Snape groaned and opened his eyes to darkness, rolling slowly to his side, feeling the cold dirt floor under him. He shut his eyes again, his head throbbing, empty stomach heaving. After the nausea passed, he forced himself to sit up. Only a small amount of light came into the room, from around the edges of the door.
He took stock of himself, attempting to ascertain the extent of his injuries. After he had passed out the first time, someone, Malfoy or Pettigrew, had awoken him with Ennervate so that Voldemort was able to use Cruciatus again, the second or third time after that he was allowed to pass out undisturbed. His left ankle throbbed and appeared to be swollen, so he tried a simple healing spell, but nothing happened. He frowned, unsure whether the spell failed because he didn't have his wand, or if there was an anti-magic spell at work. He tried again, concentrating, but again, nothing happened.
He stood timidly, crying out and nearly collapsing when he put weight on the ankle. He worked on filtering out the pain until he was able to hobble to the door. He pressed his ear to the wood, heard nothing. He hobbled back to the wall and slowly sat down and began to think.
Voldemort was obviously keeping him alive for some reason, though Snape didn't rule out the possibility that it was only for purposes of torture. Someone would be in shortly to interrogate him, though he had nothing worthwhile to give, since Dumbledore purposefully kept him ignorant of certain matters, in case of this such event occurring. Not for the first time, Snape was glad of Dumbledore's foresight.
He sat there on the floor, gathering his strength, and eventually he dozed off.
He awoke with a shock, the door banging open and bright light pouring in. His mind reeled, finally focusing on the sight of Lucius Malfoy and another Death Eater, Avery, he thought. His whole body throbbed, though the pain was more manageable now.
"Wake up, Severus! I have something for you!" Lucius called with an evil grin. "Get his arms." Avery grabbed Snape's arms and held him still while Malfoy pulled out a bottle and advanced on them. "I'm afraid we need to have a very serious conversation, Severus."
He tried to pull away from Avery, who only held on tighter. Malfoy grabbed Snape by the neck and tilted the bottle to his lips, forcing potion down his throat. Snape coughed, tried to spit it out, but he felt it begin to take effect, his mental defenses beginning to slip. He slumped back into Avery, who let him fall back against the wall. His mind absently worked over the details of the potion, dissecting the tastes in his mouth.
Too much dragon's blood, not enough Jobberknoll feathers. Looks like Draco's gotten sloppy on his potions making, or else Lucius got this elsewhere.
Lucius stepped forward, smiling. "How do you feel, Severus?"
His mouth opened against his will, despite his commands to stay silent. "Afraid." He nearly added that he had never been more frightened in his whole life, but found he was able to tell a partial truth without revealing feeling compelled to reveal the whole thing.
"Good. When did you begin working for Dumbledore?"
"At Voldemort's death, I began working at Hogwarts." Though I had been spying for him some time before that.
"As a spy?"
"Yes." As well as Potions Master.
"Did you do it to escape Azkaban?"
"Yes." Partially.
"What are Dumbledore's plans now?"
"I do not know." That's the truth. Dumbledore and his bloody Order of the Phoenix. I'm always the last know.
"You don't know? How could you not know!"
"Dumbledore only feeds me misinformation so I cannot betray any real secrets." What else did you expect?
Malfoy frowned "Why is Hermione Granger working at Hogwarts?"
"Harry Potter had a large dispute with Cornelius Fudge, and he sent Granger to Hogwarts as punishment." Bloody Granger! My punishment ... or my penance.
"There's no secret plans going on involving Hogwarts in a campaign against Voldemort?"
"I do not know."
Malfoy scowled and turned away, pacing. "Do you know anything, you pathetic pile of shit?" he muttered. "What am I going to do with you?"
"You could turn me loose and we could forget about this whole thing." Let that one slip.
"Think you're funny, do you!" Malfoy fumed. He crossed the room and backhanded Snape, his head slamming into the wall, blood pouring from a gash above his right eye. He fell over, resting on his hands and knees, Malfoy kicking him in the ribs, his breath becoming sharp and ragged. "Avery, wait outside."
