What can I say? Thanks to all of you who voted for Tea and Sympathy in the OWL Awards. And congratulations to everyone who won an award. As always, thanks to Jocelyn, for her constant support and assistance.

Chapter Fifteen

Malfoy out of Azkaban," Harry said. "That means big trouble."

"Yes, it does," Remus replied. "Lucius is going to have to atone for his mistakes at the Ministry. He's going to be desperate to get himself back in Voldemort's good graces. That makes him all the more dangerous to us."

Hermione broke in. "Does Draco know yet?"

Ron scowled at her, receiving a dig in the ribs from Ginny. "He's probably taken off already to join his Death Eater Dad."

Remus responded, before she could berate Ron. "Draco Malfoy is in a great deal of danger from his father. We believe that he's under a death sentence and that Voldemort will require Lucius to carry it out."

"Not ask a father to kill his own child!" Luna protested, appalled.

"I'm afraid so."

"Well, as long as Malfoy is safely tucked away in Hogwarts, he can stay clear of Daddy until the war is over. He'll be a lot safer than most of us out there fighting," Harry sneered.

"Don't be too sure." Remus countered. "Death Eaters have gotten into Hogwarts before, and Lucius knows the place well. We're all going to have to increase our precautions."

"Constant vigilance," Ginny said quietly. Beside her, Neville nodded in agreement.

"That's it exactly. Moody knows what he's talking about." Remus eyed them sternly. "No one is to travel around this castle or the grounds unaccompanied. No one leaves the grounds without permission. Is that clear?"

They gave their assent, and Remus and Tonks left. Shaken, Hermione pulled up her legs and rested her forehead against her knees. Lucius Malfoy out of Azkaban, hunting for Draco, just as he'd feared. And preparing to do who-knows-what else. She shuddered.

"Okay, Hermione?" Neville touched her shoulder.

"What? Yes, I'm fine." Standing up, she bundled her blanket and pillow into her arms, and started from the room.

"Where are you going?' Ginny asked.

"Back to my room to shower and dress. And then…I'm going to see Draco."

"Not alone, you're not," Harry snapped. "No one goes anywhere alone, remember? I'll go with you."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't need a chaperone. You'll just make a scene, and this isn't the time for that."

"She's right," Luna stated firmly. Hermione looked at her in surprise. "It's time for you to get past your anti-Slytherin bias and show him a little support. I'll go with Hermione."

"So will I," Ginny got to her feet.

"Okay." Ron stood up and stretched. "I guess this is going to be a group effort. We'll meet back here in half an hour, all right?"

The others began gathering up their blankets, and Hermione hurried to her room. In a short time, she was standing under a stream of hot water, and still couldn't stop shivering. She was going to have to play the part of Draco's girlfriend in front of all of them. Draco was going to be upset over this new development. How could she be sure that he'd keep his end of the bargain? If Harry or Ron were to say something to set him off, he might just be inclined to expose her duplicity in front of everyone. Turning off the water and reaching for the towels, she tried to reassure herself. Draco needed the security of Hogwarts, now more than ever. It would be foolhardy for him to jeopardize things by revealing her connection, and his as well, to Snape.

Back in the common room, the group prepared to Floo to Draco's quarters. Hermione went first. Draco was curled up on the divan when she came through, and she hurried to warn him.

"Get ready. The others are right behind me."

He had just a moment to nod his acknowledgement before the Floo activated again, and Harry stepped out. Stepping aside as the rest of the group followed him through, he folded his arms and sneered.

"This isn't a friendly visit, Malfoy. We didn't like the idea of Hermione coming here alone."

Draco leaned back with an unconcerned expression. "Suit yourself, Potter. I'm sure we'll be able to find time alone."

That remark raised the hackles on Ron, who took a step forward, only to be stopped when Luna placed a restraining hand on him.

"Take a seat," Draco drawled. "If you're going to inflict your company on me, we may as well be comfortable."

Hermione started towards a chair, when she caught the look in Draco's eyes. Eyebrows slightly lifted, he was reminding her of the role she was suppose to play.

Changing direction, she slid onto the divan next to Draco, and had to stifle a gasp when he slid his arm around her waist. She turned to smile at him, hiding her glare from the others. He dropped his head to her shoulder and whispered softly into her ear, "Loosen up, Granger."

She forced herself to relax back against him. "Did you hear about the Horcrux?"

He kept his head on her shoulder, his arm around her waist pulling her closer. "Yeah. Nice work." He turned his head to kiss her neck, and she giggled nervously.

Harry and Ron were quietly furious. Ginny was staring at them with a very interested look on her face. Anxious to head off any awkward questions, Hermione brought up the subject of Lucius.

