Part I, chapter 4
Chapter 4 of 28
averygoodunThe need to survive is ingrained within the human psyche, but where does self-preservation end and self-destruction begin? Hermione is captured by Death Eaters and is held hostage by Snape and Pettigrew, but she comes up with a plan to escape. Not a romance.
ReviewedAN: Thanks again to Southern for being an awesome beta! Also, sorry for the short chapters. There aren't that many very short chapters like the last one, but there are a couple. Please bear with me.
Hermione stood at the only other door in the room, wondering whether she should leave the room or not. She had no idea what to expect, architecturally, behaviorally, or psychologically. The window showed that she was above the ground, probably on the first floor, but other than that, there was little information to be gained, except that the window was locked, probably magically. The back gardens and alleys looked like she could be anywhere there were row houses, and seeing as she'd never been in a row house, she didn't know what would be waiting for her. Would the floors creak? Would the stair be to the left, right or directly across from her? Would there be any chance of escape?
She closed her eyes and shook her head. Of course there wouldn't be any chance of escape. Snape was nothing if not methodical, and since he'd been ordered to hold her hostage, there was more hope of Hell freezing over than of her escaping.
For a brief moment, she considered suicide, but knew that she wouldn't be able to go through with it, even if she could find the means in the abysmally bare room. Sighing in resignation, she reached out for the door and shrieked when her hand touched fabric rather than metal.
Jumping back three feet, her eyes sprang open to find Snape leaning against the now wide open door frame, smirking at her.
“Rise and shine, merry sunshine,” he said so smoothly it made Hermione's skin crawl. She instinctively took a step back and crossed her arms defensively.
She opened her mouth to ask what was going to happen to her when Snape raised his hand, the smirk now gone and an ugly snarl in its place.
“I will not tolerate your questions here, Miss Granger. This is my home, and you will obey my rules; the first of which is no questions. You are not a guest here; you are my hostage. As such, any questions, even if it's only what will be for dinner, will not be tolerated. It will not kill you to be left in the dark, and if it turns out I am wrong about that, then kudos to you for figuring a way out of this before the Dark Lord decrees.
“Second, as I am sure you have reasoned out by now, there is no escape. All exits, all holes – everything is secured with wards well beyond your knowledge. Only Wormtail and I know the passwords for exit and entrance, and I promise you that trying to decipher it would result in much unpleasantness for you.”
He looked at her thoughtfully and then amended his statement. “Perhaps I should say that trying to decipher the code will be very unpleasant for you, seeing as I doubt even the threat of torture would prevent you from trying.”
He paused for another moment, as if weighing his options. When his face became even darker, Hermione shuddered in suspense.
“And finally, since it has become my job to keep you alive for the Dark Lord's purposes, it is my unfortunate responsibility to keep an eye on you. As such, you will stay within eyesight of either Wormtail or myself at all times.”
Hermione recoiled a bit at that, though one of her first thoughts was relief that there were two of them, rather than just one. She would rather not witness Snape or Wormtail piss if she could help it at all. But then the ramifications of that decree sank in.
She opened her mouth to ask where she would be sleeping, but at Snape's hard glare, shut her mouth with a snap.
No questions.
Snape's lip curled up slightly into an expression that almost resembled humor, if it hadn't been so cruel.
“It's good to see you catch on so quickly. Hexing can be rather draining after all,” was all he said, offering no information about his last rule. She knew he was testing her, baiting her into disobeying, especially given that he'd hinted at the repercussions.
Hermione decided to carefully take the bait.
“I only see one bed, sir.”
His lips curled even further, giving his face a mask-like appearance of wicked humor.
“So there is, you clever girl.” His tone sent another round of shivers down her spine, making her feel irrationally filthy. “And as a reward for being such a clever girl, I'll give you the choice of whose bed you sleep in.”
Hermione felt the blood drain from her face at the prospect of being molested by either of the men, both of whom were the most odious examples of humanity she could think of.
“I'll think on that then,” she hedged.
His smirk remained in place as he smoothly answered, “You do that.”
///////////|\\\\\\\\\\\
At least she seems quick on the uptake. We'll see how quick she really is – how long it takes for her to really understand.
Story Actions
To follow, favorite, like, and more either log in or create an account.
Leave a Review
Log in to leave a review.
Latest 25 Reviews for Traitor
307 Reviews | 7.44/10 Average
this is such a brave and daring story! i had read it before but i couldn't remember where it was posted so i searched through various sites and finally got lucky. this time i will add it to favourites without delay. thanks again for that jewell!
This was GRIPPING.
Wow! I am utterly and deeply moved. It took me quite a while to figure out what you were aiming at and that was a pleasant surprise in itself. There are not many stories out, where the end is not obvious from the beginning.I also liked to have Wormtail described as a human being and actually getting more than a few crucios out of his actions.Thank you for the wonderful story!
Holy mother of gods. That was just the best story I have read in a long time. I have stayed up till 2am reading this because I could NOT put it down... Your torture of her. The food. The sadistic/masochist tones... my god. Just brilliant. BRILLIANT.I have never read a story with wormtail in this character. I was almost sympathitic toward him.And when Snape finally had her! Why was that sOOOO hot to me? Shell
Wow. Brilliant I would rate this much more than 5...
