Sword, Beast and Savior

A huge thank you to my alpha reader, Arabellabloodgood, for reading this over for me, Proulxes for the Britpick and for being my locations scout, and to DuchessOfArcadia and Lady_Rayne for combing through this and helping me clean up my mistakes. I really appreciate the beta help. Thank you very much.

Also, smooches and a big thank you to Jay for my banner! I really love it.

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~o 36 o~

Sword, Beast and Savior

Severus waited on the quiet street in Westminster, near the Whitehall area, for the arrival of the Auror and her escort under the Disillusionment Charm. He was under no illusion that she'd come alone, not to a mostly residential street to meet a Death Eater. Although there wasn't much cover in order to hide, his vantage point under the portico of the house across the street afforded him a full view of the entire street, of everyone coming and going; the pedestrians and the motorized vehicles. Not that there were many.

The quiet was broken by the sound of two cracks of Apparition, with the possibility of another much softer than the others. Severus smirked. "Inhabitationem human," Severus said with a swish of his wand, adding, "Identificāre effigia," with a minute jab before the light left his wand tip. He watched the small distortions emerge from his wand, like Muggle bubbles that only visible to himself, shoot across the short distance from where he stood. One headed for the black, wrought-iron fencing of the neighboring house, one toward the house and the witch trying to take cover behind one of the stone pillars of the covered porch and a tall potted topiary, and the other seemed to disappear toward the side of the street between the parked cars. Three. When the first bubble returned, the one from the front of the house, he looked upon the image reflected within and smiled. Nymphadora, naturally. Good.

The second returned showing him Arthur's face. Interesting. Not unexpected, but could possibly be made to my advantage.

The third from the side of the street revealed Lupin's frowning mug. Damn. Well, okay, I did expect him, but he could complicate things.

Severus vanquished the bubbles and Apparated, none to subtly, to the pavement in front of the Georgian townhouse and held his hands down at his sides in a show of nonaggression. "I simply need to talk," he said quickly, keeping his wand down and clearly visible.

He heard Arthur's voice coming from only a few paces away from his hiding spot behind the black iron fence, "I have no reason to trust you."

"No? Then maybe you should ask your daughter how many times she's had detention with Alecto Carrow and actually served detention with that barmy witch," Severus said in his most polite tone. "Or ask any of her friends: Longbottom, Finnigan, Summerby, Macmillan, Cornfoot, Lovegood or any of the known DA members."

"Luna is missing," Arthur said, finally revealing himself. Unlike Severus, his wand was drawn, held up, ready to fight. "As are several of her friends, and you have Hermione as your captive."

"That is why I'm here. Hermione is in grave danger," Severus stated calmly but distinctly, watching a shadow shift between the parked cars. "Perhaps, Nymphadora, if Remus Lupin came out of hiding and joined us, we can all discuss this like civilized adults. But first, I suggest we go inside. You don't want to be seen speaking to me any more than I do you."

Nymphadora stepped forward, wand drawn but her concern evident in her expression. "What has happened to Hermione?"

"Come inside with me and I will tell you," Severus said, walking purposefully to the front door, ignoring Arthur's posturing and the wand aimed for his back. He saw Arthur magically pass through the fence in his peripheral vision as he aimed his wand at the latch. "Ostium aperire," he said, nodding as the door opened easily for him, and he walked inside followed by Nymphadora and Arthur. He asked, "Is Lupin staying outside?" over his shoulder as he went quickly up the stairs.

"No, of course not," Nymphadora replied as she and Arthur followed him to the second floor landing.

He repeated the spell to enter the elegantly furnished flat and let himself in. Severus walked into a room that still showed signs of a magical fight, up-righted a chair and sat down. "You have my word, I am alone, but I have precious little time to talk," he said, indicating the sofa.

Nymphadora moved into the room. "What happened?"

"Due to the time restraints, I'll be blunt and brief. Hermione was requested to attend the Dark Lord's Winter Solstice party. She was branded with his mark – not the Dark Mark, but similar – to what extent it is similar, I don't know. Bellatrix Lestrange and Belinda Morederk chased her off as the guests were gathering on the terrace to observe the astrological event this evening – one the Dark Lord thinks is of great importance and omen. Needless to say, I, and many others, are searching for her. I have reason to believe that she's been to your house," he said, indicating Arthur, "and to Grimmauld Place. Both residences are being watched by... unfriendly associates."

"She was marked," Nymphadora gasped. "Why – but that means – he's a hypocrite!"

"Yes, she was given His mark," Severus repeated, "but I think it differs from the Dark Mark, although how much or if it's like ours at all, I don't know as of yet. However, if I don't find her and bring her back, she will be designated by the Dark Lord as a deserter and terminated, most likely in the most painful manner possible for her defiance. And he will find her."

"When did she go missing?" Nymphadora asked, the Auror taking his comments seriously.

"Wait, she escaped?" Arthur asked as if finally catching on. "When?"

"Before midnight," Severus stated. "It's imperative I be the one to find her."

"To save your miserable arse," Arthur stated accusingly.

"No, Hermione's. There are witnesses, several actually, all in good standing, who can show the Dark Lord why she ran and that she was being threatened. So my arse isn't in any danger of reprimand," Severus replied, emphasizing the crude wording. "My only concern is for Hermione's life."

