Chapter 15

A/N: Again, much thanks to Shellsnapeluver and to all who read and review. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

***

Life was no longer the same for Hermione Granger. She was loved and was wanted. That morning as she had readied herself for classes, she stood naked in front of the mirror, gazing at her body. The words Severus had said to her that horrible night rang in her head and tried to force her to feel badly, but she refused to let them take over.

She looked less critically at herself as she used to, before Ron, Viktor and Severus had hurt her. She knew now there was a man who wanted her body, and it made her feel validated as a woman. But instead of feeling happy, she frowned. She wanted to validate herself.

As she looked at her own reflection, she knew that it all had been building to this. The hurts of so many years, the reckless exposure of her heart and feelings to all and sundry had been her fault. Who had she been before it mattered what the other sex thought? Hermione knew she would have to accept herself before she could give herself to anyone. After all, if she didn't know who she was or didn't even like who she was, she would be giving away a nameless mass that was nothing until Severus named it.

It was hard to think about all of this at once, but one thing she had decided as she stepped in the shower was that hurting herself wasn't the answer anymore. Caring and craving for acceptance from everyone around her wasn't the answer either. She couldn't find solace in Severus alone. It wasn't okay to just bury her head into his lap when she felt unworthy, telling herself that it was okay because Severus wanted her.

By the time she had stepped out of the shower, Hermione had a new plan.

She was Hermione Granger.

And Hermione Granger was many things...most of all, she was intelligent, and it was about time to use her brilliance to discover all her other attributes and accept them, good and bad. Yes. She could do that.

And while she worked on her own self, she would allow Severus to court and seduce her with the promise to herself that she would not allow him to bed her until she fully knew whom she was giving him.

***

The morning brought Ginny terror and fear. A nightmare had plagued her...the Tom she had known was gone. Voldemort was coming for her...a repulsive serpent being that chilled her blood. In her nightmare, he had been violently angry and sworn his revenge.

"You lying blood traitor!" he hissed in her ear as he descended over her. "You think that you could walk away from me? You are MINE! I shall have what is due me. You shall give me heirs; give me yourself. There is no escaping it. We are already one in mind. Since you were a child and I placed my powers inside you and possessed you to do my bidding, you have been MINE."

He squeezed her breasts until she cried out in pain. Tears ran down her face, and he licked them off with his snake-like tongue. "That's right, Ginevra. Your pain is my pleasure. What a fine match we are. Now don't whimper. You don't want to become tiresome to me. Just keep fighting, keep resisting. It will keep you alive. Not that anyone else would have you. You are far too tainted, too sullied. Ever since you were a little girl when you first came upon me, you have been marked. If it weren't for me, you would have no one want you. Potter only pretends to desire you because of ME..."

Ginny sat in the corner of her room, hugging her legs as she remembered her vivid nightmare. She was petrified in her fear. She had no choice...she had to go with him when he came for her.

***

Dumbledore and the whole Advance Guard of the Order were in his office.

"My friends," he began. "Harry and I have finished the task set for us. All that stands in our way will be the final two Horcruxes. We will be going to Lestrange Manor where the one Horcrux lies hidden. Voldemort will come for us then. We must destroy the snake that is his familiar, and it shall be finished. Voldemort will become Tom once again...a mortal being. Then Harry shall fulfill the Prophecy."

"How can we be sure he will come to us?" asked Kingsley.

Dumbledore looked at Harry for a moment and looked back at the rest of them. "He will come because Ginny Weasley will be there. She is what he covets. He has already found her out. The security of the final two Horcruxes are weighing heavily on his mind. His rage over Ginny's betrayal is great. He came to her last night and has terrorized her. I felt his presence seep into the walls. Hogwarts is no longer safe as long as Ginny Weasley remains here. So we must take the fight to him."

***

Ginny was numb as Minerva dressed her to meet Voldemort. She had been partially sedated because by the time Minerva had found her earlier, she had been hysterical and desperate for her family's safety.

