A/N Another short chapter but it just felt like the right place to stop. Hope everyone is enjoying this fic, thanks to everyone who takes the time to review it really means a lot.
Chapter 11
The wind howled through the trees as the wolves sang their salute to the moon, the forest was a dark place, dense trees filtered out what little daylight there was and the thorns got more bloodthirsty the deeper you went, protecting the small hut at the centre.
The hut was in the only clearing in the whole of the hundred acre forest and it was no more than ten meters in size and the only thing that occupied it was the small wooded hut, which looked like it should have fallen over years ago. It was not imposing nor was it wonderful but it was vital. For inside the hut was a trap door leading to an underground world; this was a place that was responsible for the descriptions of hell in the bible and other muggle religious texts. It was lit only by old fashioned flaming torches that sat in rusted iron holders along the rough moss covered stone walls. The flames caused the light to flicker, the smallest rat casting a terrifyingly imposing shadow. This was the place where evil lived; this was the home of Statim.
The savage clan had lived in the vast network of caves and tunnels for as long as they had existed, choosing to live underground instead of in castles and houses like the other clans. Although this place was very different to the manor house that Hermione had spent the summer in it was no less magnificent. The caves that were used as dwellings all contained the most amazing artefacts and painting form the most prestigious artists that had ever lived. A lush world hiding the savage truth of the killers that dwelled in the darkness, killing anyone who entered the forest and terrorising the villages that surrounded it.
A harsh scream erupted from the deepest cavern breaking through the eerie silence that had descended in hell since the return of the messenger form the team sent to Hogwarts. Had he been sensible he would have run as far away as possible instead of returning to face certain death at the hands of his master. Vexatious was an unforgiving ruler who did not accept mistakes, he was the one the legend of Dracula was based on; kidnapping muggles and trapping them in his hell for his own perverse pleasure was something he devoted mush of his time to. The rest of his efforts were spend on the war, he had openly sided with Voldemort but he did not share the same ideals, Vexatious wanted to rule the world and did not intend to let a half-blood wizard, no matter how powerful, stop him. Voldemort was a mean to an end for Vexatious, one he did not mind sacrificing to reach his goals, however for the time being he would play along with the mad mans schemes and that involved the destruction of Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore, of course it helped that the mistake one of his children had made was living there. He had been furious when he heard of his son's attempts to turn the mud blood, of course he knew about her connection to the Potter boy but he had never wanted her turned and he had never given his permission, to make matters worse the girl had been made even more powerful by the mixing of the blood. He had know idea what she was capable of now and he was still fuming; he knew she should be his, he would have trained her to be a killer like she should be and he had no doubt that she would be an amazing fighter. Instead she was in the hands of the old fool Calatios and his traitor of a grand son.
The Snape boy was fast becoming a problem for Vexatious; he had turned away from Fury's views and become a very dangerous and ruthless killer. The old leader knew that Fury wanted his son back; the boy had been easily swayed away from his over bearing father. All it had taken was a few choice words and the promise of marriage to one of his grand daughters that Fury wanted for his own and it had been done. He had not counted on the boy, Fury had not told him of the witch he had bedded until the boy was almost three, he had ordered the mother killed and the boy brought to the castle he had bestowed upon his son- in- law as a wedding gift. The boy was dangerous, everyone knew that, an Emargianti born of magical blood was almost unheard of and the boy's mother had been a very powerful mud blood passing her power on her son. The boy was kept in the castle until his Hogwarts letter arrived; Fury had insisted he go thinking it would make him more powerful and therefore a greater asset to their side he had no counted on his father getting hold of the boy. Now it seemed the boy was hardly ever seen without the company of the Granger girl, two extremely powerful and unique vampires combining their power was something Vexatious considered a threat to his clan, he need to defeat them quickly so that he could being to accumulate the necessary assets to defeat his rivals and to do that he needed the help of the man sitting next to him.
Platio was the leader of Scelero, the only clan that Statim had any relations with. As tow of the five originals they had known each other for generations, both were power hungry but Platio had a disadvantage, he loved his daughter, the girl who was the thing of myths, the original Emargianti and no one knew that Allayna was the only daughter born to one of the original five, they all had four sons and some of them had had daughters but she was the only one directly descended from an original. Another little known fact was that Allayna was blessed with the power to see the future. She lived alone with her clan of Emargianti but was never able to refuse her father anything he asked of her.
The scream that had been heard was from the mouth of Alexius, Vexations' youngest son. The boy had refused to obey an order from his farther and Vexatious was using him as a torture toy for himself and Platio as they discussed their plan. It was not something either of them liked to do but they had to put a little trust in each other if they wanted to win, then they could stab each other in the back and see who surrenders first and gets to lead the new world they hoped to create.
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When Hermione awoke the next morning she found that her back was stiff and she was being help by Severus Snape, in her opinion it was the best way to wake up, that was until she remembered the events of the previous day. She had witnessed the breakdown of Severus and she was livid with the people responsible for his pain. How could they use him like that? The true nature of their betrayal was just beginning to hit her, she had been preoccupied with making sure he was okay but now she was able to think about the ramifications of his tale.
