Hi Everyone, I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update. It is absolutely not Vitellia's fault. She turned round this chapter in 24hrs - then I sat on it for ages. I'm also sorry because there's no Lucius / Hermione in this whole chapter. I needed to do some plot stuff but I'm missing the two of them together too. I hope you can bear with me... again!
"I don't understand how you convinced Lucius to let you see me." Ginny pours tea into two paper thin china cups and adds a splash of milk to Hermione's before she passes it across the low coffee table. She is wearing well cut maternity robes in a forest green that brings out the colour of her eyes and the vibrant red of her artfully styled hair. She looks every inch the pureblood society hostess. "It's still me," she adds softly as she notices the way Hermione is looking at her.
"I know." Hermione tries for a reassuring smile as she sips her tea.
And she does know. Ginny is doing what she must to survive just as Hermione is. Only Ginny seems to be doing a much better job of it.
"Are you alright?" Ginny moves from sitting opposite Hermione so she is now beside her.
"Not really." Hermione looks out the window and blinks back tears. "Lucius wanted something and I gave it to him so I could see you." Liar, she tells herself. You wanted it too, you still want it.
Ginny looks confused. "What did he want?" Hermione raises an eyebrow. It is not at all like Ginny to be slow on the uptake.
"Oh," Ginny says. "Oh." She sips her tea thoughtfully. "Hermione, you know I love you like a sister so if this comes out wrong then please forgive me. Obviously, I think you're beautiful and intelligent and any man would be lucky to have you, but you're-"
"A mudblood, I know."
"I was going to say Muggle-born." Ginny looks hurt. "A new set of robes doesn't turn me into one of them, you know."
"I do know." Hermione reaches for her friend's hand. "I'm sorry, Gin. I'm not angry at you. It's just…that's what he calls me."
"What? Mudblood?"
"Yes…"
"Even when you…" Hermione doesn't think she's ever known Ginny to be lost for words before.
"Yes."
"Blood purity is everything to him. Everything. Why would he—"
"Want to sleep with me? I don't know. But It's not just him."
Ginny frowns. "What do you mean? He's making you sleep with someone else?"
Hermione recoils at the thought. "No. I mean, this thing between us. It's not entirely one-sided."
Ginny's eyes widen to saucer like dimensions. "What?"
Hermione gets to her feet and starts to pace. She clutches her fingers together as she does so and realises she is actually physically wringing her hands. She has become the heroine in a Gothic novel.
"You remember the puddings at Hogwarts?"
Ginny's face takes on a slightly misty appearance which reminds Hermione painfully of Ron.
"Of course I remember them."
"You remember the sticky toffee pudding and how much I loved it?"
"Yes and yes. It was bizarre how a person as skinny as you could love something like that so much."
"But I did. I used to think I was turning into Ron every Thursday because all I could think about was the sticky toffee pudding and how much I wanted it and would there be enough for me to have a second helping."
Ginny looks pained. "I can see where you're going with this."
"But then sometimes the pudding wasn't as good as I imagined. Or it was good, but I ate so much of it that I felt sick. And either way I didn't need all those empty calories and the half a bucket of sugar so every single time I ate it I hated myself and felt sick afterward…"
"Oh, Hermione." Ginny has got to her feet too she hugs her friend as well as she can with the awkward bump of her belly between them. "It's okay." She smooths Hermione's hair like a mother calming her child. "You're just doing what you have to."
"No I'm not," Hermione wails. "That's the worst bit, Ginny. I don't have to. He didn't force me. I did it because I wanted to. I wanted him and even though he's evil and condescending and he hates me...I still want him. What the fuck is wrong with me?"
Ginny looks utterly shocked. "You know I don't think I've ever heard you say fuck before."
Hermione snorts and sits back down cradling her teacup in her hands.
"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself," Ginny says after a few moments of silence. "Do you know how long I waited for somebody to save me?"
Hermione stays silent, sensing this is a rhetorical question.
"Every morning for six months I would wake up and think, today will be the day the Order comes to save me. And it wasn't. And I'm not angry at them. They've got better things to do than saving us. But eventually I realised that this is my life now. For the time being. Probably forever. So I needed to start living it." She touches her belly softly. "If you want Lucius then take him. The only question you should concern yourself with is whether eating the pudding is worth the nausea afterward?"
"I don't know," Hermione says contemplatively. "After this morning the pudding is pretty angry with me. I don't think it will want to be eaten anymore. Or if I want to go on eating it."
