Miles Away from any warm thing

by Katherine Wright1

This is not my book i published it so i can use the speak aloud on Fanfiction. I am partially blind so speak aloud is my bff

Summary

Miles Away From Any Warm Feeling

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/3317231.

Rating:

Archive Warning: Category: Fandom: Relationship:

Character: Additional Tags:

Stats:locales

Mature

No Archive Warnings Apply

F/M, Multi

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Hermione Granger/Lucius Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Hermione Granger/Lucius Malfoy/Severus Snape

Hermione Granger, Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape

Drama & Romance, Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure &

Romance, Threesome - F/M/M

Published: 2015-02-09 Completed: 2015-06-07 Chapters: 15/15 Words: 71304

Miles Away From Any Warm Feeling

by AnnettePoudre

AU From HBP Onward. Hermione is kidnapped from her bed by death eaters and brought to Voldemort as a boon by a disgraced Lucius Malfoy. When she is gifted to her old potions master, she is sure that things will never be the same. However, when Snape shows her a letter from Dumbledore assigning him to one last mission after his death, she decides to help her Potions Master. Can she use him for her freedom while he uses her for his final mission for the Order? Or will things become more complicated when Lucius Malfoy joins them? *COMPLETE*

Notes

See the end of the work for notes

A Passable Assistant

"Severus, my loyal follower, rise." The words slithered around her, every s was held for an indefinite time, the voice was almost a whisper.

She sat up on the marble, a bit dazed, and looked around the dim room. She could see the dark lord on the far end of the room, his robes engulfing his pale figure, a bony finger pointing towards a thin man on his knees before him.

"You have given me the great gift of Dumbledore's life and I believe Luciusss has brought you something in return, is that right, Lucius."

Her eyes fell onto the blonde to the right Voldemort. She would have never believed that the Lord of Malfoy Manor would look so desperate. His blue eyes raked over her body and finally caught her brown ones. "That is correct master, I have captured Potter's mudblood to do with as you wish."

Hermione looked around frantically, her mind catching up to the situation at hand, the cold marble under her hands was already wet with her own blood. She looked down at her wrists that were leaking blood onto the floor, circular cuts on both of them. She had been captured! But how? The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the library in the Order headquarters.

"My lord thank you, but I have no use for an idiot girl when I have much more pressing matters at hand."

Lucius visibly stiffened at Snape's reaction to his present. She realized that to the senior Malfoy she was no more than a means to get back in the Dark Lord's favor, and for that it meant getting back into her ex-potion's professor's favor. "Severus," Lucius ventured, "I am sure that you must have needs, and is that not what mudbloods are for?"

"Mudblood or not, I am not some animal hellbent on carnal desires like some men in this room. I have no need of an adolescent whore." Snape looked back at her and she stood up, only to find her legs could barely support her weight. They wobbled out from beneath her but she regained her balance quickly.

"I am not some whore, and I am certainly not going to be a whore for you, Snape." Hermione spat defiantly.

"And certainly not an unwilling one." Snape's voice drawled out the last word before Voldemort cut him off, obviously impatient with Lucius.

"Dispose of her Lucius. You dare bring trash into my hall?" "My lord-"

"However," interrupted Snape, his voice louder than necessary, "I could use an assistant for menial potion brewing. She would do a great deal better than a house elf."

"I'm not going to help you, traitor!" Hermione backed away from the three men in the room of glittering black marble.

"Quiet!" it was his classroom voice, she had heard it so many times before, but he was no longer her professor, he was a murderer.

She would not obey someone who killed the headmaster in cold blood. She would rather die. "Crucio," it was Voldemort; he sounded bored.

Hermione fell to the floor, every nerve ending on fire, her body convulsed in pain and she doubled over. Her screams echoed off the walls and she felt bile rising in the back of her throat, a hot, disgusting taste in her already dry mouth. No one made a sound as she writhed on the floor. Her muscles were contracting painfully and she could feel her nails digging into the palms of her hand. She had to bear it, just a little bit longer.

Voldemort lifted the curse with as much fanfare as he had placed it, looking over at the blonde husk of a man. "Well Lucius, it seems as if you've become useful again, get this filth out of here."

"Yes my lord, you are wise in all things. Thank you." Malfoy's voice was quiet, or maybe she could barely hear over the sound of her own blood rushing to her ears.

She lay still, breathing heavily, tremors still coursing through her body. Tense, and relax. Tense, and relax. Every muscle seemed to have a mind of it's own, and all she could simply do was wait as her body writhed in revolt. Crucio seemed more painful when it was from Voldemort. She looked up but realized she could not see the ceiling. It was black. Maybe she had gone blind? Then Snape surely would have no use for her.

A blurry figure came into view and she realized she had been crying. A raspy cry escaped from her lips, not quite a scream, not quite a whisper. She blinked away her tears, but she knew he had seen them. She was weak in front of her enemies. Malfoy had eyes bluer than crystal, and his usually cornsilk hair hung limply on either side of his face. He looked down at her strangely as he picked her up, his fingers curling around her shoulder, and another under her legs. There was a hint of gentleness as he walked with her out of the room, his boots making a clicking noise off the marble. It was rhythmic, and she wondered if it was because her body was slowly shutting down, or because of his warmth that she passed out in his arms.

Lucius looked down at the girl in his arms. Her head lolled back, her breathing was strained and he tried to shift her position but she was simply too heavy for him. His hands were wet with blood still, he had tied her too tightly. Her blood looked like his own, it was a small revelation, but a revelation all the same. He had seen too much of his own blood recently after he had fallen out of favor with his lord. You couldn't see purity, Lucius assured himself, it was something you felt. The doors swung shut behind him and Severus and they walked down the vaulted halls of his own mansion in silence.

He was a guest in his own manor more often than not now. The dark lord saw it fit to use his ancestral home as the fortress from which he would wage war. This had seemed like a good idea six months ago, but now it was a mistake.

"I thank you for the present Lucius," Severus said next to him and he snorted.

"Anything for the dark lord's most favored death eater" He spat, it dug into him! Oh how it irritated him that he used all of his land and money for their lord and yet he had fallen out of favor due to Draco! Even now, he must work with the dark man.

"Do I detect some bitterness?" the dark man asked beside him and Lucius looked down at the passed out girl he was carrying to Severus' quarters, no better than a house elf.

"No, brother." Lucius replied, his blonde hair falling in front of his face as he watched her chest rise and fall.

She was as much a prisoner as he was, and Lucius thought he would never see the day where he could empathize with mudbloods. He heard Severus open the door to Lucius' bedroom, his old bedroom, Lucius amended, he was no longer the master of this house.

"Lay her on the bed, I will deal with her later." The potions master walked to the window of the room and looked out over the grounds

He dumped her unceremoniously on the bed and looked around to see if the unwelcome guest had changed anything, and indeed he had not. Severus had not even slept in the bed by the looks of things. There was a small stack of books that had not been there before.

"Is there anything else you'll be needing from me?" Lucius ground out.

Severus turned away from the window, the sunlight in stark contrast to his black teaching robes. He looked at his friend, a shell of what he once was, his hair unwashed and dull to match his eyes. "That will be all."

Lucius had fallen far from grace, but he was sure that it would not take long to get it all back. He had to think of a plan. The old master of Malfoy manor shut the heavy oak door to his old bedroom, hearing wards click into place one by one.

The mudblood was the first step of many.

Severus cast another warding spell, and a silencing spell so that they were unheard, even by the portraits on the wall and the mirrors in the bathroom. Nothing in this house could be trusted, they were in a den of snakes.

He looked down at his old pupil, she had been here for days before she had been brought to the dark lord. Her wrists were red and infected from the manacles in the dungeons and he presumed she had similar markings on her ankles. She claimed to not have known she was captured.

She gasped awake, like she had broken through the water of consciousness, her eyes flew open and she looked up at her ex potions professor and screamed.

"Traitor!"

He winced at her words, but only due to the tone of her voice. The desperation seeped into every syllable, her voice cracked. How long had she been kept a prisoner?

"Quiet." He pinched the bridge of her nose. "Miss Granger, I do not need a harpy in my bedroom."

She looked around like a caged animal, quickly putting as much distance between them as possible, her back up against the headboard "Why have you done this? What do you want with me? Let me go!"

"You idiot girl, do you think I wanted some screaming student in my bed? You were a gift to me from my dear friend Lucius, or do you not recall your little outburst in front of the dark lord?"

Hermione frowned and looked down at her skinned and bruised knees. While she did not trust him, she knew that he was as much a part of her kidnapping as she was. "Will you let me go back to the order?" she asked, looking up at him.

"You are my prisoner, Miss Granger, and while you were a gift, I cannot let the Dark Lord or

Lucius know that I often lose these precious gifts." "So I am your prisoner then, Harry and Ron–"

He cut her off. "Misters Potter and Weasley are much too busy on their treasure hunt to care much about where you are at."

Hermione's eyes widened and she sat forward "You know? Who else knows? Voldemort? They're in danger–"

He whipped around towards her, his eyes cold and he leaned over on the bed towards her, his face but a foot away from hers "Miss Granger, you will not speak that name in front of me, and no one else knows I assure you."

"Bu–"

"There will be no more questions, you stupid girl. At all times you will be obedient to me, and maybe if you can manage to do such a meager task, we can get out of this alive."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think that I choose to follow a megalomanic, Miss Granger, or has all semblance of reason left your head?"

She bit her lip to think of a response, but none came. She rubbed her wrists absentmindedly; they ached, her whole body ached. He shoved a potions vial in front of her face of a pearl-white liquid. "Pain potion."

She looked up at him, his greasy dark hair hung over his face as he bent over her. She grabbed it and studied, it looked like a pain potion but it could be anything. Hermione uncorked it with trembling hands and smelled it.

He rolled his eyes at her paranoia "I know over 400 undetectable poisons. I assure you that if I was going to kill you, you couldn't smell your death coming."

She narrowed her eyes and tipped the potion back, swallowing it all in one go. If she was going to die, it might as well be quick. Hermione opened her eyes to see that her Professor had walked back over to the desk in the corner of the room. "Why are you helping me, Professor?"

He looked back at the girl on the bed, covered in dirt and her own dried blood. "I need an assistant, and you, Miss Granger, happen to be a passable assistant."

Had he complimented her? She felt a blush rise up on her cheeks and she hid her face underneath her hair.

"Wash up, we haven't got much time." He barked at her as he opened a book.

Hermione slowly got off the bed, another aftershock of the Cruciatus curse causing her to fall forward onto the plush carpeted floors. Professor Snape looked back at her briefly before turning back to his book.

It was going to be a long way to the bath.

When she returned, Professor Snape had gone, but a note from Dumbledore remained. Dear Severus,

Your sacrifice is a noble one and will not be forgotten. Minerva has been informed of the true nature of my death, however even with my passing, your loyalty to me will continue. I must ask that-

She looked up from the note. She had been wrong about him, they all had been wrong about their Potions Professor.

In a Den Full of Snakes

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"This is where you will be brewing." He opened a door to reveal a large walk-in closet, the shelves where hats and shoes once rested now covered with glass jars full of ingredients, neatly labeled and stored alphabetically. A large transfigured wooden desk full of cauldrons of varying shapes and sizes spread the length of the room and she looked back at her professor who was standing in the doorway to the closet.

"In a closet, sir?"

"Do you have a better location, Miss Granger?"

"No, it just seems–"

"I am glad the dark lord has blessed me with a prisoner who sees fit to complain about her cell."

Tears stung at her eyes and she looked away from the dour man who had followed her into the closet. She hated when he brought up her predicament, on most mornings it was easier to forget that she had been living with the death eaters for almost a week now.

"Spare me the theatrics Miss Granger, and begin brewing these." He shoved a list at her of potions to be brewed, simple pain potions, headache potions, hangover potions and the like. She squinted in the dim light of the closet to see the small writing and scrawled at the bottom was a luck potion, felix felicis, as almost an afterthought.

She looked up at her Professor who was studying her reaction, his eyes as black as night, and she decided it was best to not let him notice her surprise. "Yes professor."

"I am not your professor any longer," he said and tore his gaze away from hers, looking at the cauldrons stacked neatly by size on the long expanse of table.

She thought she heard regret in his voice, but decided she must be mistaken. The only person responsible for his predicament was him. Besides, what professor terrorized his students because he liked teaching?

"I will not be here today, so I cannot supervise you. I trust you can make these by yourself?"

They were basically third year potions, all except the last, and even then, it was just a matter of precision. Of course she could brew them, but where would he be? "Yes...sir."

"When I return, you will test them on yourself to prove their effectiveness, and to prove that you are competent." He started out of the closet when her small voice stopped him.

"Where are you going, prof– sir?" She corrected herself midway through the sentence.

His hand tightened into a fist and he looked back at the girl, his old student, standing in the makeshift lab in one of his oversized button down shirts and pants. "I have business to attend to."

He shut the door, and she heard the warding charms click into place, one after another, half a dozen in the entirety. Today was the first time she had heard him cast them and Hermione wondered if

they were there to keep her from breaking out, or to keep others from breaking in. She pulled down a jar of dandelion root and began the easiest of the group, the headache potion.

She wondered how Harry and Ron were doing; they had left mere days before she was captured, leaving her only a note that they were going to destroy Voldemort once and for all. At first she was angry with them by how rash and thoughtless they could be. They were a golden trio! How were they going to survive without her? She felt tears gather in her eyes again. How could she help the war effort if she was trapped in a closet brewing headache potions?

Hermione let out a cry of frustration as the knife came down particularly swiftly, embedding itself into the wooden surface. She was so stupid! How could she have allowed herself to get caught? Now she was utterly useless to the Order, holed up in the dark lord's stronghold, making provisions for his troops under a murderer's direction!

She put the dandelion root into the boiling cauldron and bit her lip. She was not the greatest witch of her age any longer. That was to be sure. Hermione reached up and grabbed the asphodel carefully, even now she did not trust her muscles to not fail her. The first time professor...no not any longer, just Snape, she corrected herself, asked her to assist brewing she had dropped the jar of fluxweed on the floor as the Cruciatus tremors ripped through her.

She had doubled over, both fearful and embarrassed that her body would so easily betray her. His voice had been soft as she held her hands together, wishing that for once they would calm down. "I am not a stranger to the after effects of the Cruciatus. Lie on the bed, you are in no condition to brew today."

Hermione had not initially even wanted to help but now that she couldn't, it only added insult to injury. "Leave me alone! You did thi–" "Now, girl!" He spelled the mess on the floor away and left her alone in the bedroom.

She had initially thought he was furious with her for wasting ingredients. He came back and handed her a pile of potion vials and made her drink each and every last one. "I cannot have some invalid working with expensive ingredients, drink them all."

He had watched her as she downed each potion with shaking hands, coughing back the bitter flavor of the muscle relaxant. "Thank you professor," her voice was small and rough from all the potions she drank.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes "I will not have any more carelessness today, I will be gone until this evening. Do not try anything stupid."

She glared at him, what could she possibly be thinking of doing as his prisoner, messing up the sheets? Why was he always condescending? Didn't he understand that she was kidnapped, and then cursed to the point of sickness? She shot up quickly to retort but he had already left. Professor Snape was an insufferable man, it was not like she chose to do anything with him. She did not have a choice in the matter. It was either work for the murderer or be handed over to Malfoy.

"Do not make me look stupid Miss Granger," she mimicked as she dropped the diced asphodel into the boiling cauldron. "I do not wish to return my gifts to people that cannot enjoy them as I do."

Malfoy was Snape's constant go-to threat. Snape had started with threatening to curse her if she didn't behave, but he found nothing worked quite so well as telling her that she was going to be handed over to Malfoy to do with as he wished. She knew what it had meant. Malfoy's war crimes as a death eater were no secret at Hogwarts. She'd be raped and killed or used as a stand-in for a house elf. She sighed and looked up on the shelf above her head, and with him watching her taste

every potion batch before bottling, it meant she could do nothing to help the war effort, but she had to do something.

There was a bang outside and she froze. Professor– no, just Snape, had said that he would be back later, so who was it that had entered his bedroom.

"Where is ickle Sevvy's plaything?" it was the voice of the deranged. "Missy Mudblood, where are you?" It was the voice of Bellatrix LeStrange.

Hermione's blood ran cold and her breath caught in her throat, would she check in the closet, would she even bother? She looked over at the boiling cauldron and silently prayed that the witch on the other side of the door couldn't hear the bubbling.

Hermione backed away from the door and her almost finished potion, each step made her heart race faster. She heard books and sheets being tossed around carelessly. The thud of one of Snape's tomes hitting the closet door forced her heart up into her throat. Did her ex-potions master know that Bellatrix was coming to see her? Did he invite the madwoman here?

"Lucius, I thought you said she was in here!" Bellatrix was just outside the door, oh god her voice was crystal clear through the wood. Hermione covered her mouth with her hands, they must be ready to open the door next.

"She was in here Bella, I am not her babysitter, she is a gift to Severus, is she not? I am not in charge of her." Lucius sounded bored, his voice was softer, he must be further away.

There was a cry of frustration and she heard something break. "Missy Mudblood, the Dark Lord wants to see you!" She cooed, like a mother to a child "Won't that be fun? Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Hermione backed into the corner underneath the table, silently hoping the headache potion would not spoil due to a rude maniac's interruption. There was quiet for a few minutes before Bellatrix spoke again.

"Do you think he took her with him?"

Lucius sighed "Bella, I am not accustomed to keeping tabs on Severus' whereabouts, perhaps if you–"

"Stuff it Malfoy, I've heard this all before regarding Cissa," Bellatrix snapped and there was another sound of glass shattering. "They have to come back soon, then the dark lord may have time for the mudblood then. Come, dog."

"Woof woof, Bella." Even when being chastised Malfoy sounded so distinctly Malfoy: condescending and bored. She heard the door slam shut behind the two.

Hermione waited, and she wondered as she strained to hear any other sounds of life in the bedroom if Snape had really locked her in here because she was going to try to escape, or if he had other motives. The only thing she could be sure of was that he was not to be trusted, but in a den full of snakes he was the least deadly. That thought unsettled her most of all. What would Harry and Ron think if they knew she was helping the enemy?

Another few minutes passed and she knew now that the potion was ruined and Snape would be furious with her, but she found little reason to care what her jailer thought of her. Hermione brushed her unruly hair back from her face and began again. Placing the old cauldron off to the side since there was nowhere to dispose of her mistakes.

The rest of the day she was kept alone with her thoughts which was worse than any Cruciatus. She could not stop herself from thinking about the Order, and Harry and Ron.

Snape came late, after she had finished putting in the ashwinder eggs into Felix Felicis. He opened the door almost frantically, his wand at the ready. Her eyes met his for the briefest of moments, did she see concern? No, probably misunderstood fury.

"Professor!"

"What have you done?" He growled his eyes darting to every cauldron on the long wooden table and then back to her.

She glared up at the man who was blocking the firelight from the main room, he looked haggard, his hair sticking to his face "What do you mean what have I done, I have done exactly what you asked!" She gestured to the potions sitting in their cauldrons.

"The bedroom is a wreck! You defeated my wards somehow! You insol–"

She felt her rage boil over and looked up at her furious Professor "How dare you! I didn't break out of a broom closet just to break some vases and then lock myself back in! I'm not completely daft. The wards were in place, it was your death eaters who came in and made a wreck of things."

No indication that he had even registered what she had said, his breathing still heavy, his wand still drawn, his eyes were cold and unfocused.

"Which ones?" His voice was low, she could only catch it faintly above the boiling of the Felix Felicis.

"Bellatrix and Malfoy senior," Hermione turned back to the potion he insisted that she brew, a more complicated potion, if only because the ingredients were so rare.

He was silent for awhile, she could feel him staring at her back and after a few minutes she shot him a glare. The man was infuriating! "Can I help you sir?"

"I see you botched the headache potion Miss Granger, I was not under the impression that you had failed third year potions," Snape drawled, she heard him spell away the failed brew.

She tightened her hand around the knife she was using but continued to chop the Murtlap finely, evenly. Hermione would not lose her temper again. "I had unexpected guests," she replied quietly, more to herself than him.

He brushed past her and she could feel his warmth through his wool teaching robes. She caught herself holding her breath as he came in contact with her. Hermione would have never thought of the great black bat of the dungeons as being warm.

The small girl eyed her companion as he began to bottle the cauldrons full of ingredients and wondered what else she didn't know about her potions professor.

"Let us hope there are no more interruptions for the rest of this evening, Felix Felicis needs more care than what you seem to give to your potions." "If I was not locked in a small closet waiting for death, maybe I could give more of my attention to my potions, sir," Hermione ground out. Why did he constantly treat her with such derision? Could he not see that she was the victim here?

There was a silent tension for the next few minutes as he completed bottling next to her. She was fuming beside him but decided to say nothing more on the matter because she wasn't sure if he

was going to blow up at her again or even worse. It was like tiptoeing around a devil's snare.

"Did you manage to at least find out why Bella had so graciously decided to visit you?" Snape said quietly as he arranged the vials neatly into rows. He was obsessive about his potions ingredients, it made sense he was obsessive about the results.

"The Dark Lord wanted to see me," she replied, studying the potions' color and trying to not let him study her face. Why did she feel so awkward all of a sudden? His nearness was making her nervous.

His fingers paused on a vial only briefly to even register that he heard her, but he elected to be quiet, and they brewed in silence until the felix felicis was done, a small puff of smoke erupted from the golden liquid to signal it was done.

He handed her a pile of vials, all different colors from the list of potions she had brewed today, finally dipping a vial into the golden luck potion and capping it off. "I care little about what order you decide to poison yourself in."

They clinked in her hands and she shot him a look but he was watching her expectantly. "I didn't poison them, you know."

He did not look convinced. He raised one dark eyebrow in expectation. "I'm waiting."

She brushed past him with a handful of vials, back out into the bedroom that was in shambles. It looked like a fire had erupted in several places around the room. Hermione gingerly stepped around the broken glass and sat on the bed that was half-blackened from a spelled fire. She held up the headache potion for him to see and downed it quickly.

"See, I'm not dead, professor."

He gestured to the other four in her lap "Do not think me stupid Miss Granger. Even if you did not poison the first, that does not mean you didn't poison the last."

She downed the second one as quickly as the first "How do you know that I did not poison them in a way to get around being your prisoner?" There was a tick in his jaw, she saw it plain as day. So he obviously didn't want her harmed. When she downed the last potion, still warm as it had just been taken off the fire moments before she looked up at him with renewed interest.

"Adequate, Miss Granger. I see you'll not be a completely useless prisoner."

She bristled at the reminder that she was a prisoner in his care. The vials clinked in her hands as she set them down on the remainder of the bed. She could not sleep here tonight.

She had been sleeping in these rooms alone for the past few days, Snape always was taken away on a mission for the dark lord during the night so she often slept alone. There was nothing quite so lonely as being Snape's prisoner. Her mind wandered to Harry and Ron again and she felt tears well up in her eyes at the thought of her boys running around without her. She was so stupid to get caught so early. They were going to die because of her mistake.

"Spare me the theatrics and get your things," He snapped looking around before accio-ing some of his books "We're not going to be able to sleep here tonight."

Her things were her nightclothes from when she was captured: an oversized t-shirt with Weird Sisters faded on the front. Her nightclothes smelled like Hogwarts, she slept with them each night in the hopes that she would wake up the next morning back in her bed in Griffyndor Tower. She

started to crave the few seconds in the morning that she thought that was true. Hermione got off the bed and grabbed it out of the bathroom. "Walk behind me and stare at the floor, do not look up, and do not show disobedience for once."

The marble in the vast halls was cold underneath her bare feet, she watched them peek out from underneath the oversized pajama pants her jailor provided her on her first day. The house was as quiet as it was large, she could only hear her pants swishing on the floor, or perhaps it was Snape's cloak. She looked up to see him billowing in front of her, all pomp and circumstance, looking down on the world as he would at Hogwarts. She wondered if Snape was ever anything other than his teaching persona.

Perhaps it was not just a persona? She shook her head, Snape was as black as they came, no matter how much she respected him. He was a traitor, Harry said he saw him murder Dumbledore with his own eyes. She could never respect a traitor.

"Severus, you're back from your mission quickly." It was Malfoy, his silken voice sent shivers down her spine. "Missed your mudblood I see?"

"Lucius, it seems that my room was redecorated while I was gone, can you be a good host and show me to my new room?"

She heard the blonde scoff and she looked up briefly to see the elder Malfoy. He was dressed in black, holding his signature cane, he almost blended in with the marble. He had his airs but they seemed less somehow. His eyes caught hers and she looked away quickly. "Your mudblood has bad manners, I suppose it's a good thing they're replaceable."

Hermione rolled her eyes at that, if she was replaceable, Malfoy was moreso.

"Walk with me brother," Snape replied, choosing to ignore his last comment. "We have much to discuss."

They spent five minutes in silence as they walked down empty halls in the mausoleum of Voldemort's headquarters. Malfoy senior and Snape fell into step quickly ahead of her.

"Don't tell Bellatrix where you're sleeping tonight, if you'd like to wake tomorrow," Lucius said, pushing open a set of double doors. "It is a pity that she torched my favorite room."

"Jealousy is a powerful motivator," her professor responded, walking into yet another vast room; this one looked like it hadn't been touched in generations.

Malfoy shut the door behind them and she heard him cast a few wards on the double wooden doors before turning to them and muttering Incendio under his breath, a fire roared to life on the far side of the room and she could see how eerie her new jail cell truly was.

"Put your mudblood away for the night Severus, there is much to discuss." Lucius eyed her like she was a leper and she glared at him. Whatever he could dish out, she could return in spades.

"Where am I going to go? The closet?" She snapped. They put her in the closet.

The last thing she saw was Snape closing the door, his eyes catching the firelight and she swore for a minute that he must have been human, because she distinctly saw regret.

Severus looked away from the door to see Lucius stalking in front of the fireplace like a caged animal. Every wall could hear, and to keep up the pretense of despising his only friend in the war was beginning to wear on them both. "What of Draco? Have you heard any news?" It came out in one rush of breath and the potions master looked back at the closet door before casting Muffilatio.

"Lucius, Draco is fine." Severus replied pulling off a dust cloth and falling ungracefully into a leather chair. "He's at a safe house with the Order, everything is running smoothly."

"And the girl? Does she know yet?" Lucius' eyes flicked towards the door.

"No, it is better that she doesn't know, it will only cause more problems. While Miss Granger is intelligent, she's also foolish."

Lucius opened the liquor cabinet and pulled out two glasses "Our lord and master seems none the wiser, but Bellatrix, I think she can tell something is amiss." Lucius pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey. "She keeps hounding me about the girl. We should have kidnapped her from somewhere else, it's hard to keep trying to explain how I of all people managed to waltz into Hogwarts and pluck a grown girl out of bed without anyone noticing."

"It's better that she's here with us instead of galavanting around the countryside with her idiot companions. At least now we can effectively find the horcruxes."

"I do think it would be wise to tell her that we're not trying to murder her. It seems rude to keep her in the dark so long about something to which she is integral." Lucius sat down across from Severus, caring little that he forgot to remove the dustcover.

"Ever courteous Lucius, we all must make sacrifices." Severus took a sip of firewhiskey and looked at his companion seriously. "In time. For now the less she knows the better, at least while we're so close to the Dark Lord."

Lucius sighed and looked up at the ceiling, his blond hair caught the firelight and almost glowed. He closed his eyes, he was tired. "Bellatrix is going to be a problem."

"Bellatrix is always a problem." Severus pinched his nose to fight off the oncoming headache.

The two men sat in amiable silence, lost in thought and taking sips of amber liquid from time to time.

"You know, I did not intend for anything to turn out this way, Severus, I am quite sorry I got you into this mess." Lucius spoke after some time, and after quite a bit of firewhiskey.

"We both wanted it in the beginning, you know we did. It was just the thing to do as a Slytherin, under the guise of some misguided house loyalty." Severus waved him off. "There are more important things to worry about rather than ancient history."

Lucius lapsed back into silence for awhile, mulling over the past as he had often done. His empire was close to shambles, fighting a war was costly both in lives and money, and because the Malfoy line had been Voldemort's endless Grignott's since his father's time as the head of the house, the vaults were depleting faster than he could restock them. When Abraxas died, the bitter old fool that he was, Lucius was stunned to see how much money he had given to the dark lord and to Grindelwald before that!

He had spent most of his time rebuilding what had been lost; in properties, in gold, in investments, and as soon as he had finally gotten the Malfoy line back to its former glory Potter helped resurrect Voldemort. Insufferable children! They were so damned expensive.

Now Lucius sat in his own home, turned into a fortress for the very man who had driven his family to the brink of ruin and Narcissa to another continent and another man. He could not bear himself any longer, after Draco was taken to safety he had stopped caring. What was there to care about? He was a prisoner to his own home, given reprieve every so often when the dark lord decided he needed something. Lucius Malfoy was a house elf, and he had had enough. Severus was the only person he could trust and together they were going to get themselves out of this.

Severus sat up straighter in his chair, setting his empty crystal glass on the floor with a hollow clink before standing up, blocking the firelight and casting a shadow on half the room. "Severus?" Lucius replied sitting up straighter now, wondering what had spooked his friend.

"Listen." He replied in a hoarse whisper.

It was singing, high-pitched and off-key, out in the empty halls. Lucius knew that voice anywhere, his constant companion these last few months while he was trapped. The dark lord's absolute favorite: Bellatrix.

"Aguamenti," Lucius whispered and doused the fire before spelling the dust covers back onto the furniture they had been sitting on. "Go to the girl, Severus, I will take care of dear Bella."

The dark man looked over at his blonde friend with worry. There was no easy way to deal with Bellatrix Lestrange, she was like a wildfire and burnt everything she touched. The Dark Lord loved that about her, her unpredictable insanity made her far more dangerous than any death eater. "Lucius." Severus replied quietly, reluctant to leave his friend with a madwoman.

"Sevvy Sevvy Sev-er-us." Bellatrix sang outside in the hall "Where is your little toy? The dark lord wishes to play with her!"

Lucius felt his heart skip a beat, if anything happened to the girl the whole plan was going to fall through and his bank account was going to fall into the red. "Severus, now."

With a sigh and a flourish, the potions master rushed over to the closet where Hermione was being kept and threw open the door to see a very surprised girl sitting on the floor. She opened her mouth to shout at her professor, who looked almost frantic, but he grabbed her around the waist and put his hand over her mouth, muffling any cry of surprise she might have made.

Hermione struggled against her jailer but she felt a familiar tugging at her navel and both professor and student disappeared with the crack of apparition.

Chapter End Notes

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day! I did when I saw how many kudos I got on my little story.

My favorite Lucius in all of fanfiction is the family oriented Lucius. A lot of people seem to want to make him into some cold hearted BDSM bastard, but I think Malfoy's look after their own.

When Lucius and Severus get together they always have definite chemistry, so I hope you enjoyed my two favorite characters.

I'll be posting next sunday, don't forget to read and review :)

Concern for a Cursed Blade

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

They collapsed in a heap and Hermione cried out in indignation at the weight on top of her. The nearness of her ex-professor was unnerving, he smelled like sandalwood and potions ingredients and he was so warm. She had been deprived of other people for so long, it made her strangely happy that she received this accidental contact.

However reason finally woke up and told her that thinking of the murderer who killed Dumbledore as a person was dangerous and she began to struggle underneath her professor, who wasn't moving.

"Professor Snape! Get off of me!"

He leapt off of her like she was fire and stood up, looking around to see where they had landed. "The manor's apparition wards don't allow us to travel outside of the grounds; it appears we have arrived in the library."

Hermione pushed her hair away from her face and sat up, surveying the walls around her. The library was far more vast than the Hogwarts library could ever hope to be; a thick layer of dust coated the entire room. Did the Malfoys use any of their home?

She heard the fire roar to life in the sitting area and she stood up and began to advance on her professor. "What are you plotting Professor? Why did you shove me in the closet? What has Malfoy got to do with me?" It clicked and her voice dropped to a fearful whisper. "Oh gods, you're handing me over to him aren't you?"

"As usual, your taste for theatrics leads you to the wrong conclusion Miss Granger." He motioned for her to take a seat by the fire but she did not move.

"What do you want from me?" It was a valid question, he hadn't harmed her or asked her to do much anything aside from sleep and brew potions. Surely he had something else in mind for his "reward" for being Voldemort's dog.

"Miss Granger, you are mine, I can want for everything and you have to give it to me." He sat down instead and did not look at her.

She got up and advanced on him "I belong to no one! And certainly not you! Let me go back to Hogwarts and maybe Harry will spare your life in return for sparing mine." Hermione tried to sound dangerous but it only sounded like she had gotten herself into a snit.

"What makes you so sure that Potter's life won't be in need of sparing?" He replied sardonically, looking back at the furious petite girl that was advancing on him.

Her mouth opened and closed again, trying to think of the perfect retort to his insult. "Harry will win, there's no way he can lose." She paused. "Don't distract me! Why was I kidnapped?"

"I needed an assistant, and you happened to be available. Is that so hard to comprehend?"

"Why would I ever help a murderer like you? How can I know the note you gave me was not a forgery?" Hermione crossed her arms and got up, the fire was warm and the house was drafty. She

could stand to have this conversation closer to him.

"Did Potter tell you I murdered Albus?" He always spat out Harry's last name with the same amount of venom. She wondered if he still held a grudge against James Potter, but of course he did, this was Snape.

"He saw it, don't try to lie to me. I'm not as stupid as it might seem to you, Professor." She stared into the fire.

"I had no more of a choice in killing Albus than you have of leaving this house, Miss Granger. That was my sacrifice to make for this war, and now this is yours."

She looked back at Snape, who was staring at the fire, she could see the flames dancing in his eyes. She had seen that look before, it was regret. Hermione turned away from him; how could she humanize someone who had killed her headmaster and taken her prisoner? She couldn't trust him but he hadn't hurt her so far. He had protected her from Bellatrix and Malfoy. Hermione sighed. Maybe if she brewed for him she could get more information out of him.

"Are you really only using me as a brewing assistant?"

"For now."

"Do you know where Harry and Ron are?"

"I do not attempt to keep tabs on your cohorts," he replied boredly and Hermione decided that she wasn't going to get anything more out of her dreary companion tonight.

"Make yourself useful, research some perception potions." He tossed a book at her: Perspicientia Veritas was engraved in gold filigree on a overused leather tome.

She was not content with just one book, and with a library so large she could not resist exploring it. "Do not wander too far."

Snape, for all of his disgust with her, followed her around the library as a quiet shadow, appearing to read another book when she would look back to see what he was doing, or sitting in one of several dusty leather chairs that were placed around the library for reading. When she would reach up for a particular tome, every so often he would clear his throat.

"Severus!" The voice was quiet because she had wandered deeper into the library than she thought.

Snape was probably the strangest jailer she had ever met. He did not tie her up, refuse her much, or even abuse her. When she was hungry, he would summon food. When she slept, he left her alone. The death eater tradition of raping and killing women didn't seem to apply to her professor, instead they sat in amicable silence most of the time, with insults thrown towards her intellect every so often. Snape was strange, and she wondered if all death eaters were as strange as him.

When Hermione was currently reading over the ingredients for a particularly nasty potion that left the imbiber deaf, dumb and blind. The voice called again "Severus! Where are you?"

She looked up to see that Snape was standing in front of her, blocking out the sunlight by which she was reading. On the other side of her appeared the blonde wizard, and he was bleeding.

Malfoy's perfect pure blood was just as red as hers, and it was dripping down his shoulder and off his finger tips onto the hardwood flooring. "We have a problem."

Her professor put his wand away and looked back at his prisoner who was currently studying Malfoy with disgust. "Miss Granger, move."

She got up quickly, there was a puddle of his blood forming on the ground next to his feet, even if she didn't like Malfoy, she couldn't let him die next to her in the library. She had already seen enough death in this war. The potions master pulled back layers of Malfoy's clothing as if they had done this hundreds of times before, his fingers deft on the other man's clothing. Two robes and an undershirt later she could see the deep wound down his shoulder.

No matter how dark he was, there was no doubting that he was a beautiful man. His pale skin was immaculate, and she could tell he tried to take care of himself even if his ribs were beginning to show. He was a fallen Adonis, even now.

"Do you see something you li-ow Severus!" The blonde yanked himself away from the dark man hovering over him.

"I see he's become rather fond of that cursed blade," Snape responded, pulling bits of cloth out of his cuts.

"That doesn't give you the right to abuse my person."

"Miss Granger has adequate mediwitch experience, this can't be fixed with a simple spell." He stood up straight and looked at the bushy haired witch that was still staring at Malfoy.

She didn't have much mediwitch experience and opened her mouth to say as much, but Malfoy was bleeding out all over the chair and he looked away from his shoulder. "The mudblood isn't going to help me. Just fix it with a spell already! Do you enjoy my suffering you black bastard?"

Hermione sighed, at war with whether she should help him or not. He should suffer for all the things he had done to innocent people. She looked back at Lucius Malfoy, death eater extraordinaire and Greek god, and decided if one small act from a filthy mudblood might change his outlook on her kind, she would do it.

She approached him, almost trembling, nervous that he would kill her where she stood. Instead he exhaled a hiss of annoyance and pain. "You must want to torture me Severus, making the girl fix me."

"I take sheer rapture in your complaining, Lucius." Snape replied sarcastically and looked over at her. "I will leave her to you, I have something I must attend to."

"Professor!" She called but she heard another crack and knew that she was alone with Lucius Malfoy.

Her worst nightmare had come true and she felt her entire body tense up. Her professor did as he had promised and turned her over to Lucius Malfoy. She would be dead within a week at his hand.

"He's gone, that bastard, are you going to do anything?" He sneered at her, holding his shoulder.

"With what? All I have are my clothes on my backside." What an infuriating man! She was going to let him die here. She turned away when he grabbed her wrist with his good arm. "Let me go! I'm not helping you, you deserve what happened to you."

He rolled his eyes at her histrionics. "Taffy!"

A house elf popped in front of them with big eyes and a pink pillowcase. In a squeaky voice, it

creaked, "Yes master?"

"Bring the medical supplies here, useless elf." Malfoy exhaled on the last syllable; he was in pain, she knew it must be from the amount of blood he was losing.

"Masters is bleeding again," the house elf widened its eyes and popped back out of existence.

"Sit next to me you stupid girl, or I'll make it so you'll never wish to sit again," he growled and yanked her back, causing her to cry out.

"Stop it! I am trying to help you! Just because I'm a prisoner doesn't make me any less human," Hermione cried out. Just because he bled the same color blood as her didn't make him any less of a stuck up pureblood death eater.

"Sit on the floor now," he barked at her and she felt him let go of her wrist.

Hermione fled, she could escape, Snape was nowhere to be seen and Malfoy was injured, she just

had to get out of the library and maybe into the woods she had seen from her bedroom window.

There was a tug on her hair and she flew backwards. "Missy mudblood, I have you now," Bellatrix sang, dragging her backwards by her hair.