"Remus told us that you knew about your father's escape. How are you doing?"

Draco shrugged. "Truthfully? Right now, I'm more scared of him than I am of the Dark Lord."

"Never thought I'd see the day that you'd admit to being scared of anything, Malfoy," Ginny said in surprise.

"Yeah," Ron grinned maliciously. "I can hardly believe it."

"Believe it!" Draco snapped, "And the rest of you had better be as bloody scared of him as I am!"

Returning to the common room, Hermione was given a note by a house elf. It proved to be from Madam Pomfrey. The recent fighting had depleted their supply of several potions and salves, and she didn't want to be low on anything while the situation was so uncertain. The note directed Hermione to have someone escort her to the Potions lab, and then to ward herself in while she worked.

Ron volunteered to take her, and the two of them left for the dungeons shortly afterwards. Ron was very quiet, and Hermione suspected that he had something he wanted to discuss with her. And as she expected, it was about Draco.

"Uh, Hermione…can we talk about something?"

"Of course. Anything you'd like."

"I don't like Malfoy; you know that." She started to protest, but he cut her off. "Just listen to what I have to say…please."

"Go ahead."

"Look, I know things didn't work out with us. Probably my fault."

This time, Hermione did interrupt. "Not necessarily. I just think we were meant to be best friends, and I'm glad we are. Your friendship means a lot to me."

"Then let me talk to you as your friend. Draco Malfoy is nothing but trouble. Especially now that Lucius is out. Being around him could be really dangerous."

Hermione sighed. "I know you don't like Draco – there's nothing new about that. I wish you'd give him a chance. He's really not a bad guy."

"I'm not willing to give him a chance that could include you getting hurt. Harry agrees with me."

They'd reached the door to the lab. Hermione regarded Ron gravely. "Look, I understand that you and Harry are concerned, but you're just going to have to trust me in this. If I'm worried, I'll come to you. I promise."

"I figured you'd say something like that." Ron shook his head.

Hermione stepped inside the room and pulled out her wand. "I'm going to ward myself in."

"Do you want me to stay while you work?" Ron asked. "You're awfully alone down here."

"You'd be bored to tears. This is going to take well into the afternoon. I'll be fine," she assured him. "Someone can come down and get me before dinner, and we can all meet in the Great Hall."

She placed multiple wards around the door, and watched while Ron made several attempts to get past them – unsuccessfully. Satisfied that she was secure in the lab, Ron left. Hermione shivered as she watched him walk away. She didn't dare ask him to stay in case Snape showed up as she feared he would. Anxiously, she set to work.

The first couple of hour passed quickly as she chopped and prepared ingredients for the required potions and salves. Within a relatively short time, she had cauldrons simmering away, and nothing to do but watch them. She sat at a nearby table, starting with every sound she heard, sure each time that Snape was in the room.

Her thoughts kept traveling around in circles. The way he'd kissed her tangled up with wondering what he'd done on the night of the attacks. He was Voldemort's trusted lieutenant, so he must have been in on the murders. Perhaps even led the attacks himself. The man himself was a conundrum…brilliant, lethal, and so passionate. And she was back at the kiss again. The sudden chime of a timer recalled her to her task, and she stirred, and mixed, and bottled as required. And in between each chime, her thoughts would spin around again. Finally, the last of the potions and salves were bottled and cooling. When the others came back to get her, in an hour or so, they could help her carry everything. In the meantime, she would have to wait there.

Pacing the room, she was counting off the minutes, hoping that this time she'd get out of the dungeons without encountering Snape. A faint hiss, the barely noticeable sound of a door sliding open crushed that notion. As she turned, the door to his quarters swung wide. Bowing to the inevitable, she crossed the room and entered.

Severus Snape was sitting in a chair in front of the fire, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Hermione was struck by the look of defeat and exhaustion in his face. He barely looked at her, merely motioning towards the chair across from his. Reluctantly, she took a seat.

"So, another Horcrux has been successfully destroyed. Was it worth the cost, I wonder?"

She stared at him in bewilderment. "If we don't destroy them, how will we ever defeat Vol…the Dark Lord? The Order certainly felt it was worth the cost." It occurred to her that there was another reason for the look on his face. Almost afraid to hear the answer, she asked in horror, "What did you have to do?"

He shrugged, still staring into his glass. Hermione got out of her chair and backed away from him. "What did you…Susan's parents?...the Creevey's?"

He was looking at her now, somewhat startled at the way she shrank from him. For a moment he did not respond, then his words lashed out in his usual impatient tone.

"I owe you no explanations."

"Don't you?" As disturbed as she was, Hermione somehow found the courage to confront him. "You've said that you continue to work for the Order, and expect me to accept your explanation for Dumbledore's death. How can you think that I'll go on believing in you if you won't tell me the truth about this?"

