Warning

This story is not suitable for readers under the age of seventeen. It contains sexual content, including some non-consensual, and may offend some readers. If this subject is offensive to you, please do not read this story.

Chapter 19 - In the Dungeon

It was the night after Halloween and, as planned, Harry and Ron were continuing their search for the mysterious passage to the lake. They had left the common room a little after ten o'clock, while there were still people sitting around the fire, but they had not wanted to leave it too late. They needed time for their search. Slipping into an empty classroom as soon as they were outside the Gryffindor tower, they wrapped Harry's invisibility cloak about them and set off for the dungeon.

The deepest level of the dungeon (that they were aware of - there were many areas they had never explored) was cold and dank, and their footsteps echoed around the empty chambers. Starting from the place where, four years earlier, the three friends had been the only living guests at Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party, they had already begun systematically to explore the doors and passageways leading outwards.

Rather - as systematically as was possible. The passages were extremely confusing, and they began to look the same in the dark. They would try a passageway, only to find that they had already been there, or think that they recognized a place, but then find it turning into a dead end that they were sure shouldn't be there.

"Maybe the rooms down here move around, like they do upstairs," suggested Ron. "Did we try this way, already?"

They were not exactly sure what they were looking for. From past experience, the entrance to a tunnel could be anywhere - behind a picture, part of a statue (not that there were many of either of these down there), even part of a seemingly blank wall. However, they were not completely in the dark, so to speak, as they did have vague hints from their research. The entrance would almost certainly have some clue with it that would connect it to the lake - a carving or symbol indicating the lake or the merpeople, or maybe the giant squid. All they had to do was find it. ("Oh, is that all?" Ron had asked, earlier.)

They had not been searching for long, when they found themselves wondering whether they had seen this section of the passages before. There was a tall suit of armor standing in deep shadows, which Ron was sure they had already passed. They retraced their steps, but the way back did not seem familiar.

"Let's try this way," said Harry, leading Ron down a side passage that he seemed to remember. It was not one they had been down before, though, which they realized as they came into a wider passage with pictures down one side. Harry held up his wand, so that the glow from its tip would light the pictures more clearly. They were not pleasant scenes. A tall woman with an unnaturally long neck stared down at them from the first frame. A limp chicken hung from her hand, and she was plucking it with a vengeance. Further down the passage, a fat boy of around ten or twelve years old (looking surprisingly like Dudley) was jeeringly forcing his terrified younger sister into a closet. None of the pictures showed welcoming places or friendly faces, but the one that shocked them most was the one at the end of the corridor, just before a large wooden door.

It was a portrait of a well-dressed man, sitting comfortably in a large armchair in an elaborately furnished room. A warm red glow from the fire lit his face, and two black dogs slept at his feet. It would have been a pleasant scene, if not for the fact that the face staring out at them was that of the living and unbloodied, but otherwise perfectly recognizable Bloody Baron.

Ron clutched at Harry's arm. "Let's get out of here," he whispered. Harry agreed, but before either of them could turn around, the ghost of the man in the picture emerged silently from behind the door in front of them. They had removed the invisibility cloak as soon as they had got down to this level of the dungeon, thinking that there was no-one to see them anyway, so the ghost spotted them immediately. For a few terrible seconds, none of them moved, then Harry, finally coming to his senses, grabbed Ron's arm and they fled. They had always assumed that the ghosts that haunted Hogwarts were relatively harmless - Dumbledore would surely not put the students in danger - but they had no intention of putting this assumption to the test when faced with the Slytherin Ghost in the castle's deepest dungeons.

With no idea where they were going, they ran, not caring whether the ghost was behind them or not. They twisted and turned, up and down passages, through doorways, across halls, until, finally they reached something that they recognized. It was the Deathday party hall. They knew the way from here, and dashed across it, heading for the main castle with relief. It was only when they got close to the more inhabited parts of the dungeon, near to the Slytherin house, that they stopped to get their breath.

"I think we should call it a night," gasped Harry, and Ron nodded wholeheartedly. Harry pulled the invisibility cloak from under his robes and they slipped it around them before moving on.

As they reached the bottom of the steps, however, they encountered further problems. Footsteps were coming down them, and they could hear the unmistakable voice of Filch, muttering under his breath about students who showed no consideration for others. Silently, they backed away, to give him space to pass before continuing back to Gryffindor, but he continued heading towards them. They had to back further, and found themselves in the corridor leading to the Potions classroom. The door was open slightly, and there was light showing round it. Filch was still approaching and, under cover of the cloak, Harry and Ron slipped through the crack and into the classroom.

