Fifteen

Disclaimer: I don't own a castle because I can't afford it, so it's safe to assume that I'm not JKR and therefore don't own the characters. If you recognise it, it belongs to her. However, JKR's universe is on earth. Parts of this tale take place inside the earth. Theories about the earth being hollow exist in abundance. No paper was wasted in the creation of this fic, and dragons continue to live safely inside the earth. The electrons are having serious issues with being worked so hard, though.

When Hermione woke up again, it was daylight, and a gentle, warm sun bathed the room in an almost smoky light. Lucius's arms slowly untangled themselves from her body, and he stretched. "Morning, love."

"Morning, love." Then Hermione remembered. "What did we do?"

"Oh. We made love." He nodded earnestly. "Yes, is all."

"Yes. Is all." Her echo was barely whispered.

The door opened and Rose appeared. She stopped abruptly, her eyes wide. After a short silence, she said, "Ah, well, I'm glad your taste in men is much better than Dad's taste in women."

Lucius laughed. "I'm so glad you approve, Rose!"

Rose half-heartedly rolled her eyes at him. "I bet you are." Then she looked at Hermione. "Severus is making breakfast. It'll be ready in a few minutes he said." Her message delivered, she turned around and left, leaving the door open.

Lucius grinned as he watched her retreating form. "Teens, eh?"

"Yeah..." Hermione sighed. "Here I was hoping she'd have an easier time than I did... And now it looks like she's facing the same problems, just with a different name."

Lucius pulled her close. "No. She won't. We'll make sure of that."

Hermione snuggled up to him, but then pulled herself out of bed. "I am actually hungry, and breakfast sounds really good." Her stomach growled in agreement.

When the couple entered the kitchen, Hermione stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Hugo expertly flipped what looked like a pancake in the cast iron pan, avidly listening to Severus lecturing on the moral benefits of using unfertilised eggs.

"Morning!" Lucius said brightly, and Hermione followed with a considerably meeker-sounding greeting.

"Mum! Severus told me all about ancient wheat and unfertilised eggs, and using real butter! And he knows how to cook!" Hugo said, his voice enthusiastic.

"Can I have some food, please, Hugo?" Hermione asked, smiling at her son's enthusiasm.

"Absolutely," Hugo answered. "Let me get this right..." He put a pancake on a plate, added some fresh, bite-sized fruit, two eggs, scrambled the way he knew his mum liked, and put it in front of her.

It tasted delicious. The eggs tasted like eggs, real eggs. The fruit tasted like real fruit. And the pancake was simply divine.

"Impressive, Hugo," Hermione said. "You should make breakfast more often!"

Hugo grinned. "Oh, I couldn't have done it without Severus's help. But I had fun doing it! And I'm glad you like it!"

Severus handed a plate to Lucius and sat down himself opposite Hermione and Lucius. "His talent is... acceptable," he said with a sideways look at Hugo, who had sat down himself with a plateful of pancakes and fruit and beamed at his new hero.

They had nearly finished when Karl and Lola arrived. After exchanging greetings, Lola addressed Rose and Hugo. "I was wondering if you'd like to explore Shambhala. We have some nice gardens and an area inhabited by animals you might enjoy." She looked at them questioningly.

"Oh, I would love to!" Hugo said, obviously in awe; whether it was from Lola's incredible presence or the prospect of checking out new plants and seeing animals, Hermione wasn't certain.

Rose nodded, smiling. "Me, too," she said.

Lola looked at Hermione, who nodded. "Don't mind me," she said and grinned. "I'm sure I'll find ways to spend the day."

"That's what I thought," Lola said softly, and Hermione felt a surge of love well up for the woman she barely knew. It simply felt right to trust her with her children.

Karl walked up to her. "I can, maybe, explain some things to you..."

Hermione nodded. "Yes. I would appreciate that. I think." She met Karl's eyes.

He nodded. "Yes. I think you would."

Hermione followed Rose into the bedroom, but realised she couldn't tell her what to wear; they had very few clothes with them, and half of them way too warm for the temperate climate.

Rose turned to face her mother. "Mum, honestly! I know what to wear, and I'm sure Hugo does, too. It's not as if we have much of a choice right now!" She rolled her eyes, a habit, Hermione noticed with a hint of regret, the girl had picked up from herself.