Hermione screamed but was quickly silenced by Bellatrix's hand around her throat. Bella had her by the hair, she was staring up at the ceiling and could not see anything but the vast ceiling. She struggled against the crazy witch but the more she struggled the tighter the hand around her throat became. "The dark lord will have great fun with you, he just had to let Sevvy have you first for a bit."

"Bellatrix, I believe you have something that belongs to me." Lucius' voice flowed from behind them but she was rapidly losing consciousness from her inability to breathe. Would she die in a library? How fitting a death that would be.

"This is Severus' mudblood Lucius, and now she will have the honor of being our lord's plaything," Bellatrix hissed next to her ear.

Hermione's vision was fading, she struggled to keep her eyes open.

She slipped out of Bella's grasp easily and fell into the wizard who held her against him. Her face buried in his chest; she could feel his blood seeping through his robes and onto her. "Lucius! How dare you defy me and the dark lord! You must have a suicide wish, and our lord will be more than happy to grant it!"

"Quiet you crazy bitch," Malfoy snapped, and holding the smaller girl against him she felt magic wash over her.

There was a thump and she broke free of the injured blonde wizard, nearly losing her balance. She looked up at Malfoy to see that he was barely standing on his own two feet himself. He looked deathly pale and his mask fell for a split second. She saw it in his eyes, a mixture of shock and desperation before he reached out to her.

She didn't move, she had never seen him like this. He was so raw and unabashedly human. His fingers were on her cheek where his blood was smeared. There was such a tenderness of his touch, as if he was caressing her. His voice was a silken whisper "Hermione, we-"

Her eyes widened. Why had he called her by her first name? She felt a warmth in his touch and

struggled to fight against leaning into his touch. Oh but she was so lonely, did it matter whose touch it was? Her internal battle was brought back to the present when Lucius collapsed onto her. She couldn't support his weight so she fell down with him, and realized this was the second time within the last few hours she had been pinned down by a death eater.

Why did he look at her like that? Why did she like it? Her feelings were so confusing lately, and it was all because of these beautiful death eater men.

There was a pop into the library and she heard the house elf call for her master. "Taffy," Hermione called from underneath the unconscious Malfoy.

"Miss?" She heard the house elf squeak from further in the library.

"Taffy, over here! can you help?"

The house elf popped next to them and made an high pitched cry of despair that made Hermione wince. "Masters is hurt, get masters to the safe place. Miss come too."

The elf grabbed her arm and they popped out of existence, and into a bedroom. It was dark and covered in empty bottles of firewhiskey and accounts papers, the bed looked like it was used more as a desk than a place to sleep. It reminded her of her own bedroom that served as her prison cell. Lucius Malfoy was no more free than she was.

"Miss helps master get better?" The elf shoved a bag at her and pointed to the blonde lying prone on the bed, his breathing was shallow and quick.

He saved her from Bella, so she would save him from death, and then no more helping death eaters. She hated these men and the confusion they brought her.

"Miss needs anything?" The house elf looked worried next to her.

"Find me Professor Snape, please." Hermione replied and began to unbutton Malfoy's robes.

The wound was turning black, and she was unsure if she knew how to save him. There was a pop, and she was truly alone with her patient, the most feared death eater alive was now barely so, and in the care of the only thing he hated: a mudblood.

He woke up to chocolate eyes looking down at him with concern and it struck him that it was the

first time that he had seen anyone look at him in concern. Lucius exhaled a shaky breath.

The cursed blade was a recent find of Bella's, which she turned over to the dark lord with glee and was often allowed to use it at her discretion. She had been in a rage for the past week about Lucius getting back into the inner circle when he had so easily split from her sister, Narcissa. This time she convinced the dark lord that Lucius had spied on him, and retribution had been hers.

The blade made wounds unhealable, and would eat him alive if it wasn't stopped. Bellatrix knew that he had no way of stopping it himself, the only ones in his manor currently were the inner circle and that rat that made himself at home. Everyone wanted to see him dead, in fact even the girl that was sopping up blood wanted to see him dead. How had everything gone so wrong so quickly? He used to be well-liked in society, or at least he thought so, and now he was lying in a bed full of his accounts with some slip of a girl fretting over him like he was a child.

"Do you know what the curse was on the blade?" Hermione asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"If I knew the curse, wouldn't I have counteracted it? Where is Severus? What are you- ow! Merlin, are you a nasty mediwitch." She was poking at his wound like he was a corpse, and not a living breathing, and very hurt man.

"Shut it Malfoy, I'm trying to keep you alive, I don't need any sarcasm." She reached over his face and he was sure he was going to get slapped but instead she grabbed the washcloth on his forehead and dipped it in cold water.

"Professor Snape, I mean... Snape, er... he hasn't come back yet," She bit her lip in nervousness and looked down at her hands. "He said that he had the antidote, and to be ready to leave once you took it. Where are we going? Am I your prisoner now? Are we being exiled?"

The girl asked more questions than he was ready to handle so he simply closed his eyes. He was no longer in plain, which he presumed was thanks to his friend, but why had he left her in the care of this girl? Hermione, the dark man had said, was the brightest witch he had ever met, but all Lucius saw was a defiant chatterbox that seemed to think her imprisonment was more a nuisance than a punishment.

"Obviously soon, no, and no." He replied after a terse few minutes of silence.

He felt cold glass on his lips "Blood replenishing potion" she explained and he opened his mouth willingly, even if she did poison him, it wouldn't be any worse than he was now.

He opened his eyes to see several empty vials next to his legs on top of a stack of parchment that was his investment statements for the past few months. She tossed the next vial with the rest.

He turned his head to see her better, there was a fire at the end of the room, and a few candles had been lit, which gave her skin a soft glow. Her hair was still matted with his blood, so was her clothing. She had attempted to wash off her face but he saw streaks of dried blood still on her cheek. How long had he been unconscious?

"Why are you helping me?" he asked as she got back into the chair she had pulled by his bedside.

"You helped me, I don't want to be in debt to a Malfoy." She opened up a worn leather-bound book, Perspicientia Veritas, it was the book Severus had been studying like mad for the last few months. Did she finally know of their plan and why she was kidnapped?

"Call me Lucius."

She looked up at him and pursed her lips like the command had offended her. "No."

He turned his head away from her. All help came at a price, hers was cheaper than most. "Did Severus tell you then?"

"Did he tell me what?" Her eyes lit up at the prospect of learning more information. "The reason you're reading that book."

"I'm researching for them, but it's fascinating really, how easy it is to make even the most powerful of wizards absolutely helpless with a few simple ingredients, and even more so, the time la-"

"Is there any wizard you could think would need to be a little less perceptive?" He studied the

canopy on the bed waiting for her a-ha moment.

A quiet gasp followed by the word "Voldemort" in quiet reverence.

"Don't speak his name you little fool," he snapped and the house elf popped back in with food making them both jump.

"Master is awake! Oh master!" Taffy's eyes started welling up and she began to wail in the high pitched voice that always grated on him.

"Taffy, please be quiet." It was not his voice but Hermione's as she took the tray from the sobbing house elf. "Your master is very ill."

At the thought that her crying could hurt her master, the house elf kept mum and just stared at him with big fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Lucius sighed and tried to sit up in order to eat but found himself unable to use his left arm.

Hermione was holding a tray of soup and tea and looking at him as if he was some pitiful creature she had saved from the streets. He hated that look. "I don't need your pity, girl."

"I don't pity you, pathetic man, I'm trying to give you food," she replied and set his tray on his lap before stuffing more pillows behind him.

"Don't you dare call me pathetic, I was trying to save you!"

"I doubt it," she snorted at him before sitting down in her chair and opening her book again. "I hope the professor comes; I wonder where we're going."

"You're a strange prisoner," Lucius said, being very thankful that his left was hurt and not his right so he could eat with at least some dignity.

"You're a strange death eater."

He didn't respond to her comment, deciding it was true. The soup helped calm his stomach, upset from so many potions to keep him alive. There was another thing eating at him now, it felt strangely like guilt.

He was almost back asleep after a paltry dinner when the crack of apparition woke him up. Severus was blocking the firelight and he had a glittering vial in his hand. "Well, it looks like you've managed to keep him alive Miss Granger, admirable job."

She looked at him like he'd grown a second head and closed her book before storming off into the bathroom to wash up.

Severus handed him the potion and he knocked it back, grimacing at the taste. "Merlin, couldn't you have made it taste like firewhiskey instead of utter shit?"

"Oh, the other thing you've been medicating yourself with?" He toed an empty bottle of firewhiskey near his feet.

"I don't need it from you and Draco," he huffed, feeling his wound beginning to mend itself.

"Petulant as ever," Severus responded, looking back at the fire. "I found Bella and doused her with the potion, the next time she's with the Dark Lord he'll feel the effects, it's almost too potent, but it shouldn't have any effects on her. Then we can destroy the horcrux without anyone knowing. We

leave at once, before Bella susses you out of this hiding place too."

"I can't believe I'm leaving my manor to a bunch of madmen. Has the Malfoy name fallen so far?"

"You're hiding in a guest bedroom, with a muggleborn in your bathroom, and sitting in a pool of your own blood. I can safely assume that it's only going to get better for you."

"Taffy!" He called for the only house elf that seemed to be left in his familial manor. "Yes master!" She rushed over to his bedside

"There is a bag in the kitchens, in the house elf cupboard, bring it to me."

With another pop the house elf disappeared and then brought it back. He grabbed his wand and shrank the black velvet bag. "Do you think this will work, honestly?" Lucius looked at him from his bed.

"Can you afford not to find out?" Severus looked down at the papers detailing his rapidly draining bank accounts.

"I would like to find out," Hermione said from the doorway to the bathroom, steam billowing out around her.

"No," they replied in unison.

She bit her lip. "If I am going somewhere with you and I'm supposed to help, I think I am owed an explanation before we leave. I saved your life Malfoy, it's time to clue me in why."

"I don't take orders from prisoners," the blonde said swinging his legs off the bed. "I need to clean up and then we depart."

She put her hands on her hips "No one is getting into this bathroom until someone tells me what side we are on, the Order's or Voldemort."

"I am on no one's side, Miss Granger, I am simply putting an end to this war so I can have some peace," Severus replied, sitting down in a leather wing-backed chair near the fireplace.

"Now that you have your answer, girl, put on some appropriate clothing. We will not be back in the manor for a while." Lucius gestured towards the oversized night clothes that Severus had given her for her prison term.

"Oh sure, I'll just pop round to Madam Malkin's and pick something up." She snapped sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes in response and summoned the house elf. "Had I known you'd be so dramatic we would have found another girl."

"Taffy, get Miss Granger some clothes suitable for travel. We will not be back for some time." "Yes masters, right away."

Lucius brushed past Hermione who looked like she was about to explode with pent up rage. Her eyes burned with anger and he did not want to be here when the girl did decide to explode. She was so very beautiful when she was angry, her eyes deep brown with flecks of gold. She stood tall like a proud lioness even in the most dire of situations, and danger did not seem to faze her in the slightest.

The line of thought unnerved him, so he slammed the door forcefully. She was a mudblood, she was Draco's age, and just because she had saved his life didn't mean he owed her anything, certainly not his friendship.

Lucius sank into the tub full of hot water that she had left for him and watched it turn red with his blood. He scrubbed his body and his thoughts clean.

Chapter End Notes

I'm posting this chapter from the airport today, I just got back from a trip, so I'm sorry that it's so late! Lucius is such a devil. As always read and review :) See you next week

Desperate Times

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"How is this suitable for travel? Where are we going?" She asked looking at the house elf who brought her a gown and a cape.

The house elf looked as if it was on the verge of tears and Hermione instantly regretted her words. "No, it's fine. Please don't cry, it's just if we are going anywhere other than a gala then I will be impaired."

The gown was gorgeous, it was a simple cream with intricate embroidery of flowers that came up to the waist, and it was entirely too much. The robe however was a heavy velvet that seemed warm enough for the winter weather, so if they were going to be outside, it was suitable.

"Mistress Narcissa is same size as yous, this is it."

Hermione looked down at the pile of fabric in the elf's hands. "Professor can you transfigure-"

"You know that transfigurations don't hold on fabric, don't be daft." Snape said and looked down at the clothing that was brought "Is there truly nothing else that could fit Miss Granger?"

"No sirs, only Masters clothes are in the house."

Snape looked over at her with an eyebrow raised and she grabbed the bundle of clothing from the elf "Thank you." She said dejectedly.

Any other time in her life she would be more than happy to be in a gala gown that probably cost more than her house, but as she got changed in the small broom closet it seemed like it was the last thing she would ever want to wear. She pulled the robe on overtop of the dress and bundled it shut. The dress was obnoxiously low cut, and she had no assets to speak of. It fitted her almost comedically. The dress pooled around her feet. There was no way she was as tall and grand looking as Narcissa Malfoy.

She had overheard bits and pieces of their conversation, and from what Malfoy had said earlier, she knew they didn't really want to be on Voldemort's side. However, she didn't know what side they were on. Were they going to help Harry even though Snape had killed Dumbledore in cold blood?

She had no wand, no way to get in contact with the order, and she was constantly surrounded by death eaters. No matter what she would be going along with Malfoy and Snape, the question was, would she help them again?

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she muttered under her breath as she felt around for the doorknob in the dark closet.

She would have to help them if she wanted to stop Voldemort, whether they were stopping him to help Harry or not. She hoped that the boys weren't too worried about her, but since they were on their own adventure she assumed they hadn't heard the news yet. She fumed about that little bit of betrayal, they didn't even think to take her! A small part of her nagged at how she trusted the two men so easily with her life, but she knew there was no choice in the matter, either she trusted them, or she was killed by Bellatrix and the Dark Lord.

Malfoy was buttoning up his shirt, she could still see the wound from the dagger on his shoulder,

and clearly in the firelight she could see the ridges of his muscles and some other scars that refused to heal. Malfoy men were not as perfect as they appeared. His eyes caught hers across the room and she felt her heart stop. His gaze lazily traveled lower as the fingers on his buttons travelled higher.

"Oh you can't be serious, is that all we really had?" He said

"Can't we cut it shorter or something?" Hermione complained, brushing her hair back nervously. Malfoy always made her nervous. "I know you can't spell it but scissors must be more permanent than spells."

"We have to go soon, before our plans become noticed." Snape said from beside her and then suddenly he got down on his knees, transfiguring the spoon from Lucius' meal into a pair of scissors and began to cut up her dress.

The beautiful fabric that had pooled around her feet was now a circle on the floor and she gently stepped out of it. Snape towered above her and looked down at his work before turning to Malfoy who was staring at the two of them in horror "That dress cost me thousands of galleons and now it's ruined!"

"Better than what she was wearing, I suppose." Snape threw back at him.

She stepped out of the pool of embroidered dress that was now around her feet. Snape had cut her a jagged dress that came just a few inches above the knee.

Malfoy frowned and then held his hand out to her "Come along then."

Her heart skipped a beat and she tried to credit it to simple fear. Hermione looked over at her Professor who was grabbing onto Malfoy's arm and surveying the room, committing it to memory. She bit her lip and looked down at the ballet flats that Taffy had found. "Lucius is the only one who can apparate out of the manor, Miss Granger."

She looked up at the dark man and wondered if he used occlumency without looking into her eyes. Hermione stood up straighter, as if she was headed into battle, and grabbed the blond's hand. He took the opportunity to tug her into him as he had done into the library, her face buried in his robes and before she could protest they disappeared with a crack.

When they landed she felt a gust of wind pick up her cloak and the world was spinning. She grabbed onto Malfoy tighter and tried to find her balance, but it didn't come quickly enough for him not to notice the wobbly girl. "Steady there Hermione."

He said her first name again and she stepped back about to launch into a tirade of who was allowed to use her first name when she was caught by the spellbinding scenery. They were in the mountains and snow was up to her ankles. They were near a peak of one mountain and there were more on either side of her. They were completely alone at the top, with no life anywhere. There was only snow and mountains. She looked around to see the mountain peeks were swallowed by the clouds. Where had Malfoy taken them?

She hissed at the new biting pain that came with being up to her ankles in freezing snow but suddenly a spell washed over the three of them, and she was warm.

"We have to work fast," Snape said from behind her "I don't think he will discover that Bella is the reason he cannot sense his soul for awhile, but he will." From his billowing robes he pulled out a

rolled up parchment. It was a map of sorts.

Malfoy leaned over and stared down at the map "We must be close already, there are only two or three peaks it can be on from here."

"What is it exactly?" Hermione snapped pulling her cloak closer around her and she felt Malfoy pull her hood up. She looked over at the blond strangely, but he did not even look at her. Why was he being so courteous?

"Rowena's Ravenclaw's Diadem, the first of the three horcrux we know of." Malfoy announced next to her.

"After the ring was destroyed, the dark lord thought it was better to move these things to remote locations, and this is the first." Snape explained.

Her eyes lit up "You're destroying the horcrux? So you're good after all?"

"We're on our own side in this war, just because your goals align with ours right now doesn't mean we're about to lick Potter's boots." Malfoy said next to her standing up straighter, his blonde hair, clean for once, was whipping around in the wind.

"So if you know where the horcrux are, why did you kidnap me?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"You're the only one present who can destroy them." Snape said rolling his map back up. "Nor Lucius or I can harm the dark lord, we are bound by our mark. Potter and Weasley made a mistake leaving you behind that ended up in our benefit."

She looked up at the pale potions master who was her jailer, and realized he was just as desperate as she to get out of this situation. She would help him, she would help them both, because in the end, she just wanted this war to be over and to save her friends, even if that meant working with the enemy.

She licked her lips, swallowing all of her doubts "How can I help?" Chapter End Notes

Finally we're out from underneath the dark lord's nose in into the beautiful mountain scenery! The setting for this chapter (and most of them coming up) was inspired by this image: http/i./cJv1rqM.jpg done by the lovely Klyopochka (unfortunately I cannot find the original source again if you know, let me know also!)

Hermione definitely has her hands full with Severus and Lucius, and Lucius is already calling her by her first name! What does he have planned? Thanks for reading :) See you next Sunday!

Diadems and Dragons

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Hermione realized she was a precious commodity by their actions when they descended into a cave. She was sandwiched between her potions professor and the richest wizard alive. Malfoy had picked the cave on the basis that they were going to get blown off the mountain by the blizzard if they didn't find shelter, and so they descended. The lumos Snape was using barely illuminated anything beyond them, and she was more concerned that they would not find their way back rather than what could possibly lie in the cave.

Malfoy would every so often place his hand on her back, making sure she was ahead of him and she would bristle at his touch. It wasn't as if it was unwelcome, or harmful. She was just as lost as he was. She wasn't sure how to react to him touching her, his fingers were warm and his touches were light.

There was a certain wrongness in the air and she wondered if it was her conscience finally waking up after a long nap to tell her that she had made a flurry of bad decisions. What was she thinking by helping two death eaters find the horcrux? She should be helping Harry and Ron, not two murderers. She accepted their explanation of the events so easily! How naive could she be? Of course they would say anything to make her help them! She took a shaky exhale and closed her eyes, trying to ignore her growing sense of dread. It was that coiling feeling in the pit of her stomach when her parents would catch her doing something she wasn't supposed to. Her breath caught in her throat which caused the man behind her to hold his wand closer to her.

"Can you feel the draw?" He whispered behind her. She forced herself to breathe out "What do you mean?"

"You don't want to go near it, do you? Horcrux work like dementors, playing with fears to ward you off." Malfoy's voice was soft and reassuring like a fire in a cold room.

"If it becomes too much we will bring it to you, but you must be the one to destroy it." Snape said ahead of her and they all paused in the middle of the cave to see if the girl wanted to proceed.

She suddenly aware of the awkwardness that anyone would stop for her when usually she was told to forget her worries and press on. A blush rose on her cheeks and she looked up at her Professor "I can do it, let's just get it over with."

Snape eyed her critically before turning back. "Focus on moving forward, it must be close. Tell me if it becomes too much."

Her Professor showing concern for her wellbeing took her by surprise but she decided not to dwell on it. Why wouldn't he be concerned? His weapon against Voldemort had to be in top shape when she destroyed his horcrux. If she wasn't there, their whole mission was for naught.

"Do you think the horcrux is guarded?" Hermione finally asked as they hopped down another rock shelf into a larger room.

"Most assuredly," the blonde man behind her responded "but by what, we're not sure." His voice echoed in the new cavern.

"Lumos Maxima," Snape intoned in front of them and a jet of white shot from his wand, exploding fantastically in the middle of the cavern, glittering lights illuminating the large room they had entered.

It was massive, greater than the great hall at Hogwarts with large rock formations on all sides and above her. She was in awe of the natural beauty of the cave but Malfoy brought her back to the present.

"I believe this is the guard you were speaking of Miss Granger," His voice was quiet and slightly wary.

She looked across the room to see, wrapped around stalagmites were scales glimmering in the light. She took a step back away from the room and ran into her potions professor.

It was a dragon, she could see that it was still asleep. She could hear its soft tufts of breath echoing throughout the cavern that sounded like waves breaking on the shore. It's black and grey scales blended in with the surrounding rock and the only reason she saw it was due to the reflection of the light on it's scales. There was a terrible feeling that she knew exactly what breed of dragon this was, and if she was right, the three of them would soon be dead. To be sure of it's breed the beast would have to open it's eyes. Hermione did not want it to open it's eyes.

Snape grabbed her and pushed her behind him, shielding her from the dragon, pulling his wand out at the ready. "Careful Miss Granger."

"Never wake a sleeping dragon," Malfoy hissed walking around the room, each step was silent and adrenaline surged in her system. "Let's just accio the diadem and leave."

She looked back at the dragon. That was too easy. What was the point of a dragon if a simple spell would do? What would Voldemort have done? Any spell would be too easy, it had to be harder to get, but what would he do? She peeked around her potions master to see Malfoy raising his wand

"No, don't!" She cried

The diadem did not come to his hand, but she heard a low growl instead and a tuft of hot air filled the cavern. Hermione saw something trying to break out of the dragon's skin. The diadem was inside the dragon and they had just given the beast a magical wake up call. She looked away from Malfoy to see the dragon had opened it's large red eyes on the far end of the room. They were so red they glowed, as if they were fire itself. Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat and adrenaline surge through her veins It was a Ukranian Ironbelly, the largest dragon known to man. She had no wand, she had no idea where they were, and she had no idea what they were going to do.

Snape turned back to her, his eyes held no fear, only a hard determination. He placed a dagger in her hand "You will have to get the diadem, stay vigilant." She looked down at the dagger and wondered where he had gotten it, and suddenly he was gone from her side.

For the first time she understood what it meant to be on this journey with these two men, and room shook as the dragon began to fully wake. Malfoy spent no time and she heard him utter two or three hexes from his wand, causing the dragon to fill the room with smoke as it understood that it's visitors were not friendly.

She ducked behind a stalagmite hoping to avoid the beast's wrath, but she knew she'd have to get close to it eventually. She was delaying the inevitable. Her eyes were caught by Malfoy Senior's elegant duelling form. He breathed power. The blue eyes that looked at her with derision now were

alight, spells came one after another in quick succession as if it was in his very DNA to fight. His hair flew back around him as the dragon began to storm towards him and he parried. This was not the arrogant man who had sneered at her in the bookstore, this was distinctly Lucius.

She was interrupted by a cry of her name, "Granger!" It was Snape.

She looked away from Lucius to see a tail come hurtling at her, and she bolted out of the way, rocks collapsing down behind her as the tail broke the rock formations. The dragon roared and began to thrash about after a blinding hex that her professor had sent from the far side of the room, but in an enclosed space it only made it more dangerous than before.

She rushed away from the tail only to find herself in front of the dragon and realized that no matter where she was she was a target without her wand. She found another set of rocks that had not been annihilated and waited behind them, unsheathing her dagger, the jeweled hilt felt hot on her hands, or maybe she was just sweating.

Hermione looked up to see the two death eaters making quick work of the dragon. They were a pair, truly, they never spoke and yet never got in each other's way. Each time the dragon turned towards Lucius, Snape would pull it back in the other direction. She could barely keep track of Snape and perhaps that was his forte. He would appear and then disappear in the shadows, only to curse the dragon in the other direction. She had never seen any wizards fight so fluidly together, it was one wizard fighting a dragon and they had to be the most powerful wizards she had met.

There was another roar of pain from the large grey dragon and as soon as she thought the fight had finished the lumos maxima went out. The room was silent, and the darkness enveloped her in fear.

"Miss Granger," it was Snape, she could feel his presence close to her, she could hear the dragon breathing, or was it her own?

She reached out with her free hand and felt his woolen cloak and grabbed onto it tightly, her heart was pounding wildly, she swore the whole room could hear it, but they were close to getting the diadem. She couldn't give up now. His voice was suddenly next to her ear and his hand was over her mouth, she jumped at his nearness "Calm yourself. When I light the lumos, you must go after the diadem, it is under the left wing. We'll take care of the rest." His voice was a calming draught, she felt her heart slow down. Her body relaxed and she nodded against his hand she knew what she had to do.

"Get the diadem and then-" "Lumos maxima!"

The room exploded in light, and almost blinded her but she ran, her velvet cloak fluttering behind her in a flurry of fabric. She had the dagger out in front of her, rushing towards a beast that was six times her size. Her heart had stopped or was pounding so fast she could hardly count the beats. Hermione was all adrenaline and each step echoed off the walls. The dragon roared and turned towards her. Red eyes met honey and she felt her own death coming.

"Sectumsempra!" Her eyes darted across the room to see Snape in front of the dragon, watching her and not the creature he was torturing. "Now, girl!"

She couldn't think, only respond and she turned back to the left wing and saw something glitter through the scales. It was the Diadem! Just as he had said, it was nestled into the apex of the wing and the dragon's side. The dragon stretched it's wings out into the room and she knew that this was her chance to grab the horcrux. She would have to cut open the dragon, a dragon with steel for

scales. She held the dagger tighter in her hand, her knuckles turning white, the hilt felt hot in her hand. If she was going to do this, she was going to give it her all. Hermione ran up to the side of the beast and plunged the dagger in the spot where she saw the diadem.

The walls shook as the dragon roared with pain and flailed as she pierced it's scales. A part of her apologized for harming the dragon, but a bigger part realized the dragon soon was going to harm her. She looked up to see that the dagger was glowing white hot and the scales were melting off the dragon's body as if they were plastic and not steel. In a ripple effect the scales would glow red, white, and then finally drip off it's body, revealing the glittering jewelry just beneath. She had to do it now if she was going to do it at all.

She reached in and grabbed the diadem, it was hotter than the sun and she felt her skin hiss as she pulled it out of the dragon. She had grabbed fire, she had grabbed the horcrux. Hermione had never felt such intense pain before, her nerves were screaming and it felt like fire was seeping into her very core. Merlin, she would never complain about the cruciatus again!

An agonizing cry came from the dragon and Hermione screamed with it. Oh what would she give to have never been involved in this stupid quest! It hurt! Oh gods she would never be able to use this hand again! She was sure of it! She couldn't even feel her hand anymore, and she turned to see if Snape really would keep his end of the bargain, but he had disappeared, and all she saw was the face of a furious dragon looking back at her.

Her blood ran cold, they had abandoned her with the dragon. She couldn't hear them or see them, only the giant red eyes of a wounded monster that was spilling blood and seething rage. It roared at her and blew her hair back and she closed her eyes before grabbing the hilt of the dagger out of it's side and yanking. There was a furious cry and she turned towards the beast that would end her. Fear ebbing into determination. If she was going to die by a dragon, the dragon would come with her.

There was a warm arm around her waist and with a crack they disappeared.

They reappeared outside and the first noise was Hermione screaming in pain followed by her collapsing into the cold snow on the side of the mountain. She emptied her stomach onto the ground and felt a reassuring hand stroke her back. She rolled over in the snow, relishing the cold on her burnt hand and stared up at the sky. "Severus get the pain potion at least man!" Lucius, when had she begun to think of him as Lucius? crouched down over her and brushed her hair out of her face.

She was crying, and the only reason she knew was because the arctic wind froze the tear tracks on her face. "The diadem," she croaked, she couldn't feel her hand and she feared that due to her wounds she lost it.

Snape was in stark contrast against the white sky and he kneeled next to her, tilting her head back for her to swallow the pain potion. "You did well, Miss Granger," he said quietly as she swallowed the bitter liquid. It made her drowsy, it always did.

"Lucius, stop staring and start being useful. Set up camp." He barked pulling the half lucid girl onto his lap

"I'm going to die," she whined as he moved her "We're all going to die. No one will even know that I died trying to help"

Snape looked down at her surprised at the sudden bout of melancholy "Let go of the diadem Miss Granger," he tugged on her arm that was turning red from the snow.

She hadn't even realized she was still holding it "I can't," her speech was slurred from drowsiness "I'm not holding it."

His hand hovered above her hair as her eyes fluttered shut, he sighed and stroked her hair as he pried the diadem out of her burnt hand before putting it in another bag. "All will be well, Miss Granger."

He looked up to see Lucius who had set up the tent within seconds staring at the two of them. "She's smarter than I believed she would be, brother."

"She's braver than I believed she would be." Severus replied, picking her up gingerly. *

She woke up in the dark tent next to her potions master who had fallen asleep reading in a chair next to the bed. Her hand was covered in some bandages and she didn't remember anything after reaching into a dragon and pulling out jewelry.

Hermione tried to see her hand in the candlelight but couldn't, but her movement caused the man at her side to stir. "How are you feeling?" his voice was gravelly from sleep.

"Better, thanks to you I suppose."

She looked at her professor, he was no longer wearing his teaching robes, or his death eater robes, but the pajamas he let her wear around Malfoy Manor. Instead of a swathe of black, he looked almost human. The silk was light and displayed his lithe figure, she caught herself staring at his exposed chest before blushing furiously and looking away. This was no time to be ogling her professor!

"The murtlap has probably healed most of the wound," his eyes flicked to her bandaged hand "It might take another day or so for you to recover enough to destroy the diadem."

Her appreciation of her professor's body seemed stupid all of a sudden when she was brought back to the present predicament. She was merely a tool for the two men to use in order to gain their freedom. She was a muggleborn witch, and more so their prisoner. They were not friends. They were using each other as a means to an end.

She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to will her thoughts of befriending her tent mates away. "How are we going to destroy the diadem without my wand?"

"We have some theories," Lucius piped in and she could smell food "one horcrux was the diary and it was destroyed by the basilisk fang, but the books are rather vague about the whole destruction process." She heard silverware clatter and looked over to see Malfoy eating food at a small table in the common room, a few feet from where she lay, a napkin across his lap for some propriety in the tent.

"We have the fang Potter used to destroy the diary. I am not aware of how Dumbledore destroyed the second one. Those are the only horcruxes that we know of that has been destroyed." Snape replied on the other side of her.

"The destruction method of a horcrux must be as violent as the act used to create it." She quoted quietly.

"Is there any book you haven't seen fit to memorize?"

She turned to glare at her professor "It seems to be rather helpful that I memorized them all now, isn't it?"

"We already know that bit, what we don't know is how they were created, so we can't be sure what act will destroy them," Lucius responded as he cut his steak.

A steak in the mountains of all places! Oh this wizard certainly was not disgraced as he had lead her to believe in his manor. Hermione fumed at his lavishness and being put in her place by her Professor. She had just fought a dragon, could she not have some glory?

After a few minutes of listening to him eat in silence, she frowned "Is there no food for me?"

Lucius pointed to the empty seat across from him with a flourish "What more do you need to join my table?"

These men were insufferable. How did she ever get stuck with them? She sat across from Lucius who handed her a napkin and served some food off of his own plate, apologizing for his lack of manners, but only belatedly.

She looked at him warily "Why are you being so kind to me? I am a mudblood, or have you forgotten."

"You've also saved my life, twice now. Once in my own home, and another from a dragon." He looked at her seriously "Do you think I have no honor? I am a Malfoy after all."

"I have incurred another life debt! Well, I'll save it for later when I really need it, no use wasting it over dinner." She mimed putting his life debt in her pocket. "How does it feel being in debt to a sixteen year old girl, Lord Malfoy?"

"We both know your real age, Miss Granger. Sixteen is a few years off." Snape said, sitting at the small table with them.

Her eyes widened and she looked over at the dark man "McGonagall sai-"

"Oh please, as your Professor do you think I would not know that her precious Griffyndor star

hasn't been using time turners for years?"

"She said it had to be a secret! Or-" Snape raised his eyebrow and she ate a piece of steak to cover up her embarrassment. She turned back towards Lucius. "How does it feel being in debt to a eighteen year old girl then?"

The blonde cracked a smile and she felt her heart skip a beat "Better than it is being in debt to a madman, to be sure!" Lucius pointed his steak knife at her "At least you haven't come after my bank account yet, which is a great deal better than most women."

She looked at him, a glint in her eye "Don't be so sure of that Lucius."

He let out a laugh and the tense atmosphere suddenly relaxed. For a split second she could forget who they were and just be with them, and she found their company better than what she had expected from some of the most evil men in Britain. There was a nagging feeling at her conscience about Harry and Ron, but for now, she would enjoy her jailers.

Harry and Ron had left her at Hogwarts to get kidnapped in the first place, surely the didn't care that much of her if they couldn't be bothered to wake her to help. Hermione silently fumed over their betrayal. She knew their line of reasoning, she understood that she was a girl, but obviously

that didn't stop Snape and Lucius from taking her along. She would win this war, even if it meant helping men that would kill her without a second thought. She would sacrifice anything to stop Voldemort.

"So," she said after they had finished dinner and Lucius was pouring himself a glass of red wine. "If we're going after the real horcrux, then what are Harry and Ron doing?"

Snape looked at her seriously for a minute and then back at his book "Believe it or not Miss Granger, the headmaster was not omnipotent."

"It was a stupid assumption to think the dark lord couldn't feel his soul being destroyed, he can sense it all. When Dumbledore destroyed the horcrux contained in the ring, he was furious." Lucius offered her a glass of wine but she did not take it, instead choosing to lie back down in her bed.

"He moved the horcruxes to remote locations, and so we had two tasks: finding them-" "and making sure he didn't find us." Lucius finished quietly.

"Simply put, Potter and Weasley are on a very long journey for nothing," Snape turned the page as he said that "perhaps then they will understand that impulsiveness is not a trait worth boasting."

She felt affronted by the fact that her friends were wasting their time and possibly risking their lives for nothing and bit her lip "We have to tell them!" Hermione stood up quickly "We have to owl the order at least, what if they get killed? This war will never be over if Harry can't fulfill the prophecy."

At the prospect that the war would never end and his bank account would be drained by funding an endless war Lucius looked over at the dark haired man who was reading but Snape didn't move from his seat, and instead finished another page before looking up at the two of them.

"I suppose it would be good to owl Draco." Snape said finally.

The owl was not an owl, but rather a Malfoy falcon that he preened over at being a purebred bird of prey. This elicited a eye roll from everyone in the tent but the blonde and his bird. "It is an honor for anyone to be delivered a letter by such a gorgeous creature." He explained stroking it's feathers before it took off to deliver a quick nondescript note to the order.

The rest of the evening was spent in amicable silence, everyone was left to their own devices in the spacious tent that had two bedrooms and a great room. Snape, she had found had turned one into a workbench for his potions while she was sick, which cut it down to one bedroom that they would all have to share. There was plenty of room in the ornate great room for them all to sleep without even noticing one another. However, because only one room could be warded effectively, they slept on the bedroom floor in makeshift sleeping bags.

"Draco is with the order?" Hermione asked laying back down a few hours later, only a few feet from where Lucius was laying.

"He is a great deal safer with the Order than he ever was with me," Lucius replied his voice was thick with emotion.

"and your wife?"

There was a long pause before Lucius extinguished the candles in the room "I have no wife."

For such a terrible revelation, Hermione felt giddy. She hated herself for that. Chapter End Notes

A long chapter as a reward for being patient with a short one last week. I have a friend who loves dragons so it was painful to write this chapter knowing I was killing her favorite creature. Lucius is so concerned over Hermione's well being, but he's definitely a Malfoy through and through with his own motivations for keeping her safe and well fed. The trio definitely is getting settled into each other, and I think they have more chemistry than ever. There will be lots more action coming up, and lots more banter. As always, read and review and thank you for reading!

Risks with Felix Felicis

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Her clothing was ruined, completely drenched in dragons blood, and even the scourgify that Lucius ran over her in the morning did very little to help. So she was back in Snape's pajamas. "How do you tame that mane that you call hair? It's out of control." Lucius snapped as he brushed his own hair. "I don't know how you can sleep as dirty as you were."

Did he forget what he looked like wandering around his own home? He was more of a mess than she could ever hope to be. She wondered if this was the first time he had brushed his hair in a month!

While Lucius berated her for her appearance, Snape was unwrapping her bandages to see if her hand had healed somewhat since the day before. Her hand was still an angry red, and sore. There was a large scar where the diadem burned her palm. "It might not heal completely," he told her before closing her hand for her to check if her fingers were still all functioning. His hands were warm and gentle, completely at odd with his personality. Hermione looked away for a minute only to feel him let go.

"We will destroy the horcrux today and find the next one," Snape said standing up "Do you think you're well enough?"

Hermione nodded and Lucius looked back at them from the mirror. "Are we doing this thing now then?" He sounded annoyed.

"You're not needed you peacock," the other man said rummaging around in his bag before pulling out a basilisk fang and handing it to the short girl that stood before him.

It was at times like this, when she was needed the most by the two of them that Snape noted she looked the youngest. She was dressed in his oversized robes, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, staring down at a large snake fang.

Hermione was all virtue and innocence and what once he thought was annoying determination became a courageous fire. He hated himself for overlooking her for so long when in the end, she became the key to fixing the biggest issues he faced. Dumbledore was stupid to think Potter was the only way to end this. The brains of the trio was their best bet, and he had seen it far quicker than the old fool did. Potter was really just a tool for her to use in her plan, but now, she had sharper tools.

Snape followed her out of the tent. The morning sun made the snow a blinding white. He saw her looking back at him, her honeyed brown eyes, hard and determined, as the wind blew her hair around.

"Let's get this over with," she said offering her hand.

He handed her the velvet bag that contained the diadem, unsure of how close he could get to the object before it would be destroyed. He hoped that the perception potion would protect them while they sought out and destroyed the last few piece of the dark lord's soul. He wasn't sure if Voldemort could feel his own soul through the dark mark.

He heard Lucius behind him opening the flap to the tent and stepping outside into the winter air.

"Alright, when you're ready."

Hermione nodded and turned the velvet bag upside down, the diadem falling out into the snow, he could see the blackened metal. Instantly the mood on the mountain changed and he felt genuine fear well up inside of him. He saw her hands shaking as she fell to her knees in the snow. This was a mistake, why did he think some slip of a girl could be the downfall of the dark lord? How blinded was he by his own shortcomings did he see fit to rely on Hermione Granger of all people to be able to do this?

Her voice cut through his thoughts like a knife "the gem right, professor?" her voice was shaking, her body was trembling with fear.

"The gem, quickly!" he hissed.

With a cry she drove the snake fang down into the gem, and saw a crack forming on the surface. She felt as if she was being sucked into the ground. There was a scream and everything went black. It was that all encompassing darkness that made her wonder if her eyes were even still open. Wind rushed past her ears at an almost deafening rate. Her hair flying forward and getting in her mouth. What was in this gem? It felt like she had just unleashed a tornado.

