A/N

TW for violence/physical assault

I added Cover Art! It helped a lot when I got stuck in a rut.

This is a bit of a longer one. Gonna switch up the POV this times around and progress the plot a bit more.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write a review, and subscribe!
You are my sustenance! I am honestly so floored by the positive responses.

Happy Reading!

Over a week into his stay at Grimmauld Place, Draco felt like he had finally been accepted. While the main Golden Trio had begrudgingly befriended him after his return to school, the other Weasley's had been reticent. Having Ginny on his side ready to berate her older brother's had been a boon he had not appreciated until the twins had taken it upon themselves to use him as a guinea pig for their new joke products. But the turning of the tides occurred Christmas Eve as the Order gathered around for a meeting.

It was just as the Order meeting adjourned that the summoning tore through Draco.

His mark burned like white hot fire and only increased as he ignored the summons. There in the Grimmauld Place kitchen, with the Order as the audience, he dropped to his knees clutching his Dark Mark. His godfather had appeared at his side in moments, forcing potions down his throat while his mother brushed his hair out of his face and urged him to lay back. It went on for 10 long arduous minutes as he writhed in pain, jerked, and cried out. Then it was over.

"Does that happen every time?" The hesitant voice of Ronald Weasley spoke somewhere to his left.

"Resisting the summoning of the Dark Lord is not an easy task, Mister Weasley. He only manages the pain with the potion I created," The rumbling voice of his godfather replied somewhere above him.

"Give 'em space, Ron. Professor, we should take him up to his room," Ginevra. He would have made a suggestive comment about her being in his rooms just to rile her up if he had the strength. Draco felt the familiar weightlessness of levitation as he drifted into unconsciousness.

The rest of that night was surprising. He had awoken a couple hours later to the doting of not only his mother but of Molly Weasley and Professor McGonagall. It took his godfather barging into the room and reminding the other woman that he was fine and would be back downstairs momentarily to get them to leave.

"I don't think the Gryffindors appreciated my theatrics," Draco grimaced as he sat up in his bed and put his feet on the ground.

"Do not downplay your pain, Draco. Few people have ever declined a summons and even less could imagine the type of suffering it brings," Snape responded, eyeing him. "How are you feeling? He will try to summon you again so I expect you to take that potion every 3 hours. It should make the pain more bearable."

"Is it bad that I'm kind of getting used to it?" Draco winced, hating how pathetic he sounded.

"Sad. It is sad that you are used to it. The youth should never have been dragged into this war," When he looked up he saw a troubled look on his godfather's face.

"I don't want to go back downstairs," Draco looked away, suddenly feeling ashamed.

His godfather sighed and then sat down next to him, "Draco, there is nothing to be ashamed of. You were forced into taking the mark and you're handling the consequences."

"I don't want their pity," He looked down at the ground with his brow furrowed.

"While I understand the sentiment, I think you've actually gained their trust and even their admiration," He sounded amused. Draco was reminded once again that his surly godfather had loosened up since the whole ritual situation. They sat silently for a while. He knew that his godfather was waiting until he was ready to go downstairs. Looking down at the mark again, he glanced over to Snape's bare forearm. Ever since the news of the ritual was shared and what it had done Draco found that his godfather would spend most of his time without the overbearing layers.

"Do you think you'll actually be able to do it? Remove the mark?" He asked tentatively.

Snape turned to him and nodded, "Hermione gave us her journals and your mother and I have been able to piece some things together. I'm confident we can do this. Whether it's before this war ends is the true mystery."

Draco considered his reply. His mother along with Snape and Hermione were the most brilliant people he had met. You truly couldn't ask for a more capable team to try and 'cure' him of the evil tattoo. Finally, he stood, squaring his shoulders and prepared to meet whatever waited for him downstairs. As they took the steep stairs down, Draco let the ease of being surrounded by safety melt away his tension.

