Chapter Two

Where Your Loyalties Lie is an Honorable Mention by the Wizengamot.

Disclaimer I've borrowed characters and situations from J.K. Rowling's creation and have manipulated them to fit into my plot.

Severus was lying next to her, propped on his elbow. He'd been watching her sleep for a few minutes. Potter's final birthday party would be taking place within the next few hours. How would she feel once she realized that he'd betrayed her? That nearly all that they'd shared had been a lie? Did she truly love him enough to go along with him quietly after her friends had been massacred, or would she continue to fight him until he had to kill her? Could he do it? He imagined gripping her neck tightly, watching the life leave her eyes. He shook the image away. He would not be able to do it if it ever came down to that. I shall be sure it never comes to that by any means necessary. She will listen to reason and join us.

She would see the power that the Dark Lord had. He would give them all places at his side and build a formidable following. They would enforce new laws amongst all, making the Wizarding world stronger. Those loyal to the oppressive Ministry's laws would be dealt with swiftly. The time of catering to Muggles would be over. Things would be better. All of the money that his father had once squandered away would be returned ten times over. His family home would be restored to him. Yes, Hermione would eventually be grateful that he'd spared her life and chosen her as his partner.

His hand reached out, and his fingers trailed along her jaw, rousing her from sleep. "Ugh! What time is it?" she asked grumpily.

"Early."

"How long have you been up?" She stretched and made her way to the loo.

"An hour," he called after her. A thought suddenly occurred to him. What if he was killed? What would become of her? It was highly unlikely, but there was always the risk. He supposed it would no longer matter if that happened. The Dark Lord would either keep her around or have her killed. He hoped it was the latter, as he knew some of the tactics the others used for amusement. They weren't pleasant. He heard the shower start and noted that it seemed to be calling to him. I will have her. The words one last time echoed after those thoughts, but he paid them no heed.

Severus glided to the shower, opened the door, and stepped in behind her. Hermione squealed lightly as his hands wrapped around her to pull her back against him. He nibbled on her neck momentarily before swinging her around to face him. Easily, he lifted her and lodged her against the wall with his body. Their lips locked whilst his hand reached down to awaken his lazy cock. The forceful spray of warm water had soaked his hair, which her hands had become entangled in.

"Open for me," he whispered into her ear. She maneuvered her legs slightly, opening further for him. He slammed into her with such force that they both cried out. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and her hands reached above her head to grasp a ledge in the stone wall. "You feel so good to me," he ground out between thrusts.

She eagerly moved against and with him, panting and mumbling incoherently as she did so. Her body arched so that her jiggling breasts were near his mouth. He pulled her closer, taking one into his mouth as he did so, inducing a delightful cry from her. After he suckled her breast and trailed his lips above to nibble upon her neck greedily, one of her hands had come down to rake its nails across his back. He growled deeply and continued to pound into her, allowing her to grind against him so that his pelvic bone stimulated her.

"Severusss," she hissed, sounding like a protégé of the Dark Lord. "Don't stop." Howls of pleasure erupted from her lips as she quaked around him. When her tremors subsided, she diligently continued to move with him to bring him to meet his culmination.

"Hermione," he roared triumphantly, erratically sliding in and out of her torrid body until he was completely spent. He remained inside of her even as his legs began to shake from overexertion and the added weight of her body. He slid down, taking her with him. "Hermione..." He was unsure of what to say. By the way, I'm going to kill most of your friends today. Nothing he could say or do would prepare her or cause her to accept it.

"I know," she murmured, misunderstanding him. "I feel it as well. I love you, too." He simply placed a small kiss on her brow and held her tightly. There was nothing he could say. He simply allowed her to believe as she would.

The next few hours were abuzz with excitement as she went about readying their home for the guests. When they started arriving in droves, Severus could feel his gut clenching. There were more arriving than he'd given her leave to invite...mostly Aurors and Order members. Fuck! He found the house-elf that he'd instructed to greet and accept invitations at the door.

"Dilly! Why are you allowing these people in without their invitations?" he demanded.

"Master, I is taking them all, I is," the elf said obediently, handing him a stack of invitations. All were written by Hermione's hand.

