13 Jan 1999

Hermione woke the next morning wrapped around Severus and took a deep breath in. The events of the night before ran through her head and she was thankful the Room had summoned help for her. At the time, cutting the Dark Mark from her arm had seemed like the only option, the only way out. Now, in the early morning night that shone through the magical windows, she could see how wrong she had been.

Just because she had been Marked against her will did not mean she was a Death Eater. Being drawn to the Dark Arts didn't make her a bad person. It was called Dark Magic because it was seductive. It could ensnare anyone if they weren't careful. And who the fuck really cared if she preferred the clothing Bellatrix had picked for her? Wonder Woman wore knickers, a belt, and a bustier, and she was pretty badass.

She had to trust that Severus was right and that Harry, Ron, and Ginny would understand. She didn't need forgiveness from them because she hadn't done anything wrong. She was still unsure how Ron would react. They hadn't talked since the beginning of November, over two months prior. She could tell he tried to greet her when she returned to the castle after the Christmas holiday, but she hadn't been in the mood to talk to him at the time. And then the shit had hit the fan.

"Do you always wake up thinking so loudly?" Severus murmured into her hair. "It can't be more than half six, woman."

"Six fifteen. And, thinking is one of my many talents," she replied coyly. "Would you like to experience some of my other talents?"

Even though she had slept less than six hours, she was fully rested and ready to play. She cast a quick wandless clothing removal and Breath-Freshening Charm over both of them and shifted up to kiss him. Her lips were on his for half a second before he gripped her hips and pulled her back slightly.

"You know it's polite to get consent from the person before you kiss them, don't you?"

"Severus, may I please kiss you?"

He gave her a searching look and she tried to show with her expression that she was feeling well and wanted him.

"You said you wanted to wait until I was ready. I'm ready," she told him.

"It's been four days, little witch. Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't want you to… do something you'd regret."

She instantly knew that he was talking about what had happened the night before. She didn't know how to tell him what had been going through her mind then because now that she was feeling better the thoughts of the night before were as foreign to her as if they had belonged to someone else.

The memory of the racing, swirling thoughts were clear in her mind, but even to her it didn't make sense. All she knew is that at the time, ending her life had seemed like the most rational thing she could do.

Now that she wasn't in the middle of it, she could see it for what it was. An anxiety attack that had turned into a panic attack. And whilst she never wanted to go through that again, she had come out the other side with a new, clearer perspective. She knew who she was and what she wanted. And right now, she wanted Severus.

Tapping into her new found sexually confident side, she hooked one of her legs over his and shifted closer.

"I want you to fuck me, Severus," she told him, her voice husky. "I want to be filled with your cock and I want your come dripping out of my cunt for the rest of the day."

She felt him start to harden between them and she rocked her hips, causing his cock to brush against her.

"Fuck, little witch," he breathed out. "Want you. So bad."

"I'm yours. Take me."

He didn't hesitate to capture her lips with his. His tongue snaked into her mouth and she groaned as his hand wrapped tighter around her hips and pulled her flush against him. Warmth seemed to spread from where his hot cock pressed against her and filled her whole body. Rocking against him, she felt her wetness spread over his length.

He rolled her over so she was on her back and slipped his arms under her shoulders, bringing their bodies flush together. His hips shifted and he entered her in one long stroke. Lifting her legs, she wrapped them around his waist and arched her back into him.

"So fucking tight, little witch. A perfect little cunt for me."

"Yes, Severus," she cried out. "Just for you."

"Is that so?" he asked, his hips beginning to thrust faster. "Because I've watched you fuck other people. I've heard you scream their names."

Her thoughts were racing. She'd somehow forgotten that not only had he seen her memories of her time as a Death Eater and each person she'd been with, he was there the night she fucked Lucius in front of the rest of the Dark Lord's followers. And at Christmas.

"I did. But–"

"But what, little witch? Are you going to tell me you didn't like it when Draco fucked you?" Severus' arm moved from her shoulder and he slipped it between them and started to rub her clit. "Do you expect me to believe that you didn't come all over Lucius cock? Multiple times?"

