Deception

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Many hugs of thanks go to Sequana for being such a brilliant beta.

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Chapter 12: Deception

Light poured through the partially opened curtains of the bedroom, causing one of the occupants of the bed to begin to stir from their sleep. Grumbling softly under his breath, Severus stretched a little and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his fist before peeking an eye open and examining his surroundings hazily. Opening his other eye as well, he rolled over and was faced with the sight of the trim form of his lover, lying on her back with one arm thrown over her head and the other resting on her flat stomach. The white Egyptian cotton bed sheet only draped over her from the hips down, and one of her long, toned legs was positioned in such a way that the sheet did not fully cover it.

A sly smile broke out over his face as he moved further towards her, eyeing her fair breasts and their dusky nipples with hunger. He simply couldn't get enough of his witch now that she was back in his life. He moved his head over her and puffed hot air on a nipple before touching the tip of his tongue to it. It hardened, and she moaned; even in her sleep, she was responsive. Grinning wickedly, he enveloped as much of her small breast with his mouth and tongue as he could and began to lave and suck, nipping every now and then.

With a moan, his younger counterpart began to wake, and her eyes flickered open to look straight at him. The smile she gifted him with was breathtaking, and he released her nipple from his mouth with a wet sound and moved up to kiss her. She welcomed the kiss without hesitation, meeting his tongue with her own and joining the morning dance and struggle for control. When his back met the mattress, he knew that she would be guiding the activities that morning, and he submitted with delight.

An hour later, as the pair of them were dressing after a quick run through the shower, Hermione swore. 'Oh, fuck!' she exclaimed from the bedroom.

Severus came strolling out of the bathroom, towelling his wet hair and wearing only his black slacks with his customary white linen shirt unbuttoned and open. 'Now, what has caused my pet to use language like that?' he asked conversationally, looking over to the window where a delivery owl was taking off from the windowsill.

'Look at this,' she said, her frown deep and anger evident in her tone as she held out the morning paper to him.

He accepted the paper from her, concern etched into his features. He smoothed out the front page, and on the cover was a picture of Hermione, or rather someone who looked exactly like Hermione, with a wand drawn, wearing Death Eater robes, and surrounded by a bodyguard of two other Death Eaters. The sidekicks were obviously men and wore masks to conceal their faces, but the disturbing part was that the Hermione on the front page of the paper did not seem inclined to disguise herself. The headline for the day read, "Has Granger Gone Mad?" in bold print. The article that accompanied it reported that Hermione had attacked civilians who had been out doing some late shopping in Diagon Alley just the night before.

'But this is...' he began softly, stopping and shaking his head. 'Well, at least we know what their intentions for your hair were.'

Hermione nodded and crossed her arms, still frowning. 'I'm going back to Hogwarts. I need to see Albus about this – it is getting way out of hand, and I don't think I can go without his help any longer,' she said, frustration edging her tone.

'I'll come with you,' he said, waving a hand to Summon their cases and casting another spell to pack their belongings into them.

Hermione sighed heavily and shook her head, sinking onto the bed and looking at her hands that were twisting in her lap. 'All of those innocent people were hurt,' she said, tears burning her eyes. It was getting far too serious. 'I should have guessed that they'd be using my hair for Polyjuice.'

Severus sank down beside her and wrapped a comforting arm around her. 'You couldn't have known, sprite,' he soothed gently. 'And even if you had, it was hardly as if they were going to change plans because of it. This is all just rather unfortunate, and we will get to the bottom of this and fix it – I promise you that.'

With a sob, she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shirt and crying from the frustration and sadness of it all. Severus held and soothed her, rubbing her back and shoulders and murmuring to her under his breath. He had a feeling about the identity of the woman who was using the Polyjuice on herself, and if he was right, he had an idea of what they could do to put her, and the string of his former colleagues, away for as long as they remained alive.

'Come now, love,' he whispered gently into her ear. 'We'll go back to Hogwarts and see Albus – I have an idea that just might work.'

She nodded and pulled back slowly, looking up at his face with tears in her eyes and skin pink and wet from crying. He gently wiped her face and nose with a handkerchief and kissed her forehead before standing and holding out a hand for her. Walking them out into the sitting room, he tossed some Floo powder into the fireplace, and they walked into the green flames together. Calling out their destination, they were sucked into the Floo Network and soon found themselves in Albus Dumbledore's office fireplace, and they stepped out, dusting themselves off.

'Albus, we need to speak with you,' Severus said quickly, sounding a little frantic as he pulled Hermione alongside him towards the Headmaster, who was seated at his desk.

Albus nodded. 'I was wondering when the two of you would be coming to see me,' he said with a look between the pair of them and a twinkle in his eyes.

Severus managed to contain his snort. Of course Albus Dumbledore would already know that they had resolved everything between them. He hated that damned twinkle in those silly, blue eyes. Frowning, he pulled out a seat for Hermione, waiting until she was fully seated before taking the chair beside her. She looked over at him, her eyes blazing with anger. This problem was beginning to get very serious, and there was only so much that could be done through legal channels.