"We shall see about this," he groused, striding away with the invitations. He found her conversing with Potter in their living area. "A word," he said darkly, not acknowledging her friend.

"Sure," she said, following him into their study. "What's wrong? Has the food not been prepared?"

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, waving the thick stack of invitations in front of her.

"Sorry?" she asked, seemingly confused.

"You've invited more people than we agreed upon!" he said, tone dangerously quiet.

"Severus, I didn't invite some of these people. I swear it!" She snatched the invitations away from him and read through some. Her shocked face tilted up to meet his. "It looks like my handwriting, but I guarantee that I only wrote out the ones that you approved. What trickery is this?"

He could see the truth in her eyes. Someone else had invited the others and was able to forge her writing perfectly. "What fool would want to invite more people than the hosts have allowed?"

At that moment, there was a loud bang, and laughter could be heard. Above all the voices, the shrill taunting of one of the dreadful Weasley twins could be heard. "What's wrong, Ickle Ronniekins? Scared of a little noise, eh? Some Auror you'll make!"

"Shove off, Fred," Weasley shouted.

Severus' eyes met Hermione's. "I imagine that the two Weasley pranksters are the culprits. They shall pay for this," he said darkly, drawing his wand.

"No," she pleaded. "Don't make a scene, or things will be ruined."

"I'm afraid that they are ruined anyway," he said. He leveled his wand at her. He saw the look of surprise light her eyes just before he said, "Stupefy!" He caught her before she tumbled backwards and placed her on the settee. He had to warn his Master. He quickly Disapparated to the back of his property where he knew the Dark Lord and the others were located. He kneeled quickly and rose without permission. "Master, there is a problem!"

The slitted eyes narrowed even more. "What is it, Severusss?"

"Those Weasley bastards duplicated Hermione's invitations and have invited nearly twenty-five more people than should have been. What is your will?"

"This ends today," his Master said, in his high-pitched voice. "Everyone ready yourselves to Apparate in two groups."

"Potter is in the living area, as are most of the others," he informed.

"Very well. Go ready yourself," his Master said approvingly. "Group one will come with me into Severusss' living area. Group two will Apparate into his entrance hall."

Severus nodded and Disapparated back to his study. "Shit," he exclaimed. Hermione was gone. In a panic, he ran into the hall. He saw her talking to Ronald Weasley a few steps away. The boy's hands were digging into her shoulders as he shook her.

"Mione? Are you all right?"

"Get your hands off of my wife," Severus commanded, pointing his wand at him. "Always meddling where you shouldn't, eh, Weasley?" He reached out to pull the dazed Hermione towards him.

"Someone Stunned her, Snape! Found her in the study, I did! Bloody hell! Where were you?" A succession of loud cracks and pops drew their attention to the entrance hall. Weasley sprinted towards the living area screaming out warnings to the others. It seemed that people were running about wildly in a matter of seconds.

Severus quickly pulled Hermione back towards the study. "Stay in here," he yelled, shoved her in, and closed the door quickly. He had to get to his Master's side. Just as he lifted his wand to magically lock the door, a gruff voice behind him got his attention.

"Come on, Snape." It was Moody. "Time to take positions. They are a little earlier than we expected."

What the fuck is he talking about? He truly has gone mad. "If you'll excuse me, I have to help my Master." He allowed all of the loathing that he felt for the man to flow through him. "Avada Kedavra!" he yelled loudly. Only a surprised look graced the grizzled face as the green jet of light slammed into his chest. Severus smirked as his body fell with a loud thump.

It was at that moment that he realized the house was trembling with the force of spells and hexes being thrown about. It was as if the Order and the Aurors had been ready. That's what Moody had meant! Was there another spy? Who the hell could have known? The Dark Lord had told nobody, save Lucius. Had he turned spy? Did he blab to his son? Was Draco a spy? Severus didn't know whom to trust! He crept forward uneasily. There were shouts all around...in front, above, behind, and below. Both sides of supporters were running about. "What the hell is going on?" he asked aloud.

There was a loud scream behind him. He swirled around and saw a Death Eater clutching Hermione to him. It had to be the traitor. "Unhand her!"

