Chapter 13

Unbreakable

She had to look away from what was in front of her.

That mark. The Mark. Seeing the dark contrast against the pale white skin made her feel nauseated.

All this time Harry had been right. Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. Draco Malfoy was helping Voldemort – with what, she wasn't sure yet – but it didn't matter. All this time she had been so unwilling to believe that Voldemort would be willing to recruit a boy who wasn't even of age and still had the trace on him. All this time she had been so unwilling to believe that a classmate would take the Mark.

It was hard for her to believe what was in front of her.

Finally, she forced herself to look back at the blonde boy kneeling in front of her. The Mark seemed to stare back at her, as if it knew exactly who she was – what she was. The person in front of her had accepted the Mark which clearly stated his beliefs and where his loyalties lie. He had chosen to aid the darkest wizard in magical history.

It was hard for her to believe what she was about to do next.

"All right," she finally said, clearing her throat.

Her voice managed to startle both wizards though she knew they had been watching her intently. Both of them looked up at her expectantly.

"You've got a mission. What task has Voldemort given you, Draco?"

The Slytherins exchanged a look, unsure of what was happening. "Hermione…?"

Hermione pulled on Draco's hands, urging him to get up from the ground. She remained sitting as she was not absolutely sure she could stand at this point.

"If I am going to help you, I need to know what your mission is," she said slowly.

"If you are to help me?" He looked lost. In his voice there was a mixture of disbelief, sadness, and hope.

It was hard for her to believe what she was doing. She was offering to aid in one of Voldemort's schemes.

Why? Why was she doing this?

She looked up to meet his gaze and she knew why.

Draco was her friend. He had been there when everything seemed to have gone to Hell. He was her solace. She had never intended for their relationship to change so radically. She had never intended for it to change at all. But it had. She cared about him. He had said that he needed to complete the mission to protect himself, and she wanted to help protect him.

She touched his hand and took a deep breath. She was still deliberating on the specifics, but of one thing she was certain. "I am going to help you, Draco. You said you needed to do this to protect yourself and your family. I want to help protect you."

Soon he no longer looked lost, an expression of hope and a hint of sadness soon took over. "I…" he trailed off, clearly not wanting to admit what he had been working on. "I have to get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts."

She inhaled sharply, but did not lose her composure. After all, no matter what the task was she knew she would hate it. "Why?"

"I-I'm not sure. They didn't share details with me. I was simply given a task and told to complete it."

Hermione nodded slowly. Draco was just an errand boy. Of course they wouldn't divulge their plan to him.

"The cabinet… What does the cabinet have to do with this?" she asked.

"Like you mentioned earlier, it's part of a set - a pair. I told Borgin to keep the other at the shop so the Death Eaters can travel from that one to the one in the Room of Requirement. The pair acts like a passageway through which they can travel."

She was processing and looked at him curiously, "How did you even learn about the cabinet?"

"Last year I discovered Montague had been pushed through it by the Weasley twins. He was trapped in some sort of limbo before he apparated to escape. I discovered it had a mate and that became my plan. If the cabinet isn't repaired, there will be no clear passageway and it will be unusable. Borgin has given me directions on how to repair the cabinet, but it's proven to be tedious work."

Hermione nodded, trying to digest the information. Hearing him mention the twins brought about a sense of longing in her. She missed them. And she wanted to scold them for their reckless behavior. "I can take a look over the directions and try to help you repair it."

"Miss Granger, are you sincerely saying you are going to aid Mister Malfoy in smuggling a pack of Death Eaters into Hogwarts?"

She was surprised by her professor's voice, having forgotten she and Draco were not alone. "I am sincerely telling you that I am going to help Draco ensure Draco's safety, whatever that entails." Her tone was sharper than she had expected. It was the same as when she was snapping at her peers and friends, and she had never expected to use that tone with a professor.

But the truth was she was tired. She had cried so much over the past few weeks that she if she had not experienced it herself, she would not have believed that human tear ducts could produce such a vast quantity of tears. She was not exactly happy about being hostile and snapping at her friends, but she would prefer that to rivaling Moaning Myrtle for the title of Hogwarts' biggest crier. She decided that from now on she would not cry over trivial matters. She needed now more than ever to remain strong. She was tired of feeling fragile.

