Unforeseen Duty - Chapter 14

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a little while, I've been planning out the ending to this story, but now I have and it should write much faster. Thankyou to all who've favourited, followed and reviewed, it really means so much to me. I hit 50 reviews, and that's more than I could ever imagine!

I just wanted to apologise because a review made me realise I made a mistake in the beginning with the marauder's map and the room of requirement. This story isn't going to be very accurate, so I'm sorry if more mistakes happen - I tend to rush into writing without checking facts! Please bear with me if there are mistakes with the wizengamot, just pretend it's changed after the war... (please!)

Thankyou lots for reading!

Enjoy Xx

"Hermione, can you stay behind please?" Tonks called out, at the end of the DADA lesson that day. She was well enough to return, and taking Remus' place in lessons that morning, as it was the day after the full moon and he and Teddy were in the hospital wing.

"What's wrong? Are Teddy and Remus okay?" Hermione asked, stepping closer to the older witch, who looked quite tired and stressed.

"Remus is fine now, Teddy is getting better, thanks." She replied weakly. "That's not why I asked you to stay though." She swallowed, nervously, "See, Lucius' trial has been moved to after lunch today, and you're going to need to give a statement." Hermione froze, scared.

"How long have people known about the trial?" she asked, angry that she didn't know. She knew it had to happen at some point, probably in the next month, but didn't like being kept in the dark.

"We just found out last night, it was scheduled to be weeks away, but they've decided to bring it forward. We knew about it being weeks away, but we tried to tell you last night, we just couldn't find you."

"Ah…" Hermione said, biting her lip. She had spent most of the nights for the last few days with Severus, in his rooms. The two of them seemed to find it incredibly comforting, staying together and sleeping next to each other, even though nothing really happened.

Tonks smirked. "You don't have to explain, Ginny covered for you. She was there to see Harry, so said you were in her room."

Hermione nodded, trying not to smile too obviously.

"Now, I need to take you to the ministry, to prepare a statement, and then the trial is at one, so we'll get lunch there."

"Okay. Is it a closed trial?" Hermione asked worriedly, thoughts occurring to her that if it wasn't, everyone would find out. It wasn't news she wanted on the front of the Daily Prophet.

"We managed to make sure it is, don't worry. You were underage at the time of the crime, so it has to be."

Hermione nodded, pondering slowly. She felt nervous, that it wouldn't go the way she wanted it to, that Lucius might end up free again.

"Is Severus going to be there? Am I telling the truth about what happened, or…"

"I think you're going to have to. The trial is just the Wizengamot and the people involved. Severus will be there, and Kingsley is leading the trial. You'll have me leading the case.

Tonks drew her into a hug. "Hermione, at this stage, the trial doesn't mean much. He is definitely going to Azkaban for a long time, if not life, and the trial is just a protocol."

"Okay."

"Ready then?" She nodded, and flooed them to the ministry. They walked briskly to an office, Tonks leading the way. She knocked on the door, and a middle-aged witch answered, smiling grimly. Tonks placed a hand on the small of Hermione's back, leading her into the room.

"Take a seat, Miss Granger, Mrs Lupin." Palms sweating, Hermione took a seat in the plain room. It had a single light, a frosted window, a small, metal table with bottles of water and sandwiches upon it, and four chairs. Tonks took a seat next to Hermione, squeezing her shoulder supportively.

"Okay, thank you for coming in today, Miss Granger. As you know, the court trial of Mr Lucius Malfoy has been moved to a few hours, and we will need you to stand up, as part of the prosecution, to give a statement. Minister Kingsley did not specify his crimes upon his arrest, so we will need to clarify what he did to hurt you when you were abducted by him and fellow death eaters on the first of September. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She had lied to the order, and to Kingsley about the true nature of her attack, saying it had been torture and failing to specify Severus' key involvement. How would she tell the truth? Would they believe her?

"Hermione, I know you didn't tell Kinglsey the truth, but you need to now." Dora spoke firmly, reading Hermione's thoughts. The two women set to work, with minimal assistance from the other woman.

An hour later, and Hermione felt as prepared as she could, with countless pages of notes and files and a picked at sandwich stood next to the bottle of water on the desk. The woman re-entered the room, asking if they were ready. Tonks seemed to speak for her, Hermione so spaced she was only half aware of being led to a wooden bench and sat down, page of notes clutched nervously in her hands.

