2

Snape scanned the room, but besides Greyback - who was salivating in a corner - there wasn't any sign of other participants, nor of the other two-thirds of the trio. He looked down at Miss Granger, who had apparently lost consciousness, and frowned.

"What part of the Dark Lord's instructions did you not understand, Bellatrix?" Snape asked, trying not to flinch as Granger's body continued convulsing with aftershocks. "And do not tell me that you weren't at that meeting."

"I don't know what you mean, Severus," Bella responded, her tone light and as innocent as she could make it, while her eyes snapped at him angrily. He could sense the fear in her, though. He decided to tread carefully as she was as unpredictable as a cornered cat.

"The Dark Lord ordered everyone, you included, to treat my gift with care. I don't think even you, Bella, could say the Cruciatus Curse could be termed as 'care'."

"Your gift?" Bella said, her tone still light. She looked down at the girl lying huddled on the floor, and gasped. "You mean that is Hermione Granger?"

Severus sneered, then raised his hands for a slow, mocking clap. "Bravo. I didn't realize you had acting ambitions. Perhaps you and your family could put on a show one of these days. I'm sure the Dark Lord would be... interested to see such skills in his ranks."

Bella dropped the act with a sneer. Snape smirked.

"So, perhaps you'll tell me what is going on? And where are Miss Granger's friends?"

Draco made a noise, but turned it into a cough when everyone in the room looked at him, Bella with a death glare. Snape raised his eyebrow as he observed their behavior, and a sense of unease started niggling at him.

"Well?"

Bella turned to him with her glare still on. "Miss Granger," she said mockingly, "was brought in by herself, wasn't she, Greyback?"

Greyback nodded warily.

Snape made a noise of disbelief. "You had her all to yourself and didn't give in to temptation? That was very controlled of you."

Greyback growled something before muttering, "As you said, the Dark Lord forbade it."

Snape smiled cruelly. "Yes, he did. And it's good to know that word got round to the underlings."

He looked around at the group and knew they were hiding something, but it was clear they were not going to say any more to him; he had displaced them in status. Draco was fidgeting, though, so he made a mental note to talk with him once school was back in session. If the boy's memory wasn't wiped, he could possibly be persuaded to tell something closer to the truth.

"Well, I will be taking Miss Granger off your hands now as I see she has been such a burden to you. Perhaps next time you come across something of mine, you will ask before playing with it."

He raised his wand to lift Granger when there was a loud crack from the cellar. Everyone looked at each other, startled.

"What was that?" Snape asked immediately, his eyes darting from one person to the next. They all fidgeted. "What is in the cellar, Lucius?"

Lucius looked rather worried. "Besides the Dark Lord's prisoners, nothing." He looked to his son. "Draco, send Wormtail down to investigate." Draco ran from the room, looking more relieved to be leaving the room than worried about the reason why.

Snape looked around at them suspiciously, but just as he was about to start questioning them more thoroughly, a sound from the floor drew his attention. Miss Granger was curling up into the fetal position and had started retching. Snape went over to investigate and scowled when he noticed blood in the vomit.

He glared up at Bella ferociously. "What did you do to her?"

Bella shrugged with a false smile which only aggravated Snape further. He physically picked Granger up and stormed to the door where he paused long enough to snap, "I shall return to... discuss your transgressions," before striding out of the house.

Once he was outside the gates, he Apparated to his sitting room and laid Granger down on the threadbare sofa. He quickly performed a few diagnostic spells and healed the internal bleeding caused, undoubtedly, by one of Bellatrix's kicks. When he'd done all he could to ensure her continued survival, he stepped back and looked at her, unsure of how to proceed.

Whatever he was going to do, he needed to do soon, however, as he would bet the contents of his vault that Potter and Weasley were with Granger when she was captured. That Bellatrix or Lucius hadn't called the Dark Lord was unexpected and more than a little worrisome.

He reluctantly took a small bottle of Veritaserum out of his coat pocket and forced Granger's mouth open. He let one drop of the clear liquid fall onto her tongue then returned the bottle to his pocket. Taking a deep breath and restoring his teacher's mask, he cast the spell to force her awake. She groaned and squirmed a little on the sofa. It took only three seconds for her to freeze and her eyes to pop open.

"Good evening, Miss Granger," Snape intoned, standing across the room from her. "I assume you are feeling better?" Granger, still frozen on the sofa looking terrified, nodded slowly. "Good. I need you to tell me where Potter is."

Her face hardened immediately, but her eyes belied her still unfocused state so he bit back his immediate desire to yell at her. "I assume that your friends were with you when you were captured, is that not so?"

She continued to look at him hatefully. He rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling in a show of exasperation. "For God's sake, girl, Expecto Patronum!" A silver doe shot out of his wand and walked toward Miss Granger curiously. Granger stared at the doe, entranced, before looking wide-eyed at Snape, her face starting to slacken in amazement and relief.