"I… er…" she trailed off, unsure of how she should answer.

It wasn't that she thought what she had done was wrong. A massive orgy like the one she'd had on Mabon may have been out of character for her, but she had no qualms about people who enjoyed that. Hell, the thought of doing that again was kind of sexy if she was being honest with herself. And she saw nothing wrong with what she'd done on Yule. Even if it hadn't been a sex ritual. They had strengthened their magic and had a good time. Sex should be fun and she didn't think that it had to be restricted to just two people.

Severus began to pound into her harder as his fingers continued to stimulate her clit. "Do you think I didn't like watching you with other men? That I didn't like seeing your cunt split open by their dicks as you fucked them?"

"You liked it?"

"I came back here after watching you with Lucius that first night and rubbed my cock in the shower. I didn't know it was you but I imagined your tight body in that little outfit. I imagined fucking you in front of everyone and having you scream my name."

"Oh Merlin," she choked out.

The image of Severus wanking in his shower thinking about her with another man was doing things to her body she wasn't prepared for. He had told her he didn't mind that she'd been with other people, that he didn't think worse about her because of it. It was one thing to hear it, it was another to feel the way his hard cock pounded into her as he talked about it, to feel the physical evidence of his acceptance.

"Do you–" she cleared her throat, trying to get the question out. "Do you want to see me with Lucius again? Want to share me with him?"

"I want to do everything with you, little witch," he purred into her ear.

"Fuck," she hissed as her whole body seemed to convulse with desire at his words.

He continued to tell her all the things he wanted to do with her, and the way the filthy words dripped from his mouth pushed her over the edge and she screamed his name as she came. He pumped in and out of her a few more times before his hips stilled and she felt him spill inside her.

Collapsing to the side of her, he pulled her into his arms and held her, his lips pressing against the top of her head as their breathing evened out. She heard a faint pop and looked up to see another door had appeared in the room.

"That will be the bathroom," he said quietly. "Why don't you use the facilities and then get in the shower? I'll join you in a moment."

She had only been in the shower a few minutes when he stepped in behind her and began to rub a soapy flannel over her back. They moved in sync like they had been bathing together for years as they helped wash each other's bodies and hair. Getting out, she used the drying spell on her hair that Narcissa had taught her and smiled at the way her curls shined in the mirror.

"I liked that outfit you were wearing last night," he told her. "I think it was very fitting for you. I can't imagine some people would be thrilled with the see-through aspect, but the overall effect was very becoming."

"You don't think it was too... slutty?" she asked shyly.

"Skipping over the fact that the word 'slut' is a social construct made to keep women down by men who had no respect for them, no I don't. Clothes should make the wearer feel a certain way or make a statement. I wear what I do as a physical shield to protect me whilst brewing and–"

"–And because you like looking impressive." She laughed at the glare he gave her.

"If you must know, when I first started teaching I dressed that way because it was intimidating. I was only a few years older than my N.E.W.T. students and I had gone to school with them. I needed to show power and that I was not to be messed with. It worked so well I kept it. My point is that liking a certain type of clothing doesn't determine who you are."

She thought about it for a moment. "I do feel more confident in them, but I'm not sure the world is ready for that quite yet. Maybe I'll slowly transfigure my regular clothes to be a little more form-fitting."

"As long as you stop transfiguring your outfit in my class. I don't think my balls can take it anymore."

Laughing, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Deal."

"Now why don't you put on one of your sexy little outfits? I have a few things I want to discuss with you before we go to breakfast."

Nodding, she walked out into the replica of her childhood bedroom and opened the wardrobe. The lacy bodysuit was Slytherin green with white crystal embellishments and she couldn't help but think that Severus had requested it of the room. Putting it on, she slipped into the tight leather pants and made her way to the sofa that had appeared whilst she was changing.

"I assume that Potter has been telling you about his lessons with Dumbledore?" Severus asked.

"He has," she told him. "I have reported everything about the meetings to The Dark Lord, but I am not sure what they mean. I assume Dumbledore thinks that by teaching Harry about his childhood, he'll be able to kill him. But to be honest, I am not sure if it will really help."

