Disclaimer: I don't take credit for anything associated with Harry Potter. No financial profit is being made.
A/N: The story's been pretty much PG-13 in previous chapters, but now that's going to change. This chapter is rated M for language and strong sexual references. This might even be leaning a tad bit towards the MA rating, but I think it's still within the parameters of what is allowed on this site.
Unlikely Partners
Chapter 5
Hermione had been able to find her former professor at the airport entrance easily enough.
She now sat in the passenger's seat to the left of Severus. He had been shockingly polite in greeting her, and that alone had set Hermione on edge.
They had been in the car for just over twenty minutes now, and Hermione was uncharacteristically silent. She wouldn't allow herself to think about what was to come, so in an effort to force her mind to concentrate on something else, Hermione counted objects she saw outside the car window: telephone wires, birds, anything, just to keep her mind occupied.
Severus had made no effort to break the silence.
Hermione breathed deeply in an effort to remain calm, like she had done so many times before when she had been nervous about receiving a test score. But this was far from being some silly anxiety about what mark she'd gotten in Potions or Transfiguration. This was something else entirely.
While the logical part of her brain told her to keep calm and that she was safe trusting Snape, especially after everything Tonks had told her, the small fearful part was even now wondering if she had made the right decision.
Lovely time to be having second thoughts, Hermione, she told herself.
She watched a hawk riding the thermals in the cloudless sky. The animal soared across Hermione's line of vision. The bird was nature's embodiment of freedom.
And in watching it, Hermione's irrational side couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the irony.
She was less than an hour away from becoming a prisoner, and here she was looking at a creature whose freedom knew no bounds.
Normally, Hermione kept a tight rein on the irrational side of her brain. But rarely, in extremely unfamiliar situations, that small irrational part of her mind took control.
Right now Hermione was quite content to ignore her former professor and stare straight out the car window. She knew she would later have a sore neck from the staying in the position she was in, but she didn't care.
"Miss Granger," said Severus, speaking for the first time since they had left the airport.
"Yes?" Hermione responded, in an uncharacteristically weak voice. She didn't turn away from the window to look at him.
"I have a potion for you to drink before we reach Voldemort's estate."
Hermione turned her head. "When we discussed things, the only potion you mentioned was–
"This is different. I saw no need to tell you the last time we talked, because I didn't think it was necessary to upset you in front of Remus and Nymphadora."
Hermione exhaled shakily. She was suddenly overcome with the panicked feeling of being trapped with absolutely no way of escape. She eyed Severus fearfully.
Severus reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and produced a corked phial of greyish blue liquid.
"Drink this. For the next three hours, it will prevent you from feeling any physical pain."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat as Severus's words registered in her brain.
"I . . . I didn't think that . . ."
"I would hurt you in front of Voldemort?" Severus finished for her, his voice eerily calm. "Just when did I say anything to make you think that I wouldn't do everything in my power to convince The Dark Lord I was doing precisely that?"
Hermione blanched.
"Drink the potion now and you shall be fine."
Severus held the phial out, waiting for her to take it. "It's rather unpleasant, so I suggest pinching your nose and downing it in one go."
Hermione sat rigid for several seconds.
"The longer you wait to take it, the less effective it will be," Severus told her seriously.
Hermione swallowed and took the the phial from Severus's hand. With shaking hands, she uncorked it and then pinched her nose with her left hand. She put the phial to her lips and tilted her head back, swallowing its contents quickly.
She removed her hand from her nose, and then wished she hadn't. The potion had to have been the most vile substance she had ever tasted. She couldn't help thinking that if she drank petrol mixed with liquified rotten eggs, it couldn't have tasted any worse than the potion she had just consumed.
She had to force herself not to throw up.
Severus ignored her, his eyes focused on the horizon.
Hermione laid her head against the back of her seat and closed her eyes. It felt as if her stomach was trying to turn itself inside out.
Hermione let herself relax in an effort to relieve the queasiness in her stomach.
A cool, gentle flow of air hit her forehead, significantly reducing the feeling of nausea. Hermione opened her eyes slightly and noticed that the angle of the air conditioning vent had been changed. She turned her head slightly to look at Severus.
"Thank you," she said softly, doubting if he would respond.
He did not reply, but that didn't matter to Hermione.
Her former professor's simple act of kindness had done much to make her feel better about trusting him.
Hermione closed her eyes again and waited for the nausea to completely subside.
Half an hour later Severus pulled off the main road and started down a wooded driveway. He stopped the car about a hundred meters from the country road.
"There is a garage directly beneath my rooms in the estate's east wing. I'll have to take you in through the front, directly into Voldemort's meeting room. When I get out of the car, I will need your wand. With your wand, I'll bind your hands behind your back. Then we'll have to walk around the perimeter and enter through the main door. While in front of Voldemort, at some point in time, you will have to make an effort to fight me. Sadistic as he is, Voldemort will be more satisfied in watching me force you to remain still than he would be watching you remain frozen with fear. This means that I'll be able to get you away from him sooner."
