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CHAPTER 26

Hermione was staring at the limp form of the man who had been raping her for the last two weeks. She was still in shock, her mind reeling wildly. She was ready to kill him, damn! Kill him, turn on her heel, find an escape route and then never tell anyone of what had happened to her here. Not even to her children that she would have one day - with someone else!

But now she couldn't. Not when he was slumped there helplessly in front of her on the cold floor, looking more dead than alive. Not in that way, torturing him to death, ripping away the little bits of life he was clutching onto so fiercely with his broken and mauled fingers. Not after what he had said.

He was the strangest man she had ever met, including Voldemort even. Who in the world suggests the best ways to kill himself to his murderer so the attacker can escape unpunished? What was more, he had a very valid point at that. She would never have thought of it herself... Does he really like pain so much that he wants it to be his parting with the world in such an extreme form?

Furthermore, the next moment he was telling her where to find and how to free the boys! Of course, he could be lying and giving her the directions to Voldemort's bedchamber or luring her into some nasty trap but there were so many details in the description that it sounded trustworthy... Plus he would not have said anything if he simply wanted her to fail in her escape attempt, right?

She remembered passing the wards on her way inside, he was not lying about that. She would be killed then if she simply stepped into them without any warning.

It really looked like he wanted her to escape and save the boys too, giving her potions to heal them even. But why, by the four Founders?! Just so she could give this 'message' to Harry?! At least it really looked like her friend was alive, for Snape probably wouldn't want her to give anything to a dead person...

She observed the small bottle near the Death Eater's unconscious body - or she supposed he was unconscious or just resting as his chest kept rising and falling in a semi-regular rhythm but he still hadn't moved. It was full of a dimly shining, pure white substance that moved constantly around, reminding her of sea waves. She had never seen them before but she was quite sure there were memories stored in that bottle. Snape's memories. Memories he wanted Harry of all people to see.

She nearly squeaked aloud when she heard the man mentioning Horcruxes. He was Voldemort's right hand man, so she supposed that if anyone else had been told, it would have been him... Still, it was stunning to hear him confirm he knew about their mission. He knew they wanted to kill his Master and yet he looked so at peace about her planning to murder him! He even looked rather happy - yes, HAPPY! - right before he had closed his eyes a few minutes ago.

There were simply too many questions. Question she could not afford to leave unanswered. She needed to talk to him.

"Snape?" She tried waking him up.

Nothing. He did not move.

"Snape! Wake up!" she called, louder this time.

She pointed his wand at him determinedly. The black wood was humming in her hand reassuringly, full of magic. It was a strange thing, really. It felt nearly friendly towards her!

"Enervate!"

The man's body jerked as the spell sizzled against his chest, absorbed by his flesh, and Snape abruptly slid down the wall he was supported against by his back. There was an ugly thud when his head collided with the hard stone floor and Hermione flinched. Oops! That was not how unconscious people should be roused... But at least she now knew he was really out and not just playing a trick on her, baiting her into coming closer to take his wand back.

Still, the man did not wake - or he had but was immediately knocked out again by his fall. Or rather by her not very well thought-out actions, she guessed with a slight cringe. She needs to think first before she acts, damn!

Taking a deep breath, she waved the wand and levitated the Death Eater onto her mattress, turning and lying him face-down, so he would not land on the injury she had just caused him, which had left a big, bloody stain on the floor a few steps away from her. Ugh.

His left hand twitched violently even as he was lying and that reminded her that although Petrificus and Cruciatus don't go well together - both were obstructing respiration and, in the state he was in, it could prove fatal - she should better tie him up somehow, just in case he wakes up unexpectedly. Or twitches like that again, possibly hitting her or himself accidentally.

Conjuring ordinary ropes that wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles, she finally felt safe enough to slowly approach him. He really was dangerous, she had seen that herself many times before; there was no room for being careless in his company, no matter what health condition he appeared to be in.

