AN - I own nothing! I'm just borrowing from J.K. Rowling!

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Chapter 18

"Samuel, good to see you again," Greg said with a smile as he shook Severus's hand.

"This is Lucius Malfoy," Severus said gesturing towards Lucius. "He's an old friend of Hermione's and mine back in England."

"Mr. Malfoy," Greg shook Lucuis's hand firmly. "President of Malfoy Industries no doubt."

"Lucius. Call me Lucius," he answered back firmly shaking Greg's hand. He was well known in both the wizarding and muggle world. One of the few powerful billionaires that many looked up to and feared.

"Coffee? Soda?" Greg offered his guests when they all took their seats.

"No, we're here about Hermione," Severus answered getting to the point. His voice serious as well as his glare.

"Hermione's charging Adam with attempted rape," Greg answered.

"What?!" Severus's voice roared, not caring if people in the other offices heard him. "When?!"

Greg raised his hand up to Samuel, allowing him to continue. "It happened during Spring Break. She went to Adam's party in the Hamptons. He drugged her, and tried to rape her. Luckily, she was still able to fight for herself. Henry brought her to the hospital soon after."

"Bloody hell!" Severus stood up from his chair and started to pace back in forth across the small room. He warned Hermione about him, and yet she still went. God he was mad. His blood was boiling and he was imagining the many ways he could kill Adam. "And she was pregnant all along."

"She didn't actually know until we were in the hospital," Greg added.

"Why didn't she call me?"

"I asked her if she wanted to, but she refused to. I offered and thought that it wasn't right, but she made it clear that it was over between you two."

"I warned her!" Severus growled.

"She told me," Greg replied. Seeing the way Samuel was reacting, he knew that he had thought right. He should've called him back then. Then he thought if they actually loved each other. He wouldn't be surprised if they did.

"Who exactly is this Adam?" Lucius asked curiously. His hand was tightly grasping the head of his cane. Whoever the man was, he wanted to get back at him for Hermione.

"Adam Michaels, son of Governor Ellen Michaels, who happens to be quite a bitch and pain herself. She actually tried to buy off Hermione so that that charges against her son would be pulled back." Greg shook his head. "Anyways, the D.A.'s office has agreed to keep Hermione anonymous. Still, the stress of it all hit her, and she needed to leave."

"Yes, well, she moved to my house recently," Lucius informed Greg. "She hasn't really said too much, which is one of the reasons why I came here to find some answers myself."

"How is she doing Lucius?"

"Her good days are rare to come by."

"Where is Adam now?" Severus growled lowly as he stopped pacing and looked at Greg. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch if I have to!"

"Believe it or not, the boy is still partying from time to time like there's no tomorrow. If not, he's probably in one of the many homes his mother has around the country. He can't leave U.S. soil though. D.A. won't let him," Greg answered. "I'm still getting calls from his mother. She's demanding that Hermione take the bribe, otherwise she'll dig up her things from Hermione's past or something. Whatever it is, I don't know. She wants to destroy her, stating that Hermione is destroying her son." He looked at them with worry and then asked, "Is there anything that she can dig up?"

"Not at all!" Severus snapped. "I've known Hermione for very many years, and she has nothing to hide. Whatever the governor says about her later is all crap! Hermione would never hurt a fly."

"Then we will have to find the skeletons that the governor is hiding," Greg said.

"That can easily be arranged," Lucius said as he looked at Severus from the corner of his eye. Not only did his pockets run deep, but he knew how to spy well, most especially when it came to simple muggles. They were just too easy to follow around.

Greg nodded but didn't say anything for a moment when he looked at Lucius. The blond man had a reputation, and he wasn't one man to mess with. He wondered how Hermione and he met back in England. This time wasn't the right time to question.

"We must get going," Lucius said as he stood from his chair. The way Severus was looking, he knew that his temper was running down very thin. "We're flying back to England."

"It was a pleasure meeting you," Greg said as he stood up and shook Lucius's hand. His eyes went towards the door when Samuel burst out the office. "He looks like he's really going to kill Adam."

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"Severus!" Lucius said as he ran after him. When he grabbed him roughly by his shirt, and turned to face him, he could see the rage in his black eyes.

"Don't stop me Lucius. I'm going to go and get my wand at home and hunt Adam like the predator that I am," he said in a very low, angry and dangerous tone.

"You aren't thinking what I think you're thinking?" Lucius asked as he pushed him back towards the wall of the building so as to give way to the people they were blocking on the sidewalk. "He's a muggle, or are you forgetting?"

"That son of a bitch deserves to be killed! You know what, just forget my wand, and I can surely kill him with my bare hands." Images of his fist hitting Adam's face could be easily imagined. Ringing his neck was also an option.

Lucius shook his head. "I too do want the same for him, but you know it can't be done. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in some muggle jail or Azkaban? That's stupid. There are other ways Severus. I'm sure you'd rather spend the rest of your life with Hermione, and not rot in some jail. It isn't fair to her."

"He tried to actually rape her. And his mother. It's unbelievable!"

"You won't let anything happen to Hermione, and neither will I. I will do everything that I can to get what they deserve."

"They both deserve to die!"

"They do, but we cannot always get what we want." Lucius pulled out his time piece. "It's almost dinner time in England. Are you going to apparate with me?"

"Of course," Severus replied. "Hermione needs me, and I've been a stupid prick all along." He cursed at himself, and wondered if Hermione was ever going to forgive him. At any rate, he felt as if he didn't deserve forgiveness. He was anything but a bastard to her at times. Even she called him that last time they talked.

"I'm sure that all will be forgiven," Lucius assured him. He could easily read the emotions on Severus's face. But he never saw so much guilt in his eyes. They did things before when the Dark Lord was still alive, and Severus had that same look. Now though, it was heavier and it was all because of Hermione.

"I'll just have to pack up some clothes, and make a few stops before we leave." He wasn't going to show up in front of Hermione empty handed and ask for her forgiveness. Maybe he wasn't a romantic, but he surely wasn't a fool.

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AN – Liked it? Loved it? At least now Severus knows everything, with his little guilt trip. Review!