"What do you need?" Nymphadora asked.

Severus could hug the witch. She understood.

"You can't be serious!" Lupin exclaimed from the doorway, still under his Invisibility Charm. "Dora..."

"Remus, he saved her life – remember her Splinching?" she asked, staring at the doorway. "You and I both know heroic efforts must've been made to save her – she was Splinched in half! And you've spoken to Ginny; Hermione is treated more fairly in that school than we thought she'd be."

"She's tortured daily..."

"And Snape and her bodyguard protect her against the Carrows as best they can! She's not spent one night in Filch's chains, or served detention under either Amycus or Alecto Carrow. The only detentions we know about were monitored by Hagrid. He told us himself – Severus sends the kids to him!"

"But..."

"No buts," Nymphadora stated, still staring at the empty doorway where Lupin was apparently standing, still Disillusioned. "Severus has sent me warnings, you know that. We knew about the attack on the train..."

"He said it was likely, and he didn't say where..."

"And about You-Know-Who's attempt to get the Magical Birth Registry – twice. The raid on the Muggle ski resort, and the raid on the Daltons..."

"And the attack on Dodge's house..." Arthur interjected into the couple's argument.

"And he betrayed Emmeline!" Lupin exclaimed. "Or haven't you noticed whose house we're using?"

"Enough!" Arthur snarled. "What do you want?"

"I need to know if your daughter can contact Hermione through her mirrors?" Severus asked calmly.

Arthur actually paled. "How do you know about the mirrors?"

Severus cocked his eyebrow up and tilted his head slightly, showing his incredulity.

"Okay, you know – but I don't like this."

"I haven't much time. Ginevra must have Hermione contact me," Severus stated, reaching into his pocket. Two wands – well most likely three, all took aim at him as he slowly withdrew a box. "It's a pendant, not valuable, but it has a Protean charm on it. Ginevra can contact me through this and tell me where to meet Hermione. That's all I need, to have Hermione return to me willingly – Ginevra does not have to place herself in any danger. I promise to give the pendant's match to Hermione when I find her. I give you my word, my oath – which if you remember, I never break."

"That's all you want?" Arthur asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that's all I want. But, the sooner the better. If I don't find Hermione soon – and I mean very soon – she's dead." Severus righted the coffee table and set the box on it as he rose. "I'm leaving. I have a girl to find." He walked out, feeling Lupin move out of his way, descended the stairs in a hurry and Disapparated on the doorstep.

~ H ~

Hermione staggered as soon as she actually felt the ground under her feet, nearly losing her balance, except that Harry had a firm grip on her arm. They were in a wide forest ravine with large, snow-capped rocks. The area had a dense growth of old yew trees, oaks and ferns rising up out of a layer of snow, and a stream down the slope with large, snow-capped, moss-covered rocks... This was not the place in the picture.

"Now, you are going to tell me exactly why you wanted to find me, Hermione," Harry demanded, shoving her away from him so that she fell on her bum.

She looked up at him and inhaled sharply. His wand was drawn and aimed directly at her. "Harry? What? Why?"

"You tell me, Death Eater," he snarled.

"Death Eater – no it's a mistake! It's not what you think – it's not the same," she pleaded as she tried to get back up on her feet. "I'm not really a..."

"Stay there," he snarled as he stepped forward and pushed her down again.

She fell back onto the snow-covered ground with an 'umph.' "Harry!?"

"Hands up." He stared down at her, his eyes narrowed as he searched her face. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"You're His! You've joined Him. Don't even begin to deny it – I know."

"I'm His prisoner...well, I was his prisoner," she stammered. The cold, wet snow was melting a bit under her bum and soaking into her jeans. Even though she wore a long-sleeved T-shirt and a flannel shirt under a heavy jumper, she was not dressed for the biting cold as he was. He wore the same layering as she, only he had a thick coat and a scarf on as well.

"I SAW YOU!" he shouted. "You call him 'master!' You knelt before him and called him 'my Lord.' You thanked him and kissed his hand. I saw it."

"You're still having those dreams..."

"Visions, Hermione, visions! He showed me!" He was holding his wand so tight, his hand shook. "I saw your wedding. HE walked you down the aisle, and He gave you away – to Snape! And you were smiling! He told you that you were His as you knelt at his feet, and you are now bound to Him by Snape's oath and by that bloody Mark on your arm!"

She simply stared at him as he continued to rant. "You let him cup your face and stroke your hair – the two of you are quite chummy now, aren't you? It's like watching Bellatrix, the way you give into His touch. Do you like it? Do you desire it, Hermione? Do you want His affection, because it sure looks like you do? Even your husband allows you to..."

"It isn't like that!" she shouted.

His nostrils flared, and his head tilted side to side in his annoyance, and she was horrified – shocked to her core – to see him do the Dark Lord's now familiar movement.

"Yes it is – I saw you and Him together – he shows me," Harry spat angrily. "Or isn't Snape enough? The way you rut with Snape, letting that greasy git take you any way he wants to..." He glared down at her as she sat on the ground terrified of her best friend. "Do you get off fucking him in front of Tom? – it's disgusting!"

"I've never – we haven't – ever!" Hermione covered her mouth as she gasped in horror. "You don't understand – it's out of context, Harry – it must be!"