She watched as the dark-haired man gently arched an eyebrow. He didn't seem to be offended but she still felt guilty about the tone she had taken with him. She had been trying so hard to work on their… relationship, she did not want to upset him. A sudden question crossed her mind as she focused on the man whose presence she had forgotten about.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to snap." She then turned her body toward him, indicating that she was giving him her complete attention. "Professor… what exactly is your role in all of this?"

Granger always did ask the best questions.

This particular question, however, he knew would be inevitable.

He finally decided that it was his turn to take a seat. He briefly took in the young witch's eager expression and the young wizard's wary one.

"Draco," he decided that he needed to address the boy first, "I am a member of the Order of the Phoenix, I am not just spying on Voldemort's behalf. I defected to the Light at the end of the First Wizarding War and have stayed on their side ever since."

He looked up, a bit more intrigued. "You've been plotting against the Dark Lord this whole time?"

"I have," Severus confirmed.

The blonde boy's expression then turned angry. "You've been plotting against my father this whole time? You were his friend! He trusted you! Aunt Bella knew you couldn't be trusted!" he snarled.

Granger placed her hand on his shoulder and he seemed to ease under her touch.

"This is about more than your father, Draco! This is about putting an end to a man whose lust for power is so great that he will stop at no lengths to obtain it! This is about stopping a genocide!" He noticed the young wizard recoil. "Look at Miss Granger, Draco. If Voldemort succeeds, he will exterminate as many Muggle-born he comes across, Miss Granger included. In fact, she will be at the top of his hit list, being a Muggle-born and Harry Potter's best friend."

A heavy silence fell around them.

When it was clear the boy had no intention of commenting, Severus continued. "I made an Unbreakable Vow to your mother. I vowed to help you complete your mission or to do it myself. All of this time I have wanted nothing more than to help you, but I cannot do that when you insist on avoiding me and ignoring my requests to speak with you."

Draco shifted in his seat and looked away.

"Draco, I am sincerely sorry about what happened with your father at the Ministry. I do not have many friends, but Lucius has been one of my few for many, many years and I did not wish to betray him. However, I have made a commitment to the Light and I had a duty to fulfill. No matter what the circumstances, I still intend to protect you. I care about you. I would not have made an Unbreakable to your mother if I did not care about all three of you."

After a few moments of deliberation, the blonde wizard who looked so much like his father gave a sigh and nodded. "All right."

There were not many times in his life when Severus Snape could say he was happy, but he did feel his spirits lift knowing that Draco would no longer resent him.

That feeling wavered a bit upon hearing the request that followed. "I want you to make an Unbreakable Vow to me. Vow to me that you will keep Hermione safe."

"Draco, don't be ridiculous!" Miss Granger jumped in.

The professor was not sure if the witch knew exactly what an Unbreakable entailed, but he would not be surprised if she did.

The young Slytherin ignored her. "Promise me that you will do everything in your power to not only protect me but her as well."

Seeing the determined glint in Draco's eyes, Severus knew there was no way around it. It was the same kind of determination Severus had when he initially joined to fight for the Light. The same determination he felt now to keep his promise he internally made to Lily.

Severus rose and moved to Draco's side of the desk, extending out his arm."Miss Granger, if you would?"

Severus explained the spell to her and for the second time he felt the magic of the Unbreakable Vow course through him.

It was not like he had anything else better to do with his life than protect a few teenagers.

Severus made his way back to his seat. Magically binding oneself to a promise took a toll on a person.

"Now, there is another matter that we must discuss." His two students looked up at him, clearly just as drained from their night as he was. "Miss Granger's outburst at Slughorn's party tonight will not be forgotten anytime in the near future. In fact, it will probably go down in Hogwarts history," he added dryly.