"It's easier this way," Minerva had said as she administered the potion Severus had given her, just in case Ginny's nerves had gotten the better of her.

"What will happen to me?" asked Ginny dreamily.

"You will simply be, Miss Weasley. Although I detest the term of 'bait,' that is precisely what your service shall be," Minerva said in a frustrated tone.

Minerva led her down to the main gates, where the Advance Guard was waiting. Ginny saw Harry mount his broom and held out his arms for her to join him. She sidled up against his back and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," she whispered as they took off towards Lestrange Manor.

"Don't ever be sorry, Ginny," replied Harry. "We will finish this, and we can start all over again. I love you."

***

It had not been Severus' intention to join in the fight against Voldemort, but Dumbledore had insisted that they needed his expertise on the layout of the abandoned manor in order to find the cup.

As he flew with the Advance Guard towards the manor, he couldn't help but feel he had let Hermione down. He had promised he would show her how important she was to him. He hoped she would understand that he had been coerced into joining the battle. He hadn't even had time to warn or say goodbye to her. What would she think when he returned?

If he returned at all?

They landed in a clearing a mile from the manor. Dumbledore insisted in hushed tones that Severus was in charge and he would instruct them all where to go once inside the manor.

They all gathered around Severus as he explained about the Manor's "dangers."

"This manor is a place crawling with Dark magic of the foulest kind. One wrong step can find you locked in a room with no exit. You could touch something and find your skin has been poisoned, and you will be dead within minutes. You could find yourself choked to death by one of vines that decorate the walls inside. Magical wallpaper. It is highly efficient in killing intruders. It seems normal and one-dimensional," he said. "But it is extremely dangerous."

"Do you have any idea if the manor is truly abandoned? Or where the cup might be?" asked Remus.

Severus was flummoxed. "I honestly cannot say. Bellatrix is notorious for her twisted humor. It would not surprise me if the blasted thing were placed in plain sight, but where a person would have to dodge a number of security hexes, jinxes, and curses in order to obtain it, while it looked seemingly within one's reach the entire time. Now I want you all to separate into groups. Ginny, Moody, and Remus will come with me. Nymphadora, I want you, Harry, Hestia, and Bill in another. Dumbledore, Kingsley, Charlie, Ron, and Minerva in another. Dumbledore's group will be the lookout. Send your Patronus immediately if you spot any Death Eaters," he ordered. "Nymphadora, your group is to search, but to ultimately keep Harry secure for the battle. Let's go."

Each group slowly approached the abandoned manor, and although it was dark, and empty, Severus knew that when it came to Bellatrix Lestrange, appearances could be deceiving...and deadly. Once they were all inside, the cavernous manor looked derelict. Cobwebs, broken furniture, grime and dust covered every surface. It certainly looked abandoned.

Snape turned to Moody and whispered, "Use your eye, and watch for anything that will point us towards the cup."

Snape, Moody, Remus, and Ginny went towards the left, and Snape went to open the door to the library.

"Careful," whispered Moody. Severus paused as Moody shook his head. "It's a trap. They are all in there. He has the cup, and every high ranking Death Eater is at his side, wand at the ready, lying in wait." Moody sent his Patronus out to the other groups to come to where they were.

Ginny placed her hand on Snape's shoulder. "Let me, Professor. After all, it is me he wants. Let me go to him and distract him."

Severus turned to Moody, and the old wizard nodded grimly. They shrank to the sides of the doors, careful of the vine-covered walls. Ginny straightened her back and entered the room.

***

Ginny walked in and gazed upon all the shocked faces in front of her. Obviously, they had not expected a solitary Ginny Weasley to waltz through the door. However, it was Ginny, alone and unarmed. She smiled inside as she looked upon the contingent of Death Eaters with their wands trained on her curiously. She stared at Voldemort in the flesh for the first time. There were no more potions to trick her eyes, no enchantments, just Ginny Weasley, sixteen, and in her simple clothes and Lord Voldemort, frighteningly ugly and repulsive. She did not look like a consort fit for a Lord. Nevertheless, Voldemort was eager to see how she had obeyed him.

