Five

Four days later, they weren't any closer to finding a clue about the device. Despite her growing frustration with the unsolved mystery, Hermione was having a wonderful time. She, Severus, and Lucius had spent their days in the library, which did indeed live up to its reputation, going through book after book that catalogued ancient and obscure magical devices, through volumes of magical theory, ancient and modern, and through tomes containing the history and facts about the Dark Arts.

Hermione had no idea how Lucius had kept his books out of the Ministry's clutches, and she didn't want to know, but she was glad that he had. She selected another volume from the pile on the table. This one was about artefacts originating in ancient China. She started to look through it. Nothing in it looked even remotely like their item. She had read a few paragraphs on the properties of jade figurines when Severus walked past her on his way to the shelves to get yet more books. He stopped and bent over her shoulder to see what she was reading, the tips of his hair brushing the skin on the side of her neck. A pleasant little shiver ran through her. He whispered, 'Imagine if they could tell us about their properties; that would save a lot of time.'

Next to her, Lucius looked up from the book he'd been reading. He pointed to the picture in Hermione's book. 'And just imagine the amount of chatter, if they all talked at once.' As he withdrew his hand, he ran it along her arm as if by accident.

Hermione's grin turned into a smile as Severus' hair grazed along the side of her neck again, leaving goosepimples in its wake. Her arm was still tingling where Lucius' fingers had touched her. To her, it felt like research had never been so much fun as with Lucius and Severus.

Come to think of it, she had generally enjoyed their company. Every time they'd tried to plan a meal, she'd had a hard time to keep from giggling. Severus was a very traditional eater with a pronounced distaste for too many greens and "fancy grub". She wondered how he managed to stay so slim and fit. At least he looked fit, and she admitted to herself she wouldn't mind investigating his body a bit further.

Lucius' food preferences were closer to her own, though her tastes weren't as extravagant as his. From what she could tell after these few days, he preferred French or Italian cuisine with loads of fresh vegetables and herbs. He, too, looked remarkably fit, and every now and then, Hermione found herself speculating about his body.

They usually managed to find some common ground food-wise. It made for interesting combinations...and for very happy house-elves in the kitchen.

She'd noticed both men displaying a mildly protective streak towards her. Hermione would never have admitted it, but she thought it rather endearing, especially as they were unobtrusive about it. She had gone running on the manor grounds twice; the first time, Severus decided that he hadn't practised flying in far too long. The second time, Lucius had announced that he needed to check the whereabouts of some of his peacocks.

Hermione snapped out of her musings as Severus put a large volume down on the table with a thud.

'There must be something in here somewhere,' he said, gesturing to the rows and rows of books around them.

'Yes, if only we could find it,' she agreed. 'The odd thing is, the symbols on the device look almost like hieroglyphs, which is why I thought they were familiar at first, but then they aren't.'

Severus nodded. 'It's like someone has appropriated familiar shapes for their own purposes...assuming one has a familiarity with hieroglyphs.'

Keppy came in, a scroll of parchment on his small, silver tray. 'Post for Miss Hermione,' he announced.

'Thank you.' Hermione unrolled the scroll and read through it quickly. 'It's from Harry. He says he's almost certain that Kingsley isn't involved, and there seem to be no further disappearances.' Which meant Terry was also safe and sound, she realised with what almost felt like a pang of disappointment.

'Still, I think it's for the best that only Harry and Luna know you're here,' Severus said, lightly touching her upper arm. More goosepimples.

'Yes. That way, Harry can try to find out what exactly Demelza is up to and who else is involved,' Hermione agreed.

Both bent over their respective books again.

Lucius appeared from the depths of the stacks, a small book floating before him. He levitated it carefully onto the table and then cast several wordless spells in quick succession. By the time he'd finished, both Severus and Hermione were staring at him with fascination.

'It should be safe to handle, now,' he explained. 'I found this in a chest at the very back of the library. I had completely forgotten I had this. It belonged to the Black family, and they were rather specific about who was allowed to touch their books.'

Hermione had a very good idea what "specific" meant, so letting Lucius thumb through the book first seemed like a good idea.

He stopped, staring at the page. 'Don't you think this looks familiar?' he asked, pointing at the illustration and handing the book over to her. His fingertips grazed hers, lingering just a tad too long, as she took the book.