She looked up from the fumbling fingers, taking a look around the room. The Wizengamot were sat in their red and black robes, the fifty or so members engaged in conversation with each other before the trial began. Leading them, was Minister Kinglsey, who gave her a kind nod, single earring glinting in the dim light of the room. Next to her, were Tonks and Severus, whom she gave a nervous, small smile.

Then, her eyes met the snakelike ones of Lucius, sat in the small cell in the centre of the room. He smirked coldly, sending a shiver of fear down her spine as she quickly stopped the eye contact.

Kinglsey cleared his throat, bringing the room's attention to the trial.

"Good Afternoon. Today, the Wizengamot will be dealing with the trial of Lucius Malfoy, previous member of the Death Eaters. He has been previously deemed innocent of charges, claiming he was under the imperious curse when acting under Tom Riddle's influence." The Minister's voice was clear and concise, using the true name of Lord Voldemort like many did now. They refused to view him as any more than a man, after how he had died.

"Mr Lucius Malfoy will be charged on using dark magic to cause bodily harm, and we will hear from witnesses on the prosecution - led by Ex-Auror Nymphadora Lupin - what the true extent of his crimes are. We will then adjust the charges accordingly." The members of the Wizengamot nodded, faces serious. "Mrs Lupin, please state your case."

Tonks stood up, steeling herself and turning on her professional mode.

"Mr Lucius Malfoy is indeed guilty to all of the crimes he was deemed innocent of during the war, and since then he is guilty of regrouping death eaters - who have since disbanded - and using dark magic upon both Hermione and Severus including both the imperius and cruciatus curses. On the first of September, Mr Lucius Malfoy kidnapped Miss Hermione Granger and Mr Severus Snape. He cast a soul bond upon the pair, and put Mr Snape under the imperius curse. Since then, he also captured Mr Snape and tortured him with the cruciatus curse, when trying to get the location of his wife and son. These two were put into safe houses during a mission conducted by the order of the phoenix." There were shocked looks from everyone around the room, including Kingsley, who hadn't been aware of the truth. The use of soul bonds was extremely rare, not to mention highly illegal, and almost no one could muster the cruel intent to cast the spell.

"Hermione, would you stand to give a statement to the Minister, please." Dora spoke, and placed a comforting hand on Hermione's hand as she stood and walked shakily to the wooden podium she had to stand by.

"Please go ahead, Miss Granger. Take all the time you need."

Hermione clenched her fists and stared at the notes she had in front of her, breathing shakily.

"On the first of September, I awoke to an owl, in my room. It was a false letter, from Lucius, from McGonagall telling me I was head girl, and that I had to get the train to Hogwarts, instead of flooing, which I had planned to do. I didn't see anything wrong with getting the letter, none of us are very suspicious any more, we haven't needed to be. When I arrived at the station, I was kidnapped. They knocked me out, and I knew nothing until I woke in a cell, with no natural light. I was then taken through the corridors by masked death eaters. I recognised the house as Lucius' straight away, because of, well, because of the war."

"Anyway, I was put into the room, and Severus and Lucius were there." She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the lump. "Lucius was, well, he was angry at Severus. He felt that because Severus had betrayed Voldemort, and helped 'convert' Malfoy and Narcissa, that he, well, he deserved revenge. This revenge was to bind our souls together - he knew how much Severus would have hated it and himself because of it. He did the initial spell, the mental bonding, and then he placed Severus under the imperius curse to complete the second part. He… Well…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she clenched her fists, trying to gather strength.

"I had my clothing removed, and was bound to a metal table. Then, he had Severus… He, erm…"

"Miss Granger, you don't have to say any more. I think we are all aware of what you were going to say." Kingsley spoke gently, and Hermione nodded, mouth dry.

"What happened afterwards?" He asked, and she cleared her throat, slowly, licking her dry lips.

"I must have passed out, but I woke, and he spoke to me a little. Severus had gone, and then he removed the bounds and gave me my things. I apparated back to school, after that. I just want to say." She paused, looking over to Severus, who had a veiled expression that was impossible to read. "Severus, well, he has his faults, as do all of us, but he would never, ever, want to do something so barbaric. He has been nothing but kind to me, after this, so please, don't blame him. It has been equally hard for us both."

"Thank you, Miss Granger, you may sit now." Shaking, Hermione avoided the eyes of everyone, especially Lucius, and walked back to her seat, biting her lip. Tonks took her hand, comfortingly, and she squeezed it in return, letting out a shallow puff of air.

