Experimental potions apprentice Hermione Jean Granger is running out of time, options and allies. Forced to make some of the most difficult decisions, only one certainty remains: She will never submit to the Ministry's insidious Marriage Law. Going on the run, Hermione is labelled a Ministry Malcontent and receives help from the most unexpected places.

At the behest of Lord Voldemort, Severus Snape is forced to commit a deplorable act against one who should have been under his protection. Bound by Dark Magic, he and Hermione Granger must learn to trust one another and themselves as they work together to thwart the dark plots surrounding them.