A.N.: Hello my friends. Here's the next chapter for you. I hope you enjoy. Thank you for all your comments. I read and appreciate all of them!

Chapter 54: Lost hope

"Why did you come to my office tonight?" Severus' calm voice asked, while his eyes bored into her skull like they could rip all her secrets out of her. They could, with the right spell, but then the Dark Lord would know what he had done and that mustn't happen.

"I planned on trapping you. 'S not like I really needed Polyjuice. I came well prepared. But the master finally needs to see you for what you are…"

"That's enough," he interrupted her and immediately her mouth snapped shut. The potion he designed had its merits, not only forcing the consumer to tell the truth but to obey almost every command he gave. If there had been Unforgivables in Potions, this would have been the Imperius among them. He smiled.

"So you planned to tell him that I refused to help in the hope that he would punish me?" he continued, his voice unimpressed.

"It would have worked," she said, voice devoid of all emotion. Suddenly she didn't sound like her crazy self at all.

"It might have," he said "if you had resisted the urge to torture for once. You could have been gone, when I came back and even told the Dark Lord of me working with the enemy." He smiled darkly, causing the young Weasleys next to him to shift uncomfortably.

"What are you supposed to do for him at the castle? This isn't just about covering for the Open Link. There's something else behind this visit, isn't it?"

"The Dark Lord trusts me. I'm supposed to get him Ravenclaw's Diadem. He'd hidden it at the castle many years ago, but now he thinks it's no longer safe. He sent me to get it, even though you've been at the castle the whole time. Why is that?" even though her voice was still expressionless, her voice mirrored her unadulterated thoughts on the matter. She would keep talking, unhinged through the potion if he didn't hold her back, which he did with a gesture of his hand. And again her mouth snapped shut, letting her teeth click together.

Ravenclaw's diadem? Hadn't that been lost for hundreds of years? No longer it seemed, as the Dark Lord had found it and if Severus' assumption was right, used it for his very own purposes. He shuddered. How many more Horcruxes did that Bastard make? And how was he supposed to ever find and destroy all of them?

He sighed. "Where is it then?" he asked, staring at her with an unwavering gaze. At that, Bellatrix seemed to fight the potion, as her eyes suddenly regained some of their fire, while she painfully bit her lip to keep herself from talking. Blood started dribbling down her chin, but it worked. Merlin, that woman was even more stubborn than a hippogriff.

Severus looked at the Weasley twins next to him with a raised brow. By now George had regained his old looks again so they two pairs of brown eyes stared back at him with a stubborn glint reflecting in them. "It's your last chance to go, boys," he said and for a quick moment, they actually seemed to consider that option. But finally, they squared their shoulders and shook their heads.

"I'm staying," George replied stubbornly, looking at the witch on the floor with fire in his eyes. "Tell me what I can do to help."

Fred nodded. "I'm going nowhere. That bitch tortured my twin. I'm not finished with her."

The potions master considered their answers for a split second before he pressed two more phials into George's hand. "I'm going to need all my concentration for the next step. Give those potions to her; I'm going to make sure she opens her mouth and swallows them. At first the red one. It's a healing potion and will help to stabilize her for what I intend to do. After that give her the colourless potion."

The redhead nodded obediently. Severus cast the necessary charms and without hesitation, George Weasley did as he was told. It was only a moment before Bellatrix' eyes rolled back in her head, as she blacked out. At that, he could see a mild panic creeping in the boy's eyes. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Don't worry, she's fine. I'm going to intrude into her mind now and get everything about that blasted diadem while she's unable to fight back. Whatever happens, don't interfere. I will not kill her, even if it might look that way. I trust you two to have my back, as long as I'm dealing with her. Can you do that? No one is supposed to enter that office."

George and Fred Weasley nodded with a determined expression on their faces.

"You have our word," they promised, looking around the room with hard eyes. Somehow those careless pranksters had developed into men that were worthy of being called a Gryffindor. Severus had no doubt that their loyalty wasn't with him at the moment, but in Hermione, they had a common friend. And Severus was quite sure that those Weasleys would do almost anything for that girl. That was good enough for him right now.

Ssssssss

It was good Snape told him that we would not kill her, because it might very well have looked like it. The woman was screaming and thrashing on the floor, while blood had started trickling out of her nose. It was scary to watch but Fred believed firmly that Snape knew what he was doing.

It was almost half an hour later when the man finally snapped out of his trance, his pale face sweaty and his eyes bloodshot. Whatever he had done, had also taken a toll on him.

"You alright, Sir?" George asked, hurrying to help the man up. But Snape just shot him a dirty look, before pulling himself up with a grimace on his face. He swayed to one of his cupboards, before grabbing a handful of vials and drowning them one by one. When he finally looked back at the two of them a moment later, he almost looked like his old, grumpy self and George wouldn't have been able to tell something had been wrong with him a moment ago if he hadn't just witnessed it. Then he rushed back with three more phials in hand, offering one of them to Fred and George.

