Disclaimer: J.K.Rowling owns everything, I don't. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 16
As they reached the main hallway of the school and stood mere inches away from the expansive entrance, Hermione looked up at her new husband and noticed that her school robe was draped over his arm. While trying to mask her fear, she asked, "Are we going to meet with Volde-" She stopped as he quickly hissed at her.
"Don't ever use that name in my presence," he spat out angrily. "I know that you bantered that name about quite freely with your friends," at this word he jeered, "but you will not use it anymore." Avoiding the large double doors, he tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her toward the stairway that lead to the dungeon.
Wondering if they were to leave the school by secret passageway, Hermione again broached her fears, "Are we going to meet with... He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?"
"Don't be stupid," he scoffed. Dragging her down an unfamiliar hallway, he shook his head as if offended. "Only an idiot would bring you to the Dark Lord."
Although his words should have started a trickling of relief, she was still unsure of his plans for her. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she began again, "Then where are we-"
She abruptly closed her mouth when he suddenly stopped in front of a tapestry of the Feast of the Cornish Pixies. Watching as the normally mischievous creatures cowered in fear, she saw Snape raise his wand and tap an intricate succession of dinner plates. As he lowered his wand, Hermione heard the Pixies scream as they dove to snatch food off the table before scattering to the outer edges of the tapestry. Amid a swirl of colors an opening appeared and stretched to fill the wall from floor to ceiling.
Stepping through the opening, Snape pulled her inside just moments before the opening disappeared, its absence leaving a plain stone wall in its wake. Letting go of her arm, he tossed her robe to the side before flicking his wand toward the torches that lined the walls. As light flooded the room, she looked around and rubbed her bruised arm while trying to shake a familiar feeling.
Having not spent much time in the dungeons, she supposed that the room would be considered comfortable. The increased number of torches on the wall illuminated the room far more than she would have expected, but in her estimation it didn't make up for the lack of windows. Directly in front of her, she saw that an unused fireplace lined the wall, but it looked like it was in desperate need of a good cleaning. Ever since the incidents in their fifth year, the school fireplaces were no longer allowed floo access and now were only operated for warmth or light. Apparently this one was so seldom used that the house elves had forgotten it existed.
In front of the fireplace sat a deep green rug that looked so thick and inviting she had to struggle to resist the urge to take off her shoes and run her toes through the pile. Stifling what she considered to be a hysterical laugh, she realized that the only thing stopping her was the large Slytherin crest that covered its center.
After such an odd mixture of comfort and neglect, she wasn't sure what to expect from the rest of the room so in the end its Spartan tone didn't elicit much surprise. A couple of comfortable looking leather chairs, a desk overflowing with papers -- many of which Snape was currently sifting through -- and a small (and surprisingly uninteresting) collection of books on a pathetically small bookshelf pretty much covered it.
Turning slightly, she noticed that next to the desk hung a floor to ceiling, dark green curtain. Although the curtain was drawn shut, she was startled to think that such a large window could be found in the dungeons. Idly wondering if it was a magical window, she carefully stepped further into the room.
Running her hands along the back of a leather chair she suddenly realized that she had indeed been there before. At the time it had been pitched in darkness, but this was the room, and that was the chair, which she had napped on earlier in the day. Looking to her other side, she saw the closed door that lead to his office.
"Where are we?" She abruptly shot out the words before she could stop herself.
Never looking up from the scroll in his hand, he answered simply, "My private quarters."
"Ahh," she responded to his lack of embellishment. Unsure of what they were doing there, she was anxious to know what their plans were for the evening. "Where are we going?"
Tossing aside the scroll and looking at her for the first time since entering the room, he was clearly annoyed as he answered her, "we aren't going anywhere. I am going to meet with the Dark Lord, and you are going to stay here where it's safe."
While the idea of not going to see Voldemort was very appealing, she wondered why she had to stay in his private rooms. There was still much to say to Ron, also to Harry and Ginny for that matter, and certainly she would be safer back in her own room in the Gryffindor towers. She began to open her mouth to inform him of that when she came face to face with his patented classroom posture.
"Don't," he said sternly before she could speak. "Do us both a favor and don't say anything." Seeing her open and close her mouth, he added, "I don't have the time, nor the inclination, to explain this to you. Lessons are over for the day, and you can stay in this room until I return."
