A/N: You guys didn't want to wait a week so here you go! hahaha

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - THE ATTIC

"Where is she?" Severus snarled, striding across Albus' office.

"We are all concerned, Severus, control your temper." Minerva snapped.

"It has been nearly four days and we know nothing other than she ended up in Knocturn Alley. Are we not better than this?"

Albus sighed. "We can only trace so far Severus, there were wards set up wherever she -"

"And I am telling you she went into Borgin and Burkes."

"Yet you won't tell us why." Minerva squinted at him.

"There is no why, Minerva I just know."

"That's not good enough."

"Minerva, Severus, please. If you are so certain, Severus, then you may go there and do the searching you need to."

"Albus! You simply cannot send Severus to Borgin and -"

"I am not a child, Minerva. I know how to get what I want from people, and I will find your golden cub."

Minerva stared at him long and hard. "Yes. You of all people are capable. However, you are not usually so willing."

"That is none of your business."

"I know what the girls around the school are saying, Severus. I don't put much weight in gossip, but I suddenly find myself curious."

"What gossip is this?" Albus leaned forward in interest.

"Nothing, old man. Did you really not tell Minerva?"

"Tell me what?"

Severus did not break eye contact with Albus, letting all of the rage and negativity buried inside him writhe into the space between him and the headmaster.

"Perhaps that was short sighted of me." Albus eventually conceded. "Although you never confirmed if Miss Granger -"

"Of course, it's her, Albus. Of course, it is. You do not need me to confirm that for you."

"Well, then." The expression on Albus' face told everything; that he had known for a while and was pleased with himself, but also massively displeased with the reality. "Minerva, I think you ought to sit down for this."

Albus explained and Severus let him, watching the words fall out into the world and watching Minerva react to the absurdity of it. Albus' explanation about Sterling, the prophecy, and soul mates didn't last long. Severus noted that once again, Albus left out the pieces of the prophecy that Sterling had told him about at Spinner's End. Minerva was gaping at him.

"Are you certain it is really the two of you?"

"Absolutely."

"But how do you know?"

Severus actually rolled his eyes. "Besides the fact that we used to feel it, Hermione found the prophecy when she was in the Department of Mysteries, and it had our names. We also met Sterling Ambrose."

Minerva's eye twitched. "Hermione, now, is it?"

"Nothing untoward has happened to your cub Minerva, but in light of everything, formalities seemed a little… useless."

"We are tabling that discussion for now. Why do you think Borgin and Burkes?"

"The Dark Lord has a man posted there, Merner. And I believe Hermione is aware of something that is going on in that shop. My best guess is she apparated there by accident and well, what Death Eater wouldn't capture one of Potter's best friends?"

"But she was already captured!"

Severus glanced between Minerva and Albus. "Not exactly."

"I had my suspicions."

"Of course, you did, Albus. I took Hermione from the Department of Mysteries and saved her life. There was just never a good time for her to come back."

"And where were the two of you this whole time?" Minerva arched a brow at him.

"Spinner's End."

Minerva sputtered, "You cannot tell me Miss Granger was living in your childhood home for months!"

"She was."

"Ah but of course. I thought I recognized the school bag she has been carrying." Albus' eyes were alight with amusement.

"What about the wounds she came back with?"

"Spells of my own devising. She faced no real harm, but I made it appear that way."

"She agreed to that?"

"Can we get back on track!" Severus snapped. "I don't know if Merner is on a rotating shift with anyone, but I very much doubt it. He is likely the one who has her."

"Merner? Charles Merner? Surely not, he's a Hufflepuff!" Minerva looked at Severus with shock.

"Yes, I believe that's him. A rare breed among Death Eaters. He has never been well liked among the others, he was too quiet, and his pureblood status only did so much for him. He fell out of favour just before the Dark Lord's fall."

"Do you know where he might take her?"

"No. But I'll get the information out of him."

"Severus…"

"What, Albus?" Severus snarled.

"I cannot recommend torturing a Death Eater, especially in your position."

