A/N - As always with this collection series, I plan on making a full length story which will include the bits in this piece. But for now, I hope you enjoy the collection piece.
Mistaken Identity.
From the second The Order of the Phoenix was reformed the summer before her fourth year, Ginny Weasley had been bursting to be part of the group dedicated to bringing down the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Sadly for Ginny, the opportunity to really become part of the Order didn't present itself until after she'd left Hogwarts for the final time. Before she was seventeen her mother, Molly, refused to allow her to join in with the dangerous missions the Order undertook, and even once she turned seventeen the fact she was at school for the majority of the year prevented her from really being a part of the group. However, now she was of age and had left school, so she was ready to dive into being a fulltime member of the Order.
For the first few weeks following her graduation, Ginny spent time at Order headquarters, which was still Grimmauld Place, getting brought up to date with how the war was going and how the Order planned on defeating Voldemort once and for all. Her boyfriend, Harry Potter, and brother, Ron Weasley, brought Ginny up to speed with the help of their best friend, Hermione Granger.
Even though she hadn't known details before leaving school, Ginny already knew that the war was at a stalemate, but Harry, Hermione and Ron filled her in on the exact state of play. The Order had been tracking down Horcruxes made by Voldemort, which rendered him invincible until they could destroy them all, but they'd reached a dead end with a couple of Horcruxes still unaccounted for. As for the dark, they'd somehow gotten wind of a protection ceremony Dumbledore had performed to protect Harry on his seventeenth birthday, when his previous protection spells ended, and they knew Harry couldn't be killed until they could kill Dumbledore and break the spells he had on Harry. Unfortunately for the dark, Dumbledore had gone into hiding and the only person who knew where he was living was Harry, and he wasn't telling anyone, even the people he trusted the most.
However, despite the stalemate there were constant battles and skirmishes between the dark and the light as they each tried to gain the upper hand. Currently things were fairly even with the light maintaining control of Hogwarts, while the dark were increasing their influence within the Ministry. However, everyone in the Order knew that the second the dark took control of the Ministry, the light would be at a disadvantage, and they were battling hard to stop that from happening.
Even with the battles and skirmishes, it was nearing the end of August before Ginny herself was involved in any fighting. Her first battle took place in Godric's Hollow, and the experience was far scarier than anything she'd been preparing herself for. The thing that scared Ginny the most were the masks the Death Eaters wore and the fact she never knew who she was fighting against. To be honest, she didn't even known how many different people she'd battled as they all looked alike in their black robes and silver masks.
It really unnerved Ginny that the light had no idea who they were fighting, while the dark could easily target someone from the light as they didn't fight in disguise. The balance of power was definitely in the dark's favour in Ginny's opinion, and she didn't like it one bit. It would be so easy for the dark to target someone with a strong connection to Harry, like herself, and come after her, while the light didn't have the same privilege in targeting one of Voldemort's top men, as they had no idea who they were.
Ginny was so unnerved by her first experience fighting that she'd barely been fighting for half an hour when she was floored by a wicked curse that sliced through the long sleeved t-shirt she was wearing, leaving a bloody gash in her left arm. Thankfully, her opponents aim had been off, otherwise she could have been seriously hurt, but the incident still shook Ginny.
Gingerly getting to her feet, she looked around for the Death Eater she'd been battling only to find they'd vanished, or more likely they'd thought she was severely hurt so they'd moved on to cause more damage. Bracing herself for her next battle, Ginny looked around in search of the other Order members. She found several of them battling Death Eaters, and just as she was going to make her way over to where Neville Longbottom was holding off two masked assailants, she caught a glimpse of Hermione out of the corner of her eye. Focusing on Hermione, Ginny gasped as she spotted her friend being manhandled into some trees at the edge of the village by a Death Eater.
Not giving her own safety a second thought, Ginny took off at a sprint as she followed Hermione. Ginny only slowed down when she reached the trees, and making sure her wand was clutched tightly in her hand, she began to search for her friend. Moving quietly through the handful of trees it didn't take Ginny long to locate Hermione and her captor. Raising her wand, Ginny prepared to spring from the shadows to rescue Hermione, but at the last moment something stopped her and she remained hidden as she tried to work out what was bugging her about the scene in front of her.