"I was in a meeting with the Headmaster when Dobby brought me to you. He was telling me about Potter, and I think it's something we need to discuss. Normally I would wait and help you build up your Occlumency, but I think you should hear this before you join the Order on Saturday and will be bound to follow Dumbledore."

"Wait, aren't you bound?" she asked, choosing to ignore his slight about her Occlumency. He'd never tested her shields because she'd always willingly let him in.

"I am not an Order member," he said with a slight shrug. "Albus felt that there would be times where I would need to make decisions that would be contrary to his mandates to keep the Order, and my position, safe, so it was better to not have me bound."

"So, what is it you think I should know?"

Severus looked her over then pulled her onto his lap so she was sitting with her back against the arm of the sofa and her feet resting on the cushions. She rested her head on his shoulder but was starting to feel nervous about what he was about to tell her. If he thought she was going to need comfort, it had to be bad.

"Do you remember the diary Miss Weasley had in her first year? The one that possessed her?"

"You mean the diary that opened the Chamber of Secrets, causing a Basilisk to petrify me? Yeah, I remember it."

He snorted at her cheek. "Your second year was a little rough for you. You spent weeks as a cat only to be petrified."

She glared at him. "It was not the best year. I assume I should thank you for brewing the potions I needed for both of those instances."

"Trust me, little witch, seeing you as a cat was thanks enough. I had to excuse myself to the loo so I could laugh at you. "

"You're a fucking wanker," she muttered under her breath. The vibrations of his laughter shook her in his arms and she growled at him, causing him to laugh harder. She tried to pull away but he pulled her closer. "Let me go, jerk."

"I'm sorry," he said and his laughter faded. "Now, about the diary. Did it seem strange to you?"

She thought about it for a moment and pushed his hand away from her inner thigh so she could concentrate. "At the time I was still new in the magical world so I thought maybe that was normal. But now, I think it was something else. Why?"

"When I was talking to the Headmaster yesterday, he mentioned something and it got me thinking about a few things I've seen over the years. The diary, and a ring. Both were destroyed with Basilisk venom."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. Harry had told her about the ring that killed Dumbledore's hand. She had known it must have been a powerful Dark curse to harm the Headmaster so badly. She had studied many Dark books whilst staying at the Manor over the summer and Christmas. Basilisk Venom destroyed almost any surface it touched, but there were only a few objects where you needed to use the venom to destroy it. She spoke her conclusion out loud. "The Dark Lord made a Horcrux? No, Horcruxes?"

At his nod, her mind began to race. Of course, he would have made multiple Horcruxes. The Dark Lord was obsessed with not dying. How many times had she heard him talk about going beyond the boundaries of magic? Or pushing it further than anyone had? More than once he had talked about how he would live forever, reigning over Muggles for a millennia.

"Shitting Salazar on a shingle," she choked out. "How many are there? Six?"

Snape lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "How did you come up with that number? And how do you know about them."

"You think I didn't read all the books I could at Malfoy Manor? Lucius has at least five books that give the steps for making one. And Harry met with Dumbledore last week and he showed him a memory of Professor Slughorn. The Dark Lord as a teenager asked about Horcruxes. The memory had been modified, but it was clear he wanted more information. As for the number, the Dark Lord is obsessed with being the most magically powerful person in the world, seven is the most powerful number. It wasn't a large leap of the imagination. Six Horcruxes and the piece inside him."

"That is the conclusion that I came to as well," Severus told her. He dropped his voice to little more than a whisper. "But there is something else. Something about Potter."

Her heart dropped into her arse as he said her best friend's name. Even without him saying it, she knew. Harry was a Horcrux. No wonder he and the Dark Lord could enter into each other's minds. A part of his soul was living inside Harry, being kept alive. And the only way to destroy a Horcrux was to destroy the thing it lived inside. So the only way to destroy the piece of the Dark Lord's soul in Harry was to...

"How do we get that abomination out of Harry without killing him, Severus?" She was shocked her voice sounded so calm. She was a mess of anxiety, anger, and terror. "There has to be a way."

