AN: Hello, everybody! I want to thank all of you who reviewed and added Once Loved to their favorites. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner but my brain seemed to have shut down and refused to work, I couldn't even bribe it with chocolate. Anyway it was brought to my attention that the story is sad, and I guess most people don't expect angst and dark themes in a romantic and family related story. I'm sorry if anyone is confused or angry for it. The truth is, things are going to go bad before they get better. Yes, this story will have family and romance( and hopefully some really good smut). But these will come at a later date. Please don't give up. Anyway I hope you like and please review. Much love, Mimi.
Chapter 7
Severus Snape lay on the floor. He rubbed his sore cheek and wondered how his life had come to this.
He didn't mean the floor part, after all being in the service of the Dark Lord had forced him to sleep in far worse places. Rather he was referring to his throbbing cheek and the events that had lead to his pain.
His day had started out like every normal day. He had woken up in his home at Spinner's End with the, now familiar, pains of a snake bite survivor. He took his Potions that controlled the poison that still resided in his body and had an overall constructive day as he continued to prepare the Wolfsbane potion for the upcoming full moon.
He had settled down to read to the light of his fireplace when he had felt a jolt of energy go through his arm. He had looked down at his left for arm, where a gold phoenix had replaced the Dark Mark, to find a warning of danger regarding Hermione Granger and his heart had skipped a note.
For in there lay the problem. Severus Snape had come to care for the bushy headed girl. He didn't know how the annoying girl, or rather woman, had come to worm herself into his black heat but she had.
He had appareled quickly outside the Grange home to find Kingsley, Nymphadora and Remus Lupin, Charlie, George and Ginny Weasley and his nemesis- Sirius Black.
The events that followed reminded him of his time at war. The destruction of the muggle home acted like a symbol to remind him that rogue Death Eaters were still out there and were aiming for blood. And what better way to hit the Light than to take out the brain of the operation that not only hindered their battle plan but demoralized them and reminded everyone that the fight wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
With his hand on his cheek he looked up. On one corner was the Weasley brat that had punched him and kept ranting about dirty Death Eaters and slimy professors and on the other were the painful memories of his childhood; Potter, Lupin, and Black. All looking like pathetically lost little puppies. And while his hatred for all three remained it was weak compared to the gut wrenching fear that seemed to expand and grow throughout his body as thoughts of Hermione Granger entered his mind.
He wasn't deluding himself. He was after all a former Death Eater, the chances of the girl getting out of this living nightmare were slim to none. The probability of coming out of the experience without any psychological or physical harm was none existing. Even if Hermione Granger survived, he knew that the chances of her ever being the same know-it-all girl were relatively low. And he suffered for that, because Hermione Granger did not deserve to endure all the damage that a psychopath like Bellatrix Lestrange could provide and was sure to inflict.
He knew the ministry puppets would say that they were still extremely early in the investigation to blame Lestrange and her band of psychopaths but Severus knew Bellatrix, knew that ever since Hermione's escape from the Malfoy Manor with the horcrux revenge had become an obsession. And he hated her for that.
Hermione Granger and her two idiots were some of the few lucky fighters who had emerged from the war with their characters untarnished. And it seemed unfair for the witch to suffer just for being a muggleborn.
He felt another jolt on his for arm and looked down to see the words,
Order Headquarters,
Emergency Meeting.
He picked himself up, glared at the Weasley brat, and with apparated outside Grimmauld Place.
The Order meeting was in full swing when Kingsley showed up. He looked around the meeting table and was surprised to see Snape and Sirius looking like Death itself. It wasn't that he felt they were to cold to care about what happened to Hermione Granger, well maybe Severus could be cold, but it was surprising the amount of pain both men seemed to experience over the kidnapping of the witch. Well, Sirius was showing it, acting like someone had died, while Severus tried to hide his emotions but after more than twenty years Kingsley knew him well enough to tell.
He sat opposite to Harry who sat looking down his hands clenched tightly looking far more dangerous than he had ever looked when Voldemort had been alive.
Headmistress McGonagall sat at the head of the table, serving as the director of the Order. She looked distressed. Everyone in the table presented an aura of sadness that while understandable, did nothing to help the Hermione Granger.
Kingsley cleared his throat.
" By now everyone knows why we are here. Hermione Granger has been captured."
A soft meowing sound of pain was heard from both Harry and Sirius. Harry was expected, Sirius was a total surprised. He filed the information in the back of his mind for a later time. He felt it was going to be an interesting story.
"I just consulted with the crime scene unit and aurors in an emergency meeting. The crime scene wizards believe that Hermione's parents were tortured before they were killed."
A soft cry was heard from Molly Weasley, as if she could just imagine the trauma that Hermione had experienced.
" Before any of you try to imagine the horror listen to two things. One…you can't, what those poor muggles went through is now considered one of the most violent crimes in the wizarding world because of the violence of it. And two… Hermione didn't see any of it. According to the investigators Hermione's magical signature was long gone before her parents finally perished."
Every eye in the room rested on the minister.
" The dark magic in the muggle home was off the charts. While most muggle homes with a wizard living in them have a certain amount of magic, even dark magic the amount on the Granger home far surpassed the normal quantity."
So people looked confused, Ron was the one that asked,
"What do you mean? How could Mione's home have dark magic before the attack? Hermione isn't evil!"
