Disclaimer: As always, everything belongs to the great Goddess of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. Yadda. Yadda.
Hey y'all! Here's another chapter. I must slow down the pace though. Sorry about the earlier mistake. Hedwig is indeed a girl, a she. Owl Goddess.
Chapter Seventeen: Many Happy Returns
Snape apparated immediately to where he was called.
It was Christmas morning at the Malfoy estate, one of several retreats actually. The manor in question was the one used most frequently for 'entertainment' purposes. The irony was not lost on Snape as Lucius was the one providing the entertainment for Lord Voldemort.
The great hall was covered with expensive imported Grecian marble, with large creamy white columns that extended upward to a four story ceiling. An enormous, gaudy chandelier hung over head. It's lead crystal refracted the red and green of the multitude of seasonal decorations which dripped from the curved staircase, walls and 30 foot Christmas tree in the grand foyer. Lucius did always enjoy exploiting the abundance of his wealth. His family may have likely not even visited here on the holiday season, yet it was decorated without fail every year.
It was just like Voldemort to parade the torment of an individual in such a public display. The former shell of a proud and elegant man was strapped to a common wooden school chair, bound at the waist, feet and arms. A tangle of almost silver hair hung around his handsome features, now contorted from pain and exhaustion. He face was bloody just a bit, a mere shadow of the damage he held on the inside no doubt.
Lucius was worn out and had been for some time. Severus was beginning to get worried. If the Dark Lord tired of Lucius for a plaything, maybe he would focus his attentions elsewhere.
Voldemort spun on Severus' entrance into the room and Snape knelt immediately in humble obedience.
"Get up my servant," Voldemort snapped.
"Yes, my Lord. I have been waiting." Severus wanted to say more, but bit his tongue. Why hadn't he been summoned earlier? How much did Voldemort know?
"What have you to tell me of this?"
"My Lord, I suppose you are inquiring about the night of the Yule Ball. Why didn't you tell me of Lucius' plan?"
"You fool! CRUCIO!"
Severus slumped to the ground in agony, but knew better than to cry out, it just made the pain worse, and made him appear weak. That weakness just egged the snake on.
"It was MY plan! And it should have worked! You needed no foreknowledge. It was important for you to remain ignorant so that no one would suspect, you would be surprised and your cover could remain in place until the appropriate time…"
Your plan, right— so sorry. Fuck semantics! "So you planned an full scale attack on Hogwarts," Snape offered in mock awe.
"Yesss." His cold voice grew more snakelike and venomous with each passing word. That was a good sign. It usually meant that he was receptive to talking. "Tell me…"
"I will tell you all I can, My Lord. Lucius couldn't tell you much because twenty girls orchestrated a careful spell of their own, right under our noses." Snape began, trying to be careful how he phrased things. Crucio rang out though his flesh, screaming though his nerve endings. He never got used to it. He bit back the pain in his knees which were in contact with the marble floor, the cold was seeping into his bones. Snape got to his feet. Don't show weakness.
"Hmmm. So Dumbledore was none the wiser?" Voldemort seemed amused. Snape attempted to still the involuntary spasms left over from the curse.
"Yes, it would seem so, he was surprised most of all." Voldemort let out an appreciative huff and Snape continued. "It seems I erred in my confidence regarding the Brownheimer Antidote. There apparently was a way around it that I was unaware of."
Tom Riddle already knew, and waited for his servant's explanation. "Do go on."
"Pansy and some of the other Slytherin girls were quite unhappy at their fathers offering them to you so they organized a club to overthrow their exploitation. They stole a dark text from Professor Lupin some time ago, and until recently I was unaware of its contents. In that book was the method for disguising their virginity and many girls apparently passed out pumice stones to sabotage the results. The twenty students sacrificed their virginity to erect powerful wards on the day of the Yule Ball."
Voldemort was getting very angry. He knew he was in trouble at the mention of the book. His face darkened and his chin bent low, his eyes slits of fierce hatred. The words were clipped and harshly bit out. "Go on. How did they do it." Questions were always statements with the Dark Lord. Tell me, now.
"When Lucius came into the room the girls were already in position. It was the end of the Ball, and one of the prefects had asked him to speak as the school governor. Lucius pulled the brass staff from his robes and imbedded it into the floor. Dumbledore and several others immediately began to cast spells but all of the magic was absorbed by the force of another spell simultaneously cast by the twenty virgins. They lit candles, cast a pentacle and said some kind of spell of desire. I understood only some of the words, but they rendered everyone in the pentacle unable to move. Millicent Bulstrode touched Melanie Lawson to release her from the bonds of her immobility and she put a dart in Lucius. He was unconscious, and she dragged him to the outside of the circle. He was comatose for the duration of the spell, he was unaware of anything that happened after the pentacle being cast."
"So Malfoy was telling the truth." Veritaserum, Crucio and several dark spells had worked to no effect. "I thought perhaps a Memory Charm. Ah, well."
Ah, well. Voldemort passed off his mistake like spilling a glass of pumpkin juice. He nearly tortures a man to death and it's 'ah well'. Snape hoped that he wouldn't anger the coiled snake. "They fell one by one and I haven't felt anything like that. The wards raised, powerful ones, and I could see the tiny rift in the wards Lucius had made. But I could only watch. Each girl fell, some screamed, some dropped. The rift was sealed fully when the last girl fell. Then afterward they portkeyed out and we do not know where they have gone." Severus felt a stirring within him he tried to suppress. He had omitted certain details and the Goddess in him felt anger at his betrayal of the events. His betrayal of Hermione. She wasn't quiet getting the full picture, and he was worried about the consequences. Lupin and Dumbledore said Goddesses can act of their own accord. She must have settled from his inner monologue, because he found a relaxed place.
"Come sit. We have much to discuss." Voldemort beckoned him and they sat in the parlor, a rather formal, stiff French style with tufted chairs and chintz. The contrast between the décor and the house guests was alarming. This was a sitting parlor for tea, or a fine port shared among dinner guests.
They poured glasses of Firewhiskey instead and drank. Snape was very careful to take anything offered to him by another but he had no choice. He had watched Voldemort pour and to his own eyes he had seen nothing slipped in to taint it. But eyes can lie.
Thankfully the Dark Lord broke the silence. "Severus, I have much to share with you. I have read an interesting dark text. It intrigued me, I shall have to show it to you sometime." He swirled the amber liquid in the glass but did not partake. "I strongly suspect that it is the same manuscript liberated from the werewolf's possession, and find it a bit unfortunate that particular tome was taken. It is terribly rare, but his family is old. I should have suspected as much. The book speaks of many ward breaking and ward erecting spells, namely with use of virgins primarily as a means to achieve all. It is called the Power of the Innocent. Had he spoken of it to you?"
"Yes. It has been a topic of discussion quite a bit since the spell casting." Snape said as little as he could and tried to tell the truth, even though it was measured.
"The Haustum Vigor was used on the staff with blood procured from Hermione Granger. She was one of the twenty was she not?"
"Yes, she was." Snape said with no trace of emotion. He had to keep his feelings in check.
"And I wondered how she had managed to heal herself from that particularly nasty stab to her abdomen. It must have been very painful." Voldemort said this with pleasure, and Snape remained calm.
