5

Severus sat in water that nearly burned his skin. He curled his knees up, put his forehead on his knees, and cried. He hadn't cried since he was a child. In his head, he knew Hermione's screams had been an act... he hoped to Merlin it had been an act. Her face had been red with tears but hopeful, and she had reached out to him.

Would he ever get past the sight of his hands beating her, leaving the red streaks of blood, and taking her so crudely? He pounded his fist against his temples. Harsh, raw sobs escaped his throat, and then he felt her arms go around him and her hands soft against his back. Her soft words of love and care washed over him.

"Severus, I love you. Please let it go. Let it all go."

He pulled her against him, and she felt the heat of the tub water swirl around her. His mouth sought hers out, kissing her with such tenderness. Their tears ran together on each other's faces. His hands sought out her body, and she closed her eyes so she could just feel the tenderness.

"Hermione, forgive me," he begged.

"Shush, there's nothing to forgive. You have to forgive yourself. You shielded me from the worst. It was an act. I never felt the blows or the... sex." She could not bring herself to use the word rape. They would have to talk about it someday...but not now.

He suddenly pushed her from him and followed her out of the tub.

"I sit here indulging myself in my own pain, and we don't have the time. We must have the device and the potion ready. It must be done now, Hermione." He got his wand and dried and clothed them, and then he got a Pepperup Potion for them both.

"Fancy," Severus called.

Fancy came. Her eyes were big with worry. "Sir, you okay?"

"Yes, Fancy," Severus said, but he really didn't think he was. "Thank you for your help. Fancy, get your army ready. We will go next time I'm summoned."

Fancy's eyes got round, and she started to clap her hands. "I will go immediately." With a pop, she was gone.

Hermione asked, "What was that about? What army?"

"Fancy is quite something more than she allows the average wizard to see." He took her arm and told her all that Fancy had told him about the house-elves.

Hermione felt tears burn her eyes...tears of hope and tears for those lost that might have been helped.

Severus came to her and gave her a tight, quick hug. "They were bound by their oaths before. It is as it has to be. There was no way to free them before."

"We must hurry. The Dark Lord might call us at any minute. If we are ready, we will live; if we are not, we will die. Will you help me?"

Hermione said, "Yes, tell me what to do."

Severus led the way to his lab and then stopped inside the door, saying, "This lab is set up much like the lab at Hogwarts. You have, in the past, organized the shelves. You know the way I arrange things. Go stand at the shelves, and I will tell you want to bring to the work bench."

He took down a cauldron that looked as if it were made out of gold and silver swirled together. The patterns in the cauldron held symbolic runes. Hermione looked at it with envy for a moment before turning. As he named off ingredients, she found them and lined them up on the worktable.

"You always had an excellent hand for potions. You will help me prepare the ingredients," he told her.

Hermione blushed at the high praise. But her eyes still held sadness. Hermione gave him a teary smile.

Pain and memories threatened to overwhelm him again.

"Severus, I'm thinking about Fancy...all that power bound. I'm just sorry for my friends, and I'm sorry for the house-elves. What must it have been like to have their magic bound like that...only able to do their masters' bidding?" She was quiet as he told her what he needed and how each item had to be prepared.

They worked in silence, each in their own thoughts. Severus started to add the ingredients. "Since we planned this to be a quick brew, it should be done within the hour. I have created a small device to deliver the potion. You will wear it on your finger like an upside-down ring. I will throw you at him. When you grovel at his feet, you will have to press it into his foot. The poison is fast acting and should paralyze him in seconds." He stopped to look up at her. "Those seconds could be death, Hermione. He has great power. I will try to shield you from him. I hope to have Fancy and her army stationed around the Death Eaters. They can incapacitate Voldemort's army with their magic. It will have to be perfect timing or our lives will be forfeit."

Hermione gave him the mealworms she had just ground up. "Severus, if we die, we die. The house-elves will continue to fight. I will never regret the time I spent in your arms. If this is our only chance, then we must take it."

"I can think of no other way. If there was a way... Hermione." The pain was clear on his face.

"I know," she said. "Is there any chance of me having a wand?"

Severus looked up at her. "I do not have your wand; he kept it. I do have others as back-ups. A spy never takes just one wand with him. I also have a few I've taken in battle. You can try them all."

Hermione flashed him a brilliant smile that warmed the block of ice that was his heart. Each time she looked at him without condemnation he believed they could get through this. She was acting as if nothing happened, but there would be consequences...of that he was sure. He glanced at her again.

"Thank you, Severus." She stepped close to watch him as he continued to brew the potion. Each ingredient changed the color, and it finally became an inky, black liquid.

"It's done," he said.

"How will we test it?" she asked.

Severus went to the corner and produced a small cage that housed a rat. "This isn't something I normally do, but you're right. We do need to test a small amount. I caught this fellow in my pantry a few weeks ago."

Hermione tried to avoid looking at the animal's eyes. Killing anything innocent was abhorrent to her, but this would have to be done.

Severus took a pin and dipped it into the potion. He incapacitated the rat with an Impedimenta Curse and then pressed the tip of the pin to the animal's foot. Its eyes closed instantly, its body shuddered, and it fell over into a smoking heap.

Hermione had a look of horror on her face. "Oh, God, Severus."

"Yes," his voice was dry and devoid of life.

They got the slides and blood sample and did further tests. It was obvious the potion destroyed the cells. But would its reaction be as fast as they needed it to be?