"I'm not sure this analogy is working for us anymore." Ginny pours them both more tea. "What did you do?"
"I took offence at Lucius referring to my blood status while we were...you know...so I told him to stop—"
"And he did?"
"Yes, he has to. I made him promise. But then I told him what I thought of him and how I was never going to let him touch me again."
"And then?"
"I hid in the bathroom until he was gone."
Ginny sniggers.
"Ginny! There's nothing remotely funny about this situation."
"No, I know there's not." Ginny dabs her eyes. "I think I'm one step away from hysteria. But if you could have heard the number of times Lucius has berated Draco for his relationship with me. How dare he let a blood traitor get under his skin? What on earth is he doing wasting his time on me when he could be marrying some pureblood Death Eater spawn? He's an embarrassment to the Malfoy name...you get the idea?"
Hermione nods.
"And now, you're supposed to be his prisoner and you've got the poor man scrambling around after you. You made him negotiate terms before you slept with him! Imagine if Voldemort got wind of it."
Hermione shudders.
"Listen." Ginny's brevity abruptly disappears and she reaches across to take Hermione's hands in hers. "You need to use this. We have so little leverage here. We don't have our wands. We don't have any allies. All we have are our wits and each other. You have something that Lucius wants — there's no shame in using that to get what you want."
"Is that what you did with Draco?"
Ginny hesitates and looks away. Her hand strays toward her belly once more. "It's...what I thought I was doing," she says hesitantly.
The realisation hits Hermione out of the blue. "You love him."
Ginny nods miserably.
"And he loves you?"
"Yes, at least I think so. Please don't judge me, Hermione. I never meant for any of this to happen."
"I don't." Hermione promises as she takes her friend in her arms once more. "I could never." Ginny returns the hug and rests her head on Hermione's shoulder.
"At least there's no chance of you falling in love with Lucius," she says impishly.
"There is that." Hermione gives a mirthless laugh. "I don't think he's in much danger of falling in love with me either."
"I think sexual thrall can be almost as powerful." Ginny delicately wipes her eyes with a napkin.
"Maybe," Hermione replies with some hesitation.
It's all very well for Ginny to talk, but she wouldn't have the first idea about how to trap someone in her sexual thrall. Let alone Lucius who is about the most controlling person she has ever met. Just holding him at bay is exhausting her both physically and mentally.
"Ginny, it's time to— Granger!" Draco enters the room wearing his travelling cloak and carrying a second garment over his arm. "Are you all right?" His grey gaze, so much like his father's, immediately homes in on Ginny's tear-bright eyes.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Better than fine." Ginny squeezes Hermione's hand. "Hermione persuaded your father to let me see her. Hermione, I have to go. We're supposed to be going shopping for baby clothes." A hint of excitement enters her voice and she blushes. Hermione's mind is racing at one hundred miles per hour. Are the Death Eaters really so unconcerned regarding the Order's activities that Ginny is allowed to walk freely around the wizarding world? Apparently so.
"Of course." She makes a shooing motion with her hands. "Go. I'll be back tomorrow. At least, I think I will." It occurs to her that she and Lucius didn't fully hammer out the conditions of their deal. Having been denied this morning, will he now withdraw her visiting privileges? Ginny senses her uncertainty.
"Give me another hug just in case." They embrace and Hermione manages to smile. "Enjoy your shopping trip. And don't let Malfoy dress the baby entirely in green." It's a weak joke, but Ginny smiles in response and even Draco looks slightly less frosty.
He doesn't even tell her he's leaving. And she knows there is no reason he should. She is a prisoner. Worse than that, she's his Award, which Hermione loosely translates as slave. Just because he chooses to treat her with a modicum of decorum doesn't give her the right to expect him to keep her fully appraised of his movements.
Still, the first she hears of his absence is when a house elf brings her a note and the fact that he has disappeared without telling her stings more than it ought to.
Granger,
Father is away on business. Ginny has requested you dine with us during this period. Dinner is at 8pm sharp.
DM
It is not the friendliest of missives but coming from Draco, Hermione considers it a major olive branch.
She is sure the dining room is small in comparison to Malfoy Manor, but to her it still seems very grand. Draco and Ginny are already seated when Hermione arrives. Draco stands as a house elf pulls out a chair for her. His face is impassive but his fingers drum a nervous tattoo on the tablecloth as another elf pours wine for himself and Hermione and pumpkin juice for Ginny. Hermione has already decided that now is not the time for a lecture on house elf rights. Considering she has fewer rights than the average elf at present, it seems foolhardy worrying about their plight.
