A.N.: Here we go again. Some warnings ahead. There is again a mention of torture, again nothing explicit. But I wanted to warn you, just in case. Thank you for all your encouraging comments. They always make my day. I do need some motivation right now, as work is hard and I barely find the energy to sit down and write. No matter what happens: there will be at least one update per week. But I still hope to be able to hold my current update schedule of uploading a new chapter every 2 to 3 days. We'll see.

For those who asked: I and my family are alright and healthy. I am back to work and do have some social contacts now. That definitely helps to not feel depressed.

Chapter 53: All or nothing

Being Severus Snape was less fun than George had expected. It had never been a question that he would be the one taking the Polyjuice, as Fred had always been the more reckless of the twins. And recklessness was not what they needed right now. Snape had been right when he told them that someone was trying to keep him busy. Shouldn't there have been at least a short break between exams and mealtimes? He had hardly time to use the loo as it was.

Why was Snape being kept this busy? There had to be more to the story than he and Fred already knew. Dumbledore knew that he and Hermione were friends and still he had forbidden the man to come to her rescue to the ministry. George doubted that this was just because he didn't want to endanger Snape's position as a spy. The man had that position for years without being discovered, which meant he was no idiot. Still Dumbledore had gone as far as cursing the man to keep him away from the Ministry and therefore Hermione. But now she was rescued, at least in Dumbledore's eyes. So why did the man still try to keep Snape away from her?

It was all a big mystery, one that Snape did have the answer for. George was sure of it. Maybe he would ask him, once this whole adventure was behind them and Hermione was safely back in the castle.

"You're smiling more than usual," McGonagall suddenly commented next to him at the dinner table. "Any particular reason for your sudden good mood?" The day was almost over and so far things had gone well enough - until now.

"Don't be ridiculous," he brushed her off evenly. Merlin, his thoughts had just roamed for a second, but it must have been enough, to relax his features enough for her to realize. "A merely thought that we almost got rid of another batch of dunderheads. You should be happy to. You're getting rid of the terrible two."

McGonagall looked at him with a scowl. "Oh stop it, you. Those boys are much more intelligent than you give them credit for. Besides, you haven't taught them for almost two years now. So stop complaining about them."

George wanted to snicker. By the sound of it, this wasn't the first time Snape was complaining about them. He decided to ignore McGonagall's last comment in the hope that this was what Snape would have done. Instead, he schooled his features into the grumpy expression the Potions Master wore all the time. Merlin, did the guy need to wear this many layers? How was he doing that without cooling and featherlight charms? George couldn't wait to finally get out of those robes but for that, Snape first had to return, hopefully with Hermione in tow.

It was two hours later when he finally entered Snape's office and by then he was ready to fall into his bed face first. Hopefully, the potions master would return soon, otherwise, he would louse up his exams because he was unable to keep his eyes open.

Where was Snape anyway? Shouldn't he have been back by now? George sunk into the chair behind the desk with a sigh. Thank god he didn't need to start correcting homework or something like that. Instead, he'd just sit here and take a quick nap, while he waited for the man's return.

That plan lasted for about ten minutes until there was suddenly a knock at his office door. Snape wouldn't be knocking, therefore it was most likely a student, probably a Slytherin. Should he simply ignore the knock? But no, that's not what Snape would have done. And he didn't want somebody to think that the man was somewhere else, right?

With a sigh, George rose from his very comfortable chair, schools his face into a mask of indifference and opened the door. It wasn't a Slytherin that wanted to speak to him though, it was Hermione's doppelgänger who was most likely a Death Eater. Well, fuck!

Ssssssss

Severus had left the castle even before breakfast. If he wanted a chance to find Hermione, he had to make as much out of the day as possible. Being at the Ministry before it even opened for visitors was one important part of the plan. He needed to watch the wand-registration-desk, because when Hermione wanted to enter to write her exams, she would have to pass that point. There was no way around it, not even for the Dark Lord.

And so Severus disillusioned himself and then he waited. It was almost an hour later when the first visitors started trudging through the entrance. Most of them were alone, but he knew that Voldemort could always disillusion himself like he had done, so that was nothing to go by. Still, he had taught Hermione Granger for years and had been friends with her for a while, he knew her, no matter what disguise the Dark Lord had put her in. It was almost an hour later when he finally saw her. Her hair was still brown but her mop of wild curled had vanished and been transformed to something way more boring. Her features and eyes were different and even though that young woman did look somewhat observant and hesitant, there was no doubt that it was her. So why didn't she go to the exam rooms like she was supposed to and instead took the elevator? Severus cursed. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind her, he would have no chance to find out where she had gone. But squeezing into the little cabin with her, while there was a disillusioned and possessive Dark Lord at her side, was a horrible idea.