With defiance cursing through her, she had just opened her mouth to retort when he spun on his heel and walked through the green curtain. After a second of hesitation, and filled with unsurprising curiosity, she walked over to the curtain with the intent of finishing their conversation. Unfortunately the task became much more difficult that she imagined.
Although Snape had no problem moving the curtain aside, the harder she tugged at the heavy fabric, the more solid and unmoving it became. With her frustration mounting, Hermione carefully took her wand out of the folds of her dress and whispered, "Alohomora." At once the stiff material became fluid, and she forcefully grasped the curtain and flung it to the side.
While his actions and the locking spell changed her original estimation of the curtain from a magical window to a secret passageway, Hermione was not prepared for the actual sight that met her on the other side.
The presence of a four-poster Mahogany bed covered in midnight blue was a surprise, but it was the image slightly to the left of the bed that had Hermione scrambling back from where she came. Rushing back into the parlor, and trying to sit nonchalantly on one of the leather chairs, she thought of how -- aside from the time she walked in on Bill Weasley taking a bath at the Burrow -- that was the closest she had come to a naked man -- at least Bill had been hidden under a layer of bubbles.
Pressing her hands against her cheeks and closing her mouth with an audible snap, her mind raced over the image now burned into her eyes. What she had just seen hadn't been hidden by anything at all. As a student she may have found his black, bat-like robes imposing, but as a burgeoning woman, she couldn't stop herself from admiring what his Victorian garments were hiding.
Thinking of how close she had come to ripping those clothes off his body during their ceremony, Hermione buried her face in her hands and felt her body shudder. She couldn't imagine what her friends had thought of her actions, but she didn't even want to think of how her wanton display had come across to her Professor. She had never been a very gregarious person, but remembering the way their bodies molded together while his lips attacked her senses, she felt her body heat rise. Something had to be done, and eventually explanations would have to be made, she just didn't know to whom, or how those conversations could be best handled.
For a brief moment she reveled in the thought that she would have the rest of the evening by herself. She hoped that during that time she would be able to sort out the strange occurrence that had happened at her wedding, and what it all meant, but in the meantime she hoped she wouldn't have to deal with Snape and his bedroom attire -- or lack thereof.
Bringing herself back to the matter at hand, she was thankful that his back had been turned to her while he changed. Hoping that in her surprise she hadn't made any noise, Hermione anxiously waited for him to change and return before his big night out.
A few moments later, much to her dismay, he did return. Now dressed in an expensive wizarding suit and wearing a heavy robe, he carried with him an object, which she recognized as being the mask of a Death Eater. Avoiding his eyes, in fact avoiding every single part of him and his disguise, she sat quietly as he tossed out commands to be followed while he was gone.
"No matter what, don't open the door or light the fireplace." Walking towards the door, he swept his cloak over his shoulder and began to fasten the clasp.
"I know that you and your friends have a certain panache for finding trouble, so do try your best to avoid that temptation. But, if trouble happens to find you," he paused as if weighing the odds of that occurrence, and then with a sigh went over to the desk and pulled an object from a side drawer, "use this mirror to call the Headmaster." Pressing the hand held mirror into her hand, he hesitated for a moment and waited for her to look at him. When her eyes remained downcast, he clenched his fists in anger and purposely stepped away from her.
"And now you're in a snit," he said with exasperation. Clenching and unclenching his fists a few times by his side, he took a few deep breaths before reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. Closing his eyes and turning away from her slightly, he said more to himself than her, "honestly, to see you sulk like that one would think that this was a real marriage."
With those words, a renewed sense of resentment came over him, and as he pulled his hands from his hair he snapped at her, "Hermione, it's time for you to grow up, I'm not going out for a couple of butterbeers with the boys."
Dropping her mouth open in shock, she replied quietly, "I never thought you were."
With a penetrating look in her direction, she got the feeling he was trying to read something more than just her response, but before she could say anything, he spun around and headed for the stone wall. Raising his wand and moving to touch one of the stones, Snape paused as if remembering something then turned back around and called out, "Accio wand."
Afraid that his inquisitive stare had uncovered the homemade wand tucked into her dress, Hermione quickly grabbed the flounce of the skirt to hold it in place. But moments later, even after Malfoy's wand rustled in the pocket of her discarded robe before it sailed into Snape's waiting hand, Hermione still couldn't take the shocked look off her face.
With an indifferent look in her direction, Snape clearly misunderstood her reaction and mocked, "You didn't think I would let you keep it did you?"
