silver and green. Hermione struggled after him as he led her up the winding staircase, and she saw that the whole house had the same kind of embellishment. Everything about the house gave off a stench of wealth. Strangely, Hermione never would have guessed that Snape would have such a luxurious home, she had always imagined that he would live in an underground cave - quiet, private and dark, if he ever left those dungeons at Hogwarts.
He finally took her into a large bedroom. Everything was, yet again, black and green. The room was clearly once a girl's room. There was a large mirror and the wardrobes were filled with beautiful gowns and dresses. She looked inside the bathroom, before turning around and facing Snape.
"I do not know how you get yourself into these situations, Miss Granger." He said.
Hermione felt her anger building. That was all he could say? What the hell was she doing here? Surely Dumbledore would not allow for this arrangement to continue. However, she remained tactfully silent. Professor Snape was not even looking at her.
"You're lucky that you weren't killed on the spot." He snapped.
And then he sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, most likely repressing a headache.
"You should have run, silly girl. I had hoped that if I took you to the Dark Lord, rather than any of the others, he would torture you for information and then chuck you straight back at Dumbledore."
Hermione was steadily growing more angry, and it was getting harder and harder not to shout back at the man standing in front of her.
"Instead, he had given you to me." He sighed.
"I'm sorry if I'm that intolerable to you, Professor. I fought back because I felt that it was the right thing to do at that time! If I was wrong to do so, then why am I still alive and Hogwarts still standing?" Hermione shot back at him.
"Miss Granger! Do you not understand the meaning of being 'given' to a Deatheater?" Snape said, losing his temper.
Hermione shook her head hesitantly. The tone of his voice was even more accusing than she had expected.
"When the Dark Lord 'gives' you a girl, it automatically means that that girl is your new plaything- your new sex toy." He snarled.
Hermione paled.
"Exactly, Miss Granger, now do you see? I need to destroy your spirit until you're nothing but a shell and then force you to take the Dark Mark. You are now technically my possession." He sighed again. "Please tell me that, like the majority of your classmates, you have already lost your virginity."
Hermione flushed and looked away, causing Professor Snape to swear and punch the wall with his fist. Hermione jumped back in fear at his show of violence.
"Finally frightened? Miss Granger, in this house, you are probably just as unsafe as you would be if you were in Lucius Malfoy's house. I will be expected to seek you out at least once a day. Do you understand what I mean, Miss Granger?"
"Isn't there any other way? Couldn't I 'escape'?" Hermione said frantically.
"Miss Granger, it is highly difficult for someone to find their way around this house, and even then, they would have to do complex spells to break through the wards guarding the doors. How are you to do this if I am expected to take away your wand? Any failures in complying with the Dark Lord's wishes will result in severe punishment. Even death." Snape emphasised the last word. "Are you willing to lose the Light side's only spy?"
Hermione shook her head.
"You will obey everything I say. I will not hesitate to use the Cruciatus on you. Although I am not partial to locking up my students and turning them into concubines, I know that it is impossible to convince the Dark Lord unless we do it properly." He said, sighing once more.
"You can't possibly mean that you're really going to make me do this!" Hermione cried, backing against the wall.
"Do you see any other solutions? The Dark Lord's ability in Legilimency almost rivals Dumbledore's. You have not even been taught the basics in Occlumency, how do you expect to keep this a secret from the Dark Lord?" He snarled.
"But-But you're my teacher!"
Hermione was desperate. To get to the door, she would have to go past Snape, and she was already in the corner. Her eyes darted left and right, looking for an escape route.
"Miss Granger, to the world, you are already dead! Of course the headmaster will be notified that you are still alive, but there is nothing, I repeat, nothing, he can do to rescue you without compromising my position. So I will have to act my part as an evil Deatheater."
There was only a look of distaste on his face. Anger was present, but no hesitation or remorse was there. Hermione could see no way out. She was literally cornered and his body was in the way. She felt tears pricking her eyes as she realised that there was no way out of this situation.
