The Begining of the End

He tried to utilize the little wandless magic he was capable of to release himself from the bindings, but it felt as though something was suppressing his magic. He had a brief moment of panic before mentally calming himself, only to nearly jump out of his skin when something, or someone, touched his leg.

"Professor Snape, are you alright?"

The voice sounded familiar. A student, but which one? She wasn't in his line of vision, so he was unable to determine just who she was. He tried to voice his curiosity, but his tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Professor Snape, it's Hermione Granger. Do you know where we are?"

At least that answered his first question but prompted so many more. How had she gotten in here? Maybe he was wrong. Maybe they were not in the cave on the Malfoy property. If that was the case, where were they, and how did they get here? He needed answers.

"Water," he managed to croak.

"The elf left me with a glass, but I don't think I can reach you to give you any."

As she spoke, a glass straw appeared above Severus and dribbled water into his mouth.

"Oh," she said.

Severus was able to catch most of the water. It was not enough to cure his thirst, but it did help. If he ignored the pain, he was able to move his head enough to see the girl. She looked as bad as he felt. Her bushy hair looked as though it hadn't seen a brush in weeks. She had bright purple bruises along her jaw and over her left eye. She was sitting on a bed next to him, wand arm chained to the bed post. He could see red marks on her wrist where she had obviously been pulling against the cuff in an attempt to remove it.

"Are you hurt?" he croaked again. Damn, how was he supposed to convey strength if his voice would not cooperate?

"Nothing that won't heal." Severus hated how the war had affected the children. The wounds that he could see should not be dismissed so easily by someone her age.

"Where are we?"

"A cave on Malfoy's property--," she started to say before Severus interrupted her.

"Lucius' bolt hole? But how did you enter? This cave is under the Fidelius Charm."

"The elf showed me a bit of parchment that said, 'Lucius' secret room is a bell barrow in the far northwest corner of his property in Wiltshire, on the edge of Cranborne Chase'."

Severus realized that what she had read was the slip of parchment on which he had written down the location on for the elf all those years ago. It still did not answer how they came to be there together or why.

"I am assuming we are not guests and are instead prisoners of some kind. Do you know if the Dark Lord or Potter won?"

"I am not sure. The elf that comes here to feed me won't speak to me, and the last thing I remember is looking for Harry on the grounds of Hogwarts. After we saw you and Vol... the Dark Lord in the shack, Harry disappeared to the Headmistresses' office. Ron and I went to find him, but he was gone, so we started searching the grounds for him. I got separated from Ron. I was tired and had a few minor injuries. I remember stumbling and then getting hit by a stunner. When I woke, I was in the Shrieking Shack, I think. That elf made me read the location here and then spelled me back to sleep. The next time I woke up, I was here, in this room. I did not even know that the elf belonged to Malfoy. I have not seen Malfoy since we got here."

"How long ago was that?"

"Five or six days ago." She paused for a moment, trying to gather the courage to ask the question that she had been thinking about since she'd woken up in this room. "Professor Snape, do you think Malfoy is going to kill us?"

Yes, he did, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her that. He didn't think he could handle a hysterical teenage girl while chained to a bed.

Trying his best not to scare her or snap at her, he said as calmly as he could, "I am not sure, but I don't think he has us hidden here so he can invite us to dinner."

She smiled. Not a full smile but enough that he saw a light dance in her eyes that had been absent since he first woke up. She saw right through him and it seemed to lift her spirits. At least with him awake, she did not feel so lonely. He made the decision to be honest with her.

"Miss Granger, Lucius Malfoy is a sadistic bastard. We are in a place that only the three of us and the elf know about. It is warded just as heavily as Grimmauld Place. I am the secret keeper. No one will find us unless Lucius wants them to. I don't know what his plans are, but judging from our condition and the fact we are both restrained, I would imagine that torture is going to be involved."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Treating me like an adult and not lying to me."

"Unfortunately, this war turned you and your friends into adults a long time ago."

"Yes, it did, and since I am an adult, will you call me Hermione."

Severus nodded.

"Professor Snape..."

"Severus. If I am to call you Hermione, you may call me Severus. Besides, I am no longer a professor."

"Severus, I am scared."

"I know. I am as well."

She looked at him and met his eyes looking back at her. He was serious, she could see it.

"But I promise not to let anything happen to you."

