Chapter 15

Disclaimer: the Ministry of Magic are morons, J K Rowling owns Harry Potter and I am a skint student.

Without a beta, this couldn't be posted here, and the story would suffer. So thank you, LadySunflower.

Thanks to those who read and review.

Chapter 15

Hermione's relief at escaping the castle was short lived. She had the (in hindsight) obvious surprise that she could now see the Thestrals pulling the carriages to Hogsmeade, only to be dumbfounded by their colour. Instead of being the black that Harry and every book mentioning them had described, she saw them as pure white. Perhaps it was a result of having died, or simply an effect of being a Necromancer. Hermione didn't know, and not knowing things always disconcerted her.

When she arrived in the Wizarding village, she had a constant prickling on the back of her neck signifying that she was being watched by hostile eyes, yet when she looked up there was no one there. Attempting to locate the watcher was impossible, even trying to listen for the heartbeat failed her as there were far too many people around. Both McGonagall and Severus were within sight, allowing her some space to enjoy her friends' company. Ginny was strolling about, arm in arm with Dean Thomas, having been persuaded that Hermione was perfectly happy keeping Ron and Harry company.

Then Ron had been ambushed by a displeased Lavender Brown. Apparently, she had told him weeks ago that he was taking her to Hogsmeade. That left Hermione in a rather awkward situation with her erstwhile friend. Harry had managed to persuade her to join him for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, where they managed to talk through and resolve the majority of the issues between them.

They had been heading back to the castle after stocking up on sweets from Honeydukes (Sugar Quills in Hermione's case; the sight of the Tooth-flossing String Mints almost had her in floods of tears as she had given some to her parents years before) when Katie Bell was incapacitated by the sinister necklace.

Hermione was strongly tempted to reduce it to its component atoms, but knew that it was needed to investigate the attempted murder. McGonagall took the necklace back to the castle (wrapped and warded to avoid accidents).

The feeling of being watched intensified to the point where Hermione felt hunted. A deafening crack of multiple Apparitions echoed around the outskirts of Hogsmeade as a group of wizards wearing some kind of scaly armour surrounded her, their wands already moving together in a combined spell. A clear, silver dome expanded to enclose them from the outside world even as several projected spells rebounded from it as both Harry and Severus reacted a little too late. The thump of a body hitting the barrier only resulted in another as Harry tried to get through, only to be landed flat on his back, likely completely winded. No sound escaped the intricate barrier, only the hum of the magic and the breathing of the occupants could be heard.

Hermione went for her wand, only to be hit by several spells at once before she could even reach into her pocket. It seemed that Stunners didn't work with a Body-Bind Curse, but the net result was that she toppled over, unable to move. Her limbs were not restrained to her sides and she was still conscious, but the combination had paralysed her, barely allowing her to breathe. Her eyes were stuck shut, leaving her other senses to sharpen.

She could tell by his heartbeat that Severus was frantic, the hisses and cracks of his repeated attempts to break the barrier futile. Harry had recovered, joining him in the hopeless quest.

"Gawain, have your men strengthen the wards. It's time to end this." The voice was instantly recognisable as Rufus Scrimgeour's.

"Yes, sir. I must say that this does seem a little extreme, even old Dumbledore didn't dismember Grindelwald. Decapitation seemed fine then, so why it is necessary now..."

"Gawain Robards, you were appointed as Head of the Aurors due to your unquestionable loyalty to the Ministry. Don't make me question it now; do your duty. We cannot risk her coming back."

A thrill of fear ran through Hermione as she heard both the approaching footsteps and the heartbeat of Head Auror Robards. The swish of a knife as it cut through the air made her catch her breath. Didn't they know she was still awake?

Robards crouched down beside her, brushing her hair away from her throat as he brought the knife down. His hesitation even as he pressed the cold blade against her skin allowed her time to remember exactly what The Book had instructed her to do in last case scenarios such as this. The Auror's regretful touch against her cheek with his gloveless hand allowed her mind, even without eye contact, to slip inside his.

'Poor kid. It's not as if she asked to be a Necromancer, and to die this way... I'm sorry, Miss. This is the way it has to be. The Ministry cannot allow you to live... such a pretty girl, too... WHAT THE...'

Robard's thoughts cut off as Hermione forced his mind into dormancy as she took over, leaving her body behind as she got up.

"I can't do it, sir," she blurted, exchanging the silver knife for Robard's wand.

Scrimgeour was flushing red. "Stand aside, then. I'll do it myself."

