Evil is too strong a word

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Found Out!



Hermione was playing with her scrambled egg. Things hadn’t been going on like she wanted. She had heard from Severus he wrote to her almost constantly. He wrote to her the morning after they became lovers. It was short and concise. It was typical of him really. She remembered her feelings of trepidation as she opened the envelope.



Hermione,



Be careful. The Horcrux might drain you; I cannot write the instructions on how to destroy it for you yet. It is far too long and complicated and I am too busy. Life on the run does not suit Draco, and I am worried for him as much as I am worried for you.



Please be patient, and please do not think you might be the only one pining, I too desired not to leave you on that tower. I have an image of the nightly breeze whipping up your hair this very moment.



You are beautiful. If you doubt that then that makes me like you more.



Yours



Severus



She sighed. He liked her. She was pleased that he admitted that. She carried the letter around with her as a sort of talisman against any sneering and bullying. Without Harry and Ron around people seemed to think it was easier to say what they always thought of her. She was almost in constant state of distress. Severus letter in her bag gave her the added strength to face the sneers.



The only two people to stand by her was Ginny; who was as stalwart to Hermione as her brother Ron was to Harry. She stuck by the brunette’s side staunchly to fend off the horrible people. Or the “miserable bastards!” Ginny exclaimed once to Hermione. Ginny was just as lonely without her boyfriend but Harry wrote to her several times a week to put her mind at ease. Hermione had the sneaking suspicion that she was engaged to him.



Another girl also refused to let anyone beat Hermione up. That person was strangely enough Pansy Parkinson. She had somehow developed a bond with the Gryffindor girls. Pansy did, after all, have something in common with these two. She had a boyfriend that had disappeared as well. She was also quite clever and Hermione found Pansy to be rather intelligent company, much more so than the giggle twins Lavender Brown and Parvarti Patil. Pansy and Hermione shared potion tips together, whilst Ginny used to sit at the window watching the sky for her brother and boyfriend.



Hermione hadn’t told Ginny that her and Ron wasn’t boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. Ginny was always gabbling on about them being sisters one day. It broke Hermione’s heart every time that Ginny brought the subject up, and she didn’t want to tell the redhead that they had broken up. Pansy knew and she wasn’t the least bit surprised. She could have told the brown haired Witch that they weren’t suited to each other a long time ago if they had been friends then.



“Hermione,” Ginny sighed after not being able to stand her friends misery a moment longer.



“Hmm,” Hermione murmured. She hadn’t heard from Severus for a couple of days.



“What is the matter with you?” Ginny asked.



“Nothing,” Hermione sighed. Picking up some scrambled egg half-heartedly, it flopped right back on to the plate again.



“Something is,” Ginny said.



Hermione couldn’t tell her what was wrong. Ginny would have screamed Hogwarts down if she knew the terrible truth. And Severus hadn’t yet told her how to destroy the Horcrux.



“Just a few things on my mind,” Hermione said. It was near the end of her school life. She didn’t want to leave Hogwarts lying to Ginny but she wasn’t sure of how to tell her the truth. She got up and picked up her bag and slung it across her chest and freed her hair. She was about to walk out of the Great Hall when a Great Grey Owl swooped down and landed on her shoulder. There was a letter in his beak; he looked at this human with interest.



Hermione took the letter out of the bird’s beak and picked up some sausage, which the Owl took greedily. She opened the letter and her heart pounded. She cuddled the parchment to her chest. Theodore Nott – one of the bullies – walked up to her and wrestled the letter out of her hands. He took the letter out of her grasp and held it high aloft for everyone to see. She looked at the tall, stringy, Slytherin with hatred.



“Dearest one!



How do I miss thee my good lady? Well, I do. It has been almost two months and I think about you all the time! I am concerned for you and I still worry for how the affects of the...”



Nott stopped reading the letter when his eyes scanned the sheet to find it was from his ex Head of House. He looked at the woman before him and chucked the letter at her feet. She bent to pick it up but when she wasn’t looking he grabbed her hair and dragged her out of the Great Hall. She was kicking and screaming. Ginny looked at Pansy and she returned the look. Ginny ran to where the letter still lay. She picked it up and read it quietly and handed it to Pansy who read it with a cool expression. She turned to the redhead and shrugged her shoulders as if to say... “So, what’s the problem?”



The redhead was pounding down the hallway and Pansy followed; getting short of breath as she wasn’t as fit as her friend. The teachers also decided to hunt for the pair.