Like a punch in the guts. Wow. I am breathless, horrified, amazed, marveled, disgusted, touched, numb, exhilarated. Thank you for believing in yourself and sharing your story with us!
How hard for Hermione, to feel that she is using Wormtail. You really depicted that so well. Sigh.
*melted to a puddle on the floor"*GASP!*Oh, Severus, you naughty boy!
Catching up with the story after a loooooong time (RL sucks!). Nice "intermission' chapter!
I don't know if I like thinking of Hermione being genuinely upset about Wormtail or Snape's letter acting like he tried to save Wormtail for her.... I jsut don't know what to think of it all... but regardless, the writing was good :)
It really is quite squicky to think of Peter and Hermione. I keep reminding myself that it is to ensure her escape but she seems to actually have concern for Peter at this point. Not caring but concern. And the fact that Snape doesn't seem to care is icky as well. Peter is so gross I'm surprised Snape didn't rip her off of him jsut out of disgust LOL
ugh... wormtail is soooo creepy. And knowing that HErmione is doing him often is just sickening. I hope she either gains what she's after or comes to her senses and ... I don't even know... jsut stops sleeping with Wormtail LOL
I was recced this... I like dark fics.. but that's a brutal way to start out. Well written and I can't say I'm looking forward to what's to come but I'm... interested??
I ended up reading this whole story in one piece, I just couldn't stop reading! :P I just love the way you writes Snape, he is completely believable in this story and so is the other characters. I think you should be very proud of this story, it was a joy reading it (except from the icky wormtail/hermione parts)!
Wow. I thought I wouldn't be able to go past the squicky parts, but... you got me reading for one hour non-stop. Excellent writing.
:x
I'm wondering if she's pregnant . . .
Wonderful story. I read it in about two hours. Just gobbled it up, really. I especially loved your portrayal of Pettigrew, and the way you ended the whole piece.
Long story short: this is amazing. Short story long: anything by Dickens.
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
Thank you!
This was a wonderful story - but I might be just dim here when I ask you this question, but my Snape-fangirl-love wants to know who sent the letter? Did Snape truly defect from the Order, or was he happy that she escaped, wanting her to get away all along? Sorry if my Snape-love kept me blinded from any obvious hints you might have left in the story...
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
Thank you. Snape sent the letter. For answers to the rest, I suggest you read "Closure." It's a little less vague. ;-)
It was the only way what? He wanted her to use Wormtail to escape?
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
That is the question. What was the only way? How? Why? And, most of all, who?
Response from KarenDetroit (Reviewer)
ARRRGGG!Don't you repect the Geneva Convetions on Torture????
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
*giggle* Is there such a thing in fiction?
That said, there will be a companion piece called, very appropriately, "Closure" coming up pretty soon. A lot of questions will be answered in there (though it's still vague-ish on that one).
Yowza. The sex with Peter/Wormtail was just so icky. And you got the ick factor just right - along with the reality that it wasn't, of all the things Hermione had to endure, really so awful in the grand scheme of things. And then when Snape watched -well, that was wrong and right and actually quite hot. And through it all you never lost the complexity of the emotions involved, the grey-ness of all the protagonists. Thanks so much for a thought-provoking and entertaining read.
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
Thank you!!! I... Thank you.
Very well written story the whole way through. I really enjoyed it and was thankfull for the quick updates. The way you ended it was very exciting. Well done job all the way around.
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
Thank you!
Hi Avery. Now that I have completed Shades (at least on SH and FF), I finally got the courage to read this story from start to finish. Actually, I started reading when you first began posting chapters, but I only got to chapter 5 before I stopped. To be honest, I found it extremely difficult reading. The words painful and profoundly distrubing come to mind. But I suppose that was the effect you were looking for. Don't get me wrong--your writing itself is excellent. Very descriptive, good characterization and not too wordy (unlike me...). I also applaud your emphasis on a strong theme as I think too many fanfiction writers just want to write something fluffy that will be 'popular'. It takes courage to do something like this. What I found most amazing is that my story could inspire such a piece. It is ironic that your Hermione essentilly makes the polar opposite choice from mine. She compromises nearly all her morals and principles in order to survive, making her a traitor not to Harry or the Light, but to herself. It was a weighty piece of work. Good job.Cheers and best wishes,
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
Response from averygoodun (Author of Traitor)
Hey. Well, thank you for reading it! You're right, I was attempting to write something very painful and disturbing. I've read Stockholm Syndrome stories that really, really romanticize the situation and don't take into account that it is a disorder; the victim is ILL, and it is not a healthy, romantic situation.
What I wanted to explore as much as that, though, is that survival really can outweigh morals when it comes right down to it, and Hermione has not proven herself to be as strong as Harry is under pressure. Hermione will have a hard time of it because she knows she did betray herself, even if the trip to the betrayal was almost invisible.
Thank you both for the inspiration (amazing story, btw!), and for your thoughts!