"Oh, I doubt that. Ginny tells me you are living together in the Headmaster's tower. Tom shows me enough for me to know that you comply with his every wish, you even allow that hag Carrow to beat you, and you do nothing. You've given up on your friends – you're not helping the DA at all, and you – you..." He turned as if in disgust.

"I have not abandoned my friends!" Hermione shouted. "IF I'd had any way of getting away or of finding you and Ron – that's why I – Ginny and I made the mirrors. So I could..."

"Spy on me," Harry snarled.

"NO!" she shouted back as she tried to get up again. "I did it to help you!"

He flicked his wrist slightly, making her fall back down, and her ankle turned awkwardly. She cried out in pain as she moved her leg.

"Did you tell Snape about the Horcruxes?" he asked coldly. He was holding his wand loosely in his hand with his first two fingers straight, much like the Dark Lord did when he used his wand.

Her ankle hurt, a sharp, throbbing pain, and she hoped he'd not broken it. "No, Harry, I wouldn't! I didn't..."

"But he knows enough to have you tell Ron and me about the artifacts in the museum," he said, his nostrils flared, and his eyes were hard and cold.

"He knows because Dumbledore told him about them – he had Severus go check them out as possible Dark Artifacts!" she shouted back at him. "Severus knows that you are searching for artifacts, things that belonged to the founders... something the Dark Lord may have corrupted into – I don't know how much Dumbledore told Severus, but his information was right, wasn't it? Ron told me that you believed me!"

There was a soft crunch of boots on snow, and they both turned to see Ron amble his way toward them. "Oi, mates, quiet down!" he shouted as he came to a stop. He looked from Harry to Hermione and back again. "What the bloody hell?"

"She's a traitor!" Harry snarled.

"What? No, wait!" Ron exclaimed and then started casting spells. "There. Now any bloody Snatchers around won't hear you two yelling at each other! Now what is going on?"

"She's in league with Tom Riddle," Harry repeated.

"No, honestly, Ron, I'm not!" Hermione pleaded, looking from one wizard to the other. "He's horrible. I admit I've done what I'm told – I have to! But I haven't joined him – I haven't!"

"You're not on again about all those visions are you?" Ron asked Harry.

Hermione clamped her mouth shut with a snap.

"I saw her!" Harry snarled, but his arm holding his wand relaxed somewhat, and his fingers curled more securely on the grip, the way he normally held his wand.

"You saw what ol' Snake face wanted you to see – just like he did when he wanted you to believe that Sirius was in trouble, remember?" Ron said, trying to make Harry see reason.

"She's friends with Malfoy – you heard her, she calls him Draco!" He turned on Hermione who was slowly clambering up to her feet. "What's that all about?" She froze as he leveled his wand at her chest. "I've seen you pleading to Tom to spare him – not to punish him for something you did – taking the blame, just like you used to do for me."

"He's under orders to befriend me," she stated, although lately they had been getting on, well, they had been. "Even his father has pleaded with me to befriend Draco. Its part of the Dark Lord's plan, Harry, and apparently it's working."

"Is that why he gave you a house-elf?" Harry sneered. "I thought you were opposed to house-elf enslavement."

"You mean Peren?" Hermione gasped. "Peren has nothing to do with all of this!"

"Yes, Peren, if that's her name," Harry shot back at her. "Apparently the Malfoys gave her to you as a wedding present!"

A low, rumbling growl emanated from somewhere in the trees behind them.

~ meanwhile ~

Severus paced his office. This was taking too long. Time was running out, and he was wasting precious time. He swore, feeling anxious since Ginevra hadn't contacted him yet. It is possible that the girl refuses to believe that Hermione would be safer with me than with Potter. Or Arthur never gave Ginevra the pendant, thinking I could use it, would use it, to endanger his precious daughter. He opened his palm and aimed his wand at the pendant, making the match vibrate again. The mate on his palm remained inert. Damn.

He paced, trying to think of another option. He faced Dumbledore's portrait and scowled at the sleeping image. "Don't you have any great wisdom to impart?" he grumbled.

Dumbledore opened his eyes. "What more can I say or do?" he asked, his blue eyes somber for a change. "You have tried all options available to you."

"Not all," Severus said defiantly. He was not going to give up hope. "But if I cannot get her back, it will be my neck, and the Carrows will run this school."

He heard Peren whimper from her hiding spot behind the pillar at the base of the stairs. The house-elf's ear was visible from behind the pillar. He smirked at her attempt of subterfuge.

"Open up old man," he said as he approached the portrait. There was a faint click from behind Dumbledore's frame, and the painting swung open on its hinges. He pulled the sword out from behind Dumbledore's painting again.

"The boy will have to have great need to yield it, Severus," Dumbledore said as his frame swung back into place with another audible click.

"So you have said a hundred times," Severus said with a heavy sigh. "I have to find him first."

Suddenly Peren jumped out of her hiding place as if shocked. "Peren hears her mistress!"

"I know you can hear her," he snapped. "What I need is for you to take me to her."

"No, no, my mistress says Peren's name," Peren said exuberantly. "I's cans takes you to where she is."

