Chapter 73: Revelation Of Theory
{A/N: Here's Another Update...}
My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S
Governor Offices,Ministry of Magic, Wizarding World...
Hogwarts Governor Lucius Abraxas Malfoy had expected a lot of things when he had gone into work that crisp winter afternoon. He expected to see the fallen snow line the streets and pelt the passersby as well as collect on automobiles and rest stops. He expected to have clients up to his ears all complaining about one thing or another. What he did not expect was Hermione Snape to come barging into his office and belaying some wild story about his deceased younger brother being alive and her knowing that his body was stolen by his deranged sister in law. The handsome blond wizard stared at Hermione from his rather impressive oak wood desk. The news alone that Severus was indeed alive and could be restored shocked him but the rest was just plain unnerving.
Hermione waited patiently for him to absorb what she had told him. She didn't doubt that he would have questions then again he knew Severus well enough to have figured the Potions Master would have a contingency plan.
"Why now?" had been the only question to come from Lucius' pale lips.
Hermione sighed.
"He's been trying to reach us for years." she replied in her husband's defense.
"Well he should have bloody tried hard enough!" shouted Lucius losing his grip on his mounting temper. "DOES HE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH...WHAT WE ALL WENT THROUGH BELIEVING HIM TO BE DEAD!?"
"It wasn't like that Lucius." explained Hermione. "He did not intend to be gone so long...Bellatrix discovered that he was alive and..."
Lucius got a look of pure rage across his pale face.
"That deranged bitch." he said with as much contempt as if she had been Harry Potter. "I just may kill her myself."
"Get in line." replied Hermione not at all willing to let Bellatrix off the hook for her past antics, least of all sleeping with her husband.
Lucius got up from his desk gripping his snake cane with malice behind his gray eyes.
"Well." he said almost bitterly. "Let's go pay my sister in law an unwarranted visit."
Both Hermione and Lucius left his office choosing apparation as a means of reaching the place where the enraged Mrs. Severus Snape had picked up his magical signatures. It wouldn't be long before they made it to the hide out of Bellatrix LeStrange.
The Snape Residence, Muggle London, England...
Phaeron had been quite surprised when he returned home to find that his mother had been no where to be found. It was strange that she would take off in the middle of the day, and it had been even more strange that she would do so with him home alone. She left him a note on the kitchen counter telling him that she had an errand to run and that it shouldn't take longer than an hour or so. She also instructed him to go to his godfather's house if she had not returned within the hour and wait for her there.
Being told to go to his godfather's house had not been a strange request. Sometimes he would have to floo there if his mother was working later than she originally planned. He guessed they had called her in to help on some project or something. It was always something like that going on, his mother seemed to be the only one in the field that knew what she was doing.
The boy had wondered if Harry Potter made it to the joke shop.
Then he figured his mother would be expecting him considering all the time he had wasted there once before.
With a sigh Phaeron made his way over to the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of floo powder.
"Malfoy Residence." he said throwing it in an watching as the flames became emerald in color.
The raven haired young wizard stepped through and out into his God-parents newly restored magical manor. He had not known what it had looked like before the second wizarding war when The dark lord used it as a temporary private headquarters before relocating to the Fort of Solitude. The place everyone agreed the final battle with the dark forces was won.
The place where his father was apparently murdered.
A thought crossed the young wizard's mind as he entered the posh sitting room of his God-parents. If The Dark Lord had been the one to kill his father, they would have come out and said it. Dumbledore was an obvious suspect but it didn't strike the boy as plausible considering his father served Dumbledore without wavering in his duties, even when forced into a marriage with a student.
There was also the fact that Dumbledore asked his father to end his life when he was inflicted with a curse. Both Phaeron's mother and Godfather made it clear that his father was asked to kill the old Headmaster in a bid to use the act to get closer to the despot Voldemort. It meant Dumbledore would not have needed to avenge his own near murder, especially since he had not had to actually die in the process.
Phaeron's mind continued to work. It had been as complex as his mother's after all.
Someone close to Dumbledore would be the more likely candidate to have killed his father. Or rather attempted to kill his father. Someone who truly believed Dumbledore was murdered. A rival death eater would not have been so successful, as his father was the most powerful as second only to the dark lord himself.
As Phaeron continued to sift through the thoughts that flooded his already keen mind, he was interrupted by the presence of his God-Nephew, Scorpius Draco Malfoy, the only son of Draco and Pansy Malfoy.
"Phaeron!" exclaimed the now ten year old Malfoy.