"Obviously, we cannot have it getting back to the Dark Lord that you have been fraternizing with the enemy, Draco. I propose that you spread word to all Slytherins that the only reason you have taken an interest in Miss Granger is to torment Potter, Weasley, and all of her other little friends. As Miss Granger said earlier, you had planned on being her escort to Slughorn's party but due to a falling out, she opted to attend the party on McLaggen's arm. She is nothing but a tool for you to use, do you understand?"

Draco's face hardened, but he nodded. Severus was certain the boy did not wish to do that to Miss Granger, but it was necessary.

"Miss Granger, you need to stand firm in defending your friendship with Mister Malfoy. People need to believe that he is succeeding in manipulating you. Are you prepared for that?"

The girl looked fiercely determined as she nodded.

He ached for Lily.

"Very well. We have a plan, we will see how it pans out over the next few days."

Severus moved to leave when the curly-haired witch's voice stopped him.

"Professor, when you defected to the Light was it Dumbledore that you went to?"

"It was," the professor stated, unsure of where she was going with her question.

"Professor Dumbledore tries to look for the best in people, but at such a time I don't think he would have taken a risk in believing you without having proof that you would be a faithful member of the Order. What exactly did you say or do to convince him that you would stay loyal?"

Again with the questions.

Severus sat for a moment. Tonight was not the night for him to delve into his past and share his most meaningful relationship with two people who had just developed a good relationship. But Granger was Granger and if she did not get answers from him, she might go looking elsewhere.

He decided he would tell both of them, but would not give his full account tonight. "Granger, I will show you something now, but I will not discuss this matter tonight. You are not to speak about this to anyone outside of this room, do you understand?" his tone only held a slight warning as he was certain he could trust her. After all, she had just pledged to help Draco bring Death Eaters into the castle.

She nodded in understanding.

Severus gently lifted his wand, "Expecto patronum."

Light streamed from his wand and slowly took the form of a doe. Appropriately, the witch's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights – a very delightful expression. Her gaze followed the prancing doe as it went around the room.

Her brows furrowed and she opened her mouth to speak then decided against it. The doe pranced back into his wand. After a moment her expression softened and she nodded slowly. He was not sure exactly how much she knew, but he knew she got the gist.

Draco looked confused, but questioned nothing.

"We have all had quite the night, so I suggest we all turn in. You two will need rest in order to prepare for the aftermath of tonight."

His two students stood to leave but Severus called to Draco.

The witch slipped out to wait in the corridor as the wizard made his way back to the desk. "Yes Professor?"

"Do you plan to tell Miss Granger about the other piece of your mission?"

The boy fell silent.

"She will find out at some point. It's inevitable, Draco."

He nodded. "I know. I will. Just… not now."

Severus nodded. "Goodnight, Draco."

"Goodnight."

Severus understood that Draco would not want to tell Miss Granger the whole truth yet. It was surprising that she reacted the way she did in the first place. It was a clear indication that their relationship was important to her.

He was not sure how he felt about Miss Granger knowing about Lily. It had been so long since he shared that information with anyone. Now two star-crossed teenagers knew the whole reason behind everything he did. He knew there would be questions later and he needed to determine how he wanted to answer them.

He could not help but worry that Draco not telling Miss Granger the whole truth would be a betrayal she would not forgive. Severus hoped that the whole truth would not be a breaking point for her. Opening a passageway was one thing, but the task that had been given to Draco…

Good women can only be pushed so far.

He hoped Draco would not have to lose Granger to a reality the boy could not escape.

Hopefully Draco would be willing to allow his professor to help with the larger task at hand. If Severus intervened, perhaps Granger would not feel as much resentment for her friend.

But when did Severus Snape ever get what he hoped for?

A/N: Hello guys! So this update took a little longer than I had hoped because I've had a lot going on. My stepmom just had brain surgery, and she fine, she's doing great! I just haven't exactly been in the mood to write with all of that going on. So I tried my best with this.

Next chapter we will be dealing with the aftermath and the whole of Hogwarts reacting to this newly discovered friendship! And Hermione isn't just going to let this go, so she will be doing some questioning later on.

Anyway thank you, loves, for reading!