Numbly shaking her head and thanking Merlin for her good luck, she watched as he turned back to the wall and tapped the series of stones that opened the passageway.
Stepping through the opening, he looked down at Malfoy's wand and then with a brief chuckle he looked over his shoulder at her. It was obvious to Hermione that he had just remembered taking possession her wand the day before, and more importantly the fact that he had never returned it. Knowing this latest action would leave her completely wandless, he commented dryly, "It seems I don't have to worry about you leaving here after all."
With a sweeping gesture toward his office door, he had secured her position as prisoner, and a second later the opening dissolved and the stone wall reappeared, cutting off her reply.
A short time later as Snape reached the Apparition point at the edge of the school grounds, he suspected that Harry and Ginny were sitting in Gryffindor tower consoling Ron; but was not aware that Hermione, after waiting for what she felt was an appropriate amount of time, had just taken out her hidden wand and touched the correct series of stones to open the doorway to his private quarters.
Stepping out into the hallway, Hermione wasn't sure whether to brandish her wand to ward off any potential harm, or put it away so it wouldn't be discovered. A quick compromise kept it wrapped slightly in the folds of her school robe. It was still hidden from prying eyes but available at a moments notice to come to her rescue. If she had learned one thing over the last few hours it was to make sure she was never without a wand again.
Stepping lightly down the corridor, she was amazed at how her footsteps seemed to echo inside the empty chamber. She briefly wondered if the noise was due to some anti-curfew charm that the Professor set for out of bed students, but she quickly shook that thought away -- even Snape wasn't that paranoid. Besides the echo was so loud that it ruled out any chance for the element of surprise, and she of all people knew how much he loved to sneak up on unsuspecting students.
Thinking of how she and her friends had escaped the Professor's clutches on more than one occasion, Hermione began to skip though the memory of each close encounter. Remembering each as if it were yesterday, she smiled as she thought of the time that their need for a late night snack was almost their undoing.
Leaving the kitchens, hands full of food and not watching where they were going, they walked a bit too close to one of the armored sentries that lined the hallway, and the invisibility cloak became tangled in its massive sword. As the guard clattered to the floor -- and spilled into many, many pieces -- the three of them went scrambling for cover. Although the sound was so loud that it woke the entire castle, Professor Snape was the first one on the scene. But in a strange twist of fate Mrs. Norris (who had innocently come to investigate) was quickly blamed for the whole event. Laughing softly, Hermione still had no idea how they got out of that one.
Then there was the time that the dream team decided to go for a late night flight around the Quidditch pitch. Well, Harry and Ron decided, but they were gracious enough to pull her along for a ride or two. Between the three of them they took turns trying to fly under the Invisibility Cloak, but after watching it float off on it's own and leaving them vulnerable one too many times, Hermione finally cast a Disillusionment Charm on each of them. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect, because moments later they managed to evade the Professor on his nightly constitutional around the pitch.
Trying to count the number of time she and her friends had escaped his wrath; a very unladylike snort escaped her. Quickly clamping her hand over her mouth, she looked around and hoped that she was still alone. Spying familiar surroundings, Hermione stopped in her tracks and was startled to see that without thinking her feet had carried her to Gryffindor tower. Rounding one more corner would have brought her to the Portrait of the Fat Lady and most likely another unpleasant run-in with the house sentry.
Slumping against the wall, she head butted the heavy stones in an attempt to knock some sense into herself. It was something she did when the boys got out of hand, but the action was usually accompanied by calls of, "watch out! With all the information she has stored in there, it's bound to explode!"
Giggling softly, she whispered to the wall, "This just doesn't have the same effect without Ron ducking for cover."
As images of her childhood friend and his familiar antics invaded her heart, she groaned softly and began to rub a hand over her battered forehead. Pushing off from the wall with considerable effort, she turned and headed towards the Astronomy tower. She could go rushing up to finish explaining things to Ron, but with so many confusing thoughts running through her head, she wasn't sure if she would just end up saying the wrong thing. In the end, she hoped that a bit of fresh air would help clear her mind first.
As Hermione began to climb the steps to the Astronomy tower, Harry and Ginny were back in Gryffindor tower about to give up on Ron. Since following him back from the ceremony, they had been trying to calm him down -- but with little success.
