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Hermione woke to the warmth of sunlight against her cheek. She smiled softly and shifted and then bolted straight upright in bed. She was wearing an oversized black t-shirt and she had no memory of getting undressed. She looked around the room for her clothes and saw nothing and she started cursing. She could smell the incredible aroma of something cooking, and her stomach clenched reminding her that it had been some time since she'd had a proper meal. She bit her lip and got out of bed, seeing that the shirt hit her an inch of two above her knees and decided to just suck it up and go downstairs. She had her suspicions about how she'd gotten into this shirt in the first place.

She walked down the stairs, bare feet not making any noise.

"I was just about to come and wake you." Her captor said, seemingly perfectly aware of her movements. His head appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Tea or coffee?" he asked her.

"Coffee." She said. "With cream and sugar." She added, hating that she was accepting anything from him but it did no good to starve herself.

He nodded. "Food's on the table, help yourself." He said as he disappeared and she tromped down the second half of the staircase and followed the smells to the kitchen. She paused there, in awe of the sight before her. There were pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, and even some fruit.

"This is…" She looked stunned and sat down, helping herself to a little of everything. Logically she knew that she and the boys had been on short rations so long that she'd need to eat modestly to avoid being ill but her stomach had other ideas.

"I thought you might enjoy a real breakfast." He said and poured the coffee and added some cream and sugar to the mug before setting it in front of her.

"It's been a while." She said took a sip of the coffee and had to close her eyes a minute. It tasted like heaven. "Thank you." She said very quietly.

"You're welcome, little witch." He said and came to sit down as well.

"My friends…are they…" She asked hesitantly.

He met her eyes and decided that the truth was best. "Harry managed to escape, but your other friend wasn't so lucky. The Dark Lord captured him, and he's being interrogated now." He said quietly. "I am very sorry."

Hermione looked down at her plate, feeling such a strange mix of emotions. Joy for Harry, and utter desolation for Ron. "Will they kill him?" She asked.

"Soon…if he's lucky." He said, not telling her that he was in charge of that interrogation. "After breakfast, there's something I want to discuss with you. It may dictate whether your friend Potter survives the war, and who comes out on top."

"Let's discuss it now." She said.

"All right, but only if you keep eating. You're too damn thin." He said and when she nodded and took a bite of her eggs he continued. "In exchange for something, I am willing to bring a number of Death Eaters to your side, enough to certainly turn the tide, and to assist you in ending the Dark Lord forever." He said softly.

"What?" She looked confused. "Why would you betray him…you're winning."

"He is winning. The rest of us are losing. He's insane, but still a better option than death or Azkaban for many of us. If your side were willing to be the better option, you might find yourself with a much stronger army." He said and ate a piece of bacon, watching her face.

"That's their price, now what's yours for bringing them all over?" She asked warily.

"Clever girl." He nodded. "Your word, by way of the Unbreakable Vow, that once I bring the Death Eaters I mentioned to your side you will marry me." He said.

Hermione looked stunned and then she started to laugh. "You have to be joking! Marry me? You don't even know me…I'm a mudblood for god's sake!"

"I know you, little witch, better than you think." He said, not laughing. "You're exceptional, lovely, and dangerous. If you want me to betray my Master, you'll give me what I want." He stood and walked around the table, seeing the laughter fall from her features as she realized he was deadly serious. He moved fast and slipped a hand into her hair and pulled her head back as he stole a kiss. Her lips were soft, and she gasped in surprise giving him the foothold he needed to plunder her mouth. Her inexperience was evident but she didn't push him away. He broke the kiss and stared into her eyes. "And I want you." He released her and moved back around to his side of the table.

Hermione could only sit there, like someone had hit her with a stunner. She swallowed and then lifted a hand, touching her lips before she shook herself. "I do have a name you know." She managed to say.

"So you do, Hermione." He said, letting his voice almost caress it. "So, what will it be then? Marry me for an army, or let the Dark Lord destroy your friend and spend the rest of your life my prisoner here? It's not like it would be a terrible hardship for you." He grinned cockily.

