Deceitful Strategies

A/N: To all those who have waited so very long: thank you. I'm blessed to have you as a reader and I do hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you, Lariope for the beta--you're awesome. Many hugs!

Severus leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands as he always did when he was about to say something most interesting. Hermione couldn't help herself as she crept to the edge of her seat, twirling the edge of her skirt around her finger, waiting very impatiently to hear what he had to say.

"It just so happens that, quite recently, I have had the absolute pleasure of acquiring the two remaining ingredients."

Hermione was nearly salivating as Severus seductively reeled her into his plan. He related it on his own terms, however--giving her just pieces of information at a time as he explained to her how he had always been one step ahead of the two most powerful wizards of her time.

"What are they?" Hermione said, her voice barely a whisper.

Severus grinned. "Virgin's blood. More specifically, your virgin's blood."

Hermione sat up, shocked, but not surprised--it was a valuable ingredient. "But why did you wait to use mine? Why didn't you purchase some?"

"Virgin blood-- at least the sort that I could afford--is not very powerful. It's usually from a witch who was forced, rather than willing like you were. Or, the blood from older witches, which over time, the strength dissipates. To get the strength I required, I needed a young, willing witch. In time, I might have acquired it with help from Lucius, but even then, it wouldn't have had the power I sought. You can only imagine how exciting it was to gather yours."

Hermione nodded her head and smiled. "I did see the look in your eye when you took my blood," she teased. Hermione sat back in the chair and crossed her legs, ready for more information. "All right then, if the blood was the first, and you said that since the rarity and availability of the ingredients were almost impossible to get, and I know that in time, you could have possibly obtained the blood, am I correct in assuming that the second ingredient is the one that is the most important?"

Severus slowly nodded his head, his smirk still playing upon his lips.

"Well, go on, then, what is it?" she demanded, her heart racing with every second ticking by. Hermione leaned forward, twirling the hem of her skirt between her fingers once again, waiting for his answer.

"Essence of werewolf."

"Essence of werewolf?" Hermione thought about that for a moment, mentally going through her massive catalog of rare ingredients that she had read about in her mind. "You mean--the magic that makes a human transform into a wolf? You acquired that?"

"Oh, yes."

Confused, Hermione stood up and began pacing. "I've read about that only once--when you were trying to expose Remus as a wolf when I was a third year, and you had the class write that essay about werewolves. I found a book in the Restricted Section that mentioned it, but even then it was only one sentence in length and gave no valuable information. If I remember correctly, it said that the essence is nearly unattainable."

She stopped pacing and faced Severus, the answer dawning on her. "Of course. No werewolf would ever allow you to gather that of his own free will--you have to murder a werewolf to get that, correct?" She stared into his eyes, and for a split second, she saw the monster that now, hopefully, lay dormant inside him. Although she wasn't afraid, she knew she would never understand the excitement he had experienced when he killed the not-so-innocent--it was just a part of him she would have to accept.

"The essence is from Greyback," she stated.

"Indeed."

Hermione slumped into the chair, trying to imagine the horrid details of him capturing that ingredient. "When? How?"

"That's not important, and it is best I don't explain it to you--it's not for the fainthearted. What is important, though, is that with it, we can finally rid the Dark Lord of all his Horcruxes."

Hermione sighed. He was right, she didn't truly want to know the gory details, but her curiosity always seemed to get the best of her. "Please tell me," she asked quietly.

Severus huffed, then, in full detail, he told her how he had finally gained the essence of werewolf.

He didn't want to tell her, afraid she would be so horrified that he was so easily capable of murder, that she would truly throw away any relationship they had. But how could he refuse sharing his excitement with her? It even took him by surprise when, after he was finished, she quietly said that Greyback had deserved what he got. But then again, she always surprised him.

"Now explain how the blood and essence will work together," she said.

Severus cleared his throat. "As you may already know, the transformation that a wolf goes through basically changes his genetics, making them much stronger and such. No matter how much you... admire... Lupin, when he, or anyone for that matter, transforms into a werewolf, the magic is evil at its purest. Virgin's blood is the exact opposite--it's untainted and innocent.