"I don't know why you're acting like the injured party here Ron," Harry scolded. He had been pulling at his hair since before they returned to their bedroom, and by this point his normally messy hair was beginning to come out in his fingers. "You waited to propose until she was ordered by Dumbledore to marry Snape. You had to know that it didn't matter what either of you wanted, they were going to make her marry that git."
"But today?" Despite any words of reason, Ron was not about to give up any ground. "They have months before they had to get married, but you saw her, she couldn't wait to get that ring on her finger."
"Ron, that's not fair," shouted Ginny. Between pulling Harry hands away from his hair and trying to calm down her distraught brother, Ginny was losing her patience with the whole situation. "You and I both know that ceremony can make you do funny things. How many times have we heard Mum go on and on about how she cried bucket loads when the ribbons bound her to Dad, and she was blissfully happy to be with him."
Looking over at her dejected brother, she tried unsuccessfully to soften her advice. "Hermione never got a chance to tell you anything, and until she does, I think you stop ranting about this. It's not doing anybody any good."
"I'm not ranting... I'm just... I'm..."
"You've just been hit with a bludger," supplied Harry, ignoring the groan emerging from his better half. "It happens to all of us at one time or another, but really now, give her a chance to explain before you start jumping to conclusions."
When Ron closed his mouth and slumped further back in his chair, Harry and Ginny took it as a reluctant assent. Trying to get their minds on something else, Harry clapped his hands together and looking at his friends as a familiar glint found it's way into his eye. "How about a trip to the kitchen for a late night snack? We can pack up something and take it to the Astronomy tower."
Seeing his friends warm to the idea, he began his call to arms. "Ron, grab the cloak in case we need it, and Ginny, run and leave a note for Hermione to meet us there when she's done with Sn-- Ooof!"
Despite years of being hit playing Quidditch and in DADA training, Harry still hadn't been prepared for Ginny's elbow to the ribs. "What was that--" Looking into her exasperated face and then over to Ron's horrified expression, He felt his face redden.
"Er, sorry Ron. I'm sure it's nothing serious though. I suppose he just had to bring her to meet with Vold--" This time he was more prepared for the pain that shot though his rib. "I mean, I'm sure there was just more ministry paperwork to sign."
"That sounds about right," piped in Ginny brightly. "Now what do you say we head off for that snack?"
"You two go," said Ron. "I don't feel like going anywhere right now. Besides, Hermione's not going to go up there tonight."
As her friends continue to argue about where she could or should be, Hermione had reached the top of the Astronomy tower. After a quick peek around to make sure she was alone, she climbed up on a comfortable ledge and leaned against a turret to gaze up at the sky. It was a perfect spot to become one with the universe, and as she relaxed into the safety of the ancient stone building, she felt herself melt into the darkness of the night. As the pinpricks of light danced through the sky, she thought of how she had always loved stargazing -- even before she had been taught what they represented.
During hot summer nights she and her parents would set up camp in their backyard and sleep out under the stars, and as she drifted off to sleep, she would wonder aloud at how many stars filled the sky and if they all knew each other like friends. Her father once jokingly said that having been around for billions of years, he supposed that they must have gotten along, but he couldn't guarantee that they didn't have their own set of unique issues. At the time she didn't understand why her mother laughed and told him to go to sleep, she was just happy to know that it wasn't much different up there than it was down here.
Absentmindedly twirling the wedding ring that now encircled her finger, Hermione tried to figure out how things down here had managed to go so wrong. She knew that she had to find a way to get along with Snape, she just didn't know what had come over her during the ceremony and if that would cause further problems for them. But one thing she knew for sure, whatever it was, she wasn't going to let it ruin her friendship with Ron, and she also wasn't going to let it get in the way of her plans to do something with her life.
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A/N: Next Chapter -- Snape meets with Voldemort to discuss his new wife.
A big thank you to my wonderful beta NegativeNine, and to everyone who has been reading and those that have reviewed: magictwinkle, Sabrina3, Arafel2, firemyrtle, Ana Morales, Leyna Rountree, Sarahamanda, Priestess Of Ishtar, barqhorse, Mona, stonecoldfox, Gondorian Swordsmaiden, Phil, Midnight Tiger, Makalani Astral, xmaverickf14x, crissy, Fallen Angel of Hell, Nymph Demon, ashley48506, sharight, Ezmerelda, thesexyflower, Sapphire Butterfly, miladysparrow, coldqueen, sara lily potter, ChicagoMyth, Sabrina Weasley, Mialana, Chibi06