"Merlin, Hermione's brilliant." Ron shoved another mouthful of instant mashed potatoes into his mouth. "How did she even think of having a backup bag?"

Harry grinned good-naturedly and shook his head. The sight of Ron talking with his mouth full was a welcome if unnerving sight. He just wished Hermione was there to share in the spoils. "I was thinking, this bag, it solves two problems."

"Yeah?" Ron shoveled another spoon full into his mouth.

"This bag is hers. I'm sure we can get Luna to place a tracking spell on anything inside."

Ron's eyes widened with hope, "Oh Merlin you're right!" Ron looked down at the bag resting at his feet. "We can get her!" An excited smile rose over his puffed cheeks, "We can take her with us! We get can take her with us to Gringotts. We'd have a hell of a better chance then."

"No, I think, we should do it without her. She might be hurt... we'd lose time, she may not even be able to apparate and whoever has her is sure to put up a fight."

"No way, we need her."

"We need her alive." Harry put down his bowl, "She's told us not to go looking for her. She might be a trap. Better we get whatever's in Bellatrix's vault first. Maybe it's something we can use."

"Or another trap." Ron swallowed down his mash suddenly losing his appetite.

"Or a bargaining chip. There wasn't one at the house. We have the sword, Griphook isn't going to stay at Bill and Fleur's forever, once he leaves we won't have access to him. We need to do as Hermione says. It's never failed us before."

oOOo

"Severus! Don't you do this!" Albus' voice turned more than a few portrait heads but the one to whom he was speaking paid him no mind.

Severus was set for battle, his jaw tight and his eyes cold and emotionless. He took hold of the floo powder, "Malfoy Manor."

He stepped into the flames, alone.

oOo

"So you'll help us?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. I will get you into Gringotts."

oOOo

"My lord." Severus bowed his head low, but did not take a knee, he was long since past such a subservient level.

"Ah, Severus, you bring news?" The dangerous man before him slowly steepled his skeletal fingers. He was sure his servant was well aware of his mistake already.

"I have...made progress... though the journal has been... difficult to decipher. It might be best if I were to continue...with more knowledge as to what you intend to do with it."

"That is a brave question coming from a man with empty hands." Voldemort started a slow arch, like a wolf circling its prey. "That's twice now you've failed me, Severus, this is a most alarming trend." Voldemort came closer Snape could feel the creature digging around inside his mind, "Should I be concerned about your loyalty?"

"I only wish to better serve you, My Lord." His eyes flicked to the side as the man pulled a wand from his sleeve.

"I think, it's time to remind you what happens to those, who fail to do as they are told! Crucio!"

Severus had prepared himself, but the force of the Dark Lords anger was more than he had anticipated. His right knee buckled almost instantly and he felt his chest go tight as a thousand burning knives ran down his spine.

Severus did his best to keep quiet but a low growl did pass his lips when the lash hit his shoulders. A particularly favorited spell by his master. Made of cold fire that seared the skin if it made direct contact.

His shoulders took the first blow sending him down hard onto his right side but still, he did not fall. Rather he lowered his head to spare his face as the second and third lashes rained down.

By the fourth, the chest of his frock coat went loose and the stale air of the room burned his skin. The fire of the whip thus far had only served to sear his flesh but the fifth blow was sure to leave blood.

As it struck Severus was no longer able to keep himself up and found himself panting on bent arms and knees. His chest heaved fighting against the raging inferno that was his back. The smell of his blood and burnt flesh roiled his stomach and he took all the effort he had left to swallow down the bile risen by the pain.

The sixth blow never came. Severus could only feel the pulsing in his limbs but he was sure something had stopped it. Taking precious seconds to clear his vision he turned his head just enough to see through a part in his hair.

The Dark Lord was looking up, as though seeing through another's eyes. The snarl on his face grew before he growled low in his throat. Snape recognized the look. He'd seen it once before. He was seeing through Potter's eyes.

Snape took the time to catch his breath and force his brain to start turning again. His entire body felt like solid stone. Every muscle locked in place. Deep controlled breaths released the tortured vines just in time for step falls to great his ears.