There it was, an exact image of the device they had currently secured under a Stasis Charm. Hermione looked at the lines under the illustration: '"Amun-Ra's sun" also known as "Purifying Fire" a device created by Gellert Grindelwald,' she read. 'It doesn't say anything more,' she added, feeling slightly nauseous. 'That also explains the symbols. From what I know, Grindelwald and his followers used hieroglyphs that they'd modified slightly to create spells and enchant objects for their purposes.'

'Well, at least that confirms our suspicion that it's a Dark object,' Lucius said, 'but we still don't know how exactly it works or what it's for.'

'I know someone who should,' Severus said. 'I think it's time to visit Dumbledore's portrait.' He stood up. 'The sooner the better.'

'Do you want me to come with you?' Hermione asked, walking with him to the door.

'No, I can handle him. But thanks.'

They paused outside the door, looking at each other. Hermione tentatively put her arms around him and pulled him closer. His head dipped slightly, and she felt his lips on hers, smooth and warm. She slowly ran her tongue over his bottom lip and felt his mouth opening to her while his hand stroked her hair and then sneaked around the nape of her neck. When they broke apart, they both smiled. Hermione felt her body tingle all over.

'I'll see you later,' Snape said, hurrying up the staircase. He returned a few minutes later, his cloak over his arm and swept out the door.

Hermione looked after him, her heart still beating a little faster. When she turned around, she found Lucius standing back in the corridor, looking thoughtful.

~*~*~*~*~

From the Apparition point just outside the gates, Severus strode up to the castle. Despite the chilly air, there were signs of Spring everywhere. He could have sworn he saw a hedgehog scurry away under a bush, and he grinned. He'd never thought of hedgehogs as dinky before, but really, they were adorable little creatures, not that he would have ever admitted such thoughts to anyone. From there his thoughts wandered to Hermione, and warmth spread through him.

As he neared the castle, he put his mind back on bracing himself for the conversation with Dumbledore. He was not looking forward to it. He'd talked to the portrait only twice after the war. Both conversations had been unpleasant and tedious...with Dumbledore first expressing his surprise that Severus had survived at all and then reminding him of all his shortcomings. Both times, Severus had felt miserable and guilty afterwards.

Severus reached the entrance to the castle, decided to make a little detour to his rooms, and then went to Minerva's office, hoping to find her there. After giving the password, "fàilte", to the statue of the gargoyle, he was swept upwards on the moving stairs; the door at the top was already open.

'Severus,' Minerva greeted him. 'Come in. What can I do for you?'

'Minerva. Actually I haven't come to see you. I was wondering if I could have a word with Dumbledore?'

'Of course.' Minerva sent him a questioning look, but when he didn't offer an explanation, she didn't ask. 'I had planned to take a look at the new greenhouse, anyway.' After another look at Severus, she left the office.

Severus noticed that Dumbledore, for once, wasn't pretending to be asleep. 'Dumbledore,' he said.

'Good afternoon, Severus. It's good to see you. It's been too long, my boy.'

'Don't call me that,' Severus said through clenched teeth.

'So, has Miss Granger turned up again?' Dumbledore asked.

'I fail to see how that concerns you,' Severus answered.

Dumbledore gave him a patronising smile. 'Severus, Severus. Another hopeless infatuation? Maybe this time your love won't get anyone killed.'

Severus took a deep breath. Yes, there it was again, the reason why he usually avoided talking to Dumbledore's portrait. 'That concerns you even less,' he said.

'Saving innocent lives always concerns me, my boy,' Dumbledore answered.

But only if it coincided with Dumbledore's ideas about the greater good was more like it. This conversation was going nowhere. Time to change the pace. 'What do you know about Amun-Ra's Sun?' he asked.

'I've never heard of it,' Dumbledore answered too quickly.

Severus narrowed his eyes. '"Purifying Fire", perhaps?'

'Doesn't ring a bell.' Again, the answer came too quickly.

'I don't believe you. I think you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I suggest you dig through that magnificent memory of yours and see if you can remember. It might interest you to know that "innocent lives" may be at stake. Oh, right. I forgot; they don't matter if they're not part or your great plan,' Severus shouted.

None of the other portraits pretended to be sleeping anymore.

'There's no need to get so worked up, my boy. Come to think of it, I may have heard of the "Purifying Fire". It is merely a legend. If that device ever existed, it was lost a long time ago.'