He turned and pulled a box from a drawer in a small cabinet. He took a ring out and filled the inside well with the potion. You must be very careful with this. You will put it on so the well is under your finger. I will ward the ring's contents and place them under a stasis spell. You need only to press it against his foot, and it will be released through the tiny tip of a needle under it. I will also make it invisible, Hermione. No one will know it's there. Slaves are never adorned."

She nodded, staring at the little ring. It was of the same gold and silver swirls and held the rune patterns as the cauldron. She was going to kill Voldemort. She started to shake, and Severus put the ring down carefully and took her in his arms.

"You can do this, Hermione. You must do this. I will be the first one whose mind he will probe. This must be done seconds after you fall to his feet, or it will be too late. If he touches your mind, he will see our plans."

There was a pop, and they turned to find Arelia looking at them. She was clothed head to toe in a suit-of-armor. She carried a lethal blade, thin and sharp like a rapier. "We are ready, sir. It is but for Fancy to give the command."

Severus knelt to talk to her face to face, and still she was so short that he had to look down on her. He told her about the potion and the ring and asked, "Can you shield Hermione from Voldemort's wrath?"

"I can," she promised. "You as well, sir. I will appear with you, concealed from the Death Eaters' eyes."

Severus was again grateful this little creature was on their side. He wondered how long that would last. Would there be some of her people so bitter that they would want to take over one day? He was going to make certain, if possible, that it didn't happen.

"Arelia, we are done down here, and we will return to the house upstairs. You must stay close. I will have to Apparate you with us, or you would not be able to follow. Will you be able to tell your people where we are?" He placed the ring back in the box and tucked the small box into the inside pocket of his robe.

"Yes, I can communicate through my mind to them." She followed them upstairs, hopping from step to step.

Hermione's mind was heavy with all the things she had learned, and she was thinking along the same lines as Severus. The power of the house-elves was phenomenal, and there could be danger later.

"Fancy," Severus asked, "are you willing to make a meal for us? Hermione is going to try out the wands I have here."

"Of course, sir. I am your housemaid. That does not change. Our people will continue to need work." Fancy went to fix them some food.

In the sitting room, Severus brought out a long box. He set it on the table and opened it. It had wands in it.

"Oh." Hermione flexed her fingers with her anxiety to touch them. She picked up one very carefully.

Severus explained, "Some of them I bought because they felt similar to my wand. Dark wizards, as I said, commanded others. They felt different. Maybe you should try the ones I purchased first."

Hermione stifled a laugh. "Do you realize you, too, are classified as a dark wizard?"

"I am different." He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself.

Hermione turned toward him and touched his face. Her fingers urged him down, and he bent his head and gave him a long, gentle kiss. "I'm sorry, I know you are different, Severus. I cannot imagine life, now, without you."

Those simple words spoken so off-handedly filled his heart.

She turned back and picked up the first wand. She waved it, and it only produced a small puff of smoke from the end. Disappointed, she placed it back on the table and tried the next one.

"It feels so good to have a wand in my hand. It's been only few weeks, and yet with what has happened it feels like years, Severus."

"I'm sorry. I know what you mean in some ways, but I would be happy with years in your company, Hermione," he admitted.

Hermione looked up at him and saw such a tender look. "Do you think it's possible to fall in love in a matter of days, Severus?"

"Of course not," he said, blushing. But he was beginning to believe it was possible.

But she could read the opposite in his face. She smiled up at him.

"Get on with the wand choosing, woman," he said sternly, but he smiled at her. Her simple ability to joke with him made him feel more normal. He let the horror of today slip into the back of his mind. He would concentrate on what they needed to do now.

Hermione picked up another wand. It was cherry wood and beautifully carved. It felt warm in her hand. She waved it, and a soft flow of sparks emitted from the end. She hugged the wand to her and turned to see Severus watching her with an unreadable look on his face.

"You okay with arming me?" she asked.

"Yes." He turned away, proving he trusted her.

She came and touched his arm. "What's wrong then?"

He put his arms around her and held her close. "We are in grave danger. I'm asking you to kill a powerful monster. I'm..."

"...afraid," she finished for him.

"Yes," he admitted. "I should have done this myself years ago, but Albus was so damn certain that it had to be Potter."

"I believed in him, too," she admitted. "I will be okay. I do know how to defend myself," she told him.

"I always thought I would die during the war. Living in the future never occurred to me. I want a Voldemort-free world far more than I ever have, if only to keep you safe. I want to see what life could be for us. It's ruined now. I'm not sure I can get past what I did today."

He could not push the thoughts back into his mind; they kept coming back and battering at his will.

"I can't take the guilt away from you," Hermione said as she pulled Severus close. "I can't convince you with words that I'm okay with what you had to do. I know I didn't see what you did, and I didn't really feel what you did, but I love you Severus, and the only thing that's scaring me to death is the thought of losing you. Get your wand, Severus. Use Legilimency on me. See my mind and my heart. See how much I have grown to love you for saving my life and for trusting me these last two weeks." She grinned into his face. "For giving me the best sex a woman could ever have. Look into my mind and see the truth, Severus. Please, Severus, for me."

Severus' eyes teared up as he stood back and used his wand. Legilimens.

He found Hermione's mind warm and inviting. He saw himself as something different in her thoughts. She saw him as a savior and quite handsome. She felt amazingly cared for and safe with him. She felt euphoric when he made love to her.

"Severus," she said in his mind, "I want to have your babies. Please let me give you babies."

Severus pulled out of her thoughts and stared into her eyes. "What?"

Lisa, thank you for the wonderful Beta work you do for me.

Writermerrin, I do appreciate the time you spend corecting my stories for TPP.