"You and I both know I can do this without consequence."

"Perhaps."

Hermione squinted at the man in the shadows. In the dusty gloom it was hard to tell if she knew his face, but she could tell, even with him sitting down, that he was a large man. She looked away from him and down at the chains that held her. Wide metal cuffs covered her wrists and were sautered to thick, heavy chains that lead to a bolt in the floor not far from her. It was easy to see that the length of the chains did not allow her to walk too far from the bolt and nowhere near any of the walls.

"Where am I?"

The man didn't answer, instead he stood up and stretched, the chair he had been on looking hardly strong enough to support him. He was a burly man with broad shoulders, combed back curly hair that reached his jaw and a large beard. There was a softness in his appearance, offset by the sharp, steely gaze of silver eyes. He approached her with thudding steps and tilted his head at her, as if observing some wild creature.

"New home, princess."

"Stop calling me that."

There was something smug in his expression, but he said nothing else. The man walked away and disappeared behind a corner, his footsteps growing quieter and further away. In his absence, Hermione checked her person and the room. She was okay besides an aching head but the satchel she always carried was gone along with her wand. Except for the chair and the chains, the room was barren and looked like it hadn't been used in ages, though Hermione didn't want to think what it might have been used for. After her third pass of looking around the windowless room, Hermione noticed the bundle under the chair and with relief recognized the satchel. Maybe her wand was in one piece, and maybe it was in there.

"You better be right, Merner. I don't want to get involved with any of your mistakes."

Hermione froze at the vaguely familiar voice and waited in tense stillness as the sounds of footsteps grew louder until two men stood before her. The burly man was back and standing next to him was Antonin Dolohov, looking increasingly pleased with each passing second.

"Unreal. You actually got the wench."

The big one, who Hermione assumed to be Merner, nodded.

"Well, well. I am quite surprised to see you again, young lady. There have been whispers that you survived my curse, but I had to see it for myself."

"Well, here I am."

"Yes. Yes, you are."

"What do you want with me?"

"I want to finish what I started. But I am going to do it slowly this time around, since you so defiantly survived before."

He was going to torture her to death. That was all Hermione heard. She never had the chance to be useful. To say goodbye to her friends. To see what might happen with Severus… The last thing she would see was this musty, windowless room and these two grim faces. Hermione closed her eyes.

No.

That was giving up. She knew she could never, ever do that. She had to survive, to escape, for the war, for Harry. For Severus. Hermione tested her occlumency, gently pulling at her pounding headache until the pain was subdued and she was certain she was in no danger by doing so.

"Are you certain she's secure here?"

Merner nodded.

"And no one knows?"

Merner shook his head and a wicked grin cracked across Dolohov's face. Merner left and the other Death Eater came closer, just outside the range of her chains.

"You'll die here, little girl, and no one will ever know what happened to you."

Hermione felt a smirk shape her lips, "I wouldn't be so certain."

With a snarl, Dolohov jerked forward and thrashed a hand across her face, catching her by the throat as she fell.

"Keep making it worse for yourself and see what happens."

Dolohov threw her to the floor with disdain. With a twitch of his lips, he turned and left the room. That was the first day, and the best day. The following three days were a blur of punishment and desperation. Merner usually lurked in some corner while Dolohov pummelled her or 'tested new spells'. At some point, Dolohov would decide he was done and leave. Once, he came back a second time in the same day. Hermione used Severus' occlumency technique with ferocity, certain that at some point there would have to be a consequence. It didn't matter though, because it kept her mind clear enough that she would use small magic to loosen the bolt bit by bit each day. It was exhausting and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to free herself at the rate she was going, but she had never been able to get a good hold on wandless magic. She had to try though.

"Mr Snape, what a surprise."

"Borgin."

"Is there something I can fetch for you? A book? An item?"

"Information."

"Ah. Well for the right price, I'm sure I can -"

"Where does Merner stay?"

"That's none of my business."

"Is it not? I know for a fact he looms about here nearly twenty-four hours a day, so you must know where he goes when he is not haunting your shop."