"Midnight."

The cold black smoke that accompanied Voldemort's silent apparation only made his eyes water. Six hours? Potter must have done something big.

oOo

Hermione started awake to the sound of something, very close, crashing to the floor. Her eyes blinked trying to take in the dim light of the room. She felt dirty.

Her head turned to a low groan to her right and shielded her eyes as the torches in the room magically came to life. Her sleep heavy brain kicked into gear when a deep groan filled the void.

Her eyes turned down to the doorway, a room she quickly recognized just beyond, what made her heart skip a beat was the slouched form braced in the threshold between.

"Professor!" Hermione rolled as quickly as she could. Her ribs were still sensitive to turning too far but they only let out a meager protest. When her feet hit the ground she was startled to find herself in her muddy trainers. A second quick glance revealed that she was in the clothes she'd been in at the manor.

Priorities! She pushed herself from the small rise the bed was set upon and hurried over to the man in the doorway who was cursing and trying to keep himself on his feet. His clothes were making it difficult. The shirt and jacket were falling off one side caught at his elbow keeping from being able to hold onto the doorway with both hands.

"Professor?" Hermione came to a stop in front of him putting her hand on his shoulders to try and keep him standing. Her help, however, was not appreciated.

"Get out... Go..." Snape's voice was weak, his breathing was too heavy to make his bark bite.

"What happened to you?" Hermione pushed his comment aside trying to understand. The last she'd seen of him, he'd been dressing her.

"Go..." Snape's eyes closed for a long moment.

Hermione shook her head trying to understand. Had this been his plan? It couldn't be. Why would he risk his life for hers? It didn't make sense. Nothing about the situation made sense. All she knew was that he needed her help.

Her eyes looked out into the office, she could see the desk clearly from their vantage. Her wand sitting neatly on the edge. She looked back at Snape before pulling herself away. Fear rolled down her back when he slumped heavily against the frame.

She could leave, her wand was right there and her captor was incapacitated. Hermione greatly considered doing just that. Though, when her hand curled around her wand her eyes turned to the heavily breathing man in the doorway.

She looked to the floo next, her heart torn in two directions. He told her to go. But where? What would happen if she did? Wasn't he supposed to bring her to the Dark Lord? Would he die...if she ran?

Her head turned back, her heart quickening. She couldn't be responsible for his death. She would never be able to forgive herself. As cantankerous as he was, he had helped her. Saved her life, even if it was only for a short time.

She owed him.

Hermione turned back towards Snape, her heart skipping at his back. It was black, and oozing something red. Her chest tightened as he let out another grunt trying to push himself through the frame. She closed the distance quickly, tucking her wand into her back pocket, she wrapped her arm around his lower back, mindful of the awful blackened skin, and took his hand, pulling it around her shoulders.

"Professor? I need you to help me..." Her voice was still soft and a bit gravely but it was definitely filled more with concern than fear, "I need you to stay standing..."

The man didn't open his eyes to her but she could tell he had heard her when he shifted his weight to her side. It hurt, but she pushed it aside. Thankfully, he was on the right side of the frame and thus able to put his weight on her good side.

Hermione huffed with her own effort. Had he always been this big? Surely not, her head barely came to his chin, but with him slumped over, their hips were level allowing her to leverage some of his weight.

Small whispered words of encouragement and grunts of effort saw them safely, albeit slowly, to the edge of the bed. Snape managed to get himself onto the edge before rolling down onto his side. His head was pulsing from the effort and in his haze, he'd barely registered that she had helped him.

Hermione grimaced pushing him just a bit further so that he'd lay on his stomach instead. Her mind ran through a series of things before she realized, he was a potions master. Surely, he had an alchemist's cabinet somewhere. She wasn't that well versed in healing spells, just basic cuts. Nothing like this, but she did know what potions she could use. She just needed access to them.

"Professor?" She leaned down closer to his head watching his eyes slowly start to open, "Where's your cabinet?"

