A/N - Thank you all for your continued interest in these collection pieces. I know people are always asking about these pieces becoming longer stories and I want to assure you that I still hope to turn a lot of them into a full story. This is one I can see potential in, and I know the last chapter was popular and I already have some plans for that piece. However, as always I have lots of stories to work on and I can never tell which one will pull at my interest, so sadly patience is needed as I try and finish as many stories as is possible. But for now, enjoy this piece and next week will see the start of my next short story.
The Setback.
Severus Snape meandered along the corridors of Hogwarts, keeping an eagle eye out for misbehaving students. He'd left his office in the dungeons just over an hour ago, and in that time he'd managed to dock thirty points from two misbehaving Gryffindors, twenty points from a couple of Ravenclaws and ten points from a cheeky Hufflepuff. Hoping he could finish his patrol without running into any troublesome Slytherins, Severus entered a deserted corridor. Even though he disliked docking points from his own house, he never hesitated to do so if he encountered students misbehaving. He just preferred not to have to deal with troublesome Slytherins unless he had to.
Just as Severus was beginning to think of the tempting firewhisky that was waiting for him down in his office, the sounds of an argument reached his ears. Instantly, he could tell it was two girls fighting, but he couldn't make out what either of them were saying. Hoping it wasn't one of his Slytherins involved in the slanging match, Severus picked up his pace. Just as he reached the corner, a blood curdling scream pierced the air, followed by sickly thudding noises. Sprinting into action, his long, black cloak billowing behind him, Severus tore around the corner, down the short corridor, and around a second corner to where a short staircase was located.
Skidding to a halt, Severus found himself staring at the unmoving body of the Gryffindor fifth year, Ginny Weasley. Ginny was lying at the bottom of the short set of stone stairs, a small pool of blood underneath her and her right leg sticking out from under her body at an unnatural angle. Severus took in the scene in a matter of seconds, before looking up the stairs and coming face to face with a stunned looking Hermione Granger.
Hermione was standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at Ginny in horror. Severus barely had time to react to the sight before he heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction. Remembering that the Transfiguration corridor was nearby and that Minerva McGonagall would likely have been in her office and heard the commotion, he figured that was who was approaching.
"Get to my office," he hissed angrily at Hermione. "Now," he demanded when she hesitated.
No doubt hearing the footsteps herself, Hermione turned and fled into the shadows on the floor above. Quickly turning his attention back to Ginny, Severus was just reaching down to check for a pulse when McGonagall came flying around the corner.
"My goodness, what happened?" she demanded, taking in the sight that greeted her.
"I have no idea," Severus replied. "I found her like this."
"I heard shouting, and was just leaving my classroom to find out what was going on when I heard the most awful cry," McGonagall said.
"Yes, I heard the same," Severus said. "I'm assuming the cry was Miss Weasley's as she fell."
"But who was she arguing with?" McGonagall asked, looking up the stairs where moments earlier Hermione had been standing.
"I don't know, there was no-one around when I arrived," Severus lied. "But perhaps we should speculate later. Right now, I think we need to get Miss Weasley to the hospital wing."
"Of course," McGonagall said with a nod. "How is she?"
"She's breathing, but that's about all I can say," Severus replied. "I'm not exactly a healer."
"Let's get her to Poppy," McGonagall said as she whipped out her wand.
Together the two Professors managed to magically get Ginny off the floor and up to the hospital wing. By the time they reached the hospital wing, Ginny was beginning to stir slightly. Even though he was eager to get down to his office and deal with Hermione, Severus knew it was better if he stuck around to find out just was going on. While McGonagall was helping Madam Pomfrey examine Ginny, Severus sent for the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore was in the hospital wing as fast as his legs could carry him, where he listened to what Severus and McGonagall had to say. When the headmaster had entered the hospital wing, McGonagall had left Ginny's bedside to speak to the headmaster.
"And neither of you can identify who she was arguing with?" Dumbledore checked.
"I just heard raised voices from my classroom," McGonagall answered. "And I'd no sooner stepped into the corridor when I heard her scream."
"I could tell it was two witches arguing," Severus supplied. "But I couldn't pinpoint the voices. Like Minerva I then heard the scream and when I turned the corner, Miss Weasley was at the bottom of the stairs."