Inwardly he was cursing the bastard. She could have died.
"She must have used virginal magic. The book does have a number of benefits where healing is concerned. Did they bleed?" Voldemort sucked in a breath tasting the air. He enjoyed blood.
"Bleed?" Snape inquired.
"During the incantation. Was there blood remaining where they stood?" Voldemort asked licking his lips in excitement.
"There was blood on the floor that the house elves cleaned up immediately. I didn't have time to test it. What did the spell do to them?" Snape was genuinely curious as to what insight Voldemort could offer. He was an incredibly bright wizard and when he discussed scholarly pursuits and magic, he never disappointed.
"That is the beauty of it. I had two brought to me to see if I could collect or remove virginal blood, of course it is notoriously difficult to gather. Imperio does not work and objects are useless, needles, lust potions ruin the innocence part of it. Intriguing really."
How Melanie and Kendra must have suffered. And Kendra was still missing. He suspected her dead a long while ago, girls didn't last in places like this. Look at Malfoy. It had only been two days.
Voldemort continued. "The spell they cast called for desire to tempt them. They must focus their strongest carnal yearnings on one person only and tempt themselves to the point of sheer insanity. It is not easy, and they all could have died if they failed. Incidentally, who lasted the longest?" His mouth curved into a frightening smile.
"Miss Lawson held a stopwatch to time them. Miss Granger was the last to fall." He had asked and Snape could not refuse, though he loathed to admit the details. He would find out, but Snape did not yet know why it was important.
"That insufferable Gryffindor? She's as bright as they come, Mudblood though she may be." Voldemort mused. "A strong one."
Snape regretted his slip about her insufferable nature at Lucius' home some time ago. It gave him an excuse to insult a Muggleborn in front of the others and make a show in front of Lucius. She had placed Draco out of top grades at the school. They were both gifted students, but Lucius wanted perfection. Pity that Malfoy frequently missed the point of the more important things. If Draco had been his son, he would've been properly proud of the boy. The behavior of some other student would not detract from it.
"Severus, you may find this bit amusing. The virgin's maidenhead is ruptured spontaneously during the spell."
"Spontaneously?"
"It explodes." The Dark Lord over enunciated the words with grim satisfaction as he watched Severus' expression turn dark.
Snape was recollecting again the events of the evening. Of Hermione's face when she fell, her noiseless cry. She could barely recover when she tried to lean on her arm. The expression of determination, sweat, anguish, and pain on her face explained itself more clearly in that moment. Somewhere in his mind he knew what had transpired, but hadn't put it into words. Gods.
Voldemort let out a laugh. It was long and sinister and Severus didn't like the feeling of it at all. "The old fool must be crazed with worry about his students. Does he even know why they ran?"
"They sent him a letter saying they needed to stay away for their safety and the safety of Hogwarts." Snape said plainly. "What do you have in mind?" He grinned awaiting instructions, doing the best he could to don the Death Eater persona.
"The wards will fall and we will get through. There are two ways. One, we kill all of the twenty witches. But that may prove to be difficult, especially if they have scattered. The second will require some research."
"How may I be of service?" Severus bowed his head slightly in respect, swallowing the bile which threatened his throat..
"The second is easier to execute, but may prove more difficult. Who were the last three to fall?"
Snape knew and could not lie in sitting so close to the Legilimens. "Hermione Granger, Pansy Parkinson and Ginny Weasley. What an unexpected trio."
"Indeed. Well, well. All we have to do is find out who the objects of their desire are and execute one of them. It does not matter who. The wards will fall like a house of cards."
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Hermione spent Christmas singing carols with her sisters, all drinking hot chocolate and chatting like they had been friends for years. Something happened that day in her Common Room and again during the spell. They were close in a way she could not describe, bound together. Her eyes connected with Pansy who was smiling broadly and saw she was thinking the same thing.
There were no presents. No church services. No family, all were homesick but for now it was as Millie had said. They were all the family they needed now.
Hermione said the rosary and lit candles for all of them and her family, for Harry, Ron, and Snape. She could pray in thanks to God who had made this possible, and for God who was still protecting them. Just eighteen days to go.
Later that evening she and Pansy were reading their halves of the book— kind of depressing pastime, but there was naught much else to do. Hermione knew there was trouble when Pansy sat up on her cot, a look of horror on her face.
"What is it?" Hermione hissed.
"Grab Ginny." Pansy stood and grabbed a cloak and walked out the front of the cave into the dark midnight. Hermione followed and gestured to the red head, also suitably troubled at the dark expression of worry that lined the older girl's face. Hermione and Ginny carried portable fires with them to offer light in the scariest of places.
"What is it?" Ginny inquired. Pansy's face looked eerie as it was illuminated by the flickering light in the glass jar.
"We are in deep trouble. Look at this." In the dark, Hermione could barely make the words out.
"Consummate… I thought we didn't have to lose our virginities! We read! We did."
"Hermione, not all twenty of us— just us three," Pansy said.
Hermione paled, but no one took notice without the light to make it plain. She strained her eyes to read.
"What do you mean 'just us three'? What's so special about us?" The younger Gryffindor asked crisply.
"We were the last ones standing. The strongest. We have to consummate…" Pansy took a breath in recognition of the difficulties for her on this point. "We have to have sex with the object of our desire." Draco you bastard. Damn you.
Bloody hell. Hermione's brain wasn't working fast enough. She trembled and not from bitter cold. Tears froze in place on her face, the air in front of her misted white in her ragged breathing.
"I know." Pansy shook her head regrettably. "I'm so fucking sorry we didn't read this thing cover to cover."
Ginny just sat there, not moving. She wasn't ready to advance her relationship with Harry but they had nearly bordered on everything else, so the thought wasn't unappealing especially since the Ball. "It's not so bad," she tried to cheer up the others.
"Maybe not for you," Pansy and Hermione said in unison. They looked at each other and Ginny stood up instantaneously from her seat, a look of terror on her face.
Ginny spoke reflexively, the first thing she could think of.
"ATHENA!" She shouted and the goddess sprang before them, a great barrier between the trio and the predators.
Their mutterings and lights had attracted the attention of night creatures, and a pack of wolves were leaping toward them. They hit the white barrier of Athena's brilliant aura and she drew her bow to fire. The wolves scattered to the trees, but many fell, limping into the night to die elsewhere. Hermione, Pansy, and Ginny cowered behind the white wall of power, her heavenly robes billowing outward as if there was a strong wind. All other creatures vanished as well for the group did not hear so much as a cricket or snapping twigs for the remainder of the evening.
When the creatures had disappeared from view, Athena, Goddess of War, turned to the ladies behind her.
"Be well, my daughters," Athena said, regarding her young charge affectionately before she vanished.
Their mouths gaped open a bit before coming to their senses. Hermione, Pansy, and Ginny ran into the cave, barely able to squeeze in for the spectators.
"Wow," Linda said in awe.
"So that's how it works," said Susan.
"Did you see her? She was beautiful," Sally Ann observed.
Hermione spoke first. "I don't want us using that just whenever. We should do the best we can to save the opportunity to call the Goddesses within us when we have the greatest need."
"Thanks a lot, Hermione! I was saving your bloody neck!" Ginny blurted out.
