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Unlikely Partners

Chapter 4

Hermione successfully Apparated to the front door of the London flat Tonks had described to her, as if she

had done so a thousand times before. The rain was coming down harder than before and Tonks pulled the brass key from her purse as quickly as she could before the rain became a torrential downpour.

Once the two women had gotten inside, they found Remus pouring over what appeared to be an ancient tome that couldn't have weighed less than twenty kilos. A rectangular desk light illuminated his reading space and he looked up instantly at the sound of the door closing.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed warmly as she came further into the room. Hermione was perceptive enough to pick up on the note of relief in his voice. She went over to where he was sitting to investigate what he was reading.

"Hullo, Remus. What are you up to?" she asked, eyeing the massive book in front of him.

Remus laughed softly at her characteristic inquisitiveness and angled the text so that she could see the words written on the paper.

"Wow, it's in Latin," she breathed, bending over to scan through some of the words. She knew only a little of the language of the Roman Empire, but she'd always thought that it was one of the most beautiful languages she had ever heard and anything she came across that was in Latin particularly interested her.

"I'm doing research for The Order," Remus informed her. "The first mentioning of horcruxes is found in texts written by the wizards of ancient Rome."

Tonks came over and leaned against the back of Remus's chair.

"Remus was scholarly enough to learn Latin in his youth, so he's been given the job of translating this. Besides Severus, he's the only one in The Order who can read it well enough to understand everything it's saying," she explained to Hermione. "You two look at this while I go into the kitchen to phone Severus to let him know he can come over as soon as he is able,"

Hermione blinked and gave Tonks a quizzical look, but then her expression changed to one of understanding as she remembered what Tonks had said to her earlier.

"A telephone is the only way to reach Severus without using any magic, isn't it?"

"It is. Also Severus needs to be able to contact Remus when his potion is ready to be picked up. This flat had Muggle owners before Remus purchased it, so it already had what was needed to install a telephone. I meant what I said about Severus being unable to use any magic. Even the simplest of spells can lead the Ministry to pinpoint his location. Though Voldemort's new headquarters is completely concealed from the Ministry's eyes, the Ministry can use advanced spells to find out exactly where Severus has been during the day. Once they see a single spell from him, they have spells that allow them to retrace his steps and find the place where he is most vulnerable to being caught. So for the past few weeks, Severus has been living as if he's a Muggle with no knowledge of the magical community,"

Tonks stepped into the kitchen and took the white phone on the wall off of its cradle. She held it to her ear for a few seconds then punched in a number and replaced it on the hook.

"Hermione, can I interest you in a lunch of some kind?" Tonks asked her from inside the kitchen.

"No, thank you," Hermione responded, "I'm not especially hungry at the moment,"

A few seconds later the phone rang and Tonks immediately picked it up. The auror turned away from the doorway to lean against the wall.

"She's talking with Remus right now," Tonks told Severus over the phone. Then after a pause, she let out a little derisive snort. "Did you have any doubts about my ability to convince her?"

Tonks checked quickly to make sure that Hermione was engaged in conversation with Remus before speaking to Severus again. "She wanted me to tell her Dumbledore's reason for trusting you, but I didn't reveal anything." Tonks listened to Severus for several seconds.

"You know, she also mentioned that Bill Weasley's wedding is on Friday," she said pointedly, then laughed lightly at Severus's response. "My thoughts exactly, but it's not like we can't make Harry and Ron think Hermione's home sick,"

"When are you coming here?" she asked. Severus gave her an answer that was to her satisfaction. "Very good, then. I'll see you in a bit,"

Tonks hung the phone back on the wall and returned to the flat's sitting room.

"Severus is coming in half an hour," she announced. "Hermione, do you think you could telephone either your mother or father and let them know what's going on?"

"I think it'd be better if I talked to my mum and dad in person,"

"Yes, but I think you should talk to them now while you're here with us so that in case they have questions, Remus can reassure them about your safety,"

"Hey now!" Remus exclaimed, giving Tonks a sharp look askance.

"Well your parents know you hold Remus in high esteem, right? I mean you've told them about him, haven't you? Especially when he was your teacher third year?"

Hermione eyed the clock above the fireplace. It was just after noon. Her parents had always told her that if ever there was an emergency they would make time in their schedule for her.

"The only thing is, if I talk to them now, they're likely to pull me into a long conversation about it. My mum asks questions more than once when she's stressed out."

"If you have trouble getting them to understand, Remus can talk to them and help convince them you're doing the right thing," Tonks told her seriously.

Hermione looked at Remus and he gave her a thin smile.

"I'll talk to your parents if you want me to,"

"Thanks, it will probably take about fifteen minutes for me to get them up to speed with what's going on. I didn't exactly tell them the full story of what happened at the end of term. But if I need you, I'll let you know,"

Remus nodded as Hermione left the room. He blew out a long sigh and turned to Tonks who was perched on the end of the sofa.

"How much does she know now?" Remus asked.

"Not everything. Nothing about Severus's past,"

"I wonder if she'd still comply if she knew what happened,"

Tonks didn't immediately reply.

