Snape frowned and tossed another book down to the side of his chair. He wasn't usually so rough with his books but his temper was getting the best of him. He had thought he'd solved the problem of her slavery only to discover that the brand itself hadn't fully disappeared, just the coloring that made it send out jolts of painful electricity.
She'd been rubbing it lightly while she ate her lunch causing him to back peddle. She now rose a brow at him pausing in her chewing to give him a curious look. He gave her a small glare in return before turning away to pull another text from the pile Poppet had brought him.
Hermione never did fully get an answer to her previous question, rather he summoned food for her and disappeared for a good 20 minutes. She had nearly finished her lunch when he'd returned but now was finding his behavior more curious than frightening. She licked her lips slowly and set the now empty plate aside.
"Let me help you."
Snape's eyes snapped up to her gentle request. He had already written her assistance off believing everything he was reading now to be well outside of her expertise.
"Does it hurt?"
"Does what hurt?"
"The brand."
Hermione furrowed her brows slightly and brought her hand up again, "Not really...I think I'm just... I don't know..."
"Eloquent." Snape let out a deep sigh before picking up another book from the stack, "You're looking for the Enslavic Empermia curse."
Hermione paled, she knew Latin so well it might as well been a second language to her. She took the book he offered with a heavy heart. The book she had seen before had been missing a page, she could only guess that it was the page with the counter curse on it. What she had managed to read about it hadn't looked all that promising. She didn't very well fancy burning to death from the inside.
With a deep breath and a refocused brow, she set her empty plate aside and opened the book offered to her with renewed hope. She had to do something. The reality—the hope— of her surviving the situation was starting to grow dim at the end of the tunnel.
oOo
"That's it, Neville, shh... it's alright..." Luna cradled the much larger boy's head against her chest. It had been painful to watch him through the mirror even more so when she realized that he wasn't truly there. She'd thought of her own father then, and understood the pain that had fallen over the boy's face.
"I'm sorry...I just..."
"It's alright Neville, it's okay to cry." Her voice was motheringly soft. Her small hand pushed back the hair from his face. "It's okay to love someone..." She gave him a kind smile hoping he would give her one in return. After a few small sniffles, he did return her gesture.
Neville took a deep breath and sat back on his heels. He hadn't meant to look like a total fool in front of her but he hadn't seen his parents in so long. The war was coming and the need for restitution was growing stronger in his heart. He needed to avenge them somehow. He needed it down to the very bottom of his soul.
"Let's leave the mirror for now... let's try our original plan...okay?"
"Yeah...yeah, sounds good."
"Come on." Luna helped him back to his feet but didn't remove her hand from his when she turned back towards the center of the room that held a large map of the castle.
oOo
"We're wasting time." Hermione set another book aside, they'd been at it for what felt like hours. Neither one seemingly getting anywhere, "We need to put our focus back on Vo-The Dark Lord's plans to use the stones."
Snape looked up from the book he was currently looking through and narrowed his eyes. Instead of arguing her point, he merely tilted his head, listening in on her mind turning.
"How are you at slight of hand?"
His brow furrowed a little deeper, he was trying to read her train of thought but it was a mess. He made a small face picking up on just the slightest bit of information. Unfortunately, she switched mental topics before he could fully get a read on it.
"I'm fair enough."
"I think I have a plan." A small smile threatened the corner of her lips. She had wondered why they were wasting time at all on the slave bond when the thought suddenly occurred to her that he was afraid that he would die before her. He was worried about her.
"I'm listening." He set the book he'd been looking through aside. Frankly, he was out of ideas and they were running out of time.
"The stones you've made, you haven't finished them...not really. Unless you've found the missing piece inside my mind, they're going to do nothing. What if you can switch out a working one with one that doesn't?" Hermione kept her eyes away from his as she spoke, instead, she pulled her journal from the table. "I refuse to give a real working stone to either of them, and I suspect the reason that you haven't gone digging through my mind is that you very much don't want that either. "
Snape leaned back in his chair, his jaw tensed but he continued to stay silent. Were his intentions so easily seen through or was she just that clever? He leaned towards the latter but didn't rule out the other possibility.
Hermione was nonpulsed by his silence and merely turned to the proper page in her journal. "The stones connect two souls together for one hour. The stones will protect both sides from death during that time but isn't a guarantee of survival. If the hour passes before the other carrier can get to the dying, the spell will be broken and the dying will be lost." Hermione glanced up, out of pure habit, to make sure he was still listening before continuing, "During this hour, should either one experience the killing curse the time in the stones will be cut in half, no matter where the clock is. If this should occur, the carrier must use the revival potion that is embued inside the stone before the time runs out. If this is done, the stone used will no longer be viable and must be infused again before it can be reused."
