Chapter 9

As Hermione and Ginny approached the swinging door to the kitchen, they heard two distinct voices speaking urgently. The two girls slowly eased the door open to listen to what was being said. They knew one voice was Molly Weasley; it took them a moment to recognize the other.

"Are you sure? He has simply disappeared?"

"Yes, although I don't know why," a slithery, albeit velvety, voice hissed. "It appears that Lucius Malfoy has escaped from Azkaban, with the help of the defecting Dementors," The girls weren't shocked to hear this, when the Dementors had rebelled against the Ministry and left Azkaban they had taken the loyal Death Eaters with them.

"I thought Lucius had been kept away from where the Dementors were?" There was a rude noise to Molly's somewhat naïve question.

"Fudge never realized just how little control the witches and wizards running Azkaban truly had," the voice seemed to hiss even more with these words. "Voldemort had planned on using the Dementors before he was removed, and now that he is back, he is more determined than ever to control the magical creatures that the Ministry has deemed less than human!" Hermione and Ginny realized this was Snape. Since Harry had decided he was the only one they should ask for help the two girls stared at each other in confusion. How to get him upstairs without alerting Molly to what was going on? While they were looking at each other helplessly, Molly seemed to be returning to the earlier subject.

"So Lucius has managed to escape from Azkaban, with the help of the Dementors; and Fudge is doing what? I know what Albus wants us to do, but what has Cornelius ordered the Aurors to do about it?" She demanded of the spy.

"As far as I can tell, nothing, but Amanda Bones has Moody and Tonks on some sort of mission and I don't think Albus is happy about it," Snape sighed, and to Hermione he sounded tired beyond endurance. Ginny heard despair in that soft exhalation, and began to wonder just what this war was doing to the witches and wizards in England.

The two teenage girls realized that there was more going on than they would ever be privy to, and perhaps Draco Malfoy was in more danger than they thought. Perhaps, thought Hermione; unknowingly echoing the younger girls thoughts; they were all in more danger than they knew.

Hermione made a sudden decision and grabbed pen and paper from her bag to write a quick note. She was uncertain if Snape knew that Draco had been sold to and tortured by Voldemort, but she knew that Harry was right. Snape was probably the only member of the Order that might actually be able to keep him safe. Ginny didn't know what Hermione was doing, but she followed the older girls lead. Hermione started talking, a little loudly, about their supposed trip to Diagon Alley and the books they hadn't been able to find.

"I swear, Ginny, I don't understand how they couldn't have Ministry Laws, A History. I mean, really, how is one supposed to learn the laws if they are not available to one?" Hermione managed to sound very normal and know-it-allish as she walked into the kitchen. Even Ginny wouldn't have known she wasn't very nervous. Hermione walked right into Professor Snape, and did it so nonchalantly that he wouldn't have known it was planned if he hadn't felt the note she slipped into his hand. Her eyes when she looked up at him seemed to beg him not to give her away, even as she managed a horrified expression and began stammering a fearful apology.

"Kindly watch where you are going, Miss Granger!" He managed to snarl as he disentangled himself from her robe. She gulped and quickly looked away and stammered her apology once again. He said goodbye to Molly and stepped out of the kitchen. He waited until he heard Hermione and Ginny speaking to Molly, keeping her occupied. Severus quickly read the note she had slipped him and was unsurprised by the crypt message. He realized it had to be very important, or she wouldn't have risked Molly seeing. So following the instruction, he went up to the third floor of the house.

Severus heard Potters voice when he got about half-way down the short hallway, he also heard another boys voice, a deeper one and Snape wondered who it could be as he didn't recognize it. He opened the door quickly, surprising Potter and a large pig-like boy. Snape had a feeling this was Potters Muggle cousin, and that could not be good.

"Professor Snape!" Potter gasped in shock. He glared at The Boy Who Lived in his most imperious manner. Before he could speak, however, Potter grabbed his hand and began speaking quickly, earnestly and quietly.

"Oh, I am glad you are here, Sir! I have to tell you what is going on, but I need you to look at Malfoy, Sir, he is still unconscious and it is starting to worry me. Please, won't you see if he's all right while I explain?" Harry pulled the potions master to the small bed as he spoke, and the sight chilled the older man to the bone. Harry began explaining, however, not giving Snape a chance to ask any questions.