'It might interest you to know that the device is neither lost nor a legend,' Severus said, his voice a little calmer.

'If such a device did indeed exist, it would be highly dangerous, and I don't think you're the right person to have more information about it. Need I remind you that your track record in this respect is rather bad? You'll always be weak, and you'll never lose your fascination with the Dark,' Dumbledore said calmly.

So far, the conversation had gone as Severus had feared it might. Time to turn things in his favour. He pulled a small vial from the pocket of his robes. 'Do you know what this is?' He made sure Dumbledore had a clear view of the dark purple liquid. 'No? I thought not. You might not be aware of my research in experimental potions. It's amazing what one can find the time for if one isn't at the beck and call of two megalomaniacs,' he added conversationally.

'Severus, don't let me keep you,' Dumbledore said.

Severus ignored Dumbledore's interjection. 'I brewed this little potion here a while ago; it has amazing qualities, depending on the number of drops one uses. Two drops trap a portrait in its frame. Three drops paralyse the portrait. Any dosage higher than that serves as the wizarding equivalent of turpentine. Now, would you like me to demonstrate, or do you think you might remember more about the "Purifying Fire" after all?'

'Severus, don't be ridiculous. Extortion won't get you anywhere.' Despite his statement, Dumbledore sounded worried.

Severus waited, the vial in his hand.

'This conversation is over. Good day, Severus.' Dumbledore stood up from his chair and turned to leave his portrait.

Severus chose this moment to direct two drops of the potion onto the painting with his wand. There was a slight hiss, and then Dumbledore could be seen running his hands along the wall that had appeared in the background of his portrait. The other portraits were murmuring among themselves, and there was much scrambling as they all hurried out of their frames in the Headmistress' office.

Dumbledore turned around, his expression one of utter fury.

'Now, what is it going to be? Another drop, and you'll spend eternity paralysed, or would you rather part with the information I need?' Severus asked.

'You sneaking, conniving snake spawn. All you Slytherins are alike, disgusting, slimy, lowlife...'

A long streak of colourful invectives followed with a number of interesting, and entirely impossible, suggestions about Severus, his parents, his house, and a number of other things.

Severus calmly held up the vial and waited until Dumbledore had run out of steam. Which took a surprisingly long time.

Finally, Dumbledore stopped and said reluctantly, 'There are two scrolls among my assets that will tell you what you want to know. They're in a glass case in the Restricted Section of the library now. Minerva has the keys; the password you'll need to read them is "Fizzing Whizbees".'

'Thank you.' Severus turned to leave.

'What about the antidote?'

'There isn't one.'

As he shut the door behind him, the shouting began again.

~*~*~*~*~

Hermione looked up as Snape walked into the library, two scrolls in hand. Her heart started to beat faster again at seeing him.

'Dumbledore was co-operative, then?' Lucius asked.

'With a little persuasion,' Snape answered as he spread out the scrolls on the table. Each of them was filled with rows upon rows of text.

Hermione inspected one of them. 'Odd, they aren't even coded.'

'They were protected. Just blank pieces of old parchment if you didn't know how to activate them. I made sure Dumbledore gave me the correct password back at Hogwarts,' Severus explained.

Hermione had started to read the scroll that seemed to explain how the "Purifying Fire" worked. Bile rose in her throat, almost threatening to suffocate her the further she read.

She pushed the scroll away from her. 'That's horrible.'

Severus and Lucius bent their heads over the same scroll.

After a while, Snape said, 'It's gruesome.'

Lucius didn't say anything, but he looked a little green around the gills.

All three were silent, then Hermione said, 'So basically, this device drains a witch or wizard of his or her magic.'

Snape nodded. 'And then the person dies because magic is an intrinsic part of a wizard's being.'

Hermione avoided looking again at the passage that described the slow and torturous death in excruciating detail. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Severus and Lucius do the same. 'I think we can all imagine that Grindelwald planned to get rid of all the Muggle-borns before turning the Muggles into slaves. The question is, what did the Muggles want with it?'

Lucius said, 'Can't you see? It'll work on all wizards. Imagine you wanted to get rid of the wizarding population. Wouldn't that be a handy way of doing it? One by one, without attracting too much attention? It would take time, but eventually you'd get there...or at least decimate us enough to be practically non-existent. It would be our worst fears come true.'

'But that would be genocide,' Hermione said, shivering.