"I'll sort out some clothing for you today," Hermione promised. "If you want something different looking, I'm sure I can Transfigure it for you."

"It's okay, Mum," Rose said. "I really don't care about it." She giggled. "I'm not a Muggle, you know... I'm not a fashion victim."

Hermione laughed. "No. I didn't perceive you as such, love!" Then, she kissed her children good-bye and returned to the kitchen where Severus, Lucius, and Karl were having an animated conversation about sudden changes, albeit subtle ones.

"We've never received this many messages," Karl said.

"Messages?" Lucius asked.

"Messages," Severus confirmed. "Karl and some others are in contact with a few Muggles up there, who report to him if there are any changes in... Muggles' perception."

"What kind of... perception?" Hermione asked as she sat down next to Lucius.

"Well, they've been behaving like sheep for years, decades even, in general. Now, suddenly, a large number seems to be waking up. They no longer want to... just exist. They want to become active, to stop the outside control." Severus looked at her intently.

"Oh." Hermione was lost for words.

Lucius grinned.

Severus grinned.

"Hermione, you set off earthquakes this morning," Karl said gently.

Hermione blushed.

"I... I felt the shift in energy, but seriously, that can't have been it." She sounded wrong to her own ears, even more so when the three men laughed.

"Don't underestimate your power, Hermione," Severus said.

Karl stood up. "I have some things to take care of. I'll be back later, and we can talk more." He nodded at them and left.

Lucius stood up. "I hate to do this, but, um, Sev, can you get me transport to the Manor? I want to see Draco, and then I need to track Shacklebolt down, preferably with Potter on my side."

Severus nodded. "Give me five minutes." He left.

"Lucius? What's this about?" Hermione asked, feeling panic rising within.

Lucius put a hand on her arm. "Please, love, don't worry. I'll be back in no time, and in the meantime, Severus will look after you. And besides, this place is safer than you can imagine anywhere on earth: You can go out and about, and if you get lost, simply find a person and tell them you're Karl and Lola's guest, and they'll redirect you back here. Really, there's nothing to worry about."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it made do. For now. "All right."

Severus returned. "Merlin is waiting for you outside the house. Look out for crop circles. A lot have popped up this morning, which is highly unusual for this time of year."

"When will you be back?" Hermione asked.

Within twenty-four hours, I would think," Lucius answered as he wrapped his arms around her to say good-bye. "If I take longer, I will send word."

Then, Hermione found herself alone with Severus.

They sat down opposite each other at the kitchen table.

Still not one for small talk, he asked, "Can you think of anything about Edwina that you actually like?"

Hermione met his eyes, startled. "Yes," she said slowly, "I think I can... I'll be forever grateful to her that she took Ron from me. I knew I wasn't happy, but I didn't know just how unhappy I had been for years in my marriage. Had she not turned up when she did, I'd never have met Lucius, and I would have missed out on a great deal of happiness." She stared at the floor now, her fingers wrapping each other so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

He put a hand on her arm. "I understand."

She looked at him. "Do you?"

"I think I do. I lost Lily to James and found Lucius. Then I lost my life as I knew it and found Lola and Karl." He never broke eye contact.

She did and returned to studying the floor. "How do you cope?" she whispered eventually, still not ready to meet his eyes yet again.

He laughed. A genuine, sarcasm- and smirk-free laugh. "Every time one door closed, another, better one, would open for me. How can I not cope?" His face displayed a smile. A happy one, Hermione noticed, startled. "I've been happy with my life for nearly twenty years, Hermione. It's easy to cope."

Now she met his eyes. "Yeah. Who would've thought... Severus Snape, who died during the last few hours of Voldemort's reign, is living a happy life in a place that doesn't officially exist."

He grinned a far too boyish grin. "Exactly. And who would believe it if you told them..."

She grinned too. "Exactly. Who would..."

"Merlin! I thank you for agreeing to take me to England and back," Lucius greeted the dragon as he climbed on his back.

My pleasure, Lucius Malfoy. Watch out for crop circles; I'm sure Lola and Karl will appreciate a first-hand report. I will descend once we reach the areas they're displayed if you can't see them from high above, Merlin informed him and took off gently.

In no time, they reached an opening to the surface...Lucius had no idea which country...and then rose. The temperature dropped rapidly, and Lucius was grateful he'd put on his warm clothes from the day before. The cold still bit him, though; his head felt like its hair had been severed from it, and his lips were no doubt ice-blue.