"That's not what I meant. I wasn't criticizing you, it's just…" Hermione was interrupted by Pansy.
"Now you don't have your Goddess to call on anymore. You're not as safe as you were before." Her voice was hollow. She was unprotected.
Ginny was beginning to feel pretty empty.
"We'll protect you," Millie added and put a protective arm around her, unhappy that they had destroyed the light mood of Christmas. But Pansy didn't want to mince words. They were in danger, now more than ever.
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Snape returned to Hogwarts, feeling low and ready to drink heavily. He had given all twenty names, and recoiled inwardly when Voldemort had asked him about their dates to the Ball. Thankfully Hermione and Pansy went unescorted and he managed to avoid the fact they were the entertainment. Voldemort had assigned him the task of discovering their paramours. Ginny was easy, she had escorted Harry, and it was obvious to everyone their affection for each other. Voldemort wasn't about to go after him first.
So it was Pansy or Hermione.
Voldemort had tasked Severus with the chore of returning Lucius home to Narcissa and Draco. Lucius was in horrible pain, and it took a great deal of doing to calm his wife down, still fuzzy on the aspects of his disappearance. It appeared Draco hadn't fully filled her in. Severus provided several sleeping and healing potions to keep him comfortable, but it would be a long time before Lucius regained his strength. Served him right. Draco was unusually distant, and he made note of it. The boy showed no interest in his father's condition, but looked disgusted at what he saw.
Yes, boy. Voldemort did this. If he could be trusted, perhaps he could keep details of the evening secret. Snape had not mentioned the blessings and that could be his downfall. If discovered, he would be murdered for the omission.
As he entered through the front doors of the school, he realized his mistake. It was the holidays and only a few students were left. Ron and Harry of course, decided that midnight was the perfect time to go tearing through the Great Hall.
Snape followed the pair, ready to dock house points just for bringing his headache on. "Mister Potter and Mister Weasley! Twenty house points from Gryffindor for each…"
"NOT NOW!" Harry yelled back, still running to Dumbledore's office. The stone entry way opened and he and Ron ran in, out of breath. Severus followed them up, losing his patience rapidly.
"Ginny's in danger!" Harry's hands were on his knees, doubled over from running. He had everyone's attention, as Dumbledore looked at his with a fearsome expression.
"How do you know? Has she contacted you?" Dumbledore asked urgently, knowing better than to doubt the boy's sincerity.
Snape was at rapt attention as well, fearing for Voldemort's previous conversation about ward breaking.
"Kind of. She called her Goddess. I felt it." Harry's voice was pleading. "Please! We have to look for her."
Ron nodded mutely, worried that his sister might have met a horrible fate.
"I appreciate how you must feel," Snape began to everyone's surprise. "But you are not for certain that any harm has come to her." Harry spun to face him, a bit angry and shocked at his statement. "The Goddess is powerful is she not?"
He nodded, trying to follow his train of thought. "So I suspect that Miss Weasley may have been protected from any danger that faced her."
"What if Vol- I mean You-Know-Who, " Harry corrected after the flash in Snape's eyes. "…got to them?" Ron was still nodding, unable to articulate any theories of mortal peril about his own sister.
"I know for a fact that he hasn't. Go to bed." Snape's words were final and the Headmaster regarded the spy with an arched eyebrow of his own.
"But we need to find them, my sister…" Ron began.
"And where do you suggest we look, Mister Weasley?" His question met flat faces. "I thought not." Snape dismissed them tersely and shut the door behind them.
He twirled abruptly and sat in a slump near the decanter of whisky and poured himself and Dumbledore a glass.
"I'm going to need that, am I?" Dumbledore asked.
Severus shot him a dead look. Yes, you are.
"How bad is it?" The Headmaster asked, knowing the answer.
"Bad. He has found a way to break the wards. Either kill them all or kill one of the objects of desire. Actually kill one of three objects of desire, namely Miss Weasley's, Miss Parkinson's, or Miss Granger's."
This was going to be a long night. Happy Bloody Christmas. Severus drained his first double and poured another.
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Hermione sat wide awake after the altercation. Pansy was awake too but neither spoke. Both were thinking the same thing. How can I? It's not possible!
The Gryffindor could barely cry any more tears for the Potions Master or so she thought. The vision of a gruesome death for him dominated her thoughts and she cried without meaning to. She rolled over on the too firm cot and sobbed into an uncomforting pillow.
Soon Pansy was sitting on the edge of her bed. She leaned down, "We're pretty screwed aren't we?"
"Uh-huh," she sniffed. She sat up and looked at Pansy. "You can though. Don't give me that look, I know he's a jerk and all, but at least he's available. He doesn't strike me as the guy who'll say no."
Pansy scoffed. "I wouldn't." But she would. She was already thinking about it, and hated herself for it. "What are you going to do, little chicken shit?"
"I…" Hermione swallowed. She looked away.
Pansy was disturbed by this. How bad could it be? "Hermione, you know you can talk to me. I won't tell."
"Actually no one knows so I'm safer that way. He's safer that way. It'll never happen." Hermione's voice was a choked whisper.
"What do you mean never? You love him! That's why you stood at one of the five points…wait a second. That's why you lasted so long." Hermione looked at her as if she'd solved the puzzle, worried for her guess. "He doesn't know does he? You never told him. That's it. He's not been tempting you at all with dates or awkward moments or anything like the others."
She nodded. "It really, truly… isn't possible. No matter how badly I want it to be." Hermione's tears streaked down her cheeks and Pansy leaned in.
"What are you going to do?" Pansy asked and Hermione rolled away from her. She would say no more, but Pansy could guess. She respected her privacy and retired for bed herself, in pain for her sister, but thankful a bit more in her circumstance that she had a bit more wriggle room than Hermione.
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A week went by and no word. The Daily Prophet had finally manage to ferret out some of the details complete with a list of the missing girls. Thank you for painting targets all over them, Snape thought dryly. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew however. How the tales of Hogwarts mass virgin sacrifice managed to be kept under wraps past Christmas was beyond him. Dumbledore was already being bombarded with howlers and put them into a box to have them explode out of earshot. The Ministry was breathing down their necks but no word on the girls. They would have to wait like everyone else.
"The Floos were being watched," the Minister had said and Snape snorted. As if they would be so stupid. Fudge was trying to make a show of doing something he could tell the public. Rubbish.
Every day was painful as Severus waited for his mark to burn. Hopefully he would wait until after the start of the spring term to call on him. He could hardly do research on the objects of their affection if there were no students. The remaining students were looking sullen as ever as each new day dashed their hopes of a quick return.
Only one more week of break and then school. Severus spent most of the time in his quarters contemplating the unsolvable mystery of their whereabouts. Ginny and Harry shared a relationship together. Would he know if Hermione used the power of her Goddess? When he had been interrogated by the Dark Lord, Gaia had been fearful of his loyalties. He must have seemed divided to her, as he spoke of Hermione. Gaia knew who had invoked the spell— the witch who had called her.
Why was he worth protecting? Foolish Gryffindor.
She told no one the whole year of her plans, and yet came twice weekly to do research. The same girl who knelt and prayed in the cathedral, the same owner of the sultry voice which had captivated him at the Ball. Fiona.
