A.N.: Hello guys. I hope you are all doing well in these crazy times. Work is giving me hell atm, which is why my writing has slowed down, recently. I'll still be able to do at least one chapter per week, but I don't know how much more. Thank you for all your comments and love you are sending to me. They are what's keeping me upright. Be well and have fun with this chapter.

Chapter 45: Calculated risks

Hermione decided to get out of bed and into the dining room for breakfast. The potions Severus had made for her were brilliant, much better than the ones they offered at Hogwarts, even though they did look the same. One day she'd have to ask him about that and the recipe to make them.

Voldemort looked pleased when he saw her walking into the dining room. He was already seated on his chair, reading the newspaper. It was such a strange sight, that Hermione had to pause in the doorway for a second. Her jailer saw her doing it, of course, and he looked at her with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Miss Granger. I am glad you are feeling better. I assume my Potions Master didn't spit into your potions then?" He said with an amused tone.

Hermione smiled slightly while hiding the shiver at his uncharacteristic attitude. "No, the potions are perfect. I'm feeling much better today. Thank you for having Professor Snape brew them for me. It seems he's a more efficient brewer when providing potions for you rather than the students."

He only answered by nodding towards her with a pleased smile on his lips.

Hermione sat down at the table a moment later. There was a whole variety of new food in front of her today and even though she usually went for a lighter breakfast, she loved having egg and bacon at those days. And so she started savouring the greasy food with appetite.

Voldemort watched her doing so with a pleased smile for a moment before he opened his newspaper again. It was the first time he did so during their meals together. For several minutes they ate in silence before her keeper finally lowered the Prophet and stared at her with an unreadable expression.

"Seems like our little trap for Madame Umbridge and her and of Aurors caused some uproar in the wizarding world," he commented neutrally, before levitating the newspaper towards her. It was the edition from the day before, Hermione realized, and just by opening the front page and reading the headline she understood what he meant. Rita Skeeter had outdone herself again by taking all facts available to her and spinning the most lurid and outrageous story she could think of. But the worst of it: she could already see people believing this shit.

Hermione put the newspaper aside with an annoyed grunt, before pushing her half-full plate aside. Somehow she had suddenly lost her appetite.

"I take it you disapprove of the article?" Voldemort said, looking at her with an unreadable smile on his lips.

Hermione snorted. "It's a whole lot of Gryffin dung, as you might know. I can't believe people are believing this, but unfortunately, they do. When you read the other pages you'll realize that Rita and I do have some history together. She's written about me in the past and there rarely was a grain of truth to her words."

"I imagine there was not…" he said, sipping at his cup of tea with an almost amused smile. "Fortunately for Rita Skeeter I was never in the focus of one of her articles. Otherwise, I'd probably have killed her a while ago."

Hermione shuddered at the casual use of the word kill. Merlin, that man had really lost all humanity, hadn't he? "Rita Skeeter is a menace," she said carefully. "I agree that she should be taught a lesson one day. But I don't think she deserves to die…" a quick decision made she proceeded "that would be merciful to that wretch. I rather watch her suffer and live a long time while she watches me get everything I want in life while she has nothing." She said with a smirk, hoping that Voldemort would believe her words.

"What does she deserve then?" he asked back with glittering eyes.

She looked at him with a serious expression. "Well, I guess someone would have to teach her a lesson. But in my experience, that woman is unfortunately pretty incorrigible."

The look he gave her at that, made the skin of her neck prickle. "Well, my Dear. That remains to be seen."

Reading that newspaper article had left Hermione in a grumpy mood. Even though Hermione wouldn't really have to suffer the reaction of the other Hogwarts students and owls carrying hate-mail would not be able to reach her here, she could still imagine only too well, how everyone was now talking about her – and not in a good way. Right now it didn't matter, but what about the time after she finally escaped that hell-hole?

Hermione sighed. It couldn't be helped now. Still, she regretted letting Rita Skeeter go without making sure that that insufferable woman learned her lesson. How many people had to suffer because that woman made money by writing lies and destroying reputations? How many lives, friendships or marriages had that woman crushed by now?

"Are you feeling well enough for another duelling lesson today, Miss Granger?" Voldemort's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She had been staring at the closed newspaper for a while now, even though she had put it aside.

"I don't know," she admitted while unconsciously pulling a face. "The potions Professor Snape made for me seem to be working quite well, so I should probably give it a try. Merlin knows I need the training."

The man looked at her with a neutral expression. "There's no reason to stress yourself about your magical abilities, they are remarkable. There's nothing for you to worry about right now. I am merely offering a way to distract yourself, as learning usually does seem to make you feel better."

