Seven

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I make no money here.

AN: This story was written for the 2010 ss/hg_exchange as a gift for lady_karelia. Many thanks to my wonderful betas, dreamy_dragon73 and Clairvoyant.

Tired and disheveled, Hermione and Lucius arrived in Marten Falls. Their travels had not gone as planned. What should have been a two-step Portkey journey had ended up being a two day nightmare. First, they'd Apparated to Mexico City to get a Portkey which they thought would take them all the way to Chicago. But it hadn't; it was faulty, and they'd ended up in New Orleans. After some confusion and nine hours of waiting, they were sent to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and eventually on to Thunder Bay, Ontario. There they had been politely informed that no Portkeys were available for the north woods areas and they would have to hire someone to discreetly side-along them into the area.

Luckily, Lucius was well versed in diplomacy and knew how to pull a few strings when necessary. He was able to secure them a guide who knew the town mayor, police chief and tribal elder all rolled into one, an Artemus Greyfox. Their guide assured them if their friend was staying in that area, Art would know about it.

Upon arrival they were escorted to Mr. Greyfox's home. Hermione felt grimy from her travels and wanted nothing more than to find a place to shower and a bed to sleep in; at that point, she hardly cared if they found Severus, she just wanted to lie down.

After introductions and a brief explanation that they were friends of Severus', Hermione inquired about finding some place in town to stay.

"I'm sorry, Miss," Art responded to her question. "No hotels here."

"What? No hotels? There must be something, a bed and breakfast, a boarding house?"

"No, sorry. But if you're friends of Severus, I'm sure you'll want to stay with him. He's renting a cabin from me. It's rather isolated, but it seems to suit his purposes. Is he expecting you?"

Lucius answered, "Not exactly. We've had a devil of a time tracking him down. We've got some news from back home, and it is imperative that we find him."

"Oh, well, I hope it's not bad news."

"No, not bad. It's just that an opportunity has become available, but we need Severus' input and to learn if he's willing to join us on the project. That's why we've come looking for him."

"Well, I know that he's not home right now; he's gone with my grandsons up to the sugar shack to see how we make maple syrup and sugar. I'm not sure I'd feel right about letting you into his place without his permission."

"Mr. Greyfox, my companion is exhausted. Couldn't you allow her to rest at Severus' cabin? And perhaps you could have someone escort me to Severus' current location?"

The man looked uncertain. Then a short Indian woman stepped into the room and said something to him in a language neither Lucius or Hermione could understand. He turned to them and spoke, "This is my sister, Little Anne. She and Severus have become friends, as they both share an interest in healing plants. She says she will go with your friend to the cabin where she can bathe and rest while we fetch migizi back."

"Migizi?" Hermione asked, her brow wrinkled in confusion.

"It is my nickname for Severus," Little Anne spoke in English so that they could understand, something she had been doing much more lately. "It means eagle. He is like the eagle: sleek, dark and powerful, and he also has a big beak," she explained with a grin, holding a hooked finger to her nose.

Hermione giggled a bit at that mental image and smiled at the old lady. "He is rather eagle-like, isn't he?"

Little Anne nodded, looking pleased that the girl agreed with her.

~

On the ride to the cabin, the two women were soon chatting like old friends. Although there was still plenty of snow on the ground, the road had been cleared, but it was still a bit icy. So, Little Anne drove very slowly. By the time they arrived, Hermione was embarrassed to find herself dozing off. Little Anne was not offended and bustled her into the cabin to help her get settled in. She quickly threw a couple chunks of wood onto the glowing embers in the stove and in just a few minutes had a cozy fire going to warm the cabin.

Then leading her to the bedroom, she showed her where the bathroom was and told her she would go out and start the generator to power the water pump. The water that was in the water heater was already hot, so Hermione could be relaxing in the bath in a matter of moments.

"I will wait for migizi to return with your other friend; I think his name will be wabiska waagosh."

"What does that mean? Wabiska waagosh?" inquired Hermione.

"It means white fox. Maybe he is a long lost relative." She joked, referring to her last name.

Hermione laughed too, then added thoughtfully, "That's a good choice for Lucius. You might not realize it, but he is wily like a fox. What name would you give me, Little Anne?" she asked.

Little Anne looked at her carefully. Then she gently took her chin and turned her face down to look into her eyes. "At first, I thought I would call you Ajidamoo; it means squirrel because your hair is full and fluffy and brown like a squirrel's tail." The old lady teased Hermione, tugging lightly on the ends of her hair. "But now, I think I would choose eniwik nigig. It means little otter; it seems to suit you better, I think."

Hermione was shocked. "Why did you choose that name for me, Little Anne?"