"As I said, information costs, Snape."

Severus swooped forward, jabbing his wand below Borgin's skull. "I'll allow you to keep your pathetic life."

Severus didn't hear his reply, surely another half-formed retort. Everything he needed was easily accessible in the man's mind, so wide open that Severus snuck in and back out before Borgin had even finished speaking.

"I shall go ask someone who is more helpful then."

Severus released the man with a shove and strode out of the shop. Severus knew the place that had been hovering around Borgin's mind. It was an old Death Eater haunt that had been used for prisoners and revels during the last war. It wasn't exactly secure, but good things never happened there and anyone who was taken in, never came out. He would need to be ready to find Hermione in any condition. Which meant he had potions to brew and emotions to bury. Severus tried not to imagine her lifeless in the closed-in attic as he gathered ingredients and returned to the castle, but the thought came unwanted and unstoppable. He wasn't sure that was something he could be ready for.

"She doesn't scream! How?!" Dolohov snarled and kicked over the chair. "I know you can feel pain girl, I see it on your face. Why won't you scream for me? I'm good at what I do, aren't I?"

Hermione spat out a mouthful of blood and wheezed, "Mediocre at best."

"You are tougher than I thought. I don't like putting in so much work for just a little shout."

"Should've got someone else then."

Dolohov made a face and left the room. It was the opening Hermione needed. With him gone, she was able to wiggle the bolt loose the rest of the way. It was nearly as long as her forearm, thick and sharp at the end. Resisting the urge to laugh, Hermione gathered up the chains and her satchel and found the door. She thrust her hand into the bag only to find that her wand was gone. Heaving a sigh, Hermione clutched the bolt in her hand, and pushed open the door. It hit something, which made a surprised sound and moved, allowing her to open the door all the way. Opposite her stood Merner, whose look of surprise changed quickly to fury. They reacted at the same moment, Merner reaching for his wand the same moment Hermione struck forward with the bolt. She made contact first, the bolt driving into his arm just above the elbow. He shouted and lurched away, and the rip of steel from his arm forced him to drop his wand. Hermione grabbed it with her free hand and tossed a stunner at the man as she started running.

She didn't know where she was, or how to get anywhere that wasn't here, but she ran, weaving down the stairs of the building that seemed to wind downwards forever before she found another door that spat her out into the middle of a street. Shocked, Hermione ducked into the nearest alley and kept running until she was sure no one was close enough to stop her. There was only one safe place to go, and the only way to get there was to apparate. Which meant she had to let go of the days of beatings and hexes and truly feel them for the first time. Hermione took a deep breath and eased down the blankets she had piled around her mind and the expectant waves of pain unleashed themselves. It was almost as bad as the fire. Maybe it was worse. She couldn't think about it, she had to focus on her three D's. She had to get to the only safe place left.

…

Severus stood outside the building, which appeared to look as abandoned as ever. He had never wanted to come back, but this was the only lead he had on Hermione, and she was his responsibility. Fortifying his walls, Severus crossed the threshold, the Dark Mark stinging with recognition. The small room before him housed two doors, and he ignored the one on the right in favour of the one on the left. The door opened to an endless spiral of stairs, flecks of rather fresh blood disturbing the filth. Severus ascended the stairs rapidly, and at the top, discovered two bickering Death Eaters.

"How could she get the jump on you! You're four bloody times her size! She didn't even have a wand!"

"She stabbed me."

"What is this about?"

Both heads whipped around to look at Severus. Dolohov and Merner. Severus squashed the fire that tried to burn through him.

"We had a prisoner and Merner let the wench escape!"

"Did you report this to the Dark Lord?"

"No, I- He wasn't- It was personal." Dolohov sputtered.

"I see."

Severus glanced at Merner and felt something that might've been pride. Merner had never been particularly bright, at least from what Severus could remember from Hogwarts, but he was massive, especially in comparison to Hermione, and yet she had escaped, leaving a rather decent hole in the man's arm. She was alive. Or at least had been when-

"When did she escape?"