"I'm inclined to think she would."

"Did she ask why Albus trusted him?"

"Of course, she asked. And of course, I dodged the subject as best I could,"

"Perhaps she should know the whole truth,"

"Perhaps she should, but we aren't the ones who can give it to her. Only Severus can provide her the answer,"

Remus let out an uncharacteristic snort.

"You actually think there's more than a snowball's chance in hell of him opening up to her like that?"

"Given the gravity of the situation the two of them are in, . . .yes."

"All of us who are senior members of The Order know the truth because Albus's statement, 'he's loyal because I say so,' wasn't going to hold up indefinitely. Order members were bound to question Severus's influence over Albus, and the only way to put their suspicions at rest was to tell them why Severus was completely loyal to Dumbledore. Hermione isn't an Order member, Fahdee," Remus said gently.

"Yes, but she's nothing if not persistent. I highly doubt she'll just drop the subject, especially when she really wants to find out the reason for Severus's loyalty,"

Remus didn't respond, and there was a long stretch of silence. The only sounds were Hermione's voice on the phone and the rain pelting harshly against the window pane.

"This situation can't get any more damnable," Remus muttered bitterly.

"Have you thought about what you're going to tell Harry when he wants us all to help him take action against Voldemort so that he can save Hermione?"

"No, Nymphadora, I can't say that I have,"

"What I hate the most is that Harry will be thinking the absolute worst, and there's not one thing we can do to alleviate his pain and anxiety,"

"God only knows how Voldemort will tell Harry about Hermione's kidnaping," Remus said at length. He raised his gaze to the young auror in front of him. "Or what that bastard will say to make Harry angry,"

"Voldemort won't pass on an opportunity to cause Harry pain, especially when he knows there's no way any of us can rescue Hermione," Tonks said softly.

"He's going to think . . ." Remus trailed off, unable to complete the sentence.

"that Severus is raping Hermione," Tonks finished for him. "I know. And what the hell are we going to tell him?"

"When Harry finds out we've all lied to him about this, he may never trust us again," Remus said quietly.

Tonks made no move to contradict him.

"When is this going to end?" Remus asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Sometimes I have to wonder if it ever will . . .You know there's no guarantee that Voldemort will be defeated again. With Albus gone, Voldemort no longer fears the Order."

Seconds passed, stretching into minutes before Tonks spoke again.

"You have to have faith, Remus."

"Yeah? Well I'm beginning to think God's turned his back on us, and he's not coming back to help us anytime soon,"

"Remus . . ."

"What?"

"This won't last forever. You have to believe that,"

"With everything that's happened, it's so hard to believe there will ever be a time where things are different,"

"I know it is. But we have to hold on to hope, because if we lose that, then Voldemort will be able to win,"

Remus kept expecting Hermione to call him into the kitchen to talk to her mother or father on the phone, but minutes passed and Hermione never asked him.

Either they're taking the news rather well, or else they're too upset to talk to anyone else, Remus thought dryly. A crisp knock sounded at the door, announcing Severus's arrival. Tonks hurried to the door to let him in.

"Hermione's talking to her parents on the phone about what's going to happen," she informed him as he stepped inside.

Severus took a small bottle from the pocket of his long black leather coat.

"Here, Remus. I brought your potion with me so that you'll have it here before you need it on Saturday."

Severus set the bottle of dark purple liquid on the sitting room's coffee table. He then took a seat in one of the two tan chairs across from the sofa.

Remus felt a slight urge to tell Severus that he thought Hermione should know why Dumbledore trusted him implicitly, but he suppressed the thought almost as soon as it had crossed his mind.

Tonks leveled her gaze on Severus.

"For Hermione's sake, I hope you understand what you're getting into," she told him.

Severus arched a brow.

"If you're concerned about Granger's feelings being wounded by my utter lack of compassion, I assure you that making the girl cry is not on my list of things to accomplish."

Tonks snorted.

"I just hope you're aware that she may have a difficult time adjusting. And if that's the case, the last thing Hermione needs is for you to make matters worse by treating her like she doesn't exist, or worse, like she's an unwanted burden,"

"Thank you Nymphadora, but I'm well aware of what the girl will need,"

"Are you?" she asked, less than convinced.

Severus had no time to reply for Hermione walked into the room a second after Tonks had spoken. She came halfway into the room, and upon catching the gaze of her former professor, she stopped dead, unsure of what to say. She remained silent and felt that it was a good idea to let him be the first one to speak.

"Come now, Miss Granger, no onslaught of questions?" Severus asked with a hint of a half smile on his face.

"What is it that you thought I would ask you, Sir?" Hermione asked.

Severus laughed softly. The sound surprised Hermione and she nearly flinched. She had never heard Severus Snape laugh before. She wasn't sure she liked the sound either. His laugh was deep and rich, and for some reason she couldn't quite explain, it slightly frightened her.

"First of all, Miss Granger, I hardly think it is necessary for you to stand on such formalities when you're no longer my student. You may address me by my surname, Miss Granger. And might I add that I have no desire for you to call me professor."

