In an Alternate Universe

Chapter 29 ~ Avenging the Snarky One

The pair reappeared in the Shrieking Shack, Severus slinging the unconscious wizard to the floor, his amber eyes narrowed with hatred as he pulled out his wand.

He quickly placed a Silencing spell around the shack and a window darkening spell, then lit a torch in the wall. He stared down at Lucius with hatred and cast the Incarcerous spell on him, binding him tightly with ropes.

He studied the wizard as he waited for the potion to wear off. Lucius was so much bigger than the Potions mistress. There had been no need to beat her so badly. There was no way she was a match for him physically. He had done it out of cruelty, for his own twisted pleasure.

Slowly, Severus changed back into his normal form. The moment he did, he turned his wand on Lucius.

“Ennervate!” he hissed, staring down at the bound wizard as he roused.

Lucius struggled in the ropes.

”What is this?” he roared, looking up at Severus with murder in his eyes. “Snape! How dare you do this to me you filthy little Half-Blood! Release me at once!”

”I should release you permanently,” Severus snarled back at him, his heart pounding in his chest. “You raped Professor Granger. Raped and beat her.”

Lucius stopped struggling immediately, his gray eyes narrowed as he looked up at the young wizard.

”You’re insane, I haven’t been near the wi . . .” he started to say.

”DON’T LIE TO ME!” Severus screamed at him insanely. “CRUCIO!”

Lucius screamed, his cry mingling with Severus’ cry as the boy hit him with the curse. Severus had never before used it, but all that was needed for it to be invoked was a good amount of hatred. Severus was brimming over with it as Lucius shuddered and rolled in agony.

Severus released him, panting.

”You left your hair behind,” the boy said, “I used magic to find out who it belonged to. It was you. You beat her and you raped her you sick bastard.”

Lucius gasped, still shuddering.

Severus stared at him, then pointed his wand at him again.

”Legilimens!”

Lucius desperately tried to slam down his Occlumency walls, but Severus was so driven that he forced his way into the Pureblood’s memories and watched as he sauntered into Hermione’s room, telling her she still owed him.

A Life Debt? That’s why she was with him before. He had saved her life and he was taking advantage of her, the pig. But this time, the Potions mistress wasn’t having it.

”I don’t owe you anything, Lucius. That debt was cleared when I saved Draco’s soul from being fragmented. Now, leave my quarters.”

Severus watch horrified as Lucius used his cane to cast the Imperio on Hermione and take her wand away, taunting and mocking her, then releasing her from the spell.

She ran but he ran after her, catching her before she could reach her bedroom and slinging her across the study into one of the book covered walls. He pulled off his robes, a taunting look on his face as Hermione, with a terrified look on her face, slid along the wall, seeking a way past him. She ran again, and again he caught her, slapping her then throwing her toward the fireplace bodily, the witch landing on the small table, smashing it.

She grabbed one of the legs, attempting to defend herself as Lucius went for her again, bringing it down on his arm. He choked her, then punched her in the side of the face, then shook her like a rat, dragging her over the stone tiles and flinging her on top of her desk, scattering parchments, ink and quills as he tore her robes open, Hermione screaming as he ripped the fabric from her body.

She only wore a white bra and knickers underneath. Lucius roughly grasped a breast and squeezed it painfully, Hermione screaming and kicking, finally managing to grab his hand and sinking her teeth into it.

The wizard howled and released her, and she jumped up and ran, Lucius pursuing her, entering the bedroom before she could close the door, forcing it open and grabbing Hermione by her hair, swinging her about and sending her flying into the mirrored dressed, the mirror cracking and Hermione crumpling over the edge of the wooden dresser, the breath knocked out of her as Lucius approached her again.

He grabbed her by her hair again, spinning her around.

”You bit me you Mudblood bitch!” he seethed, slapping and backhanding her until she was nearly unconscious, then throwing her across the room into her wardrobe, which she clutched at desperately. It tilted forward from her weight and she barely managed to get out of the way, falling to the floor on one side as it came crashing down.

Then Lucius began to kick her, screaming obscenities and cursing her before dragging her to the four-poster and slinging her into it. He unbuttoned his trousers as she lay there, face swollen, blood pouring from her nose, whimpering like a wounded animal.

”You want to bite, eh? I’ll show you biting, bitch,” Lucius growled, falling on top of her.

It was the most brutal act Severus had ever seen, Lucius beating, biting and raping Hermione, the witch crying out in agony as he sodomized her. Unable to watch anymore, Severus pulled out of Lucius’ mind.

”You fucking ANIMAL! CRUCIO!” Severus screamed again, hexing the bound wizard until he frothed at the mouth.

