An agonized scream tore from Hermione's throat as Bellatrix pinned her to the floor of the Malfoy's Entrance Hall. They had been brought here by snatchers only moments ago and already the dark witch had singled Hermione out for special treatment. Apparently, she was under the impression that Hermione had stolen the Sword of Gryffindor from her vault at Gringotts and she was torturing Hermione for more information. Even through the haze of pain, Hermione was able to deduct that Bellatrix had good reason not to want them going anywhere near her vault.
Hermione's first concern was not the pain, but rather the issue of how devastating it could be to lose the sword. That was the only weapon they had that was capable of destroying Horcruxes, as they had discovered not long ago. Perhaps if she could convince the woman that it was a fake...
"It's not the real sword!" she screamed as Bellatrix carved into her arm. She was desperate for release and the woman was insane. The witch grabbed her chin forcefully and screamed at her face just inches away.
"Don't lie to me!"
"I'm not lying! I swear!"
To her horror, Bellatrix thrust her wand into Hermione's face and shouted "Legilimens!" Hermione had to think quickly to fabricate a good enough memory to confirm her lie, meanwhile distracting the older witch with other tidbits that she might find interesting. She allowed the memory to come to the surface of her mind and Bellatrix seemed appeased because her body relaxed immediately. Unfortunately, the witch was a sadist and was not about to back down from her torture.
Just then, Harry and Ron charged towards her, wands in hand and managed to disarm every adult in the room. Hermione was shocked and amazed that they had managed to break free and acquire wands. But Bellatrix was not so easily defeated. Yanking Hermione back against her, she held her knife to the girl's throat. The boys were about to surrender, despite her attempts to tell them not to, when Dobby appeared and knocked the dark witch backwards. The group all converged on Dobby and immediately Disapparated.
A moment later, they found themselves in a large room with hammocks hung and blankets bundled all around. The place was full of people and Hermione was momentarily very confused. Then, she recognized the faces of her classmates as they all seemed to notice at once that their friends had arrived. Suddenly, all of Hogwarts, it seemed, was pressing down upon them enthusiastically. Shouts of "Harry!", "Ron!", "Hermione!", "Luna!" (who had apparently been down in the dungeon with them) could be heard throughout the room. It took a while before they were able to calm their friends down long enough for an explanation.
"Where are we?" Ron asked Neville.
"It's the Room of Requirement! Headquarters of Dumbledore's Army. As you can see, our forces have grown a bit since Snape took over."
"What has it been like?" Hermione had to ask.
"horrible! We stay here for the most part. It's not safe to wander the hallways anymore. The Twins will get you!"
"The Twins?" Harry interjected.
"The Carrow Twins: Two Death Eaters, a sister and brother. They're Snape's minions and they're complete sadists. You don't want to get caught by one of them. Other than that, we've just been sticking together. The other professors don't assign detentions anymore because the Twins are in charge of all punishments. So, are you guys here to stay?" The Trio shared glances, then Harry spoke up.
"I'm afraid not, Neville. We are on a mission that we have to complete before we can do anything else." Hermione bit her lip.
"Harry?" she said meekly, "I was thinking that maybe I ought to stay… somebody needs to make potions for Remus." She added in an undertone. He nodded.
"Good plan Hermione." She loved that her friend just assumed she would be able to make the Wolfsbane without instruction. Before they could go, she stopped them. Pulling out three notebooks, she charmed them to work as a form of communication. Whenever one of them wrote on one notebook, it would appear in the other two. She made them promise to check it often and transfigured a new bag to put the supplies they would need in before she tearfully let them go.
As Hermione settled in to the fort-like Headquarters, she began to make plans for stealing potions supplies.
Severus banged open the door to his chambers and Phineas immediately called out to him. He had placed a portrait of the old Slytherin in his own living room when he had first learned that Hermione had one with her. "Headmaster," the portrait began, "It might interest you to know that the Granger girl has just arrived to Hogwarts." Severus spun around.
