A/N: Happy New Year 2020
Hello my wonderful readers! Happy New Year 2020! Here's to a fabulous New Year, and new decade.
This is also the beginning of a brand new story. This is Part 2 of the 'Help Is Always Given' storyline, and it is called 'You Fear Death and Darkness? I Fear The Unknown. I will be posting a new chapter every six days, as I did with the first story, as that allows time for you guys to read the chapter, comment, and for me to take those comments onboard and instigate any changes.
I hope you all enjoy the new story, and I look forward to reading your constructive feedback! I advise that you read Part 1 first, before reading this story as there will be callbacks to Part 1, however it is ultimately your choice if you decide to read Part 1 first or not.
Now...onto the story.
Many Thanks,
Carlos1995
Chapter Warnings: Rated M as this story will contain bad language, violence, sex, mentions of sexual assault, and general adult themes.
Chapter 1: Recovery, Sisters and Meetings
Hermione Granger was looking at the latest headline of the Daily Prophet. She took a deep breath and focused her attention back on the letter that Severus had given her earlier that morning. The letter had been delivered to Minerva, when the owl could not find Hermione. Hermione had spent the last few weeks recovering from major trauma and splinching injuries, with the help of her Severus. In that time, they had become used to the idea that this could be the rest of their lives.
The letter, and the Daily Prophet headline, both explained that because the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had made some extremely catastrophic errors of judgment in the last year, he had been forced to step down and a new Minister was about to be announced. Hermione had been rooting for Kingsley Shacklebolt, she liked the man, he was intelligent, an Order member, and was probably more interested in the safety of students at Hogwarts than Dumbledore was.
However, looking at the Daily Prophet headline and the letter in her hand, she stared at the image of the man and could honestly say she didn't think she had ever seen the man who had just been named as the new Minister.
"Pius Thicknesse?" She questioned out loud.
Severus almost spat out his sip of tea that he had taken just a moment before.
"What?" He yelled wide eyed, snatching the Daily Prophet from her hand he scanned the article.
He hadn't meant to be rude by snatching the paper, but he couldn't comprehend the words that had just left her mouth.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed.
Hermione stared at him in horror.
"Severus what's wrong? Who is this man?" She asked.
Severus tried to calm his breathing, the Dark Lord had been quiet the last few weeks, Severus hadn't been summoned in ages and there hadn't been a Death Eater meeting for months. Severus knew something was going on but the Dark Lord clearly did not want him to be part of it, and he knew better than to turn up at Malfoy Manor when he hadn't been summoned there.
Severus sighed.
"This man is essentially a sympathiser of the Dark Lord. The man is basically a puppet for the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. Now he is in charge of the Ministry! What next?" he stated in exasperation.
Severus couldn't believe that the Ministry had allowed Thicknesse to take the role of Minister of Magic, they clearly hadn't done the proper in depth checks or there would be no way that this man's face would be currently splashed across the news front page.
He looked at Hermione, who was still looking at him concerned.
"I think this is going to be a very dangerous world from here on out" he said sincerely.
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Meanwhile, in an old mansion in Wiltshire, the Dark Lord sat on one of the nicest chairs he had ever sat in. He was talking to his familiar, Nagini, whilst twirling his wand between his forefinger and his middle-finger. He was looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"It won't be long now dear, and you will have a never ending feast" he cooed at his snake.
The snake hissed in pleasure as the rest of the minor Death Eaters looked at the display warily; there was something about the snake that spooked them all.
The Dark Lord then looked up and addressed the small number of men in the room. Many of them were new recruits, young boys from Hogwarts. Draco stood among the small crowd, trying not to vomit on his shoes.
He hadn't had contact with anyone outside of his house since school had ended for the summer, not even his godfather had come near the house. Draco understood though, the Dark Lord had different plans for Severus and so needed to keep Severus as out of reach as possible. Severus could not be implicated in anything that was about to take place or it could mess up the Dark Lord's future plans. Draco knew that any attempt to contact Severus, to warn him, at this particular moment, would be a fatal error. His house was being monitored 24/7 after all. Yet, here Draco stood, trying to take in what the Dark Lord was saying about tonight's Azkaban breakout. Death Eaters had succeeded in doing this before, so they were expected to be able to do it again. The Dark Lord had given a detailed description as to what would happen to them if they were to fail.