Hermione didn't respond. What could she say? She managed a slight nod, which was enough for Severus. He proceeded to drive down the sloping drive. In a minute a white tudor style mansion came into view on a level area of ground. The enormous three story house sat in the middle of a clearing in the forest, surrounded by tall aging trees on three sides. It really was quite beautiful, secluded in the heart of the forest, surrounded by nature.
Though for Hermione, looking at it inspired nothing more than a sickening feeling of anticipation and dread. It was hard for her brain to grasp the concept that Voldemort was alive and well, and inside the walls of that expansive house at that very minute. Even more unfathomable to her was the fact that in a matter of minutes, she would be brought face to face with the darkest wizard Britain had seen in centuries.
Her stomach tightened as Severus drove around the reddish pink brick circle and pulled into the four car garage he had mentioned.
Her turned off the car's engine and turned to Hermione.
"Your wand, Miss Granger,"
Slowly, almost mechanically, Hermione retrieved her bag from underneath the car seat. She pulled her wand out and placed it in Severus's outstretched hand. Though she felt confident in trusting Severus, her stomach tightened even more at the relinquishment of her most important possession.
Severus stepped out of the car and opened Hermione's door for her. She tucked her bag of personal items back underneath the car seat and looked up into his face.
Whatever I say and do tonight, I do to keep us both alive, he said in her mind.
Hermione blinked, startled at his power to communicate with her inside her head.
Now get out of the car and let us get this over with.
Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
She then stepped out of the car and Severus shut the door. Hermione obediently turned around so that he could use her wand to bind her wrists together.
Severus quickly did a silent spell and cords shot out of the tip of Hermione's wand, wrapping securely around Hermione's wrists.
I'm not interfering with your circulation am I? he asked in her mind.
"No," she said softly, just loud enough so that he could hear.
This way then. He held her forearms and turned her around. Walk forward and follow the path to the right.
Hermione did as she was told with Severus walking behind her, his hands around her arms just above her bound wrists. The short walk around the side of the mansion seemed to take an eternity for Hermione.
The sun was falling in the sky, as she and Severus went up the steps to the tall oak doors of the mansion.
Severus flicked Hermione's wand at the doors and they swung outward revealing the red carpeted hallway inside. Hermione stood frozen, unable to move until Severus gently nudged her in the small of her back with his knee.
Hermione felt like a small antelope unwillingly being brought into a den of hungry vicious lions. The air itself seemed to radiate a sinister darkness, and it robbed Hermione of her breath. The air was oppressive and the hair on the back of Hermione's neck stood on end.
Her heart beat wildly in her chest, and as she was forced further into the hallway, she could barely breathe properly.
Turn left.
Hermione turned and found herself in front of a polished mahogany door with an ivory skull and malachite serpent on its top half.
Severus raised Hermione's wand and muttered a spell that sent the door flying open.
"What the hell?" a surprised female voice uttered from within.
"Shut up, Bella. I believe Severus has just returned with his prize," a male voice said smugly.
A shiver went down Hermione's spine.
No. No, no, no. NO!
She wanted to retch. Being within five meters of Voldemort was causing her to feel fear so powerful it was maddening. No, this was beyond fear. This was intense panic in the very core of her soul.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before, and would never have words to describe.
The man who had once been Tom Marvolo Riddle radiated a perverse aura of utter depravity. And being this near to something so entirely evil was like excruciating pain for Hermione.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Voldemort intoned with a smile that would have done Lucifer proud. He rose from behind his desk and moved towards Hermione and Severus.
Like an animal shaking in the presence of a predator, Hermione started to tremble.
"This Milord, is the mudblood bitch that never fails to come to Potter's rescue." Severus explained causally.
Voldemort laughed softly.
"I daresay, she won't be helping Potter now,"
"That she won't." Severus replied with a dark smile.
"Was she very hard to capture?" Voldemort asked with interest.
"I had to take her wand away from her without using any magic, but I was able to trick the chit into thinking she had succeeded in subduing me and then my greater physical strength beat her desperate wand waving. Men are always stronger than women, Milord." Severus said, glancing pointedly at Bellatrix.
Bellatrix snorted derisively and rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to thoroughly enjoy having my way with her," Severus said with a malicious glint in his eyes. He jerked Hermione against him and put his nose to her neck. "So soft," he whispered. He placed a kiss against side of her throat. "So smooth."
"It will be so much fun to break this fucking meddlesome brat's spirit. I want to see the fire die from her eyes each time I dominate her, each time I show her that the only place for a woman is beneath a man."