Draco's note subjected her to an interesting dilemma. For the first time in weeks she contemplated escape. With Lucius gone and Snape absent this could be the chance she has been waiting for. Yet she made no effort to try to evade the elves who escort her from room to room. She presents herself with excuses. She has no wand. The building is bound to be heavily warded. Even if she were to escape she would only find herself in the English countryside alone, wandless and without even her tent. She thinks her Gryffindor courage must have gone missing. Two years ago she would have taken those odds.
"How was the shopping trip?" She asks Ginny.
"Good." Ginny smiles. "Tiring."
"I said you were overdoing things," Draco grumbles.
"We went to two shops." Ginny gives him a smile. "And I sat down the whole time while they brought me stuff."
Even so, Hermione can see the lines of strain on her friend's face. She is pale and seems more interested in stirring her salad than eating it.
"Have you thought about baby names?" Hermione can't quite believe she is having this conversation with Ginny and Draco. It is surreal at best.
"Yes." Ginny looks doubtful. "Draco wants to call him Scorpius."
"Oh." Hermione doesn't know what else to say. "How...original."
Draco is glaring at her and Ginny is staring at the table. The silence stretches interminably until Ginny lets out an inelegant snort.
"I'm sorry." She clutches Draco's arm with tears of mirth in her eyes. "It's just the worst name ever!
"It really is," Hermione agrees.
"You are both philistines," Draco says darkly, but he smiles at Ginny's laughter and Hermione thinks how rarely it is that she has seen him smile and how nice he looks when he does.
"Where did your father go, Draco?" Ginny asks. "He didn't mention he was leaving at dinner last night."
"London," Draco replies. "I think it was a last-minute decision. He was in such foul temper I didn't dare ask him anything else. You wouldn't know anything about that would you, Granger?"
Hermione glances up from her food. "You know he doesn't talk to me."
"I didn't actually." Draco furrows his brow. "That must be...awkward."
"Awkward?" Ginny looks incredulous. "Your father keeps Hermione locked in his bedroom and you think it's awkward?"
"Well surely it's better than being locked in his dungeon," Draco shoots back. "Besides, she looks okay. Not all bruised and battered like Brown was when I last saw her."
"You saw Lavender?" Hermione can't help but ask. She is desperate for news of anyone. Draco nods tersely. "She went to Greyback. No one else wanted her. Not after...well you know…I don't think he treats her very well." He places his hand over Ginny's.
They sit in silence for several minutes. Their starter plates disappear and are replaced by an elegant duck dish.
"Look, Granger, for what it's worth I'm sorry about this whole thing."
She is taken aback by Draco's words and can only stare at him in silence.
"You being tortured. Weasley dying. The whole you being my father's prisoner...I didn't want any if this." He gives Ginny a helpless look. "Or maybe I did, but I was too stupid to know exactly what it was I was wishing for. The point is, I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Malfoy." She takes a small mouthful of food. "I do know how lucky I am. I know that Neville is with your aunt and Padma and Parvati were with Dolohov. I can't imagine any of them are being served decent food, or allowed to brew potions. And, whilst your father is utterly terrifying, his bark is a lot worse than his bite."
"Really?" It's Draco's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You've realised they already? He will be disappointed. You'll have to promise not to tell the other Death Eaters."
"Can I ask a question?" Hermione looks between the two of them and they both nod. "What did your father do to get back in favour with Voldemort? When we were at the manor-"She shudders a little at the memory. "He was in disgrace, but when he took me to Voldemort he seemed to be his closest advisor."
Ginny and Draco both look a little incredulous. "You mean you don't know?" Ginny asks.
"I wouldn't be asking if I knew." Hermione's heart sinks. It must have been something monumentally horrible and for some reason she doesn't want to think of Lucius doing horrible things. Even if she does hate him. Which she absolutely definitely does.
"But it was all over the Prophet-"
"A little hard to get hold of when you're on the run," Hermione interrupts Ginny. "Can you just tell me? Did he kill someone important?"
Draco gives a mirthless laugh. "My father's strong point isn't physical violence, Granger any more than its mine. That's why he was never fully appreciated by the Dark Lord. But after our administration took over the ministry my father did what he does best."
"And what's that?"
Draco shrugs again. "He made money. You really haven't read any of this?"
"No."