Hermione shifted slightly before raising her eyes, "The timer doesn't start until near death. How long do you think he plans on torturing me?"
Snape shook his head slightly, he wasn't so sure her torture was the main goal. His mouth opened and closed once before he leaned forward just a bit, "I don't think your torture is the only thing he will be after. I think... he's going to use you to lure Potter to the Manor, and kill him."
Hermione's confidence slowly deflated and her eyes turned down slowly towards the floor. Her original plan of simply switching out the stones suddenly seemed like a fairytale dream. Her head turned towards the fire then, "I'll die before I let him use me that way."
Idiotic, idealistic, self-sacrificing, naive, child, didn't even begin to define her in that moment, Snape took a breath to calm his temper, "I won't let that happen."
Hermione couldn't believe she had heard him correctly. The weight of his words and the tone with which he delivered them were absolute. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't going to let her die that day or any other. Her eyes rose to meet his and she felt his resolve roll through her, igniting the little flame inside.
"I'll show you how to activate the stones..."
oOo
Neville and Luna looked up from the map as the door to the room came open. Ginny gave them a small smile before closing the door tightly behind her.
"I thought I'd find you here..." Ginny gave a small smile to Neville before looking over at Luna, "How's your head?"
"It's alright, have you heard anything from your Mum about the boys?"
"Nothing yet, but Mum promised to send word through the two-way should anything change." Ginny came to the table beside Neville looking out at their markings. "What are you planning?"
"A jailbreak hopefully." Neville set down his little pawn and took a breath, "We believe the reason Snape doesn't want anyone on the sixth floor is because Hermione's up there."
"You think she's even still alive?" Unknown to the two of them, she had looked into the mirror shortly before Luna had woken. The last she'd seen was Hermione's blood-covered body tied to a stone pillar.
"What do you mean?" Luna turned her worried brow towards the redhead. Had she seen something?
Ginny made a small face and tried to push the memory away but it lingered over her waking memory. "The last image I saw in the mirror...it didn't look good..."
Luna pursed her lips even further and glanced at Neville who was doing his best not to lose his focus. "What did you see Ginny...?"
"They...they tied her to a post..."
"They?" Neville turned with concern lacing his tone.
"I don't know who exactly...but...it had to be more than one...I saw a woman's hand and a man's arm...I know that..."
"What did they do to her Ginny?" Neville's voice was barely a whisper. He hadn't even slightest ideas of what horrors awaited him.
Ginny shook her head, her eyes shined with tears that she stubbornly refused to let fall. They waited patiently for her to regain her composure but the tension in the air was thick.
"They whipped her...with a muggle whip... there was so much blood..."
oOo
"I freely give this blood," Hermione winced softly and pulled the sharp blade across the tip of her finger. With a small hiss, she blade aside and took hold of her finger, bringing the slowly bubbling crimson over the surface of the white stone. The beautiful surface stained crimson. The runes in the center glowed a deep red before the blood that she'd dropped over the stone slowly became absorbed inside.
Hermione pulled her hand back, pausing only slightly when a silent spell closed the cut on her finger. A small smile ticked at the very corner of her lips before she pushed the black stone closer to the man at her side. Hermione curled her lips in, taking a slow breath through her nose. She watched him raise the blade to his own finger not even flinching as he cut along the callous.
"I freely give this blood," Snape watched his own life essence fall down into the black stone. The runes carved over the surface similarly turning a deep red before absorbing all the blood.
Hermione took a slow breath looking down at the stones. They looked identical to the other set. He had carved them perfectly, "It's done..."
Snape pursed his lips but nodded all the same, "Now, we work on your brand..."
"There's nothing to be done..." Her hand came up running over the raised skin again.
"You've already removed most of its power over you..." Snape's hand twitched to run over the area himself. "The color has gone away..."
"What does that mean?" More importantly, how had she removed its power? She made to ask that very question but the look in his eyes stopped her. She let her hand fall back to her side trying to understand what he'd said.
"I think it means my power to control you through pain has gone..."
"Then why is it still there?"
"I don't know..." Snape moved around her coming back towards the main room. He had let her into his small sanctuary to complete the stones. She had marveled at the compressed space but had rightfully kept her hands to herself though he had heard the myriad of questions running rampant through her thoughts.
"We need to put the color back into it... otherwise The Dark Lord will know my power over you is gone." Snape moved to the shelves beside the fireplace running his fingers along the faded titles. "How do you feel about a magical tattoo?"