"Drink those. It will restore some of your energy and help you get through the night and the next day without crashing your exams," he said and without waiting for their reply he kneeled down next to the still unconscious Bellatrix Lestrange and gave her another thick, green potion. A wave of his wand disillusioned the unconscious body on the floor.

"She'll stay here until we're finished," Snape said, looking at them, while his eyes registered the now empty potion bottles in their hand. Indeed, they were feeling miles better already, as the tiredness seemed to have completely vanished by now.

"That sounds like you've found the location of this diadem," Fred said smiling crookedly.

Snape nodded. "More or less. It's in a place called Room of Hidden Things. Ever heard of that place?"

George furrowed his brows. He and Fred knew the castle inside out, but they had never found a room deserving of that name. Luckily Hermione had introduced him to a very resourceful house-elf, that knew the castle inside out.

"No, but I know someone who might have. Dobby?"

The little elf appeared in front of him a moment later. "Mr George Weasley has called for Dobby, Sir?" he squeaked, looking at Snape with a dark expression in his saucer-like eyes. Then his gaze swept over the spot where the now invisible witch was lying on the floor. A strange gleam appeared in them before a devious, little smile crept in Dobby's features. It almost seemed like the little creature approved of what he obviously had no problems seeing.

"Do you know of a place called Room of Hidden Things?" George asked and the little elf looked at him with a smile.

Dobby nodded eagerly. "Dobby does know the room, Sir."

The redhead grinned. "Excellent. Can you take us there?"

The little elf straightened proudly, nodded and offered them his tiny, wrinkly hands. George took one of them without hesitation and Snape followed his example shortly after. "Dobby is happy to help," he chirped and a moment later the first two of them were gone with a silent plop.

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"I can't believe we found it," George said, sinking tiredly into the chair Snape had provided for him in his office. It had taken them about two hours of browsing through the massive room, but finally, Fred had found something that fit the description of Ravenclaw's lost Diadem. But by then it had been almost 1 o'clock in the morning.

Snape hummed in agreeance, staring with his hands folded in front of his chin at the tarnished tiara, sitting in a glass container on his desk. Why had Voldemort hidden a piece of jewellery? Was it because the thing was rumoured to have special powers? But why did he hide it instead of using it?

It was all very mysterious, but somehow he had the feeling that Snape had the answers. But would the man be willing to share them? Maybe one day, if they had established some sort of trust between them. Considering that they had disliked each other for years and Hermione was the only factor connecting them for now that probably could take some time. George sighed.

"What next?" Fred asked, rubbing his neck. "Will you let Lestrange continue pretending to be Hermione? We still don't know if this was her only task at Hogwarts, right?" He motioned towards the diadem on the desk, causing Snape to weigh his head.

"The diadem wasn't her only task," he said, looking at them with an unreadable expression on his face. "I was very thorough when I searched her mind. She's also tasked to kill the both of you, as the Dark Lord still believes that Hermione has linked herself to you."

George cursed. "I guess it was only a matter of time until he sent someone other than the Slytherin's after us. So what now? I don't fancy being killed by that ugly bitch."

Fred snorted, while Snape rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Unfortunately I was not able to free Hermione from the Dark Lord today. She was exceptionally well protected which proves that the Dark Lord doesn't leave anything to chance. Getting her back will be most difficult, especially as time is working against us. The Dark Lord is a very intelligent and manipulative man and he is determined to forge a link to her. Once he manages that no one will be able to stop him."

The twins nodded seriously. "Means we have to get her out as soon as possible."

"Indeed. For that to happen we need somebody on the inside. As I am currently the only Order Member enjoying the Dark Lord's trust, it is important that I keep that position for now."

That made sense, George found. Without a spy, they had no chance knowing of Hermione's whereabouts. But he sensed where this train of thoughts was going and he didn't like it. "So you mean we cannot expose Bellatrix right now," he said, causing Snape's lips to twitch.

"I can not expose her," he corrected them with a smile. "You on the other hand… if her goal is indeed to kill you, she will seek you out sooner or later. You could use that to your advantage or make your very own plan…"

George stared into the distance, but his head had already started making first plans.

"I don't think we could beat her in a duel. She's reckless and volatile. But we don't have to beat her, do we? We just need to find a way to expose her, preferably when there are enough witnesses around."

Fred grinned. "I think we can do that, what do you say Georgie?"

The other redhead nodded. "Absolutely. Don't worry Professor. I think I already have a plan for how to do it."

ssssssss

Severus was not coming for her, Hermione realized. The whole week she had been hopeful that he would still disappear out of nowhere and whisk her away, but the sad reality was, that she had just concluded her last exam and the man had still not appeared.

The day before she could have sworn that she had felt his magic for a second, as she entered the Ministry in the morning. But it was probably all just wishful thinking. Voldemort and Bellatrix had tricked him and her friends and therefore destroyed her best chance to get away from him and that horrible place. It wasn't his fault, of course, Voldemort was as clever and cunning as they come, but still, Hermione couldn't help but be vastly disappointed that her best chance to get away had gone by without being used.