Avery shrugged, leaving the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Lucius smiled wickedly as he removed his robe and started towards Snape.
"I should have had this conversation with you a long time ago, Severus."
Hermione carefully made her way up to the old castle, staying in the shadows and landscaping, using her heightened feline senses to avoid anyone. She slipped into the house behind one Death Eater. She followed him to the kitchen, hiding around the corner under a table.
"Where have you been? What happened?"
"That fool pretending to be Vasily let her get away. Don't worry, we will find her."
"She must not escape, it's important, Dmitri."
"I understand. And her companion?"
"Don't worry about him. Lucius is tending to him now, in the dungeons."
"Excellent. And what of my son?"
"He is there as well, asleep."
"I should like to see him."
"Later, perhaps. The Dark Lord wants to see you, regarding the evening's festivities."
"Of course, everything has already been arranged."
She heard their footsteps retreat and began searching for the dungeons. It didn't take her long to find the long passage that descended below the main castle. She proceeded slowly down the twisting hallway, until it reached a dead-end. She let her ears direct her, and she cautiously peered around the right corner, where she saw a large man leaning at the end of the hallway. She then glanced the other way, but there was nothing, just an empty corridor. She pulled back from the corner, thinking.
Malfoy had to be in the room, with the one standing guard. She didn't know how many others would be in the room with Malfoy, so she needed to get rid of the goon without alerting them to her presence. This would require a little planning.
She stuck her head around the corner and meowed. The Death Eater glanced at her, and when she meowed again, he frowned. She walked out towards him, her tail twitching in an invitation. He started towards her and she raced back and transfigured, her wand ready as he came around the corner.
"Stupefy, stupefy!" she said quietly, both spells hitting him before he could react. He fell, his body thudding softly on the ground. Moving forward quickly, and readying herself for battle, she pointed her wand at the door and called softly, "Alohomora."
Malfoy paused mid-punch as he heard the thud, looking over his shoulder to the door. He looked back to Snape's bloody face, seeing a smile beginning to spread there.
"Avery?" Malfoy called, rearing back to punch Snape again. "What are you smiling for?"
Snape was ready this time, and he caught Malfoy's hand before it could connect with his face, his nails digging into flesh, relishing the look of shock on Malfoy's face.
"Because I'm going to enjoy this."
He twisted Malfoy's arm roughly, forcing him to turn around, as he brought his other arm up around his throat. Malfoy began to struggle, his hands clutching at Snape's arms, trying to pull himself loose. Snape tightened his grip and twisted, feeling the snap of the neck. He let go, watched Malfoy's body fall to the ground.
He breathed heavily and leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted, the adrenaline surge leaving his body. He slowly became aware of a presence in the room, of someone standing at the door looking at him. He looked up, not caring if it was another Death Eater, if he lived or died, or anything at all. And suddenly he realized that he wanted to live, at least long enough to give Dumbledore a piece of his mind for having put him in a situation to owe his life to yet another Gryffindor.
"Miss Granger," he uttered, with as much irony as he could muster, "how terribly noble, courageous and Gryffindor of you to come and rescue me."
Hermione stood in semi-shock, not quite believing that she had just seen her ex-Potions Master kill another wizard, with his own hands, no less. She felt a strange combination of awe and disgust, with a little sympathy for good measure. His greeting would have pissed her off normally, but at that moment, when she looked into his black eyes, she saw beyond his words, saw him, really saw him. And she understood.
"Nice to see that while you stand there bleeding to death, you haven't lost your sarcasm, Snape," she answered, trying not to smile too much. "Look, are you ready to get out of here or what?"
"Of course, I am, you silly girl."
"Need to hide him first."
She walked back into the hallway, levitating Avery's body to the room. When his head crossed the threshold, it thudded to the ground. Hermione frowned as his shoulders also fell, and she could no longer move him.
"What the hell?"
"Some kind of anti-magic aura on this room."
"Then you better help me."
