Chapter Eleven

Hermione took a sip of her morning tea, grimaced and pushed it away. She'd let it get cold and it tasted awful, but she needed the caffeine after last night. She and Pansy had sat up for an hour after they got back to the flat and drunk a small bottle of brandy Hermione had stashed in the back of a cupboard. She was now ever so slightly hung over.

With a tired sigh, she pulled herself onto her feet and took the mug into her tiny kitchen, snapping on the kettle. She'd get through this cup if it took her...

There was a tap on her kitchen window. Turning, Hermione was surprised to find a postal owl fluttering there. A moment later she was tearing into an envelope from the Ministry's Parole Board.

The letter informed her that she had been seen breaking into Ministry offices and stealing. She was ordered to stay at her flat pending an investigation. It ended with a notice that she would be interviewed by a Parole Officer assigned to her case.

Hermione's knees gave way, and she dropped back into her kitchen chair. So, she was under house arrest while they investigated her activities at the Ministry last night. Had she tripped a ward or alarm of some sort? Perhaps Lucius was feeling more vindictive than either she or Pansy could have anticipated. It was one thing to be suspected of canoodling with the Foreign Minister late at night, but to be accused of thievery was a serious charge indeed. She closed her eyes and willed herself not to panic, but her pounding heart was having none of it. Lucius could bring her before the Parole Board...hell, he was the Parole Board...and send her back to prison without a fuss.

Interviewed by a Parole Officer - Why did they phrase it in that manner? Pansy was her Parole Officer, but this letter made it sound as if someone new was being assigned.

There was a sharp knock on the door. Relieved, Hermione stood to answer it. Now she would learn the whole story. She wondered if Pansy was as hung over as she...

Suddenly, the door blew back on its hinges, and she threw an arm over her head with a cry of alarm. Standing in the doorway were the Lestrange brothers.

Severus arrived at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures almost ahead of the rest of its staff. He had left his hotel in Brighton first thing in the morning, stopping off to shower and change back into Wizarding garb.

His visit caused something of a sensation. A smiling older witch whose name he didn't catch bustled up to greet him, declaring someone named Perry would not believe that the Foreign Minister himself had visited her little office. Miss Granger had not come in yet, the woman said, but she assured him she would be told of his visit the moment she walked in the door...

"So she's not here, eh?" Severus turned to see Pansy Parkinson lounging in the doorway.

"Miss Parkinson." He greeted her with a polite nod. "Why are you looking for Miss Granger?"

"Because I'm responsible for her comings and goings...or rather, I was, until this morning when I was summarily removed from her case. That bastard. Doesn't he honor any of his negotiated settlements?" she mused enigmatically. "No wonder Wizarding Britain can't seem to get any treaties signed."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Severus testily. "Please tell me what's happened."

Pansy glanced at Severus with a shrewd look he could not fathom. "Well, if anyone needs to be brought up to speed, Your Excellency, it's you." She gave a sardonic chuckle. "First of all, your office became a high-traffic area last night when ..."

"Well, well. Long time no see," said Rabastan Lestrange. "We've missed you, didn't we, Dolph?"

Rabastan and his brother Rodolphus pushed their way into her flat. A low, painful whimper caught in Hermione's throat, and she began to shudder. "You're not supposed to be here," she declared shrilly. "Get out!"

A low, dark carnal laughter came from Rodolphus. "Oh, now is that anyway to welcome old friends? I'm hurt, aren't you, Rab?"

"I should say so. I thought you'd be happy to see us, Granger." Rabastan's dark eyes roamed over her body hungrily. "Why, you scrub up nicely, for a Gryffindor."

"Here, kitty kitty," Rodolphus cajoled behind her. How did he get behind her? She turned to try and keep them both in her sights. The two wizards were leering at her as they closed in. Fear caused her muscles to betray her...she could not move from her spot on the floor.

Heart beating wildly, she managed to gasp, "My Parole Officer is going to be here any minute..."

"No she's not," Rabastan sneered. "We are your new Parole Officers. The Minister for Magic felt you needed more...protection. You're a danger to yourself, luv...unauthorized access to Ministry offices, thievery...forgetting favors..." he tutted with mock regret. "It's a problem."