Hermione stared at the man in surprise. That was actually quite thoughtful of him. And no matter how little she liked him, he was actually a very good teacher and without a doubt a very skilled wizard. During the summer holidays, she would have given her favourite book if she had found somebody willing to teach her duelling. Now she had somebody that could teach her, really teach her as he probably knew every duelling that was there. She just needed to give in and let him do it. "It does," she finally admitted with a little smile. "I've always loved learning, even as a little girl." She sighed, suddenly caught by nostalgia when remembering her childhood. It had been such a wonderful time and Hermione would probably never forget the day when Professor McGonagall visited her and her parents to tell them that Hermione was a witch. It was like one of her dreams had come true. Now everything was different. Magic was no longer only magical to her, Hermione now also knew that it was dangerous and could be used to hurt or even kill people.

"I also enjoyed learning since my early childhood," Voldemort explained, looking at her with an almost fond expression. "I grew up in an orphanage, did you know?"

She blinked at him in faked surprise. "I didn't," she replied, hoping to get him talking about his past. Maybe she could learn something useful.

He smiled. "I still enjoy learning, even though it is harder and harder to find things that keep my interest long enough. But if I do…" he looked at her suggestively "I can be quite determined."

Hermione swallowed heavily before she found herself nervously biting her lip. What was she supposed to say to that? She definitely didn't want to encourage that man any further. Before she could find an adequate reply, Voldemort continued: "How about we go upstairs and start with a friendly duel. If you're still feeling well enough after that, we can continue with you practising some new spells. Does this sound appealing to you?"

She nodded. "It does. I'll just go upstairs, take another one of those potions and change into something more comfortable. Those dresses aren't really made for duelling."

Twenty minutes later Hermione stepped into the duelling room. She was clad in a comfortable shirt and sweatpants now that she had to transfigure for herself, as nothing suitable could be found in her room. Voldemort had only provided her with wizarding attire and for a moment she asked herself if he would be offended by her sudden muggle-appearance. But a moment later she found, that she did not care. When she wanted to indulge in a proper duel, she needed to be able to move.

Voldemort was already in the room, patiently waiting for her on the duelling platform. For a moment she found his eyes roaming over her body, but if he was displeased by her appearance, he did not comment.

"Well then, Miss Granger. Shall we begin?" he asked, his eyes glittering. Hermione nodded and promised herself to give her best. She was Hermione Granger, brightest witch of her age and she surely wouldn't be intimidated by a few complicated duelling spells.

"Well, you're definitely making progress," the man praised her after they had finished their duel. Hermione found a satisfied smile grace her lips. She had tried some of the new spells he had taught her, the more subtle ones, and even though she had not been able to land a hit, he had not either. "Now let's go and practise some of the more difficult spells," he said motioning towards the training dummies.

Hermione looked at them with a sigh, before climbing down the platform. "I'll try my best," she promised, straightening her posture.

At that, the Dark Lord simply smiled. "I think it's time to try a different approach," he said, before a moment later his wand transfigured one of the dummies into an exact replica of Rita Skeeter. Hermione looked at it with wide eyes. That really was an extraordinary bit of transfiguration work. The dummy even moved, as Hermione saw it taking out a self-writing quill and parchment before tit started reciting the recent article from the Daily Prophet. Hermione felt her hackles rise and pointed her wand at the annoying reporter before she had even finished reciting the first sentence.

"Flipendo maxima," she shouted and the spell that left her wand made the annoying dummy fly backwards for several metres. At that, a pleased smile appeared on her lips. How many spells would she need to blast that damned thing into pieces or at least make it shut up? Hermione smiled. She guessed it was time to find out.

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Even though Severus had gone to bed rather late, he felt well-rested the next morning. His heart felt much lighter today which had him in an untypical good mood, which he tried not to let show too much. Still, he took fewer points than usual and even refrained from assigning homework to his classes. After all, he had to correct every inch of essay he assigned later on and at the moment he did have other priorities.

Severus was barely back to his room after classes finished for the day when there was a knock on his office door. He didn't expect anyone, which could only mean, that there had been trouble somewhere or somebody needed his help. Merlin. Couldn't those dunderheads make it for a day without needing him for something?

He got up with a sigh and opened the door and for a moment the boy in front of it made him pause. Draco Malfoy had regularly visited him in the past – being his godson he had every right to – but this term he had barely seen him. Severus remembered that he had wondered about that fact weeks ago, but somehow the last week's events had made him forget to get to the bottom of that irregular behaviour.

"Draco, what a pleasant surprise," he said amicably, motioning for the boy to step in. For a moment his godson studied him, but finally, he followed his invitation with a neutral expression on his face. It was pretty unusual for the boy, as he had never held back with his feelings with him before.

Draco sat down on the chair in front of his desk, casually crossing his ankles on the floor, while his eyes seemed to take in his surroundings attentively. The boy was intelligent, that much was sure. Unfortunately, he was also a spoilt little brat.