"And there was no-one at the top of the stairs?" Dumbledore questioned.
"Not that I saw, but I didn't venture up them," Severus answered. "My focus was on the injured girl at the bottom of the stairs."
"Quite right," Dumbledore said with a nod. "How are things, Poppy?" he asked the school medi-witch as she stepped away from Ginny's bed.
"She's technically still unconscious, but she's very close to waking up," Madam Pomfrey replied. "I've fixed a broken leg, several cracked bones and she's got severe bruising. I can't find any sign of any major internal damage and she doesn't look to have sustained a head injury. I think all in all, Miss Weasley is a very lucky girl. Such a fall could have easily killed her."
"It was a short staircase," McGonagall said.
"And that was what most likely saved her life," Madam Pomfrey said.
"When will she wake up?" Dumbledore asked.
Before anyone had a chance to reply, Ginny let out an audible groan. In a flash all four members of staff were at her side as she slowly opened her eyes. As her eyes flickered open, Ginny let out another groan as she clearly tried to speak.
"Ssh," Madam Pomfrey said gently. "You're fine Miss Weasley, you've just had a small accident."
"Not an accident," Ginny croaked.
"Whatever do you mean?" Dumbledore questioned, leaning forward before Severus had a chance to work out if he could do anything to stop Ginny from talking.
"Hermione," Ginny spat weakly. "Hermione pushed me down the stairs. Hermione tried to kill me."
"She must be confused," McGonagall whispered to Dumbledore.
"Clearly," Dumbledore agreed with a nod.
"No," Ginny insisted as firmly as she could. "It was Hermione. She did this to me."
"Okay, we'll sort this out," Madam Pomfrey said soothingly to Ginny. "You just rest."
"Don't let her get away with it," Ginny pleaded with Dumbledore.
"No-one is getting away with anything," Dumbledore reassured the young girl as he stepped back with McGonagall and Severus and let Madam Pomfrey pull the curtains around Ginny's bed and give her a full check-up.
"What's going on?" McGonagall asked. "Is she delusional?"
"She has to be," Severus said with a snort. "Hermione Granger is not violent."
"Even so we need to talk to Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "Minerva, will you go and find her please, and you should let Mr Weasley know his sister is in the hospital wing. I'll contact Molly and Arthur so they can come up to school."
"Surely you don't believe this, Albus," McGonagall gasped. "Hermione would not do this."
"I'm reserving judgment, Minerva," Dumbledore replied, but both Severus and McGonagall could tell he was already leaning towards believing Ginny.
Severus wasn't sure if he was believing Ginny because she was a Weasley and Dumbledore was fairly close with her parents, or if there was just something lurking at the back of his mind that told him that Hermione wasn't to be trusted. Either way, it wasn't looking good for the brunette witch, and Severus was pleased she was safely ensconced in his office.
"I'll go and get Hermione and we'll get to the bottom of this," McGonagall said, turning and stalking out of the hospital wing with a frown on her face.
"You think I'm being too harsh," Dumbledore said to Severus, reading the expression on his face as one of disapproval.
"I'm just surprised you believe such a wild allegation," Severus replied carefully. "I could picture some girls in the school lashing out, but Hermione isn't one of them."
"Who can ever tell what's going on in a teenage girl's mind," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "I'd rather get both sides of the picture before drawing any conclusions."
"Is there anything you want me to do?" Severus asked the headmaster, although he fully expected to be dismissed since the incident didn't involve any of his Slytherins.
"We won't keep you Severus," Dumbledore said, responding exactly as Severus had predicted. "Thank you for your help, but I'm sure you've got something more important to be doing than dealing with problematic Gryffindors."
"I've got plenty I need to be doing," Severus replied. Glancing one final time at the curtains that were still drawn around Ginny's bed, Severus departed the hospital wing and headed back down to the dungeons.
When Severus entered his office, he found Hermione slumped in one of the chairs in front of his desk. She had her head in her hands, and she didn't even look up when Severus entered the office and firmly closed and locked the door behind him.
"Is she dead?" she finally asked in a shaken voice.
