It was the strangest summer Severus had ever experienced. Spying on the Dark Lord for Albus, spying on Albus for the Dark Lord, keeping Hermione's identity a secret from everyone and most especially the two aforementioned old men, and plotting the downfall of both of them with her while keeping up appearances as a reluctant babysitter at Grimmauld Place and off-duty Professor.

Hermione, meanwhile, was playing the dutiful if slightly dull friend to the two Gryffindor menaces. From what Severus could see they were completely oblivious to the changes she'd undergone. The twins seemed to seek her out more often though, but that was probably not related to her demonic nature.

With Wormtail out of the way life at Spinner's End became more bearable especially on days when Hermione came to visit. She was still staying at Grimmauld Place mostly but claimed her parents wanted to see her occasionally so she had a bit of freedom. Severus didn't envy her the duplicity and the mental gymnastics of trying to be a teenage girl as a demon of unmentionable age. He wasn't about to ask her age but she was clearly well over seventeen, at least. He had set up his boyhood bedroom for her and officially given her a key. It was strange to live with someone voluntarily and even stranger that it worked so well with her.

Severus also brewed potions for the Order, for the Dark Lord and at least in theory also for his own research, so summer was busier than usual. He set up a station at Grimmauld Place for the Order, cranking out basic healing potions and a few darker ones for interrogation. Hermione had made a good show of asking to be allowed to assist with the brewing and Albus had relented once Severus had asked if the Headmaster could come up with a more suitable assistant.

Brewing for the Dark Lord was trickier. Luckily there hadn't been too many requests yet but Severus needed to make them appear functional while at the same time lessening the effect as far as possible. Veritaserum was one of the potions he brewed correctly. There wasn't any way to dilute the potion without rendering it poisonous and also most people wouldn't be able to withstand interrogation even with the lowest dose of the brew, so lessening the effect wouldn't really matter.

The Dark Lord was building up his power base and trying to recruit people in the Ministry especially. He wasn't yet ready to move into open conflict, but it was simmering under the surface. The Ministry raid had been a failure for him but the overall damage had been limited. Fudge had suppressed any mention of the Dark Lord being back, forcing the Prophet to not write a single word about the attack, a few Death Eaters were thrown in Azkaban but the general public didn't know anything about the events.

A week or so after Wormtail's capture they were sitting in the library at Grimmauld Place, a room none of the others ever visited voluntarily when he was there, and plotting. Hermione wanted to go after Death Eaters while Severus urged caution. The Dark Lord hadn't said much about losing Wormtail, at least not in Severus' presence, but if all of the Inner Circle started to drop off there would be Words. Severus didn't like Words, not when they were spoken by the Dark Lord at the very least. They were usually painful.

Hermione put her teacup down on the side table. "Fine, so we wait a little with the Death Eaters. Not too long though. Let's go pay Lucius Malfoy a visit first, shall we?"

"It shall be done," Severus intoned and bowed his head.

~ x ~ xx ~ oo ~ xx ~ x ~

One day when Severus arrived for yet another Order meeting Molly intercepted him in the hallway and practically dragged him into the kitchen.

"Severus! Haven't you heard? Sirius is free! We're celebrating tonight!"

"Oh joy," he drawled, wondering when he could escape.

He took his place in the corner where he could observe the comings and goings of everyone while staying out of the spotlight. Molly was bustling around doing at least five things at the same time while keeping her unruly brood more or less under control. Hermione and Miss Weasley were roped in to help with the salad and drinks while Weasley Junior was tasked with setting the table. The Twins were banished as far away as possible, as was Tonks but with a slightly nicer excuse.

Albus showed up a while later to lead the meeting. He seemed a bit distracted and didn't twinkle as much as usual unless someone talked to him directly. The meeting was much shorter than usual. Severus reported on the latest developments among the Death Eaters, Kingsley talked about dissension among the Aurors and Moody was complaining about other Ministry departments making life harder than it should be.

The meeting had almost finished when Albus confirmed what most of the room already knew, that Sirius Black was now a free man and cleared of all charges against him for the involvement in the murders of twelve Muggles when the Dark Lord fell. Severus did take some pleasure in that the man wouldn't receive anything from the Ministry for the false incarceration as apparently that went against all the principles of the Wizengamot and would have set a bad precedent for other falsely imprisoned individuals. He would get the Wizengamot seat back though, and was welcome to work as an Auror again should he wish to.

The room erupted, predictably, into cheers and then chaos descended as the doors were opened to allow also the miscreants lurking upstairs to join, and Molly started handing out plates of food with the help of Kreacher. Severus snatched some pie and a pint of ale and retreated as soon as he was able to the library. It didn't take long for Hermione to join him with a plate of her own and two bowls of Molly's chocolate mousse for dessert.