Ginny takes up the thread of the story. "So, Voldemort won the war by surrounding himself with bloodthirsty maniacs."
"Ginny!"
"Sorry, Draco, but it's true."
"I know, but you never know who's listening." He looks around nervously. "Anyway, asset management wasn't really in the skill set of the Dark Lord's supporters. And the war had a terrible impact on the economy. After six months the Ministry was practically bankrupt. That's when my father stepped in." Draco's obvious pride reminds Hermione of the boy she knew at school. "He became Minister for Finance and rejigged the entire department. He also explained to the Dark Lord that taking the wand of every Muggleborn witch or wizard had depleted the work force to a point which was unsustainable."
"Hold on, your father hates Mudbloods."
Draco winces a little. "Of course, but he hates inefficiency more. Besides, much as he hates Muggleborns" - he pauses to look over at Ginny who gives him an approving look- "he accepts that it will take time to eliminate them from society. The whole Muggleborn reintegration programme was actually his idea."
"I don't know what that is," Hermione says faintly.
"It means any Muggleborn witch or wizard is given two options. They can snap their wand, undergo Obliviation and return to the Muggle world or the can remain in the wizarding world, but they and their families will undergo selective Obliviation so that all ties are cut with their Muggle family."
"That's barbaric," Hermione whispers.
"Draco looks unmoved. "It's considerably less barbaric than sending them to Azkaban and throwing away the key, which was the alternative. Obviously, they have to operate under a number of sanctions and are very much second-class citizens." He doesn't sound entirely as though he disapproves of this. "But they are still allowed to practice magic and hold low level administrative positions. Anyway, my father managed to turn around the whole economy. Up until a few months ago things had never looked better. The Dark Lord is very pleased, hence why he gave you to my father. Since my father made such a rational argument for keeping the mud- Muggleborns out Of Azkaban I suspect the Dark Lord must have thought that he's altered his viewpoint. I don't think he would have given you to my father if he'd known that merely having you in the house is an affront to everything he believes in."
"Not enough of an affront to stop him from keeping her chained to his bed," Ginny interjects.
"He doesn't keep me chained to his bed." Hermione quickly corrects her. "I have my own bed for which I'm very grateful." She shoots Ginny a quelling look. She doesn't want Draco to know about Lucius' proclivities when it comes to her.
"Thank Merlin for small mercies," Ginny mutters and pushes aside her desert. "I'm full."
"Are you all right?" Draco looks worried. His whole demeanour softens as he turns to her. "You've hardly eaten."
"That's because I'm so full of baby there's no room for food," she complains. "I'm sorry." She looks over at Hermione. "I think I need to go and lie down."
Draco helps her to her feet. "I'll be up in a minute," he says softly.
"Take your time." Ginny squeezes his hand.
"Night Hermione, see you at breakfast?"
Hermione glances at Draco, who gives a terse nod.
"See you at breakfast," she replies.
She and Draco finish their deserts in silence..
"Is Ginny going to be okay" she eventually asks.
Draco looks confused. "Of course, pregnancy isn't an illness, you know."
"I know that." Hermione rolls her eyes. "I wasn't talking about the pregnancy. I know you have feelings for her...but, she's still your prize."
A slight flush warms Draco's pale cheeks. "I've asked Father to allow me to marry her."
"Oh." Hermione is taken aback.
"What did he say?"
"No at first, but he's reconsidering now. I think he'll come round. She's a pureblood and carrying my heir."
Hermione nods slowly. "And you think that's what she wants? To get married, I mean."
Draco looks suddenly tired. "She'd prefer I was Potter, of course, but I believe she'll have the good sense to say yes." He looks so defeated that Hermione's soft heart goes out to him.
"I'm sorry, Malfoy."
"Don't be. If you're worrying about anyone it should be yourself. What on Earth did you do to make Father so angry?"
Hermione feels herself blush. "I said some things."
"For fucks sake, Granger. This isn't Hogwarts anymore. You can't just run your mouth off and expect McGonagall and Dumbledore to protect you."
"I know that."
"Do you?" He narrows his eyes. "Well maybe try to hold your tongue in future. Father's bark may be worse than his bite, but that doesn't mean he won't Show his teeth from time to time."
Hermione only nods. She doesn't want to discuss her relationship with Lucius any further.
"You said up until a few months ago things were better than they'd ever been, what's happened?" She can see that Draco is unnerved by her question. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
"You know you ask far too many questions?"
Hermione only nods.