"No," Severus replied, stalking straight over to the fireplace and connecting the floo connection. "Come here," he ordered Hermione.
"Why?" Hermione asked warily as she looked up at him.
"Because you have to leave," Severus answered. "Ginny's woken up and the first thing she did was tell everyone you pushed her down the stairs and tried to kill her."
"I did not try and kill her," Hermione insisted angrily. "It was an accident."
"Accident or not, you're going to be under the spotlight and we don't want that," Severus said. "Dumbledore's already more than willing to believe Ginny, and with her parents egging him on, you'll soon find yourself out in the cold."
"I can fix this," Hermione pleaded. "Just let me go to Harry. I can tell him my side of the story and try and get him to stand by me."
"Potter isn't going to save you," Severus snapped, annoyed that Hermione wasn't getting the seriousness of the situation. "Even if he believes you, no-one else will. And how long do you honestly think it would take before everyone starts niggling at him and he also turns against you?"
"I can't leave," Hermione said. "If I leave, I look guilty."
"You are guilty," Severus scoffed. "You pushed Ginny down the stairs."
"It wasn't like the cow didn't deserve it," Hermione said bitterly. "That little slapper has had it coming for years. Ever since I met her she's been making constant digs at me just because she was jealous that I had Harry's attention."
"Please tell me this wasn't over Potter?" Severus asked, the disgust written all over his face at the thought of two young witches fighting over Harry Potter of all people.
"Sort of," Hermione admitted. "Ginny was boasting that she'd finally gotten Harry, despite my attempts to get in there first. I snapped and told her that the only reason she had Harry's attention was because she was a cheap tart and Harry would soon grow bored of her sexual favours."
"Hold on, are you telling me Potter is dating the Weasley girl?" Severus questioned.
"It's only a recent development," Hermione admitted. "And as I said, Harry will soon grow bored of her. He's only interested because she's all too willing to get on her knees for him."
"And that is something I didn't need to know," Severus drawled. "But how did this stupid argument lead to you pushing her down the stairs."
"She called me a cold, frigid prude and I snapped," Hermione confessed. "I lashed out and hit her without thinking. She was standing too near to the top of the stairs and she went tumbling backwards."
"And just how were you planning on spinning that story in a positive light to Potter?" Severus questioned.
"I was going to lie obviously," Hermione said.
"And you think he's going to believe you over his girlfriend?" Severus snorted.
"If I play it right, he just might," Hermione replied, although she didn't sound half as positive as she had at the beginning of the conversation. "I still think I can do it."
"And I say, no," Severus said, growing impatient. "Dumbledore is already looking for you, and it won't be too long before they realise you're not in any of your regular places. Before the end of the night, a full scale search will be taking place for you, and you can't be here for them to find."
"I can bluff this out," Hermione insisted stubbornly. "I've had Harry and everyone else eating out of the palm of my hand for over five years, I can turn this all around on Ginny, just you watch."
"Dumbledore's not going to believe anything you say, he's made his mind up," Severus replied. "Besides, I'm not willing to take the chance that you can't talk your way out of trouble. Just what do you think will happen if they start to truly look into your past, Hermione? Everything will come tumbling down like a pack of cards if Dumbledore goes poking around, and I can guarantee you that he will after this incident."
"But if I leave it means I've failed," Hermione whispered in a small voice. "I've let Grandpa down."
"I'm sure he would rather have you safe and sound, than have you at risk staying here," Severus insisted. "He can come up with another plan to get to Potter."
"He's going to kill me Uncle Severus," Hermione whined.
"More than likely," Severus agreed with a nod. "Now get through this fire to my cottage before someone comes looking for you. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"I'm sorry," Hermione offered, before she obediently flooed to Severus's cottage, where she would wait until he could visit and let her know just what was going on at Hogwarts and how were people were reacting to the news that she'd pushed Ginny Weasley down the stairs.
...
Hermione paced the floor in the small front room of Severus's cosy cottage, kicking herself for being so stupid. She just couldn't believe that after five and a half years of playing the good girl, she'd snapped when confronted with an annoying Ginny Weasley. It wasn't even as if Ginny's attitude towards her was something new. From the second she'd started school, Ginny had resented Hermione and was always making sly digs. However, until now Hermione had always risen above the sniping, making a mental note of every time Ginny insulted her and the payback she would get when the time was right.