Before she could say anything, though, Snape stepped forward, banishing the patronus as he did. "Now, I need to know, where is Potter?"

"In the cellar with Ron, Dean and Griphook," she croaked out, her voice sounding hoarse and painful.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, making her jump in surprise. He quietly snorted; she probably hadn't thought he was capable of swearing. Turning his mind back to the matter at hand, he asked, "Why were they torturing you? Why did they not call the Dark Lord immediately?"

Granger opened her mouth to talk, but only made a low croaking noise. He impatiently waved his wand, conjuring a glass and filling it with water. She sat up and nodded her thanks when he handed it to her and then began taking tentative sips.

"They saw the sword, and Bellatrix went mad. She kept saying something about it being a serious problem and how they were in danger. She thought we had got into her vault."

Snape's eyebrows rose. "Indeed?"

She nodded. "I told her the sword was a copy, and we'd just found it, but she didn't believe me."

Snape stared at her hard, impressed despite himself by the girl's resolve. He was just about to ask about the sword when she said, "I'm wondering if one of the Horcruxes is in the vault."

He frowned, the term ringing some distant bell in his memory. "Horcruxes?"

She looked at him, appalled, slapping her hands over her mouth. After a moment, she lowered her hands but still looked shocked and terrified. "Professor Dumbledore didn't tell you about the Horcruxes?"

"What are they, Miss Granger?" Snape growled, getting more annoyed by the moment.

She hesitated, looking very nervous for a moment before the trepidation disappeared and was replaced by resolve. She even sat a little straighter.

"Soul fragments. Vo-- You-Know-Who split his soul and stored them in objects. Harry can't even confront Vo...him until all of them have been found and destroyed."

Snape reeled back. This was what Albus had refused to tell him? And yet he trusted this information to Potter of the Open Mind?

"Destroyed, you say?" he asked faintly, still shocked.

"Yes. We've found and destroyed the locket, but we have no idea where Hufflepuff's cup might be, or even what You-Know-Who might have used of Ravenclaw's. So, maybe one of those is in Bellatrix's vault."

Snape stared at her, wide-eyed and pale. "How many Horcurxes are there?"

She bit her lip. "Well, Dumbledore thought there were seven. And he seems to be using relics as the holders, with the main focus on the Founders, except for Nagini and Riddle's diary. So there was Slytherin's locket, Slytherin's ring, Hufflepuff's cup..." she said, ticking them off on her fingers. "That leaves something of Ravenclaw's and something of Gryffindor's, except there are only two relics of Gryffindor's, and neither of them is a Horcrux, so we don't know if Voldemort succeeded there."

Snape started laughing. Everything now made sense to him. If ever he'd doubted that the Fates had a sense of humor, he doubted it no longer. He wondered if Potter would have been sorted into Gryffindor even without the soul fragment in his forehead.

When he finally regained control of himself, Granger was staring at him warily. Any lingering trace of humor faded away as the situation became clearer than it had before.

"I need to return to the manor. You will stay here." He conjured a blanket and tossed it to her. "I suspect you will want to rest."

He strode to the door, but stopped when her small voice called out, "Professor?" He turned to look around and found her clutching the blanket, staring at him with huge, scared eyes. She looked very young and very small, and not at all capable of withstanding torture.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then said, "Be safe."

He nodded and stepped out, quickly protecting his house and his mind before Apparating back to the Manor.

*

Hurrying up the path to Malfoy Manor, he was unsure what exactly he would do if he found Potter and Weasley there. He cursed Potter for having his luck run out at this point in the war. It was very, very poorly timed irony. He was also thinking of what he could do to keep the information he had gained from Miss Granger from reaching the Dark Lord. If Voldemort chose to use her for information, Potter's mission would be doomed. And it seemed inevitable that the Dark Lord would look into her mind once he found out she was in Snape's possession.

Of course, if the Dark Lord had possession of Potter, then the point would be moot, and all would be lost anyway.

Frowning, he lengthened his stride once more, moving up the hill as fast as he could without actually running.

The doors opened reluctantly as he approached, and he reached the drawing room doorway just in time to see Weasley jump up and stagger a few feet in front of Potter. Half a second later, Potter, a house-elf and a lump draped across Potter's shoulder that looked suspiciously like a goblin all disappeared with a deafening crack.

Severus watched everyone in the room as they stared, completely shocked, at the spot Potter had been standing. Snape didn't know whether he was more relieved, amused or annoyed that Potter's luck had held once more. Looking back at the broken chandelier, he saw that while Potter's luck had held, Weasley's hadn't.

"What is going on here?" he asked, directing attention away from Weasley. He was definitely amused when everyone, including Bella, jumped at the sound of his voice.

They looked around at each other, fear blossoming in all of their faces. "I don't believe my eyes were deceiving me. I do believe that was Potter who just Disapparated out of here." The discomfort level in the room increased significantly. "And that leads me to wonder several things."