Draco had no options, no one to help him, and no way to warn Severus. Draco had no choice, he was about to help some of the most dangerous individuals escape from a high security prison. If he survived the night…it would be a bloody miracle.
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In Islington, Harry, Ron, and Neville were sat playing a game of cards. The mood had been sombre the last few weeks and the boys were getting more and more agitated with being cooped up inside the house with little to do and no information about anything. They weren't even allowed to see a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"I can't do this anymore" Ron growled, frustrated as his patience finally hit breaking point for the sixth time that day.
He threw his cards down on the table and stood up and looked out the window at the sunny afternoon. Harry and Neville's eyes followed the frustrated red head, as he paced and muttered to himself. They were all feeling the unsettled atmosphere, and didn't know how much longer they could cope.
If Ron were at home, he'd be playing Quidditch with his siblings, on the land that surrounded his home. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed. There was also the thought of Hermione, who had been missing for weeks, no one had any information and both he and Harry wanted to be involved in helping to get her back. Ron was so deep in thought that he hadn't realised that his feet had taken him to the library until he had sat down in the chair that Hermione had always favoured, by the fireplace.
"Where are you Mione?" He whispered aloud to the room.
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Miles away in Manchester, Hermione lay on her back, on the bed, panting. She was trying to wipe away the sweat on her forehead. Brutal shagging, on a hot summer afternoon, did not make one look attractive in the aftermath.
Severus chuckled at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking.
"Don't, its sexy" he growled in her ear.
Hermione groaned and relaxed, she loved this.
They lay in blissful silence for a few minutes when Hermione prepared to speak, she hesitated.
"What is it?" Severus asked her.
Hermione bit her lip before responding.
"Next time there is an Order meeting, I want to come with you. I think I'm ready to go back to Grimmauld Place, I also really miss my friends and the whole Weasley clan" she said.
"Are you sure?" He asked her.
She nodded.
"They don't even know that I'm alive, it's unfair on them. Now that my injuries have healed and my wound no longer reopens just by moving my leg, I need to start using my leg muscles again and walking around more" she said.
Severus agreed. The healing process of her splinching injuries had taken a lot longer than he had anticipated. Every time the wounds began to heal, she would start slowly exercising her thigh muscles only to find the wound re-opening and ruining the healing that her magic had done. Severus had been worried about it and considered that her injuries may have been worse than what he initially thought. However, he soon remembered that her magic had been depleted and was likely slowing down the healing process. So Severus had told her to keep off her leg entirely for the last three weeks and would carry her from room to room, all over the house, much to Hermione's embarrassment. Looking at her leg, the wound had now closed completely, leaving an angry scar across her leg but Severus was certain that it had healed sufficiently enough to allow Hermione to start using her leg again. Also, her magic had recovered and she was visibly getting her strength back.
"Alright, considering that we only have about four weeks until the new school year starts, I agree that you need to start using your leg again" Severus said.
Hermione smiled and stretched up to kiss him.
"Thank you" she said.
He chuckled and kissed her back.
"As amazing as this is, I have somewhere I need to be, I have been summoned by Dumbledore and he wants to see me personally before the Order meeting next week" Severus told her.
Hermione pouted at him and he leaned down and trapped her bottom lip between his teeth.
"If you carry on doing that, I will never get out of this bed" Severus said to her, voice thick with lust.
"Who says that's a bad thing lemon drop?" She whispered back seductively.
Severus was about a second away from taking her roughly once more when Hermione teasingly held up a finger in warning.
"Oh no Mister, you have an appointment with Albus Dumbledore, no second round for you" she said, smirking.
"Tease" Severus muttered as he got up off the bed, his erection still primed and ready to go.
He paused in the bedroom doorway for a second.
"Why did you call me lemon drop?" He asked her.
She grinned at him.