Hermione tried to breathe, but found there was no air, even though she could feel the wind rushing around her. Her chest constricted due to lack of oxygen, and an overwhelming amount of fear. She had to keep driving the fang into the gem, but without seeing anything, there was no way to tell if she had destroyed it or was anywhere close. She just kept pressing downwards, which even with the wind was becoming difficult, she was losing feeling in her limbs. The wind was cold, her fingers were going numb. It was pins and needles followed by no feeling at all.

Hermione hated to admit it, but she was terrified. It felt like all of her senses were turning off one by one, no sight, no sound, no feeling, only the heaviness of being.

She wanted this to be over. She wanted to go back to Lucius and her professor. All she had to do was press a little further, destroy it a little more. She screamed in frustration and tried to concentrate on more but she wasn't even sure if she was pressing down on it anymore or just floating in the abyss.

As quickly as the darkness came, it left, like a traveling storm. The wind stopped, and she felt her body hit the ground in a heap. She exhaled, it was all she could do. Her body and magic was exhausted.

Warmth flooded her and she was pulled into someones arms. "It's destroyed." It was Snape, his voice was like warm tea on a cold day.

It felt like she had broken the water she was swimming in and gasped as awareness flooded into her. Her eyes snapped open to see her potions professor holding her up on his lap, she was soaking wet and freezing. Her whole body was shaking and he quickly wrapped her in his cloak.

"I didn't think you could actually do it, but it's destroyed. Can you hear me?" Her ears were ringing but she nodded dumbly. She couldn't hear him.

She had never seen her Professor look so terrified in his life. He looked up from her to Lucius "Toss it in a bag, we will need proof for the Order" he commanded

Lucius toed the offending jewelry like it was trash before picking it up and putting it in a black velvet bag. The blonde turned back to the two crouched into the snow "Get inside then, we've been

out here for far too long."

She huddled next to a fire, but she was a type of cold the fire could not warm. It was a coldness that no warming spell could quite get rid of. She sat on the floor of their tent quietly, her knees drawn into her chest as she watched the flames dance.

"Do you think it will always be so...much?" Hermione asked the man sitting only a few feet away from her.

"We are being inefficient. It should not be so "much" as you put it. Next time if we find a better way of destroying them." He was currently reading another book on the history of horcruxes.

"You'll be dead if you have to go through all that again. Severus, there has to be a better way of going about this." Lucius said over a cup of tea.

She had the tea he had brewed for her on the floor next to her, and she was wrapped up in Severus' billowy cloak that he was so fond of. He had swaddled her up in it quickly as she was shivering so violently from destroying the horcrux. He was sure that she had caught frostbite. She tried to thank him. Her teeth had chattered so violently she was sure he couldn't even understand what she had even said. It was his eyes that she remembered the most. He looked frightened, which was no small emotion for him to convey. What did he see that she couldn't?

He was researching leisurely now, every so often he would look over at her to study the young girl at his feet. Lucius was doing accounts on the other side of her. It was just before lunch when she finally unwound and laid out on the floor in front of the small fireplace. Her coldness finally melted into a deep contentment that the first was over and they were one step closer to Voldemort's demise. She was reading another book on horcrux that the surly man in front of her had discarded.

"We should have gotten more books from the library," Severus said snapping the book he was reading shut.

"When this is all said and done, and if there is a library to return to, you can have as much as you'd like. On that note," Lucius stood up and offered Hermione his hand. "Are you well enough to get the next one?"

She looked up at the blonde man who towered above her. His hair looked like warm gold in the light of the fire, and his eyes were as cold as the snow outside the tent. She thought it funny in retrospect that she had ever thought of him as heartless and cold. In reality, Lucius was very fussy and caring. When he wasn't preening over himself, he was constantly looking after her. She wondered if that was why Draco was so spoiled. Hermione could get very used to having a life debt with the pureblood. She put her hand in his without further hesitation, and he pulled her up to meet him. She felt her heart skip a beat.

She chastised herself for her girlish reaction to him. He had no interest in her beyond getting this war ended. She was just a tool for them, and she was using them as a means to an end. Why did her emotions always betray her?

Severus looked away from her as if he had accidentally witnessed an intimate scene and she watched her feet in embarrassment. "The next one is...around here then?" She looked up at the man across the room. She would not be embarrassed, there was nothing to be embarrassed about!

"I can vaguely feel it, it's further, the felix felicis helped us apparate to the correct location the first time," Lucius said behind her, his voice trailing off as he was lost in thought.

"We can't use it again so soon, especially not you Lucius," she spoke up "it is extremely toxic if used in excess." She quoted from her potions textbook easily.

"I can feel the pull a little better, but we will have to walk until it is enough to apparate." Severus said.

She pulled Severus' cloak tighter at the sound of his voice and he turned away from the two of them.

"Here," Lucius handed her book that she was reading and she looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you," her mouth ran dry.

He smiled at her, and her heart stopped. She never knew a smile could be so dangerous, but all the emotions that she told herself were childish came bubbling up to the surface. Before she could do anything to embarrass herself in front of a man who hated her for so long she stormed out of the tent, clutching the book tightly to her chest.

She kept close to Severus in an effort to stave off her strange feelings toward the blonde that trailed behind the two of them. Her dour potion's master told her repeatedly not to walk so closely to him, but as they wandered deeper into the mountains he would slow his gait to match hers.

"Do you feel it yet?" she asked as their sunlight began to wane.

They had been walking all day with no particular direction. Severus looked down at the girl next to him, her hair was windswept and her face was red but her eyes shone brightly.

"I feel it but it is not so great a pull to apparate, we may just end up nowhere." He turned back to Lucius, "or we can take more felix felicis."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Hermione bit her lip and stared down at her feet "It causes-"

"The perception potion will wear out faster than we can destroy the horcruxes, we have to move quickly." the dark man snapped at her before reaching in for the vial, it was three quarters full and it glowed. "Personal health bedamned."

Lucius said nothing but Hermione cried in indignance as he popped the cork "I thought we were winning this war to save our lives, not to throw it away in the middle of nowhere!"

"We will have to take turns, Hermione, there's no other way." Lucius said as his best friend took a sip.

"There has to be another way," she muttered quietly, but as usual her opinion was tossed to the wayside.

"Hermione," it was Severus who said her name this time. His mouth caressed every syllable of her name, and she felt so warm she might melt the snow around her. "Come."

Her body obeyed before her mind had a chance to protest, and she stepped towards him. He took her small hand in his, and grabbed Lucius before they apparated with a crack that echoed throughout the mountains

They arrived after only a few minutes of travel, and she only swayed a bit getting used to the ground beneath her feet. Severus steadied her before releasing her and took a step back to survey

their surroundings. "We're close to a village," he said and she turned away from him to see what he was talking about.

They were just on the outskirts of a town with a small cluster of log houses with smoke coming out of every chimney. It was nearing dark so they would have to find a place to stay eventually. The sun had finally dipped behind the mountains. They stood in the shadow of them, and it was getting darker by the second. Hermione could not be any happier. If they were in a village, that meant a real shower and not Lucius' botched scourgify that made her hair turn into a greasy frizzy mess! She would die for a nice hot bath and a bed that wasn't a cot with cushioning charms.

"I do not detect any magic, it's probably a muggle village, we can take one of the houses tonight and then tomorrow find the horcrux." Lucius said, his eyes scanning the horizon.

"Why don't we just find the horcrux quickly and sleep?" asked the petit girl between them.

"The night is full of unknown terrors. I do not wish to find them while I hunt for some mystery horcrux." Severus replied setting off for the small village, and Hermione found herself trailing him dutifully, as she found herself doing more and more lately.

Hermione wondered if they could find clothing for her in the town, or if she'd be stuck in pajamas for the rest of their journey. The dress had lasted for all of ten minutes after she had found the first horcrux. If that was anything to go by, these pajamas would go the same way.

Unfortunately, there were no clothing stores in the small village, but she noted that, as they walked up the deserted main street, there was a general store for more supplies. They would have to visit it when it opened, if it ever opened. Lucius kept her close to him, his body tense as they looked for lodging.

"Do you think anyone actually lives here?" Hermione asked quietly, the atmosphere of the town was suffocating. She could feel eyes from every window, and yet no one was in the street. It was a ghost town in the truest sense of the word.

"We are not alone, stay close." Severus breathed in front of her.

Both the wizards were tense, like animals poised for attack they crept through the town at an uneasy pace. At the far end of the main street a building, taller than the others towered on the horizon. It was the inn, a log building with a weathered wooden sign that cried when it moved, it's hinges rusted from the harsh mountain weather. Lucius insisted on entering first, looking back at his two companions with concern. The last rays of sunshine for the day were wasted on his blonde hair that flowed behind him as he ducked inside.

She could see Severus' breath as they both waited outside on the empty street, he held her arm tightly, as if at any minute she would be stolen from him. It was as painful as it was comforting, distracting her from her racing heartbeat as they waited for the aristocrat to come back outside. "Hermione, it was not...I didn't mean for this to happen to you."

Hermione looked up at her dark professor, her jailer, the murderer she promised she would never help. "Professor," she said thickly, she could barely talk, his very presence was suffocating.

"Severus, please, I'm no longer your professor." She had never heard him so quiet, his voice was tender and hesitant and she wanted to reassure him.

"Severus," she tested the name and she could hear him inhale sharply. Did she really have so much power over him with his given name?

Severus looked away from her after she had said his name, and she couldn't hide her smile at his reaction. He was dark and threatening most times, but for now he reminded her of a nervous schoolboy. Gods, but he was so attractive when he wasn't in his voluminous robes. Hermione bit her lip in an effort to stave off that train of thought. She thought she was safe from her feelings for Lucius with him, but she wasn't sure she could control her feelings for her professor much longer, every time she was near him she felt an intense wave of longing.

The door swung open "I've acquired a room." proclaimed Lucius loudly. He was like a proud cat presenting his kill with a flourish.

Hermione and Severus stepped apart guiltily, with the small witch rushing inside to get away from the two of them. It was hard enough dealing with her feelings toward one death eater, but now she was finding less and less to hate about her dour professor, and more and more to love. He was caring and protective when he wanted to be, powerful and graceful when defending her. She shook her head to free herself from her thoughts. They were just using each other, nothing more.

It was but a few minutes later, when they finally saw what Lucius had won them that she was no longer giddy with the feelings of first love, but disappointed.

"How are we all going to sleep in here?" Hermione asked incredulously, staring at the king sized bed.

Lucius brushed past her and flicked his wrist to wandlessly light the fire "I got us the room, there is only one, and you are standing in it. Had I known you were such royalty, I would have avada'd the innkeeper and given you the whole building."

She had forgotten most of her argument for the size of the room and instead was staring at the fire. How long had Lucius known wandless magic? "How did you do that? Show me." she demanded walking up to the blonde who was currently taking off his coat and dusting it off.

"Do what?"

"Light the fire, wandlessly, I thought only powerful wizards like Dumbledore could do that."

Lucius smiled and tilted his head up proudly at the unintentional compliment "Well, I happen to be a very powerful wizard then."

"Quit your peacocking, you old man." Severus said behind her "all witches and wizards can do wandless magic, most likely you used to when you were young, but you relied on wands to focus your power easily."

She furrowed her brows at his comment, it was true that she had done a few unintentional spells, fires and the like, when she was a child, but to think that it was wandless magic and not just mishaps was foreign. "Will you teach me?" She asked her ex-Professor.

"If there is time then-"

"Of course." Lucius cut the other man off, still preening over her compliment on his power.

After Hermione showered and her clothing was scourgified, they all settled back down in front of the fire, the girl on the floor reading the same horcrux book that had been her constant companion these past few days.

"I don't feel any magic here, Severus, but I feel the draw." Lucius said after an hour of amiable silence.

"Would the dark lord give something so important to a muggle?" Hermione asked shutting her book and sitting up.

"No, but it must be well guarded, another creature perhaps?" Severus flipped a page in irritation, they were all growing tired but no one wanted to have the conversation about the bed.

The bed posed an interesting problem, it was large enough for all three of them, but would all three of them sleep together? Hermione felt a flush rise on her cheeks at the thought of sharing the bed with anyone other than herself. She had fooled around with Viktor once or twice but she felt nothing more than friendship towards him, unlike now when she felt overwhelmed just by being around the two men in the room. When did this fire become so uncomfortably hot!

She stood up suddenly, feeling flustered with her growing feelings for not one but two very dangerous men and chewed her lip trying to work over her thoughts in her mind or at least will them to go away. She was not some irresponsible teenager girl overcome by her hormones, all she had to do was ignore it, once they saved the wizarding world everything would go back to normal and she would settle down with Ron like she had planned.

The feelings she had for the two men were obviously not mutual because Lucius changed into his night clothes and crawled into the bed before she had gotten a chance to even discuss their sleeping arrangements. "What do you mean sleeping arrangements? I get the bed" Lucius said defiantly.

She realized Draco did not fall far from the tree. Lucius was like him in all ways.

"There are three of us, if you have failed to notice." Severus said behind her

"I got us the room, I get the bed."

"You didn't get the room. You took the room. There was no one to ask." the other man shot back.

That was right, there was no one at the front desk when she walked past. She assumed that the only person working there was getting their room organized. There was something off about the small village that held the horcrux, and she was wary of sleeping away from the only two men who would protect her. Her eyes looked out the window and into the darkness, hoping she could see something to explain why this village was seemingly abandoned and yet had such a threatening atmosphere.

"Does it matter the method? The results are the same, we are here and the bed is mine." Lucius replied smoothly.

"I will sleep by the fire, the chairs are comfortable, you two can share the bed." Hermione said picking up Severus' cloak, intending to use it as a blanket.

Lucius seemed pleased, but her Professor was not. He seemed reluctant leaving her so far away from them. However they were all tired and decided after a full day of hiking to just get some sleep. "Sleep well Hermione," Lucius called sacchrinely from his warm bed as she fidgeted around in the lumpy leather chair by the fire.

Hermione rolled over with an angry sigh. He was an odious man sometimes, selfish and spoiled just like his son. It was a pity that his personality could be so rotten sometimes, because he really was beautiful.

It was a few hours later when a suddenly she was jarred awake. She was being moved. That was her first realization as she drifted back awake, and she wondered if Severus was moving her to her bed, as he often would do during her first few days of imprisonment. He did not know that she was

awake during these small acts of tenderness, and she was not wont to tell him. She smiled, thinking of how kind he could be when no one was looking.

As Hermione's eyes fluttered open she looked up to see not her Professor, but a man in a ski mask that smelled like the back alley of a bar. She screamed.

Chapter End Notes

Finally some romance! I'm glad to see everyone finally realizing how important they are to one another in ways other than just being tools to take down Voldemort. Lucius is finally taking care of himself, and Severus is finally coming out of his shell. Sorry for the cliffhanger but I think you kind of knew it was coming. There is so much tension in this chapter it was hard to write! As always R and I'll see you next week :)

The Cult of the Pale Devil

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"We lost her." Severus said pacing back and forth in the small room "We didn't ward the room. We were too tired, and she's gone Lucius."

Lucius had discovered her missing at 5am during the first lights of dawn. The fire was dead and the cloak was on the floor. The chair he had watched her fall asleep in was empty. He was panicking, they would never end the war is Hermione was gone, he would be poor and the girl would be dead.

Lucius tightened his grip on his wand "Had I known there were robbers I would have shar-"

"We have to find her. I will burn this entire village down." Severus was staring at the floor. He had stopped pacing, and finally decided on the worst possible course of action "I have gone through too much to get her, I can't lose her now."

Lucius' eyes widened as he realized his friend had more feelings for the girl beyond just using her as a means to an end, and wondered when that change in the dynamic had happened? How did he fail to notice that his oldest friend was in love with the girl? The only time he had seen him in a blind panic like this was over Lily, and that was many years ago now. Did Hermione mean so much to him? The blonde shook his head, no, it was not true. Severus was worried for her because she was his student, and the only way they had of destroying the remaining horcruxes.

"She can't be far. We felt no magical signatures, a muggle has taken her." Lucius finally replied calmly. A war was raging inside his head over whether his best friend had fallen in love with the slip of a girl, or even if the girl was still alive.

"Why would a muggle take her? What value is she to them?"

"While she is a young girl she is still a girl and an attractive one at that. I can only imagin-"

"Don't you dare speak of it." Severus hissed and grabbed his cloak before storming out the door, all theatrics and fury.

Lucius sighed. He was left in the hotel room, working over the accidental compliment he gave Hermione. Did he really call her attractive? No, she was objectively attractive. He did not find her attractive. The only thing that he cared about was getting this whole thing over with. Her safety was part of that, that's all it was. He nodded, happy with his justification of the fear that was eating him up inside. It was not Hermione he was fearful for. It was the fact that without her they could never be free of the dark lord. He would stop at nothing to find her. He would end this war, and that required the young girl that saved his life.

He decided a systematic murder would be the best way to find Hermione. He stepped out into the street, smoothing the fabric of his jacket down and headed to find the first damned muggle to get answers. Severus was nowhere to be seen, and the white snow of winter practically blinded him as he looked around, still the village was empty, and there was no trace of life anywhere. Lucius would suss out the rats that took her.

He knocked on the door, wishing more than ever that he had brought his cane, it was not like a Malfoy to knock on doors. There was no answer, and he opened the door for himself. Did

Hermione really grow up among people with such poor manners? She certainly didn't show it.

There was no one in the house, but there was remnants of breakfast on the table. The tea had tendrils of steam coming off the top. He frowned, there had to be people here, or very close to here. Where had these rats went? Did they take his Hermione? Lucius began blasting the house open to find his prey, furious that they had taken her right out from underneath him. Muggles were vile creatures that snuck up on wizards and destroyed them, they took lands, they took lives, and now they took the girl that he was supposed to be taking care of.

The first floor of the small wooden cottage was now in shambles, every door had been blasted off the hinges in his blind rage, papers and dishes were scattered on the floor and Lucius was angry with himself more than any muggle. He would find her. The dark wizard started up the stairs, leaving destruction in his wake. They were here, he would get answers.

He blasted open a door with a particularly forceful dissendium spell, the wood splintering in all directions and saw his prey, a family of four, cowering in the corner of the master bedroom. "What have you done with her?" he demanded, approaching the thin man and woman who were hiding their two young boys behind them.

The woman let out a scream, and he levelled his wand on them. "Where is the girl?"

The man, who looked like he could barely lift a teacup he was so emaciated, stood up to match Lucius in height. "We know no girl."

Lucius saw red in frustration and felt his wand begin to trace the cruciatus, but stopped himself before he cast the spell. He would interrogate these rats and kill them later. A dead muggle was even more useless than a live muggle.

They sat down, and Lucius was handed a chipped tea cup full of piping hot tea as the wife began to pick up some of the carnage. The blonde visitor looked disgusted by the tea, and instead began to ask a flurry of questions. Some were answered in broken English, others in a mixture of Albanian. He sat through every answer patiently, as patient as could be for a Malfoy, his wand impatiently tapping as he was told all manner of lore about the town.

Voldemort had passed through here some time ago, he had murdered a majority of the village and burned down the rest of it. Many of the villagers had left either by choice or through death, and those that remained lived in a culture of fear of the pale devil that took hold on their town. As soon as he had come, he had gone again, leaving everything in shambles. All that was left was a sect of monks that lived high up in the caves. They only came down every once in awhile for food and women.

"Who would kidnap my companion?" Lucius asked, now irritated that his lord and master was the cause of yet more problems for him.

The man spoke in a hushed whisper "The devil worshippers, in the caves. She would be sacrifice."

Lucius left as quickly as he had come, and set off to find his friend. If his guess was correct, the devil worshippers were the guardians that Voldemort had left for the horcrux. She was going to be hand delivered to the dark lord, and it was because of his snit over the bed. He would gladly share his bed with everyone and anyone if it meant this war could be finished and Hermione would be safe.

"Severus!" he called onto the empty streets, but only heard his voice echo back. Damn and blast! Where was that man? They didn't have time to dally around, they had to get the girl! He walked up

the empty main road, snow crunching beneath his feet as his shadow waned. They were losing time. They should have stuck together.

Windows shattered up the street, and he heard screaming. Severus was always one for theatrics, at least Lucius did theatrics for results. He stood outside the broken window and saw three women inside, screaming as Severus demanded answers, punctuating his questions with the destruction of dishes.

Lucius walked leisurely inside. All of the people in this town were guilty in his eyes, for allowing any harm to come to their guests, for remaining silent while Hermione was kidnapped. "You know where she is!" Severus growled approaching on the family inside, three adult women and a father who went from rearing to fight to demure once he saw a second man in black enter the kitchen.

"I have gotten her location, brother." Oh how muggle fear reminded him of death eater raids, it was like his twenties again.

Severus was frantic, worry clearly in his eyes as he dropped another vase that had been floating in the air. It smashed on the floor, some shards hitting his boots. He lowered his wand. "Let's go."

Lucius reached out for his friend and grabbed his shoulder. They both apparated up to the side of the mountain.

There was no way to know exactly where she was, they could faintly feel the horcrux but not Hermione, which meant she was either passed out or worse. They walked along a mountain path that they hoped would lead them to the right place, the sun creeping higher in the sky, and their hopes sinking lower as they continued down the path.

"They called the dark lord a pale devil, and the people in these caves are "devil worshippers" of some matter." Lucius said as they hiked upwards, casting a warming spell to clear the path a little more. Snow melted into water wand ran down the side of the mountain.

"So there are death eaters living in these caves protecting the horcrux then. I can feel it, I can feel his presence, but not theirs, why?"

"We can't feel hers either." Lucius sighed

There was only one cave at the end of the path but Lucius hesitated, there was something that wasn't quite right about this, a simple path leading up to a single cave. It was like they were being led here, and in his experience, being led anywhere was the beginnings of a trap. Was it really going to be so easy to save Hermione? He doubted it, nothing about this journey had been easy. "Careful, brother."

Severus turned back to him, standing at the mouth of the cavern, when he whipped out his wand "Sectumsem-"

Before he could finish the spell a giant of a man hit him hard with a club, sending him facedown into the snow. Lucius whirled around to see a tall brute who had taken down Severus in one blow. "Crucio!" Lucius hissed, and the giant roared so loudly that the mountains shook.

Suddenly a flood of men came out of the cave, they were dirty and disheveled and they had weird metallic sticks in their hand, it looked like rods with some strange hand attachment.

One of them grabbed the hand attachment on their stick and it sounded like something exploded. The tree next to him suddenly started losing it's bark. Lucius saw that the metallic rods were something like a bow and arrow but smaller. He turned to cast a curse on the men with rods, but as

soon as he took his eyes off the giant there was a hefty blow to the back of his head and the last thing Lucius saw was the glistening white snow.

Severus woke up in a blind rage. He had spent most of the day wandering around the entire country of Albania for one girl, and now they were imprisoned in some dirty cave with the girl nowhere in sight. He could feel her magical signature, that always faint glow of power she held when she was near him. It was awash in the tug of the dark lord. The horcrux was near, but Hermione was nearer.

"Hermione?" He called into the darkness, it was almost suffocating, he swore he had gone blind.

"Quiet," it was Lucius that replied next to him "You can hear her breathing if you're quiet enough."

He reached his hand out to feel the the wool of the other man's coat and surmised that they were side by side. "Where are we?"

"I walked the length of the cell, I think she's across the room, she hasn't spoken to me at least." Lucius whispered "I don't know if she's passed out, or is ignoring us."

Severus snorted, Hermione was not one for childish fits of pique. If she was unresponsive, she was probably unconscious. There was never any time she kept her mouth shut. Damn that girl for being so brilliant and yet so naive! Why hadn't she screamed or alerted them when she was taken?

He had never felt quite so much fear as when Lucius shook him awake to tell him that she was missing. His blood had ran cold at the thought of losing her, if she was gone, his whole plan was in shambles. Severus had brought her in because she really was the brightest witch of her age, if anyone could end this war it was Hermione, and all he had done was berate her and take advantage of her. He hated himself for the role he had to play to keep them all alive, she must hate them even more now. How could he degrade her, calling his actions necessary because they all had to make sacrifices? Did he not hate Dumbledore for telling him the same thing repeatedly? Had he turned into that which he hated?

Lucius waved his hand to do a faint lumos and he could see their cell better, it was no more than bars placed against the floor and ceiling of the cave. The far wall he had been leaning on was just one side of the cavern. Lucius walked up to the rusted bars and extended his hand out to see if he could see where Hermione was.

He felt his heart drop to the floor when he saw her form dimly across the hall made by the two cells. She was dirty and her clothing was torn up. He couldn't see her face, only her hair, as she lay face down in her cell. Her body was twisted at an awkward angle to where he was almost sure her spine was broken. "Hermione," his voice was soft, he didn't want to brighten the lumos to alert the men that had kidnapped them. He just wanted to know if she was alright. "Hermione, pet, wake up."

Severus got up quickly to see what Lucius was doing, and his eyes widened at the dim view of the other cell. She could not still be alive and yet, he could hear her breathing. Her small pained gasps of breath made his blood run cold. This was his fault! He grabbed onto the bars and they rattled against the rock, his guilt only furthered his fury. When those men came back they would pay, he would make them pay.

There was a groan from the broken girl in the other cell and the two men froze "Luuu-shus," her voice was a moan and a whisper, but Lucius had never been more delighted to hear his name.

"That's it pet," he cooed, trying to coax her into lucidity "we're here, are you hurt?" "Er...ing hurts," there was a long shuddering sigh and she tried to roll over.

"Don't move, you'll only hurt yourself more." Severus hissed, he was furious with himself, anger seethed from every pore.

After a few minutes of silence she moved a little more "squibs...nonmagical."

Severus waved his hand at the lock to perform a silent alohomora, but it didn't move, even if she was right, that their kidnappers were nonmagical, their holding cells certainly were magical in nature.

Lucius gave one last look at the girl who was lying on the floor of her cell and extinguished his spell. He had formulated the perfect plan. They would wait to ambush the guards, save the girl and get out of there. She would be alright for now, he reassured himself.

"Don't move, we'll get you out soon." Severus said, mostly to himself

This whole idea had been a wreck from the start, the girl would be dead before the last Horcrux was found. Severus had never felt like more of a failure than he did now, and he sat down next to Lucius, who was reassuring him of their plan to ambush the guards. The war would be not be over and her blood would be on their hands. Severus did not want her death to be in vain. She was worth so much more than becoming a pawn in this war like he had been.

Their jailers' footsteps were heavy on the ground and the light they carried swung back and forth with their steps, pulling their shadows in all sorts of directions but finally they stopped in front of the cages. Lucius looked over at his cell mate who was not watching them, but the illuminated form of Hermione in the other cell, her chest rising and falling as she waited for her rescuers.

They did not speak English and Lucius found that he hardly cared because once they opened the cell he would kill them both for what they had done to Hermione, what they had done to him! Did they not realize who they were dealing with? A Malfoy is never taken advantage of!

He was resolute, his eyes cold and his body coiled like a spring, all they had to do was open the bars. There was a whining of rusted metal opening and before he could even cast his first cruciatus the entire room glowed a bright green and both the men died where they stood. Severus was standing with his hand out, he had killed them both. A wandless killing curse was almost unspoken of, even Voldemort had trouble performing them. Lucius always seemed to forget that his best friend was a very powerful wizard indeed.

"Lumos Maxima" Lucius whispered even now afraid he would be overheard, and there was a burst blinding light that made the interior of the cave turn as bright as it was outside and they could see enough to get around.

She was dirty. She was covered in scrapes, and had bruises on her arms. Her lips were chapped and slightly parted, and strands of hair fell across her face. Hermione was safe. Severus rushed to her and she smiled weakly at him, her eyes only half open. "You came," she breathed and Lucius felt like even breathing himself would break this feeling of elation that they had saved the girl that saved him.

The man who had just killed their captors out of pure anger now fell to his knees beside her in relief "Don't move, you're hurt."

"Severus," it was a tired sigh, he had never heard the little Gryffindor spitfire so weak before "the

horcrux."

His hands paused as he was about to pick her up, what was he thinking? Why did he care whether she was weak or not? His emotions had all rushed to the surface at the mere thought of her being harmed. He had to keep propriety with his student, she was his student! Yet when she fought, she was Hermione. Yet when she said his name, she was Hermione. He was going mad, being alone for so long was driving him mad. He couldn't stray from his duty, he had to carry out Dumbledore's final wishes.

Severus looked over at Lucius, death eater extraordinaire, who had brushed most of the hair away from her face, checking for wounds gently, and wondered if she had put some kind of spell on the two of them while they weren't looking. How had a teenage girl tamed them?

Lucius moved her up onto his lap and she groaned in pain only to be hushed by the blonde "I've saved your life again, we're even pet," he looked up from the girl on his lap to his friend "a pain potion, if you will?"

He grabbed a vial of potion and tilted it to her lips, the liquid disappearing into her mouth and she opened her eyes wide, coughing as she swallowed the foul liquid.

"It will take a few minutes, we will rest, and then get the horcrux, whichever one it is," his voice had taken on his classroom tone, hard and unyielding.

"Severus! The girl is damn near death, we should get her back to the inn."

The honey eyes that had looked at him like a savior closed slowly before opening again, her eyes reflected his own, cold and unfeeling. "He's right Lucius, I'm just here for the horcrux."

She got up shakily off of Lucius, her whole body was cut up, he could see where the rocks had caught her and where she had been tossed around. As she stood up between them, Severus wondered if he had done the most damage to her, because those eyes that looked up at him so gratefully just a few seconds ago no longer even bothered to look at him.

They followed her out of the cell. Her hands tracing the walls, every so often leaning against them to regain her balance. Severus and Lucius were one minute doting on her and the next, pushing her out into battle. It was so frustrating! Every step was painful, the rocks underneath her feet, the cuts and bruises on her legs ached. She was seething with anger, but was too tired to explode anymore. They'd get the horcrux, she had seen it when they brought her in, and leave for the next one. This would all be over soon.

Severus was the worst out of the two of them, one minute he was tenderness and the next he was infuriated with her! She knew he was not the black bat of the dungeons one hundred percent of the time, and yet he could just flip a switch and go back to being ghastly to her!

"Let me go ahead," it was Lucius, who was the only one that treated her like she was anything more than a wand, and that in itself was strange. She was sure that now he was not doing it out of some skewed concept of honor, as his debt had been repaid.

"It's in the main room, and those two were not the only ones here." She coughed, the pain potion still stuck in her throat. "The altar."

Severus slunk behind her, warring with his treatment of her. He heard voices ahead of them and grabbed the girl, pulling her back against him. She let out a gasp of pain more than surprise, and they waited for the voices to fade as they walked down another section of the cave, their shadows

danced along the walls as they walked past.

Finally, Severus spoke, his tone barely carried to her ears "There is someone else with magic here, they warded the bars."

"There is someone else with magic here," another voice intoned behind them "and your faces look familiar: Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape."

He was tall and bulky, almost brushing the ceiling of the cave, he had to be half giant at his height, with a long beard and salt and pepper hair that looked like a brillo pad that had been without water for decades. His skin was as rough as the rock that surrounded him, and he was armed with a wand and a smile. The man, their captor, looked like a predator who had finally cornered his prey. He was the giant who had assaulted them just outside the cave! Severus wanted revenge, and he would get it.

Lucius was in no mood to play games with some low ranking death eater that hid out in a cave and began to cast all the spells he knew without a wand, which, unlike Severus, were hexes instead of curses that could kill a man, even now Severus had drained too much of his magic to use Avada again wandlessly. They just had to get Hermione out of harms way, that was his only goal, but he was no match for a man with a wand.

He narrowly dodged the red light of a well aimed crucio by ducking behind a rock, and when he shot up to send another stinging hex, Severus and Hermione were gone. He was alone on the wrong end of death eater's wand. Lucius felt his heart rate rise. Would he die here without seeing an end to this war? He backed away from the giant, shooting some hexes to draw him out of the narrow hallway and into the bigger room that Hermione had mentioned.

"Sectumsempra!" There was a flash of white light from the narrow hall of the cave and Lucius sighed in relief.

Severus had come back for him, now without the girl, his curse narrowly missing the giant that was now headed toward Lucius. "The master will be pleased that you have been found," his voice echoed off the walls of the cave as he charged the blonde that was quickly running out of space in the increasingly claustrophobic cavern.

There was another flash of white and a roar as the second slicing hex hit it's intended victim. He had never felt as helpless as he did without his wand, how could they have been so unguarded! The giant of a man turned back on Severus, allowing the blonde to get a few more hexes in but as his old friend drew the giant across the room and away from the hall where he presumed Hermione was hiding they quickly realized they were trapped, and their magic was draining their energy faster without their wands.

It was not long before even the slicing hexes did nothing more than cut cloth, and his stinging hexes barely registered, they were cornered, and they were exhausted. "Malfoy, I always hated you in school." The giant said, reaching out and grabbing the man by his shirt collar. "Now you will know what it is like to be a victim."

Even in the face of death, a Malfoy was a Malfoy to the end "I did not know they let your kind into Hogwarts."

There was a frustrated snarl as the pudgy hand stabbed the blonde with his wand. "You are to be brought to the dark lord, dead or alive. I choose dead."

Lucius Malfoy was going to die in a dirty cave by a half giant who could barely wield his wand

properly trying to save a muggleborn girl and the rest of the wizarding world, and his last words were making fun of his murderer. Would The Daily Prophet use his nice gala photo?

"Put him down!" A female voice intoned, in possibly her bravest voice, Hermione Granger, covered in cuts and barely able to stand straight, stood next to the altar that had been made for the dark lord, the locket and Severus' wand in one hand, and his wand in the other.

"No one tells me what to do, you filthy bitch." The giant swung Lucius around to demonstrate his power, and she started towards him, her eyes were fire.

"Put him down or I shall make you regret it!" Her hand was shaking. She was fury itself. The girl who was no more than five foot five approached an almost seven foot wall of a man.

"I shall kill them, and then take great joys in killing you," the giant tossed Lucius to the side, his body bouncing off the cavern floor and the giant began towards Hermione.

Lucius lay on the floor, all the air had been pushed out of his lungs only to hear words he never thought he would hear from Hermione's lips "Crucio"

The body was willing, but the wand kicked back, sending the spell both ways, a jolt of pain rushed up her arm and her blood was on fire. The giant howled in front of her, falling to the floor with a thud as she held the curse, but the longer she held it, the more it spread across her body. She gritted her teeth, a bit longer, she had to save them. If she could get rid of the giant, they all could leave this strange cave cult. She had the cruciatus once before, one more time was not too much, it was all about will. She could do this for them.

She fell to her knees, the pain becoming too much to bear as Lucius' wand decided that she was not allowed to use it anymore, but as her fingers lost grip of the wand it's owner grabbed it from her hand. Lucius picked her up with ease, his other arm coming around her waist, holding her to his chest.

"Avada Kedavra." It sounded so elegant when he said it, she thought, breathing in his scent, a musky floral that was similar to the soap in the inn's bathroom. It sounded like he had said it a thousand times, with his usual practiced bored intonation, as he killed the giant with ease.

Lucius hugged her tightly as a spasm wracked through her weak body, a cry escaping her lips as all of her limbs betrayed her. He hushed her, falling to his knees and wrapping her up in him, an effort to protect her from all the evils in the world. How many times was this stupid slip of a girl going to save him? How much of her life would he take? He had never felt guilt before, but when he saw her dying to save him, he knew that guilt was not an emotion he wanted to experience again soon, not when it came to her. If he wasn't so stupidly selfish, none of this would have happened in the first place and they would have destroyed the rest of the horcrux in an afternoon. There were no more mistakes for Hermione from now on.

"Hermione," it was Severus who was standing over the two of them, his wand now tightly in his hand. "the locket."

Hermione was openly sobbing in pain into Lucius' wool jacket, and he felt another spasm rip through her.

"You ask too much of her!" Lucius shouted, suddenly feeling very protective of the girl in his arms. The kidnapping, the brush with death, the desperation to end the war all pent up in justified anger. "I care little of how black your heart is Severus Snape, but she has saved you yet again. I never thought I would see the day where you would rather kill a woman than find some damned

patience! Let her rest! We will destroy nothing more today!"

Lucius apparated with a crack, leaving Severus alone in the cave with the corpse of a giant and his thoughts. All he wanted was to get her back to safety, back to Hogwarts, he just wanted this whole war to be over. Did Lucius lose sight of their goal? How could the heir to the Malfoy name become such a simpering idiot so quickly? A nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he was not angry with Malfoy for his insults, but he was angry that Malfoy could be so open with his feelings for Hermione.

Jealousy was an emotion that was foreign to Severus Snape, and he was feeling consumed by it. He apparated from the cave, hoping to find the other two at the inn.

Chapter End Notes

I am sorry that this is a day late! I was traveling all day yesterday and didn't get a chance to edit and post. I hope I posted it early enough to make your Monday a lot better. This chapter focused mostly on how Lucius and Severus see Hermione and had a lot of interesting revelations! Severus and Lucius approach affection a lot differently, and I think that it becomes a point of contention for the two of them. Lucius is a womanizer and is very free with how he feels, but Severus can't cope with love quite so openly.

Hermione was super heroic in this chapter, get it girl! See you next Sunday :)

Monumental Touches and Siren Song

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Lucius wiped the tears away from her face with the pad of his thumb as she apologized for crying once again. "Today has been too much, I'm not usually so emotional.

"It has been a very long day, and you're tired." He replied, his voice was as soft as his touches, light, reassuring brushes of his skin against hers as they sat together on the bed. The fire providing the only light in the room.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

She was so tired. Her body ached, and she wished for only a split second that the man who was being so gentle to her was not Lucius Malfoy. He always had an ulterior motive, even now. Lucius only ever looked after himself, that was his game. That was why she was kidnapped last night, right? It was always only ever about Lucius. Her heart was beating wildly still. She was not sure if it was due to the pain still coursing through her body, or the memory of him valiantly defending her from her Professor. How could Lucius be kind to her?

There was a thick pause that was filled with the crackling of the fire on the other side of the room.

"My reputation precedes me even now," he straightened his posture next to her, his body tense. He had not been so fearful in his life as he was when he must confess to the small wisp of a girl on his bed. "I don't know what is wrong with me. I feel as if you have cursed me even now. Whenever you're in danger, I have to protect you. Whenever you're hurt, I have to fix you. I thought at first it was because you're our only means of destroying the man who is destroying my status and bank account, or that it was the life debts I keep incurring with you..."

He paused for awhile, and they both stared at the fire while they waited for his next words. "It's not that, is it? No one has ever tried to help me for the sake of me. No one has ever bothered to tend to my wounds, or save my life. It isn't worth saving anymore. I have only a quarter of my fortune. I am disgraced in society, and I have ruined my family name, and yet you, a muggleborn witch who has every right to despise my existence, have saved me from giants, from dragons, from bleeding out in my own library!"