'Wouldn't be the first attempt in history,' Snape said.

'We have to let someone know about this. Kingsley, Harry. And we have to find out who's behind it.'

'Let's see if there's something in these scrolls about how the device can be disabled first,' Snape suggested.

'I agree. I want this thing destroyed.' Lucius pulled the other scroll towards him. It looked newer than the other one and was handwritten.

'That's Dumbledore's handwriting,' Snape pointed out.

After all three had read through it, they were silent again.

'Well, the good news is that it seems it can be destroyed,' Hermione said.

To extinguish the fire, three is key.

Variation in three, different parts of one.

Three alike, three in harmony.

Three is key,

Power, trust and unity.

'Yes, but what the hell does it mean?' Lucius asked, pointing at the parchment in front of him.

'It sounds almost like a nursery rhyme,' said Hermione with a frown.

'Lucius, do you have a book on Numerology?' Severus asked.

'Yes.' Lucius went through the rows of books, and soon a number of volumes were floating towards the table.

Several pages later, Lucius said, 'It seems clear that three refers to wizards.'

'Or magical beings. It says "variation". That would indicate that there needs to be a difference between them.' Hermione pointed at the line in question.

'I concur. It seems to be clear that all three participants have to share the ability to do magic...and if I read this correctly, they would all have to be fairly powerful. And they'd all have to bring a different aspect to it. I wonder which would qualify?' Snape pulled a new piece of parchment towards him and started to make a list.

'Nationality, houses,' Hermione suggested.

'Humans and non humans,' Snape added.

'Bloodlines,' said Lucius.

'But that means, that we could try to do it.' Hermione looked at the scroll again. 'We all have magic; we're skilled and powerful. That's what we have in common. And we're one pure-blood, one half-blood, and one Muggle-born, so we could perform the spell together.'

'Yes, but it also says there has to be absolute trust between all of them,' Snape pointed out.

'I suppose what you're saying is that it comes down to whether Lucius and I are able and willing to trust one another.' Hermione looked at Lucius.

'Yes. This is ancient magic, blood magic. It can't be tricked,' Snape said.

Hermione continued to look at Lucius. Could she trust him? Did she want to? After the last days, the answer was definitely "yes" to the second question. And the first? She contemplated all she knew about him, and then she made a decision. 'Yes.'

'If you can, so can I,' Lucius answered.

'Tomorrow, then?' Snape asked

'Tomorrow,' Lucius and Hermione answered.

'Then we'd better start to figure out how the ritual works.'

~*~*~*~*~

Hermione tossed around in her bed. She was too hot. She threw off the duvet, only to pull it back over herself five minutes later when she was freezing. She tried to go back to sleep again, but she was thirsty. She got up and conjured a glass of water. After she'd drunk it, she snuggled back under her duvet. Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep. Instead, she remembered the descriptions of how one died if one's magic was taken away. She shivered and tried to concentrate on something else. She thought about Snape's kisses and was just dozing off when she realised that she needed the loo.

Back in her room, she climbed back into bed and closed her eyes. This time, she started to worry if they had done all they could in preparation for the next day. Did they have all the equipment? And had they all memorised the spell? And was the trust between her and Lucius genuine? What if it wasn't?

It was no good. Hermione got up again, wrapped her dressing gown around her and walked along the corridor until she stood in front of Severus' door. She hesitated, then she knocked.

The door opened almost immediately.

'Hermione?'

'I can't sleep. Can I come in?'

Severus stared at her for a moment, then he said, 'Of course.'

His room looked very similar to hers, apart from his personal belongings that were strewn all over it.

'Why can't you sleep?'

'I don't know. Too much on my mind. I can't stop thinking about tomorrow and about what the device could do if we don't destroy it.' Only now did she notice that he was clad in nothing but striped pyjama bottoms. His torso looked very nice: slim, not too muscular with a few sparse, black hairs. Fascinated, her eyes followed the trail of hairs down to the waistband of his trousers.

'We will succeed. But you need your strength for it.'

Her eyes snapped back to Severus' face.

'Can I stay?'

Severus' eyes fixed on hers. 'I'm not sure this is the best time...'

'I just don't want to be alone.' Hermione walked over to his bed and sat down.

'It seems you've already decided.' He didn't sound angry as he sat down next to her.

Hermione leant against him, and Severus put his arm around her. 'Let's try to get some sleep,' he whispered.