Ginny heard the screams of her friend down a hallway and she crept down the shadowed side stealthily with her wand in front of her. Pansy followed the example. They ended up just round the corner from where the pair were.



“So, Mudblood, in for a bit of Snake are we?” Nott leered.



“Shut up!” Hermione spat.



“Oh I don’t think so,” Nott said. “Where are they?”



“Why do you want to know?”



“Because my Master has asked me to find out,” Nott said as he unrolled his sleeve. Hermione gasped. “So, where are they? My Master doesn’t want to hurt them... much!”



He held her at wand point. He pressed the point in her throat. He dug his hands in his pockets and he brought out a gold coin.



“What you think that’s going to scare me?” Hermione said.



“Pretty tough talk for a chick that’s going to be placed at our Master’s feet soon.”



Ginny and Pansy stepped round the corner and stood either side of the boy their wands at him.



“You’re not going anywhere, Nott!” Ginny hissed.



“Oh really?” Nott sneered at the redhead. He pressed the coin in Hermione’s hand and as soon as she touched it they both disappeared.



“A portkey,” Pansy gasped.



“Did you know he was a Death Eater?” Ginny asked.



“No, I didn’t know my parents were until a few months ago. I just thought that it was something they wanted me to become.” Ginny swore. Pansy sniggered. “Careful, Red, people might think you were a Slytherin with language like that!”



Red was Ginny’s nickname; Pansy’s was Raven, and Hermione’s was Choc, in reference to their hair colours.



“What was Snape doing, though, writing to her about how much he misses her?” Ginny asked.



“I don’t know but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there are other letters. And someone like Hermione would keep them tied up in a bow in a box on the mantelpiece. Let’s go to her room.”



“I don’t think I could read stuff from him!” Ginny said her tone edgy.



“Oh get over it, it’s clearly obvious that Snape didn’t want to do it. Draco tells me all the time about how he sees Severus beat himself up over it. Draco’s worried Snape was going to do himself an injury. Then two months ago Draco said that Severus came back from wherever he went with a smile on his face and a light in his eyes. I bet the two are connected. Lets get to her rooms – now!”



“We have lessons,” Ginny said.



“Oh don’t be such a goody-goody.”



Ginny’s smile had the air of uncertainty about it. She was worried about missing this particular lesson; as it was Transfiguration and McGonnagall could get a little cross if you missed one of her lessons; particularly if you were one of her charges. Pansy grabbed Reds hand and pulled her along the corridors to the Head Girls dorm. Ginny felt her arms being pulled out of their sockets. Pansy had a strong grip.



Pansy blundered into the Head Girls Dorm and walked up to the mantelpiece and opened a box in the centre. “Eureka!” she exclaimed. “Choc you’ve got to be less predictable.”



“I don’t know,” Ginny said slowly. “She has done the odd unpredictable thing like slapping Draco across the face.”



“I hate to admit this but she did what I wanted to do for a while,” Pansy said as she was rifling through the letters. “He’s written a lot! Wow, this could rival my collection.”



Ginny looked at the amount of letters. She thought Harry had written to her a lot. It seemed that Snape was more conscientious when it came to this sort of thing. Ginny sat down and Pansy gave her half of the letters. Ginny started to read them.



~*~*~



Hermione woke up on the cold hard floor. She tasted dirt and mud. She tried to get up but felt that her ribs were cracked. She raised her head and found herself looking into a pair of scarlet eyes. He was fairly reptilian yet Hermione found him oddly mesmerizing.



“Ah, Theodore, Potter’s Pet Mudblood!”



“My Master,” Theodore said as he knelt down in front of the Snake.



Lord Voldemort felt strained; he was within one of his Horcruxes. He stepped up to the girl.



“You know,” he said kneeling down and tilting her chin up to make her look in his eyes. “A girl as pretty as you would normally wear some jewellery. You have any jewellery?”



“No,” Hermione whispered.



“Really?” he hissed. He stroked along her jaw line and continued down her neck; he pressed his thumb at the base of her throat. He took it out of its hiding place. His eyes glowed blood red.



“Well, well,” he murmured. “You’re not a very good liar are you?”



“I wasn’t brought up to lie,” Hermione said. “My grandmother had virtues; and she was Catholic.”



“Ah; wonderful; I suppose she loved you didn’t she?” he spat the sentence out. THAT word always left a bad taste in his mouth.