Lucius lay there shuddering and Severus felt a powerful urge to kill him, such a maddening urgency to take him out of this world for good . . . but he fought it. He pointed his wand at the broken wizard.

”Divesto!” he hissed, leaving Lucius naked, then removing the ropes.

The Pureblood was in no state to defend himself. Severus didn’t care. The Potions mistress wasn’t either when this monster was on her.

”You like beating witches? Hurting them? Controlling them? Let’s see how you like being controlled! IMPERIO!”

Severus raised the shuddering wizard from the floor and rammed him face first into the nearest wall with a sickening crunch, then slammed him into another wall, then another, using the spell to beat and punish the naked wizard, then dropping him to the floor.

”Crucio!”

”Imperio!”

”Crucio!”

”Imperio!”

”Crucio!”

”Imperio!”

Severus applied the Unforgivables mercilessly to the wizard, using them to punish and torture Lucius for his unforgivable crime against the first woman he’d ever been intimate with.

After sending him flying into walls and Crucioing the wizard until he shit, pissed and vomited, Severus put Lucius’ head through a window and drew him back, the wizard’s handsome face swollen, cut and bleeding profusely, his body battered, bruised and cut. One arm dangled uselessly, and his right foot was turned abnormally to the side. Severus threw him roughly to the ground and straddled his body, looking down at him.

”I should kill you, but I don’t want your blood on my hands you bastard. But I will do this . . . Enscripto Immundus!”

Lucius let out a misery-filled groan as white-hot pain covered his forehead.

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There was another knock on the manor door. Again, the nervous house elf opened it and was almost hit with Lucius’ unconscious, naked body as it was flung through the portal, following by his clothing. The wizard lay there, broken, unconscious and most definitely Obliviated.

The elf peered out at the shimmer descending the stairs. Suddenly a red light flashed into the sky, illuminating it brightly.

A call for the Aurors.

Then, the shimmer disappeared.

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Hermione was still up, drinking a Firewhiskey in front of the fire and listening to Vivaldi on the Wizarding Wireless when Severus came in at exactly two minutes to twelve, sweaty, wild-eyed, paler than normal and looking scared to death.

He walked straight into his room, closing the door behind him and locking it.

Hermione, who did no more than glance at him when he entered, simply shrugged and continued listening to the wireless, enjoying the warm glow of Firewhiskey as it coursed through her. Only the fireplace was lit, so she didn’t get a good look at the Gryffindor when he came in, the light was too low.

So she had no idea anything was wrong.

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Hermione was awakened by the amplified sound of pounding on her office door. Groggily, she pulled on her housecoat and grabbed her wand. She glanced at Severus’ closed door as she stormed through the study and out the wall into her office.

Who the hell was it on a Saturday morning? She yanked the door open with a snarl. The Daily Prophet lay on the floor before the doorway and Draco Malfoy stood there, his eyes wet.

”Professor Granger, I need your permission to leave Hogwarts. Dumbledore isn’t about and my father is in St. Mungo’s. Someone attacked him last night and he’s bad off,” the boy said, his voice filled with terror.

”Your father’s in the hospital?” she repeated slowly, her wand arm dropping.

”Yes, someone attacked him at the Manor. The Ministry is investigating now but they don’t have any leads yet. Can I go?” he begged her.

”Yes, you may go, Draco. I’ll inform the Headmaster,” Hermione said, feeling dazed and disconnected. She picked up the Daily Prophet as Draco sprinted down the corridor.

She opened it and read the headline:

“NOBLEMAN AND PHILANTHROPIST LORD LUCIUS MALFOY BRUTALLY ATTACKED IN HIS HOME BY MYSTERIOUS ASSAILANT”

Hermione blinked and absently closed the door, walking back into her quarters while reading the article beneath the headline. There was a picture of healers carrying a sheet-covered Lucius out of his manor on a stretcher, surrounded by Aurors.

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Lucius Malfoy, one of the Wizarding World’s leading citizens was brutally attacked in his home last night. The wizard was stripped, badly beaten and tortured by Unforgivables. Aurors were summoned to the manor just before midnight although it is a mystery as to how they were summoned since they could find no one on the premises other than the wizard’s loyal house elves. Narcissa Malfoy is away on vacation in the Riviera. She has been notified of the attack and expected to return shortly to be by her husband’s side in his time of need.

When questioned, the house elves said they had seen nor heard anything out of the ordinary the entire night and that Lord Malfoy had received no visitors they could mention. Because of the nature of Lord Malfoy’s injuries, it is believed this is a crime of revenge against the wizard for when he was forced into Voldemort’s service and attended Revels. He did not participate in these murderous occasions, yet the assailant broke his left arm, his right foot, and magically carved the word “RAPIST” into his forehead. All attempts to treat this writing results in great pain for the wizard. Healers fear it may be permanent.

