Disclaimer: I own nothing, neither characters nor plot. It would be pointless trying to sue me. (Disclaimers may also go downhill in future chapters- don't sue me for that either.)
Chapter Two
The noise of the crowd faded to a hush.
"Let me introduce you to Hermione, my Dark Princess."
There was a brief silence as the Death Eaters thought about what their leader had just told them. A mudblood as the Dark Lord's next of kin? It seemed illogical- but then who were they to question His orders?
"To celebrate this new addition to our numbers, we will be having our first… game, shall we say."
Voldemort broke off with a smile.
"Would you like to do the honours, my dear?"
"If you wish, father." Hermione turned to look over the crowd below her, pausing briefly as her eyes passed over Severus. He was staring at her intently, something akin to disbelief on his face. She would have to look into that; all Death Eaters should be in awe of her, as they were of her father. This man was to be no exception. "Near here is a muggle boarding school, containing a few hundred children. We will go there now. They are yours to do whatever you want with."
This cold statement was enough for the woman to gain the trust of the Death Eaters. As the 'Princess' turned and began to lead the procession to the unfortunate place, all followed her without complaint.
Voldemort's face twisted into what could only have been a smile.
Severus trudged along at the back of the procession, trying to swallow down the bile that was trying to rise in his throat. Father? What was wrong with the girl? Surely she couldn't be serious….
That was it. Granger must have spent the last two years acting, pretending that she had been converted to the Dark Side. Her renowned brain must have come up with a plan at some point... That was the obvious answer. It was the only answer.
A brief time later found the party at the gates of the school.
Hermione turned to look at the Death Eaters, her face unreadable, one delicate hand outstretched. She swivelled and, without even the use of a wand or an incantation, blasted the gates away. She turned back to the crowd behind her with a smile. "Enjoy."
At these words, there was a roar and the Death Eaters surged forwards.
Minutes later, the screaming began.
Severus, sending the occasional blast from his wand for appearance's sake, made his way towards Hermione. She was standing by the remains of a wall, watching the one sided fight between adult and child taking place. He noted that she was not joining in. Foolish girl , he thought. She must at least pretend that she wants to take part in this, or she will give the game away and the act will all be for nothing. I should warn her…
Without thinking, he turned to Hermione and spoke.
"Miss Granger."
A blank stare greeted him.
"Who is Miss Granger?"
"You!"
"I have no surname. Who did you think you were addressing?"
"Come on girl, of course you have a surname. You might want to take an active part in this whole… thing. Make it convincing. Honestly, I have no idea how you lasted this long without being caught."
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about." Hermione gave the man before her a calculating stare. "I refuse to participate in this folly… it is a waste of time, and my efforts are not needed. This is simply for their pleasure. Besides, I don't want to dirty myself with muggles. Why are you not taking part, Mr…?"
"Severus Snape. But you already knew that, Miss Granger, sothat is not the point. I have much to discuss with you…" Severus waved his wand, and Hermione felt a glamour rise around them.
"An illusion to make it sound like we are discussing a rather irrelevant topic. Tell me, why are you doing this?"
Looking back, Severus would never understand why he did not spot it from the start. He could have blamed it on his hope that Hermione had not turned against him, on his trust that she would never fall in league with the Dark Lord, even as a temporary loos of insanity, but there was no real excuse for why he still fell for it.
"Hermione, we can talk properly now. How have you been faring? The sacrifice that you have made for us all…"
"Faring? Sacrifice? Please explain yourself… Severus." Hermione said his name slowly, carefully pronouncing each syllable.
Finally, Severus realised what had happened. But it was too late. His traitor mouth refused to obey him, would not stop speaking.
"Spying on Voldemort for the Order, of course."
"Ah yes, of course. How could I forget?" Hermione's face was unreadable. "I forget after all this time… what part do you play in this whole foolish game."
"I act as a double agent, relaying Voldemort's actions to Dumbledore. He will be so happy to hear from you again," said the man promptly
Suddenly, Severus felt a fog that he had not even noticed in his head clear.
"What just happened? What did you do?"
"A loosetongue spell."
He was a fool. That spell had been cast on him so often before, yet he had fallen for it at last. At that moment, Severus Snape realised that he was worse than dead.
"But you have no wand, and you didn't say anything…"
"You think I need wands and words? I have progressed so far past that now."
Suddenly Severus felt what seemed like a ton of bricks fall onto his shoulders. This was not the Hermione Granger that he had watched grow. This was someone- something completely different.
"I have no idea who you think I am, but I think you should come with me."
Severus tried to resist as the woman walked on, tried to flee, but was drawn irresistibly to her.
Hermione walked slowly across the wreckage of the school, stepping delicately over the bodies of the children sprawled over the floor without giving them a second glance. Severus noticed that the woman before him showed no sign of sadness or shame about what had just happened in her honour.
Finally, she stopped in front of her 'father'. Severus found himself kneeling before the man, his face touching the ground at his feet. A sweet, clear voice sounded in his ears.
"Father, I have a gift for you."
"Gift, my dear? How could Severus be a gift?"
"Becuase he is a spy for the Order of the Phoenix."
Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuun.
Any comments would be very helpful. And compliments will be rewarded with cookies. Any flames will be happily received and used to toast marshmallows on. Please review! If this chapter confuses anyone, email me at . Actually, you can email me if you're not confused, I don't mind. I am re-uploading this chapter because I think something went wrong with my first try as I couldn't seem to find it.
Now for the thanks- I will start by saying that this was the most reviews I have ever had for one chapter, and I would gladly marry the writers of every one of them.
Thanks to:
MoonAssasin13,
Silly bandit- I spend most of my life hyper- read my other running fic, Gift of the Dark Lord, 'cos it kinda shows!
Heartnut- fast forwards show my lack of patience. Same applies to how the attack in the Great Hall worked- I wanted to get the fic started. For this reason, the whole fic may move along very quickly. As you have just seen, things are not quite working out on the Dark Prince front for Sevvy, although you did give me an idea which you may spot in a few chapters. Also, I am a solo writer, as I write when I feel like it so don't bother with a beta. Thanks for the long review!
Nore- strange is just how I like things!
Mis3y
Moviebuff101
Artemic Moonclaw- you are officially the first person I know to call anything NEATO! Lol!
Christieanne-Anna
Arien Astera- thanks for the plot. I intend to abuse Ron a little, I think. He annoys me (is attacked by Ron fangirls).
Fabioandtheduck- great fics, but I am kinda not a fan of Ron and Luna, so I got a bit stuck.
Angelic-sinner
Franflutewitch
Squashes- hey, I thought you were beginning to appreciate the joy of being left on edge? Heh heh heh… ahem.
Sammi- evil is fuuuuun
Hugs to you all!
Also, I am a little confused. If any of you are American, could you tell me if you are back at school yet, and if so, when you broke up. I know this is random, but I am curious.
R&R PLEASE!