Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and most regrettably Severus Snape do not belong to me. I'm just messin' with 'em a bit. I, the writer, am making no profit from this.
Look! Green dividers! Woah...
'Scuse me. I'm just thrilled that is actually working. I've had this chapter all done and beta'd since SUNDAY. And I've had to sit on it and wait. sigh Oh well.
Another thanks to Alison for beta-ing this for me. D
Tangled up in his toffee colored bed sheets, Professor Severus Snape let out a groan. He glanced at the clock, which sat on the mantelpiece; it was 3 in the morning. It was an unusually late hour to be summoned, though who can claim that there was anything usual when dealing with a madman like Voldemort?
He made his way out of bed, moving as fast as he could without the promise of coffee. He wore plain starched boxers and not much else. Contrary to popular belief, he did not live in the dungeons. His quarters were situated a level higher, above the Slytherin's den. A good layout, it made it easy to cast a quick spell through the floor and make sure nothing too illicit was going on down there.
He pulled on his usual robes, black with small onyx buttons down the front. Then, he found his Death Eater robes. They were dark green; so much so that at times they looked black. The material was heavy, with a discreet pattern of skulls and intertwining snakes on it, not dissimilar to the symbol of the dark mark.
He threw that on over his robes, and then slid into his usual heavy boots. He walked out of his chambers, grabbing his silver mask out of it's hidden compartment in his dresser, mentally preparing himself as he did.
One would imagine he would take the path down to Hogsmeade, or perhaps to the Forbidden Forest to apparate to his master's side, but no. Instead, the headmaster had provided him with an ingenious method of transportation.
As Severus Snape held that soggy, fungus-laden sock of a portkey, he thanked Albus Dumbledore's supposed brilliance once again.
With a slight tug and a sudden stop, he found himself on familiar ground. Yes, it looked vaguely familiar. But why it did, Snape couldn't place.
He took his place among his Death Eater brethren. The air was cool, fresh with the smell of fallen leaves and the sharp tang that signified the coming of winter. There weren't as many here as there were before, Severus noted. Their numbers had either dwindled, or the Dark Lord was up to something.
The Dark Lord, ever the dramatic, stood at the center, and all eyes were fixed upon him. To break eye contact was to ask for pain. And pain you would get.
"Krum!" he barked, taking a step to the side so that he was slightly off center. "Get over here."
The circle broke almost directly across from Snape. A stalwart figure entered through the space provided, while another shorter man followed. The second man dragged a something, or more likely, someone, behind him.
"You said you had a matter to discuss?" the Dark Lord hissed, his eyes darting to the petite figure on the moist ground.
"Yes, Lord. Vat is Hermyknee Granger. I'm sure you remember her." Krum answered. He stood proudly, his hands clasped firmly behind his back and his face held high, not looking at the ground as many of his contemporaries were.
Hermione lay bloodied and bruised on the spongy ground. From what Snape could see in the moonlight, she had a black eye and a gash on her arm that she clutched in an effort to stop the bleeding. When she moved, it was slowly and carefully. Severus was no healer, but he suspected that she had broken ribs or some other abdominal infliction.
He frowned behind his mask, his mind working furiously to deduce what was going on. If Severus had learned one thing, it was that all Death Eaters had ulterior motives. But the question was; what was Krum's?
The Dark Lord threw a glare at all three of the beings before him. "You are too presumptuous by far, Krum." he growled harshly. "But yes, I do know the mudblood. An old friend of yours, from what I hear."
"You see Lord, it all started ven-" Krum began, only to be cut off but the Dark Lord's dulcet tones.
"Krum! Get to the point before I lose what little patience I have left with you!" he spat warningly.
Krum gave a polite bow of understanding. "Of course, my Lord. Basically, the whore is pregnant." It was funny how he could say that so politely. His English had obviously improved immensely.
Again, Snape was left wondering why the hell they would care. There was a good chance the child would be a witch or wizard, that much was true, but the consequences of using newborn wizard blood far outweighed the benefits. Not even this lot was daft enough to try that.