Within a split second, he had made his decision and pulled out his wand, before murmuring a spell he had invented during the last months. It wouldn't help him right away, but if he was really not able to track her down in the ministry today, he would at least be able to track her when he was back at Hogwarts. He hoped that would not be necessary, but as a Slytherin, he always had a plan B.

The spell hit her right in time and for a moment Hermione could have sworn she felt something, as she seemed to hesitate for a split-second. But then she stepped into the elevator and the doors closed behind her. The thing was going upstairs, this much he could see, but nothing more.

He sighed inwardly. Alright, time to tackle that problem logically. Hermione was obviously not writing her OWLs with all the others. That meant that his master needed at least one insider at the Ministry to make that possible. There were some Death Eaters with influence at the ministry. Usually, his bet would have been on Lucius, but the man was still at St. Mungo's and he would have to stay there for at least some more weeks. So who else could it be? Dolohov? It was a possibility but he could not ask his comrades, as it would have only drawn unwanted attention towards him.

So what else could he do? Searching the Ministry would take the whole day. The place was huge and his master could be lurking behind every corner. The man had planned this whole thing through like he planned everything. Was there even the chance to get Hermione out of here? There had to be because there would be no saying what happened, once the Dark Lord had consumed the potion he had requested from Severus. And he didn't want to find out.

Sssssssss

"Miss Granger," polyjuiced George greeted the imposter in front of Snape's door. "I can't say I've been expecting you nor do I feel inclined to suffer your hundreds of questions, you've surely prepared. You'll have to write your potions exam tomorrow without getting them answered I'm afraid. So if you'll excuse me…"

He wanted to close the door, but it was expertly blocked by her foot. When he looked down at her small frame, the witch was deviously grinning at him, which was a scary look on Hermione's face. George was sure it would haunt his nightmares if he survived this encounter.

"Not so fast my friend," she singsonged, causing him to shudder. "I came all the way down into your cold and damp dungeon, so what will the master say if you just send me away?" George had heard this way of speaking before, even though it had been with another voice.

"Bella," he said evenly, staring down at her with a raised brow. But secretly he knew that he was in big trouble. He could only hope that Fred sitting in their lab listened in to this encounter and would have some clever plan to get him out of this mess. Merlin, what was he supposed to say to that mad hatter? Could it be that Snape was even friends with her, or at least pretended to be? Merlin, this whole situation was so much out of his depth…

"Severus," the witch greeted back, before striding into the office like she owned the place. There she strode to the man's chair, sat down on it and stared at him with an arrogant expression in Hermione's face. "I am in need of some more Polyjuice as our Lord has requested for me to hold my position at the castle until his new… pet has finished parading through the Ministry."

George would have loved to snap at her, but that wasn't something Snape would have done, right? Instead, he looked at her with a raised brow, combined with his mouth set into a straight line. "Why hasn't our Lord informed me of that plan then? It takes a full moon to brew Polyjuice, as you very well know. And as I am rarely in need of such an amateur potion and the stuff turns bad after a short period of time I am not keeping a stack of it at my office."

He looked at her with a dark expression. It was the truth. Fred and George had brewed the potion themselves and therefore knew the perfidies of brewing and storing it. By the look of it Bellatrix Lestrange knew them too, as she huffed annoyedly before looking at him with a wicked smile. "Well, that's unfortunate then. But I'll adapt my plan accordingly."

George stared at her for a long moment. "Good. See that you do. If you need any other help…"

That was obviously the wrong thing to say, as Hermione's doppelgänger suddenly looked at him with small, inquiring eyes. "You're not Severus Snape," she suddenly said, jumping from the chair, her wand suddenly pointing at him.

"Don't be ridiculous," George said evenly, staring at her with a dark expression. "Who else would I be?"

The woman smirked. "I have no idea, but I'll enjoy finding out."

Her eyes flashed scarily. He didn't even have time pulling out his wand from his sleeve before her Crucio hit him into the chest and he crumpled screamingly on the floor. The pain lasted only for a few seconds, but the evil grin on his attacker's face told him that this was just the beginning.

"You're definitely not Severus Snape," she said, now towering over him. "I've seen the man being tortured for the inch of his life and he didn't even moan. He'd rather bitten off his sharp tongue. Whoever you are, torturing you is so much more fun."

There was no time for a reply or the attempt to defend himself as the next torture curse hit him right away. His world was turning raw with pain, but only for two seconds. Then the pain was suddenly gone.