On the surface of things it seemed as though Hermione was at the mercy of the robed Death Eater. She was pressed against a tree, with the Death Eater standing directly in front of her. However, as Ginny studied the scene, she realised what was wrong with it. Hermione didn't seem scared, or even the slightest bit worried. In fact she was looking up at the Death Eater with affection. Not wanting to risk getting closer, in case she was spotted, Ginny remained where she was, watching what was happening but not able to hear what was being said.
As she watched, her realisations about Hermione were only confirmed. She wasn't scared because she was close to whoever was in the Death Eater robes. In fact she was so close to them that she reached up and plucked his silver mask from his face and dropped it to the floor beside them. from the angle she was at, Ginny still couldn't see the identity of the Death Eater with Hermione, but there was no mistaking what they were doing when he bent his head to Hermione's. Ginny watched with wide eyes as Hermione shared a steamy embrace with a Death Eater, while a few feet away the Order were involved in a deadly battle.
"You need to go," Hermione suddenly said, loud enough for Ginny to hear as she gently pushed at the chest of the Death Eater she'd been kissing.
Ginny hoped that she would find out the identity of the Death Eater as he left, but he summoned his mask from the ground and had slid it back on before he turned around. Ginny shrunk back in the shadows as the Death Eater strolled past her and returned to the battle. No sooner had he gone than Hermione took a few deep breaths before following him out of the trees, not noticing Ginny hiding in the shadows.
Trying to digest what she'd discovered, Ginny stumbled out of the trees once she was sure the coast was clear. Almost immediately she spotted Hermione, fighting alongside Ron and she wondered if she'd misunderstood what she'd just seen. But how could she have mistaken what she'd seen? It was fairly obvious that Hermione was involved with a Death Eater, and now Ginny was left with the decision of what to do next. Did she confront Hermione, or did she talk to someone else about what she'd seen?
"Ginny," Nymphadora Tonks called, running up to Ginny and jolting her back to the present. "Go. We're pulling out, get back to headquarters."
Knowing that it was pointless to argue, Ginny checked she was a decent way away from any Death Eater who might have grabbed onto her, before she apparated away. Returning to Grimmauld Place she found herself surrounded by Order members, some of whom were gravely injured. Forgetting about Hermione, Ginny plunged in with helping out the injured. She was still fixing people up when Harry arrived back, alongside Hermione and Ron. As Hermione also got stuck in with helping the injured, Ginny decided that she'd made a mistake back at the battle, after all she had been a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience. There had to be an innocent explanation about what she'd seen. She trusted Hermione, and she knew that she wouldn't dream of betraying them and getting involved with a member of the opposition.
()()()()()
A week later, Ginny was unable to forget about the fact she'd seen Hermione with a Death Eater. Once the exhilaration of being involved in a battle subsided and things settled down, she just couldn't make herself believe that there was an innocent explanation about what she'd witnessed. In the cold light of day she also couldn't fool herself into thinking she'd made the mistake. She knew what she'd seen, and she knew she had to tell someone about it.
Ginny had first thought about confronting Hermione over what she'd seen, but every time she approached the brunette witch to talk to her, she chickened out of asking her to explain herself. In the end she decided the best course of action was to talk to Harry and Ron, and let them decide how best to handle things. Ginny waited until a day when she was sure Hermione just wouldn't turn up unexpectedly and interrupt them. On the day in question, Hermione was up at Hogwarts helping Professor McGonagall and the other staff bolster the wards in preparation for school starting again, and Ginny knew she would be up in Scotland all day.
"What's going on?" Ron asked his sister as she gathered him and Harry in the library, where they could talk just the three of them. "This seems pretty serious."
"It is serious," Ginny said as the trio settled down on the chairs in the corner of the room. "And I really don't know where to begin."
"The beginning would be helpful," Ron snorted.
Harry shot Ron a warning glare, before reaching over and taking hold of his girlfriend's hand. "You just tell us what you've got to say in your own time, Gin. We won't rush you."
"Thanks Harry." Ginny shot her boyfriend a grateful smile as she tried to decide how best to begin. "Before I say anything, I want you both to know I'm telling the truth. What I have to say sounds crazy, and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it, but it's completely true."
"This is sounding pretty worrying," Harry said softly.
