He should have expected this. Why hadn't he anticipated this? His pacing wasn't helping them. It was just wasting time.

He needed to think. He knew their time in the room was running out. Any longer and they'd surely raise suspicion. He couldn't hide away in the room with her forever.

He had laid her on the bed, hoping that the quiet the room provided would help. She'd calmed to his touch but now was staring at some nondescript spot on the wall. Completely devoid of all emotion.

Her body was still, but tightly curled. She had her arms curled to her chest, fingers tangled in her hair. Her eyes, it was her eyes, that tore at his soul. They stared straight ahead, unseeing of the world around them. She was alive, but she wasn't home. She wasn't there. She truly was, broken.

His heart broke right then. He felt the coldness that he'd held so tightly shatter into a thousand pieces. It hurt to watch her. It hurt to see her that way. He couldn't explain it. He didn't even try.

He approached her cautiously and knelt down beside her. Very lightly, touching her arm. She didn't flinch, didn't move at all. He pushed back all the pain inside his heart. It hurt so much. He should have let her die. He should never have brought her here. He should have taken the punishment.

His eyes turned glassy but he kept himself strong. His hand trembled when he carded it through the hair over her cheek, turning it to meet his eyes. He could hear the screams still echoing inside her mind. Endless torturous cries.

He pulled her up as gently as he could. What could he say? What could he possibly do to make anything right again?

"I'm here..." He kept his voice low, but the words struggled to pass his lips. How could his presence ever bring her comfort? He wrapped his arm under her the best he could before pulling her up, shifting to sit beside her.

He pulled her lax fingers from her hair and gingerly into her lap. Her body jerked slightly from the contact but didn't pull away. He pressed his lips into her ear closing his eyes to try and pull himself together.

"I'm here..." It was a promise he would keep, until his last breath.

Her breath hitched to his words and her arms took a weak hold of his coat. A fresh swath of silent tears ran rivers down his neck but he didn't think anything of it. He pulled her curled legs up next, wrapping his arm tightly around her back.

He kept his eyes straight ahead trying to ignore the cracking of his soul. Nothing in either of their lives would ever be right again. The war wasn't even over and they were already lost.

oOo

"It's through here..." Luna pulled a tapestry aside and hurriedly push Harry through. The wall sealed shut behind them and she let out a small breath.

"There are tunnels like this all over the school. I've found at least five myself."

"Where do they go?" Harry looked up and down the narrow walkway unsure of where to go. There was barely room enough for both two them. He could feel Luna's breath under his chin.

"Different places." Luna pushed herself to the right trying as best as she could not touch him, but it was impossible. "This one should take us to the headmaster's office."

"Brilliant..." Harry adjusted his glasses and turned to follow her. They'd been lucky thus far but he felt safer now that they were out of the main halls.

oOo

His eyes ran down her pale cheeks and puffy eyes. Their time was up. He just hoped his make-shift plan worked. He needed to make her look bed-wrangled. Give the appearance that something had taken place.

He reached behind and gently pulled the tie from her hair and shook it out. She didn't even react to his touch and it worried him. She was still on his lap, her shoulder resting against his chest. Her eyes were downcast but dry.

He slipped the tie into his pocket before reaching out to her cheeks. He pinched them as best he could, an old trick his mother had used when they hadn't money for make-up. He winced when she did but was relieved to see some color coming to them. Her eyes shifted away from the wall to his face her brow lined with confusion.

"Bite your lips." He guided her from his lap while she obeyed his command. He came to his feet in front of her, making sure she could stand on her own before releasing her elbows. His plan was forming more and more and he was becoming confident that it would work.

He lowered his eyes down and unbuttoned the top three buttons of her blouse before purposely misbuttoning them back up. He glanced at her briefly to make sure she was still calm before he reached down to the fly of her trousers.

They were surely tight enough to stay on their own and thus unbuttoned the button. It was then he realized his grave miscalculation with her wardrobe. She'd flinched when his knuckle brushed against the skin on her stomach and he was sure he'd seen a flash of something that surely hadn't been there before. A memory, a recent one.

He pushed the thought away for now and continued on his present task. He took the ends of her shirt next, bunching the fabric in his hands to try and put a crease in it.

"That's enough, let me see." Snape took her jaw gently, turning her chin towards the light. She definitely looked something. He gritted his teeth. He could hear her thoughts starting return, rampant with confusion and conflicting feelings.

