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Redemption	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 10133 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Redemption : Chapter 2

Severus awoke with a start when he heard the knock at his door. He shook the cobwebs from his head and stretched his stiff neck. Why was he sleeping in the chair? He squinted in the bright sunlight. The dream. Oh yes. Oh no. It wasn�t a dream. Hermione Granger lay still in his bed, her breath the only sign of life within her gaunt form. Taking a deep breath, he walked to his doors, using a revealing charm to see who was there before releasing the wards and opening them. Albus stood before him, a worried look on his face, as a harried Madam Pomfrey ran quickly up the hall towards them.

�What is it? Has something happened?� Madam Pomfrey�s voice was laced with the concern that etched Dumbledore�s face.

�Indeed,� Severus answered gravely. �Please, come in.� Severus locked and warded the doors after all were inside. He did not respond to the quizzical looks on their faces at his strange behavior. Instead, he turned to pour himself a glass of brandy.

�Severus?� Albus�s voice was equally as grave now. Severus knew the headmaster would know simply by the use of alcohol at such an early hour that something was terribly amiss.

Severus turned to face them. �Miss Granger is asleep in my quarters.� He took a drink of his brandy as he allowed his words to sink in. �I found her in my private potions room last night. An alarm went off when she broke through the wards.�

�But how can this be?� Madam Pomfrey intoned incredulously. �Hermione Granger is dead.�

�Not dead,� Severus corrected, �but not very far from it either.�

Severus rarely saw the headmaster look ashen, but he did now. �Please explain,� was all the headmaster said.

Severus turned away from them to stare out the window. �She was� hysterical� when I found her. I thought she was just delirious from lack of sleep. I gave her a sleeping potion and placed her in my bed. It was the middle of the night and it was dark. She begged me not to turn the light on, so I did not, until after she was sleep.� He turned to face them then, knowing the impact his words would have. �It appears Miss Granger has been tortured and raped repeatedly over the last six months.� He let the words hang in the air at the stunned and horrified expressions on their faces.

�Poppy, she needs medical attention. Albus, we need to discuss how to handle this situation.�

�Where is she?� Madam Pomfrey�s voice was shaking as she held her hand to her chest.

Severus motioned to his chambers and lead the way as Albus and Madam Pomfrey followed.

�I think it would be best if you examined her while she is asleep. It may be too traumatic for her when she awakens.� Severus�s face betrayed no expression, his voice was even and to the point. They were his only defense mechanisms against the emotions roiling within him.

With trembling hands Madam Pomfrey pulled back the blankets and gasped. Albus closed his eyes briefly, a look of pain crossing his face. Severus had steeled himself against the sight, but was still taken aback at the severity of the damage done to her body as seen in broad daylight. Quickly, he pulled out his wand and uttered a warming spell to keep her naked body warm while she was being examined. Carefully, he rolled her onto her side so the mediwtich could see her back.

Steadying herself, Madam Pomfrey switched to mediwitch persona, leaving her emotions at the door as she readied her medical kit. �Perhaps you should wait outside,� she said, motioning the two men towards the door. �I will tell you the results as soon as I am finished.�

�Do you have any idea who did this to her Severus?� Albus asked after they were seated in the sitting room.

�Many,� Severus said, �each as evil as the next.�

�Until we can determine who did this to her and until they are prosecuted, I believe it best that she stay here at the castle for her own protection.�

�Agreed,� Severus said, sipping his brandy while staring absently out the window.

With that, they waited in tense silence for Madam Pomfrey to return. Albus had poured himself a glass of brandy as well and Severus reflected that he�d never seen the headmaster drink anything other than lemonade and pumpkin juice in all his time at Hogwarts.

When Madam Pomfrey entered the sitting room, her face looked somber. Severus took a swig of his brandy and noticed that Albus did the same.

Madam Pomfrey took a deep breath as the two men looked expectantly at her. �Your assessment, Severus, seems to be correct. Aside from the obvious external damage, she has or has had internal damage as well. Several broken ribs, a broken collarbone, broken arms, broken legs, some broken bones in her face, several skull fractures, and bruising to several internal organs. It seems she may recently have been pregnant and miscarried the child. I would guess that the miscarriage was due to her being beaten with said intention. She�s also suffering the after effects of the Cruciatus curse. In addition, she�s starving. Some of her broken bones have healed incorrectly and will need to be reset. However, first and foremost, we need to address the malnutrition and her emotional state.�

Severus and Albus nodded grimly in unison.