'We need to get to the bottom of this very soon, Albus,' he said, addressing the Headmaster seriously. 'It has now come to innocent civilians being harmed all for someone's petty revenge for only Merlin knows what.'

Albus stroked his bead and nodded. 'Yes, I agree, my boy,' he said softly, his eyes unfocussed in thought. 'There was an incident a little over a year ago – I was informed by Kingsley – when it was thought that a small band of Death Eaters managed to escape Azkaban.'

'Why was the Order not informed of this then?' Severus demanded before Hermione could even open her mouth to speak.

'Because it was soon after reported that the prisoners had been recaptured and had all received the Kiss and their bodies been moved back to the cells in Azkaban,' Albus answered quietly. 'This always struck me as a somewhat odd situation – and it was not until just recently that I began to question whether this was the case.'

'What do you mean by that, Headmaster?' Hermione asked, speaking for the first time since her arrival.

'I mean, dear girl, that I have recently come to suspect that the escaped Death Eaters did not actually make it back to prison. And also that they have somehow switched with someone else in order to pass off as themselves,' Albus answered. 'And so, the men you see flanking the image of yourself on the front page I would suspect to be those men that were never recaptured.'

'Were you ever told the names of these men?' Hermione asked, shifting forwards in her seat in anticipation, hoping for a positive reply.

Albus smiled and nodded. 'I was,' he answered softly. 'They were Evan Rosier, Walden McNair, and Amycus Carrow – all of whom were said to have received the Kiss.'

'I know all of those men,' she said quietly. 'They were the ones who captured me temporarily during the final battle and tried to...'

She fell silent then, and Severus slipped a hand onto her knee in support. They all knew what she was trying to say. They were the three Death Eaters that had tried to rape her and had broken the fingers of her left hand. Somehow, she knew that they had been the ones to capture her again that day outside of the gates. They had beaten her and taken a hair from her. She felt heat build up behind her eyes and blinked a few times to clear the tears of anger. She would not cry because of them. It was what they wanted, after all – for her to be upset by all of it. Well, Hermione Granger would not be giving them the satisfaction.

Severus sighed from beside her then, and she reached down and grasped the hand on her knee. She owed this man her life. 'Well, then – we have a pretty good lead now, and all that we shall have to do is somehow find a way to confiscate a few items that belong to these men,' she said, sounding more confident than she felt.

'And what do you propose to do with them?' Albus asked curiously.

'We'll use a tracking spell on their belongings,' Severus answered for her, his eyes lighting up a little at the brilliance of his witch. 'Just modify the spell that we already have to track larger forms, and living ones at that.'

'That sounds like a brilliant plan, my boy,' the older wizard said with a twinkle in his blue eyes again. 'I shall be available to assist you in any way that you may need. Don't hesitate to ask.'

'We won't,' Hermione replied for the two of them, standing from her seat and releasing her lover's hand. 'I think we should leave and get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.'

Severus stood and nodded, and after saying a brief thanks to Albus, the pair of them Flooed to his chambers in the castle. They went immediately to his workroom and began writing out a plan of attack with Severus acting as a scribe for Hermione as she went off on a tangent. An angry and upset Hermione Granger was not someone to mess with, and he felt as though he would just be getting in her way if he tried to interrupt while she was rambling. She drew a final breath and slumped into a seat after twenty minutes of pacing and bouncing ideas, looking tired.

He saw this and stood, moving to her side and cupping her cheek tenderly. 'Love, you are exhausted, and I hate to see you this way,' he said, taking one of her hands and kissing the back of it. 'How about you go and sleep for a little while, and I will take care of all the details concerning the personal items we will need?'

She nodded wordlessly and allowed him to lead her back out of the workroom and into his bedroom on the other side of his chambers. He helped remove her shoes and jumper, pulling the covers over her once she was settled on the bed. Pressing a loving kiss to her forehead, he left the room quietly after extinguishing the lights and drawing the curtains and went back through his workroom to his office where he would Floo Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Sighing, he sat in the armchair in front of the fireplace and rubbed his eyes. This whole ordeal was becoming a lot more complicated by the day. He Summoned the Floo powder over to him and tossed some into the grate before calling for Kingsley at the Ministry, hoping that the man would not be too busy. Thankfully, the darker, older man's face appeared in the fire not too long after, looking serious.

'How can I help you, Severus?' he asked, his voice heavy with weariness.

'I need to ask you a favour,' Severus answered carefully. 'There are a number of personal items that once belonged to Death Eaters that the Ministry is holding. I would like to get my hands on them today.'

'I think I know what you are talking about,' Kingsley said. 'I will do my best for you, but can I ask what this is for?'

'I will need them in order to clear Hermione Granger's name and track certain people who have been causing her a great deal of trouble,' he answered.

Kingsley nodded and disappeared from the fire, leaving Severus alone to contemplate his next move. Whatever it was, he would have to act fast.

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A/N – Sorry for the delay! Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review!