"It has the potential to be very worrying," Ginny admitted. "Last week at the battle I witnessed something disturbing about Hermione."
"Hermione?" Ron frowned. "What does she have to do with anything?"
"I'm trying to tell you, Ronald," Ginny snapped, glaring at her brother. "During the battle, I spotted Hermione being taken into the tress at the edge of the village by a Death Eater. I went after her to save her, and found her with a Death Eater."
"Was he hurting her?" Ron growled, wondering why Hermione had never mentioned the incident
"I thought so at first, but my instincts stopped me from rushing in," Ginny answered. "When I looked properly, Hermione was backed up against a tree but she wasn't in danger. I couldn't get close enough to hear, but it was clear she was talking to the Death Eater. He then removed his mask and the pair kissed."
"Kissed?" Ron screeched. "You mean he forced himself on her?"
"No, she kissed him back," Ginny replied, recalling the way Hermione had eagerly clung onto the Death Eater as she'd snogged him.
"No way," Ron stated with a stubborn shake of his head. "Hermione would not kiss a Death Eater."
"I would have said the same thing had I not seen it with my own two eyes," Ginny returned. "The entire thing was so shocking, but I know what I saw, and Hermione willingly kissed the Death Eater."
"Which Death Eater?" Harry asked quietly, jumping in before Ron got another change to argue.
"I don't know," Ginny admitted. "He had his back to me, and he didn't turn around while his mask was off."
"He knew you were there?" Harry questioned.
"I don't think so," Ginny replied with a shake of her head. "If they knew I was there, they would have done something. Or Hermione would have mentioned it since. I'm sure they didn't know they'd been seen."
"So what you're saying is that Hermione is involved with a Death Eater," Ron said sceptically. "I'm sorry Ginny, I just can't believe that. The dark are trying to get rid of her kind, so why would she date one of them?"
"I don't know," Ginny answered. "I don't claim to have the answers, Ron, I'm just telling you what I saw."
"Have you asked Hermione about what happened?" Harry asked.
"No. I thought about it, but I haven't been able to summon the courage to do so," Ginny admitted.
"You're afraid of what she'll say," Harry guessed.
"Aren't you?" Ginny countered. "What sort of reasonable explanation can she possibly give?"
"We have to give her the chance to explain," Ron insisted. "There's some sort of mistake here, I just know there is. Hermione would never snog a Death Eater."
"Yet she did," Ginny argued. "If you don't believe me Ron, why don't you see for yourself? Why don't you try watching Hermione for a few days, and just see if she has any Death Eater visitors. After all, why did she insist on getting her own place when you left school last year? She could have just as easily stayed here and saved herself the money and hassle."
"She just wanted some privacy," Ron protested. "She explained all this last year."
"And maybe she wanted some privacy so you wouldn't see who visited her," Ginny argued. "Listen, it's up to you two what you do next. I just needed to tell someone. If you want to believe in Hermione and let it go, then that's your call. But personally, if I were you, I'd try and find out as much as I could before confronting Hermione."
"But spying on her?" Harry frowned. "Doesn't that imply we don't trust her?"
"If she's got nothing to hide, she needs never know," Ginny replied. "But if she is hiding something, isn't it better that we know? If she is involved with a Death Eater, she's a risk to everyone in the Order. We deserve to know so we can protect ourselves."
"I guess you're right," Harry conceded with a sigh. "I trust Hermione, but with this doubt we now need to know we're not placing our trust in someone we shouldn't be."
"So, we're going to spy on her?" Ron questioned.
"We'll watch her cottage on a night, just to see if she has any nocturnal visitors," Harry decided. "But this is to stay between the three of us. I don't want rumours spreading about Hermione in case we're wrong. If there's an innocent explanation, we could lose her if it comes out we didn't trust her."
"And if there's not an innocent explanation?" Ginny questioned.
"Then we'll deal with that when the time comes," Harry replied gravely. "But for now, let's find out the truth. Or at least let's find out what Hermione gets up to when she isn't with the Order."
"Okay, but for the record, I just want it noted that I don't believe a word of this," Ron said. "There's no way Hermione is involved with a Death Eater."
()()()()()
"See, I told you so," Ron said smugly to Harry and Ginny. "Nothing is going on with Hermione."
