Overwhelmed, Hermione sank down onto the large bed. By now she was too late for breakfast anyway, so she might as well not even go. Snape's words had been almost tender, nothing reminded her of the man who had cruelly humiliated her and satisfied his lust with no regard for her. He was different from the professor she was used to, and different from the beast that had assaulted her. She wished she knew what brought this change.

Unwillingly, her thoughts wandered to Lucius Malfoy. In his arms, she could relax, enjoy the intimacy and return it because she knew where she stood. She knew by now that the older Malfoy was, in his own way, just as broken a man as Draco. Just as he found her honesty attractive, she herself found it comforting that Lucius Malfoy kept no secrets from her. They were on opposite sides, they would always be master and slave, but he gave her enough respect as an independent person to never force her to have sex against her will. He needed her to be able to escape from his harsh reality, to forget that he had fallen out of favour with Voldemort, and that even his own wife was probably spying on him.

Snape, on the other hand, was inscrutable in his capriciousness. "I can't even call it moodiness, he's always far too emotionless for that," Hermione mused, sinking backwards onto the mattress with her arms outstretched. "It's more like contradictory actions. The first time I saw him here, he inquired after my well-being and seemed genuinely interested. Then he buys my body, uses it against my will, and shows little remorse. Then he nurses me back to health, lets me talk to Ginny, shows himself caring but cold. And now the thing with the Patronus. And in the herb garden. And again, this morning. What does he want? Why doesn't he just say what he wants from me?"

Annoyed, Hermione turned onto her side and wrapped her own arms around herself. Everything he said to her this weekend screamed that he wanted to gain her trust, that he was on Harry's side and needed her as an ally. His actions before, however, spoke a different language. If he was on Harry's side, why had he killed Dumbledore? Why had he betrayed the matter of the Elder Wand? "I'm going round in circles," she cried in frustration, "I've been asking myself these questions for weeks now. Why? Why? Why? What is his motive?"

Suddenly she sat up. A thought flashed through her mind. Was any of this really important? The day before, she had planned to sound him out to find answers, but was that really necessary? Did it matter what his motive was? If he really was pretending to be plotting against Voldemort, why should she care what his motive was. Either he was serious, which would be good for her. Or he was not and was perhaps trying to spy on her in this way – which would be irrelevant. She had nothing to hide and she would never betray Draco's secret. He wouldn't be able to take advantage of pretending to be on her side. It was not like anyone would be surprised to find out she hated Voldemort.

She thought furiously, trying to think of all the ways it would harm her to play Snape's game. But apart from disappointed hope in case he did betray her, she found nothing. Only with Draco by her side - who made it clear time and again that he would not take part in any conspiracy - did she have little chance of being able to do anything. But if Snape was serious, if Voldemort's closest confidant really wasn't on his side, there were unimagined possibilities. She would at least give it a try and see what reaction she got when she told him that she trusted him.

"Granger?"

The voice from the corridor outside Snape's room startled Hermione out of her thoughts. She hadn't expected anyone to come looking for her so soon, but obviously Lucius Malfoy wasn't pleased about her absence. With a grim expression on his face and his arms crossed in front of his chest, he leaned into the doorway of the room and looked down at her.

"Was the night with Severus so nice that you can't tear yourself away from his bed?"

Hermione sighed inwardly. She was beginning to get the impression that she was actually awakening something like jealousy in her master. First his anger when he had caught her leaving Draco's room, then yesterday his silent, humiliating inspection of her body after she had spent the night with Snape. She wanted no such feelings from him; after all, they were not a loving couple who occasionally argued over trivialities, but master and slave. It was nice to find comfort in him, but that was as far as either of them could go in this relationship. She knew that he was physically attracted to her, which gave her a secret feeling of power, but anything beyond physical attraction would make her life too complicated.

"On the contrary," she finally replied as unimpressed as possible, "Snape is the last person I would associate the word nice with."

Silently, but still with a cold expression, Lucius stared down at her until she finally stood up and took a few steps towards him. "What do you want from me? Why do I constantly incur your wrath when other men look at me? You sold me to Snape, don't forget that. It's unfair that you get angry with me, when you can't even stop him from taking me to his bed."

At her last words, his gaze suddenly softened. He broke free from his dismissive stance, spread his arms, and embraced Hermione in a tight hug.

"It's all right, my little lioness," he whispered softly, "no need to growl at me like that."

"You never know with snakes," Hermione replied just as quietly, "a lion would do well to show the snake that it knows about its hidden venom, otherwise the snake might get the idea that it can bite from behind."

A humming laugh made the blond man's chest vibrate. "A nice picture. But do you really think this particular snake is hiding its venomous fang from you?"