"Members of the Wizengamot, I feel that this is a very convincing statement, one which leads to my only option being to suggest a life sentence in Azkaban. Mr Lucius Malfoy has used dark magic, including two unforgivable curses and use of a soul bond. He has also clearly lied about his true loyalties and presumably the statement he made after the war stating that he only did what he did under the influence of the imperius curse. I do not want him to receive the dementors kiss. I want Mr Malfoy to serve his time, to suffer for the suffering he has put these people through."

The were approving murmurs throughout the Wizengamot, and Hermione could make out vague 'hear, hear' chants.

"And so, I must ask, are there any queries within the Wizengamot?"

For just a minute, Hermione thought that - quite unusually - there would be no questions. Then, a rather tentative hand rose from a woman in her mid-fifties.

"I was wondering, why didn't Professor Snape resist the imperius curse. I may not know much about the bond, but the imperius curse can be overridden from a strong magical mind, which you happen to have, Professor."

"You raise an excellent point, Mrs Greylings. However, after the first spell is conducted, there is no way to stop the process. If the second stage does not follow, both parties will die. I'm sure most of you will understand where Severus came from if he told us he didn't want to intentionally rape Miss Granger. We cannot blame him in any way for finding the easiest possible way to allow both to survive."

The inquiring witch nodded in understanding, and Hermione shot a look at severus in surprise. She hadn't thought about that, about the imperius, but seeing his face, she felt embarrassed that it hadn't crossed her mind. By allowing the imperius to take effect, he made it easier for himself, but harder for her. However, she didn't blame him, she would have found it horrible either way, and if it eased the guilt for him, she felt better.

She was tempted to tell him this, but though better of it, now wasn't the time.

"If there are no more questions, we will vote." Kingsley's voice boomed, jolting her back into the present. "All those in favour of a life imprisonment in Azkaban, raise your hand."

Hermione held her breath, but quickly realised she didn't need to. As Kinglsey counted, it was clear that every member of the wizengamot voted in favour.

"Well, with 54 votes to 0, I hereby sentence you, Lucius Malfoy, to a lifetime imprisonment at Azkaban."

It was well after midnight when Hermione finally amassed the courage to go to Severus's rooms that night. He had disappeared, apparating away after the trial without so much of a word to Hermione or Tonks, and Hermione had wanted to follow, but couldn't. In a flash, it felt like the steps they'd made together were gone.

Of course, logically, she knew he just needed time, and so did she. Having so many people find out was hard, and despite the celebration Tonks had hosted with Harry, Ron and the others, Hermione felt no brighter.

The door swung open, blasting through Hermione's thoughts. He was there, in front of her, and Hermione met his eyes, expecting a blank guilt, but finding surprising warmth.

"Come in, Hermione. Your occlumency is good, but I could hear your brain ticking from outside the door."

She followed him in, sitting next to him on the sofa, fire crackling warmly to lessen the chill of both of their moods. Their thighs were touching, and as a shiver ran down Hermione's back he brought his arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"You know, I don't blame you one bit, even if you could have overridden the imperius. To be honest, I'm glad you didn't."

"Really? I assumed-"

"-that I'd want you to be you? That it may have helped if you weren't under the curse?"

"Well, yes."

"I thought I would feel like that too…"

"but you don't?" Vulnerable eyes found hers, and she grasped his hand.

"It makes it easier if I can class you as separate people. Him, as the one who hurt me, and you, as the one who I lo…" she trailed off, not able to finish the word.

"the one you?" His thumb traced careful circles on the inside of her wrist, and she couldn't think straight.

"The one that I love." The words fell from her mouth before she could catch them, and before she could say any more, his lips were on hers. They kissed only for a moment, but it was full of such tenderness and care that she barely understood the consequences of what she had said. He pulled away first, bringing her into a hug, embracing both of their fears to allow them to follow their hearts.

It wasn't until they were in bed, curled up together, that he could reply. It wasn't until her though she was asleep, not able to hear him, that he could offer his reciprocations, which she heard anyway. She didn't tell him, just pulled him closer, nuzzling his chest.

There was an intent knocking at the door, which broke the two out of sleep. Severus rolled over grumpily, ignoring it, but after Hermione had realised that the person clearly wasn't going away, she quickly shrugged on her clothes, pulling at her hair and smoothing her appearance.