Her cheeks burned and she fought back a retort realizing that trapped here, there was little he couldn't do to her anyway. Wasn't it better to try and get something out of it for herself? Was it so much to sacrifice for the greater good? She bit her bottom lip remembering Dumbledore's words. Sometimes we have to choose between doing what is right, and what is easy. "It's not much of a choice." She whispered.

"But it's still a choice, which is more than you had last night." He said. "I'd love to be able to give you time to think it over, but that's something we don't have right now. I need your answer, either way." Thorfinn said.

Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head. "I need a minute." She stood and walked out of the kitchen, out into the fresh air. She let her eyes scour the barren landscape of the island, realizing that there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide from this. She wrapped her arms around her middle and let the wind whip around her, fluttering the edge of the t-shirt around her legs.

She didn't know how long she stood there before he came out and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "Thank you." She whispered.

"I need your answer Hermione." He said softly and reached out to stroke her cheek, encouraged when she didn't pull away.

"I'll do it." She whispered, closing her eyes. "But I can't swear the oath until we have someone to act as bonder." She remembered the specifics of it.

"How do we contact the Order?" He asked her.

"There's a place we can go..." She said softly. "I'll have to take you there though." She said knowing it was under protections.

He nodded. "Your clothes should be nearly dry, we'll go once you've finished your breakfast and gotten dressed." He said. "The member of the Order will act as our bonder, so don't get any ideas about double crossing me." He tipped her chin up, meeting her eyes.

"I won't. You're not the only one that keeps their word." She whispered.

"All right, let's get you back inside before you freeze." He guided back inside the warm kitchen and got her another mug of coffee while she sat down to finish eating. He cleaned up from breakfast and went to get her clothes from the dryer. He folded them and sat them down on the chair next to her. "There wasn't anything I could do for the trainers, save a good scourgify." He said.

"Thanks, it's been a while since they've had a proper laundering." She said quietly, food sitting like bricks in her stomach. She jumped as he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Living in a tent in the woods for months, I'm hardly shocked by that." He said and gently rubbed her tight shoulders. "All the things you've done, and I'm what scares you…why?" He asked. He'd seen her kill in cold blood, seen all the brave and reckless things she'd done in her quest to destroy the Dark Lord, and yet his hands on her shoulders were making her shake like a leaf.

"Because I can't fight this…" She admitted quietly. "I chose it."

"I've said so before, and will again now…I will not hurt you Hermione. What I'm offering is not so terrible, not in the grand scheme of things." He stroked his thumb up and down the back of her neck. "There are many men who would have simply taken what they desire from you. What I desire however, can only be given." He leaned down and brushed his lips against her ear. "Such things are always better when given freely."

Hermione shivered at the feel of his lips against her ear, his voice rumbling in that tone that just went straight through her. "I should get dressed." She managed to say.

He chuckled and released her. "Of course, little innocent." He gave a half bow. "The bathroom is through there, in case you want to shower. There's also a jar of bruise salve on the counter." He moved back and watched as she grabbed her clothes and all but ran to the bathroom.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Hermione locked the bathroom door and leaned against it, her heart hammering against her ribs. What the hell was WRONG with her? He was a Death Eater! It shouldn't matter that his voice made her feel…NO! She shook herself and went to turn on the shower. She stripped off the T-shirt and tossed it in the hamper. She slipped off her panties and got under the blissfully hot water. She scrubbed her hair, enjoying the simple luxury of shampoo as opposed to cleaning charms. As she had discovered over the months, they really had their limits. She hissed a little as the soap stung at some of her healing scratches from the Gringotts disaster. She wished she could hide under the hot water forever but she needed to get dried off and try to contact the Order. With Rowle.

She got out and dried off, before opening the jar on the counter and taking a moment to smell it. It smelled vaguely of anise and mint, nicer than the stuff she was used to making at school. She dipped her fingers in and spread a thin layer over her bruises, smiling and the discomfort seemed to disappear. She'd need to ask him who'd made this. She tended to all of her bruises that she could reach before dressing again. She left her hair hanging loose around her shoulders in damp waves.

She came out and saw him sitting at the table. The sight of him almost stopped her breathing for an instant. He looked dangerous. He was dressed all in black. Black leather boots, black pants and a black t-shirt under a well-worn black leather jacket. There was a glint of silver chains around his neck. His blue eyes seemed to shine brighter in the absence of any other colours. She noticed then that her wand was beside him on the table, sitting there oh so innocuously. "I'm ready." She managed to find her voice.