Severus stared down at Hermione in shock. He knew she was intelligent. No one that had taught her could think otherwise. Yet he was amazed at how fast her brain made the connections between the diary and multiple Horcruxes. He was used to her reciting things from books back to him in class but he'd never watched her work something out on her own like that. It was truly impressive.

"I'm not sure," he told her honestly. "Dumbledore does not want us to do anything. He believes in the prophecy. That they are the only ones who can end the war. He means for Harry and the Dark Lord to duel to the death."

"So he expects Harry to die? Because there is no way he'd win that fight. He has gotten lucky in the past, but that won't happen again. And, if the Dark Lord kills Harry, the Horcrux's body will be beyond magical repair so it would die too. Harry would be dead and our Lord would be weaker by his own hand. I want him to be weakened, but I am not willing to sacrifice my best friend."

"Agreed. That is the assumption I came to as well. Dumbledore has not mentioned how many Horcruxes he thinks there are or what they could be. I also think there would be six, but with Potter, that is seven. But if we destroy all of them, then the Dark Lord would be mortal, but only if Potter is… no longer with us."

"Well, we're not going to let that happen," she said stubbornly.

Severus smiled down at Hermione as she sat on his lap. He loved how fierce she could be. Like a bite sized lion that could kill you in an instant. He laid her head back on his shoulder and he began to trace mindless patterns on her arm as he thought about what they could do.

There was always the option to kill Potter by choking him — something he didn't think he would mind doing most days — then waiting a few moments and performing CPR. But how would they check if it had worked or not? Maybe he could ask Potter to try to open the connection and see if he still could.

Of course, the Dark Lord might be alerted that they were trying something and that wouldn't be helpful. Potter couldn't block his thoughts, even from Severus, and it wasn't like a part of his soul was living in the little brat's head. He very much doubted Potter would be able to block the Dark Lord at all.

They wouldn't even be able to modify his memory of the event because then Potter wouldn't know why he needed to test the connection. So they would either need to explain it to him, negating the modification, or just ask very nicely. And there was no way Potter would trust him long enough to try that.

If only there was a way to verify what they were killing or if the Horcrux was actually destroyed if Potter didn't die.

A loud moan from Hermione pulled him from his thoughts and to the writhing witch on his lap. He didn't understand why she was acting so hot and bothered until he looked at her arm. He was absentmindedly stroking his fingers over her Dark Mark, sending wave after wave of pleasure through her body. It wasn't as powerful as when the Dark Lord did it, but he knew it would feel like he was stroking his fingers across her clit over and over again.

A thought suddenly occurred to him and he gripped her arm in reflex. The pressure of his fingers pushed her over the edge, a reaction he hadn't intended, but wasn't going to complain about either.

Even though he knew it wasn't the kindest move, he lifted her from his lap and deposited her on the sofa next to him. Grabbing the parchment and quill that had appeared on the table in front of him, he began to scribble out his idea in his personal shorthand.

Distantly he heard Hermione asking him what he was doing but he ignored her. Not because he didn't think she could help him but because he needed to get everything out of his mind and onto parchment before he lost his thought. She began to poke him and he held up a finger to her, silently begging her to let him work in peace. Her loud puff filled the room and he hid his grin.

Scanning the parchment to make sure he had all his thoughts down, he set his quill down.

"Are you ever going to tell me what you're doing?" Hermione snapped.

Severus smirked at her. He wasn't one to use the words cute or adorable, but he wasn't sure what other way to describe her pouty face. "Are you feeling left out, little witch?"

"Yes!" she huffed. "And I don't like it. Make me come then toss me aside like a wanker. Now explain."

"What do you know about how magic manifests in the blood?" he asked her, ignoring her rant.

"I've never heard of magic in blood," she admitted and looked a little put out by it. "Why don't they teach things like that here?"

"Because it isn't necessary. It's taught in advanced training for Healers as well as Potion Mastery. Magic shows up in the blood stream. Not like cells or viruses do, you can't see it. But if you add things, like potions, to the blood, you can see the magic interacting with it. Everyone's magic reacts a little differently because magic is specific to the person. Just like DNA."