Snape hissed slightly, his brain was starting to reorient now that the room wasn't spinning around him so quickly. Truthfully, he couldn't even feel his back, he just felt exceptionally heavy. He blinked slowly to her question, "There...in the corner, with the snake's head handle..." He tried to shift his weight so as to sit himself up but her hand on his bare shoulder was so much of a shock that it kept him in place.

Hermione turned looking over to where he'd been looking before glancing down at him, "Don't move...okay?" Her brow was lined with concern, but her steps were sure. She made it to the cabinet trying to turn the handle, it wouldn't budge. Her mind cycled through before she remembered that most cabinets had a sort of password, something that would allow others into it.

"What's the password?"

"Aceso"

Hermione repeated his words and felt the door unlock. She couldn't help a small smirk that threatened her otherwise serious face.

"Where do you hurt?"

"Everywhere..."

"What happened to your back? Is...it burnt? Cursed?"

"Burnt, the vial...with the green label, third from the top...three bottles right."

Hermione followed his instructions perfectly, pulling out a vial of something that looked like a very thin lotion. She ran her eyes down the other shelves before pulling out the last of the extremely potent pain reliever, a basic burn salve and what was left of his bottle of dittany.

"I need to remove your coat...it's sticking to the wound..." Hermione set the vials down on the bedside table.

"Pain potion first." Snape moved his hand up near his head using his arm to partially prop himself up.

How he was still moving was beyond her. It was like he was impervious to the pain, or worse, so used to it that it barely affected his senses anymore. Hermione did as she was told pressing the glass into his hand. Once he'd finished she took it back setting it beside the others, "Dittany, or this first?"

"The burn solution first...it'll clear away the dead skin..."

Hermione nodded her head before pulling her wand from her pocket. She'd only tried a disrobing spell once or twice on herself for practice. She wasn't sure how it was going to work on someone else.

Nervously, she waved her wand and recited the incantation aloud. Her shoulders sagged in temporary relief when his coat and shirt disappeared, reappearing mid-air to fall over the far side of the bed.

What she hadn't been prepared for was the number of scars that would be revealed to her. She had seen them from a distance, through the haze of a blindfold, but now. So close. There were so many.

Her eyes turned sad but she tried not to let any pity show. She was very sure he wouldn't react very well to her if she showed him any amount of sympathy. She tucked her wand back into her pocket and took a slow breath. Her side was growing a stitch but she pushed the feeling away. She had other things to do.

"It won't harm you...it's for dead skin only..." Snape turned his head down into the comforter bracing himself up onto his forearms. The position allowed his muscles that were still cramping from the cruciatous to retract far enough not to be a bother. He'd take that potion last, so as to make the effects last longer. Some potions just couldn't be mixed inside the body so close together.

Hermione licked her bottom lip before untwisting the metal cap. It was an odd seal but she didn't question it. She took a deep breath, stepping as close to the edge of the bed as she could and tipped the bottle over his back. As soon as the sickly green liquid made contact, a light sizzling sound started popping. Hermione was careful not to use too much but was wary of touching him.

Snape let out a deep sigh as the pain started to fade away. His head lowered down so far that the crown of his head rested on the bed. He'd just let his mind rest for a moment.

"Not too much...when it turns pink...use the dittany...then the salve..." Severus focused on breathing. Nevermind that he was partially nude in front of the girl. He'd deal with that later when his mind was clear.

Hermione nodded her head though he couldn't see her, his head was perfectly hidden between his biceps that kept a tilt to his back. Hermione noticed some of the potion starting to run onto a clean part of his lower back and reached out without thinking. Her fingers ran over the ridges of muscle flanking his spine making him shiver involuntarily. She made a small face, thinking she'd hurt him and subsequently apologized for it.

Her heart was pounding. He was strong. Stronger than she'd ever seen anyone. Why had he done it? Why hadn't he taken her to Voldemort like he had previously said? She felt like she was being left out of some large master plan. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

Hermione set the bottle of green goop aside wiping her fingers absently on her jeans before grabbing the bottle of dittany. Snape slowly lowered himself flat on the bed. His arms coming up over his head. He arched somewhat like a cat before settling back down. He dragged his arms down, relaxing them by his head. Hermione resisted the urge to push back the hair that was hiding his face. Her job was not yet over.