Peren disappeared around the pillar as if going behind the stairs, confusing Severus for a moment, before she ran out again and over to him. Oddly, she had wrapped some cloth around her feet and had a blanket wrapped about her body. She chuckled nervously as she clasped Severus' hand. "Peren only walks in snows once before. It was very cold on Peren's feets, sir."

Severus chuckled softly. "Maybe you should reconsider wearing shoes," he said with a smirk, and she looked up at him in horror. "At least for going outside in the snow."

He Disillusioned himself just in case and grabbed the sword. Severus nodded, and she Disapparated, taking him with her. The sensation was different than he was used to, the compression severe. They arrived, with a soft pop, in a wide forest gorge, heavily populated with old yew trees, oaks and dense undergrowth pushing their way through a blanket of snow and rocks. There was a swift moving stream with snow-capped, moss-covered rocks before him, with a sloping bank on the other side.

"No, I can'ts... Wait!" Peren angled her head, her ears wide. "Peren can hears her mistress but not sees her." She pointed to the other side of the stream. "My mistress is there – but not there, sir."

"That's good enough, Peren," Severus said, gripping the sword in his fist. "You did well. Go back to the castle and keep an ear out for her. I'm going to look around."

"Calls if you needs help, and Peren will comes," she said and vanished with a soft pop.

Severus thrust the sword into the frozen ground and took the Skrewt shell with the engraved runes and symbols out of his pocket. He balanced his wand on the shell and muttered," Dētegere acertener shells. This time the shell vibrated, and his wand turned and pointed ahead through the trees along the stream, right where Peren had pointed to a moment ago. He grabbed the sword and walked forward, watching his footing as well as his wand.

He could feel the magic in the shell in his hand, but couldn't see or hear her. He walked silently forward and after a few feet the vibration increased. He stabbed the sword into the ground again. He swept his hand very slowly in a wide arch before him, examining the space around him for a magical signature. A vague sense of a repelling charm hit him, and he smiled as he forced himself to concentrate, detecting the protection spells. Using a few complicated spells with his wand, he was able to determine that there were three bodies ahead of him: one girl and two boys, all three of them young adults. He grabbed the sword, walked forward, and leaned against a tree by the stream, still Disillusioned. He wondered how he was going to pass the sword to Potter and get Hermione to come to him willingly.

Severus looked over his shoulder and examined his surroundings. It would have to do. If he had to feign an attack then he'd do it. He could put on the Death Eater garb... maybe call Cillian, even though he could easily take Potter and Weasley by himself. And he could use the Skrewt shells around Hermione's neck to 'capture' her. He contemplated summoning Draco, but dismissed the idea. The boy would be of no help.

He just hoped Hermione believed the ruse.

Suddenly, he heard a branch break across the stream and to his left, and a low, almost feline rumbling snarl.

The fates, it seemed, were against him. He heard a few soft crunches in the snow, followed by the hungry snarl and growls of a large beast, one eerily similar to the graphorn that Hagrid had put in the school iron paddocks, hoping to use the beast in one of his lessons. If it was a graphorn, and it was hunting, then Hermione would be in danger. She was wandless, and if she was with Potter and Weasley, Severus knew that neither knew how to handle the magical beast even under the best of conditions.

Still, this could work to his advantage.

He aimed his wand at a few large rocks in the stream to shift them carefully, so as not to disturb the snow on their surface, and cast a series of spells as he pushed the sword down deeply into the gap. The rocks landed back in place, effectively trapping the sword, and the water between them instantly froze. The hilt shimmered in the dappled light, remaining well above the water.

Severus aimed his wand low and cast his Patronus – pleased when a silvery wolf appeared instead of the bloody doe of his youth when he'd still been utterly smitten with Lily Evans.

~ meanwhile ~

"You're telling me that you trust her?" Harry asked. "After everything I told you."

"You heard Ginny," Ron said, his wand pointed at the ground. "Hermione doesn't have a choice. She's followed everywhere by that Death Eater, Cillian, and Malfoy, and she's not allowed her wand. That Death Eater takes it away from her after every lesson. How is she supposed to fight off anyone if she's unarmed? You didn't fight against Umbridge when she was making you do all those lines, did you?"

"That's different," Harry snapped. "She's Marked – he Marked her!"

"Give me the locket," Ron insisted, holding out his hand. "Hand it over."

"It's not because of the bloody locket!" Harry snapped back. "It's her – she can't be trusted."

"You don't know that!" Ron said. "If she's His and he Marked her then why didn't she summon You-Know-Who, eh? Why hang around with us when she could've gotten us all trapped and killed? Think, Harry. It's Hermione we're talking about! You know what Ginny said – what Neville said! She was trapped. She got away."

"Took her long enough," Harry sneered, scowling, his nostrils flaring. His head jerked to the side, then rolled to the other side again as if he was stretching his neck.

"Give me the locket," Ron demanded.

Hermione heard the snap of a branch breaking behind her and a low, deep, guttural rumbling snarl, making her whirl around to face the direction of the sound. Suddenly a silver wolf bounded into the clearing, walking straight up to Harry and Ron. "It's Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, looking around.

Hermione scanned the area, trying to see the Patronus' source. It shouldn't have broken a branch or made that snarling sound... "Sirius is dead, Harry," she reminded him, gently. "It's not his."

Harry moved forward toward the silvery wolf as he replied, "He fell into the veil, Hermione, that's not dead, that's trapped."