"Last night."

"Well, I wish you luck. Might I suggest not arguing so loudly about your failures though? I could hear you down in the entrance. Good day."

Severus was gone before they could work out why he had come and gone without conducting any business of his own. In the street, he tried to work out where an injured Hermione might have gone. Certainly not Hogwarts, he would have known by now. Grimmauld Place? Hardly. The Burrow? Too far. Spinner's End. The idea was insane, impossible, yet it seemed the only realistic answer. With a sharp turn, Severus disapparated.

As soon as he crossed his first layer of wards, he knew something was wrong, an instinctual tug in his gut. Hermione was here, he could feel it. Relief and anxiety pushed forward at the same time, and he quickly stepped through the second layer on wards and tripped, pulling himself up by the banister of the stairs so he could glare down at the intrusion. Severus stopped breathing. He knew the bloodied mass before him was Hermione only because she was the only living person who could enter his home without invitation. If it wasn't for that, Severus wasn't sure he would have been able to tell who it was. Concerned that picking her up might cause more harm, Severus levitated her gently. He unlocked the front door and went in; trailing Hermione's floating body close behind him all the way up with the room he had made her. He set her on the bed and went to work.

It was easy to push aside whatever feelings were trying to poke their way to the surface when there was so much to be done just to clean her up and make sure she was alive and that she wasn't going to die. Cleaning the blood off was a mix of spells and damp towels and when he understood that not all of it was hers, he was relieved for a fraction of a second before he started diagnostic spells and gently prodding here and there. A concussion, two broken ribs, a sprained wrist, and various cuts and bruises. Severus summoned his store of potions and salves and did everything he could. She was going to be fine. He breathed that thought in. Severus cleaned off the bloodied sheets, magically swapped her clothes for some of his and transfigured the nightstand into a chair to keep watch.

…

Hermione woke up slowly, fading in and out of consciousness, afraid to think about where she was or even look around to find out. She took a deep, steadying breath and was immediately overwhelmed with a familiar scent. One that meant she was safe. Hermione opened her eyes and almost laughed when she recognized the sheets. She'd made it. She winced as she tried to sit up and flinched when she saw someone sitting in the room with her.

"Severus."

His attention snapped to her immediately, he tossed aside the book he was looking at, and was at her bedside before she could take another breath.

"How do you feel?"

"Okay. Better than I thought. Did you -?"

"Yes. But when those potions wear off you will be in a lot of pain."

"I did it." She needed to tell him, for him to be proud. "I used your method the whole time and I escaped."

"Yes, I saw the rather nice hole you left in Merner's arm."

"How?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "In an effort to find you. But you were already gone."

He came to find her. And he was here now, making sure she was okay. Hermione couldn't have been more relieved or more grateful and she swallowed down tears that were trying to force their way out. Instead, she reached out and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you for trying."

"Of course."

"Can you sit with me?"

It was a daring ask that felt even more ridiculous as Severus froze into a statue. She opened her mouth to take it back, but he was already melting, perched awkwardly on the edge of the bed. He didn't make her let go of his hand but stared at the spot where they joined for a long moment.

"What did they want?"

"Dolohov wanted to finish what he started, except much slower."

"He was trying to kill you because you got away."

"Yes."

She could see the muscles in his jaws twitching and his grip tightened on her hand.

"Why here?"

"Spinner's End?" She asked, surprised, "It seemed the only safe place to go. And I wanted to be near -"

Hermione swallowed and looked away. She wanted to be near him. The only person she felt completely safe around, completely herself. Maybe it was the bond, or the time they spent together, but nothing was like knowing that he was there, just around the corner, just out of sight.

"I see."

"I'm sorry, maybe I'm intruding. I should have just gone back to Hogwarts. I can -"

"Stop moving, foolish girl. You are not going anywhere."

"Oh."

"I'm going to get you set up with potions and books. I need to take care of a few things and then I will be back."

"You're leaving?"

Severus stood up and looked down at her. "Only for a short time. I promise I'll be back."