Although just lately, Hermione's patience had been tested to the limit since Ginny and Harry had gotten together. For five years she'd gotten close to Harry and gained his trust, and when she'd started to worry about Ginny's intentions towards him, she'd set out to strengthen her bond with him by forming a romance. What she'd never expected was for Harry to fall for Ginny's charms rather than hers. And now thanks to Ginny, and her own rash temper, she'd lost everything she'd worked for, and everything her grandfather had planned for.
Hermione's grandfather was none other than the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. Years ago, Voldemort had indulged in a brief fling with Severus's mother, before Severus himself was born. Their reunion had resulted in a child, Clarissa, and in order to save her marriage Clarissa's mother handed the child over to him. While Voldemort was raising his daughter his former lover went on to have a son with her own husband a couple of years later.
Growing up Clarissa and Severus had never met, although they knew about each other, and it was only when Severus turned seventeen that he discovered that his half-sister also happened to be Voldemort's daughter. Luckily, Severus already had an interest in the dark arts and he willingly joined the dark, both to indulge in his love of dark arts and to get to know his sister.
From everything Hermione had heard, her mother and Severus had grown pretty close rather quickly. A few years after they'd first met, Clarissa had fallen pregnant with her Death Eater boyfriend, however a few months into the pregnancy Hermione's father had been killed during a skirmish with the Order of the Phoenix. Severus had supported Clarissa throughout her pregnancy and he'd been devastated when eight months after giving birth to Hermione, she'd also been killed fighting the Order.
Voldemort had also taken his daughter's death pretty badly, but he'd stepped up and chosen to raise Hermione himself. Severus had helped with the task, and when he wasn't working at Hogwarts he'd spent every available day with his little niece and together the two men had raised Hermione.
Sadly Hermione's early years hadn't all been plain sailing, as Voldemort had heard about a prophecy about a boy that could destroy him before she was one. Just after Hermione's second birthday, Voldemort had come into some information that the boy he was seeking was Harry Potter, so he'd went after the Potters with the intention of getting rid of Harry before he could fulfil the prophecy. Unfortunately, Dumbledore had been one step ahead of Voldemort and he'd placed intricate spells on Harry that meant Voldemort lost his magic the second he tried to harm Harry.
The result meant that Voldemort was left to live as a muggle without magic. However, he wasn't one to give up and throughout Hermione's childhood he'd searched high and low for a way to return his magic. Finally, he'd stumbled upon an ancient ritual to restore his magic, but to do so he would need to get his hands on both Dumbledore and Harry. However, there was also a snag in the fact that because Dumbledore had used Harry to strip Voldemort of his magic, it had protected Harry, meaning Voldemort couldn't hurt or kill him until he'd turned seventeen.
While Voldemort had to bide his time in waiting for Harry to grow up, he'd turned his attention to Hermione and how he would protect her when she went to Hogwarts. Voldemort had sent Clarissa to school under a false identity as a muggleborn, so he'd decided to do the same with Hermione. With the help of one of his most trusted Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy, a carefully crafted background as a muggle had been created for Hermione. Of course, the plan had the added bonus that she could get close to Harry so when the time came for him to lose the protection Dumbledore had given to him they had easy access to him.
For five and a half years, no-one had ever had a reason to question Hermione or her background. She'd managed to befriend Harry easily enough, and gain not only his trust but the trust of everyone close to him. Of course the adults all worried that she would develop genuine feelings for Harry and wouldn't be able to betray him when the time came. However, they had nothing to worry about as Hermione detested Harry for being the reason her precious grandfather didn't have magic. Plus he was heavily involved with the Order, and someone in the Order had killed her parents, and once Hermione found out who they were going to pay.
However, all their hard work now lay in tatters all because Hermione couldn't control her temper. Hermione was kicking herself, but she knew there was no point in fretting over things she couldn't change. All she could do was wait until her uncle returned and told her the state of play. She would then have to face her grandfather's wrath as she worked out how to fix the mess she'd made. Hermione knew she'd messed up, but she was refusing to entertain the idea that it meant her grandfather wouldn't get his magic back. She would make sure her grandfather got her magic back, even if she had to risk her own life in order to make sure Voldemort got his hands on Dumbledore and Harry so he could perform the ritual that would give him his magic back.