Which meant that she was still stuck in that hell-hole with no way out. She wanted to scream and cry from frustration. She had only survived the last weeks because she told herself that she would be gone by now. That was the thought that kept her upright and let her continue fighting. But now it was like the last bit of fighting spirit had left her, leaving her hopeless and exhausted.

How was she supposed to endure this any longer without losing herself in this net of manipulation? She had the feeling that Voldemort turned more and more desperate day by day and that he would soon lose his patience and simply try to take what he regarded as his. Hermione shivered at the thought of that happening.

"You look disheartened, even though I am pretty sure you did fabulously in your exams. The results will of course only be published in a few weeks, but I heard that you can be quite pleased with yourself, Miss Granger." He rarely used his name these days, as he more and more seemed to enjoy giving her pet names.

"I'm not feeling well," she replied, feeling that she was slowly losing the fight to hold her tears back. God, she needed out. Crying in front of that bastard was not an option. Hastily she got to her feet, the food on her plate didn't appeal to her anyway. "If you'll excuse me. I'm not hungry today."

Hermione didn't wait for his answer and nearly ran from the room. But where should she go? To her room? Hurry would find her there in the hope to assist her while preparing for bed. But she didn't feel like she could face the elf right now. Apart from that Rita Skeeter was still lurking in the tank in her room and Hermione would never allow her to see her cry. But where else could she go?

Her feet carried her to the only place in the house she truly felt comfortable in. Books had always had a soothing effect on her. Without thinking, she dashed to one of the huge windows, climbed on the window sill and pulled the curtains closed. Then she cast the strongest disillusionment and silencing charms she could muster on herself. It was right in time because a second later the first sob escaped her mouth before the tears started falling. Hermione didn't hold them back and allowed all her despair and self-pity to break free. Just once she needed to cry it out and scream, otherwise, she would start breaking from the inside. Why hadn't Severus come for her? Why had he broken his promise? And why had Bellatrix Lestrange of all people managed to impersonate her successfully for a whole week without anyone noticing? That woman was crazy, someone must have noticed that? Or did her friends no longer care enough for her to try looking behind the books and finding out what happened? Had they maybe already moved on without her?

A noise from outside the curtains let her freeze. There was someone outside, walking through the library with quick steps murmuring to himself. For a moment Hermione sat in silence, listening intensely. It wasn't Voldemort, she quickly realized but the other man she had seen a few times but who had always avoided her presence and barely talked to her. He was looking for something, she realized as she carefully peeked through the curtains of the window. The man was quickly moving from shelf to shelf, analysing the titles of the books with sharp, grey eyes.

What was he looking for?

She leaned a bit more forward, but unfortunately, that was enough for him to realize that he was not alone. His eyes snapped up, looking at the small slit between the curtains in concentration.

"I can tell that you're there," he said, walking towards her with stormy eyes. It was like they were directly looking at her, the intensity in them making her shiver. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice bare of any sympathy for her.

"Nothing. I was simply hiding here," she admitted sniffling.

"Hide somewhere else then," he demanded, folding his arms in front of his chest. "I need the library."

Hermione copied his gesture before she realized that he was unable to see it. And so she cancelled her disillusionment after a moment of hesitation. His grey eyes immediately took in her dishevelled appearance.

"Has he hurt you?" he asked, his voice serious.

She shook her head, tears reappearing in her eyes. "No. It's just… I'll stay here forever, won't I? I'm trapped here like a mouse, waiting until the cat is finally tired of playing with me. There's no way out… is there?" She sobbed.

He watched her with a detached expression.

"Do you want to be comforted? Or do you want to hear the truth?" he asked, staring at her without compassion.

"The truth," she hiccuped, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I am here for a very long time now. Many times I thought I finally made it, finally had the right plan or made the right ally. I'm still here."

She nodded, understanding what he was trying to tell her. "Then you're a prisoner, too?" she asked, taking in his clean clothes and skinny appearance.

He snorted. "Guest, prisoner, slave… it's all the same at this place." he shrugged, already turning away from her again. "Stay if you must. But keep your mouth shut. I need to concentrate."

With that he moved back to the centre of the library, ignoring her presence on the window sill. Hermione followed him with sharp eyes. "Alright. I won't bother you," she promised, realizing that the tears had finally stopped falling. Somehow that stranger had distracted her enough to regain at least part of her composure. "Just one last thing. What's your name?"

For a moment she thought he would not reply, but finally, she heard his voice answering from somewhere in the back of the room. "Eric, my name's Eric," he said in between the rustling of paper. "And now shut up. I'm busy."

Hermione retreated behind the curtains with a huff, before she recast the charms protecting her privacy. What a gruff fellow. But at least he hadn't hesitated to confront her with the truth, no matter how hard it was. And that made him the most trustworthy being in that house but considering the other inhabitants that really wasn't saying much.

Sssssss