"It just seems to fit you," she replied. "When I looked into your eyes, I see a spirit otter, and she swims through the air, twisting and turning like the playful otters on the river banks."

Hermione didn't know quite what to make of the woman's insight. "How are you called in your own language, Little Anne?"

"I am eniwik wawashkeshshi; it means little deer." She grinned. "When I was younger, I was very swift; I could run like a deer. I was not always this big," she said, indicating her girth, "but I was always short." They both laughed at Little Anne poking fun at herself.

"Go and take your bath now, Hermione. I'll put some extra blankets and pillows on the couch in the other room. You can rest there until Severus and your friend return. I will be outside for a bit. I want to check on some things that grow in the woods and along the river bank. Even under the snow there are plants and other things I can make use of for my healing."

Hermione entered the bathroom; she considered just taking a shower and then lying down on the couch for a short nap. She was so tired she was sure she could fall asleep instantly. But as she started the water, the idea of soaking in a tub of warm water was just too appealing. She washed her hair in the shower, then closed the drain and filled the tub. She quickly toweled her hair and ran a thick comb through it, else she would never be able to comb it once it had dried. Then she sank down into the soothing warmth; it took only a few minutes before she had dozed off.

~

Severus Apparated onto the porch of his cabin. Wiping his boots on the mat, he entered through the back door. Being distracted, he did not even notice the blankets and pillows laid out on the couch, and the bags behind it were out of his line of sight. A few years earlier would never have found him so careless, but he was out of practice at "constant vigilance." All he was thinking right now was he was cold, damp and reeked of wood smoke; he really needed a shower.

He'd been out in the woods with 'the boys,' which is what Art called his grandsons, although none of them were boys, ranging in age from nineteen to damn near Severus' age, as the oldest was forty-two. Severus suspected he used the generalization of 'the boys' simply so he didn't have to remember all of their names. At any rate, they had been collecting and boiling huge vats of maple sap to cook down into pure maple syrup and maple sugar. This was a source of income for the family, as they sold it in town and to various tourist shops in the southern parts of the province.

Severus had of course used a few carefully applied and discreet warming spells, but after one became damp and cold it was hard to get warm with a simple spell. Once they started cooking the sap down, it was a round-the-clock process, which was still going on. But he'd been there since early in the evening yesterday, and had grown tired, so he'd decided to return home. Of course while at the sugar shack, 'the boys' had provided plenty of home brew to keep everyone's spirits up. The resulting headache combined with his lack of a hangover potion on hand did not helped improve his attitude.

Stripping out of his clothes, he pushed the bathroom door open and stopped in complete shock. There was a woman in his bathtub. A naked woman. A naked, sleeping woman.

He backed slowly out of the room and looked around. No, it was his room. Glancing out into the great room confirmed it was his cabin. For a brief, frantic instant, he thought in his hungover, drunken haze that he'd accidentally Apparated to someone else's cabin.

He stepped back into the bathroom; What in hell was happening here? he wondered. He gazed down at the vision gracing his tub; she was rather spectacular. Slender, but rounded and curvy in the right places. Her knees had sagged apart, and he could clearly see the thatch of wiry brown hair between her legs and just a tiny, teasing hint of her tender, pink slit there. She had lovely breasts, too, plump, but not too big. Her nipples and areola poking above the water level were rosy pink and a pale pinkish tan respectively. Gods, he ached to touch them, fondle them, pinch them, taste them, suckle them, watch them pucker and tighten under his ministrations; he had always been a breast man. His cock jerked and hardened a bit as he thought about those sweet, luscious tits, and all the ways he could enjoy playing with them. Her face was turned slightly away and obscured by her madly curled, chestnut-brown hair. She had hair just like that know-it-all, Granger.

Granger! He snapped to attention as realization struck like a sledge hammer. What the fuck was Hermione Granger doing naked in his bathtub? As he staggered back, he bumped against the sink, and something clattered to the floor. At the noise the girl jerked awake, her eyes going big and round and surprised as she realized Severus Snape stood there stark naked, his cock half hard, ogling her. She popped to a sitting position with a startled yelp.

"What the hell! Get out of here! GET OUT!" she screamed, trying to cover herself. When he didn't move immediately, but just stood there frozen like a deer in the headlights, she flung a sopping wet washcloth at his face as she surged up and grabbed a towel to hastily wrap around herself. "Get out, get out of here. RIGHT NOW!" she yelled as she shoved him out and slammed the door.

He stood still in utter shock for about half a minute before springing into action and tossing on clothes as fast as he could. In less than two minutes, he was pounding on the bathroom door.

"Get the hell out here and explain yourself, Granger," he demanded angrily. "What the fuck are you doing in my cabin in the middle of nowhere, Ontario?"