They settled down with Severus spooned behind her. His arms felt good holding her, and he smelled really nice. Hermione snuggled into his arms and contemplated turning around, trailing kisses up his chest and his neck...

Another knock at the door.

'Now, what?' Severus clambered out of bed to open the door to a dishevelled Lucius.

'Yes?'

'Can I...Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.' Lucius had obviously spotted Hermione.

'You're not interrupting,' she said after a look at Severus.

'Yes, we might as well have a party.' Severus snarled as he opened the door to let Lucius in.

Lucius was wearing a dark, silky looking dressing gown over his pyjamas. His long hair was plaited down his back. Hermione had never seen him looking so tired.

'It's just that I can't really sleep because...'

'...you can't stop thinking about tomorrow,' Severus and Hermione chorused.

Lucius looked puzzled.

'It seems we're all having the same problem,' Hermione explained.

'Not all of us.' Severus yawned. 'You two can discuss this all night, but me, I'm going to bed.'

Without a word, Lucius followed him to his bed. Severus looked from him to Hermione and shook his head, but he held up the duvet for Lucius to climb in. After a Replication Charm on the pillow and the disentangling of a few limbs, they were all settled in with Severus in the middle, Hermione in his arms, and Lucius spooned behind him.

'You know, I...' Lucius began.

'Some of us would like to sleep. Now. Lucius,' Severus said.

As Hermione drifted off to sleep, she thought that Lucius smelled nice, too.

~*~*~*~*~

Lucius put down his cup. 'Shall we get on with it, then?'

Severus and Hermione nodded, though Hermione didn't really fancy getting up from the breakfast table. Something had changed between the three of them after last night. She couldn't really put her finger on it, but she felt... comfortable wasn't really the word for it... at ease was more like it. At some point, she would have to think about what this meant. For her, and for her and Severus, maybe even for her, Severus and Lucius. But not now. Now, they needed to concentrate on the spell.

'Do you think we need to conjure something like, I don't know, ceremonial robes?' she asked, wondering why they hadn't thought about this yesterday.

Severus shook his head. 'No, but I think we should definitely all wear robes. Which we already are.'

'Right. Let's go, then. And remember, whatever happens, don't break the circle.'

They had decided to use one of the dungeons for the ritual. Lucius went first, carrying the "Purifying Fire", still under the Stasis Charm. Hermione followed him, a silver chalice in her hands. Severus brought up the rear, holding a silver athame.

Hermione used a variation of the Flagrante Charm to draw a pentagram on the floor. When the purple flames flickered out, the shape remained. She set the chalice in the middle.

Lucius disabled the Stasis Charm on the "Purifying Fire" and went to put it into the chalice. He had trouble crossing the line into the pentagram as he seemed to be drawn away from it, but eventually, he managed to place the golden, sun-shaped device into the chalice. He stepped away from it, and then all three stepped back into the pentagram at the same time.

Lucius began. He took the athame, made a cut on his left middle finger, and squeezed a drop of blood into the chalice. Severus and Hermione followed, doing exactly the same; then Hermione placed the athame on the upper point of the pentagram, the tip of the knife pointing towards the chalice.

The three linked hands, then they spoke the incantations together and waited.

Hermione could feel the magic flow between them, around them, through her body.

When the first drop of blood had hit it, the "Purifying Fire" had begun to take on a red colour. Now it was a pulsating, bright red. Around Severus, Lucius, and Hermione, a storm started to rage through the room, threatening to throw them off balance and out of the circle, but they remained standing, their hands firmly linked, their magic flowing freely between them.

Dark flames erupted from the carved rim of the sun-shaped device; the storm in the room gained even more force. Hermione could feel it testing their magic, their strength, their trust in each other. She could feel that neither of the three was wavering while the storm increased further until the "Purifying Fire" erupted in one dark, darting flame with a howl that sounded more terrible than anything Hermione had ever heard before.

And then all was silent, and all that remained in the chalice was a lump of molten metal.

Lucius, Severus, and Hermione kept holding hands until Severus said, 'I think it's safe to let go now.'

Hermione felt oddly bereft when she let go of the others' hands.

They all started running diagnostic spells on the remains of the "Purifying Fire" until they were satisfied that there was no magic left in it, but put it back under a Stasis Charm for good measure.

