Tangled Web

A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing this story. It\'s greatly appreciated. I\'m so sorry for the long hiatus between chapters, especially since the last one was such a cliffhanger (both literally and otherwise). I am really trying to get back to writing, so I hope that you won\'t have to wait so long next time between chapters. Again, I would like to thank snapeaholic for beta-ing this.


Chapter Five: War Prizes

Time apparently stood still as the tension increased, threatening to burst at any moment. Everyone had stopped in shock and were now staring in horror over the cliff, watching and waiting for any sign of the Boy Wonder. The rain that had previously been pouring down was beginning to slacken as the faint flash of distant lightning illuminated the grayish-black sky. There was the sound of the phoenix’s mournful song as Fawkes dived toward the crashing waves of the water. Soon the phoenix reappeared, only holding half of Harry’s broken glasses. Another moment passed in silence as the two groups beheld the weight of what had been accomplished.

“Harry Potter is dead!” Voldemort’s voice rang out, shattering the silence. A mixture of emotions infiltrated the heavens with this declaration. There was particularly a panic among the Order members as they had rested all their hopes in Harry. Some of them began to flee while others stayed to fight. “Take what you want and destroy the rest,” Voldemort cried to his followers. This battle was now a victorious raid, and they would capture their entertainment as well as booty.

Chaos ensued as Death Eaters began seizing goods while others snatched victims for later play as well.

Severus glanced around, and his eyes fell on Hermione, who was still standing by the cliff’s edge searching for some sign of Potter. He also noticed Ron Weasley and Lucius Malfoy heading towards the young woman. They would either kill her or take her captive, and he could not let that happen. With a resounding pop, he appeared behind Hermione. He wrapped his black cloak around her small frame and disapparated with her to his small room at Hogwarts. Since Voldemort had taken over the castle, the anti-apparation boundaries had weakened and were now virtually non-existent. He then unceremoniously let go of Hermione as she stumbled forward away from him.

Hermione was stunned over all that had happened. She didn’t even realize that she had been crying, except her eyes were puffy as she looked in the mirror in the small bedroom she was now in. She quickly spun around on her heel and glared at Severus. “HOW DARE YOU TAKE ME LIKE THAT!?” she screeched at him. She fumbled to point her wand at him; her fingers were slightly numb from the cold rain.

“Expelliarmus,” Severus spoke quickly, catching her wand as it flew from her hand and into his. He kept his wand level with her chest. “How dare I? I was trying to save you, you ungrateful little wretch! You were just standing there, and you could have been killed or worse enslaved.” He slipped her wand into his pocket as he watched her emotions play over her face. She was clearly furious with him, but she was also upset over what happened, and he might have detected a slight bit of relief to be away from Dover. “I couldn’t just stand by and let them do whatever to you while you were too caught up in looking for Potter.”

“We have to find him!” she protested as she crossed her hands over her chest. She was already trying to think of a way to get her wand back, but at the moment, it was hard to see just how.

He sighed. “Potter is dead, Hermione. We lost. It’s best if you stay in here and try to make yourself as invisible as possible. It is very dangerous for a Muggle-born as yourself to be around, especially now.”

She reluctantly realized that Severus had a point. She looked over the room completely. It was fairly dark feeling, despite the candles burning. There was a closet at the left. A dark mahogany dresser was along the wall with a mirror in the middle. On the other side of the queen-sized bed was a bookshelf filled with various books. “Where are we?” She didn’t recognize this place as a part of Grimmauld Place.

“Hogwarts.”

She blinked at the answer. “B-but Voldemort controls Hogwarts now. Why did you bring me here?” She took a step back from him, wondering if she should trust him or not. His bringing her here was not winning him any points.

He slightly rubbed his temple as if the situation had given him a headache. “I brought you here because it would be highly suspicious if I took you anywhere else. I can actually keep you safe here and away from the miscellaneous depravities that are out there waiting for you.” His eyes flicked over to the clock. He had been away too long, and he had to return before anyone noticed his departure. “I have to go back to Dover. I will be back here, Hermione. Promise me that you will NOT leave this room.” She hesitated. “PROMISE ME,” he insisted.

“Okay, okay, I promise. Can I have my wand back now?” she asked exasperatedly.

“No, not yet. Perhaps I will give it back to you when I get back.” He then cast another series of wards over the only exit in the room before apparating back to the battle.

A heavy hand fell on Severus’ shoulder once he had returned. “So where did you take the little Mudblood, Severus? You know how much we would have enjoyed her,” Lucius’s voice drawled beside Severus’ ear.

Severus turned around and looked at the older blonde wizard. “Now, Lucius, I decided to keep her for myself. I might let you play with her after I’m finished with her.”

Lucius took a step towards Severus. “Are you becoming soft when it comes to that Mudblood?”

Severus quickly shook his head. “Of course not! The girl is a bloody thorn in my side. I personally wanted to take care of the annoying little know-it-all. The Dark Lord did say that we could take what we wanted.”