"So if you looked at my blood and yours under a microscope and added a pain potion, you would be able to tell which is mine and which is yours?"

"I can. I am familiar with my own because I test experimental potions on my blood before I ingest them."

"What does this have to do with Harry and Horcruxes?"

"When I was touching your Dark Mark, I started thinking about how it was affecting you. And that took me on a convoluted train of thought that led me to my conclusion about blood and magic," he explained.

"I'm not sure I follow," she told him.

"I first started testing on my blood when I was a seventh year. I was a few months into my Mastery when I was Marked. I noticed that the way my magic reacted had changed. Not wholly, but parts of it are different. I assumed at the time that it was Voldemort's magic that's imbued in the Mark that was to blame for the change.

"When he disappeared, my Mark had almost fully faded. I noticed that the magic in my blood had changed as well. Instead of seeing that slight change, it was almost back to normal. You know that my Mark was getting stronger all through your fourth year. During that time, the changes in my magic started to change again. When he was back to full power, my blood recognised it."

Hermione sat quietly for a moment and he gave her the space to think through what he had just said. He would tell her what he was thinking, what he had written down, but he wanted to give her the chance to work it out on her own. Even when she closed her eyes, he could almost hear her brain making all the connections.

"Holy Helga, Severus," she breathed out. "If we look at your blood and mine and see how they react similarly, then we could get blood from Harry and…"

"And we should be able to see which part of his blood is his magic and which part is the Dark Lord's. If we can isolate the foreign magic, there might be a way to destroy the Horcrux without harming Potter."

"It's too bad we don't know how my blood reacted before I was Marked."

"But we do," he told her.

He went on to explain that he had taken blood samples from her when she was Petrified. He had needed it to make sure the Mandrake restoration potion would work on her. It was not a well known potion and the dosing was tricky. He and Poppy had tested each victim individually to make sure they received the correct dose. He kept records of her reactions to various potions to get a baseline before testing her for the Mandrake potions.

"We can compare your original reactions to your new ones and see the variances."

"And then all we have to do is convince Harry to give us some of his blood." Her face fell a little. "That might be harder than we want, but he'll give in."

"I think if you are open and honest with him he will see reason," Severus said. "I don't think he'll ask, but I can provide Veritaserum if he wants to question you under the effects. You are well aware that I am not his biggest fan, but we will need to work together."

"How do you think Dumbeldore will react to all of this?"

Severus answered her honestly. "He will not be pleased, Hermione. I think it is best if we can talk to Potter before Saturday when you are set to meet with the Headmaster again. If he is unwilling to change the plan, we may be on our own in this fight."

Hermione bit her lip and he could tell she was trying to decide if she should ask him what was on her mind or not. He glanced at the clock in the room. They still had a half hour before they would be expected at breakfast.

"Is the Headmaster… well, is he alright?" she finally asked. "I've seen his hand. It was obviously cursed. I don't know how high up the curse goes, but is it affecting his brain? And if it is, how long will he be able to be in charge? Can the Order really follow someone who is infected?"

Instead of answering her right away, Severus sat quiet for a moment. He had a decision to make. He either needed to tell Hermione the whole truth, including the plan to have him kill Dumbledore instead of Draco. She already knew her friend had been ordered to do so, but she didn't know that both Voldemort and Dumbledore expected Severus to carry out the death of the Headmaster.

"Dumbledore will not last past the end of the school year, Hermione," he told her bluntly, his mind made up. "You already know that Draco has been ordered to kill him. What you don't know is that the Headmaster made me promise to complete that task. He doesn't want Draco's soul damaged, and he thinks it will secure my position as a spy."

Her mouth fell open. "But… but… How does he expect you to be a spy when no one in the Order will talk to you? That would isolate you from anyone that could receive the intelligence you need to pass on. He's mad."

"I was meeting with him last night when I was summoned here. I thought that with the information about you and Draco, he would have changed his mind, but he hasn't."

"Well, then we'll just have to do it without him."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin in a physical declaration of defiance against Dumbledore and he had never been more proud of his little witch. The road ahead was sure to be difficult, but he was ready to travel along it with her.