Draco drains his wine and is silent for so long that Hermione thinks he isn't going to answer. "The Dark Lord is obsessed with finding Potter." His eyes flick around the room as if he's afraid of being overheard. "For the last few months he's had my Father allocate more and more resources to increasing the Snatcher program. It got to the point where the economy couldn't afford to keep funding his militia but he wouldn't listen. I'm not sure exactly how Father has kept things going for so long but the Ministry is practically bankrupt." Draco twists his napkin between his long pale fingers. Hermione can't help the bolt of sympathy which shoots through her. It is clear that Lucius' exalted position and by extension of this Draco and Ginny's continued safety is dependent on Lucius continuing to provide Voldemort with the financial independence he needs. As if the floodgates are now open, Draco continues to speak. "Now the Dark Lord has a new vendetta. He wants the Ministry to control Gringotts."
Hermione gasps. "But the goblins would never consent to that."
"Of course they wouldn't. You know it, I know it, and my Father certainly knows it. But the Dark Lord doesn't. Father's been desperately trying to come up with a way to get the Dark Lord what he wants. For mine and Ginny's sake as much as for his own."
"Has he found a solution?" Hermione asks nervously. She can't think of anything worse than the international banking chain falling into Voldemort's hands.
"No." Draco looks around again. "Between you and me I don't think he wants to. Luckily Dolohov's death distracted the Dark Lord and he's more focussed on the Snatcher campaign than ever but it's only a matter of time before he turns his attention back to Gringotts and us."
"Why don't you run away?" The words escape Hermione before she even has time to consider them. "You and Ginny and your Father. You have money. Surely you could disappear."
"Do you honestly think I haven't considered that?" Draco hisses the words at her with some of the venom she remembers from their school days. "How do you think Ginny would cope being pregnant and on the run? Even if she has the baby safely what kind of a life would it be for her and the child? Besides, it's hopeless." He looks down accusingly at his left arm. "He can trace us anywhere using the Dark Mark."
"I'm sorry," Hermione says placatingly. "I didn't know."
"Nor did I when I took it." Draco's voice is bitter. "There's a lot of stuff I didn't know."
He scrapes his chair back and rises abruptly to his feet. "It's late and I should check on Ginny. Vera will take you back upstairs."
Hermione stands too. Her thoughts churn wildly.
"Goodnight...Draco."
"Goodnight, Hermione."
"Something's happened!" Ginny bursts into the potions lab before 9am in a chaotic whirl of red hair and green robes. Hermione jumps at the sudden incursion of the previously serene space and almost drops her stirring rod.
"Draco was summoned last night and he told me everything." Ginny advances on Hermione her brown eyes flashing with excitement.
"Might I remind you, Miss Weasley, that this is a potions laboratory not the Gryffindor common room." Snape's acerbic drawl takes some of the wind out of Ginny's sails.
"I'm so sorry, Professor. I didn't know you were here."
"Evidently."
Hermione watches the two of them with interest. She has never really seen Ginny interact with Snape before. She seems as undaunted by him as by anything else in life.
"Might I have a word with Hermione?" She smiles disarmingly and places a hand over her bump.
Snape shifts uncomfortably. "I suppose so." He flicks his wand in the direction of Hermione's potion. The flame beneath stills and the potion ceases bubbling as Stasis takes hold. He resumes stirring his own potion on the other side of the lab. It is as much a façade of privacy as he is likely to give them.
"There's been a sighting!" Ginny clasps Hermione's forearm.
"A sighting of what?"
"Of Harry, you idiot." There was a special Death Eater meeting to discuss it.
Hermione glances across at Snape. Surely if there was special meeting then he would have been in attendance. He is staring resolutely into his relatively inactive cauldron. Dread wells up inside her.
"Did they catch him?" Her heart beats painfully fast as she waits for Ginny's answer."
"Of course not," Ginny says cheerfully. She pulls herself up onto a stool. "Do you think I'd be looking so happy if they'd caught him?"
"No." Hermione sits down too. She shakes her head as she tries to process what has happened.
"Why don't you tell me everything?"
"Well." Ginny is still bubbling with excitement and is clearly finding it difficult to corral her words into a semblance of coherence. "After Dolohov was killed Rowle convinced the Dark Lord that he had picked up Harry's magical signature and he was given extra resources to lead a team after him. I never expected him to be successful because it was all a lie made up to save Rowle's skin. But he has!"
Hermione repeats some of her friend's words slowly in her own head. She can't make head nor tail of what Ginny is saying. A heavy sigh comes from across the room.