"No, Remus said he was dead – everyone said he was dead," Ron said, reaching out to stop Harry from following the Patronus. The wolf backed up, turned and walked away a few steps toward the stream, then looked back at Harry as if waiting for him to follow it. "Harry wait!"

But Harry wasn't listening. He followed the wolf Patronus down to the stream and pointed. "Hey look!"

Hermione turned and was stunned to see the sword of Gryffindor, sticking out of the middle of some rocks on the other side of the stream.

"If he's dead, then how come that's here?" Harry rushed forward, walking through the stream as fast as he could against the current.

"Harry, be careful," Hermione cried out as Ron started to try and cross the stream.

Harry reached the sword first and tried to pull it free. "I can't get it out," Harry shouted as he pulled and tugged on the hilt of the sword. "Help me pull it out!"

Hermione heard a few soft crunches in the snow and a soft rumbling growl, followed by a throaty snarling of a large beast. Hermione turned and looked up... and gasped. "Guys, we have bigger problems!"

A large, greyish-purple creature with two extremely sharp horns, long sharp canines, and a strongly-muscled, humpbacked body crouched down on a rock not too far from her as if it was about to spring. It looked like a demonic, wild European bison bull with a werewolfish-like head and lion-like legs with claws. Hermione knew graphorns grew to be ten or eleven feet long and could weigh up to six or seven hundred pounds, and although this one looked young, only eight – maybe nine feet long, it was still a dangerous beast. "Harry, Ron, run!" she warned them as she backed up toward the stream, away from the huge beast.

Her rational mind was screaming for her to run away as she moved cautiously away from the animal. The graphorn made a snarling roar, showing its long canines, which were much longer than the rest of his razor sharp teeth. Her foot slipped, and for a moment she lost her footing, falling down on her hands and knees, the pain in her ankle increasing. She tried to get up and slipped again, her weight making her slide backwards through the ice, and her foot landed in the water of the stream. She screamed as the piercing cold of the water startled her, but her foot was now jammed, and she couldn't pull it free.

~ S ~

Severus shook his head from his vantage point a few meters away. Potter was as impulsive as ever. He'd left the protection of the spells and rushed through the stream. You have to earn the sword, boy, Severus sneered silently. It cannot be given to you for you to possess it. The sword only comes to those who are in need of it.

Weasley, who'd likewise stepped through the protective boundary, had followed Potter, then stopped what he was doing and rushed over to help Hermione when she'd slipped into the stream, firing curses at the graphorn. The beast sidestepped, clawing at the ground, making deep gouges in the snow-covered ground, and shook its head. It roared and hissed and made deep snarling growls, its front claws extended as it swatted the air. Severus swore softly and added his own impediment curses, timing them carefully with Weasley's spells. The graphorn slowed, but didn't halt its advance.

"Don't! You'll only make it mad! Graphorn hide is even tougher than a dragon's, and it repels spells!" Hermione shouted, trying with all her might to free her foot.

The beast shook its head violently again, slashing its horns in the air and made a wild rumbling roar.

She stared at the creature as it began to move toward her. "Gods help me, Ron! I'm stuck!"

From his vantage point Severus watched as Weasley tried to both help Hermione with one hand while sending bursts of spellfire at the beast to make it back away. Graphorns were extremely dangerous animals, but surely even Weasley could handle one wild animal. Although it was easily five and half feet tall at the shoulder, it didn't even look fully grown, just past its lanky and awkward stage, but possibly topping six hundred fifty – maybe sixty pounds. Still, a few well aimed Sectumsempra curses would have the beast backing off. Wizards have killed the beasts before – some had even tried fencing in a few to raise domestically (although that was an utterly insane endeavor in his book) – graphorn horns were useful for potions, and the animal's hide was used for high-end protective wear.

The graphorn leered at Hermione with hunger driven intelligence in its large, grey-brown eyes as it moved over the rocks and through the vegetation, although it was also watching Weasley intently. Its large four-toed paws were well suited for the terrain. It roared a hiss that became a snarling growl as it advanced again, its horns aimed at the pair.

"Ron, forget me. Take Harry and go!" Hermione urged him, pushing on his chest as she desperately tried to pull her foot free, and Severus could hear her panic starting to rise in her voice.

The animal backed off as it bared its teeth, showing its long canines. It snarled, making wild rumbling roars as it circled Weasley and Hermione, while Weasley tried to free Hermione.

"I need the sword," Potter said, still struggling to free the sword from its icy confinement. "It won't come loose. I have to help her." The sword glowed and slipped free of its confinement, and Potter stumbled back and fell in the water. He struggled to get up and trudged through the water, sword in hand, to help Mr. Weasley defend Hermione.

About bloody time! Severus aimed his wand, uttering "Sectumsempra," a millisecond later than Potter shouted it, but the spells only left deep cuts across the animal's chest. The beast turned its attention toward Potter.

Finally, Hermione lurched as her foot came free, nearly falling, except that Weasley grabbed onto her before she fell into the stream. "Got you!" he said, pulling her to him with one arm. "This way, across the stream," the boy suggested, half dragging Hermione with him through the current to the opposite side. Severus smirked, it was a good move, except there were enough rocks for the beast to use to cross the stream.