"Does it count if the dog doesn't know he's in your debt for freeing him?" Severus asked idly and licked his spoon. The mousse was excellent.

"It does to me," Hermione said. "He'll notice if he tries to go against it."

Severus shrugged and turned a page in his book. It would be interesting to see what came out of ensuring Black's freedom, not that the Marauder had earned it. Of the four Gryffindor tormentors of his childhood, Black was probably the worst. The most reckless, the one with the most cruel ideas, the one who charmed everyone else and made them think his actions were justified. Lupin was a coward, Pettigrew was smart but completely disregarded, lacking both charm and money, and Potter was the one who did at least a little bit of consequence analysis even if it seldom led to them abandoning their hare-brained ideas.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~oo~

He took the opportunity to talk to Lucius during their next soiree at Lestrange Manor when they were celebrating something related to the Ministry and some minor officials who definitely weren't Death Eater sympathisers which they loudly declared to whoever would listen. The Dark Lord was there, hidden away in one of the private studies like a badly disguised secret which naturally everyone knew about but no one would speak of. A couple of Charmed instruments were playing in a corner, gradually going out of sync, and the elves — borrowed from other Pure-blood estates as the Lestranges only had two elves left — were popping in and out with trays of food and drinks.

Severus spent a couple of hours mingling, bored out of his skull and doing his best not to appear too eager to eavesdrop on people. For some reason he usually got the best results if he appeared disinterested, as if the other Death Eaters wanted to prove him wrong by providing him with interesting information. So he learned about the latest ideas for Muggle-born registration, wand control and Floo network regulations without even trying.

A suitable amount of time later, when most of the guests were rather drunk, he sought out Lucius who nodded at him and told him to skip the dessert if he wanted to spend tomorrow in locations other than a bathroom. Apparently the elves were rebelling in their own way. When Severus inquired about Draco, Lucius said that he had been sent to stay with a cousin in Nice for the summer, "to enjoy a better climate" as the blond wizard said with an eyebrow raised. Severus nodded, clearly getting the message about the political climate as well as the weather.

~ x ~ xx ~ oo ~ xx ~ x ~

A few days later Severus escorted Hermione Granger to Malfoy Manor. She didn't say anything as a sour elf in Malfoy livery materialised to open the gates and asked if they would walk up to the Manor or wanted to be moved. Severus looked at Hermione and then shooed the elf off and offered her his arm. She wore a bright green Muggle summer dress while he had his usual black slacks and a white long-sleeved shirt under his summer cloak. Cooling charms were among the Magical world's best inventions, he had long since decided. They walked up the gravel path in silence looking at the immaculately manicured lawn, the labyrinthine hedges and the white peacocks strutting about as if they owned the place. Malfoy Manor was a beautiful place but there was still an air of wrongness around it, as if no one was ever allowed to be happy inside the large building.

A short while later they made it to the drawing room where Lucius would receive them. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling, barely illuminating the dark and heavy furniture and the deep red wallpaper. It wasn't a very inviting room, all in all. There was a Floo fireplace in one corner and a large painting of a pastoral landscape, currently uninhabited, opposite the windows.

Lucius appeared from one of the interior doors, took one look at Granger and promptly fell to his knees.

"Oh Great Demon, please don't eat me. My faults are many and numerous. I cheated at Gobstones at Hogwarts and made a first-year Hufflepuff cry. I made Slughorn overlook my lack of essays in Potions class."

Hermione glared at Severus and stalked over to Malfoy who by now had slumped forward with his forehead almost touching the floor and was still continuing the accounting of his sins. She let her features change and shift, letting her face become more demon-like with horns and all and her tail whipped across the floor like an angry cat.

"Forgive me my sins, oh Great Demon," Lucius continued on. "I have sought dishonourable advantages in trades. I have betrayed my allies in business, seeking to take all wealth for myself. I have been rude to my House-elves. I have cast lustful gazes at other women when my wife looked the other way. I have hurt Muggles and others on the Dark Lord's orders…"

Hermione's tail snaked out and yanked him up by the hair.

"… and I stole cookies from my Nan when I was five," Lucius continued. He trailed off when his eyes met Hermione's. She was clearly unimpressed.

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, you have interfered with my Contract," Hermione said icily. "Plus you tried to kill my friends. And myself. And your son is a bit of a brat."

The man tried to nod but didn't really succeed, still held up by his hair.

"Put him down, would you?" Severus drawled. "And please keep your mouth shut, Lucius."

"I'm a demon, not a priestess in a temple, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. I do not care for your sins." Hermione untangled her tail and dropped the wizard who slumped down on the floor in an ungainly heap.

"You will not speak about this to anyone who doesn't know about it already," Severus warned. "I'm afraid we need a Vow for it."