Hermione crossed her arms coming to lean in the doorway. She didn't look the least bit excited about the idea but she trusted him enough to see where he was going with it.
"Can they be removed?"
"Yes, quickly and painlessly." He was lying through his teeth. They could in fact be removed but the process wasn't exactly painless. He didn't want to worry about that now, however. They needed to move on, he would try again to find the missing page's information, he just needed her out of his hair to do it.
"I suppose it's a compromise to actually reinvoking the bond." Hermione had read about the possibility of reinstating a freed slave in one of the books she'd gone through but the information at the time seemed irrelevant as she'd been unaware at the time that anything had changed.
"Reinvoking? Snape turned, a book in hand, "What do you mean?"
"There was a book..." She stepped back into the room heading over to the pile of books they'd gone through, her mind was cycling through each title trying to recall which one she'd pulled the information from. "It said that it could be used in a freed slave if they were to be put back into servitude. Something about relaying the rules and punishment of the original bonding..."
"Show me."
Hermione frowned slightly but did as she was asked. She wasn't sure why, but knowing that he couldn't punish her for disobeying oddly made her want to be more compliant. She gave him a small glance as she passed and leaned down beside her chair. When she did a sharp spark ran through her back and she swallowed a gasp.
"Your back."
"I'm fine, here..." She was a bit more careful with her movements this time and finished her task. Using the chair to bring her back on her feet she held it out for him to take.
"Page 320." She swallowed down the twinge and rolled her shoulders, it hurt yes, but it wasn't intolerable.
Snape took a seat, completely ignoring the girl when she leaned against the back of the chair to look over his shoulder. He turned to the required page before scanning quickly.
It might just work. The only problem was he needed to find another slave bond that didn't have such severe consequence in the event of his death or could be easily reversed. If he could somehow do that, he might just be able to replace The Dark Lord's slave bond with another. In any case, it was worth looking into.
oOo
"Alright, we're all going to meet here after dinner before curfew sets in. We'll wait here until around midnight after Carrows have finished their final rounds then head up to the sixth floor through this secret passage here. The room we're looking for should be across the hall. This old classroom is our marker." Neville looked up from the map for a moment waiting for any objections. There were none, "Luna will stand guard here, while we get Hermione out of here. We don't know what state of injury she'll be in... I'll carry her if need be, Ginny will be my wand."
Both girls nodded their heads, it was a simple plan. What possibly could go wrong?
oOOo
"How bad does it look..?" Hermione shifted carefully keeping the front of the shirt over her chest. They had discussed the possibility of a few different slave bonds but her back had gone so tight she'd found it difficult to stand or sit. He had called it then, promising her that they would look into it after her care was sought to.
"It's red right now...but it doesn't look like the scars will be too severe..." Snape pulled his hand back slowly watching the salve work.
Hermione watched him secretly through the curtain of her hair, "I don't mind scars..." Her voice gentle and held more than just her opinion about her own state.
Snape didn't dare to look at her, instead, he pulled back further and cleaned his hand. "You should have a full range of motion by tomorrow..." He had to stay clinical. It was the only thing keeping his mind in its proper place.
He didn't understand why it was becoming harder to care for her. Knowing that her life may very well come to an end, after all he'd done to ensure her survival, brought up old feelings that were doing their best to put him under. Could his heart possibly survive?
Hermione watched a deep sadness fill his eyes only to be surfaced with anger. She pressed her lips together tightly before turning to reach out for his hand. She desperately wanted to comfort him, for what she didn't know but it was hard for her gentle heart to witness such pain.
"We're...going to make it..." She was surprised when he didn't immediately snatch his hand back. Though he didn't take hers, she held his as strong as she dared. "This war... it's going to end..."
Snape turned his head slowly, a memory flashing through his mind that brought more than a typhoon of emotion crashing down on him. She wasn't the first person to tell him those very words. She wasn't the first person to fail him. He would be a fool to believe her now. A sneer slowly crept across his face as he pulled his hand from hers. Walls stronger than the mightiest stronghold fell down around his heart.
"It's time for dinner." He pushed himself away from the chair and towards the office. He needed time alone. The girl was clouding his thoughts with senselessness.
Hermione curled her hand over her heart. She could still feel the warmth of his palm against her fingertips, but the pain, the pain in his eyes hurt her more than his dismissal. He was so broken, would he ever be able to see the light again?
A silent tear fell from her eye, a tear for him. For his past and his future. She wanted—needed, to help him. There was no question in her mind. She would see that he survived this war, he deserved so much more than what life had given him. So much more than what fate had woven.