"Godfather, if Hermione ends up being the one who takes my mark away, I have to warn you and Potter, that bonded or not, I will challenge you both for her hand," Draco smirked at the Potions Master who raised a brow. He confidently strode down the stairs while conversing with the older man.

"What makes you think Hermione would even consider you?" Snape sneered, though his eyes and voice remained amused.

Draco stopped on the final landing and turned confidently to the older man, "Well she let me in on a little secret. Before we were friends and before she knew any better, little Miss Granger was lost in Diagon Alley and who should she bump into but a daringly handsome blond man. She said, and I quote, 'he was so handsome I thought I met a fae from muggle fairy tales.'"

Snape scoffed, "Am I truly to believe that Miss Granger had a crush on you when you were eleven and happened upon each other in the busiest shopping area of wizarding England?"

"Of course not, though I do think Hermione and I could have an exceedingly entertaining 'enemies to lovers' arc." Draco took a step down, turned to look over his shoulder at his godfather, "Hermione was talking about my father, and as we both know, I take after my father. You think she'll be happy to finally get her fae prince?"

Draco ran down the last few steps, just as Snape sent a hex at him. Promptly tripping on the carpet, he ended up sprawled across the woman of the moment.

"Draco, what the hell?" Hermione groaned. Before Draco could move, let alone apologize, Snape had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him off the Gryffindor girl and straight into the hallway wall.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Snape asked, not even attempting to hide his concern. It seemed she noticed how he had bodily thrown Draco and proceeded to smack the professor's arm in response.

"Professor Snape! Why did you do that? He barely got out of bed," She sniped at the older man who simply shrugged. The curly haired harridan was helped up and came to his side.

"Draco, are you alright? We've been worried. Your mum was sending me to come get you." She actually grabbed him by his arms and scrutinized him.

"I'm fine, Hermione. Just having a little bonding time with my Uncle," He winked at the older man who scowled at him.

"How many times must I tell you not to call me Uncle?" Snape narrowed his eyes on him.

"It's more fun watching you squirm over the idea of sharing blood with my father. Though after what I just told you, maybe you'll wish you'd been born with our blond hair and dashing good looks," Draco smiled when he saw the tell-tale twitch of the ex-spy's wand hand.

Saved by the Gryffindor, Hermione pulled him by the arm back into the kitchen where the remaining members of the Order were seated. As soon as he entered the room he was flanked by the trouble-making twins who started asking him what a Slytherin would like for pranks that fit their 'refined' taste. It wasn't long before their Mother came up to him offering tea and snacks.

Draco was overwhelmed as he was welcomed not with pity but respect. He turned to his godfather but found that the man was gone. A glance around told him that Hermione was with him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Severus asked Hermione as she closed the library door behind them, the usual wards and silencing spells were cast.

"I'm perfectly alright, Professor. I've been bowled over by a teenage boy more often than you would think," Hermione sat on the sofa in the middle of the library. In front of it were piles of books. At a closer look he could identify a few history books, bond lore, and one about maledictus which peaked his curiosity.

"How have you been, Professor? I know it's only been a week, but I figured some time together would keep the bond from flaring up." The girl was dressed in comfortable muggle clothes with her hair in a twist kept in place with a simple ballpoint pen. A fondness washed over him at the ease and familiarity she exuded. She was so comfortable in his presence and that was a feeling he rarely encountered.

"The bond has been quiet. But I suspect my presence here tonight and tomorrow will suffice until term starts again," He took a tentative seat on an armchair across from her, missing the look of disappointment as he picked at the lint on his trousers. Are you nervous? What are you, a prepubescent third year? Get a hold of yourself, it's just Hermione.

The young woman wasn't 'just' anything as far as he was concerned. He, as well as Narcissa, had not only been impressed by her notes and journals, but also at times completely baffled by the depth of her understanding of arithmancy and incantation creation. If he were honest, the fervent notes had reminded him of his own school textbooks riddled with his scribbles and ideas.