"Ginny," he whispered.

"Tom?" she whispered.

Bellatrix snarled from where she stood on his right side. "How dare you!"

Voldemort raised a hand calmly to stop the mad witch from attacking Ginny. "Bella, this girl is to be my wife, my helper. She will serve me as no other can. She is a part of me and I of her."

Bellatrix looked at Ginny with blatant hatred and loathing. Ginny placed a look of indifference upon her face. Voldemort beckoned her towards him, and she complied.

His voice was chilly and soft. "Come, my child, come and kneel before me. You were so very devious, weren't you?" he whispered serenely as he caressed her cheek with one bony hand. "You shall be punished, Ginevra. You betrayed our sacred union. Even now I can see the change in your eyes. You loathe me, don't you? Well, no matter. It makes no difference to me. As long as I can keep you safely tucked away from those who would wish to destroy everything I have been working for all my life, all shall be well. You have already assisted them, haven't you?" he asked.

Ginny nodded her head, and Voldemort's red eyes turned dark and angry. He struck her across the cheek, and she landed on the floor, her cheek throbbing. He got up and pulled her upright towards him. He wound his fingers into her hair, forced her to face his army and announced, "Ginevra, my bride."

The door to the library burst open, and the Advance Guard spilled in. Immediately, spells and hexes flew through the air. The room was in complete chaos as the lights and blasts lit the semi-dark room with their illumination. Mirrors, books, furniture, masonry were no longer sacred as spells destroyed and blew them apart. Smoke from the battle was growing thick, and Ginny could only see that Harry was being held in the rear. The dueling was faster than lightening. Bellatrix and Tonks were only steps from her as they parried and exchanged barbed threats and taunts. Bellatrix's mad cackle filled the room. Ginny shrank against Voldemort to stay out of harm's way, although it disgusted her. Voldemort laughed as he Apparated away with Ginny in his clutches.

***

Ginny fell onto the ground as they arrived in their new location.

"I know you must be wondering where we are, but do not worry. We are only in the basement of the manor," Voldemort said calmly.

Ginny remained on the ground and kept still. He was circling and frightening her. She kept her face down onto the cold dirt floor, waiting for something, for him, to punish her, to hurt her.

He remained silent, but the noises of the battle upstairs could be heard. Shouts and the smashes of wood, stone, and cries for help all rang in Ginny's ears. She didn't want to hear it. She finally covered her ears with her hands and rocked, talking to herself that everything was going to be all right.

"You weak, pathetic fool!" he sneered. "This is not the witch I remember. The witch I recall is brazen, sharp-tongued, and devious."

He reached down and lifted her face by his cold hand and searched her face. "Where is my Ginny?" he whispered sadly. "Where has she gone?"

Ginny reached deep inside her and tried to remember the Tom she had known. "I'm here, Tom. I remember all we had...all that can be again. You just don't understand! Snape is so powerful. He dug through my mind until he got everything he wanted. I didn't want to tell him. I didn't tell him our secrets. He forced it from me by raping my mind!" she screamed hysterically.

Voldemort looked into her mind, and Ginny forced herself to push the memory of Snape Legilimizing her and her pitiful attempt to veer away from him. She focused on the interludes; the sexual acts themselves and the lust she had felt. She showed him how Snape had yelled at her to focus on what he wanted her to see and the feeling of force, pressure, and the inability to release him.

"He used me," she whispered. "They all have used me to get to you. What are we going to do?" she whispered desperately.

"I know that I was dosed with a powerful lust potion. Wherever Wormtail is, I am certain he is no more," he whispered as he caressed her face.