"You've sabotaged us, Snape! The Dark Lord will kill you as soon as he kills Potter!"

"Lucius! You traitor! When did you tell Potter? Our Lord will have your head!" Severus said, wand unwavering as it pointed at his foe.

"Liar! They were lying in wait for us as we got here! They knew we were coming. The moment we Apparated in, someone placed an Anti-Disapparation Jinx that wouldn't allow us to Disapparate." Hermione cried out as he pulled her hair more tightly. "Release your enchantment, Severus, or I will kill her now with you watching."

At that moment, Hermione pulled her wand from her pocket and pointed it at the man behind her. "Diffindo!" she shouted.

Lucius shrieked as a large cut sliced across his face and released Hermione. She tripped over Moody's body and fell to the floor with a yelp. Severus used this to his advantage. "Avada Kedavra!" As his one time friend fell, his eyes darted to Hermione. Her hurt eyes met his.

"What's going on, Severus?" she asked, tears welling up. "I don't know what to think. You were the one to Stun me. How did the Death Eaters know that Harry would be here? Why did you kill Mad-Eye?"

It dawned on him that she'd heard everything that had transpired. This did not bode well. He would not lose her now; he'd chosen her as a partner. Together, they would prosper under the Dark Lord's reign over the Wizarding world. "I've no time to explain this, Hermione. I must find my Master," he said, nodding to the door behind her. "Get in. When this is over, I will tell you everything. You can..."

Something equivalent to a gust of wind entered his body and passed through him completely before exiting. He fell to his knees, body shaking. In the same instant, a few things happened. She reached out for him in horror to try to cradle him against her, crying as she did so. His Dark Mark burned painfully. He realized that a hush had come over the entire house. His Master had been defeated. There was no other explanation. "NO!" The loud yelling used up nearly entirely what was left of his energy. "NO! IT CAN'T BE!"

"Stay still, love," she murmured, rocking with him. "Let him go."

All that he'd worked for was gone. Lucius had said that he wasn't the traitor, and he'd even accused me of being one. If it wasn't him... His eyes met his wife's. "What have you done, Hermione?" he asked quietly. She had done this. Nobody else could have known the things that he'd been doing. She didn't seem all that surprised that he was faithful to the Dark Lord.

"Severus...I love you." She shook him wildly, crying, "Do you not know that?" She sobbed openly, confusion and grief apparent.

A roar of cheers and applause rang out from all over the house and seemed to be getting closer to them. Sure enough, Boy Fucking Wonder and some of his followers were closing in on them. "You set us up!" a ruffled Potter yelled. "How else would they have known that we would be here?"

"He Stunned Hermione," Ron confirmed, nodding wildly. "Looks like he killed Moody and Lucius Malfoy as well." He snatched Severus' fallen wand from the floor. "Prior Incantato!" Sure enough, a ghostly writing appeared proving that the last spell cast had most definitely been the Killing Curse. "You'll rot for that, Snape! Old Mad-Eye always said something wasn't right about you!"

Potter yelled, "I should have known you'd never change! You deserve to be dead or rounded up with the others to go to Azkaban!"

"That's enough, mate," Fred said, trying to pull Harry back.

"Deletrius!" Hermione said, swishing her wand and erasing the image. "He was defending me," she proclaimed loudly, holding him all the more tightly. Her wand was trained on Ronald, who had taken another step closer.

Severus was too weak to move much since that magical surge had passed through him to release him from his subjugation to the Dark Lord. Although all was lost, he did feel one slight victory. She knew what he truly was and still chose to defend him. He would go to Azkaban or his death, whichever the bastards chose, knowing that he'd still won something in the end. He may have failed the Dark Lord, but had things ended differently, she would have remained loyal to him.

"Get away from him, Mione," Potter said, stepping closer.

Her wand pointed to Potter then. "Get back, Harry. I saw everything. Ron is right. I was Stunned. Lucius did it. Severus was looking for him when he found Ron and me. The others came in, and Ron fled. Moody showed up. Lucius killed him and tried to kill me. Severus wouldn't allow it." She sniffed loudly. "I'll not let you touch him."

