Another Beginning

Chapter 10

"Miss Granger?" asked Severus looking as if he was about to join Draco on the floor.

"It's me what are you doing here? Dumbledore would never have you arrested unless the war is over. Harry did it? Is he ok?" rasped Hermione in a rush every desperate emotion displaying on her face.

"What am I doing here? ME? How are you here! Everyone believes you're dead" snapped Severus. He got very defensive when something happened he would never have predicted in his life time. Not only was Draco here but a very innocent girl who had only ever wanted to do well in school.

"What? Harry believes us dead?" croaked Hermione her brown eyes going shallow.

"Indeed" said Severus before his eyes widened and he whispered "We?" with a look of such dread on his face - it was obvious he didn't want to hear the answer to this question.

"Yeah me Ron, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Fred and George" said Hermione.

"How did you end up here?" snapped Severus how was this happening? Was nothing what it seemed? Were Lily and James alive? Were his students still alive? He wanted answers but feared he would never get them.

"Dumbledore took us up to his office Ron's entire family was there, Dumbledore asked them all to go into hiding. They agreed the lot of them! They didn't take one care about Harry…then when Ron asked about Harry well…Dumbledore told him he needed to believe us dead so he could become strong enough to defeat Voldemort" whispered Hermione hoarsely it had been days since they had given her fresh water.

"Ron, Ginny, Fred and George immediately claimed they weren't going, that they weren't cowards…the rest of them were given a Portkey. Molly had this despairing look in her eyes we didn't understand until we tried to leave and the handle turned into a Portkey we ended up in here" fresh tears were running down her face.

"Where are they?" asked Severus dread settling in his stomach, when he had begun watching over Harry he had grown fond of not only the child he was watching but the courage and loyalty that Hermione and Ron displayed. Of course he had wanted to strangle Ron for leaving Harry in his hour of need. Thankfully the boy had kept his promise and never turned on Harry again, now where had it gotten them? Locked in Azkaban probably for life. He silently vowed that someone would find out about the children and get them out of there.

"Ron's exhausted he tried using all his magic to turn into an animagus like Sirius but they don't know how to do it," sighed Hermione.

"They you have successfully transformed?" asked Severus pride swelling up in him. How could he not? You're not able to perform magic in Azkaban and here were students never even able to graduate Hogwarts telling them they were using magic even if it was to become animagus'.

"I'm a Griffin" replied Hermione there wasn't even an ounce of pride in her voice…Severus felt his stomach drop she had changed, the Hermione he remembered would have proudly beamed at that fact.

"Congratulations Miss. Granger" nodded Severus.

A scream penetrated the air "NO Harry I didn't betray you I'm sorry" sobbed a voice that Severus knew to be one Ronald Weasley.

"He keeps seeing the time he turned on Harry in fourth year and being sent to Azkaban" whispered Hermione.

"How are the others?" asked Severus - he knew Neville wasn't strong enough to cope with Azkaban.

"Luna hasn't come out of shock - she keeps seeing her mother dying and unable to do anything about it. Neville is the same he keeps seeing his parents being cursed by the Death Eaters to insanity. Fred and George are ok for the first year they kept expecting their parents to rescue them. Ron has it the worst I think" sighed Hermione.

Severus closed his eyes in utter agony he couldn't imagine what it was like to watch you're parents get cursed into insanity by the Dementors every minute of the day. How many of the worst memories did Neville have of him in them? Probably quite a few. Then there was Luna a very quiet if slightly weird girl who didn't deserve this - he remembered how her mother had died - a potions accident. He paled drastically when he realized why she had always been very careful in his class reading the instructions lots of times and always being last to finish her potions. It had never dawn on him before why hadn't it? He had known since it happened - he had never given a thought to the fact she might have seen it.

"I'm glad Harry isn't here or he would be like Neville and Luna - his worst memory is the night Voldemort attacked his home. Watching his mother die again and again would have killed him. His worst memory is his parents dying, his worst fear was a Dementor I've always found it rather strange" coughed Hermione.

"That's what made him faint?" asked Draco looking sick to the stomach; he had listened to their conversation since she had explained she was an animagus. He hadn't alerted them to the fact that he was awake but he had a feeling Severus probably already knew.

"Why else do you think could have had him reacting so violently to them?" asked Hermione no hate or anger in her voice. It was as if she was talking to someone she hardly knew not someone she had hated since she first set foot on the Hogwarts train.

"I didn't know" moaned Draco as his mind fussy as it was go back to the entire third year at Hogwarts goading him about the Dementors.

"How could you? If he had said anything you would have mocked him for it" said Hermione.

"I wouldn't have" groaned Draco shaking his head.

"Are you ok?" asked Hermione softly, the start was always the worst.

"You've been in here since you were declared dead?" asked Draco.

"I have" said Hermione.

"Merlin…I should have suspected something Dumbledore blamed Voldemort for it but Voldemort hadn't summoned anyone! That night the mark tingles when he calls anyone." sighed Draco.

"You took the mark?" gasped Hermione she knew he was spoiled but she had no idea he truly hated everyone so much.

"I did I spied Dumbledore always had a report I was summoned some times when Severus wasn't" shuddered Draco those meetings he hated "Sometimes Severus was summoned and I wasn't and Vice versa so it wasn't so easy for him to figure out how Dumbledore was getting information"

"And the thanks you get is thrown in Azkaban?" scowled Hermione.

"Yes," sighed Draco cross legged on the cold hard floor of Azkaban in black and white striped bodysuit.

"He has to be caught for what he did" despaired Hermione.

"If someone does find out I hope it's before the year is up" shuddered Draco.

"What why?" asked Hermione wondering what was happening in a year?

"Dementors kiss" croaked Draco fear consuming him once again.

"You never answered is Harry alive?" asked Hermione rounding on Severus. She would have noticed sooner but Azkaban did that to you.

"I doubt very much" said Severus soberly.

"Tell me what happened!" said Hermione wide eyed.

"He defeated Voldemort, I told him to get out of there he didn't have a wand and had used a good amount of wandless magic to defeat Voldemort but as he was apparating a cutting curse hit him in the chest" said Severus.

"When we were getting arrested Severus told Dumbledore that Harry was hurt very badly. That he had been struck with the cutting curse but he didn't listen, using all his magic and being stuck with that spell…well it doesn't look good" sighed Draco.

"No god Harry please still be alive" whispered Hermione with so much longing in her voice that Severus knew she would be loyal to him till her dying breath even stuck here in this hell hole people call Azkaban.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger" said Severus softly he didn't like to think it but he was a very logical man. The boy he had nearly died protecting was more than likely dead and with James and Lily finally getting to know the parents that were so long denied to him.

If the boy was alive he swore he would tell him everything about Lily and more if he ever got out of this hell hole…but if Dumbledore had his way Harry will be in with them within a couple of days if he was found alive.

Suddenly Severus wasn't so sure if he wanted the teen to be alive or not.

Severus watched Hermione crawl onto the bed where Ron was and curled up around him. He noticed they had a cover either one of the guards had taken pity on them or more magic was performed than he was originally led to believe.

Suddenly another voice penetrated the air and Severus hoped and prayed he was hallucinating.

Ooo so what did you think? Harry's best friends are alive and who else has Severus heard? Cedric Diggory? Harry? Lily? James? Sirius? Remus? Who Will It Be? Do You like The Story? And I'm Sorry The Chapter is Short But I Had To Leave It There! LOL Sorry about another Cliffhanger but I just love the Pitchforks and torches threat =P R&R Please