He gingerly put weight on his ankle, hissing, "Fuck! Fucking Merlin's balls!"
"Never mind, I've got it," she said, struggling to pull Avery into the room. "I think Vasily's down here too. I overheard Dmitri upstairs."
"And I suppose we should make some effort to look for him," he answered drily. He carefully knelt down in front of Malfoy and dug through the pockets of his robes, looking for Malfoy's wand, finding his own as well, and he realized Malfoy must have taken it earlier. He stood slowly, ignoring Hermione's concerned look when he groaned. "Very well, let us find Mister Borodin and go home."
"Yes, sir."
As they left the room, Hermione cast a complex spell on the door, one she had perfected over the last few years. It was a three-part lock, that also cast a short-term memory spell that could not be broken by only one person. Some of her better ones had required no less than five wizards or witches to break. Admiring her work, she transfigured back into the grey cat, and darted down the hallway, deeper into the dungeons. Snape limped behind her at a safe distance, realizing that she was scouting ahead for them innocuously.
She trotted along, passing doors that led to empty rooms, slowing down for a turn, then continuing along. She stopped suddenly, heard Snape stop as well, and she sniffed the air cautiously. She approached one door, listening carefully, then she ran back to Snape and transfigured.
"Someone's in there, alone. I think we should go in."
He nodded. "Don't worry, Miss Granger. I'll cover you."
Rolling her eyes, she started back down the hallway, sneaking up quietly to the door. "Alohomora." She praised the gods that she had learned that one so long ago. She reached the door, flinging it open, holding her wand ready.
Vasily Borodin sat on a small cot in the corner of the room, confusion apparent on his face. She stuck her head out into the hallway and waved Snape in.
"Vasily, it's Hermione. Hermione Granger." He stared at her disbelieving, and she added, "We met briefly on Tuesday morning. Breakfast at Hogwarts. I'm the new DADA teacher."
He blinked several times, shaking his head slightly, then focused on Snape who appeared in the doorway. "Snape?"
"How very astute of you, Borodin."
"What happened to you? You look like hell."
"I was submitted to the Cruciatus many times, then given a large amount of truth potion and beaten by Malfoy," Snape answered with a snarl.
"And?" Hermione prompted.
Snape glared fiercely at her, a cold edge to his voice as he uttered, "And then I killed him and Granger freed me."
"How much of that potion did he give you?" she asked.
"I do not know, but I am not experiencing any symptoms of overdose."
"How long do you think it will last?"
"I am uncertain. I do think we should discuss after we escape. We could have Death Eaters after us at any moment."
"Right, right," she turned to Vasily. "Are you okay? Can you walk?"
"Yes, I'm fine, few bruises, nothing bad," he answered as he stood, walking to the door.
Hermione decided he looked just as good as the imposter had, if not a little worse for wear. As he approached, she held out her hand, her palm pressing against his chest and he stopped, a question appearing in his eyes.
"What did you say to me the other morning, at breakfast?" she asked, studying his face intently.
He smiled faintly. "Why, Professor, I don't believe I said anything at all. Forgive me for being rude."
"Not at all, and forgive me as well, for doubting it was you," she replied with a smile. "I'd already had one bad experience with you today, that's all. One other thing, invenio."
"What was that for?"
"So I can keep track of you, should we get separated."
"Are you finished yet? Shall we continue on now?" Snape asked, extreme irritation evident.
She eyed him with concern. "Do you want me to try to heal some--"
"No!" he interrupted fiercely, his eyes glittering dangerously. "Not now, maybe later when we are safe. I am fine for now."
She nodded slowly, and as they moved into the hallway, she asked, "Which way now? Back upstairs?"
"Wait, there's a passage out of the dungeons, leads to the forest east of here," Vasily volunteered. "My sister and I found it when we were young, but I think we're the only ones who know about it. The dungeons haven't been used regularly since the 1800s."
Hermione looked to Snape, who merely shrugged. "Very well, let's go."
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A/N:
Love it? Hate it? Don't give a fuck one way or the other? Let me know, I need constructive criticism!