"How is the research going? I have a copy of the journals as well and have only been able to look at them sparingly. Everyone has seen fit to pull me out of the library if I spend more than an hour in here at a time," She huffed and crinkled her nose.

"Narcissa has been working on putting together the original ritual. I've managed to isolate the part that devours dark magic. It's impressive but incredibly convoluted. I think once term starts and you have a chance to look at what we've managed to scrounge together, you'll be able to parse it out. You've done it once so you'll be able to do it again," Severus responded, thinking over the hours spent with Narcissa references and cross referencing various texts. There had been some leaps in logic in her research that neither could grasp that left the Potions Master wondering if the young woman in front of him had done half of the devising mentally and forgot to take notes.

"I've been talking to Harry- don't make that face- we've been talking and think it would be a good idea to let Draco and Mrs. Malfoy in on the horcrux hunt," Hermione crossed her arms and tilted her head, waiting for his response.

"Your reasoning?"

"Out of all of us that know about the relics, only you and Mrs. Malfoy aren't students. But you also cannot move about freely to search for the relics because of the target on you. Draco and Mrs. Malfoy have more connections outside of the castle for any other research we need or to physically look for and retrieve the relics. We can only trust so many people. You, Draco, and Mrs. Malfoy all know occlumency so I don't think Professor Dumbledore would ever find out. He would expect Harry to have told the rest of us." Hermione replied succinctly.

"You do have a point. Especially in terms of having contacts outside of Albus's sphere of influence at the castle. Slytherin's are also less likely to ask questions if someone calls in a favor. The rest of the Order would want reasons given to them before they would make a move," He was mildly impressed that the group of youths had reached these conclusions before he did. "Draco and Narcissa may know some things we do not due to sharing their manor with the Dark Lord."

Hermione visibly shivered at the prospect of the Dark Lord invading her living space, "Then it's settled. Tonight, after everyone is off to bed we will catch everyone up."

"The sooner the better," Severus agreed. The silence then stretched between them, the only noise was the crackling of the fire. He felt the bond warming him and urging him to go to her side. While he hadn't lied to her that the bond was bearable the past week, now that he was within reach of her and had been for hours because of the Order meeting, he was itching to touch her, hold her, and kiss her. The most recent night at the astronomy tower flashed in his mind. You're better than this. You've already taken enough from her, too much. His thoughts were interrupted by the very object of his affection.

"Severus," She said tentatively, "I know tomorrow is Christmas and it will be busy all day so I wanted to do this now."

The ex-spy took a moment to process what she said and blinked in surprise when she made her way to the armchair. He eyed her smiling face and still felt awe that such a look of genuine affection could be directed at him. She gestured for him to put a hand out and then with a wave of her hand a small square box with black and green wrapping paper appeared in his palm.

"You've been practicing your wandless and silent magic," He observed neutrally. Internally the bond was singing as she stood less than a foot from him, his knees nearly touching her legs. Severus was hesitant as he turned the gift round and round, examining it.

"It's not going to bite!" The young woman huffed, a blush blossoming on her cheeks, "I just wanted to give you a Christmas gift."

"I-um…thank you, Hermione," Severus responded lamely. I didn't get her anything…was I supposed to get her something. What am I thinking? It's not like she's my wife. She is your bonded. Does a bond imply gift exchanges? Is she expecting something back? He coughed to cover his hesitance, "I was remiss in bringing your gift. I had not thought I would stay after the meeting and planned on it being delivered to you tomorrow morning with whatever other gifts you will receive."

Her eyes lit up at the prospect of a gift from him. You could have just not said anything. You aren't obligated to get her anything anyway. I can make her something tonight.

"Oh, don't worry, Severus. I just figured since you're here it was easier for me to give it to you now. You can open it," She encouraged, taking a seat on the arm of the chair he still occupied. Her warm body and sweet smell were already stirring certain extremities.