He seemed to weigh her argument before replying. "I warned the Bones family that an attack was imminent. They chose to send their daughter away and stay to fight, against my advice. I did not know about the Creeveys."

"And the attack on Azkaban."

"I led it. I personally opened the cell and released Lucius Malfoy, returning him to the service of our master." He sneered. "I was well rewarded for it."

Hermione stood, uncertain if he would be willing to discuss what took place among Voldemort's ranks. "Was…was Lucius Malfoy welcomed back by the Dark Lord?"

"Not entirely. He threw it in Lucius' face that he had failed him in the Department of Mysteries, that his son had failed to carry out his assigned task." He paused. "Then he told Lucius that Narcissa had been executed for allowing his traitorous son to escape."

"What did he…how did he react?"

Snape took a long drink from the glass, which had refilled itself. "I have never seen Lucius Malfoy so beaten down. He loved his wife and son – make no mistake about that. He asked the Dark Lord to kill him right then and there."

"But he didn't kill him."

"No," Snape shook his head. "Lucius has been ordered to prove his loyalty by killing Draco. Then he will be restored to his place in the ranks of Death Eaters."

"But…you said that he loves his son. Will he do it?"

"At this point, I have no idea what Lucius will do. Draco must be warned."

"The Headmistress has already seen to that. We'll all help protect him as best we can." Hermione shifted uneasily. "The others will be coming for me soon. I…I have to go."

"You object to being in the presence of a Death Eater?" He was mocking her, and Hermione stopped in her tracks, turning back to face him. He eyed her speculatively. "Surely you haven't run out of questions yet?"

She took a deep breath, annoyed at how easily he could get to her. "Actually, I have one more."

"Well, then…"

"Why did you kiss me? You never do anything without a reason. Was it supposed to make me more amenable?"

For just a moment, he seemed flustered, obviously not having expected that. "There is no need to discuss it. It is of no consequence. If there is nothing further about the attacks…"

Hermione pushed on. "I assumed that it was your way of attempting to establish control over me. So that I'd listen to you about Harry."

Now he was annoyed. "I do not need to use a kiss to control a silly little girl."

"Then why?" Hermione persisted.

"You are to forget about it!"

The faint sound of voices could be heard from out in the dungeons corridor. Someone was approaching the Potions lab.

Hermione walked over to Snape's chair. "I don't intend to forget it!" Leaning forward, she kissed him deliberately. He neither pulled back or pushed her away, and she took her time, enjoying the softness of his lips, feeling him respond to her. Breaking it off, she quickly walked to the door, turning to give him a slightly malicious smile. "Because I liked it!"

Closing the door quietly behind her, she met Harry, Ron, and Ginny at the door, removing her wards and enlisting their assistance in carrying off the potions and salves she'd completed. Following them through the halls, she couldn't keep a smile off her face. Let him think about that for awhile!

At lunch the next day, they were joined for the first time by Susan Bones, now the ward of the Headmistress. Their former classmate was pale and quiet, her eyes red-rimmed, and she responded listlessly to their expressions of condolence. Hermione noticed that she pushed her food around on the plate, but ate almost nothing.

Professor McGonagall was watching anxiously as well. She exchanged looks with Hermione, then sought the other girl's attention.

"Susan, you're going to need some clothes to replace what was lost when your home was destroyed. A trip to Hogsmeade is not possible at this time, so I'm asking the other girls to transfigure some of their things to fit you for the time being."

Susan nodded. A soft, "Yes, Headmistress," was her only response, and she barely looked up.

"Come on, Susan," Ginny urged gently. "We'll get you settled in Gryffindor with the rest of us, since the Hufflepuff rooms are closed. It will be fun fixing up a wardrobe for you."

Susan joined the girls as they made their way to the common room, followed by the boys. Promising to return to them shortly, the girls ushered her up the stairs and into their dormitory. Luna pointed out that her bed was the only one in Ravenclaw colors, and they joked about the invasion of the other houses. Susan made no effort to join in the conversation, and displayed little interest in the bed draped in Hufflepuff colors that had been set up for her by the house elves.

Hermione, Ginny, and Luna tried their best to distract her, bringing out clothing and trying to get her to participate in discussions about style and color.

"This dress would look pretty on you, Susan, but I think we should change the color to blue. It will look great with your hair color," Ginny said.

Susan nodded, barely looking at the dress. Hermione held up a couple of nightgowns and changed their length with a wave of her wand, all the time wishing desperately that she could come up with some way to break through to the girl in front of her. Jeans, tops, and underclothes were added to the pile, while the girls chattered constantly, and Susan replied with monosyllables.