"What?!" he exclaimed. It was impossible. Why would the girl do something so foolish?
"Yes, apparently she is taking up residence with the other Hooligans in the Room of Requirement, but the other two, Potter and Weasley, will not be joining her." Severus couldn't believe his ears. At least Potter had not decided to stay. That could have made things potentially more difficult for him. However, it did concern him that Granger was here. It wasn't safe for her. If the Carrow Twins were to see her and discover who she was, they would turn her over to the dark lord. He began to pace.
Why would she stay if her idiot friends are not? It took him a moment before he realized the obvious answer: she was going to try to make potions. That was the only reason he could imagine that she would return to Hogwarts. But how to keep her from getting hurt? Severus thanked the painting and strode into his bedroom. Still in shocked silence, Severus sat on the edge of his bed and began rubbing his temples. It had been a long and trying day and he certainly didn't need another thing to worry about right now.
Severus fell back into the blankets. If only he could tell her the truth. He needed her assistance more than ever, but he also needed her. And she needed to get to his potion lab or she never would have come here. Mentally, Severus calculated when the next full moon was and decided that the Wolfsbane would need to start brewing in two days if it was to be ready this month. She must have known that too.
He knew it was foolish to hope that she would just stay inside the Room of Requirement where she would be safe. No, she would probably try to steal from him tonight. Or tomorrow. Severus groaned and rubbed his hands down his face. If only he could tell her the truth, somehow. But it was too risky to confide in her when she couldn't Occlude. If she was ever captured (his heart constricted just imagining it) they would certainly try to find out any information she might have, and his cover would be blown. Of course, the way things were looking out, the end of this war might be drawing near. He should hold out and tell her when it was safe. Unless he died before then.
This was it. Hermione knew it would be wiser to wait until next month, after plenty of planning, to steal from Snape. But she needed to be brave. If she was going to save Lupin from his own personal hell this month, she had to start now. And since that was the entire reason she was here, there was no reason to wait. So, ignoring the warnings of her friends, Hermione set out on the long and dangerous trek to the dungeons.
Around every corner, she thought she would see one of the Twins, but somehow she made it all the way without bumping into anyone. By the time she arrived at his classroom door, Hermione was so jumpy that her own footsteps scared her. She creaked the door open to reveal that no one was inside. It all came down to a gamble. Was she or was she not still keyed in to Snape's wards?
Reaching for the handle on the door to the storeroom, Hermione prayed that she was. All in vain. The knob would not turn. "Alohomora!" she whispered, to no avail. Hermione cursed aloud and fought back tears. All this way. She wasn't sure what hurt more: the fact that she would not be able to help Lupin, or the fact that Snape had warded his door against her.
Suddenly, the door to the classroom burst open and the two people who entered had to be the Twins Neville had told her about. It was a man and a woman, both stout and ugly, and their expressions were of such evil that she shrank away from them.
"Out of bed past curfew?!" the female shrieked in delight.
"Don't you know the punishment for that?" added her brother. They were advancing on Hermione and she was frozen to the spot assessing the situation. Could I take them? She wondered.
"Crucio!" cried the woman and Hermione fell to the floor in a burst of the most awful pain she had ever felt. Her entire body seemed to burn with pure agony. It was as if her nerves were being electrocuted and her skin set on fire. She heard herself screaming as if it was far away, on another plain. Her own existence only knew one thing: pain.
When it stopped, she was gasping for breath on the cold floor. And beside her head she could see a pair of dark, dragonhide boots. The froze in shock and slowly turned to look up at the man who had tortured her dreams for months: Severus Snape.
She didn't know how to feel, but the fury raging in his eyes made her recoil in fear. "Leave her to me." He was saying maliciously. Then, his hand was in her hair, and he yanked her to her feet. She cried out, but did not struggle as he held her there, without relinquishing his grasp. "I will be sure to punish her most severely." The Twins looked disappointed to have lost their plaything, but at Snape's command, they left the classroom. Then, turning back to the open storeroom door, he pushed her inside, following behind her and slamming the door.