What else had she been hiding? Harry and Ron told Dumbledore of no one she had been seeing and he'd thought it outrageous that the last known person she'd been seen with was the Ravenclaw boy back in August. Every peck on the window had been an alert, but Snape stopped jumping. His unique Christmas present was the only one he was likely to receive. He hadn't even told Dumbledore, though he probably should've. Ron and Harry discussed the presents they received but they were prepared before their departure. He felt flattered to receive one written the day of Christmas. Where had she been? What was she thinking? Hedwig had proved unhelpful, refusing to deliver any letters. He circled the sky overhead and dropped the parcel on Severus' head.
He heard a rap on his door which stirred him from his musings. "Enter."
Dumbledore greeted him. "Severus, you've been holding out on me! Congratulations on your new book! You should have mentioned something and we could have celebrated properly." The old man waved the large tome as if it were light and held a fine case of wine under his left arm.
Severus allowed himself a smile. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes, yes. You deserve it." Dumbledore scooted the case of Merlot on one of the tables. "The penmanship is exquisite. I saw the artist's note in the back. You hired someone for this? Wherever did you find someone?"
"Thought you'd like that. It is beautiful though. I haven't really had a chance to admire it lately with present concerns as they are." Severus said sadly, returning to his melancholy state.
"Yes, there is that. But come with me, you have some people who wish to see you."
Oh no. What did you do you meddlesome old fool?
Dumbledore half-dragged Snape out of the dungeons to the Great Hall where the staff were lined up with their own personal copies purchased from Flourish and Blotts that very morning.
There was a big easel out front with his name in an over-embellished flourish with the title of his book Revitalizing Potions for the Modern Age. He was instantly reminded of a revolting image of one self-absorbed Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Professor Snape, I believe you'll be needing a quill for the Book Signing party," he said with a twinkle and Snape couldn't suppress a look of pride form on his cheeks as everyone clapped and whistled.
Remus and Minerva stood in front, both looking happier than he'd seen them in awhile. Everyone was oohing and ahhing as he scribbled polite comments about his peers. He really should be celebrating. Wine was poured and the students trailed in with interest, peering over the shoulders of the other teachers as he signed. He really wanted to show the students that there was so much more to their professors than mere classes at Hogwarts, though most standing before him now knew that already.
Minerva and Remus shouted out their ideas and conversed with him freely about the subject of potions. Minerva had kept up as best she could, but Transfigurations really suited her. To his surprise Neville Longbottom posed some excellent questions about conservation which pleased Professor Sprout. The one student he would've like to have seen and heard from wasn't present and he was painfully aware of her absence.
Why hadn't he shared more on his unpublished work during their research? It was wholly relevant. Too late. Well, as soon as she returns we can continue the research and I'll give her a copy.
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The girls were running out of things to do. There was a lot of bickering over little things. For instance, Natalie's CD player, a shared item, finally had run out of batteries.
They ventured out a little ways from the cave in small groups. During daylight, the forest was beautiful and few animals were out in this cold weather. Even bowtruckles were scarce. Susan and Sally Ann wandered downhill a half a mile, finding a stream that by some miracle hadn't frozen over.
No more snow.
They used a large pitcher from the cave and retuned with large amounts of water, though it took many trips to fill a cauldron. When the water was heated and cooled, each of them took turns having their first decent bath in a week and a half. It wasn't like a shower, but it wasn't a frozen rag of melted snow, either.
The multiple trips to the spring were worth it. All were willing to put in the work if it meant being clean. The ritual took all day, so for the future they'd have to schedule baths. After all were clean, someone mentioned shampoo and that was all that was needed. Hermione had brought some and shared with everyone. Everyone took turns and they washed each other's hair, weird though it was, but thankful for the first day to be clean.
For lack of anything else they began school early. Luna taught charms, even for the advanced students, using sticks to approximate complex wand movements. She used diagrams to show the complex physics of the arcs of wand waving, surprisingly lecturing in a way many could understand.
"Luna, I telling you that's not right!" Millie howled.
"You know what, Millie?" Luna said quietly. "Maybe you should all start calling me Professor Lovegood and you'd stop talking back in class."
Everybody died laughing, they'd been bickering for twenty minutes. Luna raised her hands to pipe them down.
"Miss Bulstrode," Luna used a deeper voice reminiscent of the snarky potions master. The girls smiled at her imitation. "There is always, more than one way to do things. What are the wand movements for Alohamora?"
Millie laughed. "Swish and flick, that's easy."
"So easy is it, Miss Bulstrode? If you would be so kind to stand before the class and demonstrate." Luna snickered halfway through and couldn't keep up her impression. But she did have their attention.
Millie got to her feet, stood in front of the cave and did her 'Alohamora' spell with the harmless branch. The students looked and saw, mouths twitched in recognition.
"Now swish and flick, Millie," asked Luna.
"I thought I just did that…" Millie did as she was told and the difference was subtle but remarkable.
Millie still didn't see. She was performing for the class. "Thank you for showing the class, now they will show you. Class stand up." All stood. "Wands out. Ready… Alohamora."
Millie's jaw dropped seeing nine different varieties of the spell but sure that all of them would have achieved the same result.
"Every witch or wizard is different and over the course of your life you have developed nuances of your wand waving which make your casting unique. Special. Only yours. It doesn't mean the spell is any less effective, and the strength of the spell comes from your inner magical strength, and also I think your self-confidence as a person. I bet even squibs could learn to perform better if their gifts weren't belittled so much."
Some girls beamed, they had siblings who were less magically inclined than they were.
"No way!" Linda shouted. "Squibs can't do magic!" Susan bones frowned.
"Only because our parents and society told us they can't. Aren't there some other things you can think of where our beloved Ministry ideals might be wrong?" Luna asked.
"Equal rights for magical creatures, house elves, centaurs, and giants!" Hermione shouted out.
"Pureblood magic is no stronger than Mud- I mean than a Muggleborns," Millie said, elbowing Hermione with a wink.
Several heads turned, it looked like it could've been a war. That question was still up for debate and studies were still being done. Daphne saw this and settled it quickly. "That's still being explored, but with all of the unknowns, confidence and so forth… it could be true."
"What about no divorce in wizarding marriages?" offered a meek Orla, a nervous tick appeared on her face. She had felt her illness had changed the Quirke family irrevocably. Truthfully, when she was recovering, Orla was just at home more often to see what had been happening all along— the dissolving of her parents' twenty-year marriage.
Other students nodded, many of their own families imprisoned in strained, strange relationships for the obligation of showing a united front to the wizarding community. Hermione felt grateful that her our parents loved each other so much, but then— unlike many wizarding unions, their marriage wasn't arranged.
Luna picked a bad time to break up the tension with more lighthearted commentary. Really, Hermione thought, it was the best class they'd had until Luna mentioned the plight of the Crumple-Horned Snorkaks. Ah, well.
Hermione taught potions, offering various specimens from the forests she gathered for identification. Unfortunately that offered the first opportunity for the first aid kit, when her skin reacted with the oils on a leaf she procured.
"I can't believe you got poison oak in the middle of winter!" Pansy howled. Everyone was snickering and they had needed a good laugh. Hermione managed to laugh at herself like she had in Hogsmeade. Then her thoughts strayed again to Severus. The students noticed her distraction. She'd been troubled a lot lately.