"The Minister decided what you need is a firmer hand," continued Rodolphus. "From now on, we'll be escorting you to and from the Ministry every day, and to your appointments as well. We'll keep a much closer eye on you, make sure you don't go poking around any more like you did last night. Your Miss Pansy is busy blowing the Minister in his office again, no doubt," he added. "From what I hear, she's an expert. Not like you, innit? We always had to tell you what to do. No finesse." He leered as he looked her up and down. "Has she taught you any new techniques while we've been gone? Why don't we sit down right now and have you show them to me."

He reached out to put a hand on her elbow. She jerked her arm away, gasping for air. She couldn't seem to get a deep breath. The horrible memories of what the two Death Eaters had done to her in Azkaban flooded her vision, and panic, wild and disjointed, set in. She backed away from them until her back was against the wall and placed her hands over her ears as the harsh male laughter closed in on her.

She cringed as Rabastan Lestrange pressed her against the wall, his large hands roaming over her body with lecherous, bestial familiarity. He purred in a coaxing, evil voice. "Little kitty here is getting excited." She tried to push him away as he ground his pelvis against hers, showing off his erection. "Always playing hard to get, aren't you? You know that gets me horny."

Hermione knew what would happen next. Rabastan had always been the one who loved to rape her, while his brother preferred her mouth on him...usually at the same time. She remembered only too well her few encounters with them as unrelieved horror. There had been nothing remotely sexual about their 'games.' It had been about pain, humiliation, power and abuse.

Rabastan squeezed a breast as he continued to press her against the wall. "And if you don't cooperate, guess where we'll all go? Back to your favourite place on earth, Prisoner Gebo 77."

The two men started laughing as if they'd just heard the funniest joke, and Hermione fought down a wave of nausea. They would take her back to Azkaban. Lucius' agreement with Pansy was for nothing; he had immediately replaced her with the Lestranges. He was trying to send her a message. He might still throw her away...

But she was not in prison yet. And Hermione Granger was no longer incapacitated by malnutrition and despair. She was standing in her own flat, two steps away from building a weapon that might mean the end of these two sadistic bastards and their ilk forever.

Hermione looked Rabastan in the eye, drew in a deep breath and let out an ear-piercing scream. He tried to put his hand over her mouth but she made a sharp gesture with both hands and he was flung backward by a burst of spontaneous magic. The overhead lights started to flicker and the wall sconces burst apart, and the two brothers were pelted with bits of glass and wood; they cursed and cowered under the assault as the lights sputtered and went out.

Only then did she stopped screaming and run out of the flat.

As soon as Pansy mentioned the names of the men who had summarily replaced her as Hermione's guardians, Severus turned on his heel, his heart in his throat, and strode out of the office and to the elevators. In the Atrium, he broke into a run and was at the Floo and on the sidewalk of the bustling London streets before he knew it.

Following Pansy's directions, he Apparated to the cellar of the building where Hermione lived. It was a dark, deserted place; wand light showed it to be a tenants' storage room, filled with old kitchen appliances and odd pieces of furniture. Severus could sense that the upper stories of the building were warded against Apparition, so he found the staircase and sprinted upstairs.

The moment he reached the landing of the floor which housed Hermione's flat, he knew instinctively something was wrong. He found her door, and it slowly swung open at his touch. His wand at the ready, Severus eased into the darkened room. "Homenum Revelio," he whispered, and when the spell showed no one in the flat, he added, "Lumos."

The flat had been trashed; even the lightbulbs were broken. He looked around in dismay at the wreckage. From the corner of the room he heard a gruff yet impossibly familiar voice. "Back again, are you? Discovered another glass you forgot to smash? Merlin forbid the girl would be allowed to take a drink in her own house. You've left her nothing, you malodorous hooligans..."

"Phineas?" called Severus. "Is that you?"

"Who's there?"

Severus moved in closer. To his astonishment, he found the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black huddled in his frame on the floor, squinting in the wand light. Severus could not begin to imagine how the former Hogwarts headmaster's portrait had come back into her possession, but now was not the time to ask.

"Headmaster - thank Merlin!" Phineas was obviously relieved to see a friendly face. "Severus, if you care anything for the girl at all, you need to help her now," he implored. "They've gone after her. The bastards came in..."

Severus' heart started pounding. "The Lestranges?" he asked.