He stepped back for a moment, unfastening his jacket and slipped it from his shoulders. He watched her watch him as he pulled the neatly tucked shirt from his belt on the one side. He unfastened all the buttons of his vest and even ripped off one of the top buttons, tossing it carelessly to the floor.

He reached up unbuttoning the top five buttons of his shirt and used his nails to try and make the skin around his neck red. He looked up at her then, her eyes were too focused. They didn't look the least bit aroused in any manner. She just looked apprehensive.

He wanted to tell her that he meant her no harm. He desperately wanted to but he knew he couldn't. She trusted him in this state, that was enough.

"I'm sorry..." He swallowed thickly and leaned forward his wand in hand. He pressed it down to the vein pulsing on her neck and whispered a small spell. It had to hurt but he just twisted the wood a little more. He could see a bruise quickly starting to form.

Her hands rose weakly, pawing at his arm. When she gasped, he finally pulled away. He stayed on task as best he could. This was worse than finding her in the cellar.

His hand rose to take the other side of her neck, covering the brand. The force of his will twisted the pain into pleasure. He could feel her pulse rising under his palm.

When her body trembled so hard her knees nearly gave way, he released. Her eyes were dark, her lips parted. He licked his lips reflexively as he pulled back. The pain was clear on his face. His eyes couldn't meet hers, rather he massaged the mark he'd left behind hoping to ease away some of the pain. She shivered, though he was sure it wasn't from pain. Her mind was numb, floaty.

That was enough; it would fool all those who needed to be fooled. He took a deep breath and pulled his coat off the bed. Her hands curled up to her chest, her eyes lowering down to the floor. He could do nothing else.

oOo

"This is it..." Luna pressed her ear to the door trying to hear anything beyond. The room was quiet but that truly meant nothing.

"Wand ready Harry?"

"Yeah..." Harry tensed his jaw and readied himself. He wasn't sure if he was really ready to face Snape. It hadn't gone well the last time and even though they had the element of surprise he wasn't so sure that would matter.

Luna gave him an encouraging smile before turning the handle. She cracked the door just enough to see into the room. She could only see the couches beside the fireplace and the very edge of the desk. Feeling a little braver she pushed the door open farther, her wand out in front. She could feel Harry at her back, holding onto her jumper.

As she rounded the alcove she slowly lowered her wand, "He's not here..." She turned her head to Harry who had surely made the same observation.

Harry felt his heart slowing back down. "Neither is Ron, not yet anyway..." He glanced at the door behind them, "We need to look for clues... anything we can, to find out where she is..."

"I'll watch the door." Luna came around the edge of the couch, using it as a shield. She pointed her wand towards the door with a focused brow.

oOo

Snape looked apathetically out over the crowd. He'd been directed to the lounge by Lucius who had caught them on their way down the steps. A few lewd comments had tested his resolve but his plan had worked.

Hermione had done her part perfectly; keeping her head down and her mouth shut. She'd stayed a permanent fixture on his hip; something that should have driven him mad but had only brought him immense comfort.

Now they were enjoying some of the more 'willing', entertainers. The room was filled with men and liquor while the evening's amusement danced in the center. It was a over the top display, truly something that could have been admired under different circumstances.

Granger sat on the floor between his knees. As much as he'd wanted to allow her to sit properly he knew it would raise suspicion. He kept his hand near her head making sure to make it known that he didn't share. Her face was pressed into his thigh her back to the main event.

It was hard for him, exceptionally will testing, not to pay any attention to her warm breath against his thigh. His body wasn't listening either. His eyes flicked down when she adjusted her position, nuzzling her cheek just a bit closer.

Her eyes were closed but her mind was active. He took a breath and raised his hand running it through her hair like one would a pet. It helped keep her calm. Which is exactly what he needed from her right now.

"That's an awful rats nest of hair." Bellatrix sneered down at the girl, nudging her lightly with her boot causing Hermione to raise her head, "I could cut it for you?" The evil witch grinned pulling out her blade. The fear she had been expecting to see in the teen's eyes, however, wasn't there. Hermione merely turned her face back into his thigh.

"I like it as it is Bella." He tried to sound bored, "Don't you have your own pet to torture?"

Bellatrix harrumphed and turned away back into the crowd. Snape couldn't help but hold the back of Hermione's head a little tighter. As though it would somehow protect her from all the evil around.

Someone came into his field of vision to his right and he couldn't help but frown deeper. Draco and his thickheaded bookends, who looked well over pleased with the revel, were coming over.

"Great way to kick off the new term, eh Professor?"