He ran to his "Uncle" and embraced him with a good deal of affection. The boy was the spitting image of Draco and Lucius. The same infamous sleek blond hair, haunting gray eyes, and elegant posture to go along with a well tailored suit complete with Slytherin cuff-links. When last Phaeron had saw his "nephew" Scorpius had shorter hair like that of his father. Now his hair hung down his shoulders much like his grandfather Lucius. He seemed to prefer his grandfather's style more so than his father's.
"When did you get in Uncle, Gram's waiting in the kitchen." said the happy younger wizard.
He had only been a year younger than Phaeron but regarded him with the utmost respect. The boy had been very close with Narcissa Malfoy, affectionately referring to her as "Gram".
"Just now." replied Phaeron. "Have you seen my mother?"
"N-No...Aunt Mione hasn't been by in a while." said Scorpius truthfully. "Were you to meet her here?"
"Yes." replied Phaeron. "She must have gotten called in on another project."
Scorpius nodded. He too knew the work ethic that drove his Aunt Mione. His father explained it was her way of coping with the loss of her husband. The younger Malfoy had not been alive during his Uncle Severus' life time. Though his father and grandfather told both him and Phaeron stories about "The Greatest Slytherin The Wizarding World Has Ever Known." Both elder Malfoys speak very highly of him. Scorpius thought it brilliant that Phaeron was this great wizard's son. He also thought it sad that his "uncle" would never know what it was like to have a father.
It was this belief that drove the young Malfoy to make his uncle feel as important as anyone else in the family.
"Well, Uncle I suggest you come have lunch with Gram and me." he said happily. "There's plenty of food as always."
Phaeron thought for a moment about all the information he was trying to sort out. Hearing his stomach rumble turned his attention to that promised lunch. He came to the conclusion that he couldn't very well chase down facts on an empty stomach. Lunch would help ease his concentration.
"Lead the way." he said treating Scorpius Malfoy to a signature smirk that seemed to be the staple of being a Snape.
As they made their way into the kitchen, Phaeron took a moment to reflect on Scorpius' eventual arrival at Hogwarts. There was no question that being a Malfoy, he would end up in Slytherin.
Unknown Location, Unknown World...
Hermione and Lucius arrived at the place where Severus' magical signatures were the strongest, what looked to be the center of an open field. The bushy haired witch had been about to suggest they go back and check to make sure her charms were well in place when Lucius angrily stepped in front of her. He lifted his infamous snake cane and aimed it at a precise spot.
"erubescant omnes!" he shouted.
The seemingly flawless backdrop of an open field split apart causing the ground to rumble beneath their feet. When all the rumbling ceased, they found themselves standing in front of a rocky cavern. No doubt placed there by the same magic that concealed it. The handsome gray eyed wizard had radiated fury by this time. Hermione had been hardly over her shock when he ventured close to the cavern.
Lucius Malfoy's face had been twisted in a grimace of disgust. Before Hermione could even get the words out to form a question he gave her the answer.
"I know that harpy Bellatrix too well for her petty tricks to take effect." he said. "She would not have gone through all the trouble of concealment if she were not harboring Severus."
He stepped down the winding stone steps into the darkness of the cavern repelling traps and hexes as he did. He was in no way fool enough to venture in blindly and his fury only intensified as he reached the winding hall at the bottom of the stairs. Hermione followed after him keeping a tight grip on her wand. She had been at the business end of far too many nasty hexes to wander around carelessly herself.
"BELLATRIX!" shouted Lucius as he stepped into the make-shift room where Severus' body had been draped over a stone slab and bound at the wrists and ankles.
His trademark attire had been reduced to tattered black trousers and his hair grew wild and unkempt. There was a low humming of magic that seemed to shield his motionless form as it lay untouched upon the stone.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER!" shouted Lucius fuming.
Bellatrix smirked as she came from the shadows of the room.
Her dark eyes filled with amusement as they fell upon an aged Hermione Granger. She had refused to acknowledge said Mudblood as Snape's wife. She could barely stomach the fact that he had taken the frilly little thing to bed. The fact that they shared a child only increased her rage.
"Well...well...it seems the little Mudblood has grown some." she taunted.
Hermione narrowed her amber eyes at the deranged she-devil.
"Where is my husband?" she demanded. "What have you done to him?"
"What I've done?" asked Bellatrix as if highly offended. "I have done nothing but love him since before you were born girly...it was your dear friend Potter that decided to harm the half-blood...not me."
"WHERE IS SEVERUS!?" shouted Hermione tightening her grip on her wand. The urge to end the life of such a callow murderous bitch was becoming all too powerful. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HUSBAND!?"
Bellatrix smirked a rather wicked smirk as she turned her dark gaze into Snape's direction.
"Severus." said the deranged witch in mock innocent tone. "Come to me love."