...
After sending Hermione to the safety of his cottage, all Severus could do was wait. Pouring himself a large glass of firewhisky he pulled some marking from his drawer and tried to focus on potions work. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long before there was a knock on the door and Dumbledore poked his head into his office.
"Severus, I think we have a problem," Dumbledore said.
"What sort of problem?" Severus asked, even though he knew exactly what had the headmaster so flustered.
"We can't find Miss Granger," Dumbledore admitted. "We're asking all the students to gather in the Great Hall so we can try and find her. Could you gather your Slytherins please, and keep an eye out for our missing charge."
"I'll get right on it," Severus promised as the headmaster left his office.
Putting away his marking, Severus made his way down to the Slytherin common room where he made an announcement to get his students to move to the Great Hall. Of course, plenty of people wanted to know what was going on, but Severus remained tight lipped as he herded the students out of the dorms and up to the Great Hall.
Since it hadn't yet reached curfew, students were all over the castle so it took the staff a while to gather the students, but nearly forty minutes after Dumbledore had visited Severus's office, everyone was in the Great Hall and there was still no sign of Hermione. With everyone settled in the Great Hall, Dumbledore put the head students in charge as he gathered the Professors outside in the hallway.
"I want this entire castle searched," Dumbledore ordered. "Miss Granger has to be somewhere within these walls."
"Does she?" Filius Flitwick asked. "No-one's seen her since the incident, she's had plenty of time to run."
"She could have left the castle as soon as it happened and ran down to Hogsmeade," Pomona Sprout added.
"We'll think about those options if we have to," Dumbledore said. "But right now, I still think there's a good chance, Hermione is in the castle somewhere. I'll be in the hospital wing when anyone has anything to report."
Dumbledore quickly gave each Professor a section of the castle or grounds to search, before he headed off to the hospital wing to wait for news. Once he'd gotten his search area, Severus set off to begin his task, even though he knew it was pointless. Half an hour later, he figured he'd been away long enough to make it believable that he'd searched the area Dumbledore had assigned him, so he headed to the hospital wing.
When Severus entered the hospital wing, he found Molly and Arthur Weasley had turned up and they were sitting next to their daughter's bed. Ginny's older brother, Ron was also sitting beside Ginny, and unsurprisingly Harry was also with the family. However, Harry was pacing the floor of the hospital wing, muttering to himself.
"Anything?" Dumbledore asked, when he spotted Severus.
"Not a sign," Severus replied.
"She's not here," Molly said angrily. "That little cow tried to kill my daughter and now she's ran."
"She wouldn't do that," Harry insisted, shocking Severus that he was still on her side. Especially since he was now involved with Ginny. "There's an innocent explanation, I know there is."
"Wake up Harry," Ron snapped at his best friend. "Ginny's told you what happened, and now Hermione is nowhere to be seen. I think the facts speak for themselves."
"I have to agree," Dumbledore said in a sombre voice. "If there was an innocent explanation, Miss Granger would be here to speak up for herself."
"Maybe she just ran off because she knew everyone would be blaming her like they are," Harry retorted.
"If she hadn't pushed Ginny, no-one would be blaming her for anything," Ron argued. "Take a good look, Harry. Your girlfriend is the one lying hurt in bed. Hermione did this. She's the reason Ginny is hurt."
"Please Harry," Ginny whispered weakly, holding her hand out towards her boyfriend.
"You're right, I'm sorry," Harry said, moving towards Ginny's bed and sitting down clasping his girlfriend's hand.
As Severus witnessed Harry's capitulation he knew he'd been right to get Hermione out of the castle. Maybe if she'd managed to get Harry's interest first, she might have been able to convince him that she was telling the truth, but as things stood she wouldn't have had a chance. After all, it had only taken a few words to get Harry to back down in his defence of Hermione. No, it was best that his niece was out of harms way.
"Thank you Severus," Dumbledore suddenly said, a dismissive tone to his voice as he turned back to the Potions master. "Could you go back down The Great Hall and start talking to the students. Maybe one of them can shed some light on Miss Granger's whereabouts."