Kingsley took a deep breath, while Arthur looking disapprovingly at his son.
"Ronald, Kingsley isn't accusing Hermione of being evil. I'm sure he will explain what he means if you let him talk. And stop interrupting your mother and I taught you better manners."
Kingsley gave a thankful look to Arthur, he liked being minister but family dynamics terrified him.
" I'm not insinuating that Hermione is evil or that she practices dark magic behind our backs. Every home that has encounter magic retains residues of the magic used even after countless decades. You also have to take into account that almost every spell that exists today in our world has some dark magic in it. Before you all say that it's impossible, remember that our world survives on a scale of good and evil. Our magic is the same. While a good person will be less likely to use dark magic, that person does have the potential to use it. In order for spells to work a balance of magic must be achieved. So as you can imagine almost every magical home has at least a small amount of dark magic."
"Now before anyone asks, the aurors in charge of this case are still not completely convinced that the attack was by rogue Death Eaters instead of someone having a vendetta against Harry or.."
He was cut off by the sound of a bang as Harry pounded his fist on the table. His eyes never looked up, instead he just looked dejectedly at the floor and whispered in a broken voice,
" Or what? There is no or what! We all know that Hermione was taken because of me! Everyone is always taken because of me. First my parents and Sirius, then Dumbledore, and now Hermione. All gone because of me! There is no or it's just me and the body of trails I leave behind. And they took her, they took her because of me. And now I'll never get to say good-bye, or explain why I stayed by Ron's side when they fought. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself. How will I survived."
A long moment of silence ensued after the speech that had gotten increasingly louder as it went on. No one in the group knew what to say in order to make things less awkward.
Severus glared at the boy for being so selfish. With his usual tact he was about to point out his opinion but stopped when he heard the humorless laugh that emerged from outside the meeting room.
Every eye focused on the entrance and widen when they saw a tearful Ginny slowly entering the room. Her eyes red from crying allowed her disgust for the green eyed boy in front of her, because to her he was still a boy.
Her voice was shaking with anger,
" You are the most selfish ass I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. I really wish you could hear yourself. Every word that came out of your mouth was about you. About how you would feel. About your pain. About your life. I didn't hear a single worry about Hermione." She glared harder when Harry tried to open his mouth and Harry, being a somewhat smart person, remained quiet. " Don't tell me that you care about her. You have told me many things over the years. None of which you ever proved. Prove to me that your not just a selfish bastard. For once in your life think and act and focus on someone that isn't you. I know that with someone with an ego as large as yours it might be hard. But if she really is your best friend, stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something to find her. Stop with the victim complex. No one can take Hermione away from you if you try. So prove why you beat Voldemort at his own game. Prove to those psychopaths that you are the "boy-who lived."
The silence after that outburst was worse then the one before. No one moved a muscle as Harry and Ginny's eyes met. The anger was there, but no one in the room was focused on that. Everyone was frozen at the amount of resentment and sexual tension between the two.
It was Harry who gave in first. He lowered his eyes and with a sadness that rivaled that of Sirius spoke,
"How Ginny? How can I prove to you that I love her. That I would gladly switch places with her. And how can I find her? Everyone knows that the reason I beat Voldemort was because I had Hermione at my side. How will I ever find her without her help."
Every person in the room remained quiet, deep in thought as someone tried to figure out how Hermione Granger would be found without Hermione Granger's help.
Surprisingly it was Ron, the last person everyone expected to have a good idea that found the solution.
" Why don't we use Hermione herself?"
But like many great minds, it took some time for everyone to give him a chance to explain himself. And to stop the pain on his cheek where his sister punched him.
The dark figure walked steadily on the damp ground. The smell of decomposing bodies and bodily fluids were like a suffocating wall.
Every step the dark figure took brought it closer to it's prey. As he neared the prison, one lump moved away. Cowering to the wall, trying, but not succeeding in making themselves invisible.
The figure took great pleasure in casting a strong crusio on the lump. The screams of pain brought a deformed smile to the figures face. "It" took a moment to admire it's handy work and kicked the mudblood for good measure.
But it wasn't this mudblood that interested the figure. No, oh no. It was Potter's mudblood that truly interested the figure.
It turned to where it's price lay and walked steadily once again, toward the naked form of Hermione Granger. The figure licked it's lips as he devoured every bruise and cut on the mudblood's body. Wizard torture techniques were truly quite brilliant.
The figure nudge the form and when nothing happened gave it a hard kick on the stomach.
Hermione Granger came awake gasping for breath. Her eyes were unfocused and unprepared for the darkness and the smell of the place she was in. She tried to pick herself up but her body refused the command. Every nerve on her body screamed with pain and she felt worse than when she was tortured at Malfoy Manor.
It was at the same moment that she remembered the conversation with Draco Malfoy that she became aware of the dark figure standing over her.
On a reflex she moved away but didn't get as she was picked up by her hair, a light appeared.
Her confused brain reminded her of Lumos but her brain shut down when she looked into the black demented eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange, her aunt.
The dark figure pulled harder on Hermione's already abused hair. Smirking almost happily when she whimpered in pain. But it was Bellatrix's voice that terrified her to the core.
"Welcome to hell mudblood."
AN: So what did you think. I know Ginny was kind of a bitch and Harry seemed, well, stupid but I really think that both need to grow up and develop and their encounters add drama to the story. Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review.