Allo, cordyangel here. My internet finally works! Yes! It took forever, but it's finally stopped being so temperamental. But it will probably be a little longer before I update my other stories, at least Whole Again will take a while. But last week I watched The Phantom of the Opera which really gave me inspiration for this story. It's a mess now, with some parts written in advance and out of order, but at least this part is coherent. So, read, review and enjoy. But if all else fails, review.

Chapter 3: Well, That Was Unexpected

"The Phantom of the Opera
is there
Deep down below..."

Track Down This Murderer, The Phantom of the Opera

"The Dark Lord put you in charge of Her-Granger?" That was not what Severus had been expecting.

"Yes," Lucius replied breezily. "He didn't seem to think that you weren't suited for that responsibility."

Snape was livid. Not only was the girl he was supposed to protect going to be let loose in Voldemort's headquarters, but her guide was none other than Lucius Malfoy. Was there anything worse? Severus was hard pressed to think of an example now.

"Oh, don't worry friend. I'm not quite thrilled about the turn of events either. To think, by tomorrow evening, I'll be sharing my room with a mudblood," Malfoy shuddered at the thought.

Snape's nostrils flared almost imperceptibly, but Lucius caught the movement. His pale eyebrow raised a bit. He could tell he was pushing a button with Severus, but Lucius had no clue which one it was. He stored the occurrence for future scrutiny. He had no clue what was going on with Severus, but he was going to find out.

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Getting out. I'm getting out.

The words coursed through her head like a mantra.

Hermione hadn't slept the whole night for fear of waking up and discovering the past day had been a dream or delusion. But now the time had come, she could hear the guard's footsteps echoing down the long corridor.

She could hear the guard's keys jangling in the background. The sounds of the steady footsteps stopped in front of her cell and they keys were released from the ring. There was a click and a gentle breeze from the force of the door opening.

Hermione opened her eyes only to have them pinned by those of Lucius Malfoy.

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The Granger girl was sitting back against the stonewall with her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were closed and her breaths were quietly regular. If Lucius were a simpler man, he'd of thought she was sleeping.

Malfoy motioned for the guard to open the cell. The girl (for he couldn't bring himself to call her by her given name, no matter how important she was to the Dark Lord) opened her eyes. She seemed utterly stunned to see him.

A moment or two passed and still the girl did not move. Honestly, he didn't have all day. His time would already be eaten up by having to baby sit the little brat. Lucius had to remind himself constantly that what he was doing was for the greater purpose. He would just have to grit his teeth and bear it.

You brought this upon yourself, you know, an annoying voice that sounded oddly like Naricissa's whispered to him. 'Perhaps Severus is right…'you said. You practically put yourself in charge of the little twit.

Merlin, how was he supposed to deal with the chit if even his mind knew he'd made a mistake? When he'd said those things, he'd thought the girl would be put in Snape's rooms or something. He was eager for the war to end, that was the whole reason he'd petitioned for her release, but he'd had no idea that he'd be the one bearing the burden. He let out a deep breath, and flared his nostrils. The damn girl was still looking at him!

"As interesting as it is watching you stare at me, I'm a very busy man. Let's go, shall we?" Lucius turned on his heel and started out of the dungeon at high speed. The girl closed her mouth and scurried to catch up with his long strides.

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When they emerged from the dungeons Hermione squinted a bit. After six months underground, the sunlight was a welcome sight even though it stung a little. At last, the dark, damp dungeons were behind her. Hermione wondered what it meant though, that Lucius had come for her. Naively, she'd assumed that Severus would be taking her in. But looking back she realized how stupid that had been. But perhaps, Lucius was just there to take her to Snape's apartments. But as they traveled higher and higher up the magnificent headquarters, Hermione began to accept that she was rooming with a man who'd like nothing more than to see her and her friends' heads on platters.

They at last stopped in front of a set of double doors. Hermione realized that they were high up, and that there were only two apartments on this floor. The sets of doors were across from one another. One set had a LM engraved into them, and the others, well Hermione had no clue. Her vision was so used to the dark that her eyes were having trouble adjusting. What were the odds that the other one was Snape's.

"This is my-" if possible, Lucius faltered for a second. "Our flat."

Hermione sucked in a large breath, shocked by Lucius' pronoun. Our? She asked inwardly.

He opened the door and for a moment Hermione forgot that she had to live under the same roof as Lucius Malfoy. The rooms reeked of Slytherin Pride, but they were gorgeous all the same. The rooms were done in black, dark green and silver, almost the exact shade as Malfoy's eyes.

"I'd give you a tour, but I'm sure you can show yourself around. Don't touch anything," Lucius drawled out and prepared to leave.