"Yesterday, while I was with Fred and George, I had another vision of what Voldemort was doing, and it wasn't pretty. He had Malfoy tied up and was, well," here he swallowed and took a breath. Snape looked up at Dumbledores' Golden Boy to see him turning quite pale.

"Well, he was torturing him and raping him, Professor. It was quite horrible. I thought at first Voldemort was trying to trick me into doing something foolish again. But since he would think that I wouldn't have cared about Malfoy being hurt, I wondered why he would show me that," Harry looked right into Snapes eyes as he said this, and Snape felt a slight increase in his respect for the reckless lad. Having admitted that his actions the night of the attack on the Ministry were foolish and having taken the time to think before he acted were two things Snape had never thought James Potters' son would ever be capable of. Potter wasn't finished, however.

"Several hours later, after I went to bed, it happened again. There is no other way to describe it than Voldemort was NOT sending on purpose," Harry made sure Snape understood. "He was having far too much fun using Draco as… as, I don't know what you would call it, Professor, but sex was the least of it."

Severus Snape looked at the unconscious blond. He knew what Voldemort was capable of, the tortures he could inflict with his wand, but Draco looked as if there was more than just Cruciatus at work here. There were physical wounds and what appeared to be bites. Harry still wasn't done.

"At dawn this morning I was awoken by his screaming," Potter had sat down next to the injured boy and gently taken his hand. "Professor, if I had known how to Apparate, I would have, just to end that scream. What I saw…" Harry shuddered. Snape was beginning to think that perhaps he had been wrong about the young Potter. Maybe he wasn't like his father at all.

"Professor, I know he will never be the same, his father sold him to Voldemort so Voldemort would have the Dementors take him from Azkaban," Snapes eyes snapped up once again to Potters face.

"You cannot know that!" the older man said.

"I never told you that I could hear what Voldemort says as well as see what he does in these visions of mine, Professor, you never cared. I swear, Voldemort said exactly that to Draco, every time he…" Potter broke off, swallowed and continued. "Dracos grandfather must have known what his son was going to become, Professor because he charged a house elf with protecting Draco. It was the elf that brought him to me. The elf decided that I was capable of protecting Draco, Professor, but s… the elf was wrong. I cannot protect him; I could not even heal him. I don't know enough. I need your help Professor, please tell me you will help me. You are the only adult in the Order that I think I can trust." These simple words, spoken with a simple hoarseness and frankness, touched this bitter man deeply. Severus knew he had never truly given Potter a chance. He knew he did not truly deserve the boys trust, and here was the son of his boyhood nemesis giving him just that. The Gryffindor Heir was asking a Slytherin for help. Severus had the feeling that had not happened since the founding of the school.

"Beggin' yer pardon Mr. Wizard, Sir, but are you gonna be able to help the kid?" Snape had forgotten about the Muggle boy, and now turned his patented glare upon the large boy. Snape remembered hearing both Weasley and Granger talking about what a bully this humongous boy had been to Potter. Seeing the size difference between the two boys that had been raised in the same house drove home to Snape what McGonagall and Dumbledore were constantly telling him; that Potter was not being raised to know who and what his parents had been.

"Why do you care what happens to this wizard, boy?" Snape asked in his coldest most snakelike voice. He was surprised to see the boy raise his chins, despite the fear that seemed to lurk in his pig-like eyes.

"I don't think anyone ought to be hurt like that, mister, no matter how much of a freak!" Dudley answered with vehemence. Harry began to wonder just what his fat cousin went through at school, and what it had to do with how he treated Harry. He did worry that Snape was going to take offense to being called a freak, but Harry was in for a rather shocking surprise.

"It happens that I agree, boy, no one should be hurt like this… ever." That being said, Snape went back to checking Draco's wounds. Harry looked around for something to do to help, to only end up sitting next to Draco on the bed feeling helpless. It wasn't a feeling he liked, no matter how used to it he was getting. He watched Snape closely, trying to determine what the potions master was doing. Snape must have realized Harry was curious, because he began explaining what he was looking for.

Hermione and Ginny slipped into the room, bearing a large tray of food and a small keg of Butterbeer. Dudley reddened as his stomach growled, but only Ginny and Hermione seemed to hear it, and they merely smiled, handing him a plate.

Ginny was shocked to see Harry leaning close to Draco and Snape, helping Snape figure out what was wrong by detailing what he remembered from the things he'd seen through Voldemorts eyes. Ginny wondered to herself if perhaps the world was going to end, a Gryffindor was helping a Slytherin.