�Poppy,� Severus said, his voice stern, �no one can know that Hermione Granger is alive until we determine who is behind this. Her life could be in danger if her captor knows where she is.�

�Agreed,� said Dumbledore.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. �I will give the house elves her nutritional requirements and bring her some clothing,� she said as Severus ushered her from his rooms.

Albus stood then and paced anxiously around the sitting room. He stopped momentarily, stroking his beard. �I think we should alert the Ministry.�

�NOOOO!!!� The strangled scream came from the bed chamber.

Albus and Severus rushed into the room. �What is it, Miss Granger?� Albus asked.

�No, you can�t tell the Ministry. Please, you can�t.�

�Miss Granger, they need to know��

�NO!� she screamed, struggling to sit up in bed and wincing in pain.

Severus slipped beside her and went to put a hand on her shoulder.

�Don�t touch me!� she shrieked as she flinched away from his touch.

Taking a deep breath, he set his hand on the bed next to her, clenching his hand in the sheets while trying to keep his voice calm. �Miss Granger, I will not hurt you, I promise.�

�Sorry,� she muttered, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

�There is no need to apologize.� Severus saw the tears welling in her downcast eyes.

�Miss Granger,� Severus�s voice was as soft as silk, �who did this to you?�

He watched as she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. �I can�t, I can�t, I can�t.�

�You can,� Severus coached.

�Please, Miss Granger, you need to tell us.� Albus�s voice was reassuring but Hermione just shook her head and repeated her mantra.

Severus and Albus shared a knowing glance��someone at the Ministry or someone Hermione believed the Ministry would protect.

Albus sighed motioning Severus aside. �Given the circumstances, Severus, I think your rooms would be the safest place for her at this time. If it is someone within the Ministry, she may not be safe simply by residing within the castle. And Merlin knows you have the strongest wards around.�

�Agreed.� Severus laughed humorlessly to himself. Hermione had broken into his highly guarded potions store. She was by far the most intelligent witch he�d ever met.

***

The first week with Hermione passed by in a blur. Severus spent most of his time caring for the young woman who struggled with as many demons as he did. She refused to speak of what happened to her and he was relegated to offering her a supportive ear when she was ready to discuss it. His own admission that he still refused to speak of his life as a Death Eater did nothing to ease the frustration he felt at her reticence to tell all to him. She was a shell of the woman he�d once known; withdrawn, fearful, and submissive. This woman was nothing like the insufferable, self-assured, know-it-all he once knew. How quickly he realized that he missed the real Hermione, and all of her quirks that used to drive him crazy.

He sat quietly beside her, studying her sleeping form. Checking the clock, he knew it was only a matter of minutes before she started screaming. Even the dreamless sleep potion couldn�t keep these nightmares away. He lit the bedside lamp and waited. He knew there wasn�t much he could do, and if he didn�t wake her, she didn�t seem to remember the nightmares in the morning. Even knowing that, he couldn�t just sit by and let her suffer alone like she had for the last six months. When she started to writhe on the bed, he slipped behind her, pulling her back to his chest and wrapping his arms lightly around her. He�d learned the hard way not to approach her from the front; she�d given him a black eye in an attempt to fight off the invisible demons that attacked her each night. Instead, he sat behind her, speaking comforting words in her ear, holding her against him and rocking her slightly, willing the dreams to pass more quickly than they had the night before. When her screams finally subsided and her breathing evened out into a pattern of sleep, he rested her gently back on the bed. Wiping the locks of hair from her sweaty brow, he rearranged her covers and bid her goodnight, going to sleep on the cot he�d placed on the other side of the room.

As her strength returned, he�d asked her to help him make some of the simpler potions he was doing research on. He wanted to help her regain her sense of self-confidence. It had been two weeks since that fateful night she had appeared in his potions storeroom. Still dreadfully thin, she had regained some of her strength. Still, he wouldn�t let her work more than a couple of hours in any one day for fear she might overexert herself.

It was a warm summer day, and the door to the dungeons was ajar to let fresh air in from the hallways. They worked together in amicable silence, each lost in the potion they were brewing. It was then that he heard the voices. More noticeable to him than the voices was the way her body instinctively stiffened. As the voices grew nearer, he watched as she practically flew from the bench, knocking her stool and the potion ingredients to the floor as she fled to the his private chambers which were attached to the potions lab. He had not yet deciphered the cadence of the voices, but she obviously had. He spared a quick glance towards his private rooms before hurrying to her bench. Shortly after he righted her stool, a blond haired man dressed in expensive royal blue robes swept into the room, followed by two shorter wizards he recognized as Ministry officials.