For a moment George remained motionless on the floor, as his muscles refused to obey him. Finally, he managed to open his eyes and instead of Hermione's clone Severus Snape was looking down at him with dark, fathomless eyes.

"You're back," George gasped, before pulling himself up with a groan. Just then he saw that his torturess was lying bound on the floor, her eyes moving hastily back and forth between the two of them. It was obvious that she was connecting the dots.

"Right in time as it appears," Snape replied evenly, before turning around to the woman on the floor. His eyes had gone cold and calculating, while the expression on the rest of his face didn't change.

"Well Bella, you're not the only one with questions," he said, before kneeling down next to her with his wand pointing at her face. She stared back at him with wild eyes.

"You've betrayed him, you've betrayed our master," she exclaimed with wild eyes full of madness. "I knew you were a dirty little traitor, Severus Snape. But the master will learn of this and then he'll kill you… slowly."

Snape didn't seem fazed by her words and just stared at her while calmly unbuttoning his cuffs. "He will learn of my allegiance… eventually, but it will not be through you."

George stared at the two of them with wide eyes, his legs still shaking under him. In his very own way, Snape could be as scary as Bellatrix Lestrange and that was saying something. But for once in his life, George was glad that the man was here and on his side.

"You can't break me, Severus. You can torture me as much as you like and all it will do is to make me laugh at your pitiful attempts. I will never tell you what you want to know…" slowly her eyes were changing back and bit by bit also the rest of her body, causing Hermione's much smaller robes to burst at the seams. Within seconds it was no longer Hermione lying in front of him, but Bellatrix Lestrange. And even though it was a scary sight George preferred it a hundred times to seeing Hermione's features deformed by madness and ruthlessness.

Snape might have thought the same thing, as suddenly a small smile appeared on his lips. "That's where you are wrong, Bella. We both have our talents after all. You will sing like a nymph and tell me everything I want to know and I will not even torture you for it."

Suddenly there was a potion phial in his hand. George hadn't even seen him pulling it out. The man expertly uncorked it with his left hand, while his right one held his wand and forced the witch with a spell to open her mouth. All superiority was gone from her eyes now, substituted my mere panic. George had never expected to actually enjoy that look on somebody's face, but Merlin he did. "The Dark Lord will learn of this," she shrieked, fighting her restraints. Just to make sure they held George cast another layer of body bind on top of Snape's spell. "He will realize that you've obliviated me right away."

At that, Snape's smile turned almost predatory. "I never said I would obliviate you. I am a Potions Master, dear Bella, and today you'll learn that this implies much more than brewing headache potions or Polyjuice." With that, he emptied the phial into her mouth, before making sure she swallowed every bit of it. George could only hope that it hadn't been Veritasserum, as this amount would have killed her right away.

But Bellatrix Lestrange's eyes only turned glassy, while her pupils dilated and her breathing became slow and even. Then, finally, Snape turned around and looked at him with a grim, determined expression.

"I don't expect you to stay for this, Mr Weasley. The Polyjuice will wear off any minute, so you are free to go if you wish."

George stared at him, his mouth turning into a humourless smile. "I'm staying," he said, his mouth a straight, determined line.

"This will get ugly," the man warned him, his eyes trailing towards the helpless witch on the floor.

The redhead shrugged. "I don't care. That bitch has tortured me and probably hundreds of others. It's not like I'll suddenly feel sorry for her."

Snape nodded. "As you wish. But whatever you learn stays between me, you and your twin for now. Nobody else must learn of this little encounter for now. I need your vow on this." George stared at the man for a long moment. He was serious in his demand, but there was no way George would let this chance slip through his fingers. Because he had a myriad of questions on his own.

But just when he was about to open his mouth for a reply Snape's door burst open and his twin looked at them with a devilish smile on his lips. "Looks like I'm right on time," he said, closing the door behind him. "Mind if I join the party?" He looked at them with glinting eyes, before he looked back and forth between the two of them. "Bloody hell, who of you's the real Snape?" he asked, staring from one to the other.

But just as Snape wanted to say something, he snorted with a grin. "Just kidding. I can always find my twin. Sorry about your door by the way."

Snape looked at the two of them with a serious expression. "I mean it, gentleman. Whatever we learn, stays between the three of us for now. Is that clear?"

They nodded, locking their eyes with the potions master.

"Absolutely," they chorussed, now suddenly not sounding alike at all.

"We will make this vow under one condition. When you're finished with her, we do have some questions on our own."

Snape's mouth twitched. "This will be a long evening then."

George nodded and suddenly he realized that he no longer felt tired at all.