Hermione was standing with her back to them, poring studiously over her work, but she appeared to be alone. Not wanting Filch to hear them, they waited in silence, wondering if the caretaker was still heading their way, but he turned into another passage before reaching the door. Ron and Harry breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards Hermione. It was surprising that she was still working at this time of night. It was after eleven by now. Harry was about to speak, but Ron nudged him silent. There was another figure moving in the passageway outside. Filch? No - it was Snape. If he found them here, especially after their previous late night visit to the dungeon, they would have another detention to look forward to, and likely something far worse, knowing Snape.

For a moment, Harry considered trying to slip through the doorway before the Potions Master reached it, but there wasn't time. Carefully avoiding any sound, he backed Ron away from the doorway. They would just have to wait for him to pass through, then slip out behind him.

They quickly realized that this would not work. Snape's movements were silent as he stepped through the door, and he stopped when he saw Hermione. She had not heard him, and he stood watching her from the doorway. What was he up to, wondered Harry? Without a sound, Snape moved fully into the classroom and closed the door behind him. Hermione was still completely engrossed in her work, but Harry felt a jolt of shock as he watched the teacher actually lock the door. He held his breath and noticed that Ron, beside him, was doing the same. Both watched tensely as Snape leaned back against the doorway, never taking his eyes off Hermione, and with his head tilted slightly to the side, as though studying her. Harry was beginning to feel sick as he watched a cruel smile curl around Snape's lips.

Stealthily, the teacher moved towards her, and Harry took a step forward, too. He was still covered by the cloak, but only just, and he no longer cared. He did not like the look on Snape's face one little bit. One step closer, Snape, he thought, watching the man's smile grow more malicious. Hermione was reaching for a bottle next to the cauldron, and remained oblivious to the danger behind her.

Harry seemed to see the next few moments in slow motion, as he saw Snape close the distance between himself and Hermione. Without warning, he grabbed her from behind and spun her around. She let out a sharp gasp of surprise as his lips closed on hers, and he pulled her roughly to him.

In a flash, Harry threw off the invisibility cloak and hurled himself at the teacher.

"Get away from her, Snape," he screamed, barely recognizing the sound of his own voice. Grabbing the man roughly by the shoulders, he dragged him off his prey and threw him against the ingredients cabinet. Snape was shocked and winded, and in the moment it took him to recover, Harry was upon him. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he heard Hermione's shouting voice, but her words did not register. His swinging fist caught Snape's face with a thud, and there was a loud crack as the man's head hit the cabinet. He was about to take another swing, but Snape did not give him the chance. Leaping forward, he blocked the punch and grabbed Harry's arm in a powerful grip, twisting the wrist until Harry thought it would break.

Something inside Harry was driving him onward. This hated teacher, who had done everything he could to make his life hell for the past five years, had now gone one step too far in daring to force himself on Hermione. Ignoring the pain in his wrist, he swung the other fist at Snape's detested face. An instant later, a pain exploded in Harry's eye, as he felt the man's arm across his face. He spun around, taking both of them off balance, and careening into the cabinet, knocking it sideways. It balanced precariously for a moment, then smashed down with a crash. Snape's weight was on top of him as they landed, and he was pinned, unable to move, with the enraged face of his enemy snarling down at him.

It was only then that Harry really seemed to hear Hermione's voice. "Harry! Severus! Stop it!" Glancing for a moment past Snape's angry face, he saw that she had blocked Ron's path as he had tried to jump into the fight, grabbing his arms to hold him back. Now she was running forward to the pair on the floor and crouching next to them, placing a hand on the chest of each, as though holding them apart.

Snape's weight was lifted from him, and Hermione and Ron were helping Harry to his feet.

"Harry, are you alright?" she was asking him, reaching up to his eye, which was burning with pain. Nodding numbly, he placed a hand on Ron's shoulder to steady himself. Ron was staring in disbelief at Hermione, and Harry followed his gaze. Hermione had rushed to Snape and was reaching up to touch his face.

He watched as her fingers pushed his long black hair out of his face. "You don't need to feel sorry for him, Hermione, after what he - - - " His voice trailed off as the truth suddenly hit him, far harder than Snape had done.

She had her arms around him, and was reaching up to kiss his cheek. "Severus," she was whispering, "you're hurt." There was pain in her voice, and she was gazing at him with something so tender in her eyes.

Harry felt his knees begin to crumple, and he steadied himself on the edge of a desk. How could this be happening? This simply couldn't be real. The 'boyfriend' that Hermione Granger had been sneaking off to see for the past month was Professor Snape!