”We will do all we can to track down Mr. Malfoy’s attacker and bring him to justice. No stone will be left unturned,” the Minister of Magic declared. “That such a fine and upstanding wizard would be attacked in his own home is criminal.”

Unfortunately, the healers at St. Mungos hold little hope of Mr. Malfoy being able to help identify his attacker. All memories within the past two weeks have been Obliviated. To date, there is no way to restore them. We will keep our readers updated concerning the wizard’s condition. Flowers, owls and cards may be sent to . . .

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Hermione put the paper down on the small table next to the armchair as she heavily fell into it, shocked and dazed.

Someone had finally given Lucius a taste of his own brutality. Hermione wondered how it felt going down. She bet it had been bitter, very, very bitter. Of one thing she was sure, and that was whoever did it deserved a fucking medal, a Merlin First Class.

She sat there for a few minutes, feeling as if a great weight she didn’t know she’d been carrying was lifted. She felt light and free. At last, she saw a bit of justice.

She heard Severus’ door click open behind her and watched as Severus walked by, barefooted and dressed in a black house coat, heading for her bedroom to use the loo. He looked tired and pale as he walked, not greeting her and avoiding her eyes as he passed through the door. His wand was sticking out of the robe’s pocket.

Hermione looked after him speculatively. He certainly was a sullen little Gryffindor. She could hear him pissing even from the study. That was no surprise. That monster pipe he had between his legs probably spewed a lot of liquid. She heard the loo flush, then the water run in the basin. Severus Snape was probably the only wizard she knew that actually washed his hands after he pissed.

In a moment, he reappeared in the doorway, cast her a furtive look and headed back for his room.

”Just a moment, Severus,” Hermione said.

Severus stopped but didn’t turn around.

”Yes, professor?” he said softly.

”Come here,” she ordered him imperiously.

Severus walked back, hoping that she wouldn’t keep him long. He wanted to go back to bed, maybe spend most of the day there. He didn’t want to see anyone.

He walked around the chair, his dark eyes resting on the floor, rather than the witch.

Hermione studied him. He looked so contrite.

”What’s wrong with you?” she snapped at him.

To her surprise, Severus jumped, startled.

Severus never started at her snapping at him before. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

”What are you so nervous about?” she inquired.

”I’m not nervous. I’m just . . . sleepy,” he said in that same soft voice, still not looking at her.

”Why are you sleepy? It’s after nine. You came in before twelve. You should have gotten plenty of rest,” she said to him.

”I didn’t sleep well,” he replied, his eyes still on the floor.

Hermione was suspicious.

”Look at me!” she hissed at him suddenly.

Severus raised his eyes and Hermione could tell immediately he was hiding something by the way they shifted. His eyes always shifted when he’d done something wrong. She’d caught on to that much while he was still a first year and tried to sneak Potions ingredients out of her class.

“You’ve done something,” Hermione said in a low voice. “What have you done, Severus?”

The young wizard went immediately pale when she asked this. And that was hard to do since his skin was quite pale to start with. This did nothing but make Hermione even more suspicious.

”What did you do?” she demanded. “I can tell you’ve done something. Don’t make me use Legilimency on you.”

Severus frowned.

”You don’t have any right to do that,” he said to her sullenly.

”I have every right!” Hermione snapped back at him, sure now he had done something untoward. “You are in my rooms and my charge. I’m supposed to keep up with you. Now tell me what you’re attempting to hide. You’re doing a miserable job of it.”

As Hermione spoke, the Prophet on her lap suddenly unfolded because she shifted in the chair. Severus saw the headline and immediately began to shake.

Hermione looked at him, then down at the paper, then back at him, her eyes widening in realization.

”It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one who attacked Lucius, weren’t you?” she hissed at him.

”No. I don’t know what you’re . . .” Severus began, still trembling.

”Don’t bother trying to lie. If I were an Auror, you’d be arrested by now. Gryffindors can’t hide anything, much less assaults,” Hermione said calmly.

But she wasn’t feeling calm. The crazy young wizard had actually attacked and overcame Lucius Malfoy. Then she realized he knew that Lucius was her rapist, and that’s why the Pureblood had it carved in his forehead. To show the world what he was.

Dear gods.

”Sit down, Severus,” she said to the young wizard. “Don’t worry, I’m going to help you deal with this . . . “

Hermione walked over to an area of wall and slid back a false front of books, retrieving a Pensieve from the niche behind it. She walked back over to him and placed it on his lap.

” . . . and then, I’m going to kill you.”

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A/N: Thanks for reading.