Goyle grinned leering out over the crowd. Crabbe had turned his eyes down looking at Granger. Draco was behind them both but he had a forced look on his face. Snape just grunted and shifted his hand slightly, hiding Granger's face from their wandering eyes.

"So what do we got to do to get one of those?" Crabbe was obviously trying to get a better look but wasn't being all that sneaky about his intentions.

"The most unspeakable acts." His dramatic tone was completely lost on the tipsy teen, only flaring his temper.

"So what... is there like a point system?" His retort was flippant at best, niave at most.

Snape came to his feet so fast that he nearly sent the boy tumbling backward. He grabbed him by the collar of his overstuffed shirt and pulled him in close. His lips pressing right by his temple.

"You think you have a thirst for blood?" His voice was so dangerous that he could already feel the boy trembling in his hold, "Ever wanted something so bad that you'd cut an unborn child from his mother, only then to remove her breasts so that she had to watch her child starve to death in her arms in your quest for ultimate power?"

Snape pulled back slowly, Crabbe's face was three shades paler than pure white and he could see that he was about to lose the liquid courage he'd no doubt been drinking in great excess.

"Do enjoy your time." Snape snapped his eyes to Draco before pushing the boy further away. If his eyes could have killed the teen would have been buried six feet under, three times over.

It wasn't until a light tug on his trousers caught his attention did he finally look away from the retreating lot. His entire body was thrumming with power even the greatest wizards would have been wary to come up against.

"Stand up, it's time to return." He reached down pulling her a tad too roughly to her feet. His eyes snapped to Lucius who was smirking from the corner. Snape gave him an apathetic look before turning to make his way out.

Granger scrambled to keep up, her legs having had fallen asleep from her knelt position. He adjusted his hold to her waist so as to keep her moving and he didn't have to suffer another minute longer of the 'frivolity.'

He hadn't actually committed the crime of which he spoke. The wizard who had was long dead. By his hand. He had overheard the bastard bragging about it in a pub just before the war had actually started and had made quick work of him. It had brought him immense pleasure to watch him bleed out slowly, through every orifice from the poison he had slipped into his beer.

oOo

"This is Hermione's..." Harry had found the journal Snape had tucked away in his drawer, he was careful not to move anything noticeably out of place. "This is her journal."

Luna glanced back over her shoulder taking her eyes off the door for a moment, "Don't take it, if we can't find her tonight we'll have to come back again. We can't let him know we know."

Harry placed the journal back inside the drawer just as the door to the office came open. Luna had just turned back as well, having missed handle turning.

"Expelliamus!"

Luna ducked behind the couch as the spell went over her head crashing into the mirrors that looked out over the school. The sensitive and introcate insturnments crashed to the floor loudly, a blue smoke wafting out of their shattered frames.

"Ron!"

"Harry!?"

Ron pushed the cloaked from his head shocked at seeing not just Harry but Luna too. How had they gotten there before him?

Dumbledore peeked open his eye just a little. He'd been watching them, tracking all of them on their path.

"Have you found her?" Ron's question was overshadowed by another mirror that he'd hit crashing down to the floor.

Harry's brow furrowed deeply, "No we haven't, just her journal." Harry held it up for a moment before placing it back down into the drawer. His eyes flicked to the mess of glass, no way they would be able to leave unnoticed now...

"She's got to be here..." Ron dropped the cloak completely away, "How did you even get here before me?"

"Luna helped..." Harry glanced over at the blond who was attempting to mend the looking glasses Ron had broken, so far it wasn't going all that well.

"Brilliant..." Ron grumbled and looked around the room. He would have expected everything to have been painted black, maybe even a few skeletons hanging on the wall. Nothing much had changed since he'd last seen it, the desk was cleaner, but that was it.

"I'm going to guess Snape isn't here either?" He came around the sofa stepping on some glass that had spilled out onto the rug.

"No just us..." Harry jerked suddenly his hand going to his scar. He hissed as the world around him was whisked away. He could smell something, something horrid. People were all gathered around him, bowing to him, smiling at him. Harry sneered as the man basked in his glory.

His world turned when he saw Lucius Malfoy standing before the Dark Lord. They were speaking but their words were too distorted in the vision for Harry to make out clearly. Harry tried to take control back. Just as he did—he saw her, just out the corner of Voldemort's eye. She was walking, on her own power, with someone...he couldn't see them...but they had a tight hold around her waist. He was sure it was her.

"Harry?" Luna gently put her hand on his forehead trying to bring him back to them, "Harry are you alright?"