Potter cast another Sectumsempra after another, making lacerations on the animal's chest, legs and neck.

The beast backed away, snarling and snapping its jaws angrily and jabbing the air with its sharp horns as Weasley helped Hermione scramble out of the stream onto the snowy stream bank.

"Harry, come away!" Hermione shouted.

Potter turned and trudged through the water to reach the other side, casting spells at the graphorn now standing on the bank, snarling angrily. The beast lunged, landing on a large rock. Severus determinedly hissed, "Lapso-concido," as the graphorn sprung again, making the animal slip on the rocks behind Potter and stumble, falling into the stream.

Potter turned as the beast lunged at him again, raising the sword up as the beast came down on him the same time Severus snarled, "Sectumsempra," again, putting all his determination into the curse. The beast landed on the sword, its momentum and weight driving the blade home the same time Severus' curse sliced deeply into the graphorn's neck.

The beast collapsed down dead on top of the boy, trapping him under the water. Weasley moved quickly to Potter's aid, levitating the graphorn off him as Potter struggled to get up, gasping for air. Weasley grabbed his hand and helped haul Potter to his feet. Potter turned, soaking wet as he drew his wand, shouting, "Show yourself, coward!"

Severus stealthily moved over to where Hermione was standing as the boy swung his wand wildly back and forth, trying to determine where Severus was. When Severus was a few steps away from her, he terminated his Disillusionment spell. Hermione gasped as she stared at him, then at Potter and back.

"Hermione, run," Potter shouted.

"No," Severus said softly. "Hermione, please, I came here for you. I will let your friends leave, but come with me."

Weasley, who had been trudging through the stream to get to Hermione again, stopped, staring at Severus with utter disbelief, his wand aimed at Severus. "You! How did – it was you?"

"Ron, get him!" Potter shouted, taking aim against Severus.

With lightening speed Severus cast the Disarming spell a millisecond before Potter, effectively disarming the irrational boy. He caught the boy's wand and tossed it aside.

"It was his Patronus, Harry," Hermione shouted, trying to help the situation.

"No, it was Sirius'," Potter shouted back as he grabbed hold of one of the beast's front legs, trying to lift it to get at the sword.

"Would you listen to yourself?" Weasley shouted. "He could have just as easily killed you – but he killed the beast instead."

"I killed the beast," Potter grunted, bracing his foot on the graphorn to counter his efforts at pulling on the sword.

Weasley lowered his wand, staring at Severus and back to Hermione, and Harry growled, trying to lift the leg and pull the sword from the dead graphorn at the same time. "Accio sword," Harry shouted, pulling on the hilt with both hands.

Severus looked down at Hermione. "You must come back or you will be the death of me. The Dark Lord will kill me if you don't," he said softly. "I don't have a lot of time."

Weasley looked from Severus to Hermione again. Severus, like Weasley, could tell that she was torn; she knew that she needed to go, but she wanted to stay.

"If you don't, and the Dark Lord kills me, he will make Alecto Carrow headmistress. She will dispense with Professor McGonagall and place her brother as deputy headmaster of the school," Severus said loud enough for the boys to hear.

Hermione lowered her head dejectedly.

Weasley nodded, looking defeated but at the same time resolved. "You have to – for Ginny."

She nodded, stepping closer to Severus, and he held out his hand. She grasped it. "I understand," she mumbled and looked up, adding, "I just want to say good bye first," softly.

"No!" Potter screamed. "Accio wand!" He shouted, and his wand flew up to him. He snatched it in mid air and swung around to fire at Severus.

"NO!" Weasley shouted, forcing Potter's arm down. "You can't. He's right. She has to – for Ginny's sake! For our friends..."

"You can't possibly believe him?" Harry snarled, yanking his arm free. "He killed Dumbledore – he's a liar and..."

"Good bye, Harry, Ron. Stay safe and give my regards to the others," Hermione said sadly. "I'll tell Ginny you said hello."

Harry took a step closer and aimed his wand the same time Ron said, "Look after her, Snape."

Severus Apparated, taking Hermione with him as the word, "Immobulus," echoed in the air.

They arrived in the main production floor of the old abandoned factory his father had worked in. "Consider this my Christmas present, Hermione: your time with Potter – mine to you; your coming back with me – yours to me." His fingers tightened on her arm as he jerked her around to face him. "Now, tell me. Why did you leave?"

"I had no choice! She was going to kill me, I know it," Hermione said, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

He smirked at the openness of her expression, her every emotion on full display for him to see – if he was to believe her act. "He marked you, Hermione. He marked you as His. No one was going to hurt you without incurring the Dark Lord's disapproval and facing his anger – and believe me – no one wants to incur his wrath."

She shook her head. "I know he marked me! It hurt like hell when he did. But I was in danger. Belinda and Bellatrix hate me – they were chasing me! You should've seen them – their eyes. They were going to kill me!" Her words echoed, growing softer in the cavernous space.

"Why didn't you run to him? Why didn't you go to the parlor where the Dark Lord was...?"

"I couldn't – I was – they were... There was only one way to go – out! Everyone was going outside – I couldn't see you!" she stammered, now deeply agitated and afraid, the echo repeating her last words. He could clearly see the fear in her eyes. "You left me alone, and I had nowhere to go..."

"Let me see, Hermione," he demeaned firmly.