~

Suddenly the door was flung open, banging against the wall. She stormed out, dressed, but still damp from her bath. She hadn't even taken the time to cast a drying spell. "What do you mean? 'What am I doing here?' Looking for you, of course, you bloody rude git! And do you know what else, you sorry excuse for a wizard? You arsehole. You... you... you peeping Tom. Now, I'm actually sorry that we've found you. In fact I wish I'd never even begun this stupid search. I knew you wouldn't have changed, that you'd still be the nasty, horrible prick you always were." She assumed if he was back here at his cabin, then Lucius had found him and explained why they were looking for him. Apparently, he wanted nothing to do with the triad if his reaction was any indication.

Before they'd arrived in Marten Falls, she'd actually been excited at the thought of seeing Severus again, especially after believing him dead for so many years. She'd always respected him as a teacher and then had secretly admired him when she'd learned about his true role in the war. But this was not how she had imagined their re-acquaintance to happen. Before she could say anything else to him, he went on the offensive.

"Still the same fucking little know-it-all even after all these years, aren't you, Granger? Oh... or is it Weasley now?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I..."

"Oh. No? What happened? Did you dump him? Wasn't he good enough for the Gryffindor Golden Girl?"

"What? No, I..."

"You always did think you were better than everyone else, didn't you? Or did you drive him away with your constant, holier-than-thou nagging?"

Hermione just stared at him wide-eyed, not knowing what to say.

"Or did he just find someone better than you? Found you inadequate, did he? Not surprising, is it? So, who took your place? Was it that Brown girl, or Lovegood? Or maybe one of the Patil twins? Don't tell me it was one of my Slytherins? What's the matter, Granger? Kneazle got your tongue?

"Poor, simple-minded Weasley. Maybe he just figured out that he wasn't clever enough for such a know-it-all and that he'd never be good enough in your eyes. He could spend years and years and never be able to live up to your lofty standards. Hell, he'll probably die before he's able to get anywhere close to your unreachable expectations."

Something inside Hermione snapped. If she'd had her wand in her hand right at that moment, she most likely would have Avada'd him without a second thought. Luckily for him she hadn't picked it up from the bathroom floor before she'd slammed the door open. Instead, she attacked him like a Muggle, physically, going at him with hands and fists and nails and feet.

"You bastard! You stinking, fucking bastard!" She screamed as she flew at him, slapping him hard across the face before pummeling him with her fists.

Unprepared for a physical attack, his shock was evident by his lack of reaction. He didn't even try to fight her off.

"I loved him. Ron Weasley was twice the man you are or could ever hope to be. How dare you say such things about him, you filthy sack of Thestral shit!"

She continued to punch and slap and kick and scratch at him. He'd recovered from his initial shock and was trying to fend off her blows when a voice exploded from the door way.

"Hermione! Severus! What in the name of Merlin is going on here!" exclaimed Lucius.

If Severus had been surprised to find Granger naked in his bathtub, his astonishment was tenfold when she turned from him and flew into Lucius arms, clutching him tightly and burying her face in his chest. "Coming here was a mistake, a huge mistake, Lucius. The biggest mistake I've ever made in my entire life," she sobbed.

Lucius held Hermione, trying to soothe her. Art and Little Anne stood in the other room looking at Severus as if he'd just stepped on a helpless kitten or torn the wings off a butterfly. They must have heard everything, or at least enough to make Severus look like a complete heel.

"Shhhh.... sweetheart, don't cry, it's all right." Lucius cooed, alternately rubbing her back and stroking her damp hair.

She pulled away from him, wiping her face with the back of her hands, and stated flatly, "I don't know what I was thinking, or what you were thinking to believe that this was possible. But it's never going to work. I tried to tell you that before. He hates me; nothing can ever fix that or change it. Never. I'm done. Just done." She walked out of the room and out of the cabin.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Little Anne said quietly, "That was not good, migizi. Your words were hurtful." Then she grabbed Hermione's coat and hurried after her.

~

Lucius turned to Severus, rubbing his fingers across his forehead as if he was trying to stave off the world's largest headache. He asked, "Severus, what in the name of Beelzebub's bollocks have you done?"

"What have I done? What have I done? Why are you putting this on me? I merely came home wanting a hot shower and found that harpy in my tub. She attacked me first. I may have got a bit carried away with some of the things I said about Weasley, but the little bitch attacked me like a common Muggle."

"Most likely you are fortunate that she didn't have her wand on her or there certainly would have been Unforgivables flying. How could you say those things about the boy? They were engaged. For you to attack his memory like that..."