Hermione gave him a small nod.

"Now as to the questions I was almost certain you'd be bursting to ask, I thought you'd want to know where exactly I'd be taking you,"

"The question did cross my mind," Hermione responded.

"Voldemort purchased an estate in Cambridge. I have a suite there."

"While I'm in this suite of yours during the day, where will you be?" Hermione asked as soon as the question popped into her mind. She was quickly regaining her boldness.

"I spend the majority of my days working at an illegal potions lab beneath Downing Street,"

"There's a black market potions lab underneath Downing Street?" Hermione asked.

"There is. Surely this doesn't surprise you after everything you've learned about England's magical community?"

"No, it does. At least a little bit. Does the prime minister know about it?

"No, the prime minister doesn't know,"

Remus broke into the conversation before Hermione could ask another question.

"How did it go with your parents?"

"They're trusting in my judgement. I don't think they understand why I have to do this, but they understand that it can't be avoided. I told them you or Tonks would write letters to them about how I was doing. I assume the three of you will be in frequent enough contact with each other,"

"We will be," Tonks said a bit more firmly than necessary.

"Now Miss Granger, are will you be ready to come with me to Cambridge the day after tomorrow?"

"Does it really have to be that soon?" Hermione asked.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid it does." Severus told her. He then looked at Tonks and Remus. "Can I have a word or two with Miss Granger in private?"

"Of course," Tonks answered. "We'll just go into the kitchen for a few minutes."

She and Remus stood up and left the room. Hermione approached Severus some more and when she reached the sofa, she stopped to lean against the back of it.

"Miss Granger, . . . I will have to bring you before Voldemort. And when I do, . . . I'm going to have to put on a convincing show to make him think I see you as nothing more than an object."

Hermione didn't respond for several seconds.

"What, precisely, does a convincing show entail?"

"While in Voldemort's presence, I'm going to have to say and do things that will make you feel uncomfortable. Voldemort thinks I want to abuse you sexually. When we're standing in front of him, I'm going to have to make sure he continues to believe that,"

Hermione didn't reply. What could she say? She wanted to say no, but the rational part of her brain told her that wasn't an option. So instead, she remained silent.

"How long is this 'show' going to last?"

"As long as Voldemort wants to look at you. Nymphadora told you he has regained his human form, I expect?"

"No, she apparently forgot to mention that,"

There was a few seconds stretch of silence before Severus spoke to her again.

"Miss Granger, female witches radiate a strong magic that can be sensed by particularly powerful wizards and witches. Now, virgin witches radiate an aura ten times as great as those who have lost their virginity. I can give you a dampening potion to reduce that aura, but if I'm going to make it, I'm going to have to start it tonight,"

"Are you asking, . . .if I'm still a virgin?" Hermione asked her voice trembling slightly.

"In a roundabout way, . . .yes."

Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled very slowly.

"There's no need for you to make the potion," she said softly.

"If the intercourse wasn't consensual, your magical aura will still be powerful," Severus stated.

"I've never been raped. I lost my virginity willingly,"

"Then it's a good thing I didn't start brewing the dampening potion this afternoon."

"Can this discussion be over?"

"One last thing. I promise it's nothing like the previous topics we've discussed. You live in South Yorkshire. I have a meeting Saturday in London. Can you arrange transportation to Heathrow Airport, and I'll come get you at the main entrance at around 7 p.m.? I'll be driving a black sedan."

"I'm sure I can do that," Hermione told him.

"Good. Bring one bag of personal items you'll want to have with you,"

Hermione knew there were other questions she should probably be asking, but she would have ample opportunity to ask all the questions she wanted later. Except one question still burned in her mind.

"I disclosed some rather personal information to you just now. Might you disclose some information about yourself to me?"

"That depends. What do you want to know about me, Miss Granger?"

"I want to know why Dumbledore trusted you the way he did,"

Severus did not immediately reply. His expression became guarded and Hermione thought for a second that that he'd give her one of his scathing comments. But when he spoke, his voice was far from angry.

"Will you still trust me if I don't tell you?" he asked.

"I'll still trust you, but I may feel more comfortable trusting you completely if you were to tell me,"

"Or you may trust me less,"

"Dumbledore trusted you. Remus and Tonks trust you," Hermione said softly.

Severus let out a half laugh.

"For now, that's going to have to be enough for you. I see no reason why I should reveal my secrets to you when there's no benefit for me in doing so,"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but closed it before she said something she couldn't take back. It was not in her best interest to make this man angry.

Though his refusal to give her an answer, only made her all the more curious.

In regards to getting information, Hermione had always gotten what she wanted. And she saw no reason why this case had to be any different.

It just might take a bit of time she thought silently. Fortunately for her, she was going to have as much time as she needed.

What are you hiding from me, Severus Snape? And what makes it so secret that you cannot even tell me what it is after I told you one of my own biggest secrets?

Hermione didn't know, but she had nothing but the greatest intentions of finding out.

A/N: Downing Street is Britain's equivalent of Pennsylvania Avenue. :-)

Next chapter will be worthy of the M Rating.

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