He was right, she knew he was right, but she hadn't thought of who he was, or what he had done. When they were fighting a dragon in the dark caves, he wasn't Lucius Malfoy, the heir to the Malfoy name and death eater. He was her ally, taking the dragon's focus off of her and onto himself. When she was laying half awake after she had been kidnapped, it wasn't the man who had cursed her best friend in the Department of Mysteries, but Lucius, who pulled her up on his lap, checking her over for wounds. She had been thinking about how best to stay alive, how best to end the war, not who they were, and she hadn't realized what a profound effect this had on the man who by all intents and purposes should despise her.

"I kidnapped you, I'm the reason you're hurt even now, and you saved my life again. What do you want from me? Money? Favors? Why are you making me feel so utterly helpless?"

She looked over at the man sitting on the bed next to her, his blonde hair was dirty and tangled from the caves, and she reached a shaky hand up to run her fingers through it. Her touch stopped his breathing, and he sat there quietly as she stroked his hair. Her fingers undoing tangles as they

ran through the silken strands. "I don't want anything," she said finally "and I am sorry I have made you feel so poorly."

He looked at her, his eyes wide, those icy blue eyes she swore could see her very soul.

"Hermione." He said her name in awe testing it out with a whole new connotation, that quiet reverence that made it sound like his personal prayer. Lucius leaned over on the bed. His hand sliding up her jawline. His lips inches away from hers.

Her heart was pounding so fast it was about to explode, her whole body was hot at his touches. She had never had a man touch her so intimately. She leaned into him instinctively. His fingers were soft, and he smelled so clean and safe. She found it hard to even breathe.

"I don't wish to hurt you anymore Hermione," he murmured softly against her lips, his fingers pulling her towards him.

His lips met hers gently at first, his other hand coming up to her face, cradling her gently. All her feelings that she had fought for so long soared at the freedom that her affection for him was not strange, or one sided. It was not her first kiss, she had kissed a boy before, but there was some kind of desperation in his kiss that she found intoxicating. He threaded her fingers up in her hair, pulling her into his embrace.

A small whimper escaped her lips. She was almost overwhelmed by him. She wanted to be consumed by him. To her, he was nothing more than Lucius, kind and worrying Lucius who took care of her when she was hurt, and protected her when he knew there was danger. He was scared, and desperate and he was all hers for this briefest of moments, and she felt powerful in knowing that the dark wizard felt helpless only when it came to her. He deepened the kiss with ease. His tongue tracing her lips, committing everything to memory.

A knock at the door interrupted them, Lucius pulling away from her reluctantly, a frown deepening on his face which contrasted from her flushed and dazed look. She knew who it was without him answering, and afraid to face her professor knowing that she had a uncontrollable attraction for his best friend. She got up off the bed and went to take a shower. Hermione took one last look at Lucius who was undoing wards she wasn't even aware he had set before shutting the door to the bathroom. She needed some time alone to clear her head, because for now all she could think about was the powerful wizard who had even more powerful kisses.

Lucius heard the water running in the other room and finally opened the door to see his friend standing outside, slightly put off by the fact that he had been locked out of his own room. Severus looked like he was contemplating murder with his arms crossed in the darkened hall "You warded the room against even me?"

"I warded the room in general not against you." Lucius drawled stepping aside to let him into the warm room.

Severus walked over to the nightstand where Slytherin's locket was and picked it up, trying to see the darkness inside the gem in the dim candlelight. He looked over at the bathroom where he heard water running. "Is she...is she alright?" His voice faltered, he could hardly stand himself now, knowing that he had driven both Lucius and Hermione away from him.

Lucius' eyes went cold at the mention of the girl in the bathroom. "She will need some medical attention before she can destroy the locket, and some rest." Lucius sat down in a chair next to the fire, where she had slept the night before, with a flourish "Do not cross me on this, I am tired of putting her in danger."

Severus felt his anger rise "Do you not think that I am tired of putting her in danger?" He seethed "Do you not think that I hate asking a girl who is supposed to be in my care to put her life on the line for my mistakes?"

"Then find some compassion man, and let her rest before you send her out as your own personal Joan D'Arc."

"Have you gone mad?" he hissed approaching the other man in the room. "Do you think I revel in destroying the only thing that can get us out of this war?"

"She is not a thing, Severus! She's a girl! She's a living breathing person that just saved your ungrateful hide, and you can't even-"

"You care for her!" The dark man said, almost disgusted with his revelation.

"And you don't?" Lucius stood up "You don't care for Hermione? You can't even say her name, you're afraid of your own feelings for her and instead of even trying to understand them you'd rather her die so you don't have to confront them! I have never known you to be such a coward! Is that why Lily is dead?"

Hermione heard a cry from the other room and she shoved the shower curtain aside and grabbed for a towel only to see it slip through her fingers. Her hands were still weak, her whole body was refusing to do much anymore. She had heard muffled voices over the shower water but assumed it was just Lucius and Severus discussing the horcrux. Did her kidnappers come back again?

She grabbed her towel again, getting a better grip this time and opened the door, steam billowing out from around her to see Lucius on the ground and Severus standing with his wand "What have you done?" she gasped.

He turned to her, his wand still out, his breathing heavy, he looked positively feral "I am not a coward."

Hermione felt torn between hiding in the bathroom, or going to him. Her Professor had clearly lost his tenuous grip on reality. She bit her lip and took a cautious step towards him, she could hear the water from her hair dripping on the wood around her feet "Severus? Is Lucius alright?"

He did not move. He did not speak. He just stared at her. She looked like a portrait of Venus stepping out of the bathroom, and he could see all her cuts and bruises from her kidnapping, from her days spent with him. She approached him cautiously. When had she begun to fear him? Did he lose her trust so completely? "You're frightening me, are you okay?"

"What have you done to me you conniving witch?" He hissed, approaching her now, each step he took made her take two steps backwards. His eyes were wild.

Hermione was back in the bathroom and her potions professor advanced on her with his wand. What had gotten into him? The usually controlled master spy was now outright murderous. Had Lucius said something to him? Did he find out about Lucius and her? It was only a kiss, how did it end up like this! Lucius was unconscious. She was barely alive, and Severus was going to kill her. No one could save her now.

"Please stop! What's wrong with you?" She cried as she felt the wall behind her.

"You've poisoned me, you've cursed me!" He shouted, his wand coming at her throat.

She was sure he would kill her now, and she wasn't sure why. "What are you talking about?"

She caught a glimmer of metal out of the corner of her eye. It was the silver chain of the locket they had stolen. It dangled freely outside his pocket. She had read that the possessor of the horcrux can sometimes be affected by it's contents. Was he feeling the effects of Voldemort's soul? Hermione looked at her professor, and then at his pocket. She bit her lip, and decided it wasn't time to second guess herself. She raised one hand and tried to slap him but instead he pinned her arm above her head.

"Do not play games with me girl," his voice was low and it she felt heat pool to her center. The man's voice could be pure sex sometimes, but unfortunately it gave her the only opportunity to grab the locket from his pocket.

She dropped her towel and grabbed the chain, tugging on it before throwing it across the room, it hit the wood flooring three times before it came to an abrupt stop near the fire. Hermione looked back up at Severus, hopeful that his foul mood was caused by the horcrux and not something else, but as she turned back, the grip on her wrist lessened and he turned away from her.

"Her-Miss Granger, I don't remember why you are naked but I would prefer you put some clothes on."

Suddenly she flushed with embarrassment and picked her towel off the ground. "Get out!" she screamed and turned towards the wall.

Severus tried to save himself some decorum and walked out into the common room to see Lucius passed out against a wall. Did the kidnappers come back to harm them? Was Hermione alright alone in the bathroom? He looked down at his wand and wondered how he had come to hold her against in such a compromising position. Was he protecting her? Or was he the attacker? His boot hit something on the floor and he looked down to see the horcrux glittering on the floor and bent down to pick it back up.

"Don't you dare Severus Snape," she said behind him, buttoning his tattered pajamas. "Don't tell me what to do, little girl."

She ignored him "Go see if Lucius is okay," she said picking up a black velvet bag on the table. She put her hand inside of it and grabbed the horcrux with it, turning it inside out before throwing it on the far table. What monsters were contained in that locket? She didn't want to know.

Lucius woke up spitting fire, but after they had all calmed down they found themselves staring at the bag she had put the locket in. "So it possessed me?"

They both glanced over at him, Lucius had been furious when he awoke and refused to let "his Hermione" near her old Professor. She stood on the other side of the blonde, wearing her professor's long billowy cloak as a blanket. "I don't want it in the room with us." Hermione said quietly, looking up at the two men expectantly.

"You're right." Lucius nodded "We don't know if it affects by proximity or touch, it's better if it's not near us until we can destroy it."

"We will need to destroy it soon," Lucius opened his mouth to begin fighting again but Severus cut him off "but not until you're better, not until we're all better. My magic is just as much drained as yours."

"Sleep would be nice," Hermione sighed "first we take this outside and bury it for now."

"Not we," Lucius corrected her "I will take it outside and bury it. Try not to stupefy anyone else

while I'm gone, brother."

Lucius was still sore about being hexed by his best friend, but he picked up the bag with two fingers and left the room, leaving Hermione alone with the man who had cornered her not an hour before.

Severus couldn't meet her eyes when he spoke to her and she wondered if it's because he felt guilty over his actions under the curse of the horcrux. "It's not your fault," she said quietly.

"I don't need your pity," there was a long pause before he spoke again "sit on the bed, I'll get the healing salves."

She wished he didn't hate her so much.

She fell asleep before Lucius had come back, and woke up tucked on the far side of the bed, his arm draped over her stomach, his wand neatly tucked between them. The first lights of day were seeping through the window and she felt incredibly sore, but elated to have shared a bed with the man who had kissed her just the night before. She felt warm at the thought of his lips on hers. Would they do it again soon? She hoped so, a smile broke out on her face and she pulled the tattered sheet up over her face. He was so gorgeous! And he liked her! What would Harry and Ron think of her infatuation with their number one enemy? What would Ginny say?

Her smile stopped abruptly. She hadn't thought much about them since they set out to get the Horcrux. They were her best friends, and yet she was so wrapped up in ending this war, in the two men who were her constant companions, that she hadn't thought about anyone outside herself, or anything after they destroyed all the horcruxes. She sighed, all of her joy left her on the exhale. She was doused with the cold reminder of her duty.

They would have to destroy the horcrux today, before anyone else would find it buried on the side of the inn. No doubt they would have to move soon if Voldemort found out that his small little muggle cult was destroyed. She gingerly placed Lucius' arm next to her, and sat up to see Severus laying on the other side of the blonde, staring up at the ceiling apparently lost in thought.

His dark eyes met hers, and she gave him a small smile to start the day. "Let's go destroy this locket before it destroys us." She whispered.

She didn't want him to hate her, but she felt like she was always a burden to him, especially after her helplessness in the cave. He got out of bed before she did, offering a hand and helping her over Lucius' sleeping form.

The fire was dead. She was hungry for breakfast but the faster they got the locket out of the way, the faster she could be eating at Hogwarts and not food that Severus brought in his endless bag. He put his cloak around her as she was slipping on her shoes. His fingers lingering on her shoulders, the lightest of touches seemed like monumental ones to her.

"Are you feeling well enough?" His voice was still gravelly from sleep.

She wondered how many people had heard him straight out of bed. Hermione turned around to look up at him. His eyes were focused somewhere distant, some of his hair was sticking upwards, and some lint from the dilapidated bedding had gotten onto his shirt and hair. He was no longer an enigma, perfectly groomed for terror, but a man who was tired as she was, who was riddled with guilt and desperation as she was. Hermione found something human in him. She stood on her tip

toes, her breath catching on her throat as she picked some white lint out of his hair. He froze and stared at her like she had just grown a second head.

"To the horcrux then." She said turning towards the door.

His mouth opened to say something but she left the room before he did, and he found himself following her outside. Hermione was the bravest witch he had ever known, if only because she was the only one who would be so bold to touch him casually.

There was a fresh layer of snow and he could barely see where Lucius had claimed he buried it. They dug it up quickly and Hermione snatched it from his hands before he could touch it again. Oh but the girl was so obnoxious sometimes! Did she think he could not control himself? "The fang again, I guess." she held her hand out and he passed the fang into hers. Her hands were so cold.

"The same intent from which it was created," she mumbled to herself, closing her eyes and falling to her knees in the snow. She poured the necklace onto the ground.

He could feel it reaching out to him like a siren. All of his violent emotions, all of his jealousy and guilt and anger came right to the surface and he realized why she had been so protective of him. He heard her exhale and he looked over to see her raising the fang above her head, she was completely focused on the task at hand. She looked truly like a lioness now, and as soon as he found her beauty she was gone in a tornado of darkness that erupted from the gem.

The whole process of destroying a horcrux was messy. To release the soul back into the world was dangerous. There was the danger that the destroyer may be possessed by the portion of the soul. Fortunately, Hermione did not make a good candidate, if only because of her intent for destroying them. His chest tightened when he saw her engulfed each time, knowing that there was still a small chance she would break her will, but he knew that was an impossibility. She was Hermione, his brave lioness, fierce and unyielding.

Hermione felt hot inside the cloud that the horcrux spawned, the type of warm that came with a warm bath on a cold day. It was the kind of comfort that she forgot she could feel. It almost lulled her asleep. "You're so cold, don't you want to feel warm?" It was like a siren, and she was being called to it, a disembodied voice inside the darkness. She wondered where she was, but the thought was quickly replaced with her agreeing with the voice.

"You're so alone, don't you want to feel friendship?" The voice cooed at her, like a mother to a crying child. She did want friendship, Severus and Lucius only were using her, this voice had friendship.

"Listen to me then, relax, and let me take care of you."

She felt herself nodding reaching out into the darkness for the voice that soothed all of her pain. "Let me take care of those men, let me take care of everything."

Her grip on the fang lessened, and her grip on reality lessened as she listened to the voice in the darkness. It was so warm and comforting. It felt like being back home with her mum and dad. They would wake her up every morning, preparing breakfast call her to the table.

"Hermione!" The voice pulled her from her thoughts. It was not her parents, it was Severus. Where was she? The horcrux! What was she thinking!

The siren call faded back into her consciousness "Don't listen, only feel, listen to me, I know-" "No!" She screamed driving the fang downwards into darkness.

She heard a crack echoing through the abyss. There was no more voice. There was no more darkness. She was alone, and she wondered if the siren voice was right. With all horcruxes, a bit of her left with the cloud of darkness, she felt empty.

"That was quick," he breathed sounding relieved that she was back to reality unscathed.

She fell over into the snow, her body exhausted. Her eyes were glassy, and her body was cold. Her voice was only a pained whisper "I hated this one a little more, for all that it did to us."

He picked her up, along with the locket, no stranger to holding her in his arms. She would refuse to sleep in her bed when he had first become her jailer. At the time he wondered if they would even be able to get her to go along with them on this foolhardy plan, but he couldn't let her sleep on the floor. He knew what it was like being a puppet in a master plan, and he absolutely despised it. A soft whimper made him look down at her, her honey eyes were focused on him intently and he realized he had been gripping her too tightly.

"The bruises haven't healed all the way yet," she offered.

Unlike all those other times back at the manor, she was awake, and unlike all those other times, her cold hands snaked around his neck and with a contented sigh, she rested her head on his chest. "Merlin, this horcrux business is exhausting," she said and yawned.

"One more, after this." His voice rumbled through her, but he could hear her soft even breathing indicating she had fallen back asleep.

He could get used to her touching him, her hands were soft.

Lucius was awake and reading next to the fire when he had come back. "The horcrux is destroyed?"

Severus slid her sleeping form back onto the bed, tucking her in gently, as he had done many nights in the Malfoy Manor, brushing away the curly strands of hair that had fallen in her face.

"How long?" Lucius asked behind him.

The other man stood up "How long what?"

"How long have you wanted her?"

"Don't be daft Lucius, she's my student, and she is in my care. I have to consider her well being somewhat."

"I can't recall you ever treating Draco with such tenderness. Do you stare like that at all your students?" Lucius was hesitant to leave her bedside, but the last time he had duelled with Severus, he lost. Severus was a master at all things it seemed, except his emotions.

"I do not stare like some forlorn schoolboy. She exerted herself inordinately destroying the horcrux, and I must see to it that she's safe." He stalked across the room, tossing the empty potions vials he had given her last night, and the destroyed horcrux in his bag.

Lucius huffed, and sat down on the bed next to the girl in question "Why is it you trust me in all matters, but when it comes to her, you lie to me so poorly? I thought you were a spy, Severus Snape."

"And I did not realize that I needed to be so guarded when it came to my allies who are keen on

stealing students out of bed!"

Lucius winced, he had stolen her out of bed, but for good reason. He walked over to his oldest friend, picking up an empty vial and toying with it in the morning sunlight that crossed the room "Come now Severus, we have shared women before-"

"Some easy pureblood socialite is not the same as Hermione. She's better than that. She's more than a quick shag. She's so much more can't you tell?"

"I know that she's so much more, and she deserves much more than a disgraced socialite like me, but I will not turn her away if she asks for me. Would you?" Lucius looked over at him. Severus' eyes were vulnerable and his posture was tense.

Severus sighed and looked down at all the empty vials of potion in his hands. "No." It felt hard to admit that if she did ask for him, he would not turn her away. He would welcome her. He had never been so frightened of his own admission before.

Magical triads were not uncommon. In fact they were a very powerful relationship that some witches and wizards would briefly enter into. They were often a means to an end. There were only very rare cases he could think of where the three managed to stay together in the end, mostly jealousy and greed always won out and a third would be pushed out of the relationship. Magic worked best in threes, and Lucius knew this even more so than himself, but could he share Hermione? Would she even be interested in the prospect with two men twice her age? Doubt gnawed at him.

"You want to try to form a triad?"

"I would not take her from you Severus, however I am not eager to lose her either." Lucius placed the vial down with a quiet clink.

Severus did not respond, but instead began to get ready to apparate to the final horcrux. He doubted that she had any interest in him, but her hands were soft, and he couldn't get the image of her naked body out of his mind. Did Hermione look at him the same way?

He looked over at Lucius, a greek god even in his old age, and then thought of himself, scarred, pale and thin with a short temper. He doubted it.

Hermione woke up with a small whimper "Severus?" when she said his name, he felt his mouth run dry.

She gave him a victorious smile, she was positively radiant "We destroyed another one!"

Maybe it wasn't so far fetched after all, he grabbed the invigoration draught he had and sat down by her bedside "and yet another one waits."

Chapter End Notes

My patient readers the time has come for romance! Thank you for sticking with me for so long as I get a bunch of plot out of the way, it's romance from here on out! Lucius of course would be the one to convince Severus of a threesome, but will he ever

agree? Hermione is oblivious as always. Anyways, read and review, but if you don't review, I enjoy the kudos just as much!

Only One Imperius

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

She was bundled up now in Severus' cloak, and Lucius was taking his time grooming himself in the dingy hotel room. "It's only going to get messed up in the wind," she complained, eager to find the last horcrux.

"You're lively this morning," He said looking at his golden hair one more time before putting his brush away.

"After this one, I will get a meal that does not include stale bread and sleep in a bed that is more than a cot." Hermione replied, licking her lips unconsciously while thinking of eating a huge meal at Hogwarts.

"The bread does not taste all that bad." Lucius grabbed his small bag and looking at Severus expectantly "The potion?"

"Are you sure you can't feel it? Why must we rely on the potion?" Hermione said and got a look from Lucius that told her not to argue.

"This time I don't even feel the tug of the horcrux. We have to take it," he paused and uncorked the vial, secretly relishing in her concern over his well-being "the last time." He assured her, holding the vial up in a mock toast before taking another sip.

"I don't want us to be reckless when we're doing something so incredibly dangerous," Hermione mumbled "No one should get hurt."

"And I promised no one will get hurt anymore, didn't I?" Lucius said, his eyes glittering like the felix felicis.

"You did." She stepped towards him, "Last one, and then a feast."

"And then the order," Severus corrected "To keep us all away from the ministry."

She had forgotten that she was out and about with two very known and very wanted criminals. They never seemed dangerous to her as much as brave. They fought for her and they fought alongside her. Nothing else mattered. Her conscience nagged her that Lucius probably had killed more muggles than she would ever have the chance to meet, but Lucius also cooked them breakfast this morning when she had woken up from a short nap. It was hard to imagine the Lucius that was grilling bacon over the fire was anything more than domestic in his free time.

"Alright, I think it's time to find the next one." Lucius announced proudly, grabbing Hermione and pulling her close to him.

Merlin Lucius was so warm, she felt her face flush thinking about him. How could she be so immature when it came to men? She looked up at Severus who was staring at the two of them with unease but she grabbed his hand before they all apparated.

"Let's go!" She smiled, and with a crack, they were gone.

They arrived, after a long apparation, in the middle of a busy street, and Hermione nigh fell over when they landed. Severus pulled her upright, and Lucius quickly hooded his cloak along with hers. She turned away from the two men and looked up to see a large gold fountain of witches and centaurs, their wands raised to the sky. She stepped forward in awe.

"The Fountain of Magical Brethern," Hermione breathed. "We're at the Ministry."

"This is a problem," Severus said, pulling her back towards them. "If the final horcrux is in the Ministry. We're going to have a problem."

"We have to go before the potion wears off Severus, or we won't find it."

Severus looked down at the girl between and then back at the front doors of the ministry. "We can't get in like this, two wanted death eaters and a girl who has been missing for a month."

"No, we have to. Lucius is right, the ministry is too large to wander around aimlessly, it took us hours last time to find the prophecy."

Severus sighed and looked around. They already looked suspicious, two hooded individuals with a known death eater was not his ideal of secrecy, and he quickly cast a notice-me-not charm on the three of them. The strange stares from passersby quickly stopped.

"No matter what we do, they're going to find us sniffing around the ministry, even with this charm." Lucius looked over at the doors to the Ministry warily.

"They can't catch us if they expect us." Severus replied thoughtfully.

"And how do you propose we do that? We can't imperio everyone at the ministry!" Hermione hissed "That's highly illegal."

Lucius turned back to them, and tucked his wand back into his sleeve, smiling deviously at her. Oh, but even his devious smiles made her heart beat faster. "In for a penny, in for a pound Hermione, and besides, we don't need to imperius everyone, just one."

Hermione frowned, and turned towards Severus. He was so close to her she could feel his body heat radiating off of him. These men drove her hormones crazy! He didn't say anything against Lucius' plan, so she assumed he intended to go along with it. "Will you obliviate this "one person" then?" she asked the dark professor who seemed to be surveying the crowd to find their victim.

"Don't be daft, of course we will, we don't want to leave a witness."

She bit her lip, her conscience warring with her mind. Logically their plan was sound, but morally it was a wreck. They were about to break into the Ministry of Magic, curse some unsuspecting individual, erase their memories, and find the horcrux.

"Severus is the only one out of the three of us who can be seen at the Ministry, even for a few minutes. Once he gets the visitor pass we'll duplicate it, and find the prize." Lucius said and grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. "Stay close, I don't want you hurt."

Lucius made her body heat up, and her face red. She looked down at her beat up slippers that she had been wearing across the mountains of Albania, the hood and her hair covering up her embarrassment. She had wondered if he had forgotten their heated exchange, but apparently not. It wasn't just adrenaline fueled desperation between them after escaping capture, but something more. Her heart sang.

Severus cast the disillusionment charm on the two of them, and Lucius then cast the muffilato for good measure. "How are you going to cast an imperius without the ministry being alerted?"

"It is the wand that alerts them, not the spell." Lucius replied, tugging her forward as Severus started up the steps to the government building, people filing in and out around them. "Curses take a lot of magic to cast wandlessly, an imperio is not nearly as hard as the killing curse, Severus is the only wizard I know who can do that."

She looked up at Lucius "How do you know?" "He killed the guards in the caves." He replied

Hermione didn't remember much from the cave. She was half dead for a majority of her stay. She looked at Severus who was in a simple black vest, and black pants. Even without his billowing cape, he had a commanding presence as the crowds parted for the most feared potions master. She hadn't realized just how powerful he was, and just how far he had gone to save her. He cared for her when she was wounded, and saved her when she was in trouble, Severus Snape was truly a hero, and no one seemed to know it but her, and Lucius of course. She had a whole new adoration for him that went beyond looks that set her blood on fire, and a voice that made her melt.

Lucius squeezed her hand to tell her to stop before she ran into the back of the man currently occupying her thoughts. They had arrived at the reception desk.

"Mister Snape, is it?" A scratchy female voice said.

She saw Severus curl two fingers inwards on his right hand, to anyone else it would have gone unnoticed, but Lucius was a mind reader amongst other things, and quickly cast the imperius on the unsuspecting receptionist.

Hermione held her breath, expecting the alarms for the ministry to sound and aurors to descend on them, but instead the bustle of the Ministry continued and they stood there quietly, waiting for her to hand over the high clearance visitor passes.

The woman worked almost mechanically behind her desk, filling out paperwork with false alibis, and smiling sweetly at Severus. She continued talking through her actions as if it was normal. Lucius was eerily good with the imperius curse. It only took two or three minutes, she was not sure, to attain everything that they asked for, and with a smile she thanked them for coming.

Severus nodded, and with a flick of two of his fingers, they stood for only a moment more as her memories of them were erased. Severus walked away as if nothing had happened, but for Hermione her heart was beating out of control. They had committed a flurry of crimes silently in the halls of the Ministry! They all got onto a lift, and all the charms to keep them hidden were removed. The lift was no more than a gilded metal cage, and Severus slid the door shut behind them.

"Where next?" She asked.

Lucius thought for a moment, trying to feel the dark lord's presence in the building "Down."

The lift started with a rumble and then a ding signaled that they were going down. She was so nervous she was fidgeting in the elevator, fighting a dragon was a cake walk compared to trying to be undetected in the Ministry of Magic. "Relax," Severus said next to her, but she couldn't. "Your fidgeting will only make our presence more noticeable."

She couldn't stop the feeling of dread that was overwhelming her. They were going to get caught!

She was not one for spy games! Hermione smiled up at Severus anxiously, holding her hands together and trying to stop her apprehension from seeping out of every pore.

The lift came to a stop finally in the basement, her heart dropped to the floor. They were in the Department of Mysteries. She looked over at Lucius her brain gently reminding her that he had tried to kill her in these very halls over a year ago. Being back in Britain was a powerful reminder of who they were and what roles they played in society. Hermione didn't care about roles, they didn't seem to really apply anymore. She knew Lucius was as desperate as she to end this war. She knew that his fierce overprotectiveness was the true side of the enigmatic blonde.

Lucius looked visibly pained by being back here but he took the first step out onto the granite flooring. His boots echoed in the vast, empty halls. His hair caught the overhead lights and he looked positively ethereal.

He looked back at the two people in the elevator "It's here," he breathed, afraid that he would be overheard.

Hermione looked out into the darkness, the Department of Mysteries was vast, and she only knew a few places, and not quite well.

They walked through the hall together in a line, Severus behind Hermione, watching her to make sure that she was not attacked, the cape she wore dragged on the ground, every so often they would pass under a light and he could see her better, her head down, watching Lucius' feet. He was not quite sure how they were going to get out once they got the horcrux. In fact, he was surprised they had gotten in so easily without setting off alarms. His steps did not make a sound, unlike Lucius who might as well have had a marching band come through the hall announcing his presence with his dragonskin boots.

Every so often she would look back at him. Her eyes full of unease and he'd nod to reassure her to keep going. This was the last one, then she really would be safe. He had never worried so much over someone before, but with Hermione, he was so focused on her safety he nearly forget everything else. Merlin, he sickened himself with his infatuation for her. He hated himself for acting this way towards the slip of a girl.

They finally arrived at a door that towered over them. "Dark Artefacts and Tomes Storage Room 24B." She read off the plaque nearest to her.

Lucius opened the door, and she wondered if they felt the same overwhelming fear she did. Severus placed his hand on her lower back, and pushed her forward. She suddenly was feeling the very opposite of brave as they all stepped inside the room. It was as vast as the Hogwarts Library, with shelves stacked two or three stories high above her head full of objects and books in dusty piles that looked untouched for years. Candles floated between aisles of shelves, barely providing illumination for the trio.

"Something is wrong," she said as Severus warded the door shut behind them.

"The dark objects in the room most likely are making you feel uneasy," Severus replied walking back "some are darker than you realize, and with such a concentration..."

"I can't feel anything in here," Lucius complained "she's right there is something wrong. I do not feel the draw of our lord over all this damned magical interference."

Hermione looked at the blonde in a panic. With the amount of objects in this room it would take them years to sort through to find the horcrux. They didn't even honestly know what it was, or

what it might be! This was hopeless! They had come this far to be trapped in a storage room for days looking for Merlin knows what. If they had any hope of finding Voldemort's last horcrux they would new a miracle and a little bit of luck. Her eyes widened, they would need luck!

"Give me the felix felicis." She held her hand out and Severus only raised an eyebrow at her. "It's my turn, we need luck, and you have a half of a vial left."

"Hermione, it's dangerous, plea-"

"No Lucius! Let's just get this done, this is my sacrifice for the group. I want us all to go home."

Severus eyed her warily but handed it to her anyways "If you feel any adverse effects you must tell me."

She downed the last of the potion in one go, grimacing at the taste. Luck tasted sickly sweet, like pancake syrup. It flooded through her like warmth and her perceptions became more vivid. Hermione smiled to herself enjoying the feeling of the potion, it was like a thousand compliments all given at once, and she felt unstoppable.

The two men followed the girl as she walked down aisle after aisle, pausing sometimes and staring into the darkness, other times rushing down another to stop and change directions once she had gotten to a certain point. She looked almost joyous in the storage room. Her eyes were bright and her fingers trailed against shelves, searching for not the right object but the right feeling. The way she looked, so positively in her element, made Severus' mouth run dry. Is this what his Hermione was like daily? She was stunning. How had he overlooked her for so long?

"It's here," she said rushing down another corridor of shelves.

They were now deep in the storage room, Lucius was hardly sure they could find their way back. "It's here I can feel it, can you?"

Lucius shook his head, everything in this room was so dark, it was almost like a blanket dulling his senses. She stopped and reached her small hand upwards, a few shelves above her head, leaning forward on her tip toes and grabbed something, what, he could not be sure.

She looked at him with the Horcrux, smiling as she held it out to the two men. A gold cup that looked like a trophy, she held it by the handle victoriously over her head. It looked like she had won a race. "This is it, the final Horcrux."

Lucius' eyes widened and he grabbed the arm that wasn't holding the Horcrux and pulled her behind him. "This is why I couldn't feel anything, what are dementors doing here?"

"Hermione you mu-" Severus was cut off by a high pitched cackle. "Sevvy Sevvy Sev-uhr-russs"

Lucius knew that voice anywhere. It plagued his dreams, and his walking life. Bellatrix had come to meet them at the location of the last Horcrux. "Oh! Lucius," Bella sounded almost surprised that he even existed. The two men stood straighter in front of the crazed witch. If Bellatrix was here, trouble was not far behind. "I thought you were dead"

"Unfortunately not." Lucius replied. His bored tone was an act. He was fidgeting with his wand in his free hand.

"Oh and the missy mudblood, the dark lord wishes to see you now." Bella said sweetly approaching them, her heels clicking off the marble.

It was not Lucius, but Severus who acted first. A stupefy that was shot and dodged easily by the maniacal witch. All three of them sprang apart, with Lucius pulling Hermione with him in an effort to protect her. She hated being wandless. She couldn't help anyone!

Bellatrix laughed at their efforts to curse her and screamed "Crucio!"

There was a red jet of light her dark potions professor easily dodged, his body was fluid and before

he even recovered he had shot a counter curse. A cry of pain erupted beside her.

"Severus, we have to go!" Lucius hissed, clutching his arm. "The dark lord is here in the ministry!"

Bellatrix shot another curse, and dementors circled them like vultures waiting for prey. Every so often one would swoop behind Hermione. Her cape fluttering at their near miss. Her emotions turning hopeless for the split second that they came nearest. At her shrill scream when one dementor's cold hand stroked her hair, Lucius pulled her closer into him, hiding her face in his chest as he shot yet another spell at Bellatrix.

"Expecto Patronum," Severus was right next to them, his voice boomed throughout the empty room and a blast of light emitted from his wand followed by a lioness that charged towards the ceiling.

She did not time to think of what that could possibly mean, and instead began to sprint towards the front of the storage room, dementors on her heel and Bellatrix not far behind. They had to get out. It was a singular goal. They had to get out before anything worse happened. If Voldemort was truly here, her worst nightmare would have come true, but she was feeling lucky. He couldn't possibly be here. They would survive this. They had survived much worse.

Hermione reached the door finally and yanked on it, but it would not budge. A dementor dove at her, pulling in her hair with it's deathly cold fingers. She tried to beat it off of her, but even the felix felicis stopped working and all she felt was terror. Her luck had ran out.

A coldness that seeped into her body that she had never felt in the accursed mountains. She could only envision seeing her two companions being killed by Bellatrix as they protected her. Tears sprang to her eyes as the thought played itself over and over. It was her fault. They were all going to die because of her.

A cutting spell hit the door just above her head, pulling her from her thoughts. She saw Bellatrix chasing both Severus and Lucius down the storage room towards her. She only grabbed the cup tighter, and bent over it in an effort to protect the horcrux, and herself from the dementors that kept swooping towards her. She saw a blast of light reflected off the marble, another Patronus, this time from Lucius. There was a hissing noise as the dementors hastily retreated and they caught up to her. Lucius grabbed her and offered her a wane smile as Severus blasted the doors out. They began their escape from the Department of Mysteries.

Hermione broke out into a dead sprint once they had managed to get out into the deserted hallway of the Department of Mysteries, losing both of her shoes as she kicked her feet behind her, the black marble was cold underfoot.

The horcrux in her hand began to rattle and Lucius screamed in agony behind her. She whirled around to see if he had been hit by a curse but instead he was clutching his arm and fell to his knees. Severus had managed a few steps further, but seemed to have fallen under the same pain.

"My loyal followers," It sounded like a snake, and it sounded like it was right behind her. "Why do you run from me? Do you have something to hide from your master?"

Hermione grabbed the cup tighter and sighed in frustration. Why of all people did he have to show up now? She turned around, fear rushing through her body like an old friend, spurring her to action.

Voldemort did not walk, he glided. It was unsettling in his long robes to see him almost barely human. "and Potter'sss mudblood, thank you for fetching my horcrux for me. It ssseems that it was not as well guarded as I had once thought."

She rushed over to Severus and grabbed his wand out of his hand, holding it out in front of her "Stay away Lord Voldemort,"

"At least you've learned to show respect for your betters." He was approaching faster now. Bellatrix was following him, giggling and clapping like a deranged toddler next to her lord.

She could not take on the dark lord, not with a borrowed wand, not with dementors swooping around like angry bats in the closed hallways of the Ministry. They were dead if she didn't think fast, and there was no easy way to distract him and save both Lucius and Severus. Her heart was in her throat. she hoped that felix felicis was still in her veins and only one spell came to mind.

"Accendere Fyre."

She couldn't control the wand, it was not her own, the room went up in flames faster than she could realize what she had done. A giant flaming serpent, a veritable basilisk of fire, began to slither across the room, leaving a trail of fire that needed no fuel to burn.

Fiendfyre was untamable, even to the caster. Hermione looked in horror as the flaming snake reared towards the three of them, but instead turned towards Voldemort. Luck was truly on her side. The fire alarms of the ministry went off, a screeching noise, that reverberated through the halls. So much for her luck. It sounded like a falcon was screaming in her ear with a sonorus charm. She got down on her knees and shook Severus who was gritting his teeth in pain as he held his mark. "Severus, please, you have to apparate us, I'll splinch us with your wand."

"Where is my wand?" He hissed, trying to sit up, eying the fire that was beginning to creep up towards them.

She handed it to him, and he looked over at Lucius "Grab him, I don't know if we can apparate, but I'll try. Fucking hell." He threw his head back, hissing in pain.

Hermione shook Lucius to hopefully get him to move towards them, however he did not move, instead she just grabbed his hand, putting the gold cup between her teeth, and offered her other one to Severus. He hesitated for only a moment before lacing his fingers with hers. She offered him a small smile even with a cup in her mouth, and nodded. The dark haired man exhaled slowly, closing his eyes, and the last thing she saw was a flash of green light.

They fell, rather ungracefully, in a heap in the snow covered grass outside a small cottage. Hermione spat out the cup from her mouth and sighed, grateful that they apparated before the

Avada hit. "Where are we?" She asked looking at Severus who was laying next to her, staring at the sky.

He was in stark contrast with the snow, his hair was splayed out, sweat had formed on his brow. "My home," he replied lifting up his right arm and inspecting the dark mark "It no longer hurts, I believe the dark lord thinks we are dead, Lucius."

"Thank merlin for small favors." The blonde on the other side of her replied, he had his eyes closed and looked silently relieved to be thought dead "are you okay, pet?"

Hermione looked up at the small house, sitting back on her heels in the thin blanket of snow and a bright smile broke out on her face "I'm cold, and I'm so relieved."

"Me too." Lucius said sitting up next to her.

Severus stood up, and offered his hand to her "Let's go inside then and stop loitering in my yard. The neighbors will talk."

They put the cup in a safe in the basement, intending to smash it later and settled down on a leather couch together, breaking open a celebratory bottle of firewhiskey.

"To our very timely deaths!" Hermione toasted. "Cheers to that," Lucius replied.

Severus clinked his glass to hers and they took a sip, the liquid burned her throat. She had never felt more at home than in the crowded living room of Severus' house. Books were crammed from floor to ceiling and the warmth of the fire combined with the comforting smells of her two men was lulling her to sleep.

She yawned and Severus moved to get up, but she stopped him by lacing her fingers with his. The firewhiskey had made her both warm and tired. "I think I just need a little nap."

"Hermione," he said thickly, looking down at their hands entwined. He opened his mouth to protest but closed it quickly.

She had fallen asleep, half on Lucius who was nursing his firewhiskey and reading the paper that he had missed, and her hand in Severus'. She was so warm. The potion's master couldn't help but stare at her while she was asleep. She touched him so easily now, and he knew that after days of saving each other's life, and weeks of living in close quarters made it so it didn't bother him. However, it seemed so monumental that she felt this comfortable with him. He ran his fingers over her knuckles. When had he gotten so infatuated with her? When did he stop thinking of her as Miss Granger? It happened so fast he could hardly remember the moment he stopped thinking of her as his student, and more of a woman.

"Oh! She's asleep." Lucius said folding the paper and shifting to let her lay on his lap instead of his shoulder. The blonde looked over at Severus who was studying her hand intently. He had never seen the man so invested in a girl before, every little thing the petit witch did had a profound effect on the dark potions master. It was not that Severus was unaccustomed to women, it's that he was unaccustomed to being wanted for more than just a night.

"Are you so intent on hiding from her now?" Lucius asked after a sip of firewhiskey.

"Everything she does is so innocent, can I be the one to rob her of that?" the other man responded, finally setting her hand down on his lap.

"You can't rob anyone of something they give."

"Why would she want to give anything to us?"

"That is another conversation entirely, but I think some sleep would do us all a world of good."

