Chapter 124: Bond Of Blood

{A/N: Here's Another Update...}

My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S.

Outskirts Of The Prince Estate, Unknown Location, Unknown World...

The violent crashing of waves beneath a nearby cliffside manor had been seen as well as heard in the distance as swollen clouds of gray hung over head once Severus S. Snape touched down in the familiar location that had been revealed to him within the deepest recesses of his so called mother's twisted mind. He had played his part well, ensuring that she believed he'd waste his time by taking her miserable life. Much as anyone he's ever known fell for his obvious ruse she had hook, line, and sinker. He simply needed to weaken her just enough to distract her from what he'd truly been after, the ring she'd taken from the Snape residence in Cokeworth and the location from her nearly broken mind when she could no longer put up her defenses. It had all been so clear to him now, The Prince Estate or rather the outskirts of the estate had been the location for the Gauntlet and as such, the perfect prison for one such as Abaraxas Malfoy. No one in the wizarding world had been any the wiser about his survival amid the outbreak of dragonpox and her vast knowledge of healing any ailment saw to her playing the role of a healer before exacting her revenge. Why she had decided to come after Snape himself remained a mystery only until he had invaded her weary mind.

She saw him as a threat.

The only one capable of running the Gauntlet and freeing Abraxas Malfoy, as he carried not only the blood of the captive but her's as well. A key componet when attempting the Gauntlet for anyone. Lucius had been none the wiser nor had he been in the position to issue challenge but Severus Snape knew all too well that he could. Hermione's feelings pertaining to the subject of him risking his life once more after the near loss of it so recently had been another matter altogether, but he had to try. He had to finally put an end to all of this turmoil from the past if he was ever going to be able to concentrate on the future he wished to have with his young wife and two children.

The threat of his mother and her unhinged plots had been far too great an offense to simply let things be as they were. No. If he was going to have any shread of peace, he would have to take her out of the game completely and who better to run interferance for her treachery than his own imprisoned father.

Snape reached the strange tunnels where the entrance to the Gauntlet would take place. He'd still been of the mind to prove himself in the eyes of the Prince family ancestors and then some as he moved toward the large metal gate. The pricking of his finger saw to the gate opening wide and allowing him passage inside. He was indeed of Prince blood and the estate seemed to make note of this. Never before had Severus known such grandeur could possibly be linked to him. The sprawling rows of jagged rocks and the vibrant and mighty spray of the ocean gave the rather gothic victorian style estate an unseemly yet magestic appeal. His apparent taste in decor had not seemed to been far from those of his mother's bloodline as it were and where most men and women in his position would have been at the very least momentarily daunted by the overall scale of what would have been a nightmarish place, Snape delighted in it as if he'd at long last made the journey home after an unseemly absence.

He had not anticipated that Irma would follow soon after, but knew all too well that his time admiring the Prince estate was better spent seeking out the guardians that would run the Gauntlet. The ailing Potions Professor made his way toward the entrance, unsure if his rage enduced ablities would be enough to withstand the might of the ancient beings that dwelled within long enough for him to free his captive father.

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The Malfoy Residence, Wiltshire England, Muggle/Wizarding World...

Hermione had been frantic as she touched down on the familiar grounds of Malfoy Manor. She had no idea of how she was going to reach The Prince Estate before anything terrible struck her rather determined significant other but she knew she couldn't reach it without the aid of at least one Pureblood wizard she knew. Lucius had just as much to lose in the battle with Eileen Prince as anyone and even more so now that Severus had discovered that their father had still been alive and unjustly imprisoned on the Prince family lands. The handsome blond wizard had often been silent about his feelings pertaining to his once thought to be deceased father given the complications from the first and second wizarding wars and the staggering inheritance he recieved being nearly decimated via the despot. Before even finding out that Severus Snape had been of his own blood, he'd taken care to look after and love the young lad when hardly a person would give him even a moment of their time. Of all the things that had occured between Hermione and her former Professor, she had been most grateful to Lucius whom had seen not only Severus through his darkest days, but her and her children as well.

The moment he found out they were blood, he only drew the dour wizard in closer via familiar bonds and would not hesitate to parish if it meant keeping his younger brother safe.

"Lucius." said Hermione nearly stumbling as she rushed into the study of her newfound brother in law.

"What is it Little Sister?" asked the curious Senior Malfoy. "Something the matter with Severus?"

Worry had been etched across his handsome face in a matter of moments.

"Severus has done it...he's found out where your father is being kept." said Hermione meeting the Senior Malfoy's gaze.

"W-What?" asked Lucius taken aback by this. "He's...father's alive...are you sure about this?"

Hermione nodded.

"Severus confronted Eileen at Hogwarts." she began to explain. "He took the ring she kept from her family estate and went off to free your father."

Lucius had been utterly shocked by what he'd been hearing.

"I...I must go to them." he said getting ready to head out the door. "He may need my assistance and Father...Father's alive."

Hermione rushed behind him.

"I wish to go with you." she said plainly.

Lucius paused for a brief moment.

"Hermione..." he began.

"I'm going and there is nothing you can do to stop me." replied the amber eyed witch. "Severus could be in danger and I will not sit idel while that harpy does who knows what to him, I've nearly lost him once before because of her and my idiot father...I will NOT lose him again for any reason."

Lucius sighed thinking all the while that he would come to regret letting her tag along, but given the choice between hearing it from Severus or Hermione about his decision in the future he decided his little brother was the lesser of the two evils.

"Come along then." he said giving in at last.

Hermione nodded in awknowledgement of his concession.

"Where is he located?" asked Lucius on their way out the door.

"The Prince Estate it seems." replied Hermione thoughtfully.

Lucius nodded.

"All this time...that's where she's hidden him from me." he said in annoyance. "It is fortunate for you that I have been there a time or two as a lad, when father had taken it upon himself to court the harpy in her younger days."

"Fortunate for us all." remarked Hermione before the two of them took off leaving behind a resounding crackle of thunder in their wake.