"Good." He stood and picked up her wand. "Now, I need your word that you won't try and double cross me." He said, holding her gaze.

"I swear I won't try to run, or kill you." She smirked a little.

"I suppose that will need to do." He held out her wand, a show of trust.

Hermione reached out and wrapped her fingers around the familiar wood and felt its magic singing to her. She relaxed a little. "How do you want to do this?" She asked him.

"We'll side-along apparate. As long as I'm in contact with you, the wards will let you pass." He said and moved even closer to her, wand out just in case and he wrapped an arm around her body, pulling her in tight. He smirked a little as her breath hitched.

Hermione nodded and focused on the Shell Cottage, the familiar bone crushing sensation passed and they appeared on the shoreline, in front of the cottage. She stepped in between a furious Remus Lupin, and Thorfinn as she was the werewolf stormed out of the cottage. "No Remus…it's not what you think." She said.

"What was the first piece of magic you ever saw me do?" Remus asked, wand still raised as his eyes fixed on the Death Eater at Hermione's back.

"The Patronus Charm. What was the first spell you taught me?" She asked in turn.

"The Boggart Banishing Spell." He said. "What is *HE* doing here."

"He has something to offer the Order." She said. "I think you should hear him out Remus. He could have killed me, or turned me over to *him*."

"Very well, but he gives you his wand before he comes inside." Remus said stiffly.

"Very well." Thorfinn offered it to Hermione without hesitation.

Hermione took it and they headed into the cottage.

"Are you all right? Word came that they got Ron, and Harry didn't know what had happened to you." Remus said as they went inside.

"Thorfinn captured me last night, in the Dark Forest. He wasn't involved with the raid that took Ron." She said quietly.

"Ron or Harry must have triggered the taboo last night." Thorfinn said, covering for the girl. "The Dark Lord was most displeased that Harry escaped yet again. There are those of us within the ranks that would be willing to…defect to your side, if there were assurances made that once the dust settles we'll be absolved of any crimes we might have committed while in the Dark Lord's service. If your side is willing to guarantee that, I can give you enough witches and wizards to turn the tide in your favour." He said.

Remus looked stunned. "Why now?"

"Because he's very close to victory, and he is quite mad. Most of us follow simply out of fear, or a lack of alternatives. I was just a boy when the Mark was forced on me, I take no pleasure in the things we do." He said honestly. "If there is a time to change the trajectory of his assent to power, it must be now. Or we will be too damn late."

"I am sure we can reach an agreement for…amnesty." He said. "I'd need to go and speak to the other members of the order."

"Before you go, I need you to act as a bonder for a vow Remus." Hermione said softly.

"What manner of vow?" He frowned at her.

"An agreement we reached, before we came here." Thorfinn smirked darkly. "No Oath…no Death Eaters."

"Miss Granger, you are aware what will happen if you break this oath?" Remus said, looking at the rather pale girl. Whatever this agreement was had to be serious.

"I'll die." She replied quietly. "But without his help, I'd probably end up dead anyway, or wishing that I was." She took a deep breath.

"Give me your right hand." Thorfinn said and clasped it tightly. "Mr. Lupin…if you would?" He asked.

Remus raised his want and cast the enchantment, nodding to them both.

"Hermione Granger, will you swear to accept my hand in marriage after I deliver the promised Death Eaters to your side?" Thorfinn said.

"I will." She said, watching fascinated as a band of fire circled their hands. She heard Remus' sharp intake of breath.

"Will you swear to be my wife in all ways, not just in name." His eyes were intent on her.

"I will." She said again, and she watched another band of fire circle them again.

"I accept your oath." Thorfinn said and the fire melted into their hands, warmth sealing the bond.

"I witness this oath and remind both that it is binding. Nothing save death can undo it." Remus whispered and dropped his wand, looking at Hermione sadly.

Thorfinn raised Hermione's hand to his lips and kissed its back. "I need to speak to you alone for a moment." He said.

"I'll be right back Remus." She said, knowing her former Professor would want to talk to her as well. She walked outside with him.

