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CHAPTER 20

She hated him. Actually hated him. She hated him more than she had ever hated anyone else in the world.

That was Hermione's first conscious thought when she woke up the next day, her eyes swollen from crying herself to sleep. He knew she needed him and he used it to his advantage, making her feel like dirt under his feet on purpose. It probably turned him on, the Pig.

Of course, she hated Voldemort too but it was very different. She did not really know him; she'd never even spoken to him. It was the kind of hatred most Muggles had for Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein, she supposed. It was known they were bad and cruel mass killers, but the people without any personal experience with them often simply feared them, hoping it would stay that way and they would never meet.

But she'd met Snape and Snape had hurt her. On a very personal level. That was not something that she would forget easily, if ever... No matter what he promised.

Yes, she would cooperate with him, if need be. She was even ready to obey him for as long as she was forced to but she knew who he was. The Pig. As soon as she would be free from him, she did not want to have anything to do with him, ever. Maybe cast some nasty hexes at him, kick him in between his legs as her father taught her to do to dirty men and then slam the door. If he survived the Vow somehow, that is... Then she would hate him safely from a distance until the end of her life.

Taking out the diary and the pen, she frowned and listed every dark spell she had ever heard of on a new page, titling it 'For Snape, the Pig'.

Today she made the ninth mark on the wall and was currently squeezing her ears that were surrounded with the warm cloth again. It was the opposite cell now and it took ages. She preferred it much more when it had appeared to be empty...

Finally, the screams stopped. Then, after a few minutes, the groans. The door opened and slammed again and she could peek out of her hiding place. She knew it was childish but it would drive her crazy if she did not have at least that kind of security. She fished out the diary from under her bed and tried desperately to employ her mind into listing the Charm formulas. There was nothing she could do for the other girls. Nothing...

Several hours later, the guard came to feed the other prisoners and she did not really pay attention. Not until she noticed there was some kind of commotion in front of the bars that surrounded her cell.

She cautiously and quietly stood up and sneaked up to the bars, hoping she would, as always, not be noticed. Then she regretted it with vengeance. The guard was levitating the dirty, battered and bruised body of a young girl behind himself! A dead body. She looked to be about 14 or 15, for Merlin's sake! Only a child! So thin and pale... She felt tears sting at the corners of her eyes. So this was how she could end one day too...

The man was taking care not to get himself too near to the corpse, obviously disgusted by its state, and it made him back off from it only about two or three inches away from her cell's bars. There was something silver glittering in his pocket...

This was what she had been waiting for! This was her moment! She had to try it, now or never!

Casting her sentiments over the dead girl away, she made quickly and silently two steps forward, and inserted her hand in between the bars to reach the object in the pocket. Her fingers made contact with the cold metal and she felt a jolt of joy go through her - it was a ring with keys! Cell keys! Exactly what she needed!

Having no time to do this carefully, she pulled the keys out of the pocket and into her cell when...

DAMN! NO! Not this!

The keys made contact with the iron bars and the resulting clink got the guard to look around at her. Directly at her, holding the key ring!

NO!

"Hey, you! Bitch! Give that back!" he bellowed and reached with his hand towards her.

With a surge of panic, she backed away from the bars to her bed, hiding herself along with the keys behind the small alcove. She had his keys, he could not get to her here...

But she was wrong, obviously. In no time, there was a thud of a dead body carelessly dropped to the ground followed by a rattle of locks being open and the door swung on its hinges. Of course, Snape had never had any keys to open the door, it could be done with magic too...

Pressing herself into the wall and lifting the heavy food plate from beside her bed, she readied herself to hit the man as soon as she saw so much as the tip of his nose. She would stun him and then take his wand and run. But then she was startled violently by a horrible loud scream coming from the doorway. She flinched in fright but nothing ever happened to her - it was only the man yelling as if someone had set him on fire. It took seconds, then minutes...

Overcoming her fear of what she might see, she peeked out of the alcove and saw the guard convulsing between the hinges where the now open door used to stand. Violent spasms and green sparks were running around his rigidly lying body and his screams were slowly dying out. What the hell was happening?! Did someone spell the man from behind? Or was it some kind of magical seizure?

Carefully, she neared to the body and saw that the man was already unconscious. Helpless in any case. Whatever made him collapse was probably not going to affect her for now...

This was her chance. This was the opportunity to save herself, Snape's miserable attempts be damned - if there even were any to begin with! She could always find him later and make him cancel the curse. She knew where to find him and she had three more days to do it.

Hermione quickly pulled her cloak out from under her mattress to cover and disguise herself and stopped only shortly to bend down and take the man's wand before she immediately turned left from her cell and started running, making herself disregard the two limp bodies that she left behind.

There were so many cells in this hell of a place! But she could not stop to try to free anyone else except the boys. All she could see though were girls and women, all chained, dirty and barely conscious. She did not have the time and they were bound, weak and surely confused. And they would all die within a week anyway. She would alert the Order, find a way to save them and return here with reinforcements. She could not even give them a wand to defend themselves now. It would be suicide for the girls, especially if she failed this and got caught. She must not get caught. Focus, Hermione!, she ordered herself and ran faster than ever before she reached what was obviously the exit from the dungeons.

With her wand ready, her body slightly crouched, she did not waste a single second and started cursing everyone and everything her eyes caught even a glimpse of; there were no friends of hers in this building who would not be behind the bars.

Two seconds and three Stupefies later, there were three dark clad bodies sprawled on the floor. She wasted no time in tying them down and silencing them and then collected their wands, stuffing them in the cloak's inner pocket.

The adrenaline made her see everything in a slow motion. She'd been dreaming of this moment for days. She knew what to do!

The Point Me Spell showed her that it was North ahead of her and she remembered dimly that they had entered the Fortress through a gate that led East from the building, the sunrise directly on their back as they'd been herded towards it. So she turned left and took the door closest to her intended direction.

There was a hallway and then another door, same as the one she selected the last time.

Pulling at the doorknob with her wand poised for an attack, she opened it resolutely and jumped inside.

Without warning, she was thrown towards the wall and chained to it before she managed to make a sound.

She was looking directly into Snape's eyes...

Many thanks to Pirocantha for helping with this again! Even during her holiday in France she was willing to correct the chapters!

And the next one will go to Severus :-)