"Hey you!" Ginny snapped her fingers. "Class remember?"
Hermione continued and explained about scarcity of potions ingredients. They couldn't brew much and she hadn't brought much with her. Maybe Dobby could help with that.
Dobby had diligently brought food every morning, afternoon and evening. Hermione had saved quite a bit over the course of two weeks to ration out in case he couldn't return. She made a list of things to ask him privately to bring from her quarters while they were still vacant for the holiday.
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Snape dreamed and thought on his book. His thoughts drifted to the swirls of ink, the fine parchment under his hand. He could discern the subtle irregularities of the fibers. He saw the page full of lists of chemical interactions. And sat up. That was it.
He ran to fetch her letter and box and brought them to the laboratory. It was far fetched, like something out of a Muggle movie. He was pulling at straws. The swabbed both items and slipped the device into a vial for testing. After preparing several vials, he scrawled out a quick note to a colleague who had access to Muggle equipment, in the forensics department of Scotland Yard, no less. He had asked for the results immediately and sent his favor by owl.
In the morning, he was feeling foolish and embarrassed at his frantic sleep induced idea. It had seemed good at the time, but perhaps he had sent his friend on a wild goose chase. But it could yield something useful. A clue, anything uncommon. A chemical, a rare grain of sand found only in certain parts of the world, anything to narrow the search from The Globe.
It was the first day of the Spring Term an he was in an ugly mood to the first students of the day. It was Gryffindor/Slytherin Advanced Potions. He could barely stand to look at the woefully dwindling student population. No Pansy. No Millicent. No Lisa. No Hermione.
The students stared at him waiting for class to begin, Harry looking especially down seeing Hermione's empty chair. Draco looking at Pansy's beside him.
Bugger all. Snape gave menacing look in fully dressed splendor, slamming his fingers down on his desk. "I want no less than ten feet on the uses of bat's wing and fruit flies in modern potionmaking by next class. Get. Out. Class Dismissed." Snape turned and fled to his private den where no student would dare bother him. No one else could bear them being gone an neither would he.
The other classes weren't easier, and he couldn't just dismiss them all. The younger students were missing too, and he caught a fair amount of whispering amongst the students about the missing women. "Why haven't they come back yet?"
Ron and Harry were particularly distraught, trying to focus more fervently than ever on taking good notes now that Hermione wasn't there to make up for it. They could at least return the favor. When they spied Melanie, they cornered her before class.
She had been waiting for the confrontation, and was amazed they had waited so long.
"I know you know something. When are they coming back?" Harry was almost angry, his voice low and serious.
Ron piped up, "Come on, Melanie. We have to know. Surely they would come back by school?"
"I didn't get to come back in time for school, Ron Weasley." Melanie said darkly, eyeing the pair.
He blushed, kicking himself for forgetting her kidnapping.
Melanie sighed. "It will be soon. But I don't know exactly when. I have every confidence that they are fine. Okay?" She looked at Harry and he nodded. "If it makes you feel any better, they were beside themselves that they couldn't tell you, but I promise it was for the good of everyone. You'll have answers soon." Ron looked at her like she knew more than she was letting on and became hot again. "Don't give me that look! I don't know much, and they left me out of a lot of details on purpose for the reason that they knew I'd be left behind. There's nothing else to tell, I swear."
"Thanks, Melanie. You promise it won't be long?" Harry asked quietly.
She nodded and the pair left her to go to class. The exchange was not missed by Remus and Severus who had been in the hallway at a distance. Melanie slumped against the wall until she caught their eye, then straightened briskly and left for Charms.
"That young lady has had a lot on her shoulders," Remus observed.
"She seems to have recovered well from her ordeal in spite of the horror. I think the spell and her responsibilities have helped her in that regard. She's only fourteen. A child, but carries herself now like Minerva at times." Severus thought out loud.
"She'll be better still when the others return I'd wager. I know I will. It's odd the vacancies in the classes. Teaching had been difficult. The DA members are all preoccupied with the loss of nearly a third of their female members so I have only a few volunteers for answers," Lupin admitted.
"Classes are slow and tedious." Snape agreed.
Remus sighed. The day had been grueling. "I hope Melanie is right. They need to be back soon, if only to give me peace of mind."
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Draco hadn't said much to anyone this term. His Christmas break was too long and Lucius had grilled him about the details of the ball, the crucial points he missed. He was beyond furious, however didn't have the strength to curse Draco. Thank Merlin for that. To see the loathing in his father's eyes for what the girls did disturbed him. His father took pleasure in seeing others suffer and it was more than his superior attitude.
'I can't believe eight Slytherins. It would have been a noble sacrifice,' he'd said.
A noble sacrifice. Noble? That fathers would sacrifice their daughter's to Voldemort? Lucius didn't once ask about Melanie and Draco hadn't mentioned that she'd been the one to throw the dart that laid out the bastard cold.
Draco couldn't get to Hogwarts fast enough, and he had argued with mother about coming a day early. He was already planning his apology to the girl he had wronged. But then in class, she hadn't come. She wasn't there. Draco had no concentration for studies. He had learned many other students had stayed behind to wait for their safe return. He would have to wait.
He did garner up enough courage to apologize to Melanie though, and perhaps she knew something about Pansy.
"What do you want?" Melanie bit out.
"Um. I wanted to… apologize. I was wrong that day at the Ball. About a lot of things. I'm sorry for what I said." Draco stammered, but serious.
"And what was that?" Melanie drew out the painful apology out as long as she could, believing it to be insincere.
"I'm sorry I called you a filthy traitorous bitch. You're no traitor." Draco caught the slip and Melanie near hit him. "Geez! You know what I mean… You're not any of those things!" Melanie had her wand out. Draco didn't draw his at all and looked at her. "Melanie, I am very sorry about what happened to you. I was really thick, you know? You have to admit, a lot of things escaped most of the boys attention this year. You had us all in the dark."
Melanie smiled a bit. A tiny bit. "Yeah, we did didn't we?"
Draco nodded. Maybe he was forgiven, or it was a beginning. "I've been thinking a lot about Pansy… and the others," he added. "Do you know when they'll be back?" he asked as innocently as he could.
Melanie wasn't about to bite. "They'll be back when it's safe," she said crisply. "Later, Malfoy." She left briskly to her next class.
Draco sat in reflection as he ate, paying attention to snippets of conversations he could hear around him. Lots of murmuring about virgin sacrifice, half translations of the spell they chanted. But he also was beginning to notice the ugly looks he earned from other students. He was a Malfoy. And his father had tried to kill everyone in the school. This year was going to be difficult. But it wasn't going to be easy to define himself separately from his father and make up for five years of being an egotistical prat overnight.
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Their clothes were getting icky, having been worn several times already. Arguments were huge about food not properly being thrown away and it stank to high heaven in the cave until Dobby found the offensive deteriorating morsel.
Sisterly love or not, the girls were about to kill each other. Despite the freezing weather they spent a lot of time outdoors just to get personal space. Ginny thought about Harry all the time, feeling nearly the same as she had the day of the Yule Ball.
Pansy too had fought her feelings for Draco long enough. While everyone was out of the cave, she took a few minutes to pleasure herself discretely just to relieve the tension. Was it just her, or was the desire stronger than ever? Frustrated still, she picked up the book and skimmed the spell again.