Doubting anyone could be of any help, Severus headed back down to The Great Hall where he addressed the students with a couple of other members of staff. Of course, no-one had seen Hermione and after a couple of hours, Dumbledore had to let the students go back to their dorms.
"What's going on?" Draco Malfoy, Severus's godson asked, cornering Severus as they left The Great Hall. "Why is there a fuss about Granger? Is she in trouble?"
"As I'm sure you've gathered, she's missing," Severus answered, noticing how glad Draco seemed to be at the thought that Hermione was in trouble. Although given the fact he thought Hermione a muggleborn, and they'd been rivals for years, he wasn't surprised by his godson's attitude.
"That much was obvious," Draco said with a roll of his eyes. "But there's more to it than that. Does it have anything to do with the Weasley tart being in hospital?"
"I'm sure the rumour mill will be in full flight before long," Severus replied, not going to fuel the gossips any further.
"So you're not going to tell me?" Draco pouted.
"Goodnight Draco," Severus said pointedly.
"Spoilsport," Draco muttered as he turned and skulked back down to the dungeons.
Severus herded the rest of the Slytherins back down to the dungeons, before heading into his office and once again locking the door behind him. Heading through to his private living quarters, he opened up the floo network on the fire and got in contact with Voldemort. Via floo he briefly explained to The Dark Lord just what had happened.
"I'll be back in the morning," Voldemort snarled. Even though he had no magic, he was still travelling and networking for when his powers did return. "Can Hermione stay at yours overnight?"
"Of course," Severus replied. "But given time, she'll be able to break through my wards and leave the cottage. I can't keep her there indefinitely."
"The one night is all I need," Voldemort replied. "If Lucius is willing, I'll move her to the manor tomorrow."
"Hermione won't like that," Severus remarked. At Malfoy Manor his niece would be a virtual prisoner, and he knew how much she would rebel against going to stay with the Malfoys.
"At this moment, I don't care what she likes," Voldemort replied in a low, dangerous voice. "She's messed up, and she needs to be punished. If she's going to go around acting like a child, then she will be treated like a child."
"I'll let you break the news about the manor," Severus said with a chuckle. "I'll let her know to expect you in the morning."
"Thank you Severus," Voldemort said. "And thank you for getting her out. I'm sure before long, Dumbledore will know she's not a real muggleborn."
"It's only a matter of time now," Severus agreed. "But at least now they can't get to her."
Finishing off his conversation with Voldemort, Severus broke the connection and reconnecting his fire to the one in his cottage, he flooed home to let his niece know she would be staying at his cottage overnight. Although, the arrangement was just a brief respite for Hermione, as in the morning she'd have an angry Lord Voldemort to deal with.
...
Hermione spent a restless night at her uncle's cottage. Even though Hermione often stayed with Severus, and had her own room in the cottage, it still didn't help her get much rest. All she could think about was her grandfather, and how she'd let him down. The fact she'd let Voldemort down was the worst thing to ever happen to her, and Hermione felt sick at the very thought that thanks to her all her grandfather's plans had to be altered. Of course she would do what she could to salvage the situation, but Hermione was smart enough to know that even her best intentions might not be enough to make up for the mistake she'd just made.
With very little sleep the night before, Hermione was up at the crack of dawn as she waited for her grandfather to visit her. Because her grandfather had no magic, and she suspected he would be coming alone, Hermione knew he would arrive by floo so she settled herself in Severus's front room to wait for him. Unlike apparition that needed the person doing the apparating to have magic, the floo didn't require the person using it to have magic, the floo powder did the magic for them.
Hermione was sitting in Severus' front room until mid-morning, when the fire suddenly lit up and the crackle of flames alerted her to someone coming to the cottage. Hermione braced herself for her grandfather's wrath as the flames cleared and his formidable figure stepped into Severus's front room. Voldemort was a tall wizard with thick dark hair, and dark eyes that flashed red when he was angry. The red eyes were an effect of using dark magic with as much regularity as he did, and Voldemort had once confided in her that in time his entire features would become distorted if he relied too much on dark magic to keep him alive.