Lucius picked up the sleeping girl but she would not let go of Severus, and the three of them walked upstairs to the master bedroom. For tonight Severus would indulge in her selfishness, for Lucius, he would always indulge in it.

Hermione was tucked in between them, her face buried in Severus chest, Lucius watching her lazily. He could get used to having a young witch in his bed with him. Narcissa always opted to sleep in separate rooms, only coming to him for sex and allowances. He felt like a bank account who took cold sex in return for withdrawals. Hermione was the opposite of his ex wife, warm and full of life, young and caring. She had wanted companionship and friendship from him, not money and status. It was when she had a choice to save him, or flee the manor that he started looking at her differently.

She was fierce and loyal, a true Griffyndor. At first he thought he was protecting her out of a life debt, out of a need to use her, but he found himself less and less concerned with how useful she was, and more concerned about how small she was. How delicate she could be. How she looked at him with gratefulness when he did the simplest task of cooking stale food. He traced a finger down around her shoulder, following the curve of her spine, causing her to make a small whimper in her sleep. Severus shot him a look over her head, but Lucius smiled. Sometimes he could be so serious, he just wanted to touch her.

It was not long before they all had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

An incessant tapping woke Hermione up and when she shifted Lucius woke up too. "What is it, pet?"

She sat up in the bed, and squinted at the bright window "It's an owl."

Severus, she was discovering, was not a morning person and he groused as he got up to see what the owl was. Lucius however was now wary of the bird and told Hermione not to open the window.

Severus opened the window and looked back at them disappointed "it's only the prophet."

"We just set fire to the ministry and went gallivanting around killing dark wizards, what do you expect from me?" Hermione huffed, now feeling rather stupid that she had overreacted to a harmless newspaper delivery.

"Apparently the entire department of mysteries is burned out thanks to you." Severus said showing her the photo of the ministry of magic on fire before turning it back to himself "The FiendFyre is said to have been cast by known death eater Bellatrix Lestrange, whose charred remains were found in the Department of Mysteries."

"It's true? She's dead then?" Lucius asked excitedly and then, quite unexpectedly he turned to Hermione and hugged her. "Ah my pet, you have destroyed a plague on my bank accounts!" He picked her up and she felt that familiar flush spread over her face. "One more and I can have the manor back!"

"That's a big one more," Severus drawled, interrupting them "and we have plenty to do. I'll shower first." His voice was terse and Lucius put her down.

"Wait," Hermione said, feeling slightly sheepish that she had such an intimate moment in front of Severus. He was already out of the room and she heard the bathroom slam shut. She turned back to Lucius but she felt horrible, she shouldn't be guilty for showing a display of affection with him, but Severus looked almost betrayed. She couldn't keep them both, she shouldn't have gotten involved in Lucius, hurting Severus felt like a knife twisting in her heart.

"How are you feeling today?" The blonde asked, trying to stay aloof.

"Confused," she replied honestly, shifting her weight from one foot to the next before turning to leave.

Lucius grabbed her wrist and looked at her seriously "Do not be ashamed of your feelings, pet. Whatever feels right is right."

She narrowed her eyes at him, did he know something she didn't? "I just..I need some time to think." She wrenched her hand from his and darted out the door of the bedroom.

What did he mean by telling her something so cryptic? She was starting to regret doing anything with Lucius. Now that they were back in England, and back to civilization, she was beginning to realize how stupid her feelings were for both of them. She was still a student. She was the poster child for the light, a muggleborn witch with a bright future. She shouldn't get involved with dark wizards romantically, even worse, her Professor! How stupid could she be! Lucius was most likely using her anyways, he always looked after himself. She felt tears in her eyes at the thought. She was plain with bushy hair and an attitude. She was a muggleborn! They were just using her because they had no one else at the time.

She was staring at his bookshelves but not seeing the books, and a voice interrupted her "See anything you like?"

She turned to see Severus standing in his living room, in nothing but a white t-shirt and some woolen pants and her mouth went dry. He had a lean figure that was honed from many duels and his hair was still slightly wet. Merlin, but these men were so handsome and they were always in front of her! She quickly averted her eyes back to the bookshelf.

"Yes," she answered honestly, but not about the books. "You have so many rare titles. I'd spend an eternity here just to read them all."

"I have curated my collection over my entire life, even I have not read them all, but it is a good project to have." He stood next to her, his fingers tracing the spine of one book in particular "Perhaps when the war is over."

He tugged the book out of it's place, a feat in itself, considering how densely all the books were packed and handed it to her "Return it when you are finished."

Her heart was beating fast just by the intimacy of a book recommendation from him. Hadn't she just sworn to herself that she wasn't going to get involved with either of them?

Hermione looked down at the title as Severus walked around the room looking for another book to read: The Magic of People

She decided that after a shower and breakfast she would read it. He recommended it after all, and she cherished his opinion. Even if she know that she shouldn't get deeper involved with her dark potions professor, she would take what she was given.

A hot shower in a rather cozy bathroom had settled her thoughts and she came out to the delicious

smells of bacon and eggs for breakfast. She was clothed in a new set of pajamas, still not her own, still tied extra tight around her waist with sleeves that were bunched up around her wrists.

Lucius was an excellent cook, which was slightly disconcerting for her pureblood aristocrat stereotype that she had projected on him. He looked quite in his element cooking over the cramped stove that Severus had, bantering about the lack of space in his kitchen compared to the manor. They were almost picturesque together, complete opposites of the spectrum in men, but still they moved together fluidly, as if they had had this same daily routine for all of time.

Severus, who was leisurely reading the daily prophet while drinking a steaming cup of black coffee, noticed her first when he went to flip a page and caught her staring. It was only when they both looked back at her she realized that she wanted to see this every morning. It was selfish, but she loved their domesticity. She felt like an intruder even if they welcomed her.

Hermione sat down, ashamed of her thoughts towards the two men, and instead decided it would be better to lock that in the deepest recesses of her mind. It was only a fantasy brought on by the fact that she had been spending so much time with them. That's what it was, a willing Stockholm Syndrome. "It isn't a feast, but I will treat you to the most grandest feast once I get the manor back," he said putting a full English Breakfast down in front of her.

She was grateful for real food, and grateful for food that hadn't been preserved in a bag for a few days. Lucius seated himself at the small table in the kitchen. "Really Severus, a dining room would be more appropriate."

"And who am I inviting to dinner? All of my friends?" He opened the paper "I hardly use this table for anything more than storage, I don't need a ceremony to eat by myself."

"I wouldn't expect you to be able to cook Lucius," Hermione interrupted rather a dark line of thought from the dour man who was grousing behind his morning paper.

"When you develop such a fine taste for things as I have, you'll find that everyone else is inadequate." He said stabbing at some scrambled egg. "I am the only good cook I know."

Her professor looked at her knowingly and raised an eyebrow, causing her to smile around her cup of coffee.

"What! What's so amusing?" He asked looking between them and she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer.

"Lucius," she replied "You must not know many cooks."

Severus let out a snort of laughter next to her, and held his paper higher to hide his mirth. "Give me that food back! I won't be insulted at my table!"

"If I recall," Severus interrupted "this is my table."

Lucius stabbed at another piece of egg with force a small huff of breath as he ate more of his food. This domesticity, she craved it. She craved them. Gods but she was such a harlot for wanting them both! She wouldn't pick either, she just wanted them both in her life, and she was confusing her wires. She wanted them to be close friends, that was all.

They were exhausted from their journey, which was apparent by their choice of activities, Lucius had dozed off, and Severus was reading above her on the couch, stretched out with a heavy tome on his chest, flicking through pages every so often. She sat on the floor, leaning against the couch and reading the book that he had recommended. The crackling of the fire was the only noise she

could hear between page turns. It was bliss.

It was when she yawned, her eyelids getting heavy after understanding how magic manifests in the body, that Severus finally laid his book on his chest. "We will have to meet the order soon, and return the horcruxes."

She looked up at him, her potions master who now just looked like Harry and Ron did after a long day, stretched out in a white shirt and his comfortable pants, completely at peace.

"When?"

"There is no hurry," he said looking up at the ceiling "there is always a great deal of time when the world believes you're dead."

She smiled down into her book "Do you enjoy being dead then?"

"Absolutely, however, I shall return you to Minerva in due time and you won't have to deal with some dead death eaters at your breakfast."

The realization that this would not be her everyday hit her like the Hogwarts Express, it felt like all the air had been pushed out of her body. "I...I do rather like having death eaters at my breakfast table. I was hoping it would be a common occurrence." She felt stupid for bringing it up to him, even if they had been through so much together, it was different now. Being back in society means they had to resume their roles.

"If you wish, perhaps we could have breakfast more frequently together." His voice was low and sounded like pure seduction.

Merlin, did Severus know of his power over her? He must! No man could possess such a voice and not know how it made others react. A flush rose on her face and she bowed her head to hide it. "I would like that." She finally answered.

He hummed in agreement.

It was another few hours before she eventually fell asleep as well, nodding off on her book.

Chapter End Notes

Happy Easter dear readers! I hope you enjoy the action with a hint of the trio's daily life at the end. I sometimes think domesticity is better than smut, but we'll get to the lemons in the next chapter, so enjoy some lemonade first :) See you next Sunday.

Seeing Heaven

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

She woke up in the bed next to Lucius who was doing accounts, Severus was conspicuously absent and she never realized how empty a bed could be when it was just two people. Hermione pushed her bushy hair out of her face and looked up at the blonde who was currently engrossed in figures. "Where is Severus?"

"In the lab, we were waiting for you to wake before dinner." He said scratching something on the sheet.

"Are you cooking again?" she asked sitting up and trying to peek at what he was doing.

"Sadly no, Severus has a house elf that will be taking it off my hands since some people can't appreciate my talents."

He could be so sensitive sometimes, she nudged him. "Lucius, I appreciate your talents, we were just having a bit of a laugh."

Lucius looked down at the young girl who still was half asleep and naturally curled up next to him. He wondered how she had become such a necessity in his life. He couldn't believe he was even sitting in bed with her now, but it seemed only natural to be overprotective of her. She had been kidnapped from underneath him not a few nights ago, and now he felt like he was the only thing separating her from imminent danger. As she stretched again and got up, a smile on her face when he looked up at her out of his numbers, he wondered if protection was the only reason he wanted to sleep in bed with her.

She slipped into the bathroom, leaving him with his thoughts. How had he become so enamored with her? She was warm, caring and affectionate in the smallest of matters. Hermione was a force of nature, in more ways than one. Lucius had never been one to dwell on a woman or to chase after them, but he was indebted to her. She didn't demand anything in return for saving his life, and he was more than intrigued by what he could do to repay her. As days went by it became more and more apparent that she wanted nothing from him more than his companionship. She was not a pureblood, she didn't act like a pureblood, and that was why he loved her. She was no one else, just Hermione.

She curled back up next to him, propping herself up on pillows with a book. "Do you ever get tired of looking at your money?" She asked, opening the book to the page where she had left off last.

"Not when I need to rebuild my fortune that is draining far more rapidly than it replenishes." He sighed looking at the negatives on the paper "Malfoy's are not paupers, I won't give Draco a disgrace."

She peeked at his papers "Your current "disgrace" is more than most people will ever dream of making in their lifetime."

He looked over at her seriously "I am not most people."

"So I've gathered," she said with another yawn before settling herself in to read before dinner. It was halfway through the book when she came upon a chapter simply entitled The Triad.

Her eyes widened as she read the page, her eyes scanning each line as fast as she could comprehend

"a powerful relationship for wizards and witches, the Triad is oft sought after for an increase in power of one's magical core, while not known to be stable in nature, Triads have had roles of import in many wizarding conflicts and cannot be ignored for their capacity to concentrate magic exponentially."

She snapped the book shut causing Lucius' attention to turn back towards her "What's wrong, pet?"

Her eyes had narrowed, she suddenly realized why Severus had recommended this book for her, or maybe she was drawing lines where there were none. "Tell me what you know about triads."

Lucius stared hard at his accounts, trying to think of the best way to talk to his sweet Hermione, whose kisses were so innocent that he felt guilty receiving them about entering into a relationship with two men. He frowned and looked over at her, plucking the book out of her hands despite her cry of protest.

"Did Severus give this to you for reading?" He looked at the cover, she had definitely gotten this out of his library. Did that mean Severus had come to the same conclusion as he had? Had he finally accepted the possibility of a triad? The idea was exciting, but it was the wrong way of going about it.

She bit her lip, and he could see the connections being made in her head, finally her eyes narrowed "A triad with me? You discussed this without me! How long have you two been scheming this?"

"It's not scheming, pet. It's planning."" He reassured the spitfire that was bouncing off of the bed, her arms crossed, putting as much distance between them as possible.

"All these confusing feelings about the two of you from the past few days, were you trying to seduce me into a triad? Why?"

She was nigh hysterical. He didn't think she would take it so poorly. He had thought their camaraderie would easily translate into a relationship. Had he read it wrong?

"Do you dislike the idea so much?" Lucius replied, his voice sounded cold and detached even to him. Her rejection hurt more than he had anticipated.

"It's not normal is it? I can't have you both, it's selfish and wrong. I can't! What will other people say of our relationship?"

"Is normalcy your only objection?" He said getting off the bed and standing, pretending to be interested in a bit of lint on his jacket before looking at the girl on the far end of the room.

"I don't want to lose you because of a moment of lust, you're both such good friends, you've saved me so many times, and I..." her voice faltered "What if it doesn't work out? I can't imagine these Triad things last very long without jealousy getting in the way."

He winced, realizing she had hit the truth far quicker than he had expected, Triads often fell apart due to jealousy, or two of the triad getting closer than the third. He didn't expect that with them, but she obviously did. It was valid, and more than her initial objections of it being strange.

Lucius advanced on her, and she took a step back, but suddenly the wall was behind her and Lucius was in front of her. His hands were on her waist. His face was dangerously close to hers

"Do you think I have not struggled with the idea of a triad as you have?" His fingers stroked her

jawline, tilting her head up "When I woke up to see you in bed with the three of us, I knew I had seen perfection. Do you deny that you like sleeping between us at night?"

Her eyes widened. She hadn't realized how inappropriate their relationship had become out of lack of social cues. She did like sleeping between them. She liked being around them. Would it be so bad if her hidden desires were realized? It sounded so wrong, but when Lucius spoke her desires. They sounded almost common.

"I don't want to lose you," her voice was weak.

He smiled that charming Lucius smile that looked almost predatory. It was disarming to most, but to Hermione it was reassuring "I owe you my life, twice over. You will not lose me in this life or the next, my pet."

His lips met hers, soft and gentle unlike his last kiss and she let out a small whimper. Lucius'

kisses were her new addiction. His fingers would thread up in her unruly hair and pull her into him. His tongue dueling with hers for dominance. He was all consuming, and she couldn't wait to be consumed. She felt heat pool in her stomach, wishing he would touch her more but instead he broke away from her, his eyes dark and his breathing heavy.

"Will you try it?"

"A triad?" She asked slightly dazed from his kisses.

"Yes."

"You promise you won't leave if it doesn't work out?"

Lucius gave her a smile "I couldn't leave if I wanted to, I am bound by you witch."

A house elf popped into the room wringing its hands and looking down at their feet. "Master and miss, dinner is served."

Hermione touched her lips and followed Lucius out of the room, down the stairs, and into the cramped kitchen where a full course was laid out. Severus, who was now in a wool suit instead of his comfortable outfit from earlier, was reading and waiting for them.

"About time," he said as they sat down at the table.

Hermione grabbed a roll from the center of the table and steeled herself. She would ask what Severus thought of this triad business, but as she opened her mouth Lucius beat her to the punch.

"So, Severus, about the triad..." The blonde next to her said as if he was discussing the weather.

The dark man's eyes widened, and he dropped his fork on the table. Hermione bit her lip and focused on the bread in her hands. It would be a long dinner.

"You went through the book much quicker than I had thought." Severus replied, his tone impassive.

He was guarded. His eyes took that cold look he often gave her when he was avoiding something. She hated that coldness. Hermione licked her lips, trying to tamp down the nervousness she was feeling. How could she ask her Professor to be in a threesome with her? The whole idea sounded preposterous when she thought about it. Lucius had convinced her otherwise upstairs but now that they were in front of him, it was hard to make the words come out of her mouth.

"Severus," she said down into her plate. "Did you talk...do you want to...why did you give me that book?"

"I thought it would be some use to you." He replied, dodging the question.

"Severus, don't be daft." Lucius cut their nervousness with his directness "Hermione asked if double was better, and I said why not try it? What do you think?"

"Lucius!" She replied scandalized "I said nothing of the sort! I just...I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you Severus, and I want to be with you Lucius, despite your bad manners, but I don't want to ruin our friendship. We've been through so much, but it would be nice if we could be more than friends, but if you don't want to be that...it's okay. I just thought that maybe if you wan-"

"Do you want that Hermione?" He asked the flustered teenage girl at their table, these times, when she was upset, when she was hurt, when she was scared, she looked the youngest.

"It would be nice to wake up every morning together," she smiled down into her plate, pushing her food around "and to go to sleep together, and other things."

"I'm twice your age, and a death eater, and I am not an easy man to deal with. I am a dangerous person to be associated with, do you really wish that upon yourself?"

"What does that make me?" Lucius shot back.

"I don't care," she said, sitting up straighter now, reassured that he would not reject her, but instead he was expecting her to reject him. "I know who you are Severus Snape, and I want to be with that person."

"Oh." He said, a small smile twitched at his lips.

Lucius accio'd some firewhiskey "So we can try it then?"

"I would like to...very much." Hermione smiled brightly "If it means I can stop this torment over which of you I'd rather have, I'd like to."

"Torment?" Severus asked.

"It is very hard to choose one of you. You're both disgustingly attractive" Hermione replied matter- of-factly, and it caused Lucius to preen over himself in response.

Finally the air at the table had relaxed back into their usual comfort and they began eating again. Nothing had changed, and she felt at ease now that her feelings that she developed were no longer a dirty secret that she had to war with. Everything was out in the open now, and she smiled around another bite of delicious steak. These were the men she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Never had she felt so much at home in the wizarding world as she did at the table with Lucius and Severus. It was as frightening as it was comforting. How could she feel so amazing with some of the most feared men of their generation?

Lucius tugged on her hand, awakening her from her thoughts and he had a bottle of firewhiskey and some glasses in hand "Let's celebrate then, pet!"

Lucius was always a handful. She smiled at his childishness and got up at his insistence, following him into the sitting room. Severus was close behind.

"To us!" Lucius said clinking their glasses together, and Hermione found herself laughing at how silly the whole situation was.

They were sitting on the floor around the fire, enjoying each other's company and talking about the benefits of a triad with a side of firewhiskey. They had been through so much in the past few weeks.

"I know that you put me to bed when I was at Malfoy Manor." Hermione admitted as Lucius poured her another glass of firewhiskey.

Severus' eyes widened and he looked down into his glass, embarrassed "I couldn't let you sleep on the floor. You might have been my prisoner but you weren't a dog."

"Ah," Lucius interrupted with a knowing smile "Severus has always been very affectionate when you weren't looking."

"Is it true?" She asked, and then closed her eyes "If I am not looking now, will you be affectionate?"

She could smell him before she felt him, sandalwood and firewhiskey, potions ingredients and musk. Severus was an amalgamation of all things that made her body heat up, and her thoughts scatter. His lips touched hers, soft and searching with the faintest tinge of alcohol. Severus' kisses were tentative, which made them even sweeter to her. They were much different than Lucius' demanding and sure kisses. She leaned into him easily, deepening the kiss. Her tongue slipping past his lips and meeting his, a small whimper escaping her lips as she felt him cup her face. Severus was so warm despite his cold exterior. She wanted him. She wanted to feel all of his warmth.

She heard him inhale sharply. His kiss becoming rougher and more demanding, pulling her against him. She wanted this, all of his controlled fury was undone by her, and she would take it all. Her body was hot and ached for him already. How could he have such control over her with a single kiss?

He broke away from her suddenly, his breathing heavy. She opened her eyes and saw just how dark his eyes were, mere inches away from her face. "If you do that when I'm not looking," she breathed "I hope I become blind very soon."

"Close them again," he demanded roughly, getting on his knees before her. He was a head taller than her now and she looked up at him with awe. How had she ever despised this man?

She did as he asked. Her lips parting of her own accord. Her breathing hitched feeling his hands come around her neck, holding her still as he kissed her again. A slight gasp when his lips met hers, this time he was no longer gentle, no longer tentative, but demanding and possessing. His tongue battled with hers for dominance, her body was on fire and she felt heat pooling in her stomach, squirming to relieve the building ache between her thighs. She was addicted to him, how long had he had these kind of powers over her?

Hermione felt a second pair of hands come around her waist, unbuttoning her bottom button. She had never been so adored before. She could not help letting a moan escape her, muffled by Severus' lips. Lucius began to unbutton her shirt, hesitating at each one to allow her to refuse. His lips on her shoulder. His warmth behind her. She gasped, breaking the kiss, as Lucius' hands splayed across her stomach. Her thoughts were completely scattered, all she could focus on was touch, and even that was overwhelming.

Severus was breathing heavy. She couldn't look away from his eyes. It might have been the firewhiskey, or it might have been the way his kisses made her feel, but she wanted this, she wanted them. "The bed," she demanded "please."

Severus led her by the hand. She was positively enraptured by him. He had a small quirk in his lips, as they walked up the small stairwell to the master bedroom. Her heart was pounding furiously in a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

The master bedroom was cold, and dark, goosebumps rose on her arms and she bit her lips, reaching out for Severus' other hand in the darkness.

She felt her fingers lace with someones and with a whispered incendio the fire lit the room they were in. Lucius and Severus stood before her, her men, a voice in the back of her mind reassured her. Her heart caught in her throat. She felt like she didn't deserve so much. She was just plain Hermione, and now she was looked at as if she was a goddess.

Her hands were shaking. She was suddenly aware that she was on display, but Lucius stepped behind her, his arms slipping around her slim waist again, coming up and beginning to unbutton her shirt, his lips on her neck "So perfect."

The air was still cold on her skin that he was exposing inch by inch. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him. His fingers would ever so gently brush against her, exploring her body and setting her on fire. She thought she would die from anticipation, every time his nimble fingers would pause on the next button, she dragged her lip between her teeth. She had never known such want, why was he teasing her so?

Severus captured her lips with his own, taking her mind off Lucius' frustratingly slow touches and running his hands up her bare skin, and leaving trails of fire. She arched up into Severus' touch that stopped just below her full breasts. They both were such excellent teases! She moaned in frustration, only to feel him nip at her bottom lip in response.

She heard a chuckle in her ear "Patience, pet." Lucius whispered as he slid her top off her shoulders, discarding it on the floor.

He began to kiss down her bared shoulder, while Severus continued to distract her with his mouth. Their touches were gentle and seeking, studying each plane of her body with their fingertips. She felt overwhelmed unable to focus on just one touch, on just one sensation. How could she have been so lucky? She whimpered and pressed herself into Severus.

He inhaled sharply and finally Severus' hands, that were resting on her rib cage, travelled higher to cup her breasts. His hands were rough and calloused from potions making, and yet they were warm and gentle. She had no idea her breasts were so sensitive until she felt his touch. Merlin, but the man was an expert at her body even if this was his first time holding her. She broke the kiss, breathing heavily, her eyes dark with desire.

Lucius untied her pants in one smooth motion, and she was naked between the two men. Even without her clothing she was still burning up, unashamed of her nakedness between them. She was beautiful, she felt beautiful. "I think, you're both overdressed," she smiled nervously, playing with a button on Severus' vest.

"Undress me then," he commanded smoothly

She swore she had never heard something so arousing in her life and felt a flood of wetness between her thighs. His outfit was positively made of buttons! How was she going to undress him

in the state she was in? Her trembling hands began to make quick work of the buttons on his black vest, each one coming undone to reveal his white shirt underneath.

Lucius sat down on the bed, his cock straining against his pants as he watched his sweet young Hermione undress his best friend. Was there anything more arousing than watching her? She looked over at him and he felt his cock throb uncomfortably. She was a surprising vixen. He was not as patient as Severus was, he began to undo his own buttons on his shirt.

She had reached the bottom of his vest and reached up for the top button on his shirt and felt him grab her breast again, rolling one taut nipple between his finger and thumb, causing her to cry out and lean into his touch. Oh, but he was a sadist indeed! She wasn't going to be able to stand for much longer, the ache between her legs was almost too much! Her fingers began to move faster. Each button seemed to take an eternity to undo, and with each button on the white shirt, she saw a little more of him. Hermione wanted to kiss every inch of his skin. She had never had to earn the sight of a man as much as she had to earn the sight of Severus.

When she had undid the last button on his shirt, he tilted her head up and rewarded her with a searing kiss. His tongue sought hers out instantly, his hand threading up into her hair. So he wasn't as patient as she had thought, he needed her much as she needed him. His free hand dropped down from her breast and cupped her sex causing her to moan and her knees to grow weak. How did he have so much power over her? She couldn't even stand anymore.

"So sensitive," he whispered, one finger stroking against her slit.

It felt like electricity had tore through her and she bucked against his hand. She was so shameless, all she could do was respond to him. It was exhilarating. She had never felt so alive as she did at his mercy. She moaned his name, her fingers splaying across his bare chest, she wanted to explore every part of him.

He withdrew his hand. His finger coated in her juices and he licked his own finger to taste her. He led her to Lucius, who was half undressed and she could tell, very aroused. Lucius looked like Adonis beckoning for her. His hands coming around her soft waist and holding her between his legs. His golden hair caught the firelight and his grey eyes were almost blue as took in the sight of her. She had no idea she could be the object of desire for a man who was so unabashedly perfect, but he took her in his arms, caressing her skin. She wouldn't question anything tonight, for tonight, she would enjoy being with them. He pressed his lips to her stomach, and then pulled her onto the bed with him.

"Severus, doesn't she look divine?" Lucius said, straddling her body, kissing up from her navel to between her full breasts. He lingered each time he left his lips on her she became a little less patient. Her body arching to meet his lips of its own accord.

"Lucius, don't be a tease-ah!" Her complaints were muted by his hot mouth on one of her sensitive breasts, causing her to bow upwards, needing more of the delicious pleasure that came from his tongue swirling around her taut nipple.

"Patience, pet." Lucius said moving from one breast to the other, his hand coming up and massaging the other one, drawing her nipple to a peak again. She was writhing beneath him and he hadn't even bothered to touch her where she ached the most. She was going to go insane from the need.

"Luciussss, ah, please, please touch me." She sounded so desperate.

She felt desperate. His hot mouth combined with the knowledge that she was being watched by

Severus made her even crazier. She had never known herself to be an exhibitionist but she was so turned on by being made a show of.

He moved up so his lips were beside her ear. She could feel his hot breath billowing down her neck. Why was it everything this man did was sexy? She bit her lip to contain herself, but it felt nigh impossible. He was driving her crazy. "Touch you where, pet?" he whispered huskily.

Her eyes widened, would he make her say it? She felt so wanton already, but she wanted it so badly she found she could no longer care "Please touch me between my legs, please Lucius!"

"Ah Hermione, you were made for me, I love it when a woman begs." He breathed in her ear. His hand trailed down her body until she felt him run his fingers across her slit, cupping her sex and dipping one finger inside of her. She bucked up against his hand, moaning his name as he kissed her neck. Her sex was throbbing, and as he pumped his digit in and out of her she found herself meeting each and every thrust. She wanted more, one finger wasn't enough. A cry of frustration left her lips.

"Lucius please, I need-" the words faltered and another moan escaped her lips as his thumb brushed against her swollen clit. They both were sadistic and she was at their mercy! All they did was torture her for amusement!

"Speak it, pet, I shall give it to you," he murmured sweetly in her ear.

The words he wanted to hear were so crass she couldn't bring herself to even think but they tumbled from her lips as soon as he brushed against her sensitive clit again "I need to be fucked!"

He let out a low chuckle and got off of her, kissing her briefly on the lips before sitting back at the head of the bed. His pants were gone and a very large erection in his hand, a small smile gracing his lips.

Hermione licked her lips unconsciously at the sight. She had seen the divine, and it was naked Lucius Malfoy on the bed. "Worship me pet, and I will show you heaven."

She crawled towards him, her body humming with unsatisfied lust and lowered her face to his cock, her lips kissing the red swollen tip. He gasped and tangled his fingers into her unruly hair. He was at her mercy. She loved this position most of all. A wicked smile spread across her face, Lucius was all hers.

She felt the bed dip behind her and Severus' hands running down her back, causing her to spread her legs a little wider. His touch was gentle and seeking, as if asking for permission from her to go lower. Hermione grabbed the base of Lucius' cock and tried to turn to see him, but the blonde held her in place.

"What is it that you want, Hermione?" Severus asked as his hands ran over her rear and brushed her slit.

She bucked against his touch "Please, please fuck me. Don't make me beg." She was so shameless, someone had to relieve her of this burning need.

Hermione felt the warm tip of Severus' cock against her wet slit, parting her lips with just the head. He felt thick and warm and she pressed against him, eager for more. A moan escaped her lips and she swirled her tongue around Lucius' cock.

Severus pressed himself into her slowly. She cried out as the head of his large member slipped inside of her, his hands gripping her hips as he tried to remain gentle with the small witch. "More,"

she begged, her body held in place by his strong hands. Every inch was torture and sweet release. She wanted this so badly. Her body tensed up, eager for relief.

Severus bottomed out inside of her with a hiss, his hips meeting hers. He was so big it almost burned. She felt so full, but the ache inside of her only increased as he held still. Finally he began to move and she let out a low moan, a shock of pleasure caused her whole body to tense up and in response she took Lucius' into her mouth, his hand guiding her movements, bobbing her up and down, matching each stroke of Severus'.

She was at their mercy, every sensation was so overwhelming. She was being filled from both ends and she loved every second of it. Lucius' moans were like music to her ears as she sucked on his cock, her tongue pressing up against the sensitive underside with each stroke. His fingers would reflex in her hair from moments where he caught himself pulling too hard, his hand shaking as she continued to take him deeper until he was hitting the back of her throat.

"Merlin, witch, you are so tight," Severus gasped from behind her.

She moaned as his strokes became faster, causing Lucius to cry out, his hips bucking into her mouth. Between these two men she felt adored, their desperation for release, their lust, was all because of her. She felt her body tremble as her own orgasm built up inside of her, each stroke coaxing it higher and higher. It felt like a string being wound inside of her. She could barely hold herself up any longer. Lucius' cock throbbed in her mouth and his moans turned into gasps. She could taste his salty precum on her tongue, and she relished in the fact that she had driven him crazy as he had with her.

"Hermione, I'm going to cum," Lucius sounded strained above her and he let go of her hair but she only took him deeper. She would swallow his seed, she wanted to feel him cum in her mouth. "Pet, I-"

He bucked his hips and she heard him cry out her name as he released himself into her mouth and she eagerly sucked him dry. She wanted all of him, she loved the taste of him. Her body was thrumming with pride and lust. Gods she was so wanton for him. She popped him out of her mouth and looked up at the blonde whose eyes were half lidded, his semen dripping out of the corner of her mouth.

Severus slammed into her from behind, her whole body rocking forward and she cried out. His fingers dug into her sides and she knew he was close to losing control with her. "Severus, please I need more, I need all of you," she begged. Her orgasm was so close. She knew he was holding back. She could feel it.

"You don't know what you ask, witch." He growled as he slammed into her again. She turned back to see her potion's master, her lover, glistening with sweat in the dim light of the fire. His skin was pale and his eyes were as black as coal, his hair sticking to his face.

"Please Severus, give me more." She begged breathlessly.

His eyes met hers and she felt her heart skip a beat, even in this position they were so connected. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up against him. He began to fuck her relentlessly, pounding into her pulsing sex, a growl slipping from his lips. Her eyes rolled back in her head at the noise, was there anything more erotic than this man? He drove her absolutely wild. Each thrust gave her more of what she wanted, the feeling inside of her growing tighter and tighter and finally she felt him slam inside of her and crying out her name he came, pulsating inside of her tight channel.

Her world exploded, from her fingers to her toes there was no feeling, every muscle tightening as her orgasm ripped through her. She arched her body against Severus who was panting in her ear, gasping "yes witch" over and over.

She floated back to earth. Her eyes fluttering open. She hadn't even remembered she had closed them, panting with a silly smile on her face. Lucius was enraptured with the two of them. A smile on his face as he got up to kiss her, sandwiching her between them. Severus kissed her temple gently "Beautiful," he gasped against her skin "So beautiful."

"My pet, you are perfection." Lucius said breathlessly next to them.

She smiled and her eyes closed again, she was exhausted, but she didn't want to fall asleep. She feared she would wake up and they would be gone.

"So good," she sighed "Lucius and Severus, we're so good. Merlin why did that take us so long."

They both laughed at the sleepy and sated girl between them. "Sleep now, tomorrow is a big day for all of us." Severus replied.

They laid in the bed, naked and sweaty, and completely exhausted. Lucius showed her heaven as he had promised, and it was in bed with her two death eaters.

Chapter End Notes

Smut as promised, I finally earned my mature rating. Expect more to come! Thanks for reading :)

From One Prisoner to Three

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

She was bundled up in Lucius' wool coat the next morning. He had fretted over her catching a cold over breakfast when they decided to go destroy a Horcrux, but Severus said a warming charm and a coat would be fine. They took the cup to the back yard, and she wielded her fang like an old friend instead of something to be feared. She looked back, wind blowing her hair in her face, to see Severus watching them from the doorway.

"Let's get this over with pet, and then we're free of this duty." Lucius reassured her as she threw the cup into the snow.

It glittered in the early morning sun, and she sighed. This was the worst part of their journey, but it was the reason she had the thrill of being sore this morning sandwiched between two men. A smile broke out on her face at the thought of Lucius' early morning kisses that coaxed her to wakefulness, and she decided it was an even trade off.

She drove the fang down into the side of the cup with all the force she could muster, a scream coming not from her, but from the object on the ground and with a splash she felt like she was under water, and the world went dark.

She was floating, not the pulling that the other two had given her, but a weightlessness that could only be described as swimming in warm water. Was she pressing down on the cup? Was she destroying it? She could not be sure, her senses were obscured by the all encompassing miasma that came out of the horcrux. It felt like time had stopped, and she was trapped here in the darkness. Panic began to set in at the concept of spending eternity in a shard of Voldemort's soul. She wondered if she was underwater how could she breathe at all? Hermione's tried to feel around, a tingling at her fingertips that was the only way she knew she was still alive.

She had to destroy the horcrux, but she wasn't even sure that the horcrux still existed. Apathy fought with her good senses. Why bother destroying something that doesn't exist? Wasn't that a useless task? Her thoughts drifted in and out like waves on the shore at a pace all their own, and she squeezed her hand tighter, pushing out, or perhaps down, she could not see her own limbs. It was like she had ceased to exist. What would Lucius and Severus do if she was gone? Oh well, a thought cooed in her ear, they'll survive.

Severus surely wouldn't, a small voice shot back, and Lucius would be at a loss! Who would patch him up when he was hurt? She felt like her fighting spirit had found it's way in the fog back to her, and with a gasp of air she focused on trying to destroy the horcrux. She wouldn't abandon her death eaters, she had just found them! It did not crash, but it popped like bubble wrap. The darkness suddenly apparated itself away, and she was gasping for air in Severus' back yard. The cup was now cracked, and bleeding black underneath her. She cried out in both relief and terror as she realized it was over. She was back in the land of the living.

Lucius rushed to her "It's okay pet, you got it, we're done here." He pulled her away from the cup and she dropped the fang into the snow.

"That was the worst one," she said, catching her breath "That was the worst one."

"That was the last one" Severus looked at her as he picked up the now destroyed horcrux,

investigating it before looking at Hermione, his brave lioness who sacrificed herself time and time again. "Let's go inside and pack up, we have to leave this place soon."

"Now?" Lucius said walking behind Hermione, watching her to make sure she didn't fall over.

"We might as well have called for the dark lord ourselves. The dulling potion most likely is no longer in effect." He said and he began to grab bags full of potions and ingredients "our only cover now is that we are believed to be dead." He looked at the daily prophet that held their obituaries.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked, grabbing the book he had recommended The Magic of People.

"The Order." Severus replied stuffing more ingredients into a bag.

Her heart stopped and Lucius choked behind her "We can't go to the order, they'll kill me!"

She felt reality rush up onto her and it slapped her right in the face. The Order had been a distant thought up until now, and she didn't know if she could bear to stand them knowing their reactions to her choices she had made while in captivity. She looked up at Lucius who looked equally as concerned about the order's reactions, but for a different reason.

"You could have warned me," Hermione snapped holding her book to her chest.

"I knew you would not wish to go, even if weeks had passed!" Severus replied irritated. "In case you have delightfully forgotten, I would like to get this war over with."

She turned away from the potion's master who seemed to have split personalities with her today. One minute he was praising her, the next he was scolding her. She knew that her short break from danger would not last, she did not expect it to end so soon.

"Severus, don't be short tempered." Lucius said and grabbed Hermione's free hand, pulling her close to him "We all would like to see the war ended, wouldn't we pet? It doesn't mean to become a downright bastard about it."

Severus was stacking books on the kitchen table where they had shared a leisurely breakfast not a few hours prior. "I do not relish in the idea that I have to bring her in front of the Order at all. They have never appreciated her, but unless we want another run in with our lord, then I suggest we leave now."

They heard cracks of apparition outside that signaled they were no longer alone and Severus looked at them pointedly. Hermione sighed, they could bicker all night at this rate. "Let's just go then, better now than later."

Severus gave at look to Lucius that said "I-told-you-so" before he wrapped his arm around the petite witch between them, and with another crack they were gone.

They arrived in a side alley she knew well as the best apparition point for 12 Grimmauld Place, Lucius was dusting himself off and then fixing his hair before he did the same for Hermione. "First impressions are the most important impressions." He recited

"I look like a vagrant in borrowed pajamas and a borrowed coat, I care little of first impressions." Hermione groused as he attempted to arrange her hair.

"You look radiant," Lucius shot back "Nothing less from my Hermione."

Severus, grabbed her hand and tugged her along until they stood in front of the two houses that sandwiched The Order Headquarters. It was a blustery winter day, and the piece of paper that her potions professor handed to the blonde almost flew out of his hand.

"Oh," he said rather eloquently as the houses began to part and revealed to the trio a town-home sandwiched between the other two: 12 Grimmauld Place.

Severus lead the way, his face set in his grimace that she now knew wasn't his usual expression, his cape that she had worn for weeks on end fluttered behind him. "Stay close, I don't know what they might do, but they will not lay a finger on you Hermione." The dark man said as they approached the doorstep.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and bit her lip. It was nerve wracking, what would they do to her? What would they do to them? Would they split them apart? What would Harry and Ron think?

Severus looked back at her, looking her once over to reassure her, and more likely himself, that it was going to be okay. Lucius kept her slightly behind him, his head raised proudly, and Severus knocked on the door.

She had forgotten to breathe in the few seconds it took Minerva McGonagall to open the door. The matron's eyes appraising the people on her doorstep before she stepped aside and let them in. Within minutes, the Order had gathered to gawk at the visitors in the foyer.