Some time later when Lucius had cleaned himself up a bit and regained a tiny bit of dignity they settled in the Master's study with a tray of assorted canapés and a bottle of red. Lucius shrugged at the random spread and claimed the House-elves were practising their French cooking skills for the next soiree Narcissa was planning.

"How come you recognised Hermione as anything but Draco's classmate?"

Lucius raised an impeccable eyebrow. "My father made plenty of deals with demons when I was a child. After a while I learned to identify them, perhaps it was their scent or something in their magical signature, I'm not sure exactly. It helped me not get eaten by them the way Father did. We said it was dragon pox but…" He shrugged and took a sip of his glass before taking a deep breath and facing Hermione again. "I owe you retribution for the Ministry. Name your price so that we may negotiate."

"Yes, you do, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. You can pay me in information when I request it."

Lucius fell silent for a while.

"That is acceptable as long as the information you require or its method of delivery doesn't put my family, business interests or home at risk, and the request for payment will be void once Draco has left Hogwarts."

"Left as in graduated? What if you pull him out early, or he gets expelled?" Hermione leaned forward a bit, a slight smile on her lips.

"I do intend to let him stay for another two years to sit his NEWTs, so let's make it two years then from today's date."

It appeared to Severus as if both demon and businessman were in their elements, negotiating terms. He looked between them with some amusement. They were mirroring each other's positions and both of them were grinning slightly. He suspected neither of them were aware of how similar they appeared.

"Noted. I cannot accept protecting your business interests. That would negate nearly all requests for information. And as for 'home' the definition will only include Malfoy Manor and its environs, not any other holdings."

Lucius shrugged. "It was worth a try. I accept those terms."

"Deal."

Hermione slit the pad of her right thumb with a long claw-like nail and waited until Lucius had done the same with a small pen knife, then clasped his hand to seal the deal, letting their mingled blood fall in droplets on the floor where they caught fire and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Lucius winced but didn't falter although he looked a bit green around the edges when she released him.

He took a deep breath and seemed to refocus. "I will have words with Draco regarding his behaviour but I do not keep secrets from my wife on pain of sleeping in the peacock barn for a month. Could I ask you to reconsider and bring in Narcissa? She worries for Draco, but this changes everything."

"You will go against your so-called Lord but not your wife?"

Lucius shrugged again, and Hermione nodded and looked rather pleased.

"It is as it should be, then. Bring in Narcissa Black Malfoy."

A house-elf was dispatched to send for the Lady of the Manor and they settled in to wait a suitable amount of time. Severus was almost impressed by the way the Malfoys integrated Pure-blood etiquette rules into their daily lives almost without thought, but it also seemed completely exhausting. A Lady of the House should appear to be deferring to the Lord but in practice the household was run by her, with day-to-day business handled by the House-elves under her supervision.

Narcissa froze in the doorway at the sight of Severus, her husband, and a demon drinking wine together. She caught on quickly though and dropped a curtsy towards Hermione before sitting down next to her husband. A glass materialised in front of her and her husband poured her some wine.

Hermione straightened and put her glass down. "Narcissa Black Malfoy. You may call me Hermione."

Narcissa exhaled slowly. "I see. Have you come to call in a debt? I have no contracts with your kind, as far as I'm aware."

"No. While Lucius Abraxas Malfoy has to make up for his poor judgement and sins, you do not."

Narcissa was quiet, looking at them all. Severus waited to see what would happen.

"Now I see. You're planning to take down the Dark Lord. And you want to negotiate our cooperation." Narcissa sipped her wine.

Hermione bowed her head slightly but waited for Narcissa to continue.

"You have my silence. All I ask for in return is that you keep my Draco safe."

Hermione rose from her chair and stepped closer to Narcissa who also rose from her seat, facing the demon. "I cannot promise his safety. He's a teenage boy after all and they sometimes let their own stupidity run away with them."

Narcissa tilted her head. "Name your price and I shall determine if it is worth the cost. For as long as he attends Hogwarts as a student."

"Cissy, no!" Lucius tried to protest but fell silent when his wife glowered at him.

"Or until the fall of your Dark Lord? Are you willing to wager on that?" Hermione's eyes gleamed.

Narcissa appeared to think about it. "No. He is his own wizard once he graduates."

"I will not accept your Contract, Narcissa Black Malfoy. I am bound by another. However, I can broker a deal with one of my allies and ensure all your terms are met and met fairly."

"I need my son safe. If it weren't for sending him to France this summer he would have been Marked already as punishment for his father's poor performance. He's only sixteen, my Lady."

Lucius inhaled as if to protest his wife's allegations but then thought better of it. Narcissa and Hermione both looked at him, their expressions and postures completely mirrored with a hand on a hip and their heads tilted.