Auror Tonks limped up. "Stop," she called. "She's right. Some of us knew." Both Severus and Hermione blinked in surprise and looked at her. She pointed behind her to the end of the corridor. "Who do you think was able to round them up and disarm the stragglers as easily as that?" A collection of gasps filled the air as none other than Albus Dumbledore and a heavily cloaked person strode towards them. Severus felt his heartbeat quicken. He was back from beyond the veil! He would know what had transpired.

"Headmaster?" Potter sputtered. "How...?"

"Albus! You're alive!" Minerva shrieked, bringing her hand up over her mouth. Severus was glad that her attention had been redirected elsewhere. Her gaze had made him all the more uncomfortable.

The old man held up his hand. "All will be explained shortly. I think we need to clear out Severus' home. The dead will have to be handled accordingly. The captured Death Eaters will need to be sent to the Ministry's holding cells where they can decide what to do with them until their trials. As for Severus, " he looked down to where Severus was being held by Hermione, "he did bring them here."

"Aha! I knew it," Ronald said smugly.

"Hush, Ron," Lupin chided.

"But, we were informed," Dumbledore said. "Severus, Nymphadora, Alastor, Hermione, and I knew exactly what would transpire here today."

Severus heard Hermione's intake of breath. "What?" she whispered in disbelief to herself. His eyes drifted from her to the cloaked person standing directly behind Dumbledore until the headmaster spoke again.

"We could not tell most of you the truth about my life or anything else, only to be ready for what Tom thought to be a secret attack. It's why we saw to it to invite a great deal of you. No children. Just those adults willing to fight. I thank you all for accepting."

"But...you couldn't plan this without telling me," Potter said indignantly.

"We especially didn't want you to know, Harry. We needed everyone to act naturally, or any number of spies could have tipped off Voldemort. Severus wrote a letter to me and had Hermione bring it to me the night Grimmauld Place was attacked. It's why I showed up there that night. Alastor, Remus, and Nymphadora were instructed to hide you away, Harry." He looked around at everyone. "As I knew that Voldemort would never move in on Potter if he thought him to be too well guarded, I was forced to fake my own death. You know the rest. We've been working to ensure that there was no loss of life on our side. I am saddened to see that things haven't worked out for Alastor."

Severus could listen no longer. His eyes closed and weakness overtook him. The magical releasing of his oath to his Lord had left him drained and depleted of strength. Different things drifted through his mind as he succumbed to sleep. Hermione had been working with Dumbledore this entire time. They weren't going to turn him over to the Ministry. He had failed his Master. He had killed Lucius.

Hours later, Severus awoke in bed. Hermione was sitting next to him, holding his hand. "I was worried," she whispered.

"Where...?"

"The others?" she asked. He nodded. The words wouldn't come to him. "Dumbledore is below with someone. The other lot cleared off."

He could see the disappointment in her eyes, and he could hear it in her voice. There was nothing he could say to ease her pain. He had his own pain to deal with. He felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that she'd defended him and somehow talked Dumbledore into doing so as well. "Why?"

"I've had feelings for you since the end of my seventh year. We were tipped off that something was going to happen in Hogsmeade. I wasn't there on free time. As an Auror in training, I was able to go with the others. When you helped me and brought me back to Hogwarts, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I knew then that I would never feel anything like that for anyone else." She swallowed and looked away. "It wasn't until after that when Moody started asking me things, trying to get information about you. I felt so dirty after talking to him, that ruddy eye roaming about. He never trusted you."

"So," Severus said quietly. "You've been spying on me." Disappointment flooded his senses. So, this is how betrayal feels.

"Not at first. You have to believe that," she said softly. "You make me happy. In fact, after I realized that you'd fallen in love with me, I never told him about anything. I did not even let him know you'd disappear after you thought me to be asleep some nights. I would never have bound myself to you if I hadn't meant it."

Those words halted his disappointment. She hadn't betrayed him or his actions to Moody. If so, the man wouldn't have grudgingly let his vigilant guard down long enough to be killed. Severus allowed her to believe that he loved her. If she knew otherwise, it would change everything. He simply nodded, believing all of her words. "How long have you known that the Dark Lord would be coming today?"