"Hermione!" It was Molly Weasley who broke the silence first, rushing out of the kitchen with her apron on "You're not dead! But how?"

"Mrs. Wea-" Hermione began.

"Miss Granger has been accompanying me and Mr. Malfoy on a small mission for the Headmaster, and as you can see she has safely been returned." Severus interrupted.

Lucius felt all the eyes on the house on him. He looked down at Hermione who was standing next to him, her eyes darted from one face to the next, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Death eater scum!" He heard someone shout and he looked over boredly to see Mad Eye Moody approaching them with his wand out and he rolled his eyes.

The room burst out into shouting and conversation. Some people shouting at them, others having side conversations about the strangers that blew into their foyer.

"Hermione, you don't have to stay with them, you're safe here with us." Molly cut in approaching her like she was an easily startled doe. It sounded condescending, did they really think that after all she had been through, that she shouldn't be treated like an adult?

Lucius scoffed, offended that anyone dare approach his Hermione "Get us a room and some tea."

"We're not house elves, Lucius." it was Remus, he descended the stairs off to her right "Hermione, it's okay, why don't you head up to your room before I take you back to Hogwarts?"

He used that same tone of voice that made her bristle. The room was near a riot. It was so loud and she couldn't focus on one voice. It was suffocating. They loomed over her and she wondered if they were always this threatening. The raucous noise echoing off the walls in the now, overly crowded foyer. She felt like if she moved even the slightest bit away from the two of them, she would see them stupified and thrown into Azkaban. "If it's all the same to you, I'll stay here."

"We don't work with death eaters and we certainly don't work with murderers!" Mad Eye snapped, his eye swiveling around the room "Stun the girl, grab the scum."

Hermione was scandalized, how could they speak of her like she was just in the way? Were they always so cruel? There was a cheer as the crowd of people began to turn into an angry mob. When did the order become so disorderly? They were the light! They were behaving no better than a group of death eaters. She could almost see Severus rolling his eyes. He turned over a bag that he had been carrying and the three horcrux fell into the floor one after another. He pulled a letter out of his robes.

"I have a missive from Dumbledore and the remaining Horcruxes have been destroyed, find my companions a room, and get some tea." Severus said, toeing the cup away from him. He knew it was inert, but after Hermione's reaction to it this morning he wasn't going to dare get near it. "And call Potter and Weasley from their fools errand. We have much to discuss."

She was glad to get clothing that fit her again, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that wasn't oversized and baggy, and was sitting by the fire next to Lucius on a small couch and reading more of The Magic of People. "I don't see why you call them your allies, they almost assaulted us in the foyer." Lucius said, sipping tea next to her.

She looked up from her book "Your former allies tried to kill us in the Department of Mysteries just the other day!"

He frowned and decided to change the subject "I hope I'll get to see Draco while we're here, he doesn't care for me much after I got us involved in this war."

She realized that he had never spoke of Draco much during their journey and wondered if that was a sore spot for the wizard. It was better not to bring it up, as with all things Lucius, if she was patient, he would reveal in time.

Severus, meanwhile, was negotiating with The Order and had refused to let anyone even so much as speak a word to her. She huffed all the way up the stairs, eager to meet with everyone again that she had not seen in weeks. "It's for your own safety, you realize." Lucius had chided her as they walked up the stairs past all the judgmental stares she received from Order members she had never seen before.

She sighed, the thought of meeting Harry and Ron again weighed heavily on her. They would be furious with her to be sure, but she had done so much for the war. She had destroyed so many horcruxes and killed Bellatrix, and came face to face with Voldemort twice and lived to tell the tale. Could they really be so angry at her when she had done so much for them? "You look tired," The blond broke her thoughts.

She looked up at him and let out another defeated sigh and leaned against him "I am anxious to meet Harry and Ron again, what will the think of me? In league with the big bad death eater Lucius Malfoy and murderer extraordinaire Severus Snape. This week will be intolerable."

He wrapped his arm around her, pressing his lips to her temple. "All will be well," he inhaled her scent and she felt her small hand grab his, lacing her fingers together with his and squeezing it lightly.

"Sleep for awhile, I will wake you if anything important happens." He reassured and she laid down across his lap, enjoying the view of Lucius in his most unguarded state as he lulled her to sleep with reassuring touches that were so gentle she could hardly believe they came from him.

It was an hour later, with Hermione napping quietly on his lap and and reviewing some investment documents, when Severus burst in the door, obviously irritated. "Damn and blast those harridans constantly harassing me," he fumed and threw himself on the chair directly opposite of them "and to suggest to stun her! What kind of house have I brought us to? The order has never been so bloodthirsty."

"Is Draco safe?" Lucius asked, trying to not sound worried for his only son.

"He is here, and he is fine, much to my surprise." Severus groused, pouring himself a cup of tea "Dumbledore's word is like gospel, so they have been feeding him and treating him like a human being."

Lucius looked at his friend seriously "Are we safe?"

"Only just." Severus replied, his voice lowering with his gaze to see Hermione buried under

blankets. "Today has been exhausting and it's not even two."

They lapsed into silence for awhile, staring at the fire and mulling over what actions to take next in a house surrounded by people who would rather see them dead. He had felt much safer roaming around the mountains in a tent than he did in this stronghold of wizards. Lucius heard a noise out in the hallway and instinctively grabbed his wand. "Ward the doors, Severus. I do not think we will be alone much longer if we continue to be unguarded."

There was a thud on the door and Hermione woke up with a start, sitting upright immediately. Severus was already in front of the door with his wand drawn. "Who has decided to bother me at this hour?"

"Just a friend," it was Remus.

Severus looked back at Lucius and Hermione, the latter of which yawned and broke the tension in the room.

"I think it should be fine, right?" She asked tentatively, unsure of anyone in the house anymore after their angry mob greeting.

They all were still a little on edge after so many close calls with Voldemort, Lucius was particularly jumpy, still feeling guilty that she had been kidnapped by the occultists, but she knew that Remus would not hurt her. He was her old Professor and Harry's friend. Just because the Order was in chaos did not mean that it was a particularly violent chaos, right? Lucius sat his wand back down, a bored mask of disdain on his face and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes he could be absolutely silly.

Severus sat down across from them, picking up the cup of tea he had been nursing and once they were comfortable, he flicked his hand to unlock the door "Come in," he intoned.

Remus looked as apprehensive as he stepped into the room. Hermione smiled brightly at him next to dour Lucius. "Professor Lupin, would you like some tea?" she offered.

"Hermione, it is good to see you doing so well after your ordeal."

Her eyes moved to Severus, how much did he tell them? Severus just raised an eyebrow in response. She looked back at the werewolf who was still cautiously approaching them. "Take a seat then, I'll pour you some."

Remus regarded them all with suspicion as Hermione busied herself with some tea, handing him a

cup before settling herself down next to the blond again. Lucius watched her carefully as if she would break before him. They were both protective of her, and it was shamelessly transparent, even to the wolf. She smelled like them. Was she being held hostage by the two death eaters?

Lucius went back to reading some documents next to her, his eyes would flick up from the page to watch the werewolf and they all settled into an awkward silence.

Hermione smiled awkwardly before trying to break the tension "Is Tonks-"

"What do they have on you Hermione?" Remus blurted out suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"You're no longer their prisoner, you're free to go back to school any time you'd like." Remus said studying the blue china of the tea cup "Do they have something on you?"

"I'll have you know I'm right here, Mister Lupin." Lucius drawled, not bothering to look up from his reading.

"What makes you think I'm in any danger, aside from the lack of my wand?" She asked curiously, knowing full well what made him think that. She wanted him to say it.

"You're staying with the men who kidnapped you. You're acting like they're your friends. It's very common to develop Stockhol-"

"That is enough." Severus interrupted "If you've only come to insult her, then take your leave."

Remus was shocked that the professor would defend her when he thought that Severus only held disdain for the girl, but instead they both sat near her like snakes ready to strike. They looked bored and unattuned, but every movement she made they were wary of. They all had changed since he had last seen them, and it was nearly frightening.

"Severus and Lucius have saved my life on more than one occasion, I don't think it's strange to want to be around them." She said smoothly. Gods, she had never been so arctic towards her friends. Lucius was rubbing off on her.

"They're using you, Hermione you're young and you don't see it but-"

"Then they can use me as they'd like!" She snapped. She was getting irritated with the accusations, did everyone forget she was the brightest witch of her age? Now that she was suddenly next to Lucius and Severus she was a twit? She looked down at the book on her lap and frowned, trying to control her anger.

"It seems that you have worn out your welcome here, Mister Lupin. We're very tired from our journey, as you can tell. Please see yourself out." Lucius was all airs and nobility next to her, who was finding it hard to contain her anger.

"Hermione, can't you see-"

"I can see, Professor Lupin, that your prejudice against these men is obviously clouding your judgement! I do not like being insulted, and I do not appreciate my companions being insulted in front of me. Please leave before I say anything I might regret!" She cried and Lucius looked at the werewolf pointedly before opening the doors with a wave of his hand.

"Perhaps I will not be able to talk sense into you, but Harry and Ron will." He replied rather

ominously before shutting the door behind himself.

Hermione felt her heart break. It was hard to see people she once considered her friends now treating her with suspicion. She had been through so much only to see her efforts harm her in the end. What would Harry and Ron think? Would she have to sacrifice her friendship to be with Lucius and Severus? What else would she have to sacrifice for this war? She had forgotten everyone, so single minded on her goal of ending this senseless violence that it was no longer a worry for her what everyone else would think, she was doing the right thing, that was all that mattered in the end. Right?

She felt tears prick at her eyes and she hid her face with her hair, focusing on the title of the book in her hands: The Magic of People. People didn't feel so magical after all.

She woke up to shouting and to Severus letting out an irritated growl. She was tangled between them, half on one man and half on the other. She felt the terrors of yesterday rush back to her, after destroying the horcrux she had felt so tired she had slept the day away.

Lucius kissed her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, mumbling something half awake about "unwanted guests."

Severus however, in pajamas that she knew well, was waking up to the insistent banging on their door. "It went from just one prisoner to three," he growled, tossing the covers off himself. He looked back at the two other people in his bed, Hermione, the unruly mass of hair, had burrowed herself deeper under the covers, and Lucius, as always, would follow.

They had nowhere else to go but the Order headquarters, at least not until the damned war was over, but it was taxing to see everyone attacking Hermione. Did they not understand how far the girl had went for them? She was truly wasted on people who didn't recognize her talent. It was intensely frustrating.

"Minerva," he greeted the old woman with a growl.

"Severus, I am sorry to disturb you at this early hour, will you please inform Miss Granger than Misters Potter and Weasley sent her this letter?"

He grabbed the envelope from her hand and went to shut the door when she put her foot in the jamb. "Severus, I know you wouldn't hurt the girl but you can't hold her prisoner in this room!"

"I see no prisoner in this room. Miss Granger is asleep because she has spent the last few weeks risking her life for this Order of ingrates. Do not pretend to know what she, or I, am up to. I owe no loyalty to you Minerva. I am carrying out Dumbledore's last wishes, and nothing more."

"Severus Snape, how dare you!" She gasped, scandalized that he would talk to her in such a manner, clutching her her hand to her chest.

He slammed the door. Severus was not a morning person. He was definitely not up to letting Hermione get harassed when she was not even awake yet. He looked up from the letter simple addressed 'Mione to see the very person sitting up next a sleeping Lucius, staring at him with concern.

"I didn't think they would be so cruel," she said, rather brokenly.

While she was a bright witch and had done all the right things, she was just an accessory in this

war, and when she fell out with the right people, she was discarded. He did not think it would be so soon or he wouldn't have brought her here in the first place. They had turned on her like they had easily turned on him. Severus slid back into bed with his little witch, and enveloped her in his arms. These people were one thing he couldn't protect her from, and he didn't know he could feel so guilty for it.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against him. She was safe with him, her whole body knew it. She needed his warmth and his comfort, she never thought she would find a safe haven in her Potions Professor. She buried her face in his chest, eliciting a hush from the man above her, his lips pressed against the top of her head.

Hermione looked up to see him staring down at her with concern. "They do not know," he whispered softly, afraid of waking Lucius on the other side of the bed "All that you have sacrificed for them."

"I have gained far more than I've ever sacrificed." She said, looking up at him.

He captured her lips with his own, an insistent need to prove that someone cared for her, that someone understood her sacrifices.

She let out a small surprised gasp, her fingers running up his back in an effort to feel more of him. He had never felt so adored as he did with her. She was all love, all acceptance. Hermione was his.

He deepened the kiss, his tongue meeting hers as she moaned into his mouth. Her body was soft and small. He enjoyed more than anything running his hands down her curves. How could such an angel want him? He lowered her onto the pillow next to Lucius, his hands settled on the curve of her waist, toying with the hem of her night shirt.

She arched up into his touch, her body instantly seeking his. She craved him in a way she had never thought possible, a familiar ache building between her thighs. Severus was always erotic, his voice, his touch, and even now his very presence made her body call to him. She was addicted to him. "Please," she gasped, breaking the kiss "I need more."

He tilted her head up with only the briefest of touches, his warm lips trailing down her jawline, each one lingered longer than the last. His lips were soft, and his kisses were punctuated with whispered "Yes"es as he began to kiss down her neck.

She moaned again, she was so sensitive, and he knew it. Her eyes fluttered shut if only to focus more on his lips trailing lower and lower until they met her shoulder. She squirmed beneath him, the ache between her legs becoming more insistent, but she knew it would be a long tease before he satisfied her.

He began to kiss down the other side of her neck, tilting her head to the side to gain better access to her porcelain skin and she was met with the icy blue eyes of Lucius who had woken up to the small noises of pleasure.

"Am I invited to this party, then?" He asked, his voice still gravelly with sleep, a sly smile spread on his face.

She gave him a smile and grabbed his hand. Her fingers lacing with his, tugging him towards her. "Are you going to kiss me or not?"

Lucius kissed her on the lips. Unlike Severus who was insistent and comforting, his were slow and languid, more for his pleasure than her own. He took her lip between his teeth, and nipping on them slightly, causing her to gasp and squirm underneath Severus.

"Oh, my pet, I do love those little noises you make. Perhaps Severus can make you a bit louder." He kissed her again before she could protest.

She could feel her oversized sleep shirt being tugged upwards insistently, Severus' calloused fingers running delicately up her skin. His touches were always hesitant, as if at any second she would reject him. She broke her kiss with the blonde only to let the raven haired man take off her clothes.

Lucius turned her head so her attention was back on him, kissing her again, his tongue fervent to find hers. Lucius was an expert at scrambling her thoughts with even the most innocent of kisses. She moaned into his mouth as Severus cupped her breasts. His thumbs brushing against her sensitive nipples, bringing them to a taut peak before he took one into his mouth. Her body arching to meet his lips, small cries of pleasure escaping her lips as swirled his tongue around her rosy nipple.

"That's better," Lucius said, sitting up and beginning to unbutton his silken pajama top, watching her writhe underneath his best friend. Merlin, she was divine when she was like this. Every emotion, every small bit of pleasure played out on her face, she hid nothing from him, and Lucius loved the rawness that Hermione brought to bed. It was perhaps her innocent reactions to even the smallest of pleasure that he enjoyed the most.

Severus kissed down her stomach, his lips stopping at the small pair of panties she wore to bed underneath her oversized shirt. His innocent little vixen was all but squirming for him to touch her and instead he rose up to his knees before her, cupping his sex with his hand. She was already so wet, the cotton of her white panties was already damp from her juices.

"Does it make you hot, Hermione?" Severus purred

She nodded, pressing against his hand, if only he would touch her there! She ached so much for him and all he had done was kiss her! It was torture and he knew it!

"Say it, tell me what makes you wet." Severus demanded, his silky voice wrapped around her and made her body hot.

"When you kiss me," her voice came out breathy and desperate "when you touch me, when you say my name."

"Is that so?" his deft fingers pulled her damp panties to one side. She whimpered at the prospect that he would touch her and pleasure her in front of Lucius by making her admit how much he turned her on.

"It is, please Severus!" She cried bucking up against him. The ache between her legs had become insistent "Please touch me!"

"There's nothing that sounds quite so erotic as when you beg, Hermione." He replied, his fingers tracing the length of her wet slit, she pressed her head back into the pillow. He was such a tease, it was driving her wild. She wanted more than just light touches. She wanted him. Her hips bucked up against his hand automatically. He only stroked her folds, never delving deeper inside of her. She would go mad.

Lucius kissed her again, one hand cupping her breast, and the other in her hair, muffling her small cries of pleasure with his mouth. Her hands ran up Lucius' torso, her fingers tracing every divet of muscle along his flawless skin. His body was in stark contrast to Severus' and she liked them both. They were both fit and lithe, but only when they were naked could you tell that Severus' cared little

for all the scars he had gained, whereas Lucius cared over every small nick and cut.

Her eyes flew open when she felt Severus slip one finger inside of her, a low moan escaping her lips. Lucius took the opportunity to roll one of her nipples between his thumb and his forefinger, causing an electric jolt of desire. She could hardly focus on one sensation, her thoughts were becoming scattered, all she could do was feel them.

Lucius grabbed her hand and brought it to his silk pajama bottoms, placing it over his straining erection. "Feel what you do to me, pet."

She grabbed his cock through his pants, rubbing her palm against him. A pleased smile gracing her face as his breathing quickened. She liked making him lose control with the most simple of touches. With others he was a cold calculating Malfoy, but in bed with her he was vulnerable and expressive. She rolled her thumb over the head of his cock and was granted a "Circe, Hermione." from his lips as his head leaned back. He was her own Adonis.

She let out a yelp and lost her concentration when she felt Severus' thumb brush against her swollen clit. Her whole body was sensitive. Every time he pumped his finger in and out of her, she felt the tightness in her lower stomache increase, her body quivering with need.

"Severus, please," it sounded like a pathetic whine, even to her "please, I need..." She couldn't finish the sentence, even now she was embarrassed of how wanton she was in front of the two of them. Severus was shirtless before her, scars crisscrossing his pale skin with a small smattering of black hair over his chest and leading down to his pants.

Severus leaned over, his lips mere inches from hers, two fingers buried deep inside of her. Her eyes locked with his, her hips met his fingers with every thrust almost automatically. "Tell me what you need." He asked in a low throaty whisper and she felt desire thrum through her. She was unbearably hot all of a sudden and her thoughts were scattered to the wind, she could barely form a sentence.

"I need you to...ah! I need you to f-fuck me, Severus."

His fingers slid out of her, running up her wet slit, she moaned at the lack of contact, but he sat back up, and pulled down his black silk pajama bottoms to reveal his swollen red cock that rested against his abdomen. His eyes met hers, dark with desire, and she couldn't look away. "Beg for me, I want to hear you beg."

A blush crept up her cheeks, but she was so close to what she wanted. She would beg. She would plead. She would do absolutely anything for this man. "Please, Severus, please fuck me, I need you!"

He grabbed the base of his cock and positioned himself at her entrance. "As the lady wishes," he said before he plunged himself deep inside of her.

Severus was so large, and she still was not used to his length. Her whole body tensed up as he entered her and it was painful but it was so pleasurable at the same time. She wondered if it was because it was so painful that she liked it. Her whole body moved with him, meeting his thrusts, taking him deeper. She was a puppet for him, and she could not be happier.

She moved her hand up to the waistband of Lucius' pants, tugging downwards, she wanted to feel him. She wanted to taste him. "Eager, aren't we?" he asked, in that typical pureblood drawl of his that drove her wild. She looked up at him and he untied his pants, slipping them off of him, leaving him naked before her. He was perfection and he laid down next to her, moving her hand to

grab the base of his cock as he kissed her. Lucius was gentle when Severus was demanding, and when Lucius was demanding, Severus was gentle. They seemed to have some sort of telepathy when it came to bedding her, contrasting themselves against her to heighten her pleasure.

Hermione stroked Lucius' cock to the same rhythm of the one pumping in and out of her, but as pleasure clouded her mind, as Severus drove himself deeper into her. She found herself unable to keep pace with the feeling of pure bliss that came with each stroke.

Severus slowed his pace just as she was on the precipice of her orgasm. her whole body taut and her breathing erratic, a frustrated cry left her lips as he seated himself deep within her, no longer moving.

"Make her cum, Lucius."

She whined and tried to make him move inside of her, undulating her hips to get more contact, to drive herself over the edge, but Severus had a firm grasp on her hips.

Lucius smiled next to her at the prospect and he cupped one of her breasts. He moved his head so his mouth was next to her ear. One finger traced around her nipple in small circles. "Be a good girl, Hermione, and cum for us." He whispered, and as he finished the sentence, he pinched one of her taut nipples hard, a jolt of pain pushing her over the edge.

Her eyes flew open as her orgasm ripped through her. She didn't think just his voice could cause her to cum but her whole body bowed upwards, and as she came, Severus increased his pace, slamming into her with each thrust. She had never felt something quite so intense before, every part of her body was hypersensitive. She let out breathy moan "Please," she begged. She didn't even know what she was begging for anymore.

Severus' thrusts became shallow and faster, his fingers digging into her hips. She cried out his name, and it only seemed to push him closer to the edge. Severus was all control, his eyes focused on her, his hair stuck to his face with sweat. "Say it again, merlin, I love when you say my name."

She wondered if anything she said was even coherent as she floated down from cloud nine but she obliged, she would do anything for him. "Severusss," she hissed, her hips meeting his. "Please, please, give me all of you."

A low moan left his lips as he stilled within her, spilling his seed inside of her as he repeated her name like a prayer, she could feel his cock throbbing within her. He slipped out of her and sat back on the bed, admiring the panting and sweaty girl in the middle of his bed, but Lucius was never one to wait long.

The blonde grabbed her around her waist and settled her on top of him. His cock slipping easily inside of her, a moan escaped her lips as he filled her. Lucius ran his hands down her curves before she leaned over to kiss him. She was his goddess, his warm and loving Aphrodite.

Her lips met his. Her fingers splayed on his chest as she began to move slowly up and down his shaft. She was tired, but she wanted him slowly. She wanted to feel every inch of him inside of her. His fingers threaded up in her hair, holding her against him, he inhaled her scent. "My pet," he whispered against his lips "You are perfection. Sit up, I want to see you ride me."

She did as he asked. She'd do anything that he asked and he guided her strokes on him, moving her up and down with his hands on her waist. When he watched her she felt like she had to be the sexiest girl in the wizarding world. Hermione ran her nails down his torso, enjoying the hiss of

pain he made and the red marks she left on his clean skin. Lucius seemed to enjoy giving a little pain, but did he like receiving? Her eyes flicked back up to his face and the look of bliss was all she

needed for an answer.

"Vixen," he growled as her nails stopped on his abdomen, a smile gracing her lips, and he rewarded her with fucking her harder, a sting of pain each time their hips met. She would meet him. She would please him the way he pleased her. Her hands splayed across his abdomen, steadying herself as she bounced up and down on his hard cock, crying out as his thrusts became more erratic and she realized she was no longer in control, instead he used her for his pleasure.

"Please Lucius," she begged. She wanted to hear him cum. She wanted to feel him fill her with his seed. She wanted to see his face as he went over the edge.

She dug her nails into his skin again and she felt him slam himself inside of her. Her name left his lips as he pumped himself inside of her, filling her with his cum. A satisfied smile graced her lips and she slumped over on top of him, kissing his sweaty face and pushing his hair away as she coaxed him to wakefulness.

"You're a little tiger with those claws," he whispered in her ear and chuckled. "You liked it."

"I cannot deny you that." He said as she rolled off of him, panting.

She reached her hand out to Severus who laid down on the other side of her with a satisfied smile, kissing her shoulder and pulling her against him. None of the triad felt the magic sparking in the air as they pulled the blankets back over them.

Hermione eventually fell back asleep, and so did they. They would wake up at a more reasonable time, with more reasonable people.

Chapter End Notes

More smut :) Sorry this got posted so late, I was in a competition all weekend. I hope you enjoy it. Next chapter we get the golden trio back together!

The Return of the Golden Trio

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

It was around ten when they sat to eat breakfast in front of the fire. Lucius was still in a bad mood that they were now essentially trapped in a bedroom. "I think we should just go to the summer home in France and wait this whole thing out," he said buttering toast "I did not risk my life to be trapped in this stuffy old room."

"We have free reign of the house, Lucius. You just insist on holing yourself up here." Severus replied stirring sugar into his morning tea.

"Some time in the library might be nice," Hermione looked over at the blonde "if you want to get out."

"No library will be quite on par with my library," he said proudly. He looked over at Hermione and his voice softened "We shall go today if you feel up to facing the riff raff, my pet."

She had said the Order was not riff raff, and they were going to go to the library no matter what. However, she underestimated how oppressive the atmosphere at Grimmauld Place was towards the triad. The house was full of eyes, that much was certain, they walked down the corridors, each hallway lined with people glaring or whispering, each room went quiet when they walked through. It didn't seem to bother Lucius and Severus so much as it had bothered her. The walk to the library was both long and tortuous. She was no longer the best friend of Harry Potter, but the whore for the resident Death Eaters. Severus closed the door to the library behind him with some finality.

Libraries were always a safe haven for the witch. No one could touch her here, and every shelf was filled with new adventures. She disappeared into the stacks, wondering if she could find some literature on wandless magic. She still had not gotten her wand back, and wondered how long it would be before she stepped in the halls of Hogwarts again.

She picked up a few books on the subject, and brought them back to where Lucius and Severus were drinking tea. "Wandless magic?" Lucius asked as she sat down next to him. He grabbed a book off the top and began to thumb through it.

"I wanted to learn. I don't have a wand and I'm sick of being helpless." She said taking the book back from him.

Severus looked up from his reading "Not everything can be learned out of a book, Hermione." "Teach me then," she shot back.

Lucius put his tea spoon on the table that was between her and Severus. "Close your eyes," her potions professor intoned and she felt desire course through her. His voice was intoxicating. She loved when he gave her commands.

She did as she was asked, licking her lips nervously "Point towards the spoon, and focus on your magic."

It felt silly, but she raised her arm towards where she believed the spoon was. She couldn't focus on her magic. It wasn't something she actually felt, but she tried to focus on something, wishing she could just ask her magic to talk to her, and tell her it was there. She tried to focus on her breathing, surely if she cleared her mind she could feel it? Magic to her was like her blood. It

fueled her but never made it's presence known. "Concentrate now on the spell," his voice cut through her thoughts, "if it's an accio then imagine the movements, go through the wand motions with your fingers and conduct your energy."

She blushed in embarrassment as she waved her hand in the wand motion, but she would get this right. Please work, she pleaded with herself. She kept repeating the word in her mind accio, accio, accio, focusing on what she wanted to do with the tea spoon, what she wanted her magic to help her with. Then after a few quiet seconds she felt cold metal in her hand.

Hermione opened her eyes slowly to see the tea spoon against her palm, a smile spreading across her face as she looked up at Severus who seemed pleased and back to reading his book with his lip quirked ever so slightly.

"You're a natural," Lucius said proudly "I don't know what you thought the books would tell you about what you already know."

"Severus is just a good teacher." She smiled holding the spoon up victorious.

She saw him smile to himself at the compliment, and knew he was also secretly pleased with her easy success. "Will it always be so difficult? You make it look so easy!"

"With practice, many things become easy." He said matter-of-factly "Practice other spells, you understand the method now."

She wondered if the fact that they now shared magic in a triad helped her pick up wandless magic so easily, but she spent the morning accio-ing random things in the room, practicing other simple spells like warming charms and cushioning charms. Lucius gave her harder spells to try, which took her longer to focus on. The more complicated wand movements were difficult to remember.

Finally exhausted, she went back to reading the book that Lucius had chided her for bothering with in the first place, curled up on his lap as she usually was, a stack of books on the floor by her feet. He was stroking her hair absent-mindedly, and reading a financial journal. Lucius was one half killing machine, and one half kitten.

She was almost asleep again, the fire and the words on the pages lulling her into relaxation when she heard the doors creak open. She looked up from her book lazily to see two very angry wizards. Their wands trained on her. Harry and Ron had returned.

"Mione, get away from them, it's ok, we're back." Ron said, in that same cooing tone that everyone seemed to think was the only appropriate tone for her.

She wasn't a damsel in distress. She had destroyed a good chunk of the dark lord in a few weeks! She narrowed her eyes and sat up, Lucius flicked his eyes over to the two boys boredly but said nothing.

"Don't speak to me that way Ronald Weasley."

"Hermione," Harry pleaded next to him "You're safe. You don't have to hang around them anymore. Step away so I can take care of them."

She stood up, angry that even Harry thought she was defenseless. She had killed a dragon, and faced the dark lord! "Harry you too? When have I ever needed saving?"

"Since you were kidnapped by death eaters! They've brainwashed you even now! Do you think they care about you? You're just a means to an end, an easy sacrifice, a get out of Azkaban free

card!"

"I'll kill you both! How dare you lay a hand on my 'Mione!" Ron was quickly losing his temper, he was always hot headed.

Hermione bit her lip to stop herself from saying something she might regret. Ron always thought of her as his property and his girlfriend, even though she had no intentions of being around him after the lav-lav debacle.

"Control your friend, Potter." Severus warned "or I will be forced to control him for you."

"I don't take orders from a murderer! Why did they let you back in the order?" Harry began to advance on him and she rushed towards her friend.

"Harry, Severus was only working on Headmaster Dumbledore's orders! Please just sit down and listen to reason!"

"Severus, is it?" Ron asked on the other side of her, grabbing her wrist. "Are you imperio'd? What is wrong with you 'Mione?"

"Stop it!" She cried.

She hated the accusations. She wasn't under a curse, no one would listen to her! "Why won't you just hear what I have to say! I thought we were friends!"

"Do as the lady says, Mister Weasley." Lucius said, his voice a dangerous purr. He still hadn't gotten up from his chair.

"We will listen, after we get you to safety and deal with this death eater trash." Harry said and began towards a lounging Severus, who only looked mildly perplexed "Sectumsempra!"

"Let go of me! Stop it!" Hermione was getting increasingly upset at the clash between her two worlds. The more she struggled, the tighter Ron grabbed her dragging her away from Harry and Severus who were dueling, or it appeared that one side was duelling. Severus looked bored.

"Mister Weasley," Lucius was next to her, she hadn't even seen him move. "Do as she says and let go."

"I don't listen to death eater scum! Stupefy."

Lucius sidestepped the spell and looked at him distastefully before returning the same spell back, a

quick silent flick of his wand, and the red headed wizard fell next to her.

It came almost instinctively, she turned and waved a cushioning charm on the floor and silently cheered that wandless magic seemed to be easy to pick up on, and that her friend wasn't hurt from the fall. "Are you hurt?" Lucius asked grabbing her bruised wrist.

"No, not really," she looked down at the five purple bruises blossoming on her skin and smiled up at the blonde "Did you see? I cast the charm! I barely even thought about it."

He examined her wrist and then cast a healing charm, the bruises became lighter until they faded away. "Weasley's are always so uncommonly rude to women." He said with disgust.

A spell whizzed past them and she saw Harry rush by, a vase blowing up as he chased after Severus. The death eater in question seemed to be walking lackadaisically towards the stacks.

Harry was no match for the seasoned death eater. How was Harry going to win the war if he was like this?

"Harry! Stop! You're only making a fool of yourself!" She called but wasn't sure that she was heard.

"Let him tire out. It seems that your pleas fall on deaf ears." Lucius said, toeing at Ron who was in quite a state next to her. "You're quite a natural at wandless magic, you just need to have more confidence in it, you know."

"Don't mess with Ron, Lucius, you're being cruel. Let's just go get Harry and try and talk this out." She sighed "Surely, he'll listen to reason."

"I am seeing a pattern, my pet, that not many people seem to listen to you." He said following his petit witch into the stacks. "Perhaps if you were louder?"

"Nonsense, people listen to me" she said looking back at the blonde "you do, Lucius."

Lucius pulled her away from a near miss of a curse shot recklessly out of Harry's wand as they blasted by the two of them. Severus turned the corner of the stacks appearing next to them. His wand not even drawn, a sweat had not broken out, and Harry was rushing down the same aisle chasing after a ghost.

"Oh really, Severus," she chastised. It struck her how boyish the two men could be sometimes.

"I cannot believe we're counting on him to save us from the Dark Lord." Lucius sighed watching him run further and further into the library and away from the three of them.

"He's a very strong wizard you know. I think you would get along if you weren't so busy terrorizing him." Hermione sighed. "Harry! Stop this nonsense and listen to me!" She yelled.

Her friend, who was now quite a few yards away, turned around and saw that the wizard he happened to be chasing was actually standing next to Hermione, holding her hostage by mere presence alone. Harry would make him pay for what he did to Hermione, and break her free of the brainwashing spell they had put on her.

He walked towards them slowly, his wand drawn out in front of them. He couldn't hear what they were saying but she actually smiled at something Lucius Malfoy said before hitting him on the arm "Stop!" She cried.

Harry would save her! He rushed towards her.

"No really," the blonde death eater had laughter in his voice as he neared them "isn't that right Severus?"

She turned towards her other captor expectantly "Perhaps it was a little fun." his potions professor said, his lip quirked up in one corner.

She smiled and shook her head "No matter what age, boys will be boys."

Harry was sure she was imperio'd now, or maybe they all were under some sort of curse. Laughing and joking with death eaters and murderers. When he came in to save her a Malfoy had her hostage on the couch in his own home.

She looked up, her eyes were glittering with laughter before she frowned "Harry, will you please listen to me?"

"You're under a curse of some sort 'Mione," He said softly, his words carefully measured "I will break you out of it, everything will be okay."

"No you will not "break me out of it" Harry Potter, you will sit down and listen to what I have to say, or I will bind you and make you listen."

"Remus told me-"

She cut him off, furious "Remus told you nothing, no one has spoken to me Harry, they have just accused me like you have. Will you please just take a seat and listen to me?"

"'Mione, why else wou-"

"I am your best friend, don't you think you should give me a benefit of the doubt?" She crossed her arms and Lucius frowned next to her. Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"Perhaps," the blonde interjected silkily "this conversation would be better had by the fire."

The triad sat on the couch, with Hermione sandwiched between them, and Harry sat down, rather warily, on an overstuffed chair. The fire popped and Hermione began to tell the tale of her kidnapping and destroying horcruxes, and what had really happened the night Dumbledore was killed while Lucius and Severus sat patiently on either side, sometimes sipping on tea, other times, simply just watching the fire. The fire had died down somewhat when she finished her story.

"So you see, Harry, we have been on your side the whole time. I am not cursed."

Harry looked sullen on the other side of her, unable to meet her eyes, hunched over and staring at the floor. "And everyone thinks you're a traitor when you've done more for the light than the Order."

Severus finally spoke "You can correct that assumption, Potter, and make us all a little less miserable."

"But you sleep with them at night 'Mione, how can you explain that?"

She paused, wondering if she should address her relationship with Severus and Lucius now. She decided that it would be poor timing. She hoped Harry would forgive her lie. "After I was kidnapped, I don't feel safe in bed by myself anymore. It's much harder to take me out of bed when there are others in it."

"Even now? In Grimmauld place?" "Even now, Harry." She concluded.

"I am truly sorry 'Mione, I should have listened to you, but I didn't. No one did. I just saw you with death eaters, no offense, and thought the worst. Can you forgive me?" His emerald green eyes locked with hers.

She smiled "You were just being a good friend Harry, there's no need to forgive you."

"Please take the liberties of reviving Mister Weasley and making sure he doesn't maul us." Lucius said looking over at the unconscious boy with distaste.

"No wait," she said to Harry who had already drawn his wand "I will do it."

She relished in the idea of practicing more wandless magic. She closed her eyes and tried to picture ennerverate in her mind, and with a flick of her hand she cast the spell. A groan from the red headed wizard on the floor made her smile. She turned to Severus next to her "You don't need to do the wand motions do you?"

"No," he said grabbing the book he had been reading before company had arrived "Performing the

wand motions helps you concentrate on the spell easier."

Harry gasped across from them "You can do wandless magic? That's brilliant!"

"Yes, but not very well yet, I'm afraid."

Ron had woken up in a fury and had now approached the people sitting around the fire shaking with rage. "Harry, did they get you too, mate?"

"No, I just listened to Hermione's side of the story." He said gesturing to the empty seat. "She did what we spent months doing in little under a week. She destroyed all the horcrux. Dumbledore told them to destroy them. They're on our side." The two men on either side of her cringed at the name.

"You've gone bonkers, Hermione couldn't do that, we decided-"

"You certainly couldn't," Lucius cut in, he hated how everyone seemed to slight the girl's prowess in front of him "however, I assure you she did."

"Lucius, don't be rude." She said to the blonde. "Ron, are you going to be civil or attack us again?"

"He will not get the opportunity to attack us again. Potter, I would appreciate if you would use your...influence to make us a little less suspicious in this house, or we will take our leave." Severus said distastefully, he hated to ask a favor of a child.

"If you could Harry, I'm really tired of being attacked by my friends." She pleaded as he stood up. Ron was still pointing his wand at the three of them.

"and lunch would be nice too." Lucius cut in.

"I'll clear this up, I'm sorry 'Mione, things have been a little crazy since the headmaster died. I'm the leader, and with me gone, it seems like things have went bad." Harry said standing up.

"I'll be here in the library then," she smiled.

"As always," he joked, pushing a furious Ron out ahead of him.

They had went back to their rooms a little before dinner, and she was currently curled up next to Severus on the couch. Lucius did his accounts on a small table next to the bed. Severus relished in the small touches she would give him throughout the day, and this time was no exception as she traced his hands with her finger tips. Her innocence even now was what enamored him to her. She had seen hell. She had faced Voldemort, and now she sat next to him, after another stressful day at Grimmauld place, with a small smile on her face as she studied his hands. Hermione was by no means delicate, but he wanted to protect her anyways. She had already sacrificed so much for him.

"What do you plan to do once the war is over?" She asked him quietly.

He looked down at the girl who was busying herself with his hands. "Independent research," he answered honestly "Teaching was a position convenient for the headmaster, but not for me. I cannot stand little brats."

She wondered if there was room for her with him after the war. She laced her fingers in with his. Would the triad survive the war? She wanted it to. It was so easy living with them. She spent her days in relaxation, reading and conversing with them. It fit into her life so easily she scarcely wondered what it was like without them. Hermione bit her lip thinking about them parting once the

final battle was over. She wouldn't allow it. She would fight for them. Hermione looked over at Lucius who was scribbling down a letter.

"What of you, Lucius? What are your plans?"

He looked over at the two of them "I plan to have a young witch in my bed every night, give her the feast she asked for, and so much clothing that she will never be running around the country in rags again."

"They weren't rags, it was nice silk." Severus interjected, offended that his clothing was under scrutiny.

"They were rags when I was through with them," she laughed and was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in," Lucius intoned, turning away from his letter to face the door.

It was Remus, who looked rather sheepish for a wolf. "If you'd like to join us for dinner, we have more than enough."