"What can I do for you?" Severus asked, as soon as he had taken a seat himself.

For a moment his godson just stared at him, but finally, he said. "Ward the door, uncle Sev. I don't fancy us being overheard."

The potions master looked at him with a raised eyebrow but did as the boy asked without questioning him. He was a paranoid bastard himself and he surely wouldn't fault Draco for finally being more cautious.

Severus felt, that the boy watched him carefully and saw him nod in satisfaction after he had put the last ward in place. Whatever the boy wanted from him, didn't seem to be trivial.

"Alright," Draco finally said and even though he tried to hide it, Severus could feel his nervousness. "I've always looked up to you, uncle, which is the reason why I decided to talk to you about this."

Severus nodded, looking at the boy with a neutral expression and waiting for him to continue. Draco did so, after taking a deep breath.

"I've watched you for a while now and I've come to the conclusion, that you are no longer loyal to the Dark Lord. I don't know when exactly it happened, but right now that's also not important. You're no longer serving him while pretending to do so. Am I right?"

Severus stared at the boy with a blank expression on his face, while his mind started analysing the situation. How had the boy come to that conclusion? What had given him away? "You know that this is a pretty serious accusation, Draco. How, pray tell, did you come to that conclusion?"

The boy's mouth twitched. "As I said, I started watching people. I've seen Granger coming to your office, for detention. But I also saw her looking at you more often than usual, but even though you have given her about three weeks of detention, she didn't seem to resent you for it - quite the contrary, actually. I saw her distance herself from her friends and even from those infamous twins, but still, she never seemed lonely or desperate. Isn't that strange, considering, that she is the Open Link and her emotions should have been all over the place? They weren't though."

Severus nodded, keeping his expression as neutral as possible. He didn't interrupt his godson though, as he didn't seem finished with his reasoning.

"It's obvious that she linked herself to somebody, otherwise her magical core would have bled out long ago. Interestingly I don't think she linked herself to one of the Weasleys, even though that seems the obvious choice for her. I think she linked herself to you, Uncle Sev, which led to you secretly supporting her."

"That's an interesting theory," Severus said, staring at his godson with an unreadable expression. "Do you have any proof for it?"

The boys mouth twitched. "No proof, just some observations. The day after she disappeared you were weak, you didn't use magic as frequently as you usually do. The Weasley twins were fine though. They seemed depressed, yes, but on the other hand, also bursting with energy. And then there's the fact that Granger's cat seems to have moved to your quarters. The little pest has usually been found roaming the Gryffindor tower, but now it is mostly found outside or in the dungeons. True, I haven't directly seen it enter your quarters, but I've regularly seen it roaming the area."

Severus cursed inwardly. Who else had noticed that little detail? Who else would he need to obliviate? But he could dwell on that fact later, when he solved the problem sitting in front of him.

"Assuming your observations and the conclusions you drew from them are true. What do you intend doing with them, Draco? Why have you decided to share those thoughts with me, instead of for example telling your parents? You've barely written them, have you?"

The boy sighed, tiredly. "My parents, well especially my father, have designed a certain path for me, a path I am no longer willing to take. I was raised with certain ideals and for a long while, I didn't question them. But for the first four years of my Hogwarts career, there also seemed no need to. But then he returned, he lived in or home and…" Draco stared at him with wide eyes. "I suddenly wasn't sure any longer if that was, what I really wanted."

Severus stared at the boy with unblinking eyes. He couldn't allow himself to make a mistake now. "And now you are sure? Since when?"

The boy smiled. "In fact, you have helped me to come to that conclusion. At the beginning of the school year, you had us brew the Draught of Insight. I knew I wasn't the Open Link, so that wasn't the prominent question on my mind when I took it. Instead, I wanted to know what to do, with my future. Whom to be loyal to…"

"And who is that, Draco?" he found himself asking, while his head started connecting the dots.

"The potion didn't say. It only said whom not to be loyal to, which is why I came to you today. Hoping that you're not just going to obliviate me in a few minutes because I was wrong with my conclusions about you, I have come to ask for your help or at least some advice."

Severus stared at the boys, before rubbing the bridge of his nose to relieve some tension.

"This is a very difficult position you're putting me in, Draco. Let's assume your observations and conclusions are right. Admitting that towards you would put me into great danger, as that piece of information could be robbed from your mind almost anytime. Therefore I might not have much choice but obliviating you regardless of the question, whether I really find myself trusting you."

The boy stared at him for a long moment, his eyes letting on about the inner fight he was probably fighting. Finally, he said: "You can look into my mind to make sure I'm telling the truth," he suggested, suddenly sounding a little desperate. Severus couldn't fault him. He would have felt the same in Draco's place.

"And then what?" the Potions Master said, staring at his godson with a raised brow.

The blonde boy smiled. "Then you're going to teach me Occlumency."

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