Chapter 10: Hermione

Chapter 10:

Hermione

Hermione wanted to close her eyes and bask in the moment. Severus’s arms held her against him as if they were being intimate. That alone would have made this moment wondrous, but to have it done while inside a stone wall! This was unthinkable mere hours before, and now Hermione Granger was being held by Severus Snape inside the walls of Hogwarts. It was hard for her to know what to focus on: the protectiveness of Severus’s arms or the odd experience of being inside stone.

Severus held still for a moment, allowing the hold Hermione tried to keep on her brain to be loosed, making it overflow with exclamatory thoughts. She didn’t understand how she was breathing, only knew that she was, and that the air was cold and smooth. She felt slight pressure from the stone surrounding her, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The world outside the wall was tinged grey and slightly obscured. Lucius and Draco had been joined by another Death Eater she didn’t recognize. With a start, she remembered what they were doing and wondered why Severus wasn’t moving.

As if he had heard her thoughts, the stone around them began to flow downward. No, it’s not moving—we are! They rose up through the dungeon wall, the stone breaking around them like a river parted by a boulder. She couldn’t tell how he was doing it. His body, still pressed so close to hers, betrayed no movement, and yet they were moving. The potion must have granted him the ability to dictate where they would go by thought, making his body not only able to be embraced by stone, but his mind able to control it. She ached to test this theory for herself, but was deterred by the ferocity with which Severus held her. There must be some danger of him losing me in here. But she needed to know.

“Se—” She was cut off by Severus frantically shaking his head. Her questions would have to wait until later.

Each wall parted before them as they passed unnoticed by anyone. Severus led her to a passage uncared for by house elves, its floor covered in dust. When they reached the end, Severus nodded to Hermione and pulled forward.

Hermione mimicked him and stepped forward. For one moment, the wall clung to her and she worried she might not be able to leave. But then the suction broke and the wall snapped back into place. The air felt light and warm on her face as she walked over to Severus.

“This trap door leads to the basement of Honeydukes. We must be cautious: for unlike your friend Mr. Potter, we are not in possession of an Invisibility Cloak.” She felt herself grinning as she realized that Severus must have known when Harry sneaked out to Hogsmeade. “When we are safely outside the grounds of Hogwarts, I will Apparate us away.”

With that, Severus slid the creaky trap door open a sliver. Motioning for her to follow, he pushed the trap door open all the way and crawled out. She followed him, climbing out of the passage into the aromatic basement of Honeydukes. His arms wrapped around her urgently—I could get used to this!—as he Apparated them away from Hogwarts and its dangers.

When they arrived, she first noticed the musty smell of old books. Black and brown leatherbound books hid every inch of the walls. When she managed to tear her eyes away from the books, she saw a decrepit sofa, an old chair, and an unstable table: none of which held any particular interest for her.

"Where are we?"

"This is my house," Severus replied. "I come here sometimes, when I need a break from Hogwarts."

Hermione thought of all those weekends that Severus had been away and realized that, at least for some of them, he must have come here.

“Are we safe here?”

"No. You agreed to follow me, so I will not allow myself to take any responsibility for what may happen to you," Severus said.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked hesitantly. She had assumed that he Apparated them somewhere safe, somewhere they couldn't be found.

“Why do you think Draco was with Lucius?”

Hermione shook her head, admitting she didn’t know where Severus was going with this.

Sighing, he said, "Lucius is using Draco as a distraction. He knows those on our side will not intentionally harm a student, and he will continue using that to his advantage. If Lucius is willing to do this once, he will do it again, and Draco will become nothing more than a pawn in battle. But if Lucius dies today... It is Draco’s best chance."

“That’s despicable! Who would treat their own child like that?”

“Lucius would. Remember: he is our target. Do your best not to harm Draco, but do not act to protect him under any circumstances. The Dark Lord must not have any doubt in his mind of Draco’s loyalty, or killing Lucius would be meaningless.”

“But—”

"Prepare yourself," he interrupted, "they are coming."