For nearly a week, the trio had camped out of the back of Hermione's cottage on an evening, only to find nothing incriminating. From the hiding place they were able to see into Hermione's kitchen, which also offered a slight view of the front room as the rooms were connected by an archway. They also had a line of sight into Hermione's bedroom, although because of the position of the window, they were only able to see part of the room, including the bottom half of the bed.
Their current watch was passing just the same as their previous ones, and although Hermione was at home, she was doing nothing untoward. In fact for the past hour, they'd been waiting for her to exit the bathroom, which they couldn't see into from their position behind the cottage.
"Maybe you were mistaken, Ginny," Harry said softly.
"Maybe," Ginny admitted. "Or maybe we're giving up too soon," she amended when she spotted Hermione entering the bedroom from the bathroom wearing a skimpy lingerie set.
"Bloody hell," Ron gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he took in the tiny black lingerie set Hermione was wearing.
"You can say that again," Harry muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from his best friend as she moved around her bedroom.
"Stop ogling," Ginny chastised, nudging Harry in the ribs.
A few seconds later, Harry's ogling came to an end as Hermione's bedroom door began to open. Since Hermione was nowhere near the door, they knew she wasn't the one opening the door, and since Crookshanks was asleep in his basket in the kitchen, it wasn't her cat either. Hardly able to breath the trio watched as a figure in a black hooded cloak entered the room.
"See, Death Eater," Ginny said, unable to help sounding smug despite the circumstances.
"Maybe it's a visitor in a dark cloak," Ron argued feebly, as Hermione walked over to the figure and wrapped her arms around them.
"Or maybe not," Harry whispered as Hermione pulled a silver mask from her visitors face and threw it onto a nearby chair.
Unfortunately, the cloak still hid her visitors identity, and before any of them had a chance to pick up the binoculars to get a better look, Hermione's visitor whirled her around and pinned her against the wall, leaving him with his back to the window. The trio watched as Hermione wrapped her legs around the Death Eaters waist as they shared a heated embrace. They were all hoping Hermione would push the cloak back from her visitors face, but she did no such thing as they continued to kiss.
Finally they moved away from the wall, but the trio still didn't get a chance to get a look at who was under the cloak as the Death Eater and Hermione fell to her bed. Cursing to himself, Harry picked up the binoculars and focused them on Hermione's bedroom window. Sadly all he could see of the bed were two sets of legs.
"I need to try and get closer," Harry said to Ginny and Ron. "Maybe if I'm closer I can see more."
"Good luck," Ginny whispered, as her boyfriend prepared to leave their hiding place behind the wall of Hermione's garden.
Hoping that Hermione and her mystery visitor didn't look out of the window, Harry darted from behind the wall and keeping as low as he could he ran across Hermione's neat back garden and towards her cottage. Reaching the cottage, he edged towards the bedroom window. Hoping Hermione and his visitor were too preoccupied to see him, Harry slowly lifted his head.
The first thing he saw was Hermione, straddling the Death Eater on her bed. His black robes were now off and Harry could see he was wearing dark trousers and a deep blue shirt. However, his head was buried in the pillows and from the angle he was at, Harry was unable to see his identity. Hoping to find out just who the Death Eater was, Harry remained at Hermione's window, but all he saw was Hermione stripping her lover, before seductively removing her own clothes.
Knowing that unless he stuck around for a while, he wouldn't find out who Hermione's visitor was, Harry retreated back to the wall at the bottom of the garden. He'd seen enough to know she was sleeping with a Death Eater, and quite frankly that was all he needed to know. It didn't matter what Hermione said, she wouldn't be able to talk herself out of this one. She was now a danger to the Order, and Harry knew he would have to deal with Hermione and her betrayal.
()()()()()
"I really should get going," Hermione said, making no effort to move from her lover's embrace. "Harry and Ron will expect to see me at headquarters today."
"Bloody Potter and Weasley," Hermione's lover, Draco Malfoy, cursed. "I can't wait for the day you can leave them both behind."
"You and me both," Hermione replied, smiling at Draco. "But I can't leave until we know where Dumbledore is. If I'm exposed before then, we're in no better shape."
"I can't believe Potter still hasn't cracked and told someone where the old coot is hiding," Draco grumbled. "The Dark Lord's getting impatient."