She turned away jogging to the bathroom to get a towel, the blood was starting to pour more freely now that the burnt skin was gone and the flesh of his back was becoming exposed. The wound was longer than it was wide, but it sat right on top of another well-worn scar. They looked like belt marks. She'd seen something similar on one of her childhood friends before she was taken away to a children's home. It made her heart ache.

Had nothing in this man's life gone right? What did she really know about him other than the 6 years he stood like an impassable wall in front of the classroom? Could she really find sympathy for a man who had done nothing but belittle her at every turn? No one was perfect, but there was a fine line between hatred and a stern hand.

Hermione returned with a towel in hand. She made her way back to the platform to find that the man had fallen asleep, or at the very least, gone very still. His back rose and fell with his deep breaths and his hand that had been up by his face in a tight fist had stretched out over the comforter. It felt odd to see him that way. More than odd.

She set the towel down at his waist, her fingers ghosting over his bicep before very lightly pulling back his hair. His eyes were closed. His brow relaxed. It was the first time she'd ever seen that look on his face.

Why did her heart feel like it was beating faster? She shook her head and cleared her throat then grabbed the bottle of dittany. There were maybe two dropper fulls left, she'd have to be extremely careful. With another glance at his face, she pressed her knee to the edge of the bed. When he made no movement, she leaned forward just a bit more and pulled the stopper from the bottle.

His back knitted together slowly, the scarred skin smoothing out again, it was odd like she was adding more stripes. She couldn't resist running her fingers over the freshly healed skin and felt her heart skip when his back rose to meet her fingertips. He was just breathing, but it felt so odd to feel him against her.

She looked back to his face watching his brow twitch before she reached for the burn salve. His pale skin was nearly Gryffindor red along the tops of his shoulders and at the dip of his spine. She adjusted herself closer, sitting back on her calf. She pulled a small handful of salve onto her fingers. She had originally thought to use the towel but all the thoughts running through her mind, simply made her forget.

She was going to touch him, really touch him. Her professor. The most hated professor of all of Hogwarts. If Ron could see her now, he'd be having kittens.

Another glance at his face and Hermione found herself leaning over his shoulders. Her hair brushed along his sensitive skin making him twitch in his sleep. She paid it little attention massaging the heavy salve into the wounds at his shoulders first.

His skin was surprisingly soft, even with all the ridges of scars. His shoulders were as hard as stone and extremely defined. She'd never pegged him for being overly muscular, his coat and many layers always seemed to give him a rather 'puffed' appearance.

He was much thinner than she thought he was, his waist couldn't have been more than a few inches larger than her own. He was slim but built. She'd hazard a guess that he was almost as muscled as Victor had been. Though of course, Victor had been a wee bit taller. It was rather startling, now that she thought about it, how similar the two of them were in appearance.

Hermione could have slapped herself had it not had burn salve on it. What on earth was she doing? He was her Professor! Not only that, he was in need! She shook her head sharply and refocused on her task, trying but failing to ignore the warmth growing in her stomach.

oOo

"Holy hell!" Ron stomped up the riverside bank ringing out his sweater.

"You're telling me..." Harry panted heavily following after him. They'd escaped via a sewage pipe. Not the most fun or glamours of escapes but when Ron had released the dragon they had to find a place to hide. The drain was the closest. "We smell like dragon dung..."

"But we did it." Ron held up the cup proudly.

"Yeah...but Voldemort knows..." Harry rubbed his scar, "We need to get back someplace safe..."

"Right..." Ron dropped the cup into Hermione's bag and put it back on. He pushed some of his wet hair from his face before letting out a deep sigh. He hadn't checked on Hermione all day. He was really starting to get antsy. He just wanted them back at Bill and Fleur's so Mr. Lovegood could teach him the spell from before. After having seen her once, in full form, he was aching to do so again.