"The treachery of all my most loyal servants!" he roared. "This is unbearable." He laughed madly then and said, "I, who never needed anyone, gave far too much to so many. I thought I had them all under my power, but Lucius with his greater need to be comfortable, Severus with his pathetic need for love, and then my brilliant Bella, her sanity destroyed. I cannot hold on to all of this. I am growing weaker by the minute. No one has been able to give me my potion. I cannot fight without my potion; my magic will continue to grow weak. I feel it...my mind is rotting!"

He was now cringing in a corner, and Ginny came slowly towards him and said, "How can I help?" she asked. "Can I make you your potion?"

His red eyes were fading into black and said, "My Nagini is gone. Someone has killed her. I sense her absence. I am becoming mortal. But they shall never find the cup. We...you and I will take the cup and leave where I can rest and find a new familiar."

He gazed upon Ginny with hate and loathing. "It disgusts me to be at another's mercy." He rose and gathered all his power and the cup materialized in his hand. Ginny saw it, gleaming gold in all its perfection.

"It's beautiful!" she gasped as the light from its brilliance shone in her eyes.

"We will begin again, Ginevra. I told you that I Am Lord Voldemort. If I say you are mine, then you are. I am not yet so weak that I can be defied without a price. Severus and Lucius will die for their treachery."

He held her tightly to him, and they waited as the noises from the upstairs grew closer and closer. The black door finally burst open, and the light shone down on them. Ginny's eyes winced as the brightness hurt her eyes. She saw Harry come down with the remainder of the Advance Guard. He came calmly, slowly, down the stairs, and once he was on the ground, he spread his hands open in a posture of offering up himself. Ginny screamed, and Voldemort laughed as he cast the killing curse. It had been too much. The scar from Harry's head burst and blood poured down his face just before he fell to the ground. Ginny felt the grip of the madman gone from her, but she could not turn to see why. She collapsed and fainted.

***

It was so dark, so very dark when Ginny first opened her eyes. She was in a place that was soft and warm, that she knew. She focused on the lamp by the side of the bed and watched it flicker around her.

"I loved him," she cried out, remembering what she had seen before she passed out. "Why did Harry just stand there?" she wailed. "I loved him!"

Her tears ran thickly down the sides of her face, wetting her hair. There was her mum, drying her eyes.

"Ginny," she whispered. "My baby! You are all right. Everything will be all right now."

"H-How?' she choked. "Harry's gone. I loved him, Mum. I loved him!" She sobbed as her mother scooped her into her arms and held her.

"Ginny, Harry is fine. It worked. It's all over. V-Voldemort is gone."

She looked into her mother's eyes and shook her head violently. "No! I saw Harry killed, and the blood was coming from his scar as he fell." She covered her face with her hands and tried to stop the vision of Harry's dead body suspended upright until he fell with an almighty thud.

She was still covering her face when she felt the bed shift. Her mother was gone. Another person sat with her. "Oh, Daddy, how will I ever live without him?" she whispered. She opened her eyes and saw Harry in front of her. He was smiling brightly, and his scar was bandaged.

She knew she made a noise, what kind of noise, she didn't know, but she had her hands and arms full of him, feeling his strong and muscular arms around her as he was kissing her wildly.

"How?" she breathed.

"I will explain it all to you later, Ginny. Now, let me love you," he said huskily.

She looked around, and the infirmary was clear of visitors. Harry flicked his wand, and the curtains closed around them. He was still in the robes and clothes he wore during the battle. He laid her back on the bed, hitched up her nightgown, stripped off his robes, and fumbled with the belt buckle of his pants. Ginny hurriedly stripped off her knickers, pushed up her nightgown to her breasts, and then Harry stopped, drinking in her nakedness.

"I love you, Ginny," he whispered.

"Yes, Harry," she breathed. "I thought you were gone and didn't even know how I was going to breathe if you were gone. I-I just can't express how much I need you."

They both removed the remainder of Harry's clothes from him, and he kissed her urgently, feeling along her breasts and between her legs. "I need you now, Ginny. I-I wish I could be more patient..."