He reached into his shirt and took off one of his necklaces. "I want you to wear this." He placed it over her head. "Keep it next to your skin, and out of view."

Hermione looked at the pendant for a moment and smiled, recognizing the Runes. "What is it?"

"A protective amulet, it's been in my family for a very long time." He said and lifted the other chain he wore and showed her the twin of the one in her hand. "There are always two..." He said and touched her cheek. "It will give you a little extra protection, and let me find you if you're in trouble. I don't plan on letting you get out of our deal by dying." He leaned down and stole a kiss.

Hermione returned the soft brush of lips, shivering a little as his hand slid back into her hair tightening possessively at the nape of her neck. She made a small sound in her throat as he deepened it, taking her mouth aggressively. He was suddenly pulling back and she could feel her cheeks burning.

"Stay here until I return. It might be late tonight. I need to connect with my friends and make certain the Dark Lord doesn't suspect anything." He said to her. "Promise me you'll stay here."

She nodded. "I'll stay here. Thorfinn…be careful." She said, blushing darker.

"Careful there, little witch, I'll start thinking you don't really hate me." He winked at her and straightened. "Off you go back inside. I'll return when I can."

She nodded and handed him back his wand before going back inside the cottage. She heard the soft crack as he disappeared as she moved through the door.

"What in the name of Merlin were you thinking? Were you even thinking at all? Smartest witch of your age indeed." Remus said, looking utterly disappointed in her.

"I didn't have a lot of choices Remus." Hermione said and sat down. "It was agree to marry him in return for his help, or something much less savory." She said quietly.

"How did he even get his hands on you?" Remus made a motion that set the kettle to boiling.

"He caught me just after I…" She stopped and looked at him. "I'd gone to try and capture Umbridge and things went sideways. I killed her." She whispered. "I was trying to hide the body when he got the drop on me."

Remus frowned. "Did he hurt you?" He couldn't smell anything like that on her, but she was acting very strangely.

"No, he didn't do anything like that. He did thank me for not killing him in the café that night." She chewed on her bottom lip. "But this is what we need, isn't it?" She looked at Remus.

"More desperately than I wanted to let on. We're not doing well Hermione. The hunt for the Horcruxes was so important we didn't want any of you to know how bad things were getting." Remus sighed. "I'll go and meet with Kingsley and Arthur, and let them know at Rowle is offering. I won't tell them about your bargain. That's not something they need to be worrying about now." He knew the two other men would want to refuse Rowle out of hand if they heard he was using the offer to force Hermione into marriage. They needed the help too badly.

"Is Harry ok?" She asked softly.

"He got away cleanly…he's somewhere safe. We don't know about Ron." He said.

"Thorfinn said that he'd been taken for interrogation…he didn't know where." She whispered. "He seemed sure that Ron wouldn't be alive for long." She felt tears in her eyes. Her fault, this was all her fault. If she'd just gone right to Hogwarts with Harry like he'd wanted, they'd all still be together.

Remus reached over and touched her hands. "There was nothing you could have done Hermione, Harry was just lucky to be able to escape. You can't blame yourself for what happened."

Hermione just shook her head. It *was* her fault, but she couldn't make the words come out. She didn't want to see the look of blame on his face, she couldn't bear it. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way. We were supposed to do this together…to the end."

Remus squeezed her hand. "I know…I'm sorry." He said quietly. War had a way of destroying plans, and rending friendships apart. "I'll make you some tea and then I'll go and meet with the others. Will you be ok here?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'll just get some rest. Thorfinn said he might not return until late, he needs to track down the people he has in mind."

"Ok." He said and got up to fix her tea. There was something more going on than she was saying, but he was the last person in the world to demand anyone share their secrets. He had enough of his own. "Whatever's really going on, just remember that you're not alone." He said as he brought her tea over. "You have friends, and people that love you. Don't let him convince you that you're alone."

"I won't." She promised, though in her heart she felt like she was. "Tell Harry I'm sorry." She said softly.

"I will. He'll be glad to know that you're safe." Remus said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Hermione nodded and watched as Remus left. She sipped her tea and tried not to think about everything that had happened, and would happen.