"Yes! They showed up, started threatening the girl with acts of atrocity that would blind you. She fled from them, but they didn't go after her right away. They started turning the place inside out, claiming they were looking for valuables stolen from the Ministry." The infamous Black sneer of disdain was firmly back in place. "I ordered them to get out, but...now, Headmaster, don't go off half-cocked!"

Severus, who had already headed for the door, stopped and waited with barely-controlled fury.

In a quieter tone, Black continued. "You literally missed them by moments. They obviously came here to harm the girl. Threatened to take her back to Azkaban if she didn't start cooperating more with the Minister."

Severus felt a chilling calm sweep over his body like a casing of ice. "Where's Hermione now?"

"I don't know. She fled, and they let her run like cats chasing a mouse. They said they'd catch her soon enough..."

He raced out of the flat, and as he closed and warded the door behind him he heard the portrait roar, "This is Malfoy's doing, boy! Watch your step!"

Out on the street, he wildly looked around for any clues as to which direction Hermione might have taken. A faint shout from down the street caught his ear. He turned in time to see Rodolphus Lestrange cast a Dillusionment charm on himself and take to the air.

Severus cursed even as he crouched and launched himself into flight, hastily Disillusioning himself as well. Other than the Dark Lord, he and Rodolphus were the only two wizards he knew of who were capable of flight. If he was flying in broad daylight, in plain sight of Muggles, he must be tracking Hermione like a hawk. Fortunately, Severus was capable of trailing him. Years of association had taught him how to follow Rodolphus easily.

But within seconds, Severus wished there had been another way. The day was grey and overcast; a cold, sharp rain had started, making it hard to see. He had not flown in almost two years; it was tiring, back-breaking, draining magic when one was out of practice. Doggedly, he kept the other man in sight as they flew south over the Thames.

Suddenly Rodolphus' pale, shimmering shadow dove downward, toward the Millennium Bridge, and from overhead, Severus spotted Hermione. Rabastan Lestrange had effectively herded her onto the bridge, and she was heading toward the South Bank at a dead run, with Rabastan casually strolling after her. He could hear her cries of alarm, but Muggles seemed not to be able to hear or see her; as he watched, Rabastan reared his wand arm back and threw a powerful Notice-Me-Not charm in her direction, which was apparently effective enough to keep her isolated and alone.

From above, Severus watched her skid to a halt, then turn briefly to keep her enemy in sight. She switched to a trot, keeping her distance from Rabastan, but she could not see that overhead, Rodolphus also had her in his sights.

"Hold on, Hermione," Severus whispered as he began his dive, his robes streaming behind. He wondered how he could get her out of this situation and not compromise either of them, and realised he could not.

Hermione knew she had lost. It was the same, sickening feeling she'd known the day she saw Harry die in a blaze of Fiendfyre and fall the ground, a smoldering carcass that smelled of roasted flesh and burst internal organs. It was the exact paralysing realisation she'd had that day on Brighton Pier...the knowledge that she'd finally been caught and was going to Azkaban.

Only this time, there was no Professor McGonagall to send her to safety, and she was incapable of Apparition. No one else knew where she was.

Rabastan Lestrange had pursued her through the streets, always staying within wand range, with the deliberate gait of an animal running its prey to ground. "Now, little girl, what did you go and trash your flat for?" he jeered. "It's a mess now. Damaging Ministry property is a criminal offence. And you know what happens to bad girls when they commit crimes?"

Hermione barely heard his taunts. All she could see was Azkaban. All she could hear and smell was Azkaban.

As she reached the middle of the bridge, she thought of the weapon. With any luck, after she was gone, Severus would eventually come to her flat and Phineas would tell him the entire story. Severus could take up where she left off. The mission could continue even after she had gone.

She backed up against the railing of the bridge and turned to look at the water. It looked cold. It looked kinder than Azkaban. At that moment, she made her decision.

My name is Hermione Jean Granger, not Gebo77Isa 96 Kenaz Degaz Berkano. My life is my own, not Voldemort's, and not Lucius Malfoy's. If I am to die, then I will choose when and where.

She wished she could have spoken to Severus one last time. So many things left to talk about ...

She heaved herself over the railing and jumped.