A soft pop to her right tore her eyes from the office door and she gave Poppet a gentle if somewhat forced smile. "Thank you." She pulled her shirt back on before taking the tray. When did everything in her life become so complicated?
oOo
Ginny held her breath dipping into an alcove, praying that her disillusionment charm would keep her from being detected. They had decided to go in shifts, that way if one of them were caught their plan could still go on. She'd gotten word from her mother that Harry was starting to come around but wasn't fully aware yet. She'd told her that they may be expecting another but didn't go into the details as she would surely lose her temper. This had to work. Everyone could feel it. The war was growing to its climax.
Ginny pushed herself up and through a small hole hidden behind a statue, she cast a silencing charm over her shoes and took the spiral stairs quickly. She'd made it to the fourth floor without being caught. She could almost feel eyes on her.
As she came up behind the tapestry that led to the fifth floor she could make out voices. She pressed herself against the wall and lowered herself down into a crouched position. They sounded familiar and they were moving closer.
"...all day, probably up there in his tower getting his rocks off while the rest of us are preparing."
"With a mudblood? No way, I'd rather take off my own hand than touch anything like that."
Ginny put a hand over her mouth to keep her temper at bay. The voices were closer now and she easily identified as Malfoy's left and right-hand goons.
"I'd pay money to have her tears in a jar. Filthy blood or not the jumped up twat has had this coming. I only wish He would have given her to me. I'd really show her, her place."
"On her knees?"
A dark chuckle turned Ginny's blood cold. It took every ounce of her willpower not to jump out and curse them into oblivion. What were they even doing up on that floor? How did they even know that Hermione was captured?
She pushed the edge of the tapestry out of her way, shutting out their crass words. She watched them round the corner before she slipped out. She kept herself low as she made her way to the door. A cursory glance assured her that she was alone and she started to pace. As soon as the door appeared she disappeared inside.
The room had changed slightly giving her a dueling arena with two wooden dummies. She smirked at the idea of blowing them to bits before the large mirror at the back of the room caught her eye. Neville and Luna had told her what it was for but neither of them had tried to use it before lunch. Now it was after dinner and the curiosity was tugging at her senses.
She had used the scryers mirror before, this one shouldn't have been that different right?
oOo
"We need to address a larger issue." Snape turned the book he had in his hand over to her. It was the same page she had seen before outlining the complex spell required to create a forced occlumens shield. She took the book into her hands looking down at every detail. She wasn't so sure she wanted him back into her mind anytime soon, "None of our other preparations will make any difference if the Dark Lord sees inside your mind. In lieu of testing out a possibly irreversible use of your fugue state, I believe this is the answer."
Hermione listened to him carefully. She very much didn't want to lose herself. Not when she'd just been put back together. They had both come to the agreement that it would be a last resort. A sort of suicide pill. It still had left her wondering about alternative solutions, that was until he handed her the book.
"I don't want to do this..."
"If you don't, and we go, The Dark Lord will see straight through our little act and he will kill you on the spot." Snape came to his feet turning his back to her. Pacing helped him think and kept him from reaching out to shake that idiotic Gryffindor pride straight from her body.
"What about just learning occlumency?"
"You expect me to teach you how to shield your mind from one of the most powerful wizards in the world in less..." He turned on his heel sharply towards the clock on the mantle, "than 36 hours?"
Hermione frowned at his tone and heavily closed the book, "I want to try. I don't think it'll matter either way. You said yourself he's going to test the stones on me. The least you can do is give me the dignity of fighting for my death."
Snape's eyes turned towards her with enough force that if they had been a weapon she surely would have been killed. She watched him fight something that was surely burning a hole through his tongue to be spoken. Her glare, however, never wavered. She waited for the other shoe to fall even as he turned away from her.
"Dignity...?" Snape snarled and turned in another obscure direction. His face flashing through a series of such complex emotions someone as innocent as she would never be able to fully comprehend. His eyes darted side to side and his hands curled even tighter before he rounded the area between their chairs. His next step brought him right before the Gryffindor and he took tight hold of the arms of the chair before ever so slowly leaning in close.
To her credit, she didn't lean back nor cower away. Her fierce golden eyes staring directly into his own. Their emotionally driven breaths mixing in the hair widths space between their noses.
"There is no dignity in death."
"Then let's survive."
Snape bored directly into her soul, but still, she held herself firm. She didn't fear him, it was clear on her face. No, it was much worse than that. She trusted him. He nostrils flared as his temper rose. His eyes narrowed to slits before his hand shifted from the arm of the chair to her bicep. His hold was tight enough to make her flinch. He would teach her—teach her how foolish she truly was. Maybe then, she'd finally understand.