She shook her head. "I never knew. Dumbledore had me confused earlier, but it's all clear now." She moved to the nightstand and retrieved one of the new parchments he'd given her. She dabbed a quill into some ink. "Write a letter to Dumbledore and tell him about the surprise attack on Grimmauld Place."

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"Do it," she commanded.

He began scribbling, giving details of entry and even a time. "I don't understand," he said when he'd finished.

She dried the ink with her wand and pocketed the note quickly, pulling something else from beneath her robes as she did so. "Dumbledore gave this to me, you know." She surprised him by showing him a Time-Turner. "Severus, there is something I wanted to tell you this morning when you made love to me in the shower."

Uncertainly, he asked, "What is it?" He was still partially shocked that she hadn't turned against him.

"I'm six weeks pregnant." He sucked in a deep breath. "I've been waiting for the right moment to tell you. I found out last week. The Healer said I must have missed a dose." She wiped a couple of tears away. "Just in case something goes wrong, which I think it might, I just wanted you to know." She kissed his lips softly and pulled away.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"I'm going to save our family, Severus."

"What do you mean? When will you return? Stop!" She simply shrugged, stood, tampered with her Time-Turner, and vanished. "Hermione!" What the fuck is she doing? She tells me about my child, and then she leaves without guaranteeing she will return! The opening of the door had him sitting up quickly.

In walked the cloaked person that had been with Dumbledore. "Who are you?" he demanded. Severus had never felt more apprehensive before in his life. Had something gone wrong? Was this an assassin? He looked around for his wand and didn't see it. Damn!

The hood was pulled back and revealed the tired yet smiling face of...Hermione. "I'm back," she scurried forward and fell into his arms. "I thought I would never leave," she mumbled softly against him.

"What the hell?" She looked different. There were dark circles under her eyes, her face looked rounded, and her hair was at least a couple of inches longer than it had been. "What's going on here?"

She stood up and began to take off her cloak. "Dumbledore has gone now. He's going to straighten everything up at the Ministry. We're finally free to live our lives, and our child will not be burdened with any rubbish." She pulled the cloak away completely to reveal some Muggle clothing that displayed a largely swollen stomach. She placed a hand over it and smiled. "Right active, this one." Against his better judgement, he reached out to place a hand and was surprised to find the flesh to be firmly solid. His child moved against his hand.

In a choked voice, he asked, "How are you...so far? You said you were six weeks?" He knew the answer as soon as he asked the question, but he didn't interrupt when she spoke.

"I've missed you these past few months," she said softly, moving to sit with him. "I have had to relive everything. Dumbledore and I have been in hiding together, making sure things went smoothly. The Hermione that just left was only six weeks along. I'm nearly seven months along." She moved to lie on her side next to him. "Hope you don't mind. I'm a bit tired. I just need to rest for a moment."

"All right," he relented solemnly.

"Severus, I can still talk," she said, grabbing his hand for a squeeze. "It was I that wrote the extra invitations for the others; it was I that shot that jet of green light to make it look like Dumbledore died. I placed the Anti-Disapparation Jinx on the house after the Death Eaters Apparated in. I've been doing a lot of things. I am also Harry's Secret-Keeper, have been all this time."

His face contorted angrily. "So you know."

"Yes."

"Why would you still want to be with me? How could you trust me? How did you talk Dumbledore into giving me a second chance?" What had she bargained with? There had to be a price and some reason for it all.

"I love you," she said adamantly. "Some people will do anything for love. Just as you ensured my safety if Voldemort would have won, I've only returned the favor by ensuring yours."

Severus couldn't speak. Was that why he'd fought to keep her safe? Love? Ridiculous! He didn't love her. They had great sex. They were compatible. He wanted to possess her and own her, but he did not love her. However, I am no fool. I shall simply go along with it. "I see."

"I trust you completely. Nobody knows you the way that I know you, Severus. Besides, where else have you to go?" she asked haughtily.

Why that little witch! Knows me better than anyone, does she? Ha! "Are you saying that you are blackmailing me?" he asked cautiously, eyes narrowed.

