She couldn't believe that she had revealed as much as she did. She scolded herself, realising that he never would have thought to look at old newsprints if she had not told him. And now, she knew that he would want an explanation. An explanation as to why he never knew, an explanation as to why he never even got a whiff of her scent at any gatherings, an explanation as to why there was never any evidence to the atrocities she committed, all explanations that she could not give. She realised that the answers he would come seeking would do nothing for his state of mind and reliving the answers would surely do no good for hers. With these thoughts in mind, she blatantly ignored the knock on her door, the green flash of her Floo and the owl that had all stemmed from Him.
She was in Flourish and Blotts a week after her last encounter with Malfoy, trying to find a book that she desperately needed on Potions. Next to the book she needed sat a book that she had only heard mentioned in passing. Potions and Spells for the Darkest Wizards contained everything it advertised. It was a very Dark book that was dangerous enough for most wizards to place it heavily protected rooms. Some say that it has a mind of its own, showing spells and potions that suited the reader's personality and needs. When she heard of it, Voldemort was conversing with Severus and Lucius about somehow procuring it. She was baffled as to why it was shelved next to rather harmless tomes, never mind the fact that it was even in Flourish and Blotts at all. She assumed that Flourish did not know that it was there, otherwise this section of the store would be completely warded. This led her to the conclusion that someone had placed it there, probably for another person to come and pick it up. Not passing up a wonderful opportunity like this, she snatched the book off the shelf and tucked it into her robes. She proceeded to the counter to pay for the potions book that she originally had come to get.
As she walked through the door, she noticed a man, dressed in the blackest of robes, watching her from the shelves where she found the book. She hurriedly left, without turning back. Her instincts that she had gained from years in service to the Dark Lord told her that she needed to be careful. The man that she had seen watching her was probably the man that wanted the book that was hidden away in her robes. She knew better, but she got the feeling that he was a Death Eater, but she knew that was not possible, for all Death Eaters had been captured a few months after Voldemort fell, right? Still, she knew that going back to her home would be dangerous so she decided to go to one of her safe houses. Technically, it wasn't her safe house but the occupant readily agreed that she could hide out there anytime that she felt she was being followed. She Apparated to Spinner's End, where Severus Snape already awaiting her arrival.
"Severus-" She started. He just shook his head and motioned her in.
"I'm assuming that you have, once again, managed to find trouble enough to set your infallible off?" He questioned. During her service to the Dark Lord, she and Severus had formed a close bond, much like that of a Father and his Daughter, of course, that was after they had shagged each other senseless. He never let her live down that moment of stupidity when she drank to much Fire whiskey in an effort to drown out her problems. What resulted was a very drunk and horny Hermione, who wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Uhm..Well, yes I have. Do you remember the book that the Dark Lord requested you and Lucius get for him?" She asked.
"Potions and Spells for the Darkest Wizards?"
"The very one. I seemed to have stumbled upon it in Flourish and Blotts." She said. He blinked at her.
"You never seem to run out of difficult situations do you? Let me guess," He began. "As you were walking out, with the book, you noticed a dangerous looking man glaring at you from the place you knew the book to have been hidden? Am I correct in this assumption?" She nodded sheepishly. He sighed. The last time this had happened, she ended up catching a wanted criminal but, of course, the Ministry failed to acknowledge her. Severus found her ways of getting into trouble amusing, most of the time, but his gut told him that there was more to this than either he or Hermione saw. Something about the creepy man obviously bothered her, more than the criminal the Ministry was after.
"I assume that you know this place well enough to know where you are staying?" He asked. She nodded and went to her rooms. They were situated in the basement, for the sole reason that there were no windows and that the earth that surrounded to basement seemed to negate magical energy. No one would be able to detect a magical signature from her if she was hiding down there. Quite a few of her clothes were already here, from previous visits, so she changed into casual Muggle clothes and summoned Severus down to the basement. The book was on the coffee table and she was looking at him expectantly.
"So this is the book? It's rather inoffensive. I would have thought that it would have been, different, more obvious perhaps?" He said as he sat down in the chair across from her. They sat in silence, each contemplating the book that was sitting between them. It was quite obviously a powerful book because they both could feel the Darkness radiating off of it. Severus was the first to break the silence.
"What do we do with it? Surely whoever you saw will want it, and in the case of this particular book, they will probably kill to have it in their possession." She merely nodded, contemplating where they would keep it.
"A few years ago, I would have put it in my Gringott's safe, but recently, there have been quite a few break-ins, even in the maximum security vaults. Perhaps, I should put it in that place I was telling you about a couple months ago? No one knows about it and it is heavily protected." She suggested, after a moment of thought.
"Before we lock it away, I was wondering if you would be up for, well, reading it? There is still much that we need to learn about Dark Magic if there is indeed an uprising." She knew what he meant. A few years after Voldemort fell; a new Dark wizard had risen in his place. Seemingly more powerful than Voldemort ever hoped to be, he made his presence known. The wizarding world waited with bated breath for him to strike, but he never did. Most people had gone back to their normal lives, forgetting about him, but a few, those who had dealt with the Dark before knew that he was biding his time. They knew that before long, the whole magical world would be brought to their knees. Countries that had been unaffected by Voldemort now had reason to fear this new power. Hermione nodded, giving Severus permission to look through the book.
A few tense minutes of silence later, Severus put the book down. What he had read obviously shocked him to the core for he was paler that Hermione had ever seen him. He stuttered out that they were going to need more than the two of them for a task as daunting as this and asked if her could perhaps involve his godson in the mess. Hermione knew that his godson was none other than Draco Malfoy and she reluctantly agreed. They were going to need smart and powerful wizards all the more with the discovery of the book. There was little doubt that the book was meant to get into the hands of the latest Dark Lord.