Severus turned his attention away from the smiling woman and unwrapped the gift. It revealed a plain box and inside was a plain black ring, polished to an almost mirror finish. He raised a brow, amused, "Forward of you to propose, Miss Granger."

Although blushing furiously the Gryffindor shoved him with her shoulder, "Oh hush, you. It's a way for me to know or for you to know when we are starting to feel the negative effects of the bond. While I had intended for the transference of our magical cores to be one sided in your favor, it seems that we are both affected.

The other issue we have experienced has been you receiving the brunt of the negative reaction. I can't tell when you need me because you occlude so easily. This way all you have to do is wear the ring, squeeze your fist and think of me. Then mine will get warm and I will find my way to you."

She demonstrated the bauble with her own dark mirror polished ring on her left index finger. He tried it a few times and felt a proud smirk appear on his face, "A modified protean charm, like the DA coins. A clever bit of magic, Hermione."

He liked how she blushed at the compliment, twirling the ring around her finger. Severus had never imagined he would ever wear matching jewelry, let alone a ring, with a woman. It was alarming and reassuring in equal measure. But as he looked at the ring his mind began to race with ideas for a gift for her. The book he had considered giving her would hardly compare. Standing abruptly, he squeezed her shoulder with one hand and dropped a fleeting kiss to her forehead, "I must retire to the castle for the night. I will see you tomorrow, Miss Granger."

Severus could feel her eyes on him as he raced out of the library.

"So to sum up everything, the Dark Lord split his soul into at least, at least, 6 pieces and stuffed those pieces into objects so that if he dies he can be reborn using a piece of his soul. The first was the diary- sorry Ginny," Draco glanced at the younger girl who shrugged her shoulders, "A ring that Dumbletwat was dumb enough to put on, at least one relic from each house except Gryffindor, and these two," he gestured to Harry and Hermione who were seated nearly on top of each other on the bed in Draco's room, "think that the-Boy-Who-Lived is also the-Boy-With-a-Parasite but the gingers disagree."

"Yea, that's about it," Ron said from his place lying on the carpet throwing a ball up in the air and catching it repeatedly.

"Why exactly do you two think Scarhead isn't a horcrux?" Draco bounced his gaze between the two Weasley's.

"Having been possessed by a horcrux, I just don't think Harry could have survived this long let alone do all the things he's done if there was evil inside of him. The diary felt like a slow acting poison that bled into my daily life until I wasn't myself anymore. I just don't think any part of You-Know-Who would be subtle or patient," Ginny explained confidently.

"What about you, Weaselby?"

"You call Gin by her name, why do I still get Weaselby?" Ron whined.

"Because Ginny is a lady and if I called her anything else I would be on the receiving end of her notorious Bat Bogey Hex. That is an experience I would prefer to avoid. Now answer the question," Draco tossed a pillow at the lanky boy who caught it effortlessly. They didn't make him a keeper for nothing I suppose.

"I just don't think it makes any sense. If a piece of him went straight into Harry when he was a baby, surely his soul fragment would have been able to overpower a kid and You-Know-Who would have grown up with a brand new body. Spending years just floating around waiting for some Death Eater to come along and help him make a body sounds exhausting," The explanation was not as idiotic as Draco had suspected.

"Hmm, I think I will remain on the fence about it. Keep both options on the table," He shifted his gaze again and noticed how Potter had a tight hold on Hermione's waist and was whispering in her ear. He had pulled her between his legs with her back against his chest. Whatever the dark haired boy said made the girl in his arms elbow him. He refocused on the conversation at hand, "The diary, the ring, the locket, something Hufflepuff, and something Ravenclaw. Then possibly Pothead…but if that's true then a horcrux doesn't have to be an object, it can be a living thing."

"You sound like you've realized something," Potter said, making the rest of the room's occupants turn to him.

"The Dark Lord has this horrific pet snake, Nagini. Father mentioned to me that Snakehead has it following him around in a protective bubble and gets aggressive if anyone even looks at it." Draco remembered the large serpent and how paranoid the evil man was whenever it wasn't at his side. "It has to be one."