Hermione frowned, and Lucius looked at her before he looked back up to decline. The order members were unnecessarily cruel to her, and while it didn't bother the Malfoy patriarch, it wore on her. He would not put her in with the pack of hyenas that happened to live in the house. "We'll be down in a minute" She said standing up and nervously dusting off her jeans.

"Are you sure?" Lucius asked, putting his quill back in the inkwell.

"We can't hide forever now, can we?" She said giving him a terse smile.

"No," Severus said, nudging her forward.

"I still don't see why we don't just go to France until it's all done." Lucius sighed and the three of them trailed behind Remus down the halls of the order.

The table was packed, it stretched from one end of the long room to another, there had to be almost fifty people sitting at the table altogether with Mrs. Weasley's home cooked food lining the middle. She caught a glimpse of Draco, who was discussing with Ginny at one end and then near the middle there were three seats for the unwanted intruders into the order. Hermione lifted her head up proudly and tried to ignore the whispers of "death eater whore" and "what a waste of talent" that followed them down the table. Lucius pulled out a chair for her and they sat down on either side of her and the table fell silent.

Lucius smiled at Draco, but was not given the same greeting back. Instead of showing his dismay, he poured himself a glass of wine before doing the same for the petit witch next to him. She looked like she was trying to melt into the chair. She looked up at him and he nodded at her.

"I think I'd prefer France," she said picking up the wine glass and taking a generous sip. Lucius snorted beside her.

"What was that Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley interjected

Hermione looked down the table to where the Weasley clan sat, all bunched together. The whole table was staring at her, and she realized she had made a mistake even bothering to come to dinner. "What a lovely dinner you've prepared, Mrs. Weasley," she said louder, a small unsure smile. Perhaps she could salvage her relationship with the Weasleys.

Hermione never thought she would hate the people she had grown up with so much as she did at this minute where her allies were vilifying her over a pot roast. Harry cut the murmurs at the table "Hermione, Professor Snape, and Mister Malfoy have all risked their lives to help the order, and according to the letter from Dumbledore himself, Professor Snape was only following orders to save our newest member to the order, Draco. Please treat them with respect, this is my house, and they are my guests."

Harry was very diplomatic despite Ron glowering next to him. Hermione played with the food on her plate. She didn't know how to patch this up, it was all so sudden, and she was not sure that she wanted to patch things up with people who turned on her.

Severus nudged her "Eat, don't play with it." He was right, but she had no appetite, fear had filled her stomach. She took a bite of mashed potatoes and Severus seemed satisfied with her.

Lucius talked quietly next to her about all the wizards and witches he knew in the room, who worked for the ministry, who had rebelled against their death eater family, and who to keep away from. It seemed like he knew everyone in Wizarding society, Lucius was truly a socialite. She always forgot what he was like outside of being a death eater. There were so many facets to the blonde next to her. It seemed like no matter what side of him she saw, Lucius wanted to be with her. He was doting and kind, overprotective and charming. She could think of no better man to wake up to every morning. She smiled to herself at the thought.

"Oi, what are you two whisperin' about over there?" It was Ron who cut through the chatter once the plates had been magically cleared. Sloshing a goblet full of wine towards the three of them that were a little ways down the table. Some people had cleared out after the dinner, but the table was still more than half full of guests.

Lucius stopped talking to her about Elphias Doge, who was on the far end of the table. "You know 'Mione I was gonna let you be my girl once I got back from saving the Wizarding World." Ron had a slight slur to his voice, and Hermione gave an exasperated sigh. Ron was always a lightweight.

"We are finished here, correct?" Severus muttered beside her.

She looked at her old friends and closed her eyes and nodded. She wasn't sure if anything would be normal again. Nothing hurt quite so bad as being rejected by them, she wasn't sure things would ever go back to what they were before she was kidnapped.

They were all standing in the foyer, when they heard the door slam open behind them. Ron had followed them out into the foyer.

"What's wrong with you? We were going to be together! Get married! It was always gonna be like that!"

Hermione could no longer put up with his dramatics, why hadn't he ever grown up? She had never had any intentions of being his breeding mare. She turned to say something but Severus stopped her. "I believe we have other obligations," he told her in a tone that meant it was time to go.

"Snape, we're not at Hogwarts, and I'm having a discussion with my girl." Ron approached them and there was that tick in Lucius' jaw behind his facade of a smile that told her either Ron would stop, or he would be stopped.

"I'm not your girl Ronald Weasley, and I highly suggest you leave us." Her voice was low and even, she wasn't going to get emotional over this.

"Leave you to what? You gonna fuck them or something? You're mine so you're gonna come with me."

"Hermione does not belong to anyone, least of all you Mister Weasley. If you take another step towards her, I will make sure that you won't be able to take a step again." Lucius cut in for her.

"Is that a threat? Didja hear that?" He looked around the foyer for witnesses but there was none. Hermione started up the stairs, but Ron lunged and grabbed her wrist before she could go too far.

Severus turned around and pressed his wand to the red head's throat "I would advise you to let go, Weasley."

Suddenly he let go, taking a step back with his hands up in mock defeat "I was just joking, right 'mione?"

Hermione walked up the stairs. She didn't bother to look back, she didn't want to see Ron right now, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to see him ever again.

Chapter End Notes

I might get flamed for Ron hate (I doubt it), however I always think Ron is stupid at first and ends up redeeming himself later (like most teenage boys do). My story won't be any different! In the next chapter there will be more Lucius/Draco character development and more action. I'm sorry for the lull in kicking bad guy ass, but I'm trying to make up for it :) Read and Review, if you'd like, otherwise your kudos are enough for me.

Life is a cold place

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

She woke up to soft voices in the sitting room, and rolled over to feel Severus breathing deeply next to her. Lucius must have gotten up and met with somebody, but who? She opened her eyes only to hear Severus hush her. He was not asleep, but the curtains on the bed were drawn.

"Did you think that you could just drop by whenever you found some free time?" It was Draco. He sounded upset, and that was probably the reason that Severus had the curtains on the bed drawn.

"I did not intend to be gone for so long, Draco." Lucius' voice was tense and Hermione felt her heart hurt.

Lucius didn't speak of Draco much, but she knew he must care. He took so many steps to prevent his legacy from dying out, and now that they were back Draco seemed to be furious that he had bothered.

"Why didn't you let me go with mother to France then? Why did you trap me here with the enemy? And now you're...you're sleeping with the enemy!"

"Draco," Lucius had that warning tone he often took with her. "Your mother chose to flee, but as men, we do not get that luxury. These...people are not the enemy, your Godfather has chosen them and so have I. As for Her-"

"As for my classmate."

"As for your classmate and my mate. She is not to be discussed or treated without respect. She has

done far too much."

"And what of mother!" Draco sounded close to tears, and Severus stopped her from getting out of bed.

"Your mother has left me, but she will never stop being your mother. After the war is over, you're free to make your decision. Until then, Draco, I want you where I can see you." There was a thick pause. "I can't protect what I cannot see."

"Then that's it? You're just going to pretend like you didn't abandon me? What of your son?"

"I went and did all of this to make sure that you would have a future to live in. Do not question my motives. It was always about the Malfoy line. We protect our own." His voice had lowered to a dangerous whisper. "Do not question me anymore on this Draco. You are safe, and I am safe, and I have made good on all my promises to keep you that way."

"Father," He whined.

The argument came to a close with the next sentence out of the Malfoy Patriarch's mouth: "So, you and the Weasley girl have gotten close?"

Draco made a spluttering noise, and Severus smiled next to her. Hermione felt the tension in the air relax and she slid back under the covers. All would be well.

It was a few days later when they were outside, Severus was talking about some potions research that he had been reading about as they walked the small yard behind Grimmauld place. She felt caged, but knew they were all wanted targets. This was as far as they could go. As Lucius liked to say, they went from one prison to the next. Her feet crunched beneath the fresh snow and Severus' voice was all the warmth she needed this afternoon.

"Professor Snape! Hermione!" Ginny called from the door on the back porch, "and Mister Malfoy, you too, there's an emergency meeting of the Order!"

Ginny had not seemed to phased by her new relationship with the two older men, and instead would talk to her about how lucky she was to have two instead of just one. The older witch had not admitted to anything as far as the triad went, but she did not correct Ginny's assumption either. Ginny and Draco were becoming close during their time at the order and Ginny confessed to having a crush with the younger Malfoy, but didn't think he returned her feelings.

"If he's bothering to spend time with you at all, I think it's a good sign," Hermione had said during a midnight snack run the other day. "Malfoy men are cold on the outside, but fire on the inside."

The dining room was packed. Hermione was still wary of other Order members, choosing to keep to a corner with Lucius and Severus. Minerva cut through the chatter "We have received notice from one of our spies that Voldemort intends to attack Hogwarts in two weeks time."

Gasps and whispers broke out around the room. She felt Lucius tense up next to her. "What about the children?" cried a voice she did not recognize.

"Children will be evacuated under the guise of leaving for the holidays early. We do not want Voldemort to know that we know of his plans. He believes Hogwarts will be distracted by midterms and will not expect the attack. The battle for Hogwarts draws near, please report to your immediate squadron leader."

Severus narrowed his eyes. Where had they gotten this information from? He looked over at the youngest Malfoy, but knew that he was not the spy. The only other spy in the Death Eater ranks was himself, that he knew of. He couldn't trust this newfound "leak" of Minerva's. Chaos broke out in the room, and the triad took a step back from the bustle to enjoy the calamity. "I need to go back to Hogwarts and get my wand," she said to Severus who was watching the room, skepticism mixed with amusement clearly on his face.

"We'll go this evening," he replied looking down at Hermione who smiled up at him.

"You three," Minerva said, standing in front of them as the room filtered out, "will come with me."

Minerva lead them into the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was cleaning the countertops. The dishes from lunch were being scrubbed in midair. "I have a special task for you during the final battle," she began, looking nervously at Hermione but then up to the potions professor "Mister Malfoy, Severus, you will stay close to Harry and get him to Voldemort, your presence should be enough to upset him."

Hermione opened her mouth but Lucius instead cut her off "What of Draco? What of Hermione? They will no-"

"I will be in the battle with you, I will be next to my best friend, and my lovers." She shot back, and Minerva's eyes widened at the last word.

"I cannot speak on behalf of Miss Granger, but young Mister Malfoy will be attending to the

wounded alongside Ginevra Weasley."

She silently cheered that Ginny and Draco were getting along so well. She hoped that maybe it would become something more soon? "Absolutely not," Severus said beside her "I will not put you in harms way yet again, she will not be fighting, you may tend to the wounded with Miss Weasley. Hermione will make no more sacrifices for this war. Dumbledore's plans bedamned."

"Don't you dare Severus Snape," her voice took on a low tone that reminded him of his own "If you are going to be used as some kind of twisted bait for this Order, then I will be there to make sure you do not get eaten."

"Pet, I would rather you be safe than-"

Severus straightened his posture and looked at her icily "I do not need protecting by a little girl. You will work in the infirmary, or I will see to it that the only way you will participate in the battle is by looking out a window to watch." He turned and left the room, leaving her standing next to Lucius, in a mixture of anger and hurt.

Lucius turned toward Minerva with a look that said it was the old matron's fault a fight broke out between the triad. Hermione was near tears next to him, and followed Severus out the door. If there was one thing Severus was never good at, it was conveying his emotions to anyone beside himself.

Hermione was not going to let him get away with calling her names and putting her away. This was her battle just as much as his! How dare he think that she was not going to participate. Harry was her best friend and she would see this through to the end!

He disappeared out the front door, and she wasn't far behind. "Severus!" She called into the darkness. He was leaving to apparate away, but she wouldn't let him.

She ran after of him. The street lights turning on as she neared them. The potions master strode ahead of her, and she almost lost him until he turned down an alleyway. Hermione leapt forward and grabbed onto his arm. They both apparated with a crack.

They appeared outside the Hogwarts gates, Hermione falling forward in front of him into the snow.

"Why did you follow me?" He was furious. She could hear it in his voice, that barely controlled rage that only came with Severus.

"I won't let you leave!" She cried, wiping tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand. She wouldn't cry in front of him. She wouldn't cry over him.

"This war has nothing to do with you insolent girl!" He approached on her like a storm and she got to her feet quickly, backing away from him. "You will not be participating!"

"This war has everything to do with me, Severus Snape. This war is about killing me, people like me!" She cried her back hitting the cold metal gates of Hogwarts. Her fingers wrapping around the iron of the gate, bracing herself against it.

"Do you think adding your body to the muggleborn dead will somehow contribute to this war? Do you seek to torture me?" His voice was raspy with desperation, it sent shivers down her spine.

He was inches away from her now. She could feel the heat, the fury, radiating off the man in front of her. There was no doubt in her mind that Severus was a powerful wizard, but only now could she feel just how powerful she was.

"I will not die! I'm not weak!" She shouted into the cold winter air, her defiant eyes meeting his in the darkness. She was scared, not of him, but of his reaction to her. She was afraid he would leave.

A few seconds of silence passed between them. They were both breathing heavily. She could see their breath mixing in the cold winter air. The only light from the stars, the only noise from their hearts.

"I am weak, Hermione. You make me weak, I cannot lose you. If I lose you, then fighting this war is pointless." His hand was shaking as it cupped her face "I want to win a life of freedom to be with you, please understand my reasons. I want you safe."

Her heart was so full, the anger and the adrenaline left her almost empty and she let out a cry, tears falling from her eyes. She closed the gap between them, her lips crushing against his. She loved this man, this stubborn bastard that could barely convey his feelings to anyone. She loved him.

He kissed her back eagerly, his hands cupping her face, all his anger towards her channeled into a passion. The air around them was so cold, but his Hermione was always warm.

"This is touching." A voice interrupted them. "Professor, out for a shag with one of your students?"

Severus whirled around, but could only see darkness. He kept Hermione behind him, scanning the treeline to see where the voice had come from. "Rodolphus." Severus said simply, he knew that voice. Rodolphus often spent time with Lucius.

He would not cast a lumos, he did not want to see who was accompanying his old friend. The fact that death eaters were wandering so close to the castle was telling of how close the battle for Hogwarts was.

"I was afraid you had forgotten me, you and Lucius were supposedly dead after quite a long journey." Rodolphus came closer, and he could just barely make out the man's figure by the moonlight. "I see that the Prophet was mistaken."

"As it so often is these days," He drawled. This was no time to make small talk, with Hermione wandless, and Lucius back at Headquarters, he was handicapped.

"Our lord was very displeased at the loss of his two favorites, he says not much can go on for long without the Malfoy fortune." Rodolphus sighed, looking at his robes. He turned back to his old comrade "Are you going to share the girl, or perhaps this one is off limits? I do know that you were fond of sharing women during some of our adventures."

Rodolphus sounded eager to meet the girl who was shaking behind him. Whether she was cold, or scared, he was not sure. Severus and Rodolphus trained together when they were first initiated. It was an equal match, except if he was to protect the girl, he was hindered by her very presence. Damn and blast, this was exactly why she could not be in the battle with him.

Rodolphus advanced on them, his boots crunching in the snow. "Merlin, I love the young ones, they're so tight and the way they scream..." His voice ascended into almost euphoric pleasure. "You can't get that with a whore."

He was within a few feet of the two when suddenly the small witch behind him ducked out from underneath him and hissed "Confringo!" under her breath, blasting Rodolphus back away from them as she ran away from the gates.

"Open the gates!" She cried as she darted off to his left.

"Ah, I do love them when they're so lively, do you scream, little girl? You look like a screamer." Rodolphus got up and rushed after her and before Severus could react, they disappeared into the darkness.

"Damn that girl!" Severus said rushing after the dark wizard. He should have never taught her any wandless magic.

He saw the red light of Crucio ahead of him and ran faster. The snow slowing him down as he sunk into the four or five inches of powder. He finally threw an incendio in his path to try and get to her sooner. There was no screaming, she had dodged it. How did they get so far ahead of him?

"You are a lucky slut, aren't you?" He heard Rodolphus say, they had edged into the forest, he could just barely make out the outline of the dark wizard in the treeline with the light of another cruciatus. Severus had finally caught up to see him disappearing into the darkness of the Forbidden forest, there was no moonlight to guide him.

Did this girl seek to kill him with her infernal games? The potions master sighed as he turned to go into the forbidden forest, casting a dim lumos to light his way. He had no way to know which way they went now, there was no snow on the ground to show him their tracks. There was a cry that sounded distinctly like his Hermione and he began to run towards the sound, careful not to trip over any roots. She was going to die, Rodolphus was no match for a witch like her.

"Avada Kedavra!" A male voice shouted further into the forest and he heard a scream followed by a thud.

He climbed over a small hill to see a dead body in a clearing, a heap of robes in the tall grass. Severus didn't want to believe it was her, it couldn't be her. Not after he had finally come to terms with how he felt about the small girl.

He advanced on the body, and he was sure he could not breathe as he lowered his wand towards the corpse. Black hair, black robes, and a black wand. It was Rodolphus Lestrange.

"He's petrified." Hermione said, jumping down from a tree, breathless. "I just petrified him. He tried to kill me." This witch would be the death of him.

"But you screamed!" He said, torn between shaking her and hugging her. She was alive, she was alive and breathing.

"Lucius startled me, he went to get you." She said looking around for the blonde wizard. "He followed us, but-"

"I found some other trouble instead, they're all here. The informant was wrong, they're waiting for the evacuation. We're leading the students into a trap." Lucius interrupted her, entering the moonlit clearing behind the dark wizard. Severus frowned, he was right, the information was bad! How could Minerva risk his students like this?

Hermione rushed over to him and smacked him on the chest. "You can't grab me from behind when I'm running away from death eaters."

He mocked hurt for the small witch "Pet, had I known you were coming to ambush death eaters, and not just to fight with Severus, then I would have offered my services earlier."

"What are your services? Grabbing?" She put her hands on her hips only to have him wrap his arms around her small waist, pulling her to him.

"For a start." He smiled devilishly

"Enough," Severus rolled his eyes "We have to get to the castle and inform the Order." The potions master pointed his wand towards the petrified Rodolphus and let out an irritated sigh. There were to be no witnesses. If the dark lord found out that they were still alive, he would not be able to resist his call. "Avada Kedevra." A green light lit up the clearing and the petrified wizard was now dead.

They started back out the forest solemnly at first but then he heard Lucius whisper behind him. "Severus provides grabbing services too, pet. However, his are much too expensive. Please only employ me from now on."

Hermione giggled, all the tension of being chased, witnessing yet another murder, and the fear of knowing she could be next unwound into ease as she was with her lovers, and merlin did she love them.

She walked to the castle warm with the knowledge that she was safe, she was wanted, and she was loved.

Lucius righted a lamp he had knocked over during the kidnapping of his witch, and toed a stack of books that were spread out on the floor. She was currently on her hands and knees, looking under her bed for her wand. "Aha!" She exclaimed and reached far underneath her bed, sitting up with her wand. "I'm back in action."

"Really, Lucius, did you destroy her room on purpose?" Severus spelled her books upright as she rummaged for new clothes in one of her drawers.

"It was dark and she has an unusual number of books to trip over," Lucius whined as she grabbed a set of robes and some fresh clothes.

"Stop messing with my books, let's go." Now equipped with her wand she waved it, testing out the small piece of wood that she had been without for so long, and the room was clean again.

Wandless magic was so much more convenient, but now, with her wand, she felt twice as powerful. The book was right, they were better together, their magic almost sung when she was with them. Lucius and Severus had already went ahead of her, and she quickly followed them out.

The three of them waited rather impatiently in Minerva's new office, the old headmaster's office, Fawkes chirped at Hermione every so often and Lucius looked uncomfortable with all the portraits glaring down at him. Severus was pacing in the far room. Minerva had been promoted after Dumbledore's untimely death, and spent her time split between the war and the school.

"I see you keep new company these days, Miss Granger." A portrait said behind her. She turned around from her chair to see a portrait of Dumbledore peering down at her and adjusting his moon shaped spectacles to better see her.

"Yes sir," She replied awkwardly, even now it was hard to talk to a painting as if it was alive.

"I tried my best to save you from this war Miss Granger, but your sacrifice is a noble one." The portrait replied airily.

She narrowed her eyes "What sacrifice?"

"Right then," Minerva interrupted her conversation with the portrait "What is it you've found in the Forbidden Forest?"

Lucius eyed the portrait warily, wondering exactly what it had meant to say to Hermione before turning back to the new Headmistress.

"Death eaters are currently camped out in the forbidden forest, I believe that they are waiting for the evacuation to strike and kill as many muggleborn children as they can." Lucius explained.

"How many children have suddenly elected to stay in the castle during break?" Severus asked from the far side of the room.

"Well, many of course, the war has been escalating..." Minerva trailed off before making the connection "But how are we to protect the students? We cannot get them out of the castle before the battle, but they cannot be present! I will not-"

"What of the room of requirement?" Hermione said thoughtfully "We can open it in the dungeons so that even if the castle falls, the room will not be harmed. We had DA meetings there all the time."

Fawkes cooed at the idea and there was a pregnant pause before Headmistress McGonagall got up from behind her desk. "Summon the prefects, we must evacuate Hogwarts, but we must do so without alerting the spies within our walls."

"Lead them by house, do so in small groups, summon the professors, not the prefects." Severus said walking back towards her desk and picking up a parchment "I will deal with these students personally."

Hermione looked back at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore and wondered what exactly he meant by sacrifice, and Lucius whispered that magical portraits didn't always capture the entirety of the subject contained within them. She had a feeling though that something was off about that portrait. She couldn't put her finger on it quite yet.

Lucius walked with her down the halls of Hogwarts, that seemed foreign to her even now. It was strange how a little over a month away changed your perception of a place you had spent years. They fell easily in step together, she knew that Lucius slowed his pace to match hers. He always did.

"He told me you know," she said as they ascended stairs down into the dungeons "how he felt about me."

"He has cared for you, for longer than you have known," Lucius hummed thoughtfully "You are so caring, my pet, and compassionate, and warm. Life always seems to be a very cold place to men like us, it's hard to accept you, it's hard to believe you're real. It's harder to believe you'd want anything to do with two old death eaters."

She stopped at the bottom of the staircase and stared at Lucius, the most beautiful wizard she had ever met, telling her that he did not think she would be interested in him. It was almost surreal to have these kinds of conversations with a man she snuck looks at just to admire his figure.

"You're my two old death eaters, and you're both loyal, kind, and have saved my arse more times than I can count. I can't think of better company to keep."

Lucius flashed her that smile that only she ever received, it was tentative and unsure, and she knew that she was the only one to see the side of him that wasn't all arrogance. Hermione took a few steps before grabbing his hand with her own.

"It is a rather nice arse." He muttered next to her.

"Same for you, pretty boy." She shot back

Severus' quarters were bigger than she expected for a Professor at Hogwarts. His living room was just as big as the common rooms, and much like his home, the walls were lined with books and papers. Lucius lit the fire and some candles around the room before summoning an elf for tea. The potions master would not be back for some time, and he wanted to enjoy time with Hermione while he could.

He had a sinking feeling that neither of the two death eaters were going to survive this war if Minerva was hellbent on using them as a bait to bring the dark lord out, then the dark lord would take it. They could only evade death for so long. He turned to look at the small witch who was perusing the bookshelves, humming a tune he didn't know to herself as her fingertips glided over the spines of many worn books. He would try, he resolved, to evade death a little longer for her.

He had promised her a feast after all.

"Lucius," she said sitting down next to him, another book in her hand, Healing Charms and Cures

for Curses "What made you change your mind about mudbloods?"

"Don't say that word pet, it's hateful." He chastised her as she cracked open her book and curled up against him as if she had done it for years, he shifted his position to better accommodate the girl that effortlessly slipped into his life. "I had kidnapped you, for my own means, and when I was on the brink of death, trying to keep you so I could use you, you spent hours fixing me. You could have escaped, you should have ran off, but instead you stayed with me. No one would have done that for me, not after what I've done."

"No one deserves to die," she said, almost matter of factly. "You needed help, there was no reason for me not to help you."

There was a pause where he mulled over all the reasons there were that she shouldn't help him, he had tried to kill her, he had kidnapped her, and his plan up until weeks ago was to use her for his own means. It hurt just to think about, even now he was sure that he was much different than the man who left Malfoy Manor. War changed people, war changed him. It was unsettling.

"I have not changed my mind on all muggleborns, my pet, but I have changed my mind on you. Perhaps, in time, I may consider others."

"I suppose you can teach an old dog new tricks then." She smiled into her book

"Excuse you, I am not old."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, punctuated only by the soft flutter of her pages turning every so often. He stroked her hair absentmindedly, watching the fire dance as she read next to him. His thoughts halfway on her, and halfway on the war. It would be soon, he could feel the adrenaline ebbing and flowing in his blood.

Severus opened the door and startled her back into wakefulness, she could hear a rush of students outside the door chatting and humming all at once as they were escorted to safety and wondered if she was going to be recruited to help. She went to sit up but Severus waved her off "Stay, there is no need for another person to herd the chorus of idiots wandering down the hallway."

"Firewhiskey?" Lucius offered as Hermione made room for the dark professor on the couch in front of the fire, closing the book she had been reading. It still was awkward to be around them sometimes, even more so at Hogwarts.

"Firewhiskey." He affirmed.

They had settled onto the couch, all knowing that the war was closing in on them and there was a high chance that they would not see each other safely through the next day. She was stretched over the two of them, her head resting on Lucius' chest, listening to his heartbeat and wondering if there was anything she could say that would relieve this dread she felt.

Lucius kissed her on the top of her head, inhaling her scent before she tilted her face up to see him better in the dim firelight of the room. He took the opportunity and brought his lips to hers. His kiss was delicate and searching, the kind of unsure passion she was used to seeing in Severus, but tonight they were all unsure. Tonight she would commit every sense to memory.

She shifted herself so she was straddling the blonde, cupping his face with her hands, her hair curtaining their faces as she deepened the kiss. She would remember the taste of firewhiskey in his mouth, the smell of spices that was so distinctly Lucius, the warmth of his lips on hers.

Lucius wrapped his arms around her waist, but did not dictate, only let her explore him, consume him. She felt him pull her closer to him and she threaded her fingers up through his hair, her tongue fighting his for dominance. He was hers, he was all hers and she wanted to make sure he remembered what she felt like. She heard him inhale sharply as she pressed her body into his. Her softness meeting his hardness, they fit so well together. She broke away from his searing kiss panting. Her eyes meeting his, and she smiled. He looked at her not with derision, not with lust, but with love.

She looked over at Severus and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards her. She didn't ever think her selfish desires to have them both could have been realized and so eagerly, the triad definitely had it's benefits, but she could not think about having a normal relationship after having two doting men with her constantly. She leaned over and kissed the dark man, her tongue instantly meeting his, warmth flooded through her as Lucius began to move his hands up underneath her shirt. This was right, they were right.

Severus broke the kiss first, tugging her upwards by her hand. "I think you'll enjoy my bedroom," his voice was pure seduction and she found herself almost unable to stand.

She was lead through the cozy living room and down a stone hallway to a set of double wooden doors. Severus looked down at her and waved his hand to open the doors in front of them.

His bedroom was vast, almost as big as Lucius' master bedroom, with a four poster bed in the dead center surrounded by plush carpets and furs. Candles floated in the air and a warm fire was already lit on the far side. She brought her hand to her mouth. Extravagant silks adorned the bed and books lined all the walls. She was in heaven, this was heaven. Why had they been staying in the stuffy bedroom in the order when this was waiting for her?

"I had forgotten you had inherited Salazar's rooms." Lucius said, stepping in first, his boots clicked off the stonework, tugging Hermione along. She was currently enraptured with the ceiling that was charmed to mirror the night sky outside.

"These rooms belonged to the Salazar Slytherin?" She asked turning back towards Severus who was currently unbuttoning his robes in the doorway.

"Every head of Slytherin stayed in these rooms, it seems that we are known for good taste in interior decor," He slid off his exterior robe, leaving him only in pants and a white button down shirt.

Lucius grabbed Hermione around her waist and threw her over his shoulder. "No more admiring the decor, pet, it's time for me to admire you."

"Lucius!" she cried as she was tossed unceremoniously onto the plush bed full of black velvet.

The blonde smiled at the girl who was splayed across the bed before crawling on top of her, his hair curtaining his face as he leaned over her. "This is just the way I like you, in bed and calling my name."

He grabbed her shirt and tugged it upwards and off of her body, revealing her simple white bra and a simple white smile underneath him. Lucius looked away from her and to the dark man who was crossing the bedroom, undoing his cuffs and admiring the couple on his bed.

She turned her head to see Severus getting on the bed next to them and found herself mesmerized with watching him undress, his fingers were deft and meticulous over each pearl button, first his cuffs and then the collar of his shirt. He was quite a sight to behold when he was like this, vulnerable and eager, the wait between each button was unbearable. His eyes met hers and she knew that this was a show only she was allowed to enjoy. Each button undone meant a little more of his pale skin, another scar, another inch for her to memorize with her eyes.

Lucius however, was much more impatient for the witch in his bed and with a murmured divesto the three of them were naked in the large four poster bed. She would never get tired of the sight of Severus naked, his body was toned enough for her to see the outline of his muscles, the trail of black hair to his half erect cock.

She turned to look back at the naked blonde wizard straddling her "You rui-ah" Her thought was cut off by Lucius kissing down her body, his hair tickling her skin as he moved from her collarbone down to the valley between her breasts. He hummed against her skin as he moved down her stomach, her objections forgotten and instead a satisfied smile graced her face.

Severus took her hand and leaned towards her "Touch me," he demanded, placing her hand at his thigh, his lips meeting hers.

Merlin, these men were aphrodisiacs, her body was already hot being in bed with them. Her hips moving on their own as Lucius moved lower, her moans muffled by Severus who was kissing her languidly. Hermione took her hand and moved it higher on the dark man's thigh, her fingers wrapping around the base of his cock and beginning to stroke the shaft. It was like steel covered silk, and she realized she hadn't been given much opportunity to touch them in the past. Her thumb swept over the head of his cock and she was rewarded with a guttural growl, Severus nipping her lip to chastise her for moving too fast.

Lucius' lips kissed her inner thigh, teasing her by purposely avoiding her most sensitive spots. His teasing kisses on her inner thigh drove her wild, she found herself throb in desire each time his lips met her flesh, each kiss lingering longer than the last.

Severus fingers ran down her neck, giving her shivers at his light touches that trailed lower and lower until his delicate touches brushed the side of her breast, her whole body arching in response. It was amazing how they knew how to work in unison without speaking a word to bring her to new heights. Each teasing kiss, and barely-there touch causing her thoughts to scramble, her body to tense up, and her desire to increase.

Lucius nipped at her inner thigh but even that was pleasurable, she wondered if she had gotten her wires crossed in some kind of sensory overflow, but knew that when there was a bit of pain, there was always pleasure to follow. She whimpered into Severus' mouth, squirming underneath the

men.

Severus broke the kiss first, his breathing heavy and labored, his eyes dark with desire as he took in her face, a silly smile and half lidded eyes as she moved with his touches. "My perfect lioness," he whispered, cupping her face, his thumb brushing against her cheek and she turned towards his hand, kissing the palm, her free hand coming to cover it as she stroked him languidly.

She gasped and her whole body moved when Lucius finally kissed her lightly at the apex of her thighs. Hermione was so sensitive, he had teased her long enough. His tongue darted out and tasted her dripping sex. His hands grabbing her thighs and holding her down as he spread her wider for him. Her eyes opened wide and she sucked in air as she felt him lick the length of her slit. No one had ever done that for her, it felt like heaven, she was sure she was going to orgasm just from this.

Severus chuckled at her reaction, moving his lips from hers and to one of her breasts, licking one rosy nipple before blowing on it, it was a confusingly delightful sensation and she moaned, pressing her head back into the pillow. She whimpered and arched up into his mouth. They played her like a fiddle, and she was a very happy instrument of pleasure.

Lucius tongue delved inside of her, and it was almost too much pleasure her whole body tightened in response, but when she tried to squirm away from it, she found herself trapped underneath the two men. "Lucius!" She cried as his tongue swirled around her swollen clit "It's too much, stop!"

She heard the blonde chuckle "I will tell you when it's too much, pet." She got a nip on her inner thigh as a punishment and she whined, biting her lower lip. Her whole body throbbed with need, she was unbearably hot, and was unable to focus on just one feeling.

Severus shifted to her other breast, his tongue swirling around her sensitive peak, sucking on it gently, humming as she squeezed his cock tighter, her motions becoming erratic as her orgasm neared. She could feel his precum dripping down the head of his cock, her thumb rubbing the liquid over his shaft in satisfaction that she had aroused him to that point.

Lucius suddenly stopped as she felt her body tighten up, on the precipice of her orgasm, and she cried in frustration. She opened her eyes that she didn't even remember closing to see Severus looking down at her. "We're going to try something new, are you up for it?"

She was up for anything, she was so desperate, her body crying at the lack of orgasm. She nodded fervently and Severus kissed her, pulling her up to her knees before laying down where she just was, propped up on pillows, his arms open to welcome her. "Sit on my cock Hermione," he demanded and she all but scrambled to oblige. Severus had a way of ordering her around that made her insides melt.

She straddled him, his hands on her waist, his eyes watching her carefully as she grabbed the base of his cock, slowly sitting down on him, moaning as he filled her, it was a desperate ache that she didn't even know she had. Was this the new thing? She could handle this. She smiled and relished at the satisfied look on the dark man's face.

He pulled her towards him, his lips near her ear, his hands around her waist "Do you want to try for two?"

Her thoughts were all over the place, what did he mean two? Two cocks inside her at once? Her eyes widened and her body stiffened. One barely fit, how was she going to fit two? He kissed her neck "It'll fit, I promise you this."

She was surprised to find herself so desperate and so eager that she nodded. It would be beautiful to

have both her men inside her at once, but wouldn't they split her in half. Lucius' hands ran down her back, kissing her spine. "Thank you, pet. Relax, and we'll make it good for you."

Her first thought as she felt his head pressing against her was that it was definitely not going to fit with another cock already inside of her, but as soon as she was going to tell him that the laws of physics was going to prevent anything of the sort from happening, Severus moved his hand between them and began to rub her clit in small circles. Everything was forgotten temporarily and her denied orgasm came back to the surface.

She felt him press the head inside of her and it was a hot pain that felt like he was tearing her in two and giving her exactly what she needed at the same time. Hermione breathed out as Lucius' cock slid deeper inside of her, each inch was painful but only for the briefest of seconds, because after she was used to his girth she felt a giddy feeling of fullness that she didn't just want but absolutely needed.

It was a tense few moments until he was seated completely inside of her with a hiss from the blonde behind her. His front pressed completely against her, his head resting on her shoulder, trying to control himself, all three of them were. This was right, this was how they were supposed to be together, Hermione was sure of it.

Severus moved her, she was so weak with pleasure, she was unsure that she could even move, only feel. Her orgasm was on the edge and she knew the minute she came, they would too. She wanted this feeling to last forever. "Please," her voice was hoarse "it feels so good." She didn't know what she was begging for anymore, she was just begging.

They moved in unison, the kind of dance she never thought was possible, instead it was a flurry of feelings, of love that came with being with them both at once, on the edge of heaven as she listened to the moans of pleasure that surrounded her. This was love, this was right, how did she think it was anything else with them. How could she have resisted the triad?

Her orgasm was almost unexpected, Severus pulled her down onto him, Lucius' cock deep within her and it was too much, it was too full and she did not cry out she screamed, her body spasming and arching upwards, her eyes opening to see the heavens above the bed and Lucius' who followed her, she could feel his cock pulsing within her, pumping her full of his seed. Severus came right after, bucking his hips up into her, filling her deeper, using her for his own desires. She was moved slowly up and down through her own orgasm, wave of wave of pleasure wracked her body. Hermione could no longer focus, could no longer feel, she was just ecstasy.

She collapsed on top of Severus, her body was sore, she was exhausted, sticky, and loved. She felt like her heart was about to burst.

Severus tucked her in next to him and she felt him kiss her on the forehead but she was too tired to even open her eyes. "Sleep well, my love." Severus voice wrapped around every syllable and it filled her with a contentment that she was sure that she would experience the rest of her life.

She heard Lucius hum in agreement, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him.

Chapter End Notes

This Sunday has been unusually busy, so I will edit this chapter in full tomorrow. For

now, please enjoy the rough version that's only been skimmed over and has more commas than necessary. We're getting extra close to the end, I think only one or two more chapters before it's over :)

A Match of Wizarding Chess

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

She woke up to the castle shaking, followed by a large boom of thunder. Hermione groped around in the empty bed for her wand. They had left her. Her heart sank through the floor. They had truly left her alone. The fire was out. The windows were dark. It was pitch black in the dungeons. She grabbed her wand and flicked a lumos maxima, a quick blinding light showed her that they had warded her in, and the castle was slowly losing it's structural integrity. Those stupid men! Another loud boom shook the walls so hard she heard books falling. She would kill them when she got out of this blasted room! In a bevvy of frustration she focused her magic on the portrait hole and blasted through the wards. She grabbed Severus' teaching robes, and climbed out of the room. Hell hath no fury like Hermione scorned.

She skidded out of the room rushing out of the crumbling fortress, light peeking through walls that were half destroyed when she saw exactly what was destroying Hogwarts. Trolls were climbing all through the castle, swinging their huge clubs at walls and paintings alike. The screams of the portraits as they skittered away before their frames were destroyed was drowned out by the roars of the huge creatures. Hermione stunned the one closest to her, ducking out from underneath it's falling body, and darting up the moving stairs. She had to get outside. She had to get to Severus and Lucius. Two other trolls turned towards her as they heard their comrade fall. She bit her lip, it would be a long battle out of Hogwarts.

Hermione ducked as another troll swung at her. It smashed the wall next to her, destroyed a portrait of nymphs swimming in a pool, and burst a water pipe. She was drenched with icy cold water. She pushed her hair out of her face, and glared up at the two creatures. Severus and Lucius were so dead when she met up with them, but first, she had to get out of here, and that meant falling as many trolls as she could.

Severus and Lucius had been up far before Hermione. Voldemort's first strike, dementors at dawn, a fitting beginning for the battle for Hogwarts, woke Severus up almost instantly. They had agreed that they would keep Hermione safe, and instead of waking her, they warded her in tightly. One of them, if not both of them, would retrieve her once the danger had passed. That was their promise. "Well brother," Lucius had said dusting off his robes as they finished the final ward to protect the small witch inside "it seems we do battle again."

"Promise me Lucius," Severus said thickly, looking at the painting of the old knight that guarded his rooms. "That you will return to her if I cannot."

Lucius looked at him, almost pained "We will both come back, she'll kill us if we don't."

They were now escorting Potter and the blasted brat Weasley across the lawns of Hogwarts, one dead death eater at a time. Potter was passable as a duelist, which surprised Severus, but only so much as he made up for Weasley who was shouting Jelly legs jinxes in retaliation for barely missed killing curses. "Dammit Weasley!" Severus shouted turning back to see he had just side stepped a crucio. That boy was all luck. "Use more fatal curses or leave!"

"Not my mate! I won't leave 'im!"