Harry snapped his eyes open panting from the effort it took for him to push Voldemort out of his mind. "He's doing something big...a party...something...agh...we need to get out of here...I think...I think he knows we're here...I think he's going to send someone after us..."

"That's convenient." Ron snarled and knocked one of the knickknacks that were on one of the side tables crashing to the floor, "We need to find her!"

"We need to be alive to do it!" Harry snapped back his eyes dark and hollow, "She's not in this office...we need to come back...to confront Snape..."

"Yeah, how long will that take?" Ron was seething.

"The term is starting the day after next...we'll come back then..." Harry looked at Luna, still panting, "Can you get us out of here the same way you got us in?"

"Of course...but I think he's going to notice someone was here..." She looked at the thing that Ron had broken before looking over at the mass of glass, "We should be really careful..."

"Right...let's go." Harry glared daggers at Ron, they were both going to have a serious talk when they got somewhere safe.

oOo

Snape kept a tight hold around Hermione's waist as he took her down the steps. The hallways were starting to become more clear as the guards who had been stationed had joined in the fun. His eyes snapped to the side as one of the Snatchers pressed one of the slaves, that had been attending to the party, up against the wall.

His stomach turned and the would-be attacker found his tie much too tight around his neck. Severus gave another passive flick of his fingers keeping his movements discrete. The Snatcher snarled and stumbled down the hall in the opposite direction trying in vain to pull his tie loose. The slave turned her glassy eyes towards Snape before picking up the tray she had dropped.

It was a small mercy, one that was surely not enough, given the circumstances. His eyes turned down to Granger who was still looking down. He turned them into the small room the Narcissa reserved for her more private conversations, sighing with relief when he found it to be empty.

He looked around the room for the jar of floo powder that was sure to be present. He released his hold on Granger while he searched. So focused on his task he didn't realize she'd lowered herself back down onto the floor until he nearly tripped over her.

"What are you doing? Stand up." He reached down picking her up from the floor and moved her beside the fireplace. He waffled on what to do before turning away again. He found the small jar of powder on the bookshelf and took a handful.

"Don't let go." He wrapped her back up into his side and dropped the powder, "Hogwarts, Headmaster's office."

He stepped out to the sound of glass underfoot, his eyes turned down, his hold still tight around her waist. He scanned over the area before a throat clearing to his right was heard. His eyes flared and he didn't even hesitate in whipping out his arm.

Dumbledore had seconds to vacate his frame before it was blown clear off the wall. Snape's satisfaction was temporary as the girl he'd been holding immediately collapsed into his side. He caught her awkwardly before hulling her up into his arms.

What had happened? She had been fine all night, quiet, submissive, but fine. His brain was running too fast for him to process. Had she finally had too much? His brow twitched as he pulled her arms around his neck holding her high against his chest so that her head rested against his shoulder.

He felt her eyelashes brushing against his neck and was assured that she was at least somewhat with him. He had feared the worst, but he knew their night was going to be just as long. He didn't think the strongest dreamless sleep potion in the world was going to help either of them get through.

His wand remained out as he held her to his chest. Hawkish gaze searching for anyone stupid enough to have remained behind after obviously failing to find whatever they were looking for. He suspected Lucius or perhaps even Draco to have come looking for the progress he'd made on the stones. Trying to bring up their name in the eyes of the Dark Lord.

He was too tired to put much thought into it, and his spell to reveal those who would have been hidden revealed nothing. He let out a slow breath. He needed rest, she needed rest. The night was over for her.

With slow steps, he moved into his chambers feeling an overwhelming exhaustion fall over his shoulders. Granger shifted her head and took a slow breath against his ear. She let out a soft noise that he could just barely make out. He needed to fix her throat.

He moved over to the bed and gingerly pulled her from his form and onto the soft mattress. Her eyes flicked upward for the briefest moment before she looked back down at his shoes.

"The party is over...you may behave as you desire..." He turned away without really thinking about what he said. He needed so many things in his system right now.

He pulled out two potions for himself and three for her. One to help restart the healing on her vocal coards, another to numb any pain or discomfort she may be in and another to help her sleep. When he turned back he had to take a moment to collect himself and calm his temper.

She just sat there, on the edge of his bed. Her soft eyes watching him move about as though he'd lost all control. Her clothes were even worse than they had been before and he could make out the very start of the scar on her chest. His brow furrowed when she gave him the softest of smiles.

How on earth could she smile at him? After all that had happened? How could she find the stregnth to see any light left in the world after seeing the darkest pits of human deprevity? He was sure then, that she truly had decended to madness.