“She did, yes,” Hermione replied.



“Now, my dear girl, where did you get this? I want you to be truthful. If you tell the truth then I won’t hurt you. In fact you can be my honoured guest.”



Hermione looked down on the floor. “At Grimmauld Place,” she murmured.



“Hmm,” he murmured running a thumb along her lips. He nodded. “You could be telling the truth.”



She found it the wise thing to be silent at the moment. He scrutinized her further and smiled slightly. She had a beautiful pair of eyes. He liked eyes; that was the one thing about humanity he missed. He had eyes like hers once. It’s what made him the stud of Hogwarts in his seventh year.



“What are you going to do to me now?” she whispered.



“Oh, well there are two things I could do to you. I could keep you in a dungeon or in my bed... which would you prefer?”



He offered her a choice but he knew where he’d prefer her to be.



“The dungeon,” she replied. Two Death Eaters stepped up to her and was about to drag her down there. One of them wanted his own fun. Hermione could tell that even with the mask.



“No, I don’t think so, you see Hermione I am rather a contrary man. I do what is least expected of me. Take her to my Chambers.”



Hermione fainted as she was being led away; it had been too much for her. The Death Eaters all jeered and leered at her as they were carrying her off.



~*~*~



Pansy and Ginny were in floods of tears with half the letters. They swapped letters and pointed out their favourite bits. He was so eloquent and poetical it made them wish it were they that he was courting.



“Why didn’t she tell me?” Ginny asked sniffing back her tears.



“She was probably scared,” Pansy replied. “You do carry on about being sisters one day so much so she didn’t want to burst your bubble.”



“Well, why didn’t Ron or Harry tell me?”



“Perhaps Harry didn’t want to, and Ron... well, it didn’t work out between them for a reason – that reason was communication.”



Ginny nodded. Her brother was first class ass when it came to communication. Pansy was reading another particular letter.



“Oh, Ginny,” Pansy said. “Listen to this,” she cleared her throat and took a deep breath: “You are the epitome of English beauty. You’re cheeks like a pale pink rose; your lips are the petal bespangled with early morning summers dew. I miss you, dearest. I miss looking into your deep eyes. I miss your hand going up in the air high, proud and erect. You are all I think about. Isn’t he wonderful? Lucky bitch!”



“Harry can get quite poetical when he wants to,” Ginny said. “But yeah, that was lovely. And he’s right. She is beautiful.”



“Huh, all I get from Draco is, Darling, I miss you, you’re bloody sexy!” Ginny snorted. “I’d give anything to have letters from Snape, can you imagine his voice whispering these words in your ear?” Both girls almost drooled at the thought.



Ginny sighed and opened up another one. “Ah, and she’s kept copies of letters she’s sent.”



“Trust Choc to do that,” Pansy exclaimed. “What does she have to say in return to such beautiful adjectives?”



“I miss you, my darke knighte. I miss your voice; your presence that makes us sit up and take notice; that air of greatness and superiority, yet the fact that you are powerful. I miss you’re dark coal black eyes sparkling with sarcastic mirth. I miss you chiding me; and telling me to put my hand down. Although I could never be as eloquent as you, I do miss you as much as you seem to miss me. Yours in the deepest depths of my heart, Hermione! Raven, how did this all start?”



“I don’t know but we’re going to find him and tell him what has happened.”



“What about Choc?”



“Choc can look out for herself for the time being. There’s nothing we can do for her anyway. We’ve got to get to Snape first. I’m going to pack my things and I’ll meet you in here. I know how to do a Transporting spell. We’re leaving this Castle tonight.”



“The teachers won’t like that?”



“Do you want to save Hermione or not? Look, we know the teachers are powerless because they have to do things with Government permission. We don’t.”



“My parents won’t like it,” Ginny moaned.



“Good Gods are you a woman or not?” Pansy asked rolling her eyes. “I thought Gryffindors were meant to be brave.”



“Only on impulse,” Ginny answered.



“We’re not stupid, we’re two grown women and we can look after ourselves,” Pansy answered.



Ginny sighed. She nodded. “Meet me here in two hours. That should be enough to get things packed.”



Ginny walked out of the room clutching some of the letters to her chest. Pansy left a few moments after.



~*~*~



She woke up blinking, she felt groggy and her throat was dry. She was lying in a soft bed with black satin sheets. She turned around and found herself in a lushly furnished room with books all around the walls. Her head was throbbing and she felt hungry. She tried to get up but her joints were stiff. She laid back on the bed.