"Creation and destruction, energy and rhythm— Twenty girls come together in the pentacle and leave as women, losing their blood yet remaining innocent.
Choosing to stand in the pentacle, symbol of the feminine, enables casters to connect with their own womanliness and power such that they are able to call upon a goddess to help them. Such purity of heart and spirit amongst these sisters fulfills the destiny of the spell, renewing wards to a height unknown to many.
Desire wants to be satisfied. Like two charged opposites wanting to draw together, and it's only the will of the virgin that prevents their union. One pulls, the other pushes… it's a chase. Virginity expended, innocence preserved."
And she wasn't a virgin anymore. She had no fight left. She thought the spell alone would quench her desire for him, but it had only increased. But Millicent and the others… Millicent only spoke of missing Neville to talk to. Their interests were new and their relationship in early stages. She didn't walk around the cave all randy, and she was Millie, Mistress of Desire for crying out loud! Even Lisa seemed calm and in control.
But Ginny and Hermione. They were the ones who hadn't completed their part of the spell. And if they didn't act soon Pansy knew she would be consumed by desire.
She hated it. Pansy toyed with the idea of masquerading as Monica Bruce, surely he would be turned on by an older woman. Then he wouldn't know it was her. Shit. That's so cowardly, Pansy! Get it together.
Hermione was freezing, but she found some solace in the babbling stream. There were patches of ice lining it near the rocks and she watched her breath hit the cold air. She got up to walk a bit farther downstream where the river was widening. After a while, Ginny called out for her. She had gone too far and was out of sight. Hermione's feet were numb, but she ran back toward her voice.
"Dobby's here!" Ginny yelled.
It was always welcome to see a friendly face. But this time she had another favor to ask. Dobby slipped her the things she had asked for. The girls scurried inside to devour breakfast.
"Dobby, I hate to ask you, but our clothes are getting very dirty. Would it be possible for you to launder them for us?" Hermione implored.
"Yes of course, Miss. Miss? Dobby is not asking many questions because you say no. But I is having to warn you that people are getting very suspicious of me. The other house elves is noticing when I is gone." Dobby wrung his flimsy sweater with his bony wrinkled hands and Hermione feared he might do himself harm. She felt horrible that she had put him in such a predicament.
"Dobby, I can't thank you enough for all of your help. I swear we couldn't have done it without you," Hermione praised and the elf blushed. "I swear, it will be over soon and life will go back to normal."
"Normal?" Dobby squeaked happily.
"We should be back by the end of the week, but don't tell. Just a few more days. Fresh clothes will make it more bearable."
"Dobby will wash! I is so happy Miss. Good news!" He spun around in glee and some of the girls overheard— beaming too, counting down the days until they could return home, talk to their friends and family, have a hot meal and warm bath. Clean teeth with magic. Use a toilet without nature getting in the way.
When Dobby spun around to face Hermione his eyes were wide and saw. He saw the way elves see. He looked at Pansy and looked back at Miss Granger. He shed a frozen tear and couldn't speak. Hermione got choked up. He realized all of the things he was asked to bring weren't for school or tutoring.
Before he left he said calmly, "I will wash your clothes, Miss."
"Thank you, Dobby." He disappeared with a pop.
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"We need to pack."
"What, now? Are we leaving early?" Marietta asked excitedly.
"No," Hermione replied. "There's a chance that we may be found sooner than planned because the other elves are getting suspicious of Dobby's peculiar activities. We need to be ready to leave."
Pansy looked at her friend in sorrow. The girls didn't need to be told twice and packed swiftly as Hermione walked out front. The damp cold of the stone froze right through her jeans and thermal underwear. She kicked out her legs in front, making designs in the snow.
"Are you going to be okay?" Pansy asked.
"What do you mean?" Hermione played dumb.
"What do you take me for? I'm not blind." She put a friendly arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight. Hermione laid her head on Pansy's shoulder and sighed.
"I'll be fine." Hermione muttered.
"What do you need from me?"
Hermione's throat hitched. "This… is great. Just… tell Ron and Harry that I love them. They won't understand."
"Hermione, I hate to break this to you, but I don't think very many are going to understand at all. I know I still don't." Pansy rubbed her back and stayed for a long time. Ginny joined them later for the painful talk. There was a lot of arguing, but the other girls remained inside to let them hash it out.
"What do you mean you're not going?!" Ginny was furious. "You have to go!"
Hermione looked at her friend and Ginny saw her mind would not be changed. "Please," Ginny begged. "Harry will be crazy, you know how he gets."
Hermione sat up all night packing carefully, and writing two additional letters to Ron and Harry. They were written in a shaky hand and she had to rewrite them to make sure the were legible, without tearstains and clear. She was burning to write one to Severus, but she could only think incomplete thoughts, and no words would sufficiently explain her disappearance.
Luna sat with her after speaking to Ginny. Wordlessly, she dropped a gold chain and locket into Hermione's open palm and closed her fingers around it. On the back was engraved 'Hogwarts'. Luna had charmed it before their flight from the Ball. Luna hugged her tightly and left her, a far more serious girl than anyone gave her credit for.
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Three days into school, Snape was startled from his grading by an owl at his window. He retrieved the parchment from the bird, complete with the test results he had sent off three days ago. It was terribly useful, but now he only had raw data.
He scanned the compounds found. Odd, there was an unusual amount of dirt. Bark, maybe from the wood box?
He needed time. Alfred had made his own conclusions which were broad and sweeping. After an hour or so, Snape left his dungeons frustrated for breakfast.
Dumbledore addressed the students this morning as he should have their first day back. "Good morning Hogwarts students. I would like to acknowledge that some very significant things happened at the end of term which have resulted in the vacancies around you. It was an incredibly brave thing those girls did, performing that spell. I had hopes that they would return by the beginning of school, as I am sure all of you had expected. Alas, I see that is not to be. Let me assure you that I have every confidence of their safe return, and please do your best to concentrate on the opportunities before you for study. If any of you have need to speak with me, please feel free to do so, especially if you have information regarding your peers."
When he sat, the plates filled with food. Ron had miraculously lost his appetite. Harry was picking at his eggs. "Opportunity for study. Humph. If they hadn't done that spell we wouldn't have a place to study." Harry ran his fingers through his unruly black hair, messing it up more. Then smoothed it. He didn't want to be remembered for behaving as his father had.
"I hope they'll come back soon. And when Hermione gets here, I'm going to kill her." He sighed. "Right after I hug the breath out of her. Damn that girl." He shoved sausages into his mouth.
Harry smiled. He was thinking the same thing. Except Ginny. He could scarcely contain his joy in thinking she would be home soon. He would kiss her soundly and make sure he told her out loud that he loved her.
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Katie Renou threw down her bags by the Floo and plopped on her sofa sighing. Home. Finally. She had spent four weeks in Brazil taking care of her frail grandmother. There was nothing more they could do for her except keep her comfortable and it had been a long battle.
Katie was the only one left with a schedule free enough to care for her. The holidays were so busy at Flourish and Blotts her co-workers screamed at her departure, but it was necessary. Her brother had already taken two months off, and he was missing his family.