Narcissa turned to face Hermione again. "You will need to Obliviate my husband, I fear. Or put a memory block on him to hide any dealings with demons. I'm not in as much danger of being interrogated as I'm not one of them, and I do know Occlumency. I will keep your secrets safe as long as my son is safe."

Hermione went over to stand in front of Lucius who had risen from his seat. She gripped his jaw with one hand and put a sharp claw by his temple, staring into his eyes. Lucius' eyes went unfocused and Hermione gently let him down onto the couch again, unconscious or sleeping.

"All done. He'll wake in an hour. He will remember the deal he has with me, but not exactly why. Lead the way?"

Narcissa nodded and swept out of the room without looking back, certain they would follow her. Hermione went first, followed by Severus.

They went down to the dungeons via a stairwell near the kitchen. Severus had never been there before and took note of the wine cellar and the larder when Narcissa pointed them out. Apparently there was also a storage room for clothes and several unused rooms full of furniture.

They went through another heavy oak door. The Manor was large but these parts were older and rougher than the parts upstairs. They were in a corridor with small cells, clearly meant for enemies, but Narcissa claimed they weren't in use at the moment.

Narcissa opened yet another door and held it open for them to enter before her. It was a large stone room with eight rough stone pillars forming a circle of sorts. Old-fashioned torches flared to life as they entered, casting the room in a rather eerie glow.

Hermione strode into the middle of the room and got to work, gesturing at Narcissa to stand beside her while Severus waited behind the pillars near the door. There was a circle with a pentagram inside carved into the stone floor already which lit up in a faint purple when Hermione let a drop of blood fall into the groove. She inspected the perimeter, scratched a few things around the edge with her claw-like nail and then went to stand next to Narcissa just outside the circle.

Instead of chanting something elaborate she simply stomped her foot three times against the floor and waited.

After a while three thumps could be heard from deep below the floor. It resonated through the whole chamber and Severus could feel it all the way up in his chest. It sounded ominous, eerie.

Hermione stomped again, thrice.

The three thumps were closer now and much stronger.

She stomped once again and waited, pulling Narcissa closer to her with a wing around the shoulder.

The stones in the circle erupted without warning as something emerged from the Underworld. It was a mass of claws and teeth and black wings. Purple fumes filled the room along with a strong stench of sulphur and pine. The demon in question said something and it sounded like it was speaking through an oil drum and grating rocks the size of small boulders at the same time, in a language Severus didn't recognise.

"Hello, Ammit," Hermione said with a completely normal voice. "It's been a while."

It refocused its eyes on the two people standing just outside the circle and all of a sudden the fumes died down and most of the claws and darkness fell away.

"Oh, hi Hermione. Good to see you, I didn't expect you to call." The demon now looked much more similar to Hermione, with mostly human features aside from the wings and the horns and two tusks protruding from her lower jaw. Her skin was a deep olive brown while her wings were brown and her hair black and elaborately braided. There was something vaguely Egyptian about her, wings and all. She wore a short brown linen tunic and old-fashioned sandals with leather strips laced all the way up her calves.

"I have a potential Contract available and thought of you first. Would you be interested?"

The demon put her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly. "You want me to take one of your Contracts? I'm flattered. Spill!"

The haggling began in earnest. Severus was rather impressed with Narcissa who seemed to know exactly what to say and what not to say when in the presence of two demons. It didn't take them too long to reach an agreement which was sealed with a drop of blood from Narcissa and a handshake. The other demon left in a pillar of smoke, Hermione waving good-bye as if she was seeing someone off from a train platform.

Narcissa escorted them out the back entrance and guided them to the Apparition point before returning to the Castle and her now unsuspecting husband.

Hermione was practically bouncing with excitement as Severus took them Side-Along back to Spinner's End.

"That went reasonably well," he commented as they were back in his much more humble dwellings. Malfoy Manor always made him feel inferior and it took a while to shake the feeling. He went to put the kettle on, tea usually helped. Elf-made tea was never quite as good as his own.

"Yes. The Contract is good, Ammit will guard Draco without him noticing and Narcissa will honour her end of the deal. And I'm gaining plenty of moira from it."

"And Lucius will behave."

She nodded. "He should. He won't have any knowledge of Narcissa's Contract and his memory of me as a demon will be hazy, so don't talk to him about me if you can avoid it as that might trigger some of his memories to resurface. He will honour my terms and provide us with information, but probably think it is related to something else, maybe a life debt. It's a bit hard to say what his mind will use to fill in the gaps."

"Noted."

Severus handed Hermione a cup and settled in his preferred armchair with the latest issue of Potions Monthly. The game was changing, and for once he was in the loop. The two old men in their respective lair would not know what hit them before it was too late, now that Hermione was in the game. For once he was almost looking forward to the new school year.