Rabastan gave a yell and broke into a run as Hermione hoisted a leg over the railing. Instantly, Severus changed his trajectory, aiming for a point below the bridge. Rodolphus also shouted from mid-air, but like his brother, he would not be able to catch her before she fell. Neither wizard had seen Severus yet.

As Hermione dropped from the tall bridge, he dove like a bullet, casting spell after spell to slow her fall. He knew the impact would likely kill her. Five feet from the surface, her descent finally slowed, and he cast his own shields as they hit the water together with an horrific splash.

The shock of the cold water nearly drove all the air from Severus' lungs as he frantically looked for Hermione. The river was as murky as it was frigid, and he cast a Lumos to aid his search. She was nowhere to be seen.

A flash of white caught his eye, and he dove toward the source. It was sinking rapidly. With a mighty heave, Severus blindly reached into the increasing darkness. His hand closed around her wrist and he hauled her upward.

Their heads broke the surface and they both gasped for air. Severus looked back to see both Lestrange brothers standing at the railing, their eyes sweeping the river. There was no time to lose. He gathered Hermione to his chest and clumsily flew out of the water with her, angling them low, under the bridge and out of their line of sight.

They collapsed in an ungainly heap on the embankment, Hermione crushed by his weight. She gave a mighty cough, turned her head and vomited up what looked like half the Thames. She pushed weakly against his chest, gasping for air. "Wh-who are you? Please ... please ..." Severus cancelled the Disillusionment spell with a flick of his wand. Her eyes went wide. "S-Sev'rus...?" she choked. "What-what're you..."

He ignored her feeble protests as he looked around and got his bearings. The Lestrange brothers might not have spotted them yet, but they could not be far behind. He tightened his grip on her, closed his eyes and Disapparated them with a crack.

They landed in a cold, pitch-black room. It was the cellar of Hermione's building, the first, nearest place he could think of. At last he rolled off of her and helped her to her feet. "Are you hurt?" he demanded, roughly grasping at her dripping head, chest and shoulders to assure himself she was still in one piece.

"I-I'm alright," she answered weakly. "Severus..."

"We have to get out of here. Can you stand another Apparition yet?"

She shook her head. "No, Severus, Apparition ..." she gulped and steadied herself. "Apparition won't save us. The Lestranges are assigned to me, and I have the Trace." His eyes widened in alarm and his heart thudded even harder. "They'll be here any moment..."

Twin pops behind them made their ears ring; instinctively they turned and dove behind a refrigerator, drawing their wands as red jets of light streaked past them. Severus returned fire, shooting Stunners into the gloom in the direction of the curses. He tried to push Hermione to her knees with one hand, throwing a Protego over her.

"Hello, Snape," called a voice...Rodolphus'. "Fancy meeting you here!" Severus could not see them at all...the darkness was total...and hoped he and Hermione were just as well hidden. "What were you thinking, nicking our little kitty from the river like that?"

Severus did not answer, but cautiously stepped out to the left to draw fire away from Hermione. His booted foot knocked the leg of a chair. "Stupefy!" came a shout, and a red bolt just missed his head. He quickly threw a curse of his own before ducking behind something tall. He heard Rabastan grunt in pain.

"Snape!" called Rodolphus again. Severus instantly fired at the sound of his voice, but the bolt deflected off a shield. "No need to shed your blood today. Give us the girl and we'll say nothing about this to the Minister." Rodolphus laughed crudely. "She's a tart, all right, but she's not worth losing your favor with our Lord."

"Hominem Revelio!" cried Rabastan. Rodolphus growled profanities at his brother as a faint yellow glow appeared around all four of their bodies. Severus spied Hermione, positioned now some distance away, behind what might have been a stack of boxes. Even as the glow began to fade, all four figures took off running to avoid the frightful barrage of each other's hexes.

Severus smirked to himself. Rabastan's thoughtlessness could have cost the brothers any strategic advantage. Such was the nature of the spell; it made all of them equally vulnerable. They were not likely to cast it again without pause.

"Here, kitty, kitty," came Rabastan's wheedling voice. The brothers had separated now, and Severus knew Rabastan was about to begin stalking Hermione. There had been no peep from her; he prayed the girl had the sense to either fight well or stay out sight.