"The snake…that would make so much sense! That's brilliant Draco," Hermione looked like her mind was already running a mile a minute.

"I also think I might know who has one of the horcruxes, even if I'm not sure what it is," The blond closed his eyes trying to recall a conversation with his psychotic aunt. "It's in my aunt's Gringotts vault. She was bragging about keeping something safe for the Dark Lord. You'd think he promised to marry her with how pleased she was."

"Who would have thought, after months of research, the one thing we needed to make a dent in this mission was to adopt a Malfoy," Ron grinned genuinely.

"Just call it a Christmas Miracle," Ginny said with a good natured laugh.

"I've always been a gift but I love being reminded," Draco quipped which set them off on a round of teasing remarks. Having friends, being surrounded while also feeling safe was a luxury that he had come to miss from his childhood. Now, he would do anything to preserve it.

As the others fell into fits of laughter he caught Hermione's eye. She opened her mouth to say something but Potter turned her head and kissed her roughly. While the Weasley's teased the couple, he noticed the way Hermione had stiffened and looked down. Something was wrong.

Hermione lay in bed, with Harry holding her close. The embrace of her friend, which normally brought her comfort, felt wrong. Not because of her bond to Severus, but something else. He had been acting strangely since they had started their holiday at Grimmauld Place. The way he grabbed her was harsh and possessive. He made sure she always sat next to him and had somehow convinced the rest of the adults in the house to allow them to stay in the same room.

His kisses had lost their tentative quality and were consuming. In the privacy of the room they shared it was easy to get lost in their bodily attraction but each time it took more and more force to make Harry stop and let them sleep. As attracted as she was, she worried that the bond with Harry was causing his personality change. The bond with Severus still pulsed in the back of her mind but the flowing cadence of the bond with Harry was bright and cloying.

Hermione knew it was still early, but it was Christmas and she was actually quite excited to find out what Severus had given her. She hadn't expected a gift but knowing he had got her something, no matter what, made her heart skip a beat.

"Mmmm, Happy Christmas, Hermione," Harry groaned sleepily in her ear, nuzzling her hair in the process. The kiss to her shoulder was brief, but when he moved her hair and began a languid appreciation of her neck with his lips and tongue she closed her eyes. It was frustrating how much a part of her wanted this, wanted to be in Harry's arms and give him everything. But the other half of her was flashing images, sounds, smells of Severus to battle the sensations.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Her voice was embarrassingly breathy. Harry had one leg over hers and she could feel his hardened length on her hip through their sleep clothes. She knew Harry wanted her completely but she couldn't get past the newfound aggression. Hermione hummed as he moved to hover over her, nipping at her jawline and neck, then back up to her lips. She allowed herself to melt into the kiss, raking her fingers through his messy hair.

His masculine groan against her lips was loud and throaty. He laid himself atop her, pushing her legs aside so he could lower himself into the cradle of her hips. The need that had been growing between them pooled between her legs as he rutted softly against her. When they parted, Harry cupped her cheek and smiled down at her. But Hermione froze, something in his green eyes was wrong. She tried to ignore the bonds fighting inside her so she could think straight. The young man moved to kiss her again but she held him back with the hands in his hair. He grunted in response and gave her the most wicked smile, as his pupils elongated vertically and became a black slice bisecting his pupil.

Panic. She shoved him and he went flying off the bed and hit the ground hard with his shoulder. Hermione sat up and stared at her friend as he seemed to lose consciousness then came too with a couple groans.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. I'm sorry, I was getting carried away again," He looked at her then looked away, a heated flush coming over his face. His sudden shyness and the air of awkwardness felt so much more like the Harry she knew than the one who had been with her all week.