“A simple restraining spell, my dear. I don’t want you to run away from me,” a voice hissed in the shadows.



“Where am I?” Hermione asked. She had no idea where she was or whom she was.



“You are in paradise, my sweet. And I am your husband.”



“What?” Hermione asked.



“Oh yes, we are married,” she screwed her face up to try and think but her mind was a blur.



“I – I don’t remember,” she stammered.



“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll make you remember.”



He slithered out of the shadows and glared hungrily at the nubile Witch in the bed. Her eyes widened when she saw his tumescent bulge in his robes.



“I – I would think that I would remember getting married.”



“Like I said,” he purred stroking her face. “I can make you remember.”



~*~*~



Two figures found themselves outside Hogwarts gates and they crept stealthily down the hill to Hogsmeade where they could both safely apparate. They reached the village in good time.



One of them brought something out of a pocket. It was a lipstick.



“This will lead us to where I’ve been told Snape lives by my mother.”



“How does your mother know that, Raven?” Red asked.



“Snape had to know about women from somebody, I could very well be his daughter were it not for the fact that I have so much in common with my dad.”



“Fine,” Red sighed impatiently.



Raven shook her head. “It could be a bumpy ride; hold on!”



“I ride broomsticks, and Harry Potter!” Raven sniggered. “He was bumpy at first.”



Red took hold of the other end of the lipstick and immediately both were transported outside a street full of old, decrepit cottages. Red looked around.



“Glum little place isn’t it?”



“I heard you’re home isn’t exactly together,” Raven said.



“It’s more cheerful than this place,” Red replied.



They walked along the street where Raven knelt down and looked at the sign on the gate. It was covered in spider’s webs and dust. She looked at Red; Red gazed at the sign.



“Spinner’s End?” she asked. Raven nodded.



They opened the gate; it creaked ominously. Red gulped at the unkempt weed patch on the other side of the path. Raven knocked on the door. Red crept closer to the older girl.



The door opened; a sallow skinned face framed with lanky inky black hair peered round the side of the door. His coal black eyes widened in surprise at whom was standing outside his door. He remembered last time he let two women in his house.



“We know about you and Choc!” Raven exclaimed.



“Choc?” Snape asked stunned.



“Hermione, it’s our new nickname for her.”



“Oh,” he replied opening the door slightly wider to let them in. “And hello Miss Weasley. Never expected you to be here.”



“For this mission my name’s Red. And Pansy is called Raven. It goes with our hair colours.”



Snape shook his head but at least the women were getting along. That would help him.

“What is it about this that you want to know?” he asked them.



“How did it start?” Raven asked.



“I was at the Astronomy Tower and so was she. We talked. One thing led to another and we became lovers. I don’t regret it.” He aimed his last sentence at Red.



“Good,” she said coldly.



“Well, this might go hard with you then, sir,” Raven said. “She’s been kidnapped. Theodore Nott, and others, have been bullying her since Potter and Weasley left her side. We’ve been protecting her all we could. Your letter arrived this morning and Nott took it out of her hands. He dragged her to one of the discreet corridors of the school and kidnapped her; he asked her where you were. She said she didn’t know.”



“It’s a strange coincidence that you caught me at all,” Snape replied. “I only pop by to collect ingredients. I apparate to a different secret location everyday.”



“How – how is Draco?” Raven asked. Snape reached out with his hand and placed it on the young Slytheriness’ shoulder.



“He’s okay,” he said.



“I just wish I could find mine,” Red sighed.



“Do you know where Nott might have taken her?”



“We – we think he might have taken her to – to the Dark Lord,” Raven gulped.



Severus swore. Red rolled her eyes.



“Right, you two are to stick by my side. First we’ve got to get Draco better and explain the situation to him; then we’ve got to find those two idiots...”



“Hey!” Red exclaimed.



“They are, Red, come on,” Raven said.



“Those two idiots and find Hermione. It doesn’t look good though.”



“We have faith in you, sir,” Raven sighed. Severus nodded. He looked at Red. She walked up to him.



“Promise you won’t hurt Harry along the way?” Red asked.



“Never,” Snape replied. Red saw truth in his expression.



“Okay,” she sighed. “We’re a team. Remember that!”



“I will.”



A/N – Well you asked for it. You all wanted more so I gave you more... you insatiable lot you. I hope you liked it?