"What Miss Weasley is failing to convey is that Rowle deceived the Dark Lord into thinking he was on the trail of Potter. No one was more surprised than he when he actually came across Potter's campsite last night. The Dark Lord believes it to be evidence of Rowle's tracking genius. In fact it appears to have been pure fluke."
"Oh." Hermione takes a moment to process. "How do you know Rowle hadn't really found Harry's magical signature at Dolohov's house?"
"Because Draco told Rowle to make it up," Ginny says proudly. "Rowle was terrified that the Dark Lord would take his anger over Dolohov's death out on him. He had to do something to turn the negative into a positive. So he pretended to be hot on Harry's trail."
Hermione glances toward Snape again. He is stirring his potion but clearly still listening intently.
"And Lucius went along with this too?" Hermione's question is directed toward Ginny but it is Snape who answers.
"It is in all of our interests to keep our Lord happy."
Hermione stores that rather ambivalent response away to process later.
"So anyway," Ginny interjects enthusiastically obviously keen to share the rest of her story. "Yesterday, Rowle found a campsite in the Forest of Dean. He almost missed it because the wards around it were so complex. Harry must have realised they were on to him and by the time Rowle had broken through his wards he was all packed up. They just caught a glimpse of him as he Apparated away. Rowle says it was definitely him. He really truly is alive."
"An artifact was recovered from the scene too," Snape adds. "A locket. Damaged beyond almost all recognition but it had perhaps once belonged to someone in Slytherin. You wouldn't know anything about that would you, Miss Granger?"
"No." Hermione's response is automatic and mechanical.
She turns back to Ginny. "It's great that Harry's alive. But aren't you worried?"
"Why would I be?" Ginny looks serenely back her.
"Well, Rowle's almost caught him once. Surely it's only a matter of time before he catches him again."
Ginny shrugs. "Let him catch him." Harry's so powerful now that I don't think Rowle stands a chance against him. Anyone who gets near Harry will be annihilated. I've got to go. I've got an appointment with a Healer."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, yes." Ginny waves a vague hand. "The baby isn't in quite the right position yet but he's got plenty of time to turn and the Healers don't seem too worried. I'll see you for dinner. If Lucius isn't back that is?"
"Yes. See you later." Hermione hugs her friend and watches her retreating back thoughtfully.
The potion in her cauldron starts to bubble once more as Snape removes the Stasis charm. Hermione gives it a careful stir before she turns her attention back to the Potions Master who appears to be entirely engrossed in his own brewing.
"It doesn't add up." She says after a moment's thought.
"I beg your pardon."
"Ginny's story or yours for that matter. None of it makes sense."
Snape sniffs. "It is not my fault if you are too dim-witted to follow a simple narrative, Miss Granger."
She glares at him. "You are obfuscating, Professor."
"Am I?" He adds a pinch of lacewing fly wings to his potion, scowls into the cauldron and adds another pinch.
"Yes." Hermione abandons her own potion in order to move closer to Snape as if physical proximity will force the truth from him.
"Are you really telling me that Draco and Lucius convinced Rowle to lie to the Dark Lord about picking up Harry's trail at Dolohov's house?"
"I am not telling you anything." Snape picks up another lacewing fly then after looking into his cauldron places it back on the bench.
"Draco and Lucius are loyal Death Eaters. There's no way they would betray the Dark Lord."
"Of course, you know them far better than I."
She grinds her teeth.
"That cannot be good for your dentition."
"When Harry and I were on the run we spent months in the Forrest of Dean. I don't understand why Harry would ever think to return there."
"This internal monologue is fascinating."
"And I was the one to put up the wards. Harry's were never that complex. They certainly wouldn't keep someone like Rowle out for long."
"Well that certainly doesn't surprise me."
"And there's no way Harry would have dropped the locket."
Snape puts down his stirring rod and fixes her with a gimlet eye. "I thought you didn't know anything about the locket."
"I don't'." Hermione stares him down. "In much the same way as you aren't telling me anything about what's going on."
Snape gives a slight smile. "Then we are at an impasse."
"I suppose we are." Hermione returns to her bench and stirs her potion aggressively. She does not return Snape's smile. Instead, she stares into her cauldron as her mind works frantically. For the first time in months a flicker of hope blossoms. She feels as if somewhere amidst Snape's evasions and Ginny's garbled rhetoric there is a truth more complex than she might have previously imagined. A truth that she is determined to uncover.