"Sorry, Harry. I was just startled, I thought I saw a spider in your hair," She responded lamely. Feeling better about him, she stood and helped him to his feet. Ignoring the bulge that was still present in his pants she sat at a chair by the desk taking him in. Is it the bond? Is it retaliating because I've grown closer to Severus? But it's definitely not an amorous bond. Although, Harry and I do have feelings for each other. This isn't normal jealousy. There's something else going on. Why on earth did it change his eyes?

"I'm really sorry, Hermione. Look, I know I've kind of been dragging you along with everything I want. I shouldn't have convinced Sirius to let us share a room without asking you," He ruffled his hair, looking down guiltily. It was like seeing a completely different version of the scarred man.

"Oh, no that's alright Harry. We've shared space before. It was just the spider that scared me. Are you sure you're alright?" She finally joined him back on the bed, sitting on the edge of it with him but not touching.

"Yeah," Harry still wasn't looking at her.

"Harry, you know I care about you deeply. I just can't in good conscience let us dive head first into a full blown relationship when we have a war, soulbonds, and horcruxes to deal with," She took his hand but he didn't look up, "Harry, please don't feel bad."

Finally, he looked up and met her eyes. The final tension in her body melted away at seeing the familiar eyes of her best friend staring at her with concern and love. She squeezed his hand and smiled softly at him. "I think it's time for presents, don't you think?"

Harry was getting antsier by the hour. The morning, while not a complete failure, had been pleasant. Waking up next to Hermione always felt like a dream, but he was frustrated with how she pushed him away. Of course it also made sense to him because he was being…well forward would be an understatement. It's a miracle that you haven't shagged Hermione yet! I'm not going to push her to do what she doesn't want to do. Based on the sounds she makes when you kiss her, she wants you too. Tonight, why not make it your last gift to her.

The warring voices in his head had also grown more fervent with the arrival of the rest of the Order for Christmas lunch. This of course included the Potions Master who startled everyone by dressing in plain black trousers and a deep navy jumper. With all the hustle and bustle of sharing thanks and greeting everyone, Harry had not secured a seat next to Hermione. Instead she was once more near the end of the table flanked by Draco and Snape.

As lunch had wore on with much merriment, Harry fingered the chain around his neck and observed the way Snape and Hermione were as close as could be without touching. He caught every second look and soft expression the dungeon bat gave her when she wasn't paying attention. Ugly old bastard. He shouldn't touch what doesn't belong to him.

"Harry, are you alright? You're looking a bit pale," Remus whispered next to him, concern painting the Werewolf's face.

"I think maybe I ate a bit too fast," Harry excused himself to head to the bathroom down the hall. He didn't notice the odd look in Remus's eyes as they followed him into the hallway.

Harry looked into the slightly blurry mirror of the first floor bathroom. He splashed his face with water and had attempted to flatten his hair back down after ruffling it. All he needed to do was make sure that Snape didn't spend too long hogging all of Hermione's attention. He cracked the door open but paused when he heard a familiar voice.

"Severus, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to give this to you away from prying eyes," The professor sounded nervous.

Harry peeked out of the slit in the doorway and watched as his bonded match opened a gift from the ex-spy. Hermione was easy to see but the professor had his back turned. The Boy-Who-Lived almost scoffed at the book that was revealed. It was blank and had no discernible features but was wrapped in rich brown leather. Harry himself had given Hermione a simple pair of earrings that she had spotted once in a page of Witch Weekly. Diamonds after all were a woman's best friend. He sneered, there was no way a book would be better than his gift.

"Before you grow disappointed at me giving you an empty book," Snape sounded like he was smiling which was disconcerting to the hidden Gryffindor. The professor proceeded to tap the book with his wand, words and a newly designed cover melted into place. He did it again and the pages and cover shifted once more. "It's keyed to my personal collection. You can think of the book you want and with a tap of your wand that book will appear here. If you don't know the exact book but you know what you want the subject to be, you can think of the subject and the book will split itself into the first chapters of the first 5 relevant books. You just tap again on the chapter you like and the rest of the book will appear."