Ginny shook her head as she panted. " Please Harry, I need you, I need to feel you inside me!"

Harry took her into a frenzied passionate embrace and entered her forcefully. Their lips were barely touching as Ginny let out a painful hiss. Harry's green eyes were full of sorrow.

"Ginny, I didn't want to hurt you," he groaned.

She lifted her legs and urged him not to stop. Harry drove into her and took her roughly. Ginny lost herself in the strong, powerful movements of Harry's toned and built body. He kissed her hungrily and sucked her nipples as he picked her up by her bum and thrust into her desperately.

Ginny felt it happening, more intense than anything she had ever felt when she touched herself. She could feel the hardness of him stroking her and rubbing her just right, and soon she was clutching him and screaming his name. He pounded harder inside her and moaned as he came. She felt his release deep inside her, and she sighed in contentment. This was natural. This was what she was meant to do. This was the man she would love forever. And it was right.

"I love you, Ginny," he breathed as he shifted off of her and held her in an embrace. "Will you marry me?"

She looked into his face and said, "Of course, Harry."

***

Severus walked out onto the grass by the Black Lake looking for her...his beautiful Hermione, who was staring at the mass of water. He was still battle-scarred and filthy from the blood that ran from his head and shoulder. He was exhausted and in pain, but he could not do a thing before first seeing her.

She turned as his shadow came over her, and her eyes opened in horror. "Severus!" she screamed. She jumped up and went to see how hurt he was.

"Are you all right? You look terrible! You must go see Madam Pomfrey!" she shrieked as she felt him to see where the blood had originated.

"Hermione," he said calmly. "I needed to see you. I couldn't go another minute being back here and not assure you that all was well."

"You are a silly man!" she chided softly. "It could have waited."

Severus knelt in front of her, clinging to her robes, whispering, "That's right, Hermione. I am just a silly, foolish man who loves you more than my own body. I would gladly remained disfigured and in pain for the rest of my life, if just to give your mind an extra moment's peace. I love you that much. Can you forgive me for going into battle without telling you?"

He was terrified she would push him away, tell him he had done too much already, hadn't kept his promises to place her first. He grabbed the hem of her cloak and kissed it, laying his pride and heart prostrate before her. Hermione placed a hand on his dark head, caressing his hair lovingly.

She lifted his face up to look at her and said as she smiled, "You are like a Dark Knight in a fairytale, making the world safe for his lady-love."

"Hermione, I am no such thing. You are my lady, and I have killed for you and fought for us to be together. Everything that has occurred today, I had you in my thoughts the entire time."

"Let's get you to the infirmary," she said softly.

***

Hermione had been told the story from Severus, how Harry had offered himself up, being a Horcrux himself...that had been the one piece of information Dumbledore had kept to only Harry and himself. So, the fighting had continued, and Ginny had fainted.

No one had noticed the stirrings of Harry, who had not died, just the part of him that was the damned piece of Voldemort's soul. The cup had fallen from Voldemort's grasp as he had watched in terror, Harry's "resurrection from the dead" as it were.

It had been Remus who had carried the Sword of Gryffindor and had destroyed the final Horcrux with Mad-Eye standing guard over him. However, in the heat of the fight, Moody had been cut down. By the time Moody's body had fallen over, dead, the Horcrux had been destroyed, and Remus had been ready for battle. He killed Rabastan, who had slain Moody, and Harry, after he'd been given the signal, killed the old serpent, and all had stilled.

Madam Pomfrey cleaned Severus' wounds and gave him potions for the pain and potential infection while Hermione sat in a chair next to the bed. He was to stay the night, but he fought and argued with Madam Pomfrey until Hermione told him to stay.

"Is that what you want?" he asked.

"Yes, Severus," she whispered as she fiddled with his blanket.

"Rest well, and I shall see you tomorrow," she said as she slowly leaned over and kissed his lips tenderly.