She picked up her newspapers and mail all at once, sorting through it. She smiled at the book, finally finished, glad to have a copy for herself and one for Hermione. Good work girl!
Her face fell however when the December 26th issue of the daily prophet fell into her lap.
'Virgin Spellcasting Shakes Hogwarts: Twenty Girls Missing'
"Good Gods!" Her eyes flew across the page in tears as she read. The first name missing, Hermione Granger. Oh no. She scribbled out a letter and sent Buckwheat out to search. She sent the book too, and kept it anonymous as before. The soldier was deployed.
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Snape sat in his reading chair pouring over the data. He brushed a stray blade of grass from his pants leg he'd picked up from his earlier venture for potions ingredients. When the epiphany came, he bolted for the door without delay, his black cloak billowing behind him as he took his longest strides. He had to see Dumbledore.
In their own backyard, he couldn't believe it, but it made perfect sense. Actually it made no goddamn sense at all. Three weeks in the Forbidden Forest, twenty girls alone?
"Treacle Fudge!" He hissed.
He ran up the revolving steps despite the dizzying feeling it provoked. The Headmaster was already in a full tirade with Dobby and Winky. Snape stopped cold.
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Winky had popped up to see Dumbledore first.
"Yes, Winky? What is it?"
She was in a frightful state, now flogging herself furiously with the tea cozy she used for a hat. "I works for you, sir. But Master Dobby, he is not doing what he should." She hit herself again and Albus winced.
"Winky, I have told you no punishing yourself." He muttered a charm and her hands flew out to her sides, unable to hit herself any longer. "What is bothering you? Dobby is free to do as he pleases. He is a free elf, Winky." They had been through this before.
"Yes sir, but he is. I is seeing him wash the girls' clothes in the middle of the night, sir." She squeaked and let out a wail.
Girls' clothes, why is that odd?
Dobby popped in, "Say no more!" He pointed at Winky.
"What is going on here Dobby?" Dumbledore stood, so much more imposing when he did so.
Dobby crossed his arms defiantly and glared at Winky.
"What girls' clothes Winky?" He said more harshly and she cried.
Snape entered the room at that moment watching the spectacle. "THE girls, the missing girls sir! He's been washing their clothes and stealing from the kitchens!"
"BAHHH!" Dobby yelled, house elves looking quite fearsome when they did so.
Snape piped up next grabbing Dobby by the scruff, "If you know where they are, you will take us to them now." He left no room for argument. "Headmaster, I did some analysis and found they are hiding in the Forbidden Forest." Albus raised a curious eyebrow and fetched his cloak.
Dobby's eyes widened and sighed in angry resignation, he scowled again at the distraught Winky.
"Fine. They was ready to come back anyways." Dobby said plainly, as if he had intended to bring them all along.
Once at the edge of the Forbidden Forest they could apparate in further, which Dobby had suggested they do. They were deep inside the forest.
Crunching their feet angrily through the snow they could hear the sound of laughing girls who were pulling bags outside the cave. It was a bit infuriating to see them in such good spirits. It wasn't like they had gone camping. They hadn't needed them one whit. But they did need Dobby, and it was bitterly cold to be camping in this snow.
Snape approached the mouth of the cave and looked at the conditions.
"Finite Incantatem," Luna said relieved at her first bit of magic. The bed transfigured back to two stones which clattered to the cavern floor.
Pansy swung a bag over her shoulder and met the gaze of the Head of Slytherin. She nodded politely and made a hasty exit.
"I am glad to see you are all well," Snape said, and Hermione turned to face him.
She hadn't seen him in almost a month and her heart ached. She stared for a moment and something passed between them. She wasn't cognizant of the movement around her and finally all of the girls had exited. She took a deep breath as she memorized his face. Bless me.
"I am sorry," she said, unnecessarily rearticulating the sentiments of her earlier letter.
"You've said that," was his quiet reply. He did not even blink. Snape ushered her out and she made a display of picking up spare portable fires. He exited the cave to watch the girls use portkeys the headmaster had enchanted. When he turned back to Hermione the cave was entirely empty. No.
Everything was happening too quickly. All of the girls had nearly portkeyed out and Severus' troubled eyes met the cool blue ones belonging to the headmaster. No one else was coming. Albus strode forward and searched the cave.
"She's gone, Albus." Severus stood shell-shocked and Dumbledore stood silently.
"We must return Severus, perhaps her friends will have the answers we need."
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Author's Notes:
Another cliffie! I love it. It was a good stopping place anyway. Next you get to see what the reactions are up at Hogwarts, poor Hermione settling into her new digs. And how Snape deals with nineteen returned students and coping with the one still gone. School really isn't school without Hermione. And now that our selfless heroine is all alone, I would like us to revisit the poem from earlier… a bit of foreshadowing. I can't remember which reviewer it was before who said the spell might be too powerful or amazing that there weren't more ways of breaking it… but there are. Kill all or kill one. Horrible. (Hey, found it! steph2bwld said in response to chap 13 that it was "a little too good to be true." And it was too good to be true without consequences.)
I hate to love him
The exquisite torture of unrequited love
His voice and manner
Haunt my dreams
In both sun and shadow.
What once stood here
In these shoes
Is now a hopeless fool
An utterly ruined woman
Pining for the love of a man
she cannot possess.
Who was the fool who said
'Love conquers all?'
Love has damned me forever.
The strains of her heart
Incapacitate her
Yet her body drones on
Going through the motions
Of shallow existence.
As she walks
With the this painful secret
Etched upon her breast
She feels the naked truth of love
Press upon her
Embarrassingly visible on her face.
They do not suspect
But friends comfort her
Making cruelly kind inquiries
About her supposed affliction.
Is it wrong
For her to care for
A man she cannot fully know?
How can she love him?
She aids him in secret—
Carefully concealing all subtle gestures
Of affection for him.
Ah, but his eyes radiate with such an intensity
Of passion and knowledge
She avoids even fleeting glances
If he were to look on her
Would he know?
If he found her—
If he truly saw her as she is
Would he honor her
With conversation and companionship?
It is sad
That she knows him not
The distance is cruel
And yet mere space or distance
Cannot communicate the secrets of
A private man.
He lets no one near
So alone—
She herself can appreciate
The pangs of lonely solitude.
He is in the dark
And so is she.
With him alone
She has been most honest
Though there has been a recent omission,
Can he forgive her?
Will he understand?
All for love,
All for protection—
She hopes he will pardon
Her brief but significant deception.
If she should volunteer the truth of her affection
Rejection would be swift and severe,
Knocking the breath from her lips,
Bruising her fragile heart
Even with the kindest of words.
Afraid as she is of him knowing
'Tis more painful still—
him not knowing.
If he should acknowledge her
In some brief way—
If love could be returned,
She would weep for joy of it.
Love has made her a coward.
She will never tell of it,
will not speak his name
Except in the innocuous
Clandestine tones
Of everyday happenings,
No one the wiser.
She shall guard against
Invasion of this sacred knowledge
As if the mention of it
Were a dagger that could end his life
If his name were spoken aloud.
On pain of death
No one will know,
Gladly accepting an Unforgivable
In place of the unforgivable betrayal
Of his identity.
My God
I hope he will rescue me
The futile yearnings of my heart
Might destroy me utterly
If I never share it.