"Grandpa," Hermione greeted quietly.
"Hermione," Voldemort returned, giving his granddaughter a stern glare before he let out a sigh and held his arms open for Hermione. Even though he was mad at Hermione for her actions, she was still his granddaughter and she was still the most important person in his life.
"I'm so sorry, Grandpa," Hermione said as she walked into Voldemort's embrace.
"I know you are, sweetheart," Voldemort returned.
"But you're still mad at me," Hermione stated.
"I am," Voldemort confirmed with a nod as Hermione reluctantly stepped out of his arms. He wasn't going to lie to Hermione and pretend everything was okay, because it wasn't and she was old enough to take responsibility for her actions.
"I can fix this," Hermione said, quickly filling her grandfather in on how she still thought she could get through to Harry.
"No you can't," Voldemort retorted sternly. "It's over Hermione. We need a new plan and we need to regroup. Once you're settled at the manor, we can consider out next move."
"The manor?" Hermione questioned. "Malfoy Manor?"
"Yes Malfoy Manor," Voldemort confirmed with a nod. "Lucius has agreed to play host to you."
"You're going to give me to Lucius so he can lock me up," Hermione accused.
"I hardly think he's going to put you down in the dungeons or anything as drastic, Hermione," Voldemort chuckled. "You'll merely be a house guest."
"But I can stay here," Hermione protested. "Or I can go home."
"Staying here is not an option, not when Severus isn't here to keep an eye on you," Voldemort replied. "And as for going home, I'm cutting into an important trip to sort things out. You'd be home alone as I'm travelling for the next few weeks, and I don't want that either. The manor is the best place for you."
"You mean it's the best place to keep me prisoner," Hermione muttered. "And what happens in a few weeks when school finishes? I'm sure Draco will notice me staying in his home."
"Then it looks like the time has come for Draco to find out the truth about you," Voldemort replied with an unconcerned shrug. He had no problems with Draco knowing about Hermione, and the only reason he'd never been brought into things before now was that there was no real reason for him to need to know about Hermione's true identity.
"I can't change your mind on this, can I?" Hermione asked with a defeated sigh.
"No," Voldemort replied firmly. "I'm sorry Hermione, but you only have yourself to blame. You lashed out and blew your cover, so now you have to face the consequences. We need to protect you, and right now, Lucius is in the best position to do that."
"Protect me? Do you think I'm in danger?" Hermione questioned, wondering if there was an ulterior motive for her grandfather's decision to move her to the manor.
"It's a distinct possibility," Voldemort said gravelly. "This incident has shone a spotlight on you, and brought you to Dumbledore's attention. I'd bet anything that before the end of the school year, he's worked out you're not who you claim to be. I'm not sure if he'll be able to trace you back to me, or Severus, but it's a possibility we have to consider."
"Then Severus is in danger as well," Hermione insisted. "If he can connect the pair of us, he'll know Severus isn't to be trusted."
"Severus is aware of the risks, but we're both confident he'll not be able to make that connection in just a few weeks," Voldemort reassured his granddaughter. "We'll discuss Severus's future over the summer, but for now let's concentrate on getting you settled into the manor."
"Can I at least go and get some stuff from home?" Hermione asked. "I had to leave Hogwarts with nothing."
"I'll get Severus to organise for some of your stuff to be delivered to the manor as soon as possible," Voldemort said. "But for now, all you have to worry about is taking yourself to the manor. I'm sure Lucius and Narcissa can provide you with anything you need."
Hermione studied her grandfather, trying to decide whether or not it was worth continuing to argue. However, his determined expression left Hermione with no choice but to nod her head and accept the rules her grandfather was laying down. She may not like the fact she was about to become a virtual prisoner, but she knew it was all her own fault. If only she'd kept her temper in check then none of this would be happening.
But Hermione was determined that she wouldn't be at the manor for long, or at least not as a prisoner. Given the mess she'd made at Hogwarts she was more determined than ever to play a major part in helping her grandfather return to power and defeat his enemies. The situation with Ginny was just a setback, and it was going to take more than one annoying redhead to bring down Hermione. She was the granddaughter of The Dark Lord, and one day she was going to be at his right hand side as he ruled the wizarding world.