"Rab!" he shouted. Rabastan aimed another curse in his direction but Severus was ready; his body curled, just shy of the bolt, even as he fired a curse of his own...then did the same thing in another direction as Rodolphus fired at him. This time he heard Rodolphus hiss in pain. But Severus knew this was only the opening volley, and that the Lestranges would never give up until both of them were dead. They were predators at heart and would ignore all losses for the thrill of the hunt.

He sneered at that thought. If a hunt was what they wanted, a hunt was what they would get.

Moving to stand behind a wardrobe, Severus quietly slipped off his squelching boots, socks and outer robe, and stood barefoot on the cold concrete. He aimed his wand away and wordlessly performed the strongest Aguamenti he could muster. The sound of water splattering against a wall drew the brothers' wand fire toward the sound. In that instant, Severus ducked and sprinted straight toward one of the brothers in the dim after-image of the fading spell, his bare feet making almost no sound. Another randomly-fired bolt missed him by a mile.

The figure cried "Stup..." but Severus was there, upon him, keying on the sound of his voice to drive the heel of his hand upward and connect squarely with a nose. He grabbed the figure by the shoulders and brought up one knee to jab the man solidly in the groin. The figure gave a high squeal of surprise before Severus Stunned him. Still gripping the man's shoulders, Severus yanked him down and around, angling the figure in the direction that the other brother's shots had come from. With his wand clenched, he fumbled the other man's wand out of his hand, adding the second to his own.

"Hominem Revelio!" shouted a deep voice. Severus and the figure in his grip lit up again, and Severus continued to pivot, half-crouched with the man in his arms, toward his illuminated enemy, his own head and body mostly shielded. "Avada Kedavra!" A killing bolt arced toward Severus with lethal accuracy and hit the glowing figure in his arms. As the dead weight began to sink to the floor, Severus' own lit body came into view and he lifted his wand arm.

"Snape! Avada..."

"Locomotor Wibbly!" cried Hermione. A purple bolt of energy fired from somewhere off to the side and hit the figure squarely.

The man gave a mighty roar as he lost his balance. "Shit! You stupid bitch!" His legs seemed to collapse beneath him as the light faded and they were plunged into total darkness once more. He crashed to the floor. The noise was like a giant tree falling in the tiny basement, and Severus tracked it silently. "I'm gonna fucking kill you..."

A flash of intense white light flew from the wizard's wand in Hermione's direction; in that moment, his wand hand was illuminated in a lightning-bright glow. It was instantly gone, but not before...

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted Severus.

The words scissored into the air, raw and malignant, and green light burst from the two wands. The wizard, briefly engulfed in energy, fell backward onto the concrete and did not move.

All was silent for a moment. Then... "Severus?" Hermione whispered.

"I'm here, Hermione," he replied shakily. "It's over." He relaxed his grip on the body at last and slowly stood.

"Lumos Maxima," she called softly. A pulse of light flew from her wand to hover near the ceiling, illuminating the cellar with a small but harsh light. His eyes momentarily dazzled, Severus looked down to find himself standing over the body of Rodolphus Lestrange. Rabastan lay dead about twenty feet away, his arms and legs akimbo and his unseeing eyes reflecting the tiny light above.

Hermione stood up from behind an ottoman. She stared at the dead men, and then her eyes met Severus' in stunned disbelief. As he gazed on her pale face and wet, bedraggled state, he knew he looked much the same, and his delayed reaction over the difficult flight, the drop in the freezing river and the subsequent duel caused his heart to give a mighty leap of irrational anger.

"The Jelly-Legs Jinx?" he roared. "Of all the curses you learned in Defense, the only one that came to mind was the fucking Jelly-Legs Jinx?"

"I couldn't help it!" she shrieked back. She threw down her wand with a clatter. "This fucking baby wand doesn't work properly! I can't do curses! I can only make practical jokes and clean shit off of portraits!"

Her own legs wobbled, and she sat down hard on the ottoman and burst into tears. He staggered over and sat beside her, taking her into his arms. "I know, I know," he soothed, rocking her gently. The anger drained from him like water. "You were very brave."

"It was the best I could do," she sobbed, and Severus pulled her tighter as relief, powerful and sweet, shocked him into a bark of laughter.

"It was perfect," he rasped, and kissed her wild hair. He smiled as he crooned, "You were magnificent."