Hermione's legs shook as she trudged up the stairs to the groundfloor again, and a glance at Severus and Lucius' faces confirmed that they looked as tired as she felt.

'I think I need a nap,' she announced and shuffled upstairs, too tired to think about why she was going to Snape's room. Still in her robes, she collapsed onto the bed. She'd stretched out on her side and closed her eyes when she felt the bed sag behind her, and then it dipped down at the front, as well.

Two arms pulled her close. She snuggled into the nice male chest with a contented sigh. Slowly, a hand crept beneath her robes, stroking her back, fingers tracing the line of her bra straps, and then working its way to around to her breasts.

Hermione opened her eyes, seeing that she was in Severus' arms. This time, she gave in to her desire and trailed kisses up the side of his neck, over his chin until she reached his lips. He responded eagerly to her kiss, opening his mouth, and their tongues found each other again.

Meanwhile, Lucius had managed to open her bra, and his hand was now stroking her breast, rolling her nipple around in his fingers, causing her to moan into Severus' mouth. She tried to turn around, but got tangled up in all the cloth around them, binding both men firmly to her. 'Too tired,' she mumbled.

'Too tired for what?' Severus asked.

'To undress properly.'

'Let me assist you,' Lucius suggested and used a Divesto to get rid of their clothes.

'Much better.' Hermione placed a kiss on Lucius' chest while Severus spread the duvet over all of them.

~*~*~*~*~

When Hermione woke up again, she was alone in the bed. She showered and dressed quickly. Downstairs, she found that Harry had just arrived. 'Have you found out anything?'

'Yes. I had to confide in Kingsley eventually, but he said to go ahead with the investigation. So we have a fairly good idea what's been going on, now,' Harry said.

'Tell me.'

'Did you know that Demelza Robins was Colin Creevey's girlfriend? Apparently, she's kept in contact with his parents all these years. Colin's mum works as a cleaning lady in, get this, the Muggle Ministry. She hates wizards because she thinks her son would still be alive if he hadn't been magical. So, when she was approached by someone from MI5, she was only too happy to give them Demelza's name, who in turn, helped in setting up the flat and pointing out possible victims.'

'That explains the who, but not the why,' Severus said.

'I'm getting there. Kingsley knows the Muggle Ministry fairly well, so he did a bit of investigating of his own. You know, called in a few favours and the like. Turns out the link goes right to the very top.'

'You mean...?' Hermione asked.

'Yes,' Harry confirmed. 'It seems the Prime Minister is involved in this.'

'Talk about a conspiracy,' Hermione said before she filled Harry in on the "Purifying Fire" device, how it worked, and that they had destroyed it.

When she'd finished, Harry was silent.

'That's really scary,' he said after a while.

'It is, and we still need to find out how that device found its way into Muggle hands,' Hermione pointed out.

'Demelza was part of the Auror team that investigated the estate of the Lestranges a few years ago. They had loads of Grindelwald's stuff and most of his diaries. She could easily have found out what it was and kept it,' Harry said.

'How does Arthur Weasley fit into all this?' Lucius asked.

'He's just a pawn in the game.' Harry looked apologetic.

'And an easy one at that, given his love for all things Muggle,' Severus added.

Lucius looked thoughtful. 'I think it is time I visited the Ministry.'

'Actually, Kingsley's already suggested that you might want to go with him to visit the Muggle Prime Minister. He thinks it's time the Minister learnt a few things about wizards and not to mess with them. And that he might want to think about a job change. And Kingsley came up with this even before we knew about the device.'

Lucius looked as if Christmas had come early. 'Tell Kingsley, I'm at his service.'

'Will do. Severus, Hermione, I need the details about the tower block and the captors. We need to track them down to Obliviate them. We can't risk having them running around with knowledge about our world.'

'We'll write them down for you,' Hermione said.

'Thanks, I must be off. You know what?' Harry said to Hermione. 'Luna will be forever sorry that she missed this.'

Hermione grinned. 'Yes, but she couldn't publish it, anyway.'

'Oh, and I nearly forgot, Ron asked after you,' Harry added.

'Tell him to stay away from me, or I'll turn him into a steering wheel.'

When Harry had vanished through the Floo, Severus, Lucius, and Hermione looked at each other.

'So it's all over,' Hermione said.

'So it would seem,' Severus answered.

'And I can go home.' Something that almost felt like disappointment spread through her.