She opened the door, almost meeting Dora's fist as she tried to knock again.

"Hermione! Sorry, love! What are you doing there?" She asked quickly, smirking slightly at the realisation that Hermione had clearly not slept in her own rooms. "Never mind, can I come in?"

Hermione felt a breath down her neck, and Severus spoke up from behind her.

"Come in, Tonks."

She came and sat down, and Hermione noticed the paper she was holding. The colour drained from her face when a realisation hit her.

"It's been leaked, hasn't it?" she murmured softly, hand rising to her mouth. The older woman paused for a moment, then nodded, sadly, and showed the two the front page of the daily prophet.

MALFOY'S ARREST AFTER BINDING A TEACHER AND STUDENT MEANS A LIFETIME IN AZKABAN .

Hermione granger, princess of the Golden Trio has had her soul bonded to teacher Professor Snape in a hideous act of revenge by the so called innocent death eater: Lucius Malfoy…

Severus kept reading, but Hermione felt sick to her core. She ran out of the room, hand over her mouth as she barely made it to the toilet before she started to be sick. A moment later and Tonks and Severus appeared, Tonks rushing to hold back her hair and stroke her back as she coughed and retched.

A few minutes later and she felt finished, casting a quick cleaning charms and wiping her brow. Sitting up, she met eyes with Tonks, who gave her a worried look.

"Okay?" she asked, and Hermione nodded, frowning.

"Just a shock. So, does everyone know?"

Severus handed her a glass of water with a small smile, which she returned weakly.

Tonks nodded. "Molly woke Remus and I this morning at around seven thirty, flooing into our room and demanding the truth. By now… by now it's probably been read by almost everyone in Wizarding England." She spoke gently, but her eyes were angry.

"How on Earth could they find out?" Severus sputtered furiously. "It was a closed trial!"

"I have no idea… Hermione was seventeen, the charms mean no one in the Wizengamot can talk about it outside of the room because of her age."

"Oh…" Hermione muttered, mind suddenly realising the age addition caused from the time turner in her third year. Her birthday was in early September anyway, there was around six months added to her age with the amount she used it. "I had a time turner, in third year." She clarified.

"Yeah, Remus mentioned that. You used it to save Sirius, right?" Dora asked, and Hermione nodded.

"Who would do that though? Who would tell the press?" Severus asked, angry.

Hermione shook her head. "It doesn't really matter, does it? We can't change it, after all." She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, leaning her head backwards against the tiles of the bathroom. "Merlin, all the pupils… Severus, I'm so sorry. It's going to be awful for you…"

"Don't, it's not your fault." He murmured, and Hermione got up off of the floor.

"Molly wants to see you both." Tonks said softly. "If you feel up to it, would you go and talk to her?" she asked, and Hermione met Snape's eyes. He nodded, questioning her with the gaze and she nodded in return.

They walked, shaking slightly to the Lupin's quarters, and when Hermione took his hand, he did not pull away, just squeezing it slightly.

I heard you. She said, in his mind, taking down the barriers.

What?

Last night.

Oh.

I just wanted to tell you, this doesn't change anything. I still feel the same, this won't change it.

Thankyou.

His hand squeezed hers again, and they shared a look of comfort.

They had reached the room, and it was time to face the wrath of Molly Weasley.

As soon as Hermione was in the door she was wrapped in a bone crushing hug and utterly consumed in the huge embrace from the Weasley matriarch. She smelled like home; Hermione was reminded of her mother so much that she couldn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks as she sniffed lightly.

Molly pulled back, wiping away a tear and frowning, muttering about her being too thin and needing a good jumper and some dinner, before she looked to Severus.

Hermione flinched nervously, awaiting a slap or verbal onslaught. She looked around the room and saw that Remus and Tonks were also waiting nervously to her reaction to the man. She took a step towards Severus, frowning, hands on her hips.

And then, Molly Weasley opened her arms and hugged Severus Snape.

It shocked them all, especially him as his arms flailed a little, unable to find purchase on her back.

"Thank you. Thank you for looking after her." She said, squeezing him tightly. He was blushing more than Hermione had ever seen him do before, and Remus and Tonks were holding back snickers.

She pulled away, and he cleared him throat roughly, straightening his robes and nodding at her.

"Oh, get a grip." She said, but there was a fondness instead of an edge. "Right, shall we sort this great big mess out, then?"