"You're going." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. I'm sure that there are a few things that you want to do anyways." He looked down his nose at Hermione. "Freshen up, and whatnot. And I'll leave you to it." He was halfway out the door before sticking his head back out. "And just so you know, I have enough surveillance spells to guard Gringotts. Don't try anything sneaky."

Hermione didn't try and object, though she wanted to desperately. It wasn't Malfoy's company she was after, it was anyone's. She'd spent six months of 'alone time'. she would probably be content if she were never alone again.

She found some pastry in the little kitchen and devoured it in less than three bites. She wanted to eat more, but it seemed that her stomach had shrunk lately, she was already full. She was about to explore more when a knock came at the door.

"Granger!" a voice hissed through the thick mahogany wood. "Granger, for Merlin's sake open the damned door!"

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"Professor Snape? Is that you?"

Who the hell else would it be? Severus thought to himself. The Queen of England?

"Blast it, let me in!" He growled in his signature manner.

The door opened and Snape flew through.

"And don't call me professor!" Snape was planning on snapping a bit more, but Hermione threw herself around him. Severus had no clue how to disengage himself from her without seeming cold hearted, so he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and patted her back a few times. Severus, he chided himself all the while. Since when are you concerned with seeming cold? He didn't know exactly.

Hermione drew back, her face wet with tears. "Please tell me you're here to take me with you. How did I end up with Malfoy-" She spat out, but Snape stopped her from going on.

"Lucius, you might as well get used to saying it. You two will unfortunately be spending a lot of time together."

"But why?"

Snape's face turned cold and hard. "The Dark Lord doesn't think that I'm 'the right man for the job'."

Ashen faced, Hermione looked up at him. "Do you think he suspects your loyalties?"

"Perhaps," he ran a hand down his face. "I don't know, all I know is that I can't seem overly attentive to you. I may even have to appear cold. But know that I'm always looking out for you. But I actually have a reason for being here. I know that you hate Lucius and everything he stands for, but don't do anything stupid.

Hermione nodded. "As ashamed as I am admit this but, I don't want to go back to that place. And if that means playing nice, than that's what I'll have to do."

Severus was shocked by her words. She was starting to sound like a Slytherin. Could Voldemort's soul be presenting itself so soon?

"Oh shit," she said, covering her mouth.

"What, what is it?" Snape jumped to attention whenever Hermione swore. She did it rarely enough so that he knew it meant something really bad. "What's wrong?"

"Malfoy, he put up surveillance spells, he'll have a transcript or something like that for everything done in the apartments while he's not here. Oh shit!"

Snape grabbed Hermione's arms. "Good God Hermione, do you really think I'm that piss poor of a wizard? I cast my own wards before knocking on the door. Lucius will have footage of me walking past the closed door and you moping around inside."

"Oh," Hermione grinned sheepishly. "Well, I guess you thought of everything."

"Yes, I did. You don't have to worry. But right now, I have to go."

Hermione's face fell. "Really, you do? Are you sure? I mean, I really could use…a guide or something…"

When Snape declined, he felt an odd sensation in his stomach. Like he would've given anything in the world to stay with her, comfort her. But duty called, and Severus would be of no use to Hermione if he was rendered handicapped from being put under so many bouts of Unforgivables. He forced himself to walk out the door.

"Hermione," he turned his head. "Promise me that no matter what, you'll remember who you are. Why you were put here in the first place. Don't forget that you are a lion in a pit of snakes." And in a particular Snape like fashion, he billowed down the corridor and down the flight of stairs. When he was out of her sight, he paused and breathed in deeply.

He wanted nothing more than to bang his head against a wall over and over again. What had possessed him to act the way he'd acted, say the things he'd said? What was it about Hermione that had unwound him so completely? Was it her innocence? Her pitiable circumstances? Or was it her desperate want, or need to have someone near her? Severus' mind knew that she'd be acting in the same way had he been any double agent, but his emotions just couldn't seem to catch on. And the last words he'd spoken to her? Why hadn't he just written it across his forehead? You're in danger! You're the downfall to the wizarding community!

Perhaps Snape knew that the reason he was being so nice and caring to Hermione was because she had no one else. He needed to keep her alive and well until the time came when there was no other choice than to do what had to be done. And putting her down, keeping her at arm's length wasn't the best way to ensure her safety. She needed to trust him completely and moreover, she had to understand that if things went as planned, he would never be the one to kill her. But a little voice inside of him kept on saying how he was complicating things. Even when he'd disliked her most, treated her the worst; he'd never had the strength to kill her. And now, when his duty called for it, instead of extinguishing the threat, he grew closer to it. He'd convince himself that while Nagini lived, there would be no point in killing Granger. But he was realizing slowly that the longer Hermione lived, the harder it would be to kill her when the time came.

He hoped he knew what he was doing, because Severus was slowly getting in over his head.

LHSLHSLHS

This is like the longest post I've ever made! Hope you enjoy!