"My theory is simple. By mixing the two ingredients into a potion, I could submerge the Horcrux. The Dark Lord's soul will attach to the essence of werewolf because the two evils will attract each other. The purity of the blood will eventually overpower it, based on the simple cliché: 'good always conquers evil.' The blood will destroy the evil soul, leaving the housing of the Horcrux intact. But the highlight of the theory is that I have created a spell that will use the single Horcrux as a conduit to kill all the remaining souls, whether the objects that contained them were found or not. The Dark Lord isn't as brilliant as everyone believes--although I suppose he never thought anyone would be able to find a fault in his plan, especially me: his most loyal and trusted follower."

"Seems like a simple theory, but why couldn't the blood overpower the Horcrux without the Werewolf Essence?"

"If the blood was used on its own, the power of the Dark Lord's soul would be attracted to it, like a magnet. For the power of the blood to work, the soul needs to latch onto something else--distract it from the good, so to speak. The essence is more powerful than the blood alone; that's why it's much more valuable. Once the two are infused together, the soul will latch onto the evil first, lessening the strength of the two and causing the dark magic to become vulnerable.

"Vulnerable because they aren't expecting the magic of virgin's blood to swoop in and destroy it. The essence is a decoy," Hermione said.

"Yes."

Severus chuckled to himself as he watched Hermione putting all the pieces together--her brain surely whirling with hundreds of questions.

"You've had this theory for a while?"

"Yes."

"And you needed the book from Egypt to locate the Horcruxes in case you couldn't get your two ingredients for your potion?"

"Correct."

She nodded, mumbling to herself. "About the spell that can kill all pieces of the soul from one source--how did you discover that?"

"A beautiful accident with a dreadfully long story, so don't ask. Just know it works--I used several fairies found in the shrubs to test my theory."

"Severus! That's awful!" Hermione snorted in disgust, and Severus shrugged his shoulders.

Hermione re-focused and began firing her questions at him again. "Were you planning on administering this potion to Harry?"

"Yes. Once he drinks it, the soul will be killed inside him and the virgin blood will help him withstand any damage to his body and will then heal him from the inside out. Of course, that part is still just a theory..."

"You never tested that?"

"I wasn't about to create a Horcrux to experiment with. The only thing I'm positive about is the spell that creates the conduit to other objects of similar matter. Everything else..."

It was disconcerting to have a theory that could never be proven until the actual moment that it needed to be used, but Severus kept telling himself he had no other choice--time was of the essence.

He gazed at Hermione for a while as she nibbled on her lower lip, deep in thought. It struck Severus that once she made her mind up to put his theory into use, this would probably be the last time he would have her to himself. After Voldemort was vanquished, Severus would either be dead, or worse, locked away in Azkaban forever, with his Hermione living her life. He wasn't ready to let her go just yet; he wasn't ready for the war to kill Voldemort--it was all happening too fast.

Of course, he had a plan to lure Voldemort to the cottage--after Dumbledore removed the Fidelius charm. It was a simple plan and should go smoothly, but selfishly, he needed one more night with her.

As much as it hurt, securing Hermione's happiness and giving her a life was the right thing to do. The thought of her with another man made Severus' stomach churn, but what could he do?

"Well, then? What do we need to do to get started?" she asked.

Severus smirked. "We make tea," he stated.

"Tea?"

"Yes," he said, rising smoothly from the chair. "But first, tonight is about us--once more before we end the Dark Lord." He placed his hands on the arms on either side of Hermione's chair and leaned over and captured her lips with his own.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist, stroking his lean back with her fingernails as she swirled her tongue around his.

Not sure if he could stand any longer after her mind-blowing kiss, Severus released her and half-dragged her to the bedroom. They fell onto the bed, Hermione on the bottom, their lips not once moving away from each other.

Finally, he settled himself between her legs and caressed her sides as he licked and nibbled her neck, enjoying the saltiness of her sweet skin. She ran her fingers through his hair and ground herself against his hardened cock while whispering how much she loved him. When he finally touched the heat of her passion with his tongue, she shouted out his name, just how he always liked it.

