Severus stayed with Lucius for the next two days, working with him to figure out where either Dolohov or Yaxley or both might be holding Hermione. There was a small chance it was neither, he knew, but he had a gut feeling that it would be one of them. They had both loathed him when they were all Death Eaters. Most of the others had as well. They all believed Severus was too favored, that his words were too convenient. Most of them suspected he was a double agent but could never prove it. And now, Severus thought with a sense of satisfaction, they no longer have the protection of Voldemort stopping me.

By his third night at the Manor, he was beginning to panic. The Order hadn't turned up anything new. Harry and Ron had given them a list that included the same names that Lucius had given him. They had no leads and though they were tripling their efforts, none had been found.

Severus sat at the large dinner table, pushing his food around his plate as his stomach turned. The food looked and smelled delicious but the thought of eating repulsed him. Narcissa attempted to keep up a conversation but none of the men were playing along. Draco looked bored and distracted, Lucius was weary and Severus was a mess. She eventually gave up and began requesting frequent refills of her wine.

"Mister Snape, a letter for you." A tiny voice squeaked beside his elbow. His head snapped to the side and spied the handwriting of Kingsley on the paper. He lunged quickly for the letter, making the house elf scream and vanish. Tearing it open, he read it quickly.

Severus,

We have found Walden Macnair. He's been… detained… at Grimmauld Place while the others question him. It's not looking great – Hagrid's attack at the battle has left him a bit confused. So far he seems to have no knowledge of Hermione or her whereabouts.

We won't give up.

-Kingsley

Severus's heart sank. He vaguely heard Lucius asking him what the letter had said, but instead of responding, he rose in a daze and stumbled up to the guest room. Once inside he sank to the floor, finally noticing that he had crumpled the paper in his hand which was now clenched in a tight fist. Looking around the room frantically, he spied the half-full bottle of Firewhiskey beside his bed and crawled over to it, taking a long pull while leaning back against the bedside table.

He drank the entire contents of the bottle with frustrated tears streaming down his face. His hopelessness threatened to swallow him. Lucius had come by earlier, pounding on the door demanding to know what Kingsley had sent, but Severus just warded the door and curled up tighter, holding himself together. After some length of time, he felt his eyelids droop.

He was floating. His body didn't appear to be attached to him, but he could see the lush landscapes leading to Hogwarts. Once he got close he expected to stop, but instead kept floating past the castle towards Hogsmeade. Again he banked along the train station, but came to rest facing a place he knew very well. He had been there many times as a child and a few times as an adult. It was a place he never wanted to reenter, but he knew he would now.

Waking with a start, he scrambled to his feet, wavering unsteadily while gripping his head. It had to be the middle of the night and he was in that horrid stage between drunkenness and a hangover. He staggered out of his room past a sleeping Lucius, sprawled in a comfortable chair in the hall. He made his way to the potions cabinet, wrenched it open and snatched a sober-up potion. Gulping it down, he didn't waste a moment before sweeping out of the Manor and Apparating away to Hogsmeade.

He stood facing the train station, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck raise. Turning slowly, his eyes landed upon one of the few places he avoided like the plague. Down the path, standing tall and twisted was the Shrieking Shack. He paused a moment, thinking of how clever they must feel; keeping her somewhere so close to home, somewhere so 'meaningful' to Severus. He took a deep breath and flexed his hands, feeling his magic pulsating within him. For the first time in his life, he couldn't wait to kill.

He moved quietly as he approached, his eyes alert. He felt some sort of barrier as he approached and tested it carefully. Realizing that whoever had Hermione had set up wards around the whole building made him angry enough – but as he passed through and found that the wards were set to allow him entrance made him furious. He pulled out his wand, lowered his chin and set his jaw before entering the old building.

Immediately after stepping over the threshold, the stench of human waste and blood hit him and almost made him lose his composure. Thoughts about how Hermione must have been mistreated here flashed through his head unbidden. Creeping as quietly as possible up the stairs, he did his best to clear his mind in preparation for whatever – and whoever he was about to find.

He heard the soft sound of crying as he approached a door at the end of the hallway. He braced himself for what he was about to see and quickly tried to put together a game plan before entering. Suddenly the door was flung open. Antonin Dolohov stood before him, his mouth widened into a huge grin full of rotting teeth. He began laughing manically. Severus lunged quickly, taking advantage of this and cast a curse. The man before him easily deflected it, making Severus duck to avoid the rebounding spell. The man narrowed his eyes, suddenly serious.

"Tsk, tsk, Severus. And here I thought you were cleverer than that. Pity." His voice was cold, detached. "Crucio."

Severus tensed his body, anticipating the pain, but felt nothing. Instead a piercing scream sounded from within the room. Forgetting everything other than getting to the source of that scream, he lunged forward, trying to push past Dolohov. He only made it far enough to catch a glimpse inside. Hermione lay writhing on the floor, a dark stain beneath her. He was quickly flung backwards by strong arms.

Narrowly missing falling down the stairs, he righted himself and growled, launching himself at Dolohov. The man seemed unprepared for this method of attack and was easily taken down. Severus rolled into the room, losing grip of his wand. He scrambled to his feet to retrieve it, too late to stop the second "Crucio" from leaving Dolohov's lips. Severus regained his feet and sent Dolohov flying across the room, into the wall – effectively ending Hermione's torture. He straightened and lifted his wand to deliver the killing blow as the man attempted, slowly, to stand.

"Avada-"

"No." Hermione whispered hoarsely. Severus hesitated, not willing to take his eyes off the man.

"Hermione, are you alright?" He asked in a rush, searching briefly for Dolohov's wand. It had rolled partway between Dolohov and Hermione.

"Severus, don't kill him. You'll regret it and hate yourself for it later." She said through gritted teeth.

"Not him I won't. He deserves what he gets." He snarled.

"Please." Hermione breathed. The moment of hesitation when his eyes went to Hermione was the moment Dolohov lunged for his wand. Severus brandished his own wand, screaming "Sectumsempra!" as his eyes went back to Dolohov. In slow motion, he was horrified to realize Dolohov hadn't lunged for his wand, but hauled Hermione up by her arm, blocking himself from Severus. The curse hit her in the back, making her head snap back and blood ooze from the cuts he had caused. Her legs buckled and she crumpled to the floor, Dolohov grinning evilly.

This time, Severus did not hesitate. The flash of green hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him against the wall one final time before he fell, lifeless, to the floor. Severus threw himself on the floor beside Hermione, pushing her shirt aside to assess the wounds he had inflicted. The cuts were very deep and bleeding profusely. Choking back sobs, he chanted the counter-spell, Vulnera Sanentur, watching with some relief as the blood eased and the wounds closed. As soon as he was finished, he pulled her into his embrace for just a moment before Apparating them both to St Mungos.