'Stupefy!' Hermione's non-verbal spell caught Scrimgeour unawares. He went down like a sack of potatoes. The other Aurors spun around, the barrier shimmering as the spell began to fail with their lack of attention.

"Stand down!" she yelled, realising that she was currently in the body of their superior. Two of the seven men pocketed their wands, four were undecided and the last raised his wand to attack. Hermione stunned him, disarming the undecided ones.

The barrier failed completely, Stunners flying from Severus and Harry's wands. Hermione dove for her body, as she was uncertain as to what would happen if she was knocked out in someone else's body. She managed to get back into her own body just in time, as Severus stunned Robards even as his own mind fought to the surface.

"What did you do that for? He was helping her!" Harry demanded, pocketing his wand.

"No, he wasn't." Hermione broke in before Severus could get into an argument with his least favourite student. "That was me. I possessed him," she murmured, unable to get up as her body below her head was still paralysed. Even if she'd recovered, she probably wouldn't be able to do anything but tremble as the situation caught up with her. If she hadn't read The Book...

They both recoiled, horrified by the talent. Possession was Voldemort's trick after all.

"It's not as if I had a choice! Or would you rather that they'd dismembered me?" Hermione was grimly satisfied to see Harry turn green and Severus a curious mottled colour as he both flushed with anger and paled at the thought.

Severus knelt beside her even as he trained his wand on Scrimgeour, only to shift it between the Minister and Robards. He must have seen Robards wielding the knife.

"He hesitated. That was enough for me to slip inside his mind. He didn't want to do it, he just saw no other way. Feel free to neuter Scrimgeour, though. The bastard wanted to go over the top, make sure I couldn't come back." At her words, Severus fixed his wand steadily on Scrimgeour.

"Professor, don't. The Ministry will be all the more troublesome if you do. Let's get out of here, we're drawing a crowd." Harry was right; it seemed as though the whole of Hogsmeade had been attracted by the noise of the barrier being worn down.

Hermione found herself in Severus's arms and being carried to the nearest Thestral-drawn carriage. Harry hopped in, watching her with some concern as she flopped against Severus.

"I don't recommend Stunners combined with a Body-Bind Curse." Severus lifted the debilitating combination, reversing the paralysis.

"The Headmaster must be informed of this. It may well result in you being restricted to Hogwarts castle and grounds in future, but we cannot take any chances with your safety."

"If I'm to be confined to Hogwarts then how do you suggest managing to get me to He-Who-Wants-A-Necromancer in future when he demands that you bring me before him? Invite him over here for a tea party?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes at the ludicrous suggestion. "Look, being restricted to the castle isn't going to help if the Ministry reveals the truth. I'd be mobbed by the occupants of the castle, let alone the inhabitants of Hogsmeade."

"The Ministry will not risk inciting panic, not with the Dark Lord wreaking havoc."

"What makes you so sure? They're stupid and bold enough to attack me when I'm under Dumbledore's protection. They'll be handing out pitchforks in no time."

They reached the castle soon enough to meet Dumbledore and McGonagall as they hurried outside, the apparently omniscient wizard already aware of what had transpired. The students loitering around were on the verge of wetting themselves as they had never seen Dumbledore in such an enraged state. Hermione would hate to be in Scrimgeour's shoes when the Headmaster caught up with him.

Severus jerked awake, breathing heavily as he sat bolt upright, wand raised. He wiped the cold sweat from his face before it could run down his nose. Moonlight coming from the hidden window illuminated his bedroom with ghostly hues, casting sinister shadows.

"Hermione..." he gasped, throwing back the sheet covering him and lurching over to his robe. After pulling the garment on, he was barely aware of leaving his quarters and making his way through the empty corridors to the seventh floor and the Fat Lady's portrait. The painting was intelligent enough not to argue with a wild-eyed, unkempt version of the scariest professor in Hogwarts, so swung open when Severus hissed the skeleton key password.

He had enough presence of mind to cast a Disillusionment Charm over himself before entering the common room. As a member of staff, the stairs up to the girl's dormitories did not sound the alarm or transform into a slide, allowing him to ascend to his destination.

The sixth year girl's dormitory was quiet except for the soft snores of the girls inside. Three four poster beds were positioned around the circular room, an odd sight as the usual number was five. Hermione's bed was easily identified; it was the only one surrounded by books to the extent that it looked as though it was a refugee from the library.

Severus drew back the curtains, breathing a sigh of relief when the moonlight shone onto bushy hair and sparkled off the charm bracelet she still wore. He sat down on the end of the bed, his head resting in shaking hands. After the nightmare that he'd fought to wake up from, he'd felt the need to check that Hermione was whole and unharmed. He'd dreamed about what had happened scant hours earlier, except this time Hermione hadn't possessed the Auror...