Lucius felt immense relief when Merlin descended to a much lower altitude. We are now over England. Look out for crop circles.

It took mere minutes before Merlin slowed down, and Lucius saw one. A wheat field in an otherwise barren countryside with most fields ready for their winter sleep, displayed a spectacular tetrahedron. It looked three-dimensional from above rather than the typical two-dimensional star shape, Lucius noticed with surprise.

He counted more than two hundred crop circles between the first and Malfoy Manor, all of them identically shaped.

When Merlin gently landed in the massive gardens of the manor, Lucius thanked him.

Simply call on me in the same way we communicate now, Merlin suggested. I will be around, but it is safer to cloak myself.

Lucius knocked on the massive door of his old home rather than entering without warning, giving Draco the chance to get himself decent.

He needn't have worried; Draco opened, impeccably dressed, a younger image of Lucius himself except for his shorter hair. "Father." His son embraced him.

"Son. It is good to see you. How is it going?"

Draco nodded as he motioned Lucius inside. "It's going."

"And how is your... esteemed wife?" Lucius asked. He'd never particularly liked Pansy and had had a suspicion that his son wasn't as happy in his marriage as he'd liked to be, but it was Draco's life, not his own.

"My... esteemed wife has left," Draco informed him with a sneer.

Lucius's eyebrow almost hit his hairline. That was unexpected. "Oh?"

They had reached the living room where Lucius sat down on the sofa and Draco opposite in a wide, comfortable chair. Draco smirked. "No, I'm not sorry she left, and I don't miss her either. In fact, if I'd known how much better life is without her, I might have cast a discreet Avada Kedavra on her years ago." He looked at his father challengingly, as if to say, "I dare you to disagree."

Lucius smirked. "And what, my darling son, brought that about?"

Draco grinned and shrugged. "Well," he drawled, "she couldn't cope with my admission to having a crush on the Potters." He called a house-elf and ordered refreshments.

Lucius laughed. "Who would've thought, eh? A Malfoy with a crush on a Potter and a former Weasley... That's about the same sort of drastic change as I with Hermione."

Draco looked at him. "You're in love with her? What about Severus?"

Lucius shrugged. "Why not both? I know Severus doesn't mind, and I think Hermione might come around to the idea as we speak." He smirked.

"Surely, Father, you've not come here for a round of small talk, have you?" Draco asked.

"No, but I certainly found our small talk highly informative," Lucius said. Then he added thoughtfully, "I do hope you'll pursue the Potters, son. It would help with regaining control of our world."

"Well... if you put it like that!" his son drawled, grinning.

"Talking of Potter," Lucius started, "I need to speak to him. And then convince him to accompany me to Shacklebolt."

Draco looked at him questioningly. When his father did not elaborate, he sighed. "Keep quiet, all right? I'll Floo him."

Karl chose that moment to enter the kitchen. "I'm glad you're still here. Would you like to go over to our place, and we can show Hermione what you extracted from Wilson's computer so far?"

Hermione looked at Severus. "You have information?" Then she remembered the flash drive Severus had given her back in Taliesin West. "Oh... The drive is in my cloak. I hope." She rushed out to the bedroom.

When Hermione returned with it, the men stood up, and Karl said, "Let's go, then."

They headed out, and the same saucer-shaped vehicle Severus had used the previous night was hovering near the door. Hermione's eyes widened. "A... a flying saucer! That's what Muggles call them..."

Karl chuckled. "Actually, most Muggles call them UFOs. And yes, they're all ours. Sometimes, we make them visible just to cause some interest in things unseen up there."

Severus smirked. "Karl's idea of mischief."

Hermione enjoyed this form of travel. It took barely longer than a Portkey or Apparation, was far cleaner than Floo, had no effects on the stomach, and was more relaxing than Apparating even short distances. Maybe it was the landscape that induced such relaxation, Hermione thought as she drank it in.

All buildings were constructed from crystal, some of quartz, others from rose quartz, a few from smoky quartz. There were no skyscrapers, and not a single house showed any obvious edges; every corner was rounded, and some buildings were dome-shaped. The vegetation was lush everywhere, the intense green of leaves, much larger than any leaves Hermione had ever seen, in beautiful contrast with the vibrant hues of flowers seemingly splattered randomly and yet obviously placed for visual perfection.