She has an omission? That's an understatement. He's in the dark? You can say that again. Love is torture. Cowardly Gryffindors, sometimes brave for the wrong reasons and stubborn as all hell.
Nakhash Mekashefah- that is awesome! Where did you get your history on her from? And she's associated with snakes? And small enclosed spaces? I didn't do that on purpose, on second thought… Yeah, yeah that's the ticket. S'my plan all along… right. Thank you for your review!
LilThuggin'- Thanks, yeah good ol' Snape didn't mean to look at it from that angle, but he is remembering he is a man. Rather preoccupied lately with a poem making him wish he could be loved that way, and wondering why he was blessed. He's about to find out next chapter, a few misleading answers to that question.
Tigress12- Snape has good Occlumency alright, but… well I can't say too much for future chapters… I love the Goddesses too, though we may not see much use of them for awhile.
Alpha- Thank you thank you! Come back soon, and when you do, I hope you will have two chapters to read instead of one.
Crissy- Sorry to disappoint you, but where Hermione is concerned you are wrong. Think about the poem, and what she would do to protect Snape. I have reprinted it above, for now that Hermione is alone, I think it appropriate. On pain of death… (but that is from Hermione's point of view).
Wackoramaco87- Thank you. I write long chapters because I want to finish an idea for scenes together with a natural stopping point or cliffie. And I have a very big mouth. Oops I should have checked the Bestiary in the HP Lexicon! I am changing it today! So sorry. Next chapter now! Hee hee and soon. I need to slow down, because I have to set up the next important sequence of events, character development and so one.
Keket Amunet- You betcha, and there will be an interesting segment with Harry and Ron coming next chapter, but I'm not quite sure how to play it. Draco has a lot of making up to do, and I'm not so sure pansy will be so ready to believe him… of she's got the whole desire thing going. Will she chicken out and use remaining Polyjuice? And here is the trouble baby! Hermione, all alone. Thanks for the recommendations about the tutoring sessions, I put in some more on that after reading your review.
Rosmerta- Yes, you may. Hermione has become something of a girl scout with this little wilderness retreat. And now, there will be more Snape.
Athene Saile- Hooray! Glad you like it. The button below calls you for suggestions…
MxSRose- Thank you! Hope you missed your keyboard…
Althea Gray- Thank you, but as for looking, all bets are off. Wait til Dumbledore settles it in his mind that Hermione is gone. They aren't going to let that go. Especially Minerva.
What's Their Name- Thank you!
Christine- And Lucius did manage to break a bottle cap of a hole, but alas (hooray!) it closed (we're saved!) Hermione did not willingly give her blood to Goyle, but she did willingly perform the spell, all the consent that was needed to make her virginal blood collectible. (Ha ha collectible. Ha ha. Snape has the tubes of blood all lined up beside his collection of Beanie Babies… haha. Do you think they made a snake? J/K.)
Kit- Here you go!
Franflutewitch- Yeah, could you imagine Voldemort on fire? You know that do say snake tastes like chicken… Yeah, we're about to get more of Snape's reflections alright. In the beginning, he's curious because they've formed a bit of a working relationship and Snape's not used to that. But he's also puzzled by the blessing, not wanting to speak about it to anyone. Curiously Dumbledore had respected him on that point. He used the Pensieve to get more info on what happened but could only contemplate what she must have gone through. He preoccupies his holiday time with useless efforts regarding rescue. And they don't need rescuing.
The original sessy- I know you're only only chap 8 (hope you keep reading…Smile!) Hermione only received exceeds expectations in DADA because A: she's not perfect even though she aspires to be. And B: in the book it says that Harry is better at her at DADA. But you're right, maybe they graded her lower because of some stupid prejudice against our beloved Hermione! Haha!
Midnightrider- Thank you, I'm so glad you think so. I'm trying for more detail. I'll really be needing it now with Hermione gone. Ooops, slip.
Alicat99- Severus only has a tiny clue. That he needs company. He is worried for a brilliant student and is unwilling to recognize now that it could be anything more. She's his student for crying out loud. In the club, she was pretending to be more mature than her years. Now, Hermione IS more mature than her years. As always, thank you for your review!
Min Hee- Thank you, and I reprinted the whole thing for you above, complete with breaks like it should have originally had.
Pandora Nervosa- Thank you. I forgot exactly what lemons were… I think I have a few in Burden of Sight.
Corrie- Thank you, only one day. How's that?
Tabii- Awesome, it was supposed to be a tearjerker.
Wytil- Pressure cooked. Inner scramble thing. Hard wand movements, that. Voldemort doesn't like failure.
June Williams- Thank you, and I will let you know when the story is posted elsewhere. One of the reviewers wanted to put it on her website and that's in progress.
Kylara- Snape ain't blind, he just thinks. "I can't have that. It's not for me." Denial sucks. Thanks for picking up the story today, good time to do it too. More soon! Reviews are appreciated. What do you want to see happen next?
MA- Man o man (or woman o woman?- ha) do I love your long reviews! I'm so glad this inspired so many questions from you! And did the punishment satisfy you? We can only speculate how long that went on. Interesting posed question about the reaction of Pansy's family and others. I won't mention it to give it away, but they will be varied. I hope this chapter answers some of your questions about how the spell can be broken. I don't think the blessed people feel deceived, they should be flattered. Not all relationships will be the same, but there will be more respect for the girls who casted, and perhaps some negative comments from obnoxious boys like Goyle. Course, he shouldn't tempt the girls' boxing team. I'll try to go more into the goddesses choosing later if possible. Those kind of bonds can never be destroyed, and while before the spell you don't see the girls from different houses being so chummy outside of the ROR, I think all the women, Slytherin included are not gonna hide their sisterhood. "I've got your back," and so forth. I love Simon and Garfunkel and I did read the lyrics. That song is really appropriate for upcoming chapters. I also like Norah Jones, the Long Day is Over. Short, and beautiful. And you're not long-winded, keep it up!
Feeling tired
By the fire
The long day is over
The wind is gone
Asleep at dawn.
The embers burn on
With no reprise
The sun will rise
The long day is over
Saturngurl123- I think the Marauder's Map shows the edge of the Forbidden Forest only, not 5 miles of it. And I like to think that Dumbledore knows quite a bit but has his limits. He does have a few tricks up his sleeve though. I'll show you how he finds distressed students.
Ezmerelda- Ezmerelda, you are so good. Anticipating things… Yeah, I love it that she sends him, Death Eater, all of the blood they were trying to protect. Pansy would cast an Unforgivable on Hermione if she knew.
Alarase- I don't quite think this fic will take us to the Final battle though it easily could. I can't tell too much about SS/HG or it'll ruin the story. They are empowered, independent and not all will get their men or women as it were. And this chapter was as long as I could make it.
Lyn me- Thank you! I'll try my best.
Poetrychik- Hey, thank you! And as for Hedwig, that owl isn't likely to betray a confidence. Hedwig knows she would be followed. The Slytherin students have a lot of personal stakes in saving their own skins, but I don't think they're about to have enough brass to go after Voldie. No way.
Kat6528- Me neither, and that's why it's so cool. I was only a brownie.
Azulkkan2- Me too. Snape is about to suffer more.