"Lucius did not name him. I believe his father, Abraxas, did. Lucius has nothing on Abraxas. Abraxas was very inventive in his torturing of people. Mot was his greatest weapon. Most house-elves have a conscience of some kind. He does not," said Severus, still oblivious to the newcomers.

"Yes, but my father had several more years of practice. I am just beginning to learn the art."

Hermione squealed in surprise as Lucius strolled into view, Mot just behind him. Severus' face grew tight as he schooled his features into a mask of indifference. They hadn't meant for Lucius or Mot to discover how friendly they had become. Severus had a feeling that this knowledge would be used against them. He wasn't wrong.

"Do you recognize this, my pet?" Lucius asked, holding up a vial of purple potion. "You should. You made it. I believe you told me it was one of you best inventions. A potion that would grant total control over the drinker. Just a few drops a month and they will do whatever is asked of them. Brilliant, if you ask me. Did you ever get the chance to test it? No, you wouldn't have, would you? You would not have wanted to subject someone to the torture of it. Such a shame really. I'll tell you what. Why don't we test it now and see just how well it works."

Lucius reached over and pinched the man's nose shut, waiting for his breath to run out. When he finally gasped for breath, Lucius poured the dose down his throat and quickly clamped his mouth shut.

The effect was almost instantaneous. The dark eyes glazed slightly, and his facial muscles began to relax. When Lucius felt that enough time had passed, he ordered Mot to remove the chains. He needed to test it to see if it had worked.

"Sit up."

The dark-haired man did, swinging his long legs to the floor in front of him. Not enough; he really needed to make sure that the toy would obey him completely. Turning to Mot, he said, "Tie the Mudblood to the rack."

Mot quickly complied. Hermione was strung up, with her arms tied at the wrists above her head, her toes barely touching the ground.

"Now, we will see just how well this works. I want you to whip the girl, and I want to see the marks. Do not stop until I tell you to."

Severus looked at Malfoy. He tried to resist, he really did. Hermione looked at him and started to whimper when she saw Severus take the whip. He started to walk towards her, his eyes showing his remorse. He tried to apologize as he walked past her, but the potion would not allow him to.

At the first hit of the whip, Hermione screamed. Inside of his head, Severus screamed along with her. Her screams turned to whimpers after a few minutes. When her legs finally gave out, Lucius ordered him to stop. There was not an inch of flesh that he had not struck. Her back, thighs and calves all had red or bleeding welts across them.

Severus stood there, whip in hand, and watched as the elf untied her and laid her down on her stomach across the bed. A few minutes and several healing potions later, her back was healed. Not even a small scar remained as evidence of the torture he had just inflicted upon the poor girl. Lucius went over to her and Obliviated her. Wiping her mind clear of any memory of what he had just done to her. A small part of Severus wished that the hateful man would Obliviate him as well, but he knew that Lucius would not, if only to torture Severus even more.

Mot arranged the girl on the bed and secured her hands and legs to the posts. Lucius eyed the dark man as he slowly circled him. Since the potion had proven efficacious, Lucius was trying to decide how best to use it.

"On your knees."

Severus fell to the floor, arms to his side.

"I have decided on the best way to get back at you, traitor. A great mind like yours deserves to be wasted. I will control you until I get bored, and then I will kill you. Oh yes, make no mistake, I will be killing you. You see, although this lovely potion of yours forces you to do my bidding, I can see from the look in your eyes that you remain fully aware of what you are doing whilst under its influence. Perfect. You will be forced to remember and relive all of it. I think, in time, it may even break you, though I am not sure how long that will take."

With a nod from Lucius, Mot began to tighten the binds on Hermione's arms and legs until they were stretched painfully to their limits.

"Physical torture, as rewarding as it is, is draining, and though I enjoy it, I think that other forms should be explored. I have recently become interested in psychology. I believe you are familiar with the word, so I won't go into detail on these Muggle beliefs. Some of their theories on how prisoners react to psychological stress are intriguing, and I am going to explore, or in your case, exploit, them for my enjoyment."

Lucius flicked his wand, and the shift that Severus wore disappeared.

"In the few months you have been in my care, I have yet to break either of you. I have never had this much difficulty in breaking someone before. I blame that on being too busy avoiding prison to give the two of you proper attention. That is about to change."

Another flick and Severus' wrists were bound behind his back.

"Seeing how I now have all the time in the world to proceed, I think we will be trying this new approach. It's simple really. While your psychological torment will be remembering, hers will be forgetting. I wonder who will break first."