She nodded once and looked at him straight in the eyes. Her trust astounded him.

He said, "Legilimens," softly and delved into her mind easily. The memory wasn't too hard to find, and unlike when he had to search, it flowed smoothly before him. He saw Belinda and Bellatrix staring at her with matching malicious grins. There was a brief confusion, a momentary headiness, before the words, 'Run. Get away. I'm in danger, and I don't even have a wand!' echoed loudly in her mind, and he felt an irrational level of fear emanating from her. He saw her hurry toward the steps of the terrace that led to the gardens, thinking that she was in grave danger and had to escape somehow and as soon as possible. He heard her pleading in anguish, 'Severus, where are you? Why aren't you here to protect me?' as Belinda and the Lestranges followed after her. He felt her fear increase as he saw Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle closing in on her to her left and Fergus Jugson approaching her on her right, followed by Narcissa Malfoy. He heard her plead desperately again, 'Severus, please, where are you?.' It was enough. He broke the contact and looked up, staring blankly across the huge barren room with the blackened brick walls and dingy, broken windows as he considered what he saw.

"I had no choice, they were after me, I... I-I – Oh, my gods! The Imperius! I was – she – it was the Imperius wasn't it?"

He only half heard her, deep in his own thoughts. He remembered that same brief headiness, that momentary confusion, when Mordaunt, Alecto and MacCavish had cornered him at the party. "Thank you," he said softly. When the Dark Lord saw her memory he would be angry, but he would also see the reasons for her actions. He could still get her out of this situation unharmed.

"Now I have a question," Hermione said determinedly. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow at her presumptuousness. "Why did you kill Dumbledore? He trusted you unconditionally."

"Unconditionally?" he repeated in absolute disbelief. "You think he trusted me unconditionally?"

"Yes, he had absolute, unwavering faith in your allegiance," she stated. "Why then kill him? I mean, I've seen you time and time again help Harry. You've saved him a dozen or more times. You've saved me. Why did you kill him?"

He crossed his arm as he stared down at her. He was not going to waste time drudging up his past affiliation with the old fart, there were more pressing...

"If you don't tell me, I'll openly side with the DA and fight for what I believe in, damn your rules – damn the Dark Lord and his bloody mark. I am not going to sit by and let Him win."

Was she threatening him – actually threatening him? "You, break the rules? When have you ever NOT broken the rules?" he snarled, not bothering to keep his voice low in the old building. "I've known you for six and a half years, and you are a defiant rule breaker."

"I am not!" she exclaimed and then blushed. "Not all the time, well, only when it was warranted."

"When it was warranted?" he sneered. "Every year, for whatever reason Potter dreamed up, every time he interfered in affairs he shouldn't have – you three would trot off on your wild adventures, meddling in matters much better left to your superiors!"

"And you were always there, weren't you?" she quipped. "Watching out for us!"

"Yes, I was," he said angrily. "I was there, each time, watching over you, protecting you, keeping you and that insolent prat out of harm." She recoiled in shock, which angered him even more.

"Not all the time!" she exclaimed. "Where were you when we were saving the Philosopher's Stone? And you weren't there when Harry and Ron fell into the Chamber of Secrets!"

"I was there! Both times. Who do you think had the necessary potion to enable Dumbledore and myself to get past the flames to rescue Potter? And as for the Chamber of Secrets – I don't speak Parseltongue, and I couldn't open bloody the entrance!" he snarled back, his voice echoing, again.

"You were not there all the time – there were times when we ... what about our fourth year!" she paused. "You were not watching over Harry then."

"You think so? Then who else invented the potion that enabled you to sleep – unharmed – and without drowning underwater for several hours? Who do you think slipped Madam Pince two signed permission slips allowing you and Weasley unrestricted access to the Restricted Section and granted you both the privilege of staying up well past curfew so that you could help Potter figure out his clues and prepare for his tasks?!" He ran his hand down his face. "I always knew when you were breaking the rules! I could always tell when you and Potter were in trouble," he said, extending his fingers fully. "I could feel it!"

"You – you could feel it?" she stammered, her head angled slightly and her forehead creased.

"Didn't you consider it odd that I was in the corridors whenever you were breaking the rules? I've always known!"

She shrugged. "You patrolled the corridors at night. All the professor's..."

"No, we don't. Why do you think we have portraits all over the place? They watch the corridors at night. I have two portraits that watch the corridors outside Gryffindor tower – they informed me if the Fat Lady was opened at night," he said.

Her eyes widened then became glassy as she thought about what he said.

"Yes, Elaine Cavendish, the famous alchemist who discovered Liquid Light, and Isabella Violet, nee de Valois, daughter of Charles de Valois, Duke of Berry."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Violet – the Fat Lady's friend – she was Charles de Valois' daughter? I didn't know she was in Slytherin?! Wait..." She paused and her eyes darted to the sides and narrowed as she thought. "Charles de Valois... He was Louis XI's brother?"

"Yes, and Isabella was his second daughter by his mistress, the Viscountess Colette de Chambes. And she was in Slytherin. She renounced her title and erased all records of her birth to flee the Spanish Inquisition at the age of thirteen and was brought to Hogwarts by Eberhard Paumgartner, who was Head of Slytherin at the time. Both ladies have frames in my chambers or can enter the frame in my office. In fact there is a bell on the frames in my chambers so they can get my attention... They would alert me each time you three snuck out of the common room. Even the Weasley twins didn't cause the staff as much trouble as you three did! That you three do! Buggering hell, you and Potter – you're going to be the death of me!"