'Not quite,' Lucius said. 'I think we should celebrate. Have a special dinner tonight.'

'Now, Lucius, when you say "special", are we talking about all those extravagant dishes you love, or are we talking about good solid food?'

'Severus, don't start again. I'll find something even you'll like.'

Hermione grinned at the usual bickering between the two.

The same afternoon, the wizarding wireless announced that Arthur Weasley would be resigning as Minister for Magic due to health problems and the wish to spend more time with his family.

~*~*~*~*~

As Lucius had called it a celebration, Hermione had quickly gone home and fetched a suitable dress. It had only taken about a dozen transfigurations until she was satisfied with the result. Now, back at the manor, dressed in a strapless, dark blue dress, the hem coming down to the middle of her calves, her hair tamed by generous applications of Patil's Conditioner, she thought she looked rather nice.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Severus and Lucius downstairs; they had arranged to meet in the conservatory. Severus was dressed in his usual black, but it had never looked as good on him as it did tonight. Lucius had chosen dark grey robes that went perfectly with his hair and his eyes. They were both gorgeous. When Lucius handed her a glass of champagne, his fingers lingered a little longer than necessary on hers, sending little sparks all through her, right down to the tips of her toes. He raised his glass, 'To saving the wizarding world and to us.'

Severus and Hermione echoed him, 'To us.'

Severus' eyes remained fixed on Hermione while they drank, sending little shivers of anticipation through her.

The table in the dining room had been set with white porcelain, silver candlesticks, and arrangements of white daffodils and tulips; Keppy had donned a fresh tea-towel in honour of the occasion. Lucius broke off little pieces of the tomato, olive, and basil bruschetta they had for a first course and fed them to Hermione.

'This is delicious,' she said, offering a piece of bruschetta to Severus. 'Try it.'

As he bent forward to take the piece of bread from her, his mouth closed around her fingers and Hermione felt his tongue quickly sweep over her fingertips. 'Tasty,' he said.

Hermione nearly dropped her glass while Lucius was watching them. She was glad that the next course consisted of roast leg of lamb, gravy, roast potatoes, broccoli and carrots. Not only was it extremely delicious, it also didn't lend itself very well to be fed as nibbles.

'So it seems we'll need a new Minister,' Lucius said, taking a sip from his Bordeaux.

'So it would seem.' Severus speared another roast potato. 'My bet would be on Kingsley.'

'He'd make a good Minister.' Hermione contemplated another glass of wine.

Not even Severus found anything to complain about with the food, especially as they had apple crumble with custard for pudding, which, according to Lucius was one of Severus' favourites. Severus didn't object.

Hermione felt pleasantly full and mellow as they retired to the drawing room where another bottle of the excellent Bordeaux from the Malfoy cellars was waiting for them. She leant back against the backrest of the sofa, watching Severus and Lucius, who in turn were watching her. 'So, any plans for Easter?' she asked.

'Right, it's Good Friday today. I'd completely forgotten,' Severus said. 'Nothing in particular, read, sleep. And you?'

'Pretty much the same. I can do with a bit of peace and quiet after the last few days,' Hermione said.

'I don't blame you.'

Lucius was watching them both, a thoughtful expression on his face. 'The manor is a good place to spend Easter,' he said.

'It sounds tempting.' Severus turned to Hermione. 'What do you think?'

She set down her glass. 'What exactly does "spending Easter" mean?'

Severus sidled up to her on the sofa, taking one of her hands while Lucius perched on the armrest on her other side, his hand on her shoulder.

'Whatever you wish it to be,' Severus said.

Lucius added, 'We're all yours.'

Hermione looked from one to the other, then she began to smile. 'We'll really have to find a bigger bed, then.'

~fin~

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This story was originally written as a present for duniazade during the sshg exchange 2010 on lj. This was duniazade's prompt: "After the Second Voldemort War, the Muggle Prime Minister has decided to do something about the wizards' interference. He has put together a special task force and a team of (mad) scientists who are charged with capturing a witch/wizard in order to study them and find a way of neutralising magical power. It so happens that Hermione is captured (the reason is up to you, but maybe Ron's idiocy is involved). It's Snape's job to rescue her and sort things out."

Many thanks to duniazade for her fabulous prompt, and to my wonderful betas melusin and pyjamapants.

The Potterverse belongs to JKR; I only take the characters out to play. Will return them unharmed but much happier.