"That should do it," Hermione announced. "Let's go join the boys."

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Susan stared down at her hands. "I think I'll just stay here."

Luna shook her head. "That's not a good idea. You need to be around other people right now. It helps; it really does."

Hermione wondered if Luna was drawing on her own experience after her mother's death. "We know that you'll want some time alone, and we'll respect that, but we don't want you to withdraw. Please come downstairs with us."

Susan rose reluctantly, and silently followed them down the stairs. The boys attempted to draw her out. Harry proposed a game of Exploding Snap, while Ron regaled them with stories of the latest inventions of Fred and George. She went through the motions, but it was almost as if she wasn't really there.

The door to the common room opened and Neville came in, bundled up in a heavy jacket, his face reddened by the cold. "It's great out there. Just barely starting to snow and the air feels…great." He looked around at the group. "How about a hike around the grounds?"

The suggestion had them all scrambling up to get jackets and scarves, and when they returned, Neville had seated himself on the sofa next to Susan. He'd been to the greenhouses, and was presenting her with a small bunch of flowers.

"I remember that you like to work with Professor Sprout and that you were interested in plants, so I brought you these."

The small bouquet was made up of pansies, in Hufflepuff colors, the blossoms dark and their centers bright yellow. "We've got them in the colors of all the houses now. I thought you might like them." Blushing furiously, Neville kept talking. "We worked on an herbology project together, remember? A presentation on the old uses for flowers, and their old names and such. And pansies were known as…"

"Heart's ease," Susan said, and holding the flowers in her hands, she burst into tears.

Neville looked around at the others, frantically. Ginny smiled at him and made an encircling motion with her arms. For a moment, he stared at her uncomprehending, then as Ginny repeated the motion, a light came on in his face. Carefully, Neville put his arms around Susan, and held her while she cried.

Watching the two of them, none of the others noticed when Hermione picked up her jacket and slipped out of the room.

The cold air hit her like a shock, and Hermione braced herself against the wind, pulling her scarf up higher around her neck. The others would be coming behind her shortly, she was sure, but right now she needed a few moments alone.

The scene with Neville and Susan had bothered her in a way that she couldn't have anticipated. She hoped that Neville's impulsive act of kindness would lead to friendship and, perhaps more, between Susan and him. They would be very well suited.

It was the act itself…so open and sincere. For some reason, it seemed to have laid bare in her own mind the hypocrisy of what she was engaging in.

She was using love and romance as tools for deceit and manipulation. Her supposed involvement with Draco…this strange entanglement with Snape. Neither was a real relationship, just using and being used. What kind of person did that make her? She'd kissed Snape as casually and callously as he'd kissed her. And the play-acting with Draco…using him right now when he was vulnerable. Did the fact that he was participating in the charade make it any less despicable?

Lost in thought, Hermione had come some distance from the castle. Looming ahead of her were the winter-bared branches of the Whomping Willow. Giving the irascible tree a wide berth, she passed it and ventured into the open grounds beyond. This was where the henge had appeared, summoned by Remus Lupin's cry in an ancient language. She walked slowly across the area, eyes to the ground, scanning carefully for any sign that a henge existed. The entire area was uniformly brown with cold-blasted vegetation. No differences appeared to indicate where heavy monoliths were pressing into the ground. There was no sign of a circle at all. She felt no difference in the air around her, no tingle of magic, no hum of powers contained. Nothing but the chill of the icy wind as it cut across the grounds.

Shivering slightly, Hermione turned, intending to head back and meet the others. The hand that grabbed her arm right then nearly pulled her off her feet, and she screamed in utter terror as Lucius Malfoy loomed over her. With her free hand, she pulled her wand, but before she could make a sound, he'd grabbed her wrist and twisted it painfully. The wand fell from her fingers and rolled uselessly across the ground.

He was dragging her across the clearing, towards the woods that edged the grounds. The anti-apparition wards…he was trying to get her past them. With that realization, Hermione began fighting him frantically, screaming and twisting, making it impossible for him to keep hold of her and use his wand at the same time. Still he dragged her, closer and closer, ranting at her.

"Silence, Mudblood bitch! I shall give you to the Dark Lord in exchange for my son's life. He will spare Draco when I give you to him. He will spare my son!"

They were nearly there; Hermione kicking and screaming. Lucius had his wand out now, and in desperation, she lunged forward and dug her fingernails as hard as she could into the soft skin of his inner wrist. He dropped the wand with a cry of rage, then struck her across the face violently. Her leg twisting painfully under her, Hermione hit the ground, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

Lucius retrieved his wand and stood over her. "Enough, Mudblood!" He pointed the wand at her, and she closed her eyes in dread.

"Stupefy!"

Please don't forget to review!