It just...happened...

“Bow down you pathetic worm.” Voldemort said, smacking Snape across his face. Wincing as he felt the impact, he got down on his knees before Voldemort, his once Master. “And tell me…where is she?”

“I don’t know Master.” Snape lied. He knew precisely where Hermione was. He had seen the DeathEater grab her, had known who it was and had lead the other DeathEaters on a foolish search for her.

“LIAR!” Voldemort bellowed his hideous, red eyes blazing. He slapped Snape once more as the Professor clenched his teeth. Don’t fight him. Don’t speak out. You’ll be of no use to anyone if you’re dead…

Or would he be?

His death would prove to be an ideal distraction, perhaps Harry, Hermione and that helpful DeathEater would be able to escape…his dark eyes looked to Voldemort deftly.

“I don’t know where she is.” He said, spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth from the latest punch, “And even if I did, I’d never tell you.”

Voldemort’s back went rigid, as he tried to place what had been said and then finally came over to Snape looking furious. The other DeathEaters around him muttered nervously…no one spoke to Voldemort like that.

“You care for her?” Voldemort said grinning hideously, “A pathetic Mudblood? Tsk Tsk…I would have expected more.”

Snape frowned, did he care for Hermione? He supposed he did…but then again, a small part of him cared for all the students at the school. He would never admit it, but he did. Well…perhaps caring was a strong word. He didn’t want to see any of them dead, as much as he spoke happily about suffocating Longbottom.

His mind then flitted back to the forest, when they had been captured…he saw what lusting after a student meant…vulnerability…and in that: their capture. No, he did not care for a woman who would let his guard down and cause him to be susceptible to such atrocities that were currently unfolding before him, and so he answered truthfully.

“I care for what she and Potter stand for.” Snape said, standing shakily now, his arms and legs still bound.

“And what would that be?” Voldemort said bemused.

Snape sneered at him, his dark eyes flitting to everyone around. There was no escape, no way to get out even if he did elude Voldemort…his heart gave a mighty pound, for what he said next undoubtedly sealed his fate.

“Your death.”

More mumbling before Voldemort held up one aged hand and strolled closer to Snape, pushing him back on his knees and looking to the rest of the DeathEaters to make sure they were playing close attention.

“For that Severus Snape,” Voldemort said, “You will die.”

With that he lowered his wand…
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\"Ron?\" Hermione said incredulously, \"What are you doing here? How did you…when…\" her mouth hung slack a moment as she took it all in. The tallish frame, the telltale freckles, the wild mass of red on his head…it was Ron.

He smiled back at her in his usual twitchy manner, his light eyes darting all around. He looked utterly peaked. Hermione felt the tears well up in her and sudden they were falling, down her cheeks and she was running to Ron, trying to muffle her sobs.

\"Oh Ron.\" She wailed, pressing her face against his chest as he wrapped her in a warm hug, cradling her as if she were an infant.

‘Shhhhhh’ he cooed, rocking her as they stood, trying to get her to calm down. Finally, when an emotionally exhausted Hermione pulled back to see him once more, to make sure it was all real he spoke.

\"Oh Hermione…it’s been bloody awful.\" He guided her to a dust covered stool and set her down on it as he kneeled down to her, speaking in hushed yet emphatic whispers. \"I suppose…I suppose I’ll begin at the…err…beginning.\"
Hermione smiled a bit at this, her eyes giving away her inner sorrow, as Ron continued. \"Well…you see ‘Mione…I was prisoner of Voldemort in my own body…Gods that sounds bizarre.\"

Hermione’s eyes went wide with disbelief, \"What?\"

\"I know I know…it sounds quite dodgy doesn’t it?\" Ron said with a screwed up _expression on his face. \"But Doesn’t it explain an awful lot? Me sitting with the Slytherins and everything? Me being around whenever Harry got hurt?\"

Hermione nodded, it did all add up…except. \"Well…how did it happen? Why aren’t you anymore?…I am so ruddy confused. \"

Ron ran a hand through his hair, \"I don’t know exactly. You see, one morning Harry was saying how he was meeting up with you or something, and I suddenly felt really really ill. So, I told Harry I had to go to the loo and the next thing I knew, I was knocked out.\"

Hermione was barely breathing, all she could do was look to Ron in shock. Finally her voice came through her dry lips, \"So… was it like the Polyjuice potion? Did Voldemort just pretend to be you?\"

Ron squinted, looking thoughtfully at the distance and then shook his head, \"No…it was different than that. He controlled my mind, and my speech and all of that evidently…but I could see it all, and I wanted desperately to warn you. I was trapped inside with him.\"

This comment made Hermione’s stomach lurch, God…how horrid. Ron was going on though, not seeing the look of inner disgust.

\"But, he Apparated back here all the time to check in and so on. His followers kept giving him potions and stuff to do…well…whatever they did to me…to keep him and I in the same body. That’s why I know my way around here so well.\"
Hermione nodded, still a bit confused. \"Then how did you end up…being you again?\"

Ron looked at her with glassy eyes, \"That’s the strange part. ‘We’ went to sleep one night, and I had a horrific nightmare about you and Harry I think…then I woke up because McGonagall was shaking me awake.\"

Hermione nodded, entranced by the story, Ron went on breathlessly, \"So I discovered that I was…I again, and I tried to tell McGonagall what had happened but…\" he shrugged his shoulders as if it were evident what had happened.

\"Voldemort put a spell on you.\" Hermione concluded, looking to him helplessly. Poor Ron.

\"Yeah,\" Ron said frowning, \"So I couldn’t breathe a word of what had happened. But I could talk about anything else.\"

Hermione and Ron stopped talking a moment, lapsing into comfortable silence. Hermione not surprisingly was the one to break it.

\"So how could you tell me?\"

Ron shrugged, \"I suppose since we’re here in his castle, the spells worn off.\"

Hermione nodded, it made a bit of sense. Her eyes filled with tears again…they were all so young, so young to be trying to fight off a beast like Voldemort.

“I hate him.” She said darkly, and Ron gathered her up in a large hug once more, his glassy eyes remaining on the window above them. After a moment of body racking sobs, Hermione looked to Ron desperately.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” she said sniffling, “We have to save Harry and Professor Snape.”

Ron looked to her miserably, she felt her stomach drop. He knew something she didn’t. Why was he keeping it from her?

“What?”

“We don’t have time ‘Mione.” Ron said his cheeks going white, “We have to get out of here ourselves. There’s no way we can just stroll up, grab Snape and Harry and then run for our lives. They’ll catch us for sure.”

Hermione looked to him in shock, slowly her words came to her. “You coward.”

Ron glared at her, “Oh Yes, I’m such a bloody coward Hermione.” He whispered fiercely, “Me saving you from Voldemort was ever so yellow…”

Hermione nodded, he had done just that. “But Ron, its our duty. Harry would do the same.”

Ron shook his head, his eyes betraying him, he was scared to death. The matter was closed and Ron had come to the conclusion that they were to escape, just the two of them, whether Hermione liked it or not.

“Besides Hermione.” Ron said looking to her with his large light eyes,

“It’s too late.”

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authors notes: I know a lot of you believed it
would be Draco or his dad, sorry to disappoint...thouthough personally, I thought Ron was a nice twist.cheers. holden.