When the vehicle landed, Hermione was unable to suppress a sigh. "It's so beautiful here."

"Like it? I'm glad," Karl said and smiled. He pointed at a pretty house built entirely of rose quartz. "Welcome to our humble abode." Then, he led the way to the kitchen and motioned for Hermione and Severus to sit down at the large, round, oak table. He took out three glasses, poured liquid from a large jar, and brought them to the table. Then, he sat down himself.

"How do you like it so far, Hermione?" he asked.

"I like it," Hermione said. "I'm feeling confused, as everything seems very different here, and, well, yes, I like it." She felt lost for words; too much had been happening in the last couple of days, and she was not quite ready to sort out her emotions. Yet.

"It's all right," Severus said. "I'd get worried if you didn't feel confused in any way, you know..." He grinned that boyish grin again.

Karl chuckled. "Indeed."

Hermione looked at the two men. "So... what's next on the agenda?"

"Karl, bring the computer, please, so we can show Hermione the information I found on Wilson's computer," Severus said.

Karl left to bring a laptop, and Severus addressed Hermione. "You might like this." He took the laptop, switched it on, and inserted the flash drive.

Hermione's eyes widened when she looked at the file names. "Goodness, gracious, me." 'Granger', 'Weasley', 'Voldemort', 'Potter', 'Shacklebolt', 'Weasley.Children', 'Plan1', 'Plan2', 'Plan3' flashed before her eyes.

Severus put his hand on her arm. "Please, don't worry. There isn't a lot you don't know already, at least the gist of it. Their 'Plan1' has failed already; it was the kidnapping of Rose and Hugo, followed by the kidnapping of you, and eventually Mr Weasley. 'Plan2' is failing as we speak: those crop circles I asked Lucius to look out for...they're essentially a mirror of the energy grid surrounding the planet. Every time some major change happens in terms of thought, perception, thought patterns, you name it, crop circles appear. Your magick early this morning accelerated that change on a global scale. And the fact that all the crop circles showed the same shape...a tetrahedron... is absolute proof of what you achieved, albeit not quite consciously." He grinned. "Their 'Plan2' of wanting to incarcerate a handful of wizards and witches on made-up charges was thwarted entirely. And besides, they really can't come after you."

Hermione rested her heavy head on her arms. "I don't think I want to know 'Plan3'. Honestly." Hiding in bed sounded really attractive.

Severus gently but firmly cupped her chin to lift her head. "That's good. I'd rather you wouldn't. Your energy is incredible, Hermione. Simply keep following your gut feeling, and 'Plan3' will be sabotaged as well." She was unable to avoid his eyes. She found peace.

He moved one hand to her back and pulled her closer. "It'll be all fine, love..."

She revelled in the feel of comfort. Pure comfort. Then, reality came back. "Where are my children?"

Severus had the audacity to chuckle. "They're currently saying hello to lions and tigers and mice and eagles. Want to go there?"

She looked at him, horrified. "What???"

He chuckled again. "Life is very different down here. Come." He pulled her up and, ignoring Karl entirely, led her outside and around the building, down a weathered set of stone stairs. "There you go," he said, pointing at a few children a short distance away.

Hermione did a double take. She recognised Rose and Hugo and noticed that the other children were considerably taller than her offspring. They appeared to be in an animated conversation with a lion. A male lion. And a small animal beside it. A mouse? A rat? Hermione couldn't tell and rushed forward.

A white tiger stopped her physically by jumping right in front of her. "Leave the children. They are in no danger."

"What?" She looked around in a panic. "Severus?"

Severus shook his head slightly. "There are no predators here. Leave your earthly beliefs behind, please." He'd come up to her now and put his arm around her. "See this boy on the far right? He's only joined recently. He's from Philadelphia. Lost his parents a year ago because they didn't follow the party line. Lola personally brought him here when they were about to use him as a guinea pig for new drugs. That's how sad a state the Muggles are in, Hermione. Do you want that to happen to our world?"

Hermione shuddered. "Gods, no," she whispered.

"Then, for crying out loud, woman, utilise the knowledge you carry inside, and stop fighting yourself!" He sounded angry now, and Hermione retreated quickly a few steps away. The lack of his touch made her feel empty.

Thanks bunches, southernwitch69, for the beta!

A/N: For details of the prompt, please see chapter 1.