"I know, father mentioned it last time I saw him," Hermione admitted with a sigh.
Despite what the Order believed, Hermione wasn't a muggleborn at all, although her name was Granger as it was her mother's surname. She was a pureblood witch and the daughter of one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, Rabastan Lestrange. Her parents hadn't gotten round to marrying before Rabastan ended up in Azkaban, and her mother had taken Hermione into hiding in the muggle world as they hadn't been sure if the Ministry knew about them and were searching for them following Rabastan's arrest. As it turned out, the Ministry hadn't been looking for them, but they used their place in the muggle world to pass Hermione off as a muggleborn when it was time for her to start school.
It had merely been coincidence that she'd been sorted into the same house as Harry Potter, but Hermione had deliberately befriended him. When Voldemort returned at the end of fourth year, he'd been thrilled to find Hermione was tight with Harry, and he'd urged her to keep up the undercover work. Hermione had done so willingly, but as she got older it was getting harder to carry on pretending while everyone she cared about was on the dark side and openly going on with their lives. Even Draco had a lot more freedom than she did, and it killed her that they had to hide their relationship and sneak around just to see each other.
"Do you think Potter would spill under interrogation?" Draco mused.
"And how do you plan on doing that without first breaking the spells Dumbledore has on him?" Hermione questioned. "These spells prevent any harm from coming to him. We can't torture him as long as he's protected."
"What if we tortured someone else," Draco suggested, his lips curving into a devious smirk. "Would he spill his secrets to save his precious girlfriend, or even just Weasley?"
"It's worth considering," Hermione said with a nod as she finally pushed the covers back and swung her legs out of bed. "Mention it to The Dark Lord and if he thinks it's viable, we can arrange to snatch Ron or Ginny."
"Are you sure you have to get up right now?" Draco asked with a pout as Hermione stood up. Throwing back the covers which had still been covering his body, he gave Hermione a sinful smirk as she turned to look back over her shoulder. "I need some attention."
"So I see," Hermione replied, her gaze falling to Draco's rapidly hardening erection. "And as tempting as it is to give you the attention you deserve, I really have to be going. You'll just have to deal with yourself."
"That's no fun," Draco protested as Hermione made her way into the bathroom.
"Maybe not, but it's the best you're getting this morning," Hermione shouted back.
By the time Hermione emerged from the bathroom nearly ten minutes later, Draco was sitting on the side of the bed with his boxers on. Hermione had no idea if he'd taken care of himself, but she wasn't going to ask. She merely gave her boyfriend a quick smile as she pulled some underwear on and began to get dressed.
"Ow," She suddenly cried, stubbing her toe off Draco's mask which had fallen off the chair sometime in the night. "Bloody mask. I don't know why you turned up in it."
"We both know it turns you on seeing me in the full Death Eater outfit," Draco replied with a shrug. "I think it helps remind you that you're not the good little girl the Order think you are."
"I don't need reminding of that," Hermione laughed. "But it is true, I do like you in your full outfit. Whenever we're together when you've got your robes on I always think of Harry and Ron and what they would make of it if they saw me with a Death Eater."
"They'd probably die of a heart attack," Draco chuckled. "They both think you're so innocent, I bet they think you're still a virgin."
"Probably," Hermione agreed with a nod. "Right, I'm ready. You can see yourself out, and remember not to leave anything."
"Don't worry, by the time you come home, all trace of me will be gone," Draco replied. He knew it was merely a precaution in case one of the Order visited her cottage, but he would be pleased the day her act was over and he didn't have to worry about leaving traces of his presence at his girlfriend's place.
Hermione gave Draco a quick kiss before she headed off to Grimmauld Place. When she arrived at headquarters, she found the place strangely quiet. At first she thought no-one was home, but then when she entered the kitchen she found Harry, Ron and Ginny sitting around the table looking sombre.
"What's wrong?" She asked with a frown, wondering if there'd been an attack she and Draco didn't know about. "Where is everyone?"
"I asked for some privacy," Harry answered. "Sit down Hermione, we need to talk."
Hermione felt the cold hand of terror grip her at Harry's words, but she didn't show her concern as she sat down at the kitchen table. All she could think was that somehow her cover was blown and she was already working out ways to escape. Of course it would likely mean she would have to kill or severely injure Ron or Ginny, but when it came down to it if it was their lives versus hers, she would put herself first every time.