At her words, the formerly motionless body of Severus Snape lifted up off the table. Hermione had been in complete shock as she watched her husband climb off the stone slab as if he were merely getting out of bed. His lengthy wild raven hair dangled at his pale broad shoulders. His muscles stretched as well as his tendons and she could hear the creaking of his bones from lack of use.
The amber eyed witch simply stared in amazement. Bellatrix had done it. She had restored Severus. He had gotten his body back. Seeing him whole again caused a momentary laps in judgement as she very nearly ran to him and lept into his arms eager to hear his heart beat. The only thing that stopped her was the enraged look on Lucius' face as he glared at the newly revived Severus.
Severus made his way over toward Bellatrix as she commanded.
"It appears we have company love." she said seductively as she ran her hand across his bare chest. "Should I show them out so that we can get back to our business?...or do you want to put on a show for them?"
Severus said nothing as she continued her taunting. He didn't seem too put out on the prospect of having an audience. His demeanor suggested that he had been more interested in getting into the deranged witch's knickers than what his brother or former student thought.
His obsidian eyes met the gray ones of Lucius. The Senior Malfoy noted the small shift of magical energy come from the Potions Master indicating that all had not been well with him. The handsome blond deduced that Bellatrix had the same magical energy radiating off her as well. When Snape and Bellatrix met for a very intensely provocative kiss, Hermione had seen enough. Her raged boiled to the surface and she flicked her wand with speed she never knew she possessed.
"Stupefy!" shouted the enraged Wife of the Potions Master.
The spell hit Snape full on and he collapsed onto the floor. Enraged Bellatrix started casting various hexes in Hermione's direction. It was common knowledge that Hermione Granger was no expert duelist, she could not have even hoped to best the deranged Bellatrix in wand to wand combat. Lucius stepped in deflecting his sister in laws spells with ease. He had been infinitely more powerful than her, being he was once the feared general of The Dark Lord's forces.
"Now...now...dear sister." he said in a mocking tone. "Play nice."
"Just once would it kill you to mind your own business!?" said a flustered Bellatrix.
"And let you enjoy my little brother's cock in peace?" asked Lucius still taunting her. "Where would the fun be in that?"
Back n' forth Lucius and Bellatrix went hexing and deflecting. Hermione turned her attention to her unconscious husband. He had been kissing that whore as if she had not even existed. Her chosen punishment for him for this was going to be slow and painful.
Feeling out matched, Bellatrix decided to let her lover fight her battles for her. She flicked her wand in time to deflect a spell from Lucius and awaken Snape. The Potions Master had seemed disoriented as he scrambled to his feet. Snape shook the emptiness from his head and turned his attention to his woman as she was being attacked by Lucius.
He rushed the distracted senior Malfoy and the two of them when tumbling to the floor. Lucius tried grasping his wand but Snape kept him from reaching it. The Pureblood Wizard had been out of his element when it came to physical defense. Snape had no trouble with it as he grasped Lucius by his collar and began beating him relentlessly.
Bellatrix smirked as she watched her brother in law get his just deserts for always interfering in her plans.
"SEVERUS!" shouted Hermione unsure what was wrong with her husband.
His eratic behavior had not made any sense to her at all.
Lucius deflected a potentially crippling blow from his "little brother" and flipped him onto the cold stone floor below. The Senior Malfoy had been bloodied at the lip and ignored the pain in his jaw as he began to pay his wayward brother back in kind. Hermione made her way over toward Snape and Lucius as they struggled against one another. She was cut off by Bellatrix who had take the opportunity to have another little chat with her.
"Ready for another girl to girl chat?" asked the deranged witch with a wicked smirk.
"There isn't going to be any chat...bitch!" replied Hermione enraged.
Recalling that dreadful witch's lips on her husband only made her blood boil in her veins.
Bellatrix leaned in close to her cackling as she used her superior strength to pin Hermione into a nearby wall. The enraged Mrs. Snape kneed the offending witch in the stomach and managed to get her arm free. In the spirit of her muggle up bringing, she displayed that her husband wasn't the only one who knew the art of physical combat.
Hermione punched Bellatrix as hard in the face as she could. The way the hit connected she was sure she had broken the harpy's nose. The surprising pain from the blow caused Bellatrix to drop Hermione entirely and step back.
"You'll die for that Mudblood bitch!" shouted Bellatrix raising her wand.
Hermione had been defenseless having dropped her own wand in the scuffle with Bellatrix. Lucius had been more or less occupied with his face meeting Snape's pale bony fist. She had only seconds before the deranged witch cast what would no doubt be the killing curse. The amber eyes of Hermione Granger closed as she thought of her young son and newly restored husband.
It wouldn't be long before she met her unjust end...