"Give me your wand, Miss Granger." Snape said.
Hermione clutched her wand tightly to her chest as though her life depended on it. Ironically, it seemed that her life did depend on it in that moment in time. She shook her head, watching him in fear. He, on the other hand, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose even harder and sighed.
"I warned you, Miss Granger. Crucio."
Hermione collapsed onto the floor, rolling about in pain. She screamed and screamed, hoping that this was just a nightmare. Somehow, her brain which had previously clung onto that hope, now refused to accept that hypothesis. After a few minutes of this torture, she was released and Snape knelt down and pried the wand from her fingers.
"I cannot risk your Gryffindor recklessness, so I must do this. Miss Granger, you need to understand that if I do not do this, the war will be lost. It is of utmost importance that you obey me." Snape said.
He took her wand into his hands and then, before her eyes, snapped it in half. Suddenly, Hermione felt very vulnerable. She watched as Snape pocketed the remaining pieces of the wand and shuddered. She was now at the complete mercy of the professor who had hated her for the seven years she had been in his classroom. Hermione stood up shakily and shivered under the Potions Master's stare.
"Miss Granger… take your clothes off."
"What?" Hermione exclaimed.
She immediately received another dose of the Cruciatus. She lay shuddering on the floor for several minutes after he alleviated the curse, but she quickly obeyed and took off her clothes, staring resolutely at the floor as her school uniform pooled at her feet.
"Miss Granger…" He sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders. "This will be painful."
"Thanks for the warning." Hermione said dryly.
He grabbed her chin and pressed his lips forcefully against hers. He forced her mouth open and inserted his tongue, probing her mouth. Hermione had tried to move away as she felt his hands travel down her body, but Snape just pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the wall.
His left hand played with her breast while his right went further down and touched her in her most sensitive area. She began to struggle and tears fell from her eyes, but he continued. He pressed one finger into her moving it in and out of her.
To her shame and humiliation, Hermione felt her body reacting to his attentions. Snape's lips travelled to her neck and bit down hard on the flesh, causing her to cry out. His hands had left her body and were unbuttoning his robes, but his lips continued kissing and biting her neck, before moving to her other breast and biting down hard. Hermione screamed and struggled even harder, to no avail.
"Please stop! Professor Snape! Please!" She cried, but her words were ignored.
Soon, he was undressed, and he re-positioned himself. His eyes would not meet hers, and his hands held hers high above her head. Finally, he looked at her and then plunged into her roughly, causing her to scream in pain. The tears were coming in torrents now. She could not believe that he had actually done it. Her professor had taken her virginity.
There was no more pleading, although Hermione's mouth continued opening and closing as though she were still speaking. Her eyes were unfocused, and the only noise in the room was her back scraping against the rough stone wall and their grunting.
When Snape finally pulled out from her, he laid his head on the wall just above her head and held her as she sobbed.
"I'm sorry." He said.
It was little consolation for what he had done, but it had a certain amount of impact on Hermione. She gradually calmed down and let her head fall forwards, against his chest.
"How long will this last, Professor?"
"Until the war ends, and then, your fate will not be within my power to decide." His voice was oddly calm.
In other words, if the Light lost, she would either be killed or given to another Deatheater. She fought back the urge to start crying again. Hermione knew that Harry wasn't ready for the war. So who knew how long it would take for it all to finish. She thought of what would have happened should she have been passed off to any of the other Deatheaters instead of Snape, and shuddered.
"Professor, I'm glad that you're the one who took me." Hermione said quietly.
Snape was obviously taken aback. He stood there, supporting her weight, for a little longer, before re-dressing and leaving her in a heap on the floor.
"Miss Granger, I will be locking the door. If you wish for me to bring you anything, just write it on a piece of paper. I will come back tomorrow."
The last part was unspoken. They were going to have to repeat the process. Hermione heard the lock clicked and moved slowly towards the bathroom.
She felt truly alone.