Red serpentine eyes narrowed in Krum's direction. "Explain." he commanded. An unnatural silence had come over the group. It was not often that such a situation had occurred, actually, Severus could not remember anything similar ever occurring. It had been a while since the Dark Lord had had new difficulties to deal with. It would be interesting to see how he handled this.
"I used her for all she was worth and now ve haff this problem." Viktor Krum said haughtily. He talked as if he seemed himself above such petty explanations. "I'm sure vat you vould like to do is dispose of her. But perhaps there vould be some vay for you to use her?"
"Use her?" the Dark Lord intoned slowly, his mood changing to dangerous irritation.
At this point, everyone knew that Krum had crossed that invisible line which signified he had gone too far. Krum just assumed too much. Everything from his posture to his tone indicated that he thought himself of some importance. The man was just too proud, too arrogant to realize that he was not only making a complete fool out of himself, but also putting himself in danger.
The Dark Lord started to take slow, even steps; circling Viktor as a vulture would his dinner. "What you fail to realize, Krum." he said his name with obvious disdain, "Is that you are here to be punished. Whatever scheme you might have planted in that little brain for yours is never going to save you."
"I can see right through you, Krum. I always have." he rasped in low tones, not raising his voice. He wasn't about to raise his voice for his audience; if you wanted to listen then you had better pay attention.
Definite fear flickered through Krum's eyes. His collected exterior flickered for a moment, and then was replaced by an expression of thick innocence. "All I vanted to do vas to serve you, Master!" he exclaimed, trying to seem guiltless but failing miserably. He was a man pleading for his life.
"Do not think that I am to be fooled by such pitiful words!" the Dark Lord growled, "The only reason you were here was for yourself, and everyone here knows it. I will not tolerate such behavior."
The Dark Lord raised his arm, his wand pointing directly at Krum. Krum's eyes had gone teary and his posture had slumped. He was the epitome of a man who had lost everything playing a game he didn't understand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
And Krum was dead.
"Let that be a lesson to all of you." the Dark Lord said simply. He took a few steps away from the dead corpse that was one Viktor Krum.
He frowned in Hermione's direction, where she was still lying crouched on the ground. "You there, bring the mudblood forward." The Dark Lord motioned to Krum's associate, who did as he was requested.
"So, here we have the infamous Hermione Granger."
Yep, I off-ed Krum. You're welcome. P
Woah. lots of reviews. Thank you all so much!
Queenofwitches: She did exist in the muggle world. Until about 11, when she started to go to Hogwarts. If the MoM didn't remove those documents, Hermione's parents could have gotten in trouble. Having a kid that doesn't go to school (well she does, but what kind of grades would they be able to submit?), doesn't go to the doctor, among other things. That's enough to bring child protective services around, I reckon. Thanks for the review, you made a good point. I'll have to stick more of this explination into the story, alot of people have mentioned similar ideas.
HeavenStone: Yep, I'll definately make a tale of it. Eventually she'll have to tell someone how she managed to get captured.
Strega-in-progress: Heh, glad I got that reaction outta you.
blackbird fly: And I only get eviler. grin.
June: Erm...well...I got Hermione away from Krum....though I'm sure you're not too keen on the whole in-Voldie's-clutches thing.
Aleatha515: Let's just pretend that Dumbledore is having a problem with his brain synapses and isn't acting correctly at the moment. hums
GEmory: Uh...maybe? grin Sure they will. When they decide to stop seeing what's easier to understand. Like it was easier for them to believe that Hermione was a lil'scamp than to believe she was raped. Silly people.
Raeysama: Aww thank you! And of course I'll finish. I have this horrible tendency of finishing what I start. smile
Dragonmaster Kurai: Congrats! Full marks? Woah, nice job.
iceprincess7133: Hrm...well Dumbledore'll definately have it coming.
Caryla: Bassage, indeed. Hehe. Thanks.
teh munchkin: Eh, people do crazy things, what can I say?
risi: lol I believe the term for just throwing all the inconsistencies out the window is "literary suspense of disbelief". One of my favorite excuses. And I'll tie up those loose ends eventually...though thanks for pointing them out to me.
Anna Taure: What's going to happen? You'll just have to wait and see and read and review so I update quicker and then the process begins again! Hehe.
R/R