Severus' shock was apparent on his face. "His memory? He's... he's dead? I had no idea, how... when?"

Lucius sighed heavily. "Yes, he and a good number of his family as well. Several years ago, nearly four, I believe, in the Burrow Massacre. Severus, I know you have never wanted to hear news of wizarding Britain from me. Whenever we've been together you would only let me talk of Draco or Narcissa, but surely you must have read the papers."

Severus shook his head. He swallowed. The Weasleys. He had known them well, eaten at their table, respected them, even considered them compatriots. "That would have been the year I was in seclusion in Tibet. I didn't know. They're dead... the Weasleys? Arthur... Molly... who else?"

"Dear Merlin, man. How could you not keep up with this kind of news? Even in Tibet. It was the Lestranges, Rodolphus and Rabastan, in retribution for Bella's death. They stayed in hiding for years, plotting their revenge. Finally gathering a group of flunkies, they managed to get the drop on the Weasleys at their own home. Molly and Arthur and three of their children, Percy, Ronald and Ginevra. The two oldest sons, William and Charles, were both living abroad at that time, and George was out of town on business that night. If not for circumstances, they would have got Harry Potter and Hermione as well, except they weren't scheduled to arrive until later, and Rodolphus couldn't wait to enjoy the fruits of his labors.

"They arrived earlier in the day when Molly was there alone. You know what a powerful witch she was, but there were eight wizards in their raiding party. They secured Molly and simply waited as her family popped in one by one only to be captured as well. The Weasleys were preparing a surprise birthday party that night for Hermione. She'd just become engaged to Ronald. To keep her busy and out of the way, she was given given the task of caring for Potter's son, just a baby. Lucky for Potter that the boy was with Hermione. You know what they were like, Severus. They wouldn't have hesitated to torture an infant as well.

"They kept Molly alive until the very end as they tortured and slowly killed her family in front of her. The things they did to her three children, all eight of them taking turns... It's nauseating to think what that family went through that day. I never cared for the Weasleys personally, but even I would never have wished that kind of end on anyone, not even my worst enemy.

"Kingsley was the first on the scene, alerted by the use of Unforgivables. They were careful early on not to use them to avoid detection by the Aurors. But as the 'festivities' wore on, the minions became careless. Molly was dying when he arrived, but still conscious enough to give him her memories. He had nightmares for months... probably still does."

Severus was completely silent for several minutes, thinking of the family he'd come to know so well. He'd taught all the children and fought beside most of them in the Order. Molly, the ultimate earth mother, fiercely loyal to her brood. Arthur, the affable easy-going father figure. Percy, the prat, had chosen the Light in the end, returning to the bosom of his family. Ronald, the loyal friend and side-kick, a bit of a clown, but his heart was in the right place. And young Ginevra, pretty and vital and feisty, barely a woman. All dead. He couldn't help but picture in his mind's eye how their final hours must have been, the nightmare of pain, humiliation and abuse. Suddenly, he rushed to the bathroom, slamming the door. The sounds of his retching were heard in the great room of the cabin. Lucius noticed for the first time that the old Indian man still stood in the kitchen area.

"Mr. Greyfox..." he began.

"Art, call me Art," the old man instructed him. "I knew our friend Severus had been through some truly horrible times, but these people you speak of, these monsters... Please, tell me that they have been taken care of, that they no longer walk the face of this earth. That justice has been done."

Lucius nodded. It was one of the ways he had gotten to know Harry Potter personally. In addition to Harry's friendship with Narcissa, Lucius had been a key figure in helping Harry and Kingsley hunt down the gang. It wasn't known publicly and never would be, but the supposed explosion that had occurred at the house where the Lestranges and their band of merry men were hiding had been no accident at all. Fiendfyre had destroyed the entire place. Vigilante justice? Perhaps so, but Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy were assured that the Lestranges would never come after their families again.

"Yes, they are all dead. We made absolutely sure of that."

Art nodded in full approval.

Severus stood in the doorway, looking a bit better, but still shaken. "It would seem that I owe Miss Granger an apology for my atrocious behavior. But first, Lucius, I must know why on earth are you here and the two of you together?"

"I will not go into specifics right now. I will only say this, Severus, tread very carefully, for that is our future bride you are dealing with. I think it best for that apology to come first, my friend, lest Hermione think that you are merely trying to insinuate yourself into her good graces."

"What the fuck? That is either a very bad joke, or you've gone completely mad, old man. You cannot possibly make a statement like that and simply leave it unfinished," demanded Severus.

Before Lucius could offer any sort of explanation, Little Anne appeared in the doorway, breathless, with Hermione's coat still in her hands. "She is gone. I cannot find eniwik nigig anywhere."

tbc