It wasn't long after tasting her sweet nectar that Severus moved up her body and positioned himself at her entrance, pushing deeply inside her. She hooked her legs around his waist and slid one hand between them, fervently flicking herself as he pumped into her.

Sweat and sex filled the air as Severus fell limp on top of her, his heart racing. His sporadic breathing matched Hermione's, and he could feel the wetness between them slowly drizzling onto the sheets as they slowly breathed in unison, relaxing in their bliss. It was in this peaceful moment that their souls were one, and Severus knew it was time to let her go.

"Hermione," he said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"I need you to promise me something."

She opened her eyes, and Severus leaned on his elbows, looking over. "Once all this is over, and if I make it out alive, I need you to forget me and move on."

"What? Why? How could you ask that of me? Isn't this what we want--to actually live once he's gone?" She attempted to roll over, upset of course, but he kept her pinned beneath him, forcing her to look at him.

"If I'm not dead, I'll be in prison, do you understand that? And I won't have you see me that way nor keep you from a life. You must promise me. Please," he begged softly.

Tears ran down her face, and it was all Severus could do to hold back his. He had to be strong for her.

"Why?" she whispered.

"I think you know the answer to that," Severus said, wiping away her tears. "Please just do this for me--you can't have a life with me in Azkaban, and you know that. So, for your own good and mine, stay away--no trials, no defending me... Will you promise me that?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't like that idea. You know I would stand by you, no matter what."

"Dammit, woman, don't say that. This isn't easy, asking this of you. Tomorrow is the day all of this will come to a conclusion; I need your promise to let me be."

Her lip quivered as she nodded her head. Severus could see in her eyes that, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it, she understood she couldn't have a life with him.

Severus kissed her gently on the forehead. "That's my girl," he whispered. He rolled next to her and wrapped her small body in his arms for the rest of the night.

Dumbledore sat across from Severus and Hermione at the dining table, listening carefully to the details of the plan Severus had devised. Hermione had made Severus promise to keep his temper under control while Dumbledore was in the cottage.

Though she hadn't specified what he should or shouldn't say to the old man--and so Severus had made it very clear how he felt about being locked away like an animal before he continued onto his plan.

"Very well, Severus. This is a dangerous plan of treachery, but if you're ready to betray Tom, and Miss Granger is willing to put herself in harm's way, then I, and the others, will be happy to do our part. I knew having the two of you in my cottage was the right thing to do--with both your brilliant minds working--"

"Albus," Severus warned.

"Oh, right. Of course. My apologies," Dumbledore said as he stood from the dining table. He nodded to Hermione. "The house-elf will bring everything you require. Thank you--and good luck."

Severus's hand twitched around the wand in his pocket. Save your anger for the war. He took a deep breath as Hermione walked Dumbledore to the door.

He rummaged through the cupboard, looking for a bottle of whatever kind of alcohol he could find, desperately wanting to numb his emotions. But Hermione was back before he knew it, swiping the bottle from his hand and placing it back inside the cupboard.

"You did very well, Severus," she said. "But it's time to invite Voldemort for a spot of tea and set our plan in motion. Harry and the others will be here shortly--we have much to do!"

Severus nodded. "I agree. However, we aren't going to do this the way you think, Miss Granger," he said deviously.

Hermione's brow creased. "What do you mean? And why are you calling me 'Miss Granger' again?"

Severus snatched Hermione's waist, whipping her around, pulling her tightly into his body and crushing her arms at her side. Squirming against him, she said, "Severus? Ouch--you're hurting me!"

Snape loomed over her and brushed her cheek with his own. "There's a new plan, my dear. One that will greatly benefit me and the Dark Lord." Wandlessly and within a split second, Snape had strapped Hermione's wrist into shackles, binding her mouth with a silver scarf. He levitated the metal chain to the wooden rafters above them, imprisoning her in the middle of the room.

Hermione's muffled screams of protest filled the tiny cottage as Snape removed his wand from his pocket. He glared at her through the curtains of his hair as he rolled back his left sleeve, and pressed the tip of his wand to his Dark Mark.

A/N: I can't seem to help myself with these wicked cliffhangers!