He walked toward Bellatrix who was still looking at the place where Potter had been standing with fury and fear and disbelief etched on her frozen face.

"Tell me, Bella, why you refrained from telling me when I was here last that Potter and Weasley were among the prisoners in your keep?" He turned his attention to Lucius. "Tell me, old friend, why you didn't immediately summon the Dark Lord? I know he would be here already if you had summoned him when you summoned me." A look of confusion crossed Lucius' face, telling Snape that Lucius hadn't been the one to send him the note. Snape's eye flicked to Draco and, catching the tension of the boy, returned his gaze to Lucius after glancing at Narcissa and Bellatrix first in the hopes of deflecting attention from the boy. "Tell me why you, all of you, permitted my gift to be tossed about and abused against the direct orders of the Dark Lord?"

He stepped up close to Bellatrix's back and stage whispered into her ear, "You know how the Dark Lord feels about his orders not being followed."

Bellatrix shivered and snapped out of her shocked daze to look at Snape resentfully, though Snape could see that she was also very, very scared. She licked her dry lips and swallowed before saying anything.

"They surprised us. We didn't lie to you. They showed up moments after you left, looking for the Mudblood."

Snape raised his eyebrow in disbelief, though mostly at his luck. It was a perfect story. He could modify Miss Granger's memory, and, with the corroboration of the Malfoys, the Dark Lord wouldn't look too closely. The Dark Lord was too arrogant to be very paranoid, and even if paranoia did cross his mind, Snape didn't think he would ever believe that he and Bellatrix would work together to deceive him.

"A likely story," he said quoting Bellatrix's earlier words. "One that I'm sure Greyback will be able to confirm should the Dark Lord not believe you?"

Bellatrix's face lost the sharper edges of fear as outrage took its place. "Why should the Dark Lord doubt me? I have been his most faithful servant--"

"Since you were born, yes, I know, Bellatrix," Snape interrupted in a bored tone. "But even you must realize that you are out of favor at the moment? Perhaps he does not see you as his most faithful servant any longer?"

Bellatrix's face contorted in rage, and Snape smirked. He loved baiting her.

Before she could say anything, though, Narcissa cut into the conversation. "It's true, Severus! That noise in the cellar was Potter and the Weasley boy Apparating in. They received help from our former house-elf, Dobby." She looked as if she had something foul smelling under her nose, she looked so disgusted at repeating the house-elf's name.

Severus turned to her, raising his eyebrow again, though this time not in disbelief. He was impressed, really, that Narcissa was able to cobble together such a convincing story on such short notice. If he hadn't talked with Miss Granger, he would have believed her.

He stepped back from Bellatrix, but nodded in Narcissa's direction.

"As you say. However, all of your behavior has been less than honest since I first arrived to claim my prize."

His eyes fell on Weasley, who lay as still as death. He didn't know whether the boy was alive or not, but it felt wrong to leave him there.

"I suggest you take the time to clean up and... think over the events of tonight before the Dark Lord comes visiting. I will tell him what you've told me when next I see him."

Bellatrix looked mutinous, but Lucius and Narcissa nodded in appreciation of the warning.

"We await the Dark Lord's return with anticipation," Narcissa returned, making Severus smile. Anticipation, indeed.

He nodded, then lifted Ron's body using Mobilicorpus. Bella made a noise of protest, at which Snape raised an eyebrow.

"None of you are exactly known for your prowess in bringing people back from the brink of death."

"Back!" Bella shrieked. "Why would you want him alive?"

Snape gave her a pitying stare. "Information, Bellatrix. Potter's disappeared, yet again, but it is possible that perhaps this boy knows where to find him. If you are very lucky, I will be able to bring him 'round long enough for him to..." Snape paused to look down at Ron's bloody form, and the dagger's hilt sticking out of his midsection. His mouth formed something that could have been a grimace or a wry smile as he continued, "...to spill his guts in a more useful fashion."

"You just want the glory of handing over the boy and getting all of our lord's praise," she hissed.

Snape snorted softly. "Yes, you would think that, wouldn't you?" he responded, looking at her and biting his tongue to keep any more of that thought from spilling out.

He waved his wand, and Ron's body obediently floated out the door. Snape and Bellatrix shared one last glare, and then Snape deliberately turned his back and walked out the door. He felt confident that Lucius would curb Bellatrix's more ruthless desires, if only because it was rather gauche to hex one's friend.

Severus took ten steps from the front door, then grabbed Ron's wrist, feeling for a pulse. The boy's condition looked very bad, but he was still alive, according to the faint rhythm he found. Lowering Weasley to the ground, he gently, very carefully, removed the knife from his abdomen, wincing at the amount of blood the boy had lost already.

Knowing that time was of the essence, he grabbed the boy's arm and Apparated back to Spinner's End.