Another flick and to his horror, Severus found himself getting hard. A silver ring was added to the base of his cock.

"Some say knowledge is power. That may be true. However, knowledge will be your torment and your downfall. The absence of knowledge will be hers. For someone who craves knowledge as she does, I am sure the lack of it will damage her eventually. The power will be mine."

One last flick and his knees were spread open, displaying him to all.

"In the morning, your little companion will be gone, on to her new life in total isolation. You will remain here, in my presence, so that I can control you. We are going to see just how well that control works."

Lucius stood in front of Severus and opened his robes.

"You will pleasure me with your mouth. There will be no teeth and you will not bite down. You will follow my orders, or I will allow the elf to continue to stretch the Mudblood until she rips in half. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Severus was surprised to hear how frail his voice sounded. He had always been able to control his voice and to use it to instill fear in others.

"Open your mouth."

An order, Severus complied. He was determined Hermione would not be tortured because he had not followed orders. He had created the potion, and though Lucius was correct that he had never tested it, there was no doubt in his mind that it would work perfectly. He would be at this man's mercy until the potion wore off. Sometimes he hated his brilliance.

As Severus pleasured the man before him, Lucius fisted his hands into the dark hair. When Lucius was close to reaching his peak, he began to thrust violently into the mouth before him, not caring that the man was gagging with each thrust. Before he reached his completion, he pulled back from the mouth surrounding him to come all over the man's face.

Severus was disgusted. He moved to wipe his face but was unable to do more than squirm, as his hands were bound.

"You were not told to move."

Severus flinched, anger and hatred expressed on his face. He longed to wipe the spunk from his eyes and the bit that was hanging from his nose.

"You allowed yourself to gag and it decreased my pleasure. That was unacceptable. For that, the girl will be punished. Mot, stretch the girl."

Mot snapped his fingers, and the rope drew tighter on Hermione's limbs. Severus could hear her joints popping as she was slowly pulled from the bed by the bindings. Hermione's screams echoed around the room until she passed out from the pain.

When she was suspended above the bed, Lucius ran his hands across her naked abdomen. He stroked her almost lovingly before he plunged three fingers deep inside her. Removing his fingers, he stalked over to Severus and wiped the come from his face before shoving the same three fingers into Severus' mouth.

"Lick them clean."

And he did. He hated how his body reacted to each command before he could even try to fight them.

"Shall I tell you something, Severus?" Lucius did not wait for a reply. "This is a lesson, not unlike the ones you teach to your students at school. There are two parts to this lesson. First, this lesson is about actions and consequences. You displeased me. That was your action. The punishment of the Mudblood was the consequence. Take note. Every time you disobey me, I shall punish her. The harshness will depend on the amount of disobedience. In time, I expect you to obey me without use of the potion, but we will have to wait and see on that.

"From my studies, I have learned that this is called conditioning. A Russian physician discovered the particulars. I am sure this was not what he had envisioned when he commenced his experiments.

"The second lesson has much to do with the first. You see the Russian physician used dogs as his subjects. That is what the two of you are: my dogs. I am teaching you your place in this lesson. I am teaching you what you are, what you were born to be."

Lucius paused in his speech to push Severus' face to the floor. He positioned himself between Severus' spread legs. Without preparing or lubricating him, he thrust viciously into him. Severus screamed at the sudden intrusion and pain. As Lucius continued to thrust into him, the blood slowly began to lubricate him, and the intense pain died a bit. Severus became aware that Lucius had been asking him a question. One his brain seemed unwilling to process through the pain and humiliation.

"What are you?"

Unable to respond, he heard a whimper escape his throat.

"You are my toy, my pet. You like me using you like this, fucking your arse, being ripped in two. You like being my whore. Don't fight it. You will learn to love this. Trust me."

Those were the last words Severus heard before he slipped into oblivion.

When he awoke the next morning, he was bound to his bed. His body ached all over. The feeling of dried cum on his face and dried blood on his thighs made his stomach lurch. He looked over to where Hermione's bed was to find it and the girl gone.

He struggled desperately against the leather straps that had replaced the chains. He was alone. Hermione had been taken to someplace else. He had sworn he would protect her. How could he do that now? During their first few weeks in this place, they had come to know one another. They had spoken of their fears and of their desires. He had come to care for the girl.