"Of course not. I'm just being silly." She kissed the hand she held. "Dumbledore doesn't know that you've been dishonest about your loyalties. He believes that you sent me that night as part of your contribution to win the war for the Order. I told him that you went to your summons with Voldemort and before you'd realized what they'd planned, you were outside of Grimmauld Place. Someone else had leaked the information, breaching headquarters. I told him that you had a plan that involved faking his death, knowing it would be the only way to flush out the Dark Lord again."

He took in everything she said and appreciated her calculating mind anew. "You always think of everything, don't you?"

"I try," she said modestly.

"Perhaps you should not have been a Gryffindor."

"You're right. I was almost put in Ravenclaw, but I wanted Gryffindor." She kissed his nose.

He smirked. "What of Moody? You could have warned him."

It was her turn to smirk. "Why?" she asked distastefully. "He would have figured things out. He was already suspicious. I don't think he would have stopped until it came out that you weren't exactly rooting for Harry."

There was one question that he needed to have answered. "Hermione, if things had worked out differently, would you have still supported me?" She looked away from him. He turned her face back to scan her eyes, needing to see if she'd be truthful. "Answer me honestly."

"I would have loved you and hated you."

"Fair enough," he agreed. "Would you have acquiesced to my decision?"

She looked down to the hand on her stomach. "Eventually."

Severus watched as she allowed herself to fall asleep and couldn't believe his good fortune. There would be no having to hide his true feelings any longer. She'd accepted him as he was, and apparently, she hadn't any plans to change him. If he had to fail, he couldn't think of any other way he would have wanted things to turn out. Dumbledore still trusted him. He still had his passionate lover. Perhaps the respectability and renown that he and his wife...as instrumental keys to defeating the Dark Lord...would share would be enough to make up for the shame and poverty that his father had brought upon the Snape name.

There would be time for more questions. He was eager to know exactly how the Dark Lord was defeated. How many had survived? How many had been killed? Would everyone accept things as Dumbledore put them? He smiled smugly, thinking that he'd definitely done well to realize that Hermione's shrewd thinking and cunning would be an asset. He scoffed, remembering her words. "Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," he spat. "Slytherin if I've ever seen one."

The amused expression left his face as a stray thought passed through his mind. Had he simply exchanged one life of subjugation for another? His eyes narrowed. He'd have to put her in her place and soon. She'd be easy enough to manipulate. He would never allow things to change. They would continue to live as they had before all of this had taken place. All he had to do differently was pretend to be in love with her, which shouldn't be very trying. She already assumed as much.

At that moment, she yawned and opened her eyes. "I love you," she whispered.

This was his first test. "And, I...love you," he said darkly, unable to keep the scowl from his face or the disgust from his voice.

She simply giggled. "I think I'd rather you just say the usual. Watching you force yourself to speak words that you hold private takes away the meaning for me." She pulled his hand to her stomach. "Let's try again. I love you."

"And, I," he said honestly, smirking. Yes, things would work themselves out. He applauded himself for being a master manipulator. For as clever as she was, she'd misread him completely, hadn't she? As long as his charade kept her happy, life would be good. "I wonder," he murmured aloud before kissing her temple.

"Wonder what?"

"How does it feel to be within you whilst you are in such a rounded state?"

"Care to find out?" she asked cheekily. "It's been so long."

"For whom? If I recall, I had you in the shower just this morning," he said, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, good grief. Come here."

He paused momentarily at her issued command. Perhaps this was one area in which he could make allowances and give her some control. One of the most appealing things about her was her spontaneity and wickedness in the bedroom. The only time she'd ever been reserved was their very first encounter, the one he'd Obliviated. Even the time she remembered as being their first coupling had been spirited and filled with willingness to do anything. Yes, life was good. Sorry, Master, he thought sarcastically. I suppose having a warm and willing wife, a promising future, and a small amount of renown shall keep me from missing you all that much. After all, I must look after my own interests.

A/N: This was a fun challenge to answer. I want to say thanks to my betas for taking the time to go through this for me. Charmed_Nay, Meredith, CocoaChristy, and GinnyW had a sneak peek and helped to point out any funkies.

So, did you all like the Dark!Severus? Too soft still? I thought he was pretty dang sneaky, and I love that he still pulled one over on Hermione. Or, does he actually? ahahhaa... I'm mean, huh? teehee