Sitting herself next to the bed that he had previously occupied and very carefully vanishing the stain of blood so that she would not touch it, she inspected the potions that he had left there for her to take and then wasted no time in removing the rest of the things still residing in his pockets. She had suspected before that he had an extra wand or a weapon of a kind in there and it would be best to move that away from his reach, just in case. Maybe there will even be something useful for her...

She piled all the objects she had found - and there were many indeed! - next to the bed and added them to the ones he himself gave her. She searched it for another bottle of After-Cruciatus that would obviously help him the most but there was none to be found. He gave her the only dose he carried? Why, for Merlin's sake?! Was he hoping to get another in time when he returned to Hogwarts?

She REALLY has to ask him some questions when he wakes up!

Not seeing a better choice, she selected the Murtlap Essence and the piece of white gauze that was tangled in the mess. She hoped it would be enough to seal the wound on his head as she did not have any idea of how to do that with magic. She really has to learn more about Healing if she ever gets out of here... WHEN she gets out of here, she corrected herself.

There was a distinctive 'clang' of something being dropped on the floor as she took the gauze out though and it made her look closer at the pile of things. Regular buzzes started echoing throughout the cell and she sat up at that, trying to ascertain the source.

The frequency of the vibrations got even quicker as her breathing quickened and she raised her wand, prepared to fight back if she was attacked or cursed. But there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary in front of her - just a few potion bottles, a small knife, a Muggle pen, a piece of parchment and a black stone that probably got pushed here by Snape's fall.

Wait, it wasn't! Although it did indeed look to be at home in the cell, she did not remember it from her close observations. The shape simply was not right and it was not one of the four that still remained here... It had to have arrived with the professor.

It was the stone that was the source of the buzzes, she concluded finally, watching it closely. It was cursed in some way. But in what way, Merlin?! Will it stun or harm her if she touches it? But then Snape would not carry it in his pocket just like that, would he? Exactly how dangerous could that be? It did not feel to be spelled with Dark magic as far as she could tell...

Her heartbeat echoed in her ears as she was thinking hard. The heartbeat... It sounded like it was in exactly the same rhythm as the stone did, mirroring it precisely. Her heart... The stone was mirroring her heart!

Hermione reached for it hesitantly, lifting it from the ground. The beats quickened along with her pulse. So that's how Snape had known she was bleeding out... He was monitoring her pulse through this thing, spying on her!

She would likely be dead if it was not for this stone, it occurred to her suddenly. Snape had saved her that day and she was about to kill him now... Kill a person just to free herself. How selfish could she get, really?

His motives were still rather unclear to her but this was quite obvious; he was a bad person, he hurt her badly and he planned to trick her into betraying all she had ever believed in but she could not kill him. If she does not kill him, however, she could not run anywhere; she could not escape like that and not die within a few days...

Damn, there was no good way out of this!

She had to speak to him! Then she would know better, she decided. But first do something with the blood still oozing from his head, Merlin! Focus, Hermione, really!

Angry at herself for getting distracted by the stone and slipping into one of her thinking fits at the wrong time, she put the stone inside one of the cloak's pocket quickly and grabbed the gauze and the bottle with the Essence again. Hopefully it would work...

She dabbed the wound carefully a few times and felt a wave of relief go through her as it started healing immediately. The skin knitted together and the blood disappeared, slowly being absorbed by the cloth, hiding the 'accident' she had caused.. With some luck, he would never notice it when he woke up.

Turning him so that he would lie on his back with a flick of the wand, she applied a bit of it to his forehead too, healing the bloody scratch that he had suffered when he'd hit it during the torture session with Voldemort.

She was about done with that when there was a quiet groan from the man and she found herself being watched by a pair of dark eyes. She dropped the cloth immediately and hastily backed away from him, gripping the wand tightly and pointing it at his neck again.

Damn! The man was immortal!

Beta read by Pirocantha, the Awesome!

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