�Good day, Severus.�

Severus steeled himself against the dangerous rage welling inside of him. He forced his face into an impassive mask, a task made easier by years of experience as a Death Eater. His hand clenched around his wand. He could kill this man in an instant and right now there was nothing he wanted more in the world.

�Lucius,� was all Severus said.

Unnoticed by the three wizards standing in front of him, Albus Dumbledore had rushed into the dungeons, a worried look on his face. Severus saw the relief flood through the wizard when the headmaster realized that Hermione was not present.

�I see you are hard at work even when school is not in session.� Lucius Malfoy�s sweeping gaze of the potions dungeon did not escape Severus�s notice. Gesturing towards the spilled ingredients on the floor, Lucius added maliciously, �It seems are renowned potions masters is getting careless with his ingredients in these more relaxed times.�

�On the contrary, Lucius, I seem to have underestimated their dubious qualities.� Severus shot Dumbledore a meaningful glance.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. After cordially welcoming their unexpected visit, he offered to lead the officials on a tour of the rest of the castle to leave Severus to attend to his work.

On his way out, Lucius turned back to Severus. Out of earshot of the other wizards, he spoke in silky tones, �Tis a pity what happened to that Muggle family at Christmas, is it not Severus? She was a student of yours, wasn�t she? Miss Granger, I believe her name was.�

�Indeed,� Severus said through clenched teeth, �A pity.�

�Good day, Severus,� Lucius sneered as he left.

Severus slammed and warded the dungeon door, rushing to find Hermione. Although the exchange had only taken a couple of minutes, he was terrified at what he might find.

She was draped across the toilet, the stench of vomit filled the air. Blind rage welled inside of him. Forcing himself to remain in control, he pushed the anger away, knowing it would do Hermione no good. He knelt beside her and gently pulled her hair away from her face. He wiped her brow with a cool, wet cloth, his own hand still shaking with impotent rage.

�It was Lucius Malfoy, wasn�t it?� he growled.

She buried her face against his chest, nodding ever so slightly as she sobbed uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around her then, picking her up and carrying her to the couch. He held her tightly against his chest, rocking her gently.

�I won�t let him hurt you ever again,� he said through clenched teeth, his embrace tightening around her protectively.

He watched helplessly as the woman in his arm came undone. She�d made so much progress in the last two weeks, finally feeling safe, and Malfoy�s presence in her safe haven had blasted her sense of security.

�Miss Granger, Hermione, I promise I won�t let him hurt you. Please don�t do this,� he pleaded as she began to shake and scream and push him away. She was begging for death like she had the first night he had found her. Damn, he had to stop this.

Just then, Albus burst through Severus�s fireplace. Severus had never seen the wizard so angry. Dumbledore took in the sight before him and regained his control in a manner that impressed even Severus.

�There is a strong sedative potion in my private stores. Get it, NOW!� Snape snapped at the headmaster as he struggled to hang onto a hysterical Hermione who was fighting him with all her strength.

As Hermione lay motionless on his bed, Severus breathed a sigh of relief. For now, she would enjoy a potion-induced peace that he knew she could not attain in a state of consciousness.

Severus rejoined Dumbledore in the study. Severus quirked an eyebrow as Dumbledore handed Severus a glass of brandy to compliment his own.

�What was that all about?� Severus demanded.

�He said he wanted to show some of the newer Ministry officials around our fine school.�

Severus snorted and shook his head in disgust. �He�s worried Albus. Lucius knows she got away. He was trying to feel us out, see if we knew anything, if we had her.�

�I agree,� Albus said, stroking his beard. �You did an admirable job this afternoon, by the way. Your face betrayed nothing.�

�I wanted to kill him Albus. I would have had he been alone.�

�I�m sure that is why he didn�t come alone, Severus.�

�So what do we do now?�

Albus stepped up next to Severus and put his hand on the younger man�s shoulder. �For now, dear boy, we keep her safe. That is all we can do.�

Severus shrugged off the headmaster�s touch. �We can�t keep her locked up in my private rooms forever. If she�s not lost her mind already, she surely will being locked up in here with me.�

�You underestimate your charms, Severus. But I do see your point. I am not sure how to proceed at this time, although I do think we need to remedy this before the start of the school year.�

�Agreed,� said Severus.

The two men sat in silence. There were no easy answers. The only proof of what had happened to Hermione was Hermione�s own account, and she was in no condition to testify to the abuse she�d suffered at Malfoy�s hands. She was obviously terrified of the man and her account would never withstand his cross examination of her. He�d rip her to shreds and he�d walk free. She�d never be safe with him on the loose.
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Redemption