Severus did as he said, setting her up with potions, salves, a few books, and even a snack. He gave her one last long look, and without saying anything, left the house. Hermione stared after him, anxiety gnawing at her stomach.

…

Severus moved up the winding, endless stairs with stealth, his wand gripped in one hand. It was a slim chance that Merner and Dolohov were still around, but he had to start somewhere. The landing in the attic was empty, but the distinct sound of voices and scraping items came from inside the room itself. Severus pushed open the door and glanced inside. Metal rods were strewn about the room, and some were being magically rammed upright, stretching floor to ceiling with little room between each of them.

"There's no way that bitch can escape this cage."

Dolohov was planning to come after Hermione again. The fire that had been easing its way through Severus veins burst to life. No. Dolohov was never going after anyone ever again. He was never going to hold Hermione in this cage. With a curl of his lip, Severus levitated on of the bars and drove it forward with as much magical force as he could muster, the bar driving through Merner's back and pinning him to the wall. Dolohov's wand was drawn and pointed at Severus in a blink.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to finish what she started." Severus snarled.

"How can you? Perhaps Bella is not so wrong about you after all, a traitor through and through."

"She is my ward under the Dark Lord's orders, and I cannot let such a violation go unpunished."

"Surely you don't mean to kill me as well." Dolohov sneered, glancing at Merner's large form dangling from the wall.

With a raised eyebrow, Severus sent a silent cruciatus at the other man who realized too late what was happening. Severus watched him crumple and stalked closer, holding the cruciatus until the spasms of Dolohov's body started to slow. He kicked the man's wand away from him and crouched down.

"You will never lay another hand on her." He whispered.

Dolohov wheezed, "We'll see about that."

"No. We won't. Avada kedavra."

Severus stared at the still form of Dolohov for a long time, waiting for some sign that his soul was being torn. He didn't think he'd take it this far; it wasn't his intention when he made his way to the attic. But seeing Dolohov and Merner put up the bars and knowing they were going to come after Hermione again… he had to stop them. And there was only one thing that stopped Death Eaters. Instead of any sign that his soul was tearing, Severus felt a heavy weight in his gut. He'd never been a killer and he'd spent many months thinking Albus would be the one and only time; he had managed not to kill before, and he was sure he wasn't going to live long enough after to do it again. And now this. What would Hermione think? Would she be disgusted that he had taken it this far? Pushing the thought deep down, Severus made sure no trace of him could be found in the attic and returned to Spinner's End.

…

Hermione listened as the door shut down below. He had really returned. The heaviness inside of her lurched upward, turning itself into something like relief. Hermione pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing at the pain in her side, and waited. It seemed like forever before Severus came to her, tapping lightly on the door with his knuckles as he came in. Hermione wasn't sure what it was, but there was something different about him, a new weight on his shoulders, a look in his eye she didn't know. She watched as he silently folded himself into the chair he had transfigured.

"Are you okay?"

"I was not the one tortured for days."

"Severus…"

"You won't have to worry about those men again."

"What do you mean?"

"I took care of them."

Hermione's mind reeled and ground to a halt. He had killed those men; she was sure that was what he meant. Multiple emotions bombarded her. Victory, relief, sadness, concern. As she filtered through her feelings, she realised Severus was watching her and every single one of his barriers were up.

"There was nothing good left in those men, Severus."

Severus made a sound in the back of his throat.

"Will you sit with me again?"

"I am sitting with you."

"You know what I mean."

Hermione watched as Severus moved himself heavily and slowly from the chair to the edge of the bed as if it took an extraordinary amount of effort. Hermione took it upon herself to reach out and take his hand in hers. She held it in silence for a long time, passing her thumb back and forth over his skin. They sat like that for a long time, silent minutes passing into silent hours. They only moved when Severus suggested she take more of the potions, and he disappeared down the stairs to find them something to eat. Hermione liked to think that her silent support might help him work through what he needed to. But that worried ache never left the spot in her chest right next to her broken ribs.