Severus snaked his right hand around her waist and trailed it up Hermione's chest, deftly undoing buttons on her blouse as he went.
"I want to hear her scream in protest when I fuck her for the first time," Severus said with pleasure as he eyed her body in interest.
"Enjoy your new toy, Severus. You know you've earned a little something after everything you've done for me,"
Bellatrix cleared her throat to get the two men's attention.
"How exactly are you going to let Potter know you have his little female friend?"
Voldemort looked at her and smiled.
"Severus will send Potter a letter,"
"And you think the boy is just going to believe that we have the girl without any proof of the fact?" Bellatrix asked seriously.
Severus snorted.
"He'll have proof. I thought sending him a picture of his beloved Miss Granger afflicted by the Cruciatus curse would really make the message hit home."
Bellatrix grinned. "How ingenious. And here I was thinking you had lost your touch after being around Albus Dumbledore all these years. I apologise for ever doubting you,"
"Bella, there's a camera in the desk of the morning room. Go fetch it now," Voldemort told her crisply.
Bellatrix promptly left the room without another word to obey the order she had been given. Voldemort then began to advance on Hermione.
Her mind was slipping into a sort of drug induced stupor, but whether it was from the potion or from the fact that she had been in Voldemort's presence for several minutes now and the energy from him was effecting her mind, she didn't know.
Voldemort drew ever closer to her and Hermione could feel her skin crawl in terror. When he was just a meter away, Hermione could stand it no longer and with every ounce of strength she could muster, she tried to wrench out of Severus's grasp.
She managed to succeed in breaking Severus's grip on her for a second or two but then his right hand shot out and tightened like a vice on her arm with bruising force. He yanked her back in front of him and subsequently kicked her brutally in the back of her right leg, causing her to drop to her knees.
The blow had knocked the air out of Hermione's lungs. She struggled to get oxygen again.
"She's quite a fighter, isn't she?" Voldemort asked with a smirk.
"Indeed she is," said Severus. "It's the bloody Gryffindor in her, Milord."
Voldemort laughed again.
"Make her stand."
Severus forced Hermione onto her feet. Hermione's eyes went wide as Voldemort came forward and took her chin in his hand.
His touch was like a white hot branding iron on her soul.
"I will kill Potter. He has no chance of stopping me a second time. Everyone you ever cared about will be enslaved or killed. I grow stronger every day. It's only a matter of time before I reign supreme over all of Britain."
Voldemort forced Hermione to look into his eyes.
"I imagine you'll beg for death long before I take complete control over this country. There's no way Potter and his friends in The Order of the Phoenix can rescue you."
He released her as Bellatrix brought the camera into the room. He took his wand from his desk and pointed it at Hermione's chest.
"CRUCIO!" Voldemort yelled determinedly.
Severus let her sink to the floor. Hermione felt her muscles twitching uncontrollably, but felt no agonizing physical pain.
Severus's potion had worked.
"Smile for the camera!" Bellatrix said before taking a picture.
Though she felt no actual pain, Hermione was unable to breathe properly and she bent her head, gasping for air.
"Suffer you Gryffindor bitch," Voldemort said contemptuously.
Hermione thought she might black out from lack of oxygen. But then at the last moment, Voldemort lifted the curse and smiled.
"As much as I'd like to cause you pain right now, I have some urgent matters to discuss with Bella." Voldemort told her regrettably. He looked to Severus. "And I'm sure you'll want to take when she's still capable of fighting,"
"All the more fun for me, Milord." said Severus.
Voldemort nodded.
"You may take her away. Bella will give you picture when it's developed."
"I'll write Potter a letter in the morning," Severus promised.
"Very good. Enjoy your night, Severus."
"Oh I will Milord. I most certainly will."
Voldemort turned away and Severus pushed Hermione towards the room's open door.
Turn Left. Severus told her once they were back in the hallway.
Severus marched Hermione down the hallway and stopped her once they were a good distance from the room Voldemort and Bellatrix were in.
I'm going to Apparate us back to my suite. The Ministry won't be able to detect any magic that takes place inside this mansion.
A second later Hermione was standing in the first of Severus's rooms. After using Hermione's wand to sufficiently soundproof the chamber, Severus promptly released Hermione from the magical bonds.
He stepped back from her and she slowly turned to face him. Her face was as pale as a sheet of parchment. She took in a shaky breath and swayed on her feet.
Suddenly, she collapsed into unconsciousness and Severus caught her quickly to stop her from falling to the floor. Gently he picked her up and carried her into his bedchamber.
A/N: And that's chapter 6! Certainly a different tone than the chapters before it. As always, please review.
Thanks to all my reader's who have added me to their favorite's list and author alert list. It makes me happy to know that I'm not the only one enjoying ths story.