She had doubt that he deserved love and happiness in his life but from what he had told her she could see why he felt he didn't. No one had ever sat and talked to him; no one had ever wanted him for him nor for some other purpose and that made her heart ache. He had so mush to offer the world and it was wasted spying on an evil man who had not qualms about torturing his followers as harshly as he would his enemies, at the request of two old men who both lived in their own little worlds. She could not decide who was more to blame but she knew that they all need to pay for what they had done. She now lost all the faith she once had in Albus Dumbledore, the once wise old man was now just an eccentric old fool who was no doubt powerful but was totally out of touch with the world and was very good at manipulating people in to doing exactly what he wanted them to do.
She was still fuming silently when Severus began to stir his head moving from its position in her lap. She couldn't remember when they swapped position only that she had woken at one point to transfigure the arm chair into a bed. His arms were still around her she loved being held by someone so powerful and knowing that he trusted her enough to sleep in front of her was very special to her however she was worried about how he would react this morning, she knew he didn't like being seen as vulnerable and she had probably been the first person to see him cry in a very long time, if not ever.
His eyes opened and he opened his mouth to speak, he found after the first attempt that his throat was dry and sore from the night before and he guessed that his eyes were red. Hermione thought that he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, lying on her lap with tear tracks dried on his face, looking the most relaxed she had ever seen him. She was about to use her wand to conjure something to sooth his throat when she noticed him pointing to a cabinet across the room. Gently sliding herself out from under him she crossed the room, recognising the cabinet as a traditional potions cabinet. As she bent down to open the door she was surprised by the detailed carvings on the wood, she guessed it was depicting some sort of battle of war but she didn't know enough about the origins of the piece to know which battle, magical of muggle, it would be. as Hermione ran her fingers over the figure of a woman, blood was pouring from her head as she cradled the baby in her arm, she felt a tingle run through her, like a small electric shock but not unpleasant. It was a tragic image but in some way Hermione found it beautiful, the bond between the mother and the child was unbreakable. She shook her head to clear it as memories of her own mother came back to her. Hermione had not spoken to either of her parents since she had received their letter and as much as she missed them she didn't know if she could, forgive them for hurting her like that.
"Did you feel something?" Severus weak voice form behind her snapped her out of her trance, he sounded a little better but was still in dire need of the potion she was supposed to be getting for him. Without answering him she proceeded to rummage through his previously neatly organised potions. She didn't see Severus grimace as she knocked a few bottles over in her haste to heal him, he knew she was amazing at potions and she was normally a very neat person but he could see the worry on her face and chose no to tease her about it.
Finally she got her hand on the bottle she was looking for and she went back to join Severus, re claming the place she had abandoned on her search for the potion. Once he had drunk the soft pink potion his head re claimed its pace on her lap and he repeated his earlier question.
"When you touched the cabinet did you feel something?" He seemed anxious as he looked up at her, his eyes holding a quality that Hermione could not name but was struck by the intensity of it.
"Yes, a kind of tingle" Hermione was concentrating on his face as she said it, watching his eyes fill with pride as his had reached up to softly stroke her cheek, his hands were soft and his fingers were cold, when he reached her full pink lips he ran his finger suggestively over them sending another shiver down her spine; this one born of arousal rather than the history in his cabinet.
The tension was broken by her soft laugh as she leant down to lay her lips over his. Their first kiss was everything it should be, soft and loving. Hermione was no virgin but she was not used to the intimacy of that moment, the muggle boy she had slept with was only after one thing and she had not felt and love or compassion in their heated fumble, if she was honest she had not seen what all the fuss was about and had only moaned in pain as her innocence was taken. Severus had never had this with anyone, he had needs like any man but usually sated them with his hand or a trip to Madame Lane's in Knockturn ally, as he had never allowed was letting his hired whores kiss him, making the feel of Hermione's lips against his all the more special. Slowly he turned so that he was half on top of her without breaking their kiss he began to run his hands over her sensuous curves. The pair was perfectly content in their little world, oblivious to the castle around them, forgetting all about the people Severus had left the day before in the meeting rooms. There they stayed all morning, never going any further than kissing and some touching through clothes but loving every moment of it.
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"Well I think she's mad" Ron's voice carried across the room and he ducked his head in embarrassment as several people turned to look at him. He and Ginny were huddled in the corner of the meeting room, a common occurrence these days, they were discussing Hermione's friendship with Snape. Neither could understand why Hermione would want to be friends with the great bat that had made their lives hell for seven years.
"I just wonder if friendship is all they share" Ginny added, faking a shudder as she planted the idea in her brothers head knowing that he would believe it without any proof and it would probably be the one thing he could not forgive Hermione for. She wanted her brother away from Hermione and Harry now, she had a plan and she was going to whatever it takes to get Harry Potter into her heart and more importantly into her bed.
"You don't think? No! Hermione would not do that with him." Ron's face was almost the same shade as his hair as his mind filled with dirty images of his professor and the woman he believed to be the love of his life in various positions, including, surprisingly, the potions classroom.
Now she knew she had him and she knew that she was going to get what she wanted and for that Hermione had to be out of the equation; for good.