Lucius could not argue with that. “At least Weasley didn’t get her.” There had been quite a frenzy to get what one wanted. Besides, there would be plenty captives to pass around for their amusement. “Oh, we caught that werewolf and the Metamorphmagus. They will give us a lot of entertainment.” He then chuckled. “I just can’t wait to see who we feed to the werewolf first.”

Severus could only give a slight smirk. He personally had hoped that Lupin and Tonks wouldn’t be captured, but there was little he could do about it right now. “Is there anything else important for us to do?”

Lucius shook his head as he gazed around. “I think almost everything is being taken care of.” He noticed that all of the houses were ablaze as well as the dead bodies of Death Eaters, Order members, and town inhabitants alike. “In the morning, all that will be left are ashes,” he commented.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Severus spoke softly. The rain had almost completely stopped by now, and the clouds were giving way to a few scattered stars. The sky was brightening and it would be dawn soon enough. Despite the cleansing attempt of the rain, the air was horrific with the mixed smell of burning flesh and wood, a smell that would have made a less seasoned Death Eater vomit. His dark eyes fell on the lower ranks of the Death Eaters doing the grunt work. “I suppose that I will see you back at Hogwarts then, Lucius.” After Lucius gave a slight nod, Severus apparated back to Hogwarts.

He was on his way to his own room when Ginny stopped him in the deserted hallway. She appeared to be quite out of breath. “What is it?”

Ginny took a deep breath before speaking in a hushed tone. “McGonagall and my parents escaped. Tonks and Remus were captured. I didn’t see Hermione.”

“I have Hermione. She’s safe. Lucius and your brother were about to grab her,” he stated.

She nodded. “What are we going to do? Harry…he….” She couldn’t finish her statement. She couldn’t believe that he was dead. She loved him.

He shrugged. “We are going to have to lay low. We lost, but they still think we are on the winning side.” He then suddenly placed his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. “We have to keep this charade up,” he reminded her.

She slowly nodded. “Yes, I know.” She fully composed herself. She could grieve another time. “Go on to Hermione. I have work to do.” She then briskly walked away.

Severus knew that this couldn’t be easy for Ginny, but he had to admit that she definitely had her priorities straight. Now, he had to make sure that another young woman had her own straight as well. He went to his door and quickly lowered his wards before entering. He found her still there with her arms still crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.

“Well? What’s going on?” Hermione insisted as soon as he closed the door.

“Would you please sit down? You are not going anywhere.” He raised the wards again and took off his cloak.

She sat down on the edge of the bed impatiently. Everything had gone so completely wrong, and she didn’t like not knowing what was going to happen next. It gave her a very uneasy feeling, and if she were honest with herself, then she would have realized that she was frightened for herself, her friends, and the rest of the world. “Well?”

He went and stood before her. “Lupin and Tonks were captured. McGonagall and the Weasley parents managed to escape for now. A few others had been captured as well, but those are the main ones that I know of.” He sat down beside of her. “Hermione, you are going to have to stay here in this room for a while. It is not safe out there for you, especially if any other Death Eater had gotten hold of you.”

She sighed and looked at her hands. It felt like she was trading her freedom for her life, and neither option eased her troubled mind. “How can we destroy Voldemort without Harry?”

“I wish I could give you an answer, but I can’t.” He really had no clue about how to defeat Voldemort once and for all. All of their hope had rested in the boy. It was over now. He then stood up. “There is the door to the bathing area. Why don’t you wash up and get some rest,” he suggested. There was nothing more that could be done, and it was nearly morning.

She stood up. There was some splattered blood and mud on her clothes that were still damp. She would have cast a drying charm on them, but Severus had taken her wand. “What am I going to wear?”

He hadn’t thought about this. “I will find you something more suitable later, but….” He paused as he rummaged through a dresser drawer and finally pulled out a white undershirt and some black boxers. “These will have to do until I can ask Ginny for something you can use.” He watched as she hesitantly took them. “Hermione, you are safe here with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He was being honest. She had been respectful to him, and even though he found her to be a know-it-all on occasion, she wasn’t too insufferable to be around. “I will be back later,” he said. He then left quickly again.

She sighed and looked at the clothes he had given her. She might as well get warmed up before she caught a cold from being in wet clothes. She opened the nearly hidden door to the bathroom and took a hot shower before dressing in the clothes that Severus had lent to her. The boxers were a little big, but she would live with it, though the t-shirt clung to her breasts and clearly showed her hardened nipples from the cool air of the room.

After going back into the main room, she snuggled underneath the warm covers. She was physically exhausted, and her eyes were closed before her head even hit the pillow. Her thoughts went to Harry. Her best friend. He was gone now. Tears filled her eyes and slipped through the shuttered lids. Voldemort had won, and she didn’t know how she was going to survive in this new wizarding world. She couldn’t think too much more on the future or lack thereof. Her thoughts quickly quieted as she fell asleep. She didn’t even hear Severus come in some time later or know that he had fallen asleep in a chair that he had brought into the room.


A/N: Please review!! It is greatly appreciated.