"This sounds serious," She said, working hard to keep her voice sounding normal.
"It is," Harry replied with a nod. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, Hermione. We know."
"Know what?" Hermione asked, deciding that the best thing to do was play dumb and not admit more than she had to.
"We were at your place last night, and we saw a Death Eater in your house," Ron said, his simmering anger clear for Hermione to hear in his voice.
"Is that all?" Hermione asked, smiling slightly as she saw a way out of her predicament. Obviously they'd seen Draco through the window, but since he'd been in his robes they hadn't been able to identify him or else they would have mentioned who they'd seen in her house.
"Seriously?" Ginny scoffed. "That's all you've got to say? Aren't you even going to try and defend yourself?"
"Defend myself from what, Ginny?" Hermione asked. "I've done nothing wrong."
"So you admit you had a Death Eater in your house last night?" Ron demanded.
"Of a kind," Hermione replied. "It was Severus. He's hardly made to feel welcome at headquarters now Dumbledore is in hiding, and since I don't have a problem with him, he often checks in with me rather than come here."
"It was Snape?" Harry questioned. "He was the one in your cottage last night?"
"He was," Hermione lied, nodding her head. Of course she would need to speak to Severus to ensure he backed up her story, but since his true loyalties were with the dark she knew she would be able to rely on him.
"I feel sick," Ron grumbled, his face paling. For a second, Hermione thought he was actually going to throw up, but he controlled himself and merely continued to look ill.
"I'm with you there, Ron," Ginny muttered with a shiver. "It's downright disgusting."
"What is?" Hermione questioned. "Why do I feel like there's something else going on here?"
"We didn't just catch a glimpse of your visitor through the window," Harry confessed to Hermione. "We hung around a bit, and we saw how close you were with him. We saw you in bed with him, Hermione."
"Bloody hell," Hermione whispered, releasing what a hole she'd dug for herself. Now Harry, Ron and Ginny were convinced she was sleeping with Severus.
"I don't think bloody hell quite covers it," Ron spat. "How could you Hermione? What were you thinking? This is Snape of all people we're talking about here? How could you shag him? He's ancient."
"He's not that old," Hermione argued, accepting that she had to carry on with the charade she'd unknowingly created. "And quite frankly my personal life is my business. Yes, I'm sleeping with Severus. But it's none of your concern. It doesn't affect you in any way."
"Of course it affects us, he's a spy who might not be trustworthy," Harry argued.
"Dumbledore trusts him," Hermione pointed out. "And I would trust him with my life. Unless of course you're now saying you don't trust me."
"Of course we trust you, Hermione," Harry said, not wanting to offend Hermione. "But can you blame us for being concerned about you? Snape's a lot older than you, and he's playing a dangerous game. Even if he is on our side, he's risking his life everyday by playing the loyal Death Eater."
"I'm well aware of the risks he takes," Hermione said. "And I guess I can understand why you're worried. But I assure you that there's no need. I trust my boyfriend implicitly and I know that he loves me and would never hurt me."
"Do you love him?" Ron asked with a grimace. "Do you love Snape?"
"I do. Very much so," Hermione replied, thinking of Draco so that she sounded completely sincere.
"In that case, we're sorry for jumping to conclusions," Harry apologised. "And we'll try our best to accept you and Snape."
"Thank you, it means a lot to me," Hermione replied with a tight smile. Now she not only had to get Severus to go along with this, but chances were they were going to have to put on some sort of act if they were ever in the presence of the Order at the same time.
"We just don't want to catch you snogging him or anything," Ron warned. "It's your life Hermione, and you can shag who you want, but I don't want to see you snogging Snape."
"We can control ourselves in public," Hermione vowed, much to the obvious relief to the trio sitting across the table from her. "Unless there's anything else, I should go and see Severus. I would rather tell him in person that our secret it out."
"There's nothing else," Harry replied as Hermione got to her feet. "Hermione, we're pleased you're happy. Even if it is Snape making you happy."
"Thanks Harry," Hermione returned, giving Harry one final smile as she left the kitchen.