Hermione was obviously awed by it, even Harry could admit, for a bookworm like her it was a perfect gift. He did not however expect the way his friend threw her arms around the professor, nearly hitting him with the book in her hands. She kissed the older man passionately. A jealous rage seemed to unfurl in the middle of Harry's chest and continued to spread as he watched the couple embrace.

Snape had recovered from the shock and had wrapped his arms around Hermione, pressing her into the wall as they kissed deeply in the dark hallway. Harry wanted to rip the man's arms off of his body for touching his woman. But Snape was the one to pull away, keeping his hands on Hermione's shoulders and pressing her against the wall as he stepped back.

"You're welcome, obviously. But please, I truly do not want to be caught by Minerva, Molly, or Poppy. I would like to survive this Christmas," Snape's voice was breathy with lust, making Harry flick his wand from its holster and grip it tightly.

"We're bonded though, isn't it expected of us," Hermione whined. She hugged the book to her chest looking flushed and thoroughly snogged. Snape stepped back until his back was against the opposite wall of the hallway.

Snape groaned, "You said something similar to me before. Thus I will reply in the same way. The bond is increasing whatever respect for me you have into a passionate ardor far exceeding the original affection. We cannot indulge, Miss Granger."

Hermione actually giggled, "Now, Severus, I was simply thanking you for this amazing Christmas gift. Did you not like my methods?"

"I may like them too much. But based on your gift to me, if we survive this war, there will be a time in the future when we can truly thank each other," Are they flirting? Is Hermione Granger flirting with Severus Snape? And what gift? What did she give him?

Harry was so lost in thought that he didn't notice when Snape had walked back down the hallway towards the main sitting room and kitchen, presumably to rejoin the party. Hermione shook herself in a giddy manner. She held the book tightly to her chest and turned to make her way up the staircase. Spurred by his overboiling jealousy, Harry followed her.

Hermione had barely made it through the bedroom door when Harry came up to her and locked the door behind them.

"Harry! You scared me," Hermione chastised him, smacking him playfully with the book. But when she looked in his eyes he saw the flash of terror.

Harry snatched the book from her hand and tossed it onto the desk, landing pages first. With a flick of his wrist he cast a silencing charm on the room.

"Harry, w-what are you doing?" Hermione backed her way into the center of the room.

Harry saw the moment that she flicked her wand from its holster and responded in a flash. Her wand went flying into his waiting hand, "You were always just a bit too slow to beat me, Hermione."

With another flick of his wrist her wand vanished into the drawer of the desk, though she didn't know that. He stalked forward, grabbing her wrists and pulling her against his chest.

"Harry, when did you learn to cast silently?" Hermione was searching his face but he took no notice.

"Why did you have to do that, love?" Harry growled. Hermione's eyes widened at the pet name.

"Do what, Harry?"

"Why did you have to kiss the bat and enjoy it? I heard your slutty little moans for him," Harry gripped her hair hard making her yelp. "Have you gotten down on your knees for him yet? Or maybe you've let him slither in between your legs?"

Hermione tried to fight back but years in quidditch and his larger frame let him subdue her.

"Harry, you need to stop! Something's wrong with you! You wouldn't say this," Hermione pleaded, still struggling hard. But Harry found it almost surprising how easily he detained her.

"You keep forgetting that you belong to me, Hermione. Bonds be damned. You shouldn't let that bastard even breathe near you," Harry threw her to the bed and held her with two hands on her throat. She pried at his forearms and hands but he didn't budge. Kill her. Kill her. If you can't have her, why should the dungeon bat get a chance.

The door to the room was suddenly blasted open with a deafening crash. Harry hit the wall and crumpled to the ground. There was yelling and screaming filling the air. Before he could get his bearings he was grabbed by the collar. Looking down on him was a furious Severus Snape with his wand pointed directly between Harry's eyes.

A/N OOOOOh

What do you think will happen next?
Are you frustrated?
Have you figured out what's afoot?
What do you think of the cover art?
Thank you for reading.