"No, we're not!" she exclaimed. "We've never done anything to get you killed – well, before this all started with me and you..."

"No?" he asked, interrupting her curtly, his eyebrows rising up slightly. "He nearly did today! He almost killed me his second year when he walked into the Acromantulas' lair, and in his third year when he fell off his broom playing Quidditch – and then again when he followed that werewolf down the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack! And his fourth year – only Potter can be so utterly inept – so incompetent and lazy – that he nearly killed me simply by procrastinating on his tasks! In fact I felt the suffocating binding of the vow restrict on numerous times your fourth year. Then two years ago, during your fifth year when you and Potter didn't return from the forest, I knew immediately you were in danger – blindly falling into a trap," he said, and she cocked her head slightly, her brows furrowed. "Yes – I alerted the Order. I knew Black wasn't in danger – I checked in on him. I had just returned from headquarters when the Binding tightened, strangling me, and I knew you'd gone to the Ministry and were in trouble."

"How?" she asked stubbornly, standing there defiantly before him with her hands on her hips.

"Because of the bloody Vow," he snarled, nearly shouting at her, his voice echoing in the vast space. "She made me promise to watch over and protect her son until the day came when he would fulfill that thrice damned prophecy! I was also forced to promise to serve Dumbledore faithfully, to do whatever he asked of me, and do whatever I could to help the Order of the Phoenix," he said with great disdain. "I said that I would do it for her – and in doing so, my vow was tied to her blood as well. Every day I walked into the Great Hall for meals, every time I entered my classroom, every time I answered the old man's summons, he knew. If I was alive, he knew that I was keeping my vow to Lily. I'm tied to her until the terms of that bloody vow are fulfilled – until the day Potter faces the Dark Lord and fulfills that fucking prophecy."

"If an Unbreakable Vow releases you after you fulfill your vow, then why was Draco living with you," Hermione asked and bit her lip.

"Because the Dark Lord ordered him to – as a punishment to Narcissa – he took her son away from her and gave him to me to train," he said and counted to five slowly. "Now I want you to do something for me. I want you to sway Draco over to our side."

"What?" she gasped.

"Draco isn't like his father; he hasn't the stomach for all of this," Severus said, forcing himself to calm down. "He's wavering, I know it. He likes you – I see it. Oh, he's not in love with you, but you've impressed him for years, even though he has only ever spoken of you with great contempt. He's been competing against you ever since he'd met you. This year he has come to get to know you better – as a friend. Befriend him – actually befriend him. Make him see what a true friendship is, and that there is a way out. I cannot. Once he's turned, then I can tell him about my role in all this, possibly. He's a good Occlumens; he blocks the Dark Lord effectively."

She nodded, considering his request. "Okay, I'll try."

"And I want you to help me turn Cillian; he's wavering as well. Imagine if they were on our side, Hermione. I need him – both of them." He looked away, as if he'd heard something, and then looked at her. "I have reasons to think that he is already disenchanted with the Dark Lord, enough to be defying him – well, in one way he already is. But there have been incidences... and signs. I've known him for years, but like with Draco, I cannot reveal myself, my true allegiance, until I know for certain he's admitted his true feelings. I need you to do it, to sway him, to make him admit his discontent."

She nodded again in understanding. "All right, I can try. But won't the Dark Lord be angry if I do?"

Severus laughed. "He's expecting you to try. However, he doesn't believe that you'll be successful in turning the son of a devout family, such as Draco, or a loyal follower like Cillian." He looked up and his gaze scanned the old factory. "Can you hide this conversation in your castle palace?"

"Easily, as I have no idea where we are," she replied. "I'll bury it in the dungeon somewhere."

"Good," he said as he reached out and grasped her arm. "Now, keep your wits about you; you have to face the Dark Lord."

She inhaled in shock and paled.

"You knew you'd have to," he said with a smirk. "But first, we have a stop to make."

~~o0o~~

Author's Notes:

I made up Identificāre effigia. It's taken from the entry of identity on Dictionary.com: 1635–45; < Medieval Latin identificāre is equivalent to identi ( tās ) identity + -ficāre = identify roughly.

And effigia is from http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookdown.pl It means: an image, likeness, effigy; a shade, ghost; an ideal.

Lapso means: [to glide, slide, flow; to slip, fall down]

concido means: [to fall down].

Theophrastus Paracelsus, a celebrated physician and reformer of therapeutics, mentioned Eberhard Paumgartner as being one of his earliest teachers. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11468a.htm So, for fun, I put Eberhard in Hogwarts and made him Head of Slytherin.

Of all the graphorn pictures on the net, I chose this one, the Graphorn by nun witta as the 'realistic' version in my story; http://nun-witta-gun.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d3fj4y8 as opposed to the purple one that is more like a graphorn you'd see in a children's book.

I have art! Thank you, Proulxes, for the incredible drawing of the Graphorn scene! It can be seen on my deviant art account under my penname: http://beaweasley2.deviantart.com/#/d5jxzmv