Instead of immediately leaving Grimmauld Place she made it sound as though she'd left before sneaking back to the kitchen door to listen to the trio talking. Once she was sure they'd bought her excuses and truly believed she was seeing Severus, Hermione quietly snuck out of the house and headed home to think. She'd never thought that part of her cover would be to date Severus Snape, but it now looked as though that was exactly where things were heading.
()()()()()
"No," Severus Snape snarled, roughly shaking his head. "Absolutely not. I will not be a part of this charade."
Severus was currently standing in the front room of Malfoy Manor, where Hermione had arranged a meeting to discuss recent events with the Order. She'd gathered Voldemort, her parents, the Malfoys and Severus to discuss what would happen next. She'd filled them all in on what she'd been confronted with by Harry, Ron and Ginny, and how she'd ended up having to lie that she was in a relationship with Severus because they'd seen more than she'd realised.
"What's the alternative? I leave now and we still don't find out where Dumbledore is," Hermione argued.
"It won't be for long, Severus," Voldemort said. "Draco's idea of using one of the Weasleys to get to Potter is just perfect. And once we have the information from Potter, we can find Dumbledore and get rid of him, and Hermione will no longer be needed with the Order. It'll be a couple of month's tops."
"I appreciate that, but you're still asking me to pretend to be sleeping with a teenager," Severus ordered.
"I'm not a teenager anymore," Hermione argued. "I'm twenty-one in a few weeks."
"You're still twenty years younger than me though," Severus argued. "I'm sorry Hermione, but it's just weird. I've known you since you were just a child. I helped your mother get you into school as a muggleborn, and I've watched you grow up. To pretend to be your lover is just uncomfortable."
"And do you think it's any easier for me?" Hermione questioned. "As you said, we've known each since I was a child. I respect you, and adore you for all the support you gave me during school. I don't want to have to pretend any more than you do. Especially considering you're my boyfriend's godfather. Quite frankly, it's icky."
"I second that," Draco muttered with a scowl. He found the idea of Hermione and Severus pretending to be a couple deeply disturbing, and he wasn't liking this one little bit.
"But it is a matter of weeks, possibly a few months," Voldemort repeated. "And in that time, how much acting do you think you'll honestly need to do?"
"Not much, Severus is rarely around headquarters," Hermione supplied.
"That won't matter," Severus argued. "You can guarantee that by this evening the entire Order will know about this so called relationship we're having. That means we're going to be under scrutiny all the time. Your friends will be watching you, and I'll be watched up at school. They'll soon pick up on the fact we're not in regular contact."
"Then we change that," Hermione replied with a shrug. "I'll come up to Hogsmeade and we'll have dinner together or something. All we've got to do is be convincing for a few months. It's not like we actually have to do anything, Severus."
"It's a good job, because I am not doing anything with you," Severus replied. "There will be no kissing, and very minimal physical contact."
"Does this mean you're going along with it?" Voldemort checked.
"It does," Severus replied with a reluctant nod. "But as I said, there will be no kissing or anything else untoward. We can be convincing without public displays of affection."
"Definitely," Hermione agreed with a nod. "We'll not need anything like that. Besides, it's easy to say that we want to keep things private. Harry and Ron are so freaked out by this, they'll be happy to keep their noses out."
"And what about the Weaselette?" Draco asked moodily. "She's nosey cow. She won't keep out of things like Potter and Weasley."
"I can drop Ginny a few juicy bits of gossip," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Believe me, she'll believe anything I tell her."
"If this is going to work, you two need to come up with the cover story," Voldemort said. "You don't want to contradict each other."
"We can work on that," Hermione said. "Can't we Severus?"
"I can't wait," Severus muttered, finally slumping into one of the empty seats in the room as he accepted his fate. It looked like he was going to have to play the part of the cradle snatching wizard for the next few months, and he just hoped he could manage it as he didn't want to let anyone down.
As the meeting drew to a close, Hermione arranged to speak to Severus privately to discuss a fake background that they could give to the Order. As with the rest of her undercover work, she wanted to be prepared. After so many years hard work the last thing she wanted to do was blow it at the last moment because she hadn't communicated properly with Severus. She was determined that they would get their stories straight and for the next couple of months they would be able to convince the Order they were a couple in love. And then once they were free of their pretence, life could go back to normal and they would never need to mention the two months they pretend to date in order to fool the Order one final time.