Lucius let out an exasperated sigh as another few death eaters fell dead at his feet. Were all people Hermione's age as thickwitted as the Weasley boy? He had not killed so much before breakfast

before, and looking over the hill, he saw that he would kill many more. There was a cry of dragons overhead and the group of men slowly making their way towards Voldemort paused to see a line of hellfire split the battlefield not ten feet where they were standing. This battle was the most disorganized calamity he had seen in all his years. Lucius turned back towards the castle, hoping to see some reinforcements but there was no strategy, and he could not tell whether they were winning or losing. The castle however, was firmly in the losing column, trolls were climbing all over it. They had to work faster if they wanted a Hogwarts to battle over.

This was an absolute disaster. Had Severus and him made a bet on the wrong side? He killed another low ranking death eater with a sectumsempra and stepped over the corpse he had cut in two. Even if he had remained loyal to Voldemort they could have kept Hermione as their slave and protected her. Now it was all resting on the wizard between them that refused to use anything stronger than something to maim a sheep with. Lucius was having second thoughts but he pressed forward. He had promised Severus after all.

"We need to rest," Harry said between them, panting as they stepped over the charred bodies, the smell assaulting all of their senses. "We need to rest or we'll never get to Voldemort."

"In case you haven't noticed," Severus drawled "We are in the middle of a very large war, Potter."

"We're near the shrieking shack, let's just take a few minutes." Weasley agreed, pointing to the dilapidated house on the horizon.

Before Severus or Lucius could argue with them, they had darted off across the battlefield and towards the shrieking shack. The two older wizards looked at each other, contemplating whether they should stun the boy who lived and his red headed best friend before taking off after them.

She was covered in cuts, blood, and water. Six or seven trolls died before she had managed to find a clear path to the front doors. At least, where the front doors used to be, they had been busted off their hinges hours before. She stopped in the doorway and Hermione's eyes opened wide as she saw the battle of Hogwarts on the front lawn. The small witch cast a quick drying spell, and scanned the area for any sign of Severus or Lucius. Lucius would be much easier to spot, that peacock, but she didn't see anyone.

The battle had not reached as close as the front doors, only the trolls had made it past the thousands of wizards defending the castle. The sky was dotted with dementors that flew around in circles like buzzards waiting for carrion. She cast a notice-me-not charm on herself and wrapped herself tightly in Severus' cloak. It was the only piece of him that she had. It was the only piece that made her feel safe. She exhaled shakily as she walked slowly past the bodies of the dead, dueling death eaters against Order members she had never seen before. There was so much blood. The snow was tinged red in streaks like tiger stripes. Severus and Lucius were nowhere to be found. The stench of the bodies was almost unbearable and she covered her nose and her mouth with her wand out.

Hermione tried to heal the people she saw laying in the snow, still breathing, still screaming. Their eyes locked on the skies in terror as dementors swooped down towards them dangerously close. One witch that was spasming from the after effects of the cruciatus told her that she had been laying still for hours, in hopes that the dementors would think that she was already dead.

"Where are the mediwitches?" Hermione asked, casting a few simple charms to fix the cuts and bruises she saw. Merlin, the woman was on the brink of insanity, what had happened before she got out of bed? Hermione dragged her hand against the wool of the cloak, she knew he stored healing potions in it, almost always when they were travelling he would pull one or two out. She finally felt the pocket and grabbed a handful of vials, picking the pepper up potion and putting the

rest back. She handed the auror the vial.

"There are none." She replied almost dreamily, staring up at the sky. "There is no one."

Hermione stood up, satisfied she did what she could for the auror and saw a streak of red hair cross the battlefield. It was Ron. She had to catch up with him, if anything, he would know where Severus and Lucius was. They were charged with protecting Harry, and she knew if Ron was around, then Harry was not far behind. She started rushing down the hill to meet them, her cloak fluttering behind her as she ran. She would help Harry defeat Voldemort once and for all, and then they could all live happily ever after.

A death eater spotted her running past him and shot a stinging curse that caught her in the arm. She cried out and turned back towards the dark figure. They all looked the same, every witch and wizard look the same to her on this battlefield "Confringo!" She cried, but the death eater was wiser than she was and shot a counter curse that she only dodged by falling down, she had tripped on Severus' cloak and was now rolling down the steep hill on the lawn of Hogwarts.

Everything was a blur for a few seconds and she heard her name cried out when she hit the bottom. The world was spinning. She was spinning. Gods she hadn't been out on the battle field three minutes and had already been attacked and fallen over herself. She felt a strong arm pull her up and was face to face with Harry.

"'Mione! You're still alive!"

Her head was killing her, her arm hurt, and she was still dizzy. "Wh-Where is Severus and Lucius?"

Harry looked back at the shrieking shack briefly and then back to her. "There's no time, Snape got bitten, we have to go defeat Voldemort."

She felt her heart stop. "By what? By who? Harry we have to go back." She could barely breathe. If Severus was dead, then they had no chance of getting to Voldemort. They were screwed, this war was lost.

"The snake, Voldie's snake, come on Hermione, we gotta go." Ron tugged on her, but she tugged away from him, surprised that he would abandon his Professor, the man who probably had saved his stupid rear more times than he could count this morning alone.

"No, we have to save him, Harry, Ron, please, we have to go!" She felt desperation sinking in. The longer they sat here, the more likely he was going to die.

"Hermione, enough with Snape, it's either me, or him. Forget about the old bat, he's a necessary sacrifice. We're supposed to save the wizarding world, not just one old Professor." Harry said turning away from her.

Her eyes widened at Harry's casual dismissal, it echoed Dumbledore's comments from the night before. A sacrifice, this was the sacrifice that she was supposed to make? She would defy them both.

"Harry, either follow me, or sacrifice yourself." She was seething venom. She was not going to be a plot in some dead man's plans. Dumbledore thought to use Severus as a martyr for this war, but in her opinion he had used Severus for far too long.

"Aha, caught you bitch!" The death eater said rushing down the hill, his wand out in front of him. "Ava-"

"Rictumsempra!" Ron said next to her and she turned towards the redhead incredulously, did he really just cast a tickling hex on a death eater?

"What are you doing?!" She cried and turned towards the death eater " Stupefy! Petrificus Totalus!"

"Blimey, you're brutal." Ron said quietly next to her.

"This is a war Ronald Weasley! We're going to die if you think tickling your enemies is an attack! Use offensive spells before they kill you!"

"Oi, I found them, I found Potter!" Another voice called and she sighed, they were never going to get out of this alive if they were standing around like sitting ducks in the middle of a battle.

Another death eater rushed towards them, and began the wand motions to petrify them. Hermione was quicker "Crucio!" She yelled, watching the wizard fall to the ground before her, his screams blended with so many others on the battlefield. "I'm going to the Shrieking Shack, and if you don't want to die, you'll follow me." She would sacrifice no one in this war.

"She's scary when she's mad." Ron said behind her.

Lucius had killed the snake rather quickly, but not quick enough. He turned towards Severus who was slumped against the wall, his eyes wide and his hand on his neck. Nagini bit him, and he was dying.

The other two boys escaped during the tussle, leaving them alone in the Shrieking Shack. Lucius could only hear his breathing, mixed with the labored breaths of his best friend. He dropped to the floor next to him, fear rising up inside of him, making it hard to even breathe. Severus was going to die, Nagini's venom was infamous for being deadly, it was Voldemort's favorite way to murder those who displeased him.

"Severus," his name was barely a whisper, Lucius could barely form thoughts, watching his best friend die was more painful than he could have imagined. He swallowed "Please, let me see if I can heal it."

Severus shook his head. "You promised," He said, his breathing turning raspy, his eyelids drooping slightly.

"Severus! No. Severus, I don't remember. Please remind me. Don't leave quite yet. Hermione will be cross with us both, and you know I can't deny her when she is mad."

"Lucius, you deserve her far more than I." His lips turned upright "She loves you."

"and we love you. Do not leave so soon, please Severus, it is unbecoming of me to beg." Lucius looked frantically around the room. His mind was a blank. His whole body was frozen, fear was a foreign emotion for the pureblood. His best friend was slipping further and further away with each breath and his mind couldn't think of a single spell to use to help.

There was a bang in the other room and Lucius' eyes widened. Why did they have to come in here now? Couldn't the war wait to let Severus pass quietly? He would murder them, he would murder every death eater on this field. Lucius stood up, taking one last look at Severus before drawing his wand and holding his breath to round the corner into the main room.

He would kill them before they even had a chance to breathe, he turned the corner and trained his wand "Av-"

"Lucius!" Hermione said in relief a smile breaking out on her face, covered in mud. He lowered his wand instantly. Her hair was wet and hung limply around her shoulders and she was almost swimming in Severus' teaching robes.

"How did you get out? The wards, how did yo-"

"There's no time, where is he?" She said pushing past him into the side room where Severus lay dying.

He turned around to see her crouched over him in the other room, her fingers on his neck as she silently stared at the man who he was sure had passed on. "Hermione, love," he said thickly. "There's nothing we can do."

She was doing some kind of strange death ritual, touching on his neck and staring at him. Leaning in towards his lips, maybe she was listening to his last words. Her eyes, on his, as they all sat in silence in the room.

"There's no time," she said to herself, "There's no time...no time." She started rustling through the cloak she was wearing, he could hear the clinking of potions vials. She opened her hand full of vials, and laid them on the floor, reaching in deeper. Her eyes already full of tears, her heart hammering in her chest. Her fingers clasped upon a small stone in the bottom corner of the pocket and she pulled it out, examining it before crying out happily. It was bezoar.

"You clever witch," Lucius bent down next to her and cast an ennerverate on Severus. It barely worked but his eyes were open again.

"Swallow this, don't talk, just swallow." She pressed the small stone past his lips and pressed his nose closed forcing him to swallow before she sat back down, her hand in her hair.

A few tense minutes went by before she pressed her fingers to his neck again, looking over at Lucius who was pacing the room. "It's working, it's working, oh merlin Lucius, we saved him." She broke down into tears on the floor of the shrieking shack, her head in her hands. It was too close of a call for her comfort.

She wiped the tears off with the back of her hand and began to tip a cocktail of potions down his throat, bringing him to wakefulness. The dangerous moments had passed and she thought of every healing spell in the book she had read, in hopes to bring him back from the brink of death.

"An angel," he whispered as she was sorting through the remaining vials on the floor for anything else that could possibly help him.

She looked up to see Severus staring at her and she smiled "Welcome back."

He cleared his throat, his hand weakly coming to her face. "Brilliant witch."

"Right then," Harry said on the other end of the room. "Can we go kill Voldemort now?"

"Can you be a little patient, boy?" Lucius snapped, now sitting in a chair near the corpse of the giant snake he had killed. "Maybe find some humility since it was your fault that Severus was even here in the first place."

"Why were you in the shrieking shack anyways?" Hermione asked looking at the two boys who were on the far side of the room, only present because Hermione was too scary to say no to.

"We had been fighting all morning! We were tired, right Harry?" Ron said sheepishly next to him.

"Just a..a little break."

"And you ran when Severus was bitten?" She was horrified to say it, her heart twisted at just remember what he had gone through, even worse that her two best friends thought it was okay to just leave him.

"He wasn't gonna make it 'Mione, Dumbledore said-"

"Dumbledore is dead Harry! You can't let other people die because of what a dead Headmaster says!"

"He's right, Hermione. He wouldn't have been able to do anything. I was as good as dead." Severus sighed next to her, his voice still sounded weak "Dumbledore taught the boy that his purpose in his war is to defeat the dark lord by any means necessary, any sacrifice necessary. Even if it's me, even if it's you."

"I'm sick of being pawns to power games," She replied "If it's not Dumbledore, it's Voldemort. Does no one care that we're people?"

"We're all pawns in this war, pet." Lucius shifted uncomfortably in his chair "Let's finish this match of wizarding chess, and go home then, yeah?"

She was tired of being used. This whole war was her being used by one person or another. Hermione stood up and offered her hand to Severus, whose color was coming back to his face, his breathing normal. "I'm done being a pawn." She said to him.

The dark potions master looked up at the witch, who looked like she had been through hell and back and took her hand. "Then let's end this game."

The three of them headed out of the room "The biggest feast in all of wizarding history once this is done" Lucius said opening the door back into the maw of hell, a curse whizzing past the doorstep.

Hermione let out the nerves she had been feeling with a laugh "Three dessert courses at least!"

"Now is not the time to talk about food," Severus said felling a death eater that had run across his vision. Hogsmeade was now on fire, the battle was going south for The Order. They had to destroy Voldemort quickly.

They had walked halfway out of the village when Hermione stopped. "We forgot Harry and Ron." *

"'Mione," Harry said as they skirted the forbidden forest, avoiding the battle by any means necessary "You really love them don't you?"

They had decided that the golden trio would be sandwiched between Lucius and Severus, in an effort to protect them from all sides. "Yes, of course Harry." It seemed as plain as day now that she thought about it in the moment.

She had loved them for a long time, first as comrades, then as more. They fit so naturally in her life she wondered what she had been doing without them for so long.

"You work well together...and I just want you to know that even if it's weird, I know...Ron said..." "Spit it out Harry."

"Ron said threesomes are pretty normal for wizards. So... if you want 'em both, have 'em." Harry finally said, a smile on his face. This was the strangest place to have a conversation about her sex

life.

She heard Lucius sigh and she looked over at the blonde who was watching the two of them with distaste at how Harry had put their relationship. "Not everything involving love has to be written by Keats, Lucius." She called before looking back at her childhood friend "It means a lot to me, Harry."

"And I don't care either, 'Mione, same as what he said!" Ron piped in and gave her a thumbs up. "I know I was a berk, but Ginny says that you're happy, and Harry says that what matters."

Hermione rolled her eyes, boys will be boys.

"Are we quite finished prying into her relationships, then?" Severus said in front of them. He looked up at the sky. The sun was dipping lower as the Battle for the castle waged on. "The dark lord is within the forest. We need to get there before it's dark, hurry."

The forbidden forest was quiet. It seemed like as soon as they stepped past the brush on the edges, all the screams and cries from the battle died down into an overpowering silence. Her cloak dragged leaves, and every so often Ron would step on a twig, followed by a whispered "Sorry"

She could feel the Death Eaters before she saw them. It was such an oppressive force of wrongness that made her stomach churn. It was the same feeling as she got in the department of Mysteries. It was Voldemort.

"He's here," she breathed. It felt like all the air had been squeezed out of her.

There was no time to plan, and she realized they didn't need one. The three of them already knew what had to be done. Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. It was time to meet Voldemort.

Lucius and Severus split up, disappearing into the forest within minutes and Hermione forced herself to move, fear made her movements sluggish. It was hard to ask for her muscles to cooperate. She felt like she was walking towards death. She was. Hermione bit her lip and turned back towards the two wizards behind her. Her best friends, and knew that this battle would determine their fates.

She offered them a nervous smile and turned forward. It was time to face the Dark Lord. They approached the edge of a clearing carefully, and saw that Lucius and Severus already had provided the distraction. The dark lord on one of his usual rants, Wormtail simpering next to him, and no one else. There was no one else.

"My best death eaters, and my most disloyal." Voldemort intoned, his voice was raspy, his frame looked weak. "You come to me now and expect to be welcomed back?"

She grabbed Harry who was next to her and soundlessly petrified the rat that was next to him. Wormtail did not make a sound, he did not fall. He stood, staring blankly at his master. She squeezed Harry's wrist before nodding.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry shouted, jumping from the bushes and into the clearing.

Voldemort whirled around, and countered the spell with his own, the spells meeting in mid air, mingling, and swirling around each other. "Harry Potter, I have been kept waiting far too long. Did you think you could surprise me with your spell?"

She was unsure of who was winning, but it was clear that Harry was weakening, Ron was holding his best friend upright as he held the spell. The intent to kill was there but even now Voldemort

was more powerful than Harry. Voldemort laughed, watching Hermione and Ron struggle to support their friends. "Did you know that your mother begged me to spare her life?" Voldemort hissed.

"No!" Harry shouted "You will pay for all the lives you've taken in this war!"

"What are you going to do little boy?" He shot back, the Dark Lord looked merely bored.

Dumbledore did not plan for this. The savior of the wizarding world was not nearly strong enough. She had to act fast. She had to do something. Hermione raised her wand but Voldemort already knew what she was doing and threw her back against a tree. Her wand flying out of her hand and into the dense underbrush of the forest. She fell onto the forest floor gasping for air. There was no way they were going to win this battle. Harry was not prepared and neither was she.

"What do you plan to do Severus? You cannot harm me as long as you bear my mark, maybe if you help me dispose of Potter's brats I might consider letting you grovel at my feet."

Severus looked over at Hermione before he waved his hand to cast a Crucio, but as Voldemort predicted, the curse did not harm him, but instead the caster. She heard him cry out and Voldemort bark with laughter.

Harry released the spell he had been holding, falling back into the forest, panting, his hand shaking. "He's too strong"

Lucius rushed over to help Hermione who was trying to collect her wits about her on the forest floor. Her mind trying to formulate some semblance of a plan to defeat the dark lord. What were they thinking going after the most powerful wizard in the world without a plan? She had never done something so foolhardy!

"Are you hurt?" Lucius said kneeling down next to her and she shook her head, waving her hand to accio her wand back but Voldemort, no longer preoccupied with Harry, turned towards the blonde and his witch, accio'ing the wand from her and snapping it in two. She felt her heart break at the noise, she was truly useless in this battle now.

"Is this what your betrayal is for Lucius? A mudblood?" He began towards them. Voldemort didn't walk, she noted, he glided across the forest floor like an otherworldly being. "Perhaps I'll give you a new one once I dispose of her and Potter."

"Oi!" It was Ron, he was on the other end of the small grassy clearing in the middle of the woods. "I'm here too you know, stupefy"

Voldemort turned back to look at the caster of such a useless spell. He provided a decent distraction. Lucius and her managed to scramble away, running in opposite directions as Voldemort laughed and tossed curse after curse towards them, trees falling over, underbrush being dug up. Lucius could not harm him without harming himself, and she could only throw meager hexes without her wand. This was a cat and mouse game, she had to end it. She felt inside the pocket on Severus' cloak for something to help her, and pulled out a few vials of shimmering gold liquid. Felix Felicis, her last hope, she had brewed these herself. She popped open a vial and drank all of it before a plan, albeit an outlandish one, sprung to mind. She hoped that her potion would work, because she needed all the luck she could get.

Hermione ran around the edge of the clearing, tripping over roots and underbrush in her frantic last chance to save the wizarding world. She entered the clearing and rushed towards Voldemort. She would end this the only way she could. The muggle way. Lucius reached towards her, but Ron

caught onto what she was doing far before anyone else did.

He pointed his wand, a determined smirk on his face "Locomotor Wibbly" he shouted with all the conviction he could muster.

Hermione tackled the darkest wizard of their time, bringing him to the ground with her. "Fool! How dare you!" She could feel the magic sparking in the air and she turned towards Harry.

"Now!" She screamed and without hesitation Harry lifted his wand towards his best friend and Lord Voldemort.

"Avada Kedavra!" Green light swarmed her vision, it was blinding her, she could feel coldness wrap around her and she wondered for a brief second if she had been hit by the spell. It felt like all the magic, all the life had been sucked out of her and she was just a hollow shell of a human being.

It was dark. She felt weak and tired. The clearing was silent. She forced herself to breathe and felt cold hit her face. It was snowing.

"Hermione, love." It was Severus who spoke first, rushing to her side, falling to his knees next to her "Please don't go, not now."

"'Mione? I hit her. She was so close to him!" Harry sounded horrified "Dumbledore said that the-" "This was not an acceptable sacrifice to make!" Severus shouted pulling her up into his arms.

She wanted to move but she couldn't. She wanted to speak but she couldn't. "Severus, my love, it is okay, I am here. I am here." The words never left her lips, she couldn't make her body cooperate.

"Harry, is she-"

"No, no she's not." Lucius sounded sure of himself "Not after all this, she can't."

"Lucius, my love," she thought, trying to even move her fingers, "I am here, can't you feel me?" There was a weight on her chest, and she wondered if it was disappointment that she was making her lovers worry about her. She was fine, she was alive, wasn't she? Was death so torturous as she had to witness her friends and lovers grieving over her corpse?

She felt wetness and wondered if she was mistaken and it was raining instead of snowing. There was a coo that sounded like a dove and she opened her eyes.

Fawkes was standing on top of her, crying. The large bird looked down at her expectantly. It's plumage in stark contrast with the forest.

"Hermione?" Severus was holding her, and she realized this was the first time she had seen true fear in his eyes.

"I am here, I am here." She felt like she had just been hit by the Night bus.

"Merlin, you survived the killing curse, 'Mione!" It was Ron, stupid, lovable Ron "Now you and Harry are the only two people who ever did!"

Fawkes hopped off of her and into the snow, hopping around and accidentally melting some with her heat. Phoenix's were strange creatures. She tried to sit up but her body was so intensely sore she elected just to lay there. Fawkes trilled and the bird flew onto Harry Potter's shoulder.

"The magic must have protected her, we were all present. Is this truly the power of a triad?" Lucius said in thoughtful awe.

"I care little of the reasoning. She is alive, and the dark lord is dead, albeit by some strange dueling by Mister Weasley." Severus gathered the small witch in his arms and stood up.

"Who would think that Voldemort was open to a Jelly Legs Jinx? That's one for the papers, yeah?" Ron said ruffling his own hair

"That's one way to do it," Lucius said

"I thought it would be...more." Harry finally said and she ran her hands back through her hair.

"Mister Weasley, I did not think your joke jinxes would end up bringing down the Dark Lord" Severus said staring blankly at the corpse of the dark lord.

"Yeah, I knew what 'Mione was thinking when I saw her running, it's what best friends do." He flashed an award winning smile

"Is he really dead?" She asked.

Lucius rolled up his sleeve and saw his arm was clean, he looked over at Severus who still seemed stunned. "He's dead, but I don't think we should let the body lay around, we should do something." Lucius paused before waving his hand and she looked over to see that he had caught the body on fire.

The stench of burning flesh filled their nostrils, and Hermione thought she was going to be sick. They all watched in disbelief, waiting for Voldemort to stand back up and kill them all. They wanted to be sure that this time, was the last time that he would walk upon this earth. It was a strange feeling of emptiness now that the reason she had been fighting for so many years was gone. They all stood in silence, in quiet reverence, for the burning of Lord Voldemort.

They walked back through the forbidden forest, almost numb. Severus carried her, despite much of her protests, and every so often Ron would step on a twig, but he never apologized. Lucius was studying the forest floor in contemplation, and Harry looked merely dazed. No one spoke. No one had to anymore.

Severus stepped out of the Forbidden Forest and observed the battlefield, swarming with more aurors and mediwitches than he had ever seen, death eaters being petrified and lead away. There was so much blood it was streaked across the white snow, mixed with mud and ash.

The battle for Hogwarts was done, Voldemort was nothing but a pile of ash on the forest floor, but why did the victory seem so hollow?

Nymphodora Tonks spotted them and rushed over, her hair was black instead of pink, and in a tight braid behind her. She looked like she had been fighting for hours.

"Wotcher Harry!" She waved. "I haven't seen Old Vol-" "Voldemort is dead." Harry replied thickly.

Perhaps it was the fact that Hogwarts was half destroyed. Perhaps it was because she was so tired, or perhaps it was because she didn't quite know how to react to winning a war when so many people had died, but Hermione began to cry. She cried for the survivors. She cried for the dead, and she cried because she was exhausted.

"We need to go to St. Mungos." Lucius said, eying Hermione with concern.

Nymphodora was still stunned that they had killed the darkest wizard of their time and quickly caught herself "Right, Mister Malfoy, the apparation wards around Hogwarts have been lifted for Aurors, I will take you there myself."

She did not remain conscious for the journey to the hospital. Hermione was exhausted. The last words before she fell asleep were from Severus, who was holding her tight against him. "All is well, Hermione, all is well."

Chapter End Notes

Remember when I said Ron would come back and prove himself? Well there you have it! Voldemort is dead, and a Jelly Legs Jinx killed him. I really don't like ending my stories in some climactic battle that lasts for four chapters. Where is the fun in that? This is actually the end of the story, but next week I'll be posting a final sex scene with the epilogue where I tie up the remaining loose ends. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing it. I wrote this intending it to be a short PWP for a fan fiction panel I was running, but it quickly spun out of control. Thank you to everyone who liked and commented and read along the way. See you next week for our epilogue!

Epilogue: All Was Well

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

It had been a few weeks since she had been released from the hospital, and she was curled up next to the fire in a vast library that she never thought she would get to see again. Crookshanks had wandered in and settled himself on the marble in front of the fireplace. She flipped another page and sighed. It had been a long few weeks, celebrations, recovery, ceremonies and plenty are you sure about this, Hermione? had lead her to this moment.

There was a pop "Mistress, the masters request you in the dining hall." It was Taffy, she was wringing her hands eagerly, it was an exciting night after all.

"You'll have to lead the way Taffy, the house is still so big."

She was back at Malfoy Manor, her former prison, her home, her sanctuary from the press that continued to plague her when she visited Diagon Alley, or so much as looked at Hogwarts. She shut the book she was reading and left it on the chair. She would be back, in fact, she was unsure if she ever wanted to leave.

The last two weeks of her recovery from losing her magic was all in the master bedroom with house elves and Lucius. Severus, however, was in and out, much to her dismay, dealing with the Ministry, and the rebuilding of Hogwarts.

"He misses you, pet, he is just busy and you are always asleep when he visits." Lucius had said when she was near tears after not seeing her dour potions master for almost a week. "You are doing much better already, the mediwizards told us you'd never regain your magic but you're already using your wand again."

Taffy opened the large doors of the library out into the well lit halls. Lucius had it all redecorated before she had arrived, saying that he wished her to see the manor in all it's glory, and Severus insisting that if he would not leave her in a "haunted house."

The marble was not black after all, but white with black veins, and the portraits on the wall sometimes tried to talk to her during her wanderings around the enormous manor, but none screamed at her. The Malfoy line was not always about blood purity, it seems, and it certainly wasn't any longer. Taffy lead her to the stairs that curled down into the main foyer where a magnificent chandelier gave the room an elegant glow. At the bottom, waiting in the foyer were her two wizards, in quiet conversation with glasses of firewhiskey.

She rushed down the stairs to meet Severus, excited to see the elusive wizard. "Severus, you're home!"

Hermione truly was clothed in Malfoy garb, in beautiful dark blue robes that must have cost a fortune and a black cotton dress, she was a flutter of fabric as she descended, her hair ran wild behind her. A small smile graced his lips "It seems I am."

She hugged him and looked up at him with a smile "You'll stay for longer?"

"I sleep with you every night. You're just always asleep by the time I make it in."

"Surely Hogwarts doesn't need you that much anymore?" Hermione said taking a step back from him, searching his face for any good news.

Severus looked away from her, trying to conceal his smile from the girl in the foyer but Lucius smiled in return "It appears that we will have one more guest at breakfast, my pet."

"And one more guest for dinner! I swear, Severus, I thought you were avoiding me." She said turning towards the dining hall.

"It's a special dinner tonight," Lucius said, his hand on the small of her back as the three of them walked into the dining room.

There were floating candles above the long table that looked like it was initially built for thirty and not three, however while there were only three place settings at one end of the mahogany table, there was a spread of food that went from one end to the other, extravagant dishes, soups, poultry, and desserts spanned the whole table. Her eyes lit up.

"A feast," she said in awe, looking up at Lucius who looked pleased with himself.

"Not just a feast, my pet, the "biggest feast in all of wizarding history" and there are precisely three dessert courses on the table, just as requested."

"Lucius, you're ridiculous! This is too much food, I was only joking."

"He has a penchant takes things too far. In this case, I'll allow it, I am famished." Severus said as he went to sit in one of the chairs at the far end of the table.

"Come, pet, before the food gets cold. Taffy and the other elves have worked hard to prepare this."

She sat down at the table and began to fill her plate, there was no way she was going to get to even an eighth of the food on the table.

"You're correct that Hogwarts doesn't need me that much anymore, Minerva can finally helm the reconstruction efforts." Severus said as his goblet magically refilled with red wine. "I am freed of my duties as a teacher now, and can do what I originally intended, potions research."

"No longer in my closet, I hope, it will take ages to get the fumes out of the walls." Lucius frowned thinking of Hermione's time as a prisoner in the master bedroom.

"I figured I would convert one of the sixty or so rooms in this palace to do potions research, that is with the master's permission." Severus looked over at the blonde who was sitting at the head of the table.

"This home is yours as much as it is Hermione's, do with as you wish." He replied waving his hand at the vast dining hall.

The rest of the dinner was spent in amicable conversation that went on until Hermione had tasted all the desserts on the table, complimenting Taffy on her excellent creme brulee. Lucius insisted that they adjourn to the newly decorated drawing room. He bragged about the new modern furniture, saying that they were much more comfortable than the antiques he had last.

They were seated in an overstuffed leather couch, Hermione her legs across Lucius' lap and was leaning her head on Severus' shoulder as they watched the fire dance in front of them.

"You know," Hermione said, her finger tracing the edge of her wine glass, "if someone told me

just six months ago I'd be draped across two powerful dark wizards in Malfoy Manor, I would have sent them to St. Mungos."

"If someone told me, a sexy young witch would be in my bed every night six months ago, I would have said which one?" Lucius replied and she nudged him.

"Don't be cruel! I was trying to be sweet and you've gone and ruined it." Hermione sulked.

Severus bent over and tilted her face up towards his. "If someone told me, that the most powerful witch I've ever had the fortune of meeting, wanted to be with an old bastard like me, I would have called them insane."

Severus always made things so intense so quickly, she easily got lost in his eyes. "And yet here you are, my dear."

He tilted her head upwards with ease, his fingers caressing her cheek as he lowered his mouth to hers. She met him eagerly, her tongue meeting his. It was so long since they had been together, but they flowed together with ease. He pulled her up against him and her arms wrapped around his neck. A moan left her lips and she could feel how much he wanted her against her hip.

"I missed you," he murmured against her skin as his lips left a trail of fire down her neck. "I missed you."

Her heart skipped a beat at his words and she tilted her head to give him better access to her pale skin. She was on fire, did he know how much she missed him? Everyday felt incomplete without him by her side.

He slid her heavy robes off her shoulders and it fell to the floor under it's own weight. She shivered, not in response to the cold, but in anticipation for what he would do next. Her body was on fire, each touch made her heart race. She had forgotten how easily she responded to him, how quickly he could make her a puddle of desire in his hands. He nipped at her skin, bringing her back to earth. She squeaked.

"I love the noises you make, Hermione." He kissed her collarbone, his hands coming around her waist.

Lucius hummed next to her in agreement, setting his glass down before leaning over to kiss her. He tasted like firewhiskey and sugar. Lucius was a special kind of dessert. She had spent many nights with him since she was ensconced in his manor. He kissed her roughly, nipping at her lower lip. She liked him rough, it was something so distinctively Lucius. He broke the kiss first, and she was panting.

"I think the bedroom would be better, wouldn't it?" He whispered so that only she could hear, but before she nodded her head with a pop the three of them collapsed in a heap on the master bed.

Severus tugged on her dress, after an impatient second, he magicked it away, leaving her naked between the two men. He ran his fingers down her body, marveling at how she arched up into his touch. As his hand travelled lower, her breathing became shallow, and when his fingers slid through her damp sex, she moaned his name impatiently.

"I don't see why Lucius gives you any clothing at all, I think you're rather perfect like this. Naked, and begging for me."

She bit her lip and looked over at the blonde who had slid off the bed and was undoing his white shirt, button by button. "Do you like watching him, Hermione?" Severus asked as his hand cupped

her sex, causing her to buck up against him. His fingers were hot, and she responded easily. "Yes." It came out as a hiss and a gasp.

Lucius' hands stilled on his buttons and he looked at the naked girl in his bed. She looked away once she realized he had noticed her, a blush forming on her face. What was it about these two men that made her so wanton?

Severus slid one finger into her, her eyes flew open and her body responded in earnest. She was already ready for him, why did he insist on teasing her? "Do you want more?" He asked, his voice was low, and she could barely hear him over her breathing.

"Severus, please," she begged, bucking her hips upwards to take him deeper, but he held her down on the bed.

"Beg for it."

She felt her face flush. She hated when he made her do this. Her body was so hot, she wanted him. She had missed him for so long and now he was denying her.

"Please Severus, I need you to..." the word felt so sinful it caught in her throat "fuck me, I need you to fuck me."

He leaned over and slid in a second digit next to the first, and began to pump them in and out of her slowly, easing her frustration and fueling her desire. His lips were inches from her ear. "Look at Lucius while I fuck you, watch what you do to him."

Hermione whimpered his name, but he tilted her head to the side for her. She looked over to see Lucius, shirtless and beginning to undo his pants. His golden hair fell around his face, but the fireplace illuminated his alabaster skin. He was a greek god, and he was hers.

"Do you like what you see, pet?" He said as he undid his belt to his trousers. They were so tight she could see the outline of his cock clearly pressing against the fabric.

Words couldn't form coherently in her mind, not when Severus' thumb was making small circles around her clit. She squirmed underneath him and tried to get him to stop so she could voice her appreciation of the half naked man next to her bed. She nodded eagerly, and a smile spread across his face.

"My, my, Miss Granger, you're quite the exhibitionist." Severus whispered in her ear "I can feel you getting wetter, do you like it when people watch you?"

She whined and looked away from Lucius and back into the glittering eyes of her tormentor. His strokes were slow and deep, but she was frustrated. His fingers weren't enough anymore. She needed him. She wanted to be filled with him. "Severus, I need..." She gasped, grinding against his hand, struggling to get a little more satisfaction, a little more pleasure from his adept fingers.

"You need what?"

She bit her lip and her eyes met his. "I need you to fuck me."

He withdrew his fingers from her and cupped her sex roughly. "Say it again." She closed her eyes, ashamed of her own desperation "Please Severus, fuck me."

Severus sat up on his knees, the heat of his body leaving hers made her shiver. She felt the bed dip beside her. "Get on your knees, then." Severus commanded, and she obeyed.

She would always obey him. Eagerly she turned over, getting on her hands and knees only to feel Severus pick her up by the waist. Her body pulled against his, the rough wool of his suit creating a delicious friction against her sensitive skin. She was met with the sight of a naked, and very aroused Lucius lying back against the pillows. He was divine, his hair looked like cornsilk splayed out against the pillows. His hand was stroking his thick red cock leisurely as he watched his best friend and his lover before him.

"Look what you've done." Severus murmured in her ear "You've tortured poor Lucius."

She whined in protest, Lucius was not the only one being tortured. Her sex throbbed with need. Her whole body was on edge and overly sensitive. Severus liked to play with her.

"Clean up your messes, Miss Granger." He whispered, his voice was like silk.

Gods, but she loved it when he used his classroom voice on her. It felt so taboo, it was so sinful and it only made her want him more. "Yes sir," she responded, almost automatically, but she heard him chuckle in her ear.

"With your mouth." He added and let go of her.

She smiled up at Lucius, grabbing the base of his cock, and she heard his breath hitch. Lucius was so responsive, so open with her when he was like this. Every small noise felt like a victory, every gasp, every moan of her name was a reward in itself. She licked the tip experimentally, earning herself a hiss of her name.

"That's it pet," he gasped as she swirled her tongue around the engorged tip. His fingers tangled in her hair, pushing her downward. She obliged and slipped him into her mouth, tasting the salty precum as she took him deeper. "Yessss, you're so good pet, you're so good with that dirty little mouth of yours."

As the tip brushed the back of her throat she felt Severus' hand on her hips and without warning, he slammed into her, causing her to take Lucius deeper into her mouth.

"Tease," Severus said as he drew out of her, his fingers digging into her hips.

She moaned around the blonde's cock, finally, all the frustrated desire pent up inside of her was released by the delicious feeling of fullness that came with Severus' cock. He set the pace for the three of them, rocking her body between the two wizards every time he filled her and pulled out.

The tinge of pain that came from Lucius tugging on her hair only seemed to make every thrust a little more intense. She wondered idly if that meant she was weird, but she realized she didn't care as long as it felt good. Her hand is the only thing that stopped her from taking Lucius down her throat, and her lips met her hand each and every time.

"No," the blond moaned above her, and she felt him pull up on her hair instead of down "If you continue I'll- fuck Hermione!" He hissed and she felt his cock throb against her tongue.

She tried to obey him and stop, but Severus had none of it. She felt him lean over her and press her head downwards. "Swallow it all, don't be wasteful Miss Granger."

"Pet...fuck..." Lucius' strained panting as his whole body tensed underneath hers was divine. She loved that she could do this to one of the most dangerous wizards in the world. His hands tightened

in her hair and she whimpered and sucked harder as Severus held her down.

He filled her mouth with cum, and she let out a contented moan as Severus began to slowly thrust in and out of her. Her body was taut, on the edge of her own orgasm. There was something about pleasing Lucius that drove her wild.

"Severus," Lucius gasped "That was unfair."

She was yanked upwards as Severus fucked her, he was still dressed, she could feel his clothing. He pulled her hair backwards so she was flush against him, her whole body bowed against him as he used her. "I missed you," he hissed "I missed your tight little body, I thought of you every night we were apart. Do you know what exquisite torture it is to have you and then be denied?" His voice was strained and raspy. She didn't know what she found more erotic, the feeling of his cock stretching her, filling her, with each thrust, or his voice.

"You've taken all of me, you've bewitched me, I'm sure." He hissed in her ear "What power you must have."

She was so close, his thrusts were harder now, each word was punctuated with his cock filling her completely. Her whole body was taut, she could barely remember to breathe. "Cum for me, give yourself to me." He demanded in a harsh whisper, his hand grasping one breast roughly.

It ripped through her, every cell of her being, every nerve ending, and she squirmed to get away from Severus but he held her against him. "Merlin, you're so tight." He hissed in her ear and she felt his cock throb as he filled her with his own cum. It was too much, it was all too much, she squealed and squirmed to get away from the overwhelming pleasure that came with his touch, but he held her there. Magic crackled and filled the air, and Lucius seemed to enjoy the display because a satisfied smile played on his lips. She wet limp against him, panting and whimpering. Severus stroked her hair and kissed down her neck sweetly, laying her down next to Lucius who watched them with half lidded eyes. "Tired, pet?" He asked opening his arms to let her curl up next to him.

She didn't respond, she just yawned.

"Tired." Severus responded for her, laying down next to the two of them in the oversized bed.

Lucius waved his hand and the fire dimmed, he turned to say goodnight to the petit female nestled between them, but her quiet snores filled the room. The blonde pulled the blanket up over the three of them, and Severus bid him good night. It was not much longer before he fell asleep next to her.

All was well. Chapter End Notes

So this is it for our trio, I'm sorry this took at least forever to respond. I'm in the process of moving, and I don't have time for much else but packing.

I hope everyone enjoyed my very first fic, I hope I can find time to write more in the future. Thank you for reading, I enjoyed everyone's comments!

End Notes

Authors Note: This is my first fic and contribution to the fandom although I have been following the Harry Potter fandom for a decade it seems. This work is actually completed and I'll be posting it every Sunday until it's all up here. Please read and review!

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!