Severus turned to the sleeping girl, hands stretching out to touch her soft, warm skin to further reassure himself that she was fine. She stirred, mumbling in her slumber. Even as he moved to get up and leave, she grabbed his arm and tugged with surprising strength. Severus was caught off guard, landing sprawled alongside her. Before he could roll away and get up, her arms had slipped around him, holding on tight. Another restless move later and she was lying more or less on top of him, head pillowed in the crook of his neck. Her legs were tangled in the blanket, resting between his own.

'Now what do I do? I can't get up without waking her, and if I stay this position will get very uncomfortable. Even those brainless gossips will notice if she has an invisible bed mate.'

To prove his thoughts, and complicate the situation even further, his treacherous body began reacting to the closeness of Hermione's warm body. His erection was soon pressing into the girl lying on top of him, something that she would not fail to notice if she woke up.

'Nothing for it, I have to move. I just hope she doesn't have her wand close to hand...'

Severus rolled Hermione off, only for her to come awake with a start. Fortunately for him, she seemed to realise exactly who was there.

"Severus? What're you doing here?"

"I..." He trailed off, not wanting to admit that a nightmare could scare him sufficiently to seek the comfort of her body.

Hermione reached out, to touch her hand to his camouflaged cheek. He jerked with surprise as he felt her pry into his mind. Contact Legilimency was almost unheard of, not even needing eye contact to work. In his surprise he couldn't prevent the memory of the nightmare from surfacing.

"It didn't happen, Severus. I'm fine." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself close to him.

"I know. But I should have ignored Potter and been beside you. Maybe then..."

"You would've been Stunned. You aren't infallible. I don't hold it against you; you tried your best to protect me."

"My best wasn't good enough! I should have spelled that charm bracelet with an emergency Portkey to take you to the hospital wing in the event of hostile spells hitting you. I should have objected to Minerva's idea of allowing you to go to Hogsmeade. I'm not letting you out of my sight in future, young lady. Perhaps I should chain you to your bed and keep you in this tower like the proverbial princess in Muggle fairy tales," Severus hissed, attempting to keep his voice down, mindful of the gossips still sleeping.

"Don't beat yourself up! I would have gone regardless, I hate being cooped up. As for the damsel in distress cliché, while being chained to a bed does sound kinky, I'm not the sort to go along with overprotective chauvinists. Maybe I should chain you up..." Hermione's smirk was dimly visible in the moonlit room.

"Not in this lifetime, my dear. I had better take my leave. I wouldn't want those gossips to discover my presence." He moved to get up, only for Hermione to tighten her arms around him and latch her mouth onto his own with unerring aim, even virtually invisible as he was. Her lips, teeth and tongue evoked an automatic response in him, making his mind helpless to resist her magic on his body.

When she had to pull away to draw breath, he had a chance to remove himself from her clinging form, which he reluctantly took. It was increasingly tempting to take their relationship further than the occasional passionate exchange, but he didn't want to push her into something she wasn't ready for.

"I am ready, you sanctimonious bastard!" Apparently Hermione had picked up his train of thought before he moved away.

"Are you?" Severus murmured, before grabbing her hand and bringing it to rest on the bulge in his trousers. The size of his nose and the length of his fingers were good indicators of the proportions of his erection. From the widening of her eyes and hint of fear showing in them, Hermione was not as ready as she claimed.

"I-I think I am..." Her voice quavered slightly.

"Get back to me when you know you are. You must be absolutely certain; once I bed you, I won't let you go. You will be mine."

"Severus, I think you already have the whole school under the impression that I'm yours. You certainly leave enough evidence; if Ron wasn't caught up in Lavender's tentacles, he'd attack you every time he noticed certain marks you leave on my neck. Vampire!"

A satisfied smirk crept across Severus's face. He had intentionally left Passion Purpura after their encounters visible on her neck and noted with considerable glee the furtive glances of the students. The only reason Minerva hadn't sunk her claws into him was that he had cast a modified masking charm on the love bites that kept anyone over the age of the students from seeing them.

A loud snore from one of the other beds reminded him that he had better leave. To avoid Hermione kicking up a fuss, he drew his wand and fired off a Soporific Charm. She slumped down onto her bed, deeply asleep. He carefully positioned her so that she would not get a crick in her neck and tucked her in. On impulse, he gently kissed the sleeping beauty.

'While the majority would call her pretty at best, she is beautiful to me.'