Surprised, she looked up, gazing straight into his blue eyes. "Doesn't it?"

The look in his eyes frightened her. Comfort and support were the only things they could give each other - surely Lucius Malfoy was aware of that? Before he could answer her question, however, they were interrupted.

"Father? Don't you think it's rude to leave your guest alone at breakfast for so long?"

Relieved, Hermione used the distraction to break free from Malfoy's far too loving embrace. She hurried past the older man and threw Draco a quiet "Thank you!" as she passed before disappearing down the corridor towards the kitchen.

"Are you mad?" Draco demanded angrily of his father, "I don't care, but ... we both know why Snape is here! Do you really think it's a good idea to leave him at breakfast just to look after your slave? What impression do you think that makes on him? Do you really want to encourage him to think that you see her as anything other than a worthless mudblood?"

"If you don't care, son," Lucius replied frostily, "then keep your opinion to yourself next time!"

With these words, he left Draco standing there and marched back to the breakfast room. He ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed. He wished he could really care less, but whatever his father did, if he stirred up mistrust in the Dark Lord, it would inevitably reflect on him, the son.

oOoOoOo

Lost in thought, Hermione sat at her desk in the library and gazed into the air. The morning had already been too exciting for her liking, too many things had been said, too many new insights gained that she had to think about. Until that day, she had assumed that Lucius Malfoy was using her as a means to forget his despair. To put behind him the fact that he had not been in the Dark Lord's good graces since their fifth year, that his wife mistrusted him and had him spied on. And, of course, to satisfy his physical desires. But she was no longer so sure of that. Could it be that this man actually had something like tender feelings for her? That somewhere in his obviously confused mind the idea had arisen that she could give him more than her body and a little comfort?

"Shouldn't you be working?"

Startled, Hermione jumped up from her chair - she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Snape step right behind her. Obviously amused by her reaction, he raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

"I'm working faster than Mr. Malfoy expected anyway, so I can afford to take a short mental break!" she replied defiantly. His only reaction was to raise his eyebrow a little further before shrugging his shoulders and sinking down onto the sofa. Hermione argued with herself for a moment, then walked quickly to the front door of the library, closed it and returned to Snape. He watched her actions with careful disinterest, but when she finally sank down next to him on the sofa, she had his full attention.

"I've been thinking," she opened the conversation.

"That's something new."

She scowled at him, but didn't let his remark upset her any further. "I've decided to give you a chance. If I say that I'm starting to believe that you're on Harry's side and that, if you are, I want to help you - what would you do?"

"I would begin to doubt your sanity," Snape replied impassively, "Where did you get that inane idea?"

Hermione stared at him open-mouthed. Had she misunderstood him? Wasn't that his goal? Wasn't he trying to change her perspective and prove to her through many corners that he was on her side? The room around them began to spin.

"Miss Granger!" Snape admonished in a stern voice as he simultaneously grabbed her by both arms and pulled her close. Unable to break free from her stupor, Hermione just let it happen.

"Listen to me carefully now!" he whispered to her barely audibly, his mouth so close to her ear that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek, "You should be careful what you say out loud within these walls. You can never know when someone is eavesdropping. Don't you realise that? No matter how well protected you feel, someone is always listening."

She nodded wordlessly as she waited tensely for him to reveal himself as an ally after all.

"You are an impressive young woman. I give you credit for finding the courage and strength of will to trust me after everything I've done. You did well. I promise you that I will not betray your trust. I can't promise you that everything will be all right, but I assure you I will do my utmost."

A tremor seized Hermione. "Does that mean you're on our side?"

Smiling, Snape backed away a little and nodded. Nervous and still unsure if she could really trust his words, she returned the smile. She thought she could read something like relief in his gaze, but before she was sure, he already put on the emotionless face again, let go of her and stood up. Just as he was about to leave, he leaned down to her again and whispered softly, "Make sure that none of the people in the house get suspicious. Don't forget, you need to pretend you are still suffering from the trauma I inflicted on you and you hate me."

He had already disappeared from the library when Hermione finally muttered to herself, "I'm not just pretending to suffer from it!"

Dejected, Hermione slumped back onto the sofa. Her heart was racing with excitement, but her mind seemed frozen. She knew she should have been doing a happy dance about the fact that she had found an ally in Severus Snape, of all people, the most influential Death Eater. However, the panic that his every touch still triggered in her, this whirlpool of memories, clouded the joy. A part of her that always proved to be quick-tempered and emotional screamed inside at the thought of having to be alone with this man more often in future. Her mind was overjoyed, but her feelings refused to trust him.