"So that when Dumbledore offers you one, all you'll be able to think about is us fucking all day long. Have fun darling" she giggled.
Severus cursed.
"Minx" he said as he turned to get ready for his meeting with Dumbledore.
Severus got himself dressed and said goodbye to his Hermione. He left the house and headed towards the apparition point. He had told Hermione a small, white lie. It wasn't exactly Scotland he was headed for, nor was he meeting Dumbledore – not directly at least. It appeared that there were more and more people who were becoming aware of his every move and he had to be more careful about who he spoke to and who he was approached by whilst out in public. It had been a while since he had gone out as himself. He had brewed a mammoth batch of polyjuice potion at the beginning of the summer to see him through until the school year resumed. He was becoming concerned as his polyjuice supply was depleting a lot more quickly than he had thought. Still, he wasn't complaining, he had survived the summer unscathed and still had all his limbs attached in the correct places. He was thankful for small mercies. If he was being honest, he had just had the best summer ever, it had been just him and his Hermione, and the town of Cokeworth was obscure enough that the two of them had been able to go out when necessary without needing to worry about being seen by the wrong people.
As Severus approached the apparition point, he couldn't help think about what was going to happen next. What was Dumbledore's next move? Severus had been slightly miffed when Dumbledore had laid out a scavenger hunt of sorts to feed Severus information. It meant that Hogwarts was being watched. Dumbledore had told Severus that he now needed to go and retrieve a hidden scrap of paper from a room at the Leaky Cauldron and eat a temporary voice-changing sweet that would be with it, Severus would then have to give passwords in a stupid voice chosen for him by Albus, before being able to translate the words in order to gain more titbits of information from the old man's ramble. Severus sighed. After all, it could always be worse.
Severus turned on the spot whilst thinking of the dingy, dark, Leaky Cauldron pub, the tiny scrap of paper and probably a stupid lemon drop that he was expected to get.
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"I still don't trust him" Bellatrix pouted at her older sister.
Narcissa sent her younger sister a look. They knew where to find Severus today and Narcissa Malfoy needed to speak with him urgently; it was literally a matter of life and death.
"Hush Bella" she said and continued her walk to the dingy, dark building that had always disgusted her. A proper lady had no business coming here; there was sex, scandal, and prostitutes everywhere.
"But Cissy..." Bellatrix started.
Narcissa spun on the spot so fast that Bellatrix almost ran into the back of her.
Bellatrix looked at her now vexed sister.
"I told you to button it. Severus saved Draco's neck a few weeks ago, he kept his vow. I feel that it is now more crucial that Draco has that protection again" Narcissa told her.
"I still don't see why Draco needs protection; he's already proven himself worthy. Surely, he would understand the importance of doing the Dark Lord's bidding by now?" She argued.
Narcissa looked around before completely lowering her voice.
"Draco has just been part of a breakout group, freeing some of the most dangerous and insane characters known to the wizarding world. He saved your arse Bella. I'm only ensuring that someone is now there to save his. I trust no one more than Draco's very own godfather" she hissed.
"Well if all Malfoy men are like Lucius, then Draco is going to need all the help he can get" Bellatrix remarked coldly.
"And just what exactly do you mean by that comment?" Narcissa growled.
"I watched how pathetic your husband became when he thought he was going to be left to rot in that cell. Oh how I watched the high and mighty fall. Then the screams of terror began at night, the begging not to be killed or harmed, the pleading and the insanity. I watched as your husband pissed himself dry, shit where he sat, vomited where he slept, I watched as he ripped fistfuls of his hair out in sheer lunacy, and that was just week one" Bellatrix stated darkly.
Narcissa tried not to burst into tears. She had deliberately not spoken to anyone over the summer; her husband had been caught in the Department of Mysteries and had been locked up in Azkaban for it. Despite what was popular opinion, Lucius was not as monstrous as everyone made him out to be. His hands were tied, just as Draco's had been.
Narcissa sighed and then cut a chilling glare at her sister.
With that, she turned and continued her way towards her destination and her sister followed, both women with their hoods completely hiding their faces. Now was not the time to be spotted by the wrong people. Narcissa hoped Severus would help her again as he had last year.
Narcissa knocked on the door and waited. It took a minute before there was no reply, she knocked again. She could hear some shuffling going on and maybe a door opening and closing. What the devil was Severus doing in there? She didn't want to be stood outside the door any longer than necessary. She knocked again and she could hear her sister hiss. Then Severus answered the door. He looked quite stunned and as if he had quickly tried to hide something in one of his pockets.
"My apologies Madame, I was in the bathroom. Please come in" he said with a slight bow of the head.
"What the hell is wrong with your voice? Choke on a lemon drop?" Bellatrix said as stared down at the old sweet wrapper that had appeared when Severus had opened the door.
Severus glared coldly at Bellatrix. Narcissa and Bellatrix entered the room and Severus closed the door behind them.
"Why this place? This is so typical of you Snape" Bellatrix stated.
"Ah Bellatrix, if I were you, I would consider this a step up from where you've been sleeping recently" Severus snarled back at her.
"Azkaban too good for you?" He mocked her.
Bellatrix hissed.
"Enough!" Narcissa demanded.
"Severus, I've come for your help again" she said.
"Narcissa, please sit. You look pale; I will get you a drink. You look like you need something strong and you can get more than pumpkin juice here you know" Severus said.
Narcissa sat and Severus poured her a glass of whiskey. Narcissa sipped slowly, and colour eventually made its way back into her cheeks.
"Now, what exactly is it that you seek?" He asked her.
"Draco, I need you to promise to protect Draco again" she said, trying not to cry. She felt as if she had failed to protect her only child. She had failed as a mother.
"Narcissa, you know that I love Draco as if he were my own son. I will always protect him" Severus stated.
"The Dark Lord wants him to murder someone Severus. He's just a boy, last time it was about letting the Death Eaters into Hogwarts but now, it's gone a step further to full blown murder. I don't know what to do. What kind of mother am I? I can't even protect my own baby boy" Narcissa sobbed into her hands.
Bellatrix was looking at her sister's show of emotion in disgust, when had this high and mighty lady of the manor become such a blithering, pathetic wreck?
"Narcissa, I will protect the boy" Severus pledged.
Narcissa gave him a watery smile of appreciation.
"Swear to it" Bellatrix said from her place in the corner of the room.
"You've done it once, do it again. Renew the vow and protect Draco with your life. I still don't trust you" Bellatrix glared at him.
"Do it" Severus said through gritted teeth.
"Renew the vows" he dared her.
With that, a second vow took place. The magic in the room was pulsing; it was so strong that the room was almost shaking. After a moment, everything settled once more.
"What was that? That didn't happen last time" Bellatrix murmured.
"You're casting an unbreakable vow over another unbreakable vow that is technically still in place. What exactly did you expect Bella?" Severus growled at her.
She gulped, staring wide-eyes at his sudden aggression.
"Are we done here?" She whispered.
"That would be a good idea, don't you think?" He asked rhetorically.
Bellatrix swiftly left the room.
Narcissa stood.
"Thank you Severus" she said as she kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Severus just nodded at her, and she left.
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Severus entered his home to find his Hermione on the sofa. She had moved from the bedroom and made her own way downstairs. She was looking pale.
"Are you alright love? You look pale. Are you in pain? How is your leg?" He asked her.
She smiled at him.
"Hush Severus. I am fine, just a bit tired, I feel like I've had a lot of energy zapped out of me. How was your meeting with Dumbledore?" She asked him.
He looked up at her.
"Nothing new really, Albus just said there was going to be a big announcement made at the next Order meeting and that I should prepare for it as it will involve me directly and my positon at Hogwarts" he regurgitated a piece of information from the one line that he had been able to decipher from the scavenger note, hoping to sate her curiosity.
"Hmmmm...I don't like the sound of that" she said.
At least until Severus translated the rest